The times., 1901-03-17
THE FEMALE CRIMINAL
Is She so Much Worse Than Her
Fallen Brother?
The state OF New York Is Building "a
Reformatory for the Sheitering of
the Rad Members of the Gentle Sex
No Bars and No Prison Walls.

II is a time-honored saying that
woman who is bad is worse than bad
man. and harder to reform OF restrain.
There Is no doubt that II is far harder far
such woman to regain a place in the re-
spectacle world gain than for man VINO
has been criminal but whether this is
the fault of the woman or the fault Of
society is a question whose answer is not
altogether clear. II is certainly true that
for ages past the woman criminal has
been left 10 the tender mercies of men en-
tirely her jsilers being all men. her
judges and prosecutors men. and her sis
ters giving her up as an Outcast with
whom they had no concern. Not untu
lately have women felt any measure Of
responsibility for the woman criminal: and
yet the result OF women's work among
them, since the days OF Elizabeth Fry. has
been very great. The newest form Of this
modern idea is seen in the model Reforrna-
tory for Women. which the State Of New
York is now establishing at Bedford and
where every officer and employe is to be a
woman.
The new RefOrmatory will have many
interesting features. 1t stands in large
grounds. and it's buildings. six in number.
surround a campus like that of a college.
Indeed. the idea of the college is prOmi-
neut everywhere. -Four cottages. with ma
irons in charge, will receive the prison
ers after they have been detained for a
short time in the general reception
house and their cases classified Each
prisoner will have her own room, neatly
and comfortably furnished and each cot
tage, in addition. is TO have common
sitting room, with piano. bookcases, etc.
There will be a bathtub to every four in
mates which should certainly exercise
reforming influence. There are to be no
bars. except in the reception house, and
no prison wails-Only fence OF wire
netting.
Only those women criminals between the
ages of fifteen and thirty are 10 be ad-
mitted to the Bedford RefOrmatory, and
the general character of the commitments
will be for vagrancy, petty larceny, dis
orderly" and so on. The commitment IS
for three years as the least term, although
the officers of the reformatory. at their
discretion. can release any woman on
parole after year, a special parole officer
being provided to visit and keep watch
over such cases. DR.. Katherine Bement
Davis the superintendent, intends to make
Industrial work the leading feature of the
training. so that each prisoner, before she
leaves viii be capable Of self-support in
the outside world Gardening and the
raising of small fruits will be taught. as
we'll as cooking, sewing. and laundry
work. There will be no uniform, no
marching in squads
The aim of the new institutiOu-tO
build up in every inmate those qualities
of character for lack of which she has
gone astray-may seem a tride utopian,
but the experiment is an honest, earnest.
and most interesting one, and should COM
mand the attention of every woman. II II
succeeds. It will give a hard blow to the
sombre theories of LOmbrosO concerning
the woman criminaL-Harper' BaZdr.