The record-union., 1895-01-24

and the smaller his repeated offenses the
more Irritating dixie thorn in the f1esh)
TO the body polite. / venture as an eco
nomlc proposition alone SAY nothing of
the value to himself and society by his
permanent detention), il costs more ''to
lana" such pests and convict them over
and over again-say nothing of loss to
property, life and the public peace-than
1t does to keep them in perpetual durance
Ihls leads logically to a second propo-
sitlon no less vitality related to enlight-
ened prison government, viz: the better
ment OF the prisoner himself, intellectu-
ally, morally and industrially, as already
hlnted through the agency of a practical
prison system. We waive all abstract
discussion around that much abused and
threadbare term. reformation" The
trouble lies with the contents. In it's re-
latlon to these mon we seek 80 make it
mean too much. When you have taught
man to live cleanly in habit and life,
demonstrated the advantages of conform
1ty to law; when, by force and example
and precept, general uplift has been
impaired to character and thought; when
he has been taught to earn his living and
to be to a degree selt-respecting, you
have exhausted both the term and the re-
sponsibility. Repetition becomes auto
matte, and upon this every man is COM
PEELED largely to rely for the final and
status. Here civic responsibility begins
and ends.
That the faithful assumption of such
responsibilities are not without results is
amply demonstrated. In Great Britain.
between the years 1854, the date of the
establishment OF the present system, and
1872, the annual humber of sentences to
penal servitude fell off over 40 per cent.
In Denmark, under similar changes aud
reformatory modes, the number fell off
one-half in twelve years. The practical
bic question presents itself right here, is
such a condition of things practicable
under existing state of things in Califor-
MIA? We answer unhesitatingly, no.
The limited prison capacities of our in
stitutions is an insuperable bar thereto.
The rooming together of large number
OF inmates, many of them adopts in
crime, is hardly conducive of good re-
suits, and the ceiling together Of two re-
gardless OF their moral impulses, is, for
reasons not necessary to mention, simply
vile. No youthful recalcitrant under the
incubus OF his first wrOng-doiDg, can,
under such tutelage, hope to escape the
direct contamination Of hardened villainy
and the Viiest habits. a prison thus
cramped, with no proper segregation
possible, becomes the breeding-pen and
finishing school Of crime. No advance
ment in the prison system is possible
uIOSl IL L l4S SCI 10TH
by those in authority and advanced in
the Governors inaugural, that contem-
plates the consolidation of the prison
systems of the State, opens the way for
the more enlarged method, and if wisely
and literally planned, would quickly put
US abreast with the advance movement
in the Eastern States in all matters of
prison reform. Responsibility is meas
ured by ability in this matter, and ali
such are, in their ends, not merely ethical
but economical, as may De readily i'll
terred from Eastern and European pre-
cedentS.
The introduction of useful and skillful
labor IS prime agency in practical re-
form. 1t incites to self-reliance and re-
spect, and affords the means OF honorable
support. A prison might be made not
only trade school, but a workshop and
distributing center of all the necessary
wearing material at cost prices Tor the in
mates of all other State institutions at q
nominal cost, measure that could not
be reasonably opposed on the ground of
convict competition, inasmuch as it re-
bounds to the interest of every taxpayer
in the State. No industry that is TO the
interest OF a few should ever be under
State control for obvious reasons. The
accessI b1ilty OF oGr largest prison to the
metropolis Is one of its greatest draw
backs, the demoralizIng influence OF
Nnicu Is UeLLST appreciated Dy the man
agement than can be described. Its subtle
influence peryades the atmosphere and
keeps the institution at a tension. The
subject matter is fraught with interest
within and without The future is an
unknown quantity. The ultimate wave
OF population in its westward flow breaks
upon these shores and casts up its resid-
uum here. California is destined to have
the largest criminal population Of the
West, as it now has of insane, save one.
In 1871 the former numbered $50 in a
population of 90, ,03l, and in 1892 1t was
1854, with a population OF /, ,20S, l3O. New
\ Iork, with census OF 5,997, ,053, has a
criminal population of only J, 3,4gi, or but
!, ,527 more than our own. The disparage-
ment is suggestive. The perfected New
York prison system, and especially her
uurivaled reformatory and preventive
methods, the results of an enlightened
sentiment and liberal legislative enact
ments, must be credited with these re-
suits. The problem as it presents itself
to us on this Western coast calls tor So
luIlon no less important in the near
future, buttressed as it is with facts that
challenge attention. The narrower the
range Of view the costlier the experiment
in the long run. \. DRAH
Chaplain San Quentin, Cal.