The San Francisco call., 1897-10-22
Where Good Men Have Few
Chances and Bad Ones
Become Far Worse.
". Ii. MILLS VIEWS on PRISONS.
He Would Have the Celebrated Craw-
ford System and Deter Orimi-
nails Prom Evil.

1t is we'll known that San Quentin is th e
easiest prison In The United States and
that penologists the world over have con-
demned and re eiected the California svs-
tenn of treating criminals. But it is equally
well known to men who have spent years
iii trying 10 improve the system that it Is
almost lmpossi BILE to get polit clans to re-
form the Infamous plan that now obtains
One of the clearest-headed penologists
in this State is W. H. Mills, whose early
chronological studies and ministerial am
bitions led him 10 investigate sin and
crime in all their forms. He has definite
ideas concerning San Quentin, which he
declares to be breeding-rlace for crimin-
ais. His views are in conformity with
advanced holdings on biology, and are
compromise between the harsh
methods OF the Massachusetts, system
and the holiday revels allowed the San
Quentin murderers.
Speaking of the subject yesterday Mr..
Mills said: al have gwen the subject a
great deal OF thought, as l was chairman
of the Peno.ogical Com mission some years
ago. 1t is almost useless to talk of doing
anything under the present system, ana it
is almost possible to get id of it so
long as politicians rule with absolute
power. Politicians appoint the guards
and others in office at the prisons. They
get pardons for their friends and all his
initiates against any real reform. You
know that the same power that gets a
man place in the Mint gets him par
don when he is in prison. Waving all
these things, let us see why the San Quen-
tin system is vile, and why The California
Nrfs olz- atiA
i'm pounding criminals.
''At the outset it must be understood
that punishment Is part of nature
plan. All organic life suffers the Conse-
quences of disobedience to law, and suf-
iering is a remedial effort. The function
of sufferiLg in life is correction. The man
who sees that fire burns keeps his hand
out of the fire. Penology must run on
lines parallel with nature, must recognize
the junction of punishment; for society,
the body polite, is organic and must pro-
tect Itself and reform its mem oers.
Among other thicgs, civilization is the
art of living together. Man is a grega-
rious creature. He longs for the COM
pauionship of his fellows. The man VINO
commits crime-the fixed criminals
behind the race. He is primitive char
acter. II be does not respect his fellow
mans rights, If he violates the laws of So
ciety, made for the protection of the race.
ouent and detective classes. The first
right of society is to restrain the criminal,
Forever? No. Why not forever? Be-
cause there is the belief that the penolo-
gist will reform the defective mem Der of
the body polite.
when the man is restrained for a term
of years corresponding with The gravity
of the crime, ii is with the belief that he
will improve under the treatment of the
scientific penologist. Now, if he is pun
ished maliciouSly and revengefully he be-
comes malicious and revengeful. This is
why men who come from harsh and inhu-
man prisons are so often more fendish
than ever when they are set Tree.
"Unless there is a reascna bic belief that
a prisoner will come out reformed there is
no reason for definite and determinate
sentence. Society ought to keep him
there for life, for if he is no better when
he comes out than when be went in he is
just as dangerous to society as when he
entered the prison. ia
I'VE next come TO the point that good
prison is hospital for the treatment of
men afflicted with the disease called moral
delinquency. What would we think of
hospitals for the treatment of infectious
and contagious diseases if they so treated
patients that the diseases were worse,