The Saint Paul globe., 1897-10-25
WHO HAVE MADE A STUDY OF
CRIMINALS AND OF PRISON
ADMINISTRATION.
PRISON SUNDAY WAS OBSERVED
Yesterday In the Local Churches
With Services Appropriate to
the Occasion.

S. G. Smith took occasion to briefly
discuss the charges against the prison
officials at Saltwater, published in Sat
urday's G o b e. DR.. Smith did not
attempt to disprove or deny any one
of the G o b e's specific charges but
contended that newspaper men were
not experts on criminology, and there
fore anything published in a newspa-
per was apt to be highly colored and
far from the truth. He thought the
newspapers meant we'll and that it was
possible there might be something
wrong at Saltwater. If such were the
case, he thought the public should
know of it, and he was sure the officials
of that institution would court the full
est Investigation. The services of the
morning, he said, were not to show
up in bad light our penal institutions,
but to see how good they were. DR..
Smith eulogtzed Warden Wolfer, under
whose regime the brutality at Mime
sota's big penal institution is said to
have been practiced. Dr. Smith said
Mr.. Wolfer was undoubtedly one of the
best informed men on prison matters
in the country.
The tendency Of DR.. Smiths remarks
charges published in a newspaper, be
cause he claimed they had no experts
on penology in their ranks. The artf-
| Gle which. appeared in the G o b did
not discuss criminology from an ethi
| cal standpoint, neither did it portray
crime in any form; in fact, the G
did not touch on so-called "criminol-
ogy," but simply published the facts
as they were related to the G o b e by
men who were telling what they had
seen.
Prof. W. w. Folwell made an excel
lent address on reformatOry methods,
in which he criticised the Minnesota
reformatory quite severely. Towards
| the close Of Prof. FolwelIs address he
| touched on the charges made in the
G l b e, saying: Reforms in such in
stitutions come slowly unless spurred
on by the newspapers. Every citizen
should become more familiar with the
methods employed in our penal insti-
tutions. Reforms in prisons are often
hindered by the very ones in charge.
The officers are the last ones to awake
to the necessity of reforms in their in
stitutions." *@<-@ 't
|
address he said in part: From time
imnemorial all civilized countries have
had an underground population. This
| population by the proper methods will
be some day brought to the surface to
| enjoy the blessings of a civilized land.
! We will not live to see it, and it is prob
able our children will not, but the day
| will come when this underground pop
we have them to deal with. Slowly
profiting by experience, rapid advances
have been made recently to this end.
1t is of one element of this population
that 1 am to speak this morning.
"There are three ways Of dealing with
| this population. The old rule of an eye
for an eye and a tooth for a tooth may
| have been effective at one time. An
other principle is for the protection OF
society against the thief, the robber and
| the murderer. But the most potent
| principle is the reformation and reno
| walton of the criminal That we can
| do this is shown by the results obtain
| ed from the formation of reformatories
over the United States. The hardest
! punishment for some criminals is to be
orderly and decent, and to have to aid
the officers of these institutions in car
rying out the methods for their good.
| The reformatory idea is securely lodged
and is being developed in many states.
1.-The model reformatory Of the United
States is located at Elmira, N. Y.
Within it's walls there are 1,500 young
men assembled, all convicted of some
thirty-two, the average age being
twenty-one. OF these forty per cent
had been previously arrested; thirty
five per cent came from the city of
New York, all of them degenerate and
anti-social on being admitted. Bad
home surroundings were traceable in
ninety-two per cent, which is lesson
| to all of us who are interested in the
| development Of the home; of the total
seventy-five per cent have below the
average moral perception.
! ''The reformatory at Elmira is divid-
ed into a number Of departments. The
cells are we'll lighted. The lower grade
men take their meals In. their cells,
while those enjoying the privileges of
the upper grades are dined in the large
dining room, which is quite different
from the way employed in large pris-
ons.
Zone of the striking features Of this
institution is the physical training
school, which is equipped with bath
rooms and gymnasium. All the new
men received are put through course
| Q6DdTIUl6ul.
to the reformatory are often broken
down, or just getting over the effects
of a debauch This department builds
the men up physically. 1t also has a
good effect on their mental condition.
This is called the renovating process.
''Many of the large military schools
in the East can not boast Of q military
department as complete as the New
York institution. It is composed of
four battalions of four companies each.
They have dress parade every day
and look like gentlemen, and no doubt
many of them feel so for the time be-
ing. In connection with this there Is
very fine cornet band made up en-
tirely of conyicts.
''In 1887 the legislature of New York
abolished convict labor in the state re-
formatory The board Of managers
were at first at a loss to know how to
employ the prisoners. 1t was then
that the military department was Or
ganized But the most important work
done in the institution was that of
the trade schools, which were organ
lied shortly after. There are thirty
four of these schools, nearly every
trade being represented Prof. FoIwell
then read out Of the catalogue Of the
Elmira reformatory the list of the
trades represented and the number
employed at each.
You will notice the large number
| Of inmates employed in carpentry. The
frescoing class which is made up of
young Italian boys from New York city
| do some beautiful work. Of these con-
victs IS per cent find work upon leav-
ing. There are some. however, who
prefer crime to a life-ef usefulness, and
| we can only combat with those There
] are also an ethical department and a