The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-05-09
FOR PRISON REFORM.
a Bill to Separate Youthful From
Adult Criminals.


The Superintendent of Charities of the
District yesterday sent to the Commits
soners report on the letter of enquiry
received by them from Senator Money of
Mississippi relative to the treatment OF
youthful prisoners in the Jail and work
house. Mr.. Lewis states that the Senator
has been correctly informed as to the fire.
quent imprisonment of boys in the District
under the age of sixteen. He quotes from
correspondence the views OF Judges Scott
and Kimball on the subject, as well as
from letters received by the intendant of
the Washington Asylum. These agree in
establishing the fact of such imprison-
ment and the urgent need of reform
Mr.. Lewis after referring to these opin-
ions on the subject, goes on to say that
the difficulty appears to be not so much
in the want of proper agencies for the
dealing with these children, as in the con-
ditions which produce in Washington an
unusual number of juvenile delinqucnts. in
the demand for the maintenance of high
degree of good order in the streets and
public places of the city and in the per-
emptory character of the process by
which children are too often dealt with in
the Police Court.
Mr. Lewis remarks that he has hesitated
| until recently to propose bill to provide
remedy for the reason that other equally
important and meritorious measures long
pending are not yet pushed to conclusion,
and some of them are even opposed by
those who are always afraid of every
proposition to change practices long es-
tablished no matter how little they may
be adapted to the accomplishment of the
present purposes, and because success in
such efforts depends very largely upon the
assistance to be derived from the support
of the general community, which does not
yet seem to be largely available.
Concerning young men and women be-
| tween the ages of sixteen and thirty years,
Mr.. Lewis points out that the practice
which is meeting with wide approval
throughout the United States, consists of
their commitment, when convicted of seri-
Gus offences. to an intermediate prison.
upon an indeterminate sentence, from which
they may earn conditioned release or
| parole and final discharge by diligence and
good conduct. These intermediate pris-
ons are between the reform school and
the penitentiary. and are held to be the
most effective agencies in existence for
the reformation of young criminals.
The bill proposed by Mr.. Lewis provides
that whenever any child under the age Of
sixteen years shall be convicted before the
Police Court or Criminal Court of the
District OF the violation of any law In force
in said District the penalty Of which has
heretofore been Imprisonment in Jail or
the workhouse, in lieu of fine, the court
before which such conviction shall have
taken place shall. unless some parent or
friend of such child be present in court
and pay the fine imposed. suspend SEN
tence in such case. and shall, at a time
to be determined by the court, proceed
to enquire into the previous conduct and
character of such child-whether he or she
has been charged with other violations
of law. has been truant disorderly, ha
bitualiy disobedient, or intractable-and
shall thereupon determine whether said
child belongs to any Of the classes enum-
Grated in section of the act approved
July %. 1892 (27 Stat. CHI. 250), entitled
IAN act to provide for the care Of depend
ent children in the District Of Columbia
and to create Board of Chldren's Guar
dians. or to any OF the classes enumerated
in section OF an act approved May 3.
1876 % Stat, oh. 90). entitled IAN act
revising and amending the various acts re-
lating to the Reform School of the District
of Columbia"
Whenever upon such enquiry. the court
shall find that any child under the age Of
sixteen years belongs to any OF the classes
enumerated in either of the acts of Con-
gress aforesaid, the court shall commit
such child to the Board of Chidren's Guar
dams of the Reform School of the District.
as provided by said acts of Congress. re-
spectively. or shall place such child on
probation for the period OF six months.