New-York tribune., 1900-01-08
PRISON REFORMS URGED.
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE MEMBERS
OF THE PRISONS COMMISSION
WANT LocKsrEP AND STRIPES ABoLIsHED-FRO-
pUcT1vENEss OF PRISON LABOR

pUCTIvENEss OF PRISON LABOR
Albany Ian Radical recommendations are
made and changes urged In the management
the prisons Of the State by the members u a1
state Prisons Commission in their MIN -.
report the Legislature. Briefly suHlHi"i iieu '"
are as follows ,.
The establishment Of a state reformatory for maze
misdemeanants. between the ages OF sixteen an n
thirty years; the abolition of the locKs'ep' ~
doing away with the present striped garo worn -
convcts; the finding of employment lot poio-
prisoners by the Board OF Parole; allowing pTls0"
ers to write to certain state and county offciais a
stated intervals; and grading prisoners accoiu'ls
to behavior and not according to the numoer oi
former convictions.
Relative to committing boys TO jails or peni-
tentaries the Commission thinks that the S.ate
should furnish institution where incorrisioie
boys-boys who show inclination 10 JOIN 1he
criminal class-could be sent for education IN lettes
and trades. The Commission thinks it would De
wiser for the State undertake their reforInatoh
before they have far advanced in crime as 10
make them eligible to be sent TO an institution
where felons only received.
Amendments to the parole law are recommendeu
so that all prisoners committed TO State prisons TOT
all terms other than for life shall be subject 10
the Jurisdiction of the Board Of Parole; that the
term of sentence shall be treated as the maximum
for which he may be detained, and that all pris-
oners except life prisoners may be paroled under
proper restrictions. care being taken that wheh
prisoners are paroed they shall be provided with
employment enabling them to earn an honest hVe-
lihood.
The Commission contends that nothing should be
crush prisoners self-respect, and there
fore urges abolition of the lockstep as unneces-
sarily humlating and degrading to convicts The
report says that the dress of prisoners may prop
erly indicate the grade class TO which they be-
long, but doubts the wisdom expediency OF
dressing the convicts in the hideous stripes no"
customary. and which also indicates and adver-
tises the number of former convictions Of each
lnTaf}a
partial preventive of the growth of prison abuses
all prisoners should be allowed at stated intervals
to address letters the Governor or to the State
Commission of Prisons. or to the County Judge or
District Attorney of the county from which they
were committed and that such letters, when sealed
and delivered to the warden superintendent OF
the prison, shall be forwarded without reading.
The Commission also recommends a grading OF
prisoners in the State prisons according to the in
tent of Section 95 of the Prison law, and contends
that the grading should be made that pris-
oner's grade would depend his conduct in prison
and that for good conduct he would be advanced TO
higher grade and for Incidence and disobedience
reduced to a lower grade The present method IS
grade prisoners according to the number of
former convictions system which the Commits
sion condemns.
The total sales Of prison products in the year
ending October l. 1892 S43654S "a decrease OF
about $4,000, compared with the sales Of 1888
There was an increase Of sales from Auburn and
Clinton prisons but large decrease in the sales at
Sing Sing This decrease is attributed to the estao-
lishment Of certain industries in New-York County
and Kings County penitentiaries. as the manu-
facture of street brooms and other things needed
by the city Of New-York thus supplying the city
with the goods which had heretofore been fur
nished by Sing Sing Prison.
The net earnings of the prisoners in the three
prisons for year amounted to about $4,000 the
earnings at Auburn being $4,000, at Clinton ssOoO
and there was net loss at Sing Sing of about
1000 The gross earnings of the prisoners in the
three prisons S174,079 81. The Commission be-
lieves that in the future the payment Of the
large sum for foremen and instructors in the in
dustries can be materially reduced by the employ
ment of keepers and guards qualified 70 act as
ouired by Section s4 OF the Prison law. The amount
of prison made goods hand in the prisons at the
The report makes the following recommendations
in rsIaton to the State prisons: In Auburn an en-
Clinton Prison. the enlargement Of the COTTON yarn
not oniv to supply this prison, but supply the
State hospitals and other State institutions making
their own cotton goods. This would require
Industrial building at Clinton.
At Sing Sin Sing de6 the 5ePOPt P0G of the
building lately destroyed by fire with an iron ana
fa1s prHePai PaGr cell iHq bniidas is Of this prison
in the principal cell building be discontinued being
dark damp and unhealthy. ,-,-...-.
appropriate reasonable sum for the establish
ment and mainten3nee OF produeuvs bnGastLes 7a @ at
mates confined. OF the House of Refuge at
he speaks in cOmmendatOry terms
and calls the attention of the Legislature to the
fact that under the amendment OF 1896 to Section
69S OF the Penal Code women convicted of felonies,
when the sentence imposed is less than one year,
may be committed to these Houses OF Refuge, and
states that this has resulted in the commitment or
a considerable number of women convicted Of felo-
nies to Hudson institution for snort terms ana
has caused trouble the management.
The Commission recommends that this law should
ing entirely sentencing Of female felons TO this
institution. or, If this is done, by committing
them 10 the institution for the same time and sub
jeCt to the same rules and regulations under which
other inmates are committed. The Commission
also recommends that the House of Refuge for
Women, a Bedford not yet completed, shall be
used as a reformatory for females convicted OF
felonies. -
The report further recommends that there should
be an appropriation 10 advance the work the
Eastern ReformatoTy; that provisions be made for
opening Il for the Of convcts in the coming
year and that it be placed until completed under
the control OF the managers of the Elmira Re
formatory.
The total number of prisoners in all the prisons
of the State October l. 1899 was 1O350 a de-
crease the last year of al. and decrease since
1895 OF 2,311.