The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-11-17

seem that the bold statement of the proposition should be sufficient to ex- pose it's utter absurdity. Indeed, it would be ludicrous if there were not bound up withrit so many and 50 seri- ous evils. That the practice has been tolerated so long in all civilized coun- tries only goes to show that the science of penology is in it's infancy. When the doctrine is once practically as well as theoretically accepted, that the ob- ject of all Imprisonment for crime is to protect society by conflning and re- forming the prisoner, we may hope that this fragrant abuse of the power of the state will be forever abated."
 Speaking of the present system of discharging men at the expiration of a fixed term, he said:
 When they were discharged after serving their first sentence we all knew they were going out to commit more burglaries. for they very frankly said that they were, and they did. When they went out after serving their sec ond term we also knew that they were going out to try burglary again, for they said so, and did 1t. But had they on first commitment gone into that prison with sentence of one year minimum, twenty years maximum. and with prison administration equipped to cure if it was possible, as we now have at the prison, they would proba- bly, have been cured, but, failing in this. they would have been continuous ly restrained from those later burgla- ries, and SO in either case society pro- tected against them.
 'T give 1t as my deliberate opinion that it would be cheaper, and result in less damage to the public, if two or three known insane persons were turn ed loose from Middletown hospital each week than to go on as we are doing, turning loose from the state prison men of criminal intentions.
 Moreover, professional criminals will shun state which vigorously applies and enforces a sure enough indeter- minate sentence law"
 Then MT. Taylor proceeded to show that, although there is at present on the statute books a so-called indeter- minate sentence law, it's spirit is de- feated by the fact that tie minimum and maximum sentences fixed by the courts are such that there is no oppor- tunity to effect the desired result.
 When the prisoners are released un- der the indeterminate sentence system they are kept on parole until they are believed to be all right. These paroled men must report to the warden of the prison on the first of every month, giv- ing a detailed account of all their ex- penditures and earnings.
 To obyiate the difficulty experienced in obtaining employment for men who have just come out of states prison Mir Taylor has proposed plan where by the prison association shall pur- chase farms requiring considerable la Dor to rehabilitate and set the men pa roled to work on them until they are able to procure other employment. In closing Mr. Taylor urged those present who believed that the indeter- minate sentence should be enforced to see personally their senators and rep resentatives in the coming general as- sembly and urge upon them the wis., dom and desirability of amending the present law, as indicated.
 The indeterminate sentence, he stat ed, has been in actual practice in sev- l eral states and the results were most gratifying.
 Upon the close of his address Mir. Taylor invited his audience to question him in connection with his subject. Fol- lowing his answers to the questions propounded solo was sung by MT. Rodd after which the assemblage dis persed,