The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-02-05
STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES
IMP DEFIANT RECO O1IlLENDA ATIONS BY
 THE BOARD.

The County Jails and Their Uses-lhe
 Industrial School, the Reform school and
 the Hospital For the Insane.
 The fourth biennial report of the
 State board of Charities, covering two
 years and three months, ended septem-
 Der 30, 1894, has been submitted to Governor Coffin. The report is a volume
 of 265 pages. and contains mass Of
 readable information about the various institutions which come under the obser-
 walton and control of the board.
 Regarding the state prison the board
 says: The warden has been active in
 giving personal attention to the details
 of diet and sanitary conditions and in
 keeping complete record of the daily
 life and movements of the prison popu- lation. The change in the management
 has been marked by heavy increase
 in the annual expenditure. The inn provements recommended by the war
 den have been undertaken with the ap- proval and by the authority of the
 pOdld OI QllCClOISB lIlCluNAllSo bAAS iiN~~S
 sary current expenses, has resulted in cost to the state of $5, ,363.60 for the year
 ending September 30, 1884, as against $21, 770.59 for the year ending September
 30, 1893, and $21, ,77202 for the fifteen months ending September 30, 1892 While it is manifestly desirable that the insti- tuition should be maintained in man ner creditable and satisfactory to the state, and be capable of meeting the in- creasing demand upon its accommodate
 tions and facilities, it is the opinion of the board that under the heading of Improvements and maintenance in re- pair" the latitude for expenditure has been widely extended, and a more con- servative policy-not of niggardly stin- giness but of wise economies wherever practicable-is urgently recommended.
 The board recommends that the state prison be used only for persons who have been convicted of serious crimes and committed for long sentences. A heightened stay will help to effect complete separation from former cor rupting tendencies and associates Hab- it's of industry, neatness and obedience will be required, and the orderly regime of the institution supplemented by sound reading and religious training, will go far towards counteracting and reforming vicious dispositions, whether Inherited or acquired.
 On the subject of county jails the report says: It is commonly agreed by students of prison administration that our county jails are "schools of crime with an enforced curriculum In one naI fho ioi Ia x5 i- limited that the men are doubled up" in the cells, and there are opportuni- ties for association and communica- ton in them all. The incorrigible rogues, the toughs and vagrants, find it a comfortable place in hard times in which to spend the winter months, and immature youths, and especially those who are naturally not inclined to vic ious habits, are taught the ways of evil-doing, and become demoralized by association with old offenders. They even regard with envy and pride their companions who have already taken higher degrees in crime. The natural effect of such conditions is to educate men in vice and increase rather than diminish crime What is required at the present juncture is state re-
 
 law-breakers, established upon princi- ples which are indorsed by recognized | authorities in penology, and have been l successfully applied in other states. 1 The agencies employed for the devel- | opment of the mental, moral and phy- sical natures would be the salutary | discipline of the institution, inculcat- | ing habits of obedience and self-re- | i,1e tion, manual labor in the ordinary han | dicrafts of life, the indeterminate sen tence and the release on parole after | honorable employment had been secur- ed outside.
 The management and operations of the Connecticut Industrial School for Girls, the Connecticut School for Boys and the Connecticut Hospital for the Insane are commended. The cost of board at the latter institution has been reduced and is now only S2. 80 per week. For the support of per- sons committed as paupers towns are still required by the statute to pay $2.50 per week; whereas for the sup port of those committed as indigent in- sane the person making the applica- tion, that is the selectman or friend, IS TequlfSu IO pay OHIy Oue-uhiL tilS price of board, that is, $1,40, the bal ance, $1.40 being paid by the state. If, therefore, the town commits any in- sane person as an indigent, it will es- cape the paying of $2.50 and be called l upon for only $1.40 per week and clothing, which is less than the cost for which the town would support a elsewhere. As the number of in the hospital population has largely increased, and the number of paupers has correspondingly dimin- shed in recent years, there is reason to believe that the practice is followed 1f committing the latter under the ga tegory of indigents, and of drawing l upon the state for the support of town 1aupers more than was originally in l i tended The continuance of this prac- ice will virtually render the hospital i, state alrnshouse for the insane.
 There are 800 children between the I .ges of two and sixteen years at the light County Homes in the state. So many of the children have been at he homes for years that the board