The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-02-07
ITS HUMANE WORK.
The Connecticut Prison Association
Need of Aid

Office of the Connecticut Prison
Association, Room As, State House,
Hartford, Conn, February, 1888.
During the year 1898 we shall be
called upon to assist more discharged
prisoners, and receive at the prison
door larger number of released pris-
oners than ever before in one year.
We want the cooperation Of our
friends to enable us to meet the re-
quirements of the many cases that will
come under our care. First, and most
important, we desire employment for
these men. Employment that will ena-
BILE them to support themselves is a
prime necessity, as, without it, they
cannot lead honest lives.
Our committee on visitation and dis
charges visit the state prison each
month and carefully examine the case
Of each man who is to be discharged
during the month following. They will
not recommend man to you unless
they believe, from all the evidence they
can gather, that the man is determined
to make an honest effort to reform.
On this basis, we beg of you, if you en-
ploy labor, to furnish employment to
one such man so recommended. We
Will not ask you to employ more than
one. We will take your agreement to
do so and place it.on file, and when we
have man that will apparently meet
your requirements we will send him to
you. We will see that he is comforta-
bly, clothed, and with sufficient change
of clothing, and will ask you to inter-
est yourself in him to the extent at
least of directing him to respectable
boarding house, in addition to furnish
ing him with employment A discreet
oversight and few words of encour-
agement occasionally will be greatly
helpful to him. 1t of course needs no
argument to convince you of the neces-
sity of this cooperation with us, if we
are to succeed in assisting these men to
establish themselves Alright.
They must have a reasonable chance
to earn an honest living when they
come out of the state prison, or they
will surely fall again. 1t is wise and
humane to give them this chance. Will
you do your share of it? If you are
not an employer, will you contribute to
our funds to assist us in this work?
We supply clothing, tools, board while
seeking employment, and tickets to
places of employment, or to their home
if they are so fortunate as to have a
home, as few of them have. We
need, during the present fiscal year,
about two thousand dollars in contri
buttons.
We prefer an agreement to employ
one of these men, rather than contri-
button in cash, but we need both.
Yours very truly,
JOHN C. TAYLOR, Secretary.
Extract From the Last Report Of the
Directors of the Connecticut State
Prison.
1.-THE directors take pleasure in re-
cognizing the aid which the Connecti-
cut Prison association renders to dis
charged conyicts. Within this range of
its resources the association lends a
hand at a critical time. Upon their re-
lease, many convicts, even though &C.
tuated by honest impulses and purpos-
ing to regain their forfeited foothold in
the ranks of honorable citizenship, ex-
perience difficulty in getting work, find
few sustaining influences but many de-
moralizing ones are exposed to rebuff,
suspicion and temptation, and encoun-
into crime and which tend to convert
tentative offenders into positive Offend
ers. Upon professional criminals as
sistance at their discharge is wasted,
and, in sooth, they are only too prone
to help themselves; but in the case of
many released convicts, sympathetic
! aid, whether voluntary or official, to-
ward their rehabilitation. Is of the
! highest value. The Connecticut Prison
association renders useful service with
discrimination. and the only regret is
that it's facilities are limited"
| James w. Cheney, Thomas Dudley
Wells, Frank c. Sumner, Edmund r.
Grove, Wilson c. Reynolds, Edward c.
Frisbie, Willie o. Burr, Directors of
State Prison.
Extract From the Last Report of the
| Warden of the Connecticut State
| Prison.
ITO the Connecticut Prison associa-
ton too much praise cannot be given
| for the care and effort made to place
the discharged prisoner on his feet, and
make him a respectable and law-abid-
ing citizen.
| Many instances have come to my
notice within the year where the as
sistance rendered has placed the dis
charged prisoner again among the
ranks of the self-respecting and self
sustaining community"
JABEZ L. WOODBRIDGE, Warden.
|