Sunday Washington globe., 1902-02-23
PART III.
FoRrY-rHrRp PAPER.


There is distinctive element of pyschical
interest attaching 10 the consideration of
the career Of one who has been so promi-
nently concerned in keeping watch and
ward over those social pariahs who, through
their malfeasance to the laws which const-
tute the stable foundation of the peace and
prosperity of their fellow-men, are com
PEELED to expiate their wrong doing in penal
institutions. Mr.. Coffin has necessarily
come into contact with all sorts
and conditions of malefactors in his
official capacity, and has incidentally
made a careful study Of crime, its
motives and its ulterior effects, while he
has grown strong in his charity for weak
human nature. To have traced through the
intricate career Of a subtle criminal, be he
in high station OF low, can not fail of having
granted deeper insight into the intrinsic
essence of character; nor can it fail to in
spire a wholesome pity for the wrongdoer,
whose punishment is essential 20 the Sc
curity and protection Of the public, as well
as protecting him from his own misguided
tendencies. The life Of one, brought so
closely into contact with criminals as Mr..
Coffin has been, Is not, as many may think
such as will make him turn callous or un-
sympathetic, but, on the contrary, the de-
velopment is more likely to be along the line
Of extraordinary sensiiveness aud broadest
charity
The Ohio State Penitentiary, the inmates
of which include not only criminals sent
from all sections Of the state, but also many
United States prisoners consigned there for
crimes against the federal government, had
as its head man emiuently qualified for
the discharge of the exacting duties de.
volving on him as warden Under the ad-
ministration Of Mr.. Coffin, radical reforms
were inaugurated, and these have not
only improved the condition of the institu-
tion but have also taken cOgnizance Of the
individuality of the prisoners and given to
the prison the function, not only of place
Of Incarceration, but a reformatory where
good conduct is not denied its reward, The
warden is broad-miuded, and is consistent
and eminently humane as a disciplinarian
He is enthusiastically devoted to his work
which offers a wide opening for the accom-
plishment Of goodly ends.
Any deduction placing Mr.. Coffin in the
category Of injudicious and iudiscriminat-
ing philanthropists in his dealings with
criminals would be as erroneous as to sup
pose him pagan because he adheres to no
particular denomination of the Christian
religion His humanity toward prisoners
and his lifelong and unceasing efforts for
their reclamation to society have never
blinded him to the stern necessity Of pen
ance for the expiation of their guilt. His
enforcement Of discipline Is the judicious
punishment of the depraved and the re-
fractory until they realize the morality of
responsible manhood and respond to the
Christening influences OF inexorable order
and the prison routine Of enforced industry
and correct department.
The Bertillon system of Identification and
measurement of professional or habitual
criminals was introduced into tine Ohio
Penitentiary during Warden Collins first
administration; this institution and the
Joliet Penitentiary of Illinois being the only
prisons in the United States that took ad-
vantage of this infallible aid to society
against the depredatIons and the too-often
inadequate punishment of the more dan
gerous class of criminals. AT the expiration
Of Mr.. Cofin's term, the new management
of prison for some unexplained cause
ntinued the system, much to the de-
and safety Of the astute criminal class,
to hom il was a terror aud restraint. On
Mr.. Cofin's reappointment by Governor
Bushnell in 1896, the 6rst act Of his ad-
ministration was the restoration Of the Ber-
tiIlon system, and the result has been as
significant as II Is satisfactory. The men
notorious in the walks of crime speedily
gave Ohio wide berth and few Of this class
are inmates there. From time to time the
management of other prisons make inquiries
Of this institution concerning suspicious
prisoners in their ch arge, and, in number
less instances, these prisoners have been
identified by the Bertillon records as
notorious criminals. These identifcations
insure them long terms Of imprisonment
commensurate with their crimes and char
acters Instead of the short and merciful
sentences usually given FIRST offenders.
This illustration of Mr. Cofin's conscien-
tious convictions that the FIRST consideration
of the intelligent penologst must be the
safe guarding of society from the depreda-
tions Of the criminal; aud that the second or
minor consideration, the reformation of
the criminal, is here particularized in an
swer to the thoughtless and uniformed,
who have objected to his humane manage
ment and advanced penOlogical methods as
lacking in that severity Of discipline which
insures the proper punishment Of the male
factor and the preservation Of society In
Mr Cofin's addresses aud papers, this con
teniion is logically refuted, aud the advan-
tages Of the new over the old is over
whelmingly demonstrated.
Criminals, abnormal in their conceptions
Of the duties of life in all its relations to
self and society, are astute readers of char
Acter aud admire, or rather acknowledge
the .irtues aud attributes in others which
- lacking Ia themselves The absence of
fear in Warden Cofin's dealings with the
most desperate and dangerous criminals
exercises a powerful influence over the dis
eased minds Of the malefactOrs undergoing
imprisonment Unarmed and unaccom-
panied, he at all times enters the cells,
shops and factories Of the prison, visits the
solitary or punishment cells, and is rarely
absent from the prison court He has never
been known, under the most exciting and
sensational conditions, even when quad
has been shot, or desperate prisoners have
attempted to 6ght their way to liberty. to
raise his voice above its customary low aud