The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1905-04-29

YOUNG CRIMINALS.
Medicine Has Modified Society's Atti.
tude Toward Them.

HOW 1af Jne prlUclpIeS Ol dltIuiNHl
are compatible with, that is 10 say ali
VantaeeouS to, the existence of civil
iZel state is an inter, sting problem
tnat remains TO he worked out. The
,vidence OF the last century is all III
favor of the social advance OF that
state in which regard for others is
substituted for brutal indlffe renee
The reason may not always be appa
rent, but the fact remains, and to med
icine must be assigned the first place
as a ciyiIiAins and humanzing force
The work and mission of the medl
cal profession brings and keeps its
members IN constant contact with
every class OF society, down 10 the
lowest, and this at the time when the
softer feelings are mOst apparent; !;
namely, in the time of sickness. Con.
seGuently one finds the influence OF
medicine generally on the side OF
incrcy-to the great advantage OF 50,
ciety generally. In no domain more
than in that Of crime and criminOlOgy
Is this apparent. and III no field ha5
medicine greater triumphS TO show,
Tne desire for revenge and for pun.
ishment is one of the most elemental
Of human forces, and the sneer stu
pidity of giving it unrestricted play
IN dealing with delinquents has been
demonstrated in the criminal annals
Of every country that possesses an.
mails.
Humanity in the treatment OF of.
tenders has shown itself to be not
only the right, but the wise, course,
and the Old savage punlshments are,
happily, passing out of fashion. The
report Cf the directors OF English con
vlct prisons, just issued, gives full
account Of the workings Of the so
called Juvenile adult system that
has been inaugura;ed at Borstal, and
We may say al once that the verdict
OF the directors is wholly favorable
This system was lnaugurated as an
experiment to exploit the plan OF
treating young criminals with a view
to curing instead of merely Furnishing
them. From the London prisons were
collected cases of youths sentenced tc
terms of imprisonment Of six months
and upward, and these lads were put
10 learn useful trades, such as car.
pentering and bricklaying, under ben.
sticial supervision, instead of perform.
ing the old routine of purposeless
prison tasks. The conduct of prison
e:s under the new set Of circum.
stances completely changed; they
showed great anxiety to improve, and
they were granted extra privileges,
became great readers, and good chess
players.
Nor was this improvement only
temporary. So far, I22 Juvenile
adults" have been discharged, and OF
these, 81 are now known to be in EN-
ployment, and leading useful lives.
While 80 have been lost sight OF. OF
the remainder, only "a have been re-
and IA are still unplaced
Considering that more than a hundred
Of these cases were hardened young
criminals, 81 of them having Deen
convicted more than once, and y more
than three times; that they were dis
charged in London, where they had
either no homes Or thoroughly bad
homes. and where every temptation
existed to guide back to their old
haunts, and that the task of super
vision is extremely difficult, one is not
that the directors write en-
Enthusiastically about the success of the
scheme. They are now planning to
extend it SO as to reach not only
London, but the whole of England
and Wales, and to establish it on
permanent basis. Two elements are
necessary for complete cure-time
in the prison, and supervision after.
Press.