The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-02-14
W..

What has been tho effect OF these institutions
on the general movement Of crlmc2 Has crime
increased or decreased as a result OF their es-
tablishment2 Mr.. Morrison deems IL useless to
appeal to the volume OF the prison popula-
ton as a proof OF tho success or failure OF tho
reformatory and Industrial schools. The real
test OF the value Of the institutions for juven.
lie offenders is, in his opinion. not the rise or
fall of crime. but the percentage OF children
who do we'll In the world after they have left
them. The rise and fall Of crime is dominated
by q variety OF conditions over which juvenile,
institutions have very little control. All
that can be readily claimed for these establish.
mcnts 10 that, IL they are successful In tho
work Of Juvenile reclamation. they prevent
crimo from assuming the proportions which u
would otherwise acquire. The author. conse-
quently, m the worth OF these ~institu-
tons by the only proper channel. namely. the
amount OF success which attends their efforts
to reclaim the children committed to their
charge. According. to the official returns. 1t
appears that three-tourths OF tho children COM
united to ref9rma,ory schools in GreatBritain do
are either lost sight Of. or are dou otful cases. or
have been reconvicted. Industrial schools r.
ceive n younger, and. on the whole. n less crimi-
nal class OF children than reformatory schools.
We should. therefore. expect n somewhat higher
percentage OF success among them. The expec.
tation Is warranted by facts. According 10
the returns. about five in every six pupiis OF in-
their iiber.tIon' the amount o. Success = otr
tending The operation OF day Industrial schools
Is not so easy to estimate. II, however, children
who have been In these schools and arc after
wards reconvlcted and sent to reformatory nnd
industrial institutions are To he regarded as
failures, IL would appear that only one in every
seven OF the Juveniles com United to day indus
trial schools fails to be reclaimed.
these returns OF success and failure the author
recognizes that the definition OF doing well liz q
somewhat Lax one The absence Of reconyic.
test IL not unerring. A juvenile may succeed IN
escaping the meshes OF the crImtnal law for
many cases 1t is only by a stretch OF imagina.
ton that he can be -aid TO be doing well. lie
may DO successful In keeping out OF prison. yet
he may be living an idle. worthless existence
on the borderland between pauperism ard
crime reeo,,e 9a thu, hat G msny s ssss 1t, Mb,s IL IA,
put down in the returns as failures may
not prove failures IN the long run. some juvr-
are temporarily intoxicated by their newly
acquired liberty. and. as a consequence. hEd
although Of evil omen. is, sometimes. merely
All unfortunate accident. IL Is not always to be
follow. or actually does follow, habits Of crime.
After a time ne may right himself. and become
muni.y. Several case. Of this descri Hs tns SSSM,
come within Mr.: Morrison's observation.
As q matter VI fact. tabulated returns relat.
Ing to the success or failure In after life Of
children who have been under detention can
never be altogether accurate, and must be re-
They are not a complete representation Of thu
actual facts. 1hey leave much to be consid cred
which cannot be reduced TO statistical formu-
las. Assuming. however. that these figures are
the most precise expression attainable Of
the worth OF educational institutions. for
juvenile offenders. can they be describe! rs
altogether satisfactory : II. Indeed. the whole
of the child rem 50 objected to detention 10 these
institutions would otherwise have become Grim
insls OF tho habitual type, 1t must be admitted
that q system which saves three-fourthr. or
even o%ne-half. OF them from such a disastrous
fate Is an efficient one. 1t II n large assumption,
however. 10 suppose that all the children com.
mitted to corrective institutions would have
become criminals II these institutions had not
been In existence to rescue them. II Is pract!.
cally certain that. a fair proportion OF the In.
mates OF establishments for juvenile offenders
would ultimately have done well in the world.
even IL they had not been committed 10 these
places of detention. Admitting all these facts.
and making nil these due deductions
on account ofthem, the author OF this book stu
maintains. to use tho words of the Royal Com
mitteo appointed to inquire into the matter. that
the work Of these schools is important aud
beneficial.