The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-05-20
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Plans Of a Detective for Reforming
Youthful Offenders.
Practical Operations of Former
sheriff ErnstGs T.. Backus I'm Re-
claiming Youthful Wanderers.
Earnestness in RescuinE UnfOrtu-
mates From Criminal Careers.

If the old criminal can send a message
to the young criminal over in Raymond
Street Jail in Brooklyn, and only one r ,es-
sage, this is what he sends: Don't talk
to that man Backus.''
Erastus P. Backus was sheriff of st.
Lawrence county in 1855. He was always
interested in the work of reforming crimi-
nails rather more than he was in the art of
catching them. though he was never a
second-rate man in the hunt for crimi-
nal. 1t did not seem to him that the av-
erage Jail offered a great deal of encour-
agement to the young man arrested for
the first time. 1t seemed TO him that a
term in Jail was about the surest start a
young man could have on a criminal ca
reer. He worked out q reform system of
his own. 1t was based altogether upon his
own personality. His main principle was
to make a friend of every boy and young
man whom he found in trouble. Not a
mere fair weather, praying and smiling
friend. but an earnest bread and butter
and clothing providing friend of every boy
who seemed to have got into trouble be-
cause he lacked the right sort OF friend Mr..
Backus worked along in a leisurely sort
OF way up in st. Lawrence county; but he
really did not feel that he had there any
chance to do the work he was capable of.
There were not criminals enough in st.
Lawrence to keep him busy. When his
brother. Foster L. Backus, was made Dis
trict Attorney of Kings county, Erastus
Backus vas appointed detective attached
to the district attorneys office at salary
of s., 200 year. He was retained in that
hn f.
ronage committee of the Kings county
Democratic organization decided that it
needed a vacancy in this place for the good
of the organization, Mr.. Backus retired
gracefully. He is not the sort of reformer
who considers his own public martyrdom
essential to the we'll being of any work in
which he may be interested.
The indignation of the people OF Brook
Ign over the retirement Of Nj. Backus was
SO outspoken that a bill was put through
the Legislature which made an office for
him as county detective. Mr.. Backus did
not cease his reform work when he was
removed from Office, but carried it on as
volunteer. independent of any organiZa-
ton. Now he is working nominally under
the direction of the county judges. He re-
ports TO them from time to time. His
salary as county detective is $4,000. This
Is not really a very large salary for Mr..
Backus, for he spends every cent that
he can spare from his own simple lodging,
food, and clothing in helping the boys and
men among whom he works.
When Mr.. Backus went into the Dis
trict Attorneys Office. he began at once TO
apply the system which re had used in st.
Lawrence county. He obtained every day
list of the prisoners in the city magis-
trates' courts who had been held for the
grand jury. He visited these prisoners in
H.. s,;1 Oh. frpu, shn,v, att fhn
information about themselves that they
were willing to give him. He found out
who their friends were. who their enemies
were and where they spent their time. He
employed his nights in looking up the ref
erences he received during the day. In
this way he was able to find out whether
a certain prisoner was truthful and to get
a first-hand idea Of the influences that had
been working upon him and of the effect
his environment might have had in get
ting him into trouble. Thus Mr.. Backus
made up his mind whether the man in Jail
was worth working over or not. If the
man was young, Mr. Backus almost al
ways decided that he was worth working
over. If Mr.. Backus was convinced that
the prisoner could and would live straight
with a little help and artificial backbone,
he went to the Judge and recommended
that sentence be suspended. Then he met
the discharged prisoner at the Jail door,
found lodgings for him. kept him clothed
and fed until work could be found for
him, and gave him good talking to all
the time. He almost always succeeded in
finding some sort of employment for his
boys. He never told the persons who en-
ployed them where he got hold of them.
The clothing was bought for them, the
money that was spent in getting stolen
goods out of pawn shops to be quietly re-
turned to their rightful possessors and ev-
cry other expense connected with Mr.
Backus' plan, came out of his own small
talary.
In the three years and q half during
which Mr.. Backus has been at work in
Brooklyn he has succeeded in having the |
sentences of $40 boys suspended. He has |
been obliged TO ask for the imposition of |
sentence on only ffty-six of those boys. |
For the remaining 2si Mr.. Backus makes |
no assertion that they are saints He SIM |
ply says that they earning honest livings, !
and that most of them believe that they |
can get along better in this world by oh /
serving the law. Some of them are liv |
Ing with parents who declared when they !
were first arrested that they should never |
enter the house again. Others are being |
concealed and kept away from parents who |
might encourage them to be dishonest.
Mr.. Backus keeps a list in his pocket I,
whom he has worked the boys address,
and some notes about him. No matter into |
what part of the city Mr.. Backus goes
he is always in a neighborhood in which |
something may be learned about one of |
these boys. He visits them constantly, |
and visits their friends. Even though the |
time when sentence might be reimposed |
upon them has expired. Mr.. Backus' inter- |
est does not cease. Nor does he withhold |
such financial help as he can give.
In talking about his work Mr.. Backus !
absolutely refused to speak OF any of his |
boys by name. He says that things have
got to such a point now, and he has be- |
come SO well known through the discus |
sion of his retirement in the newspapers,
that when he goes to a man and says that |
he has a boy he wants the man TO hire,
the man grins and says: i've read good |
deal about your boys. ] don't believe i.
want any OF them" Wherefore Mr..
Backus has to work indirectly, and get
other people to represent rim in finding
places for his young men.
AT first when the newspapers took up
my work." said Mr.. Backus Il did not like
II. i knew the result would be that II
would make Ii hard for the boys and that
when they came down to the courthouse TO
talk TO me or stopped me on the street,
II anybody saw them word would get
around 10 the places where they worked
LAT they were jail birds and SO on. and the
result soon would be that they would be
but of work and down on their luck, and in
4 fair position to get into jail again. So !
passed the word among them that they were
not TO come to the courthouse any more to
see me- and they were not 10 speak to NE
On The street il they met me. but they were