The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-01-02


the city of Birmingham to be congratu-
lated for having accomplished SO much in
the short time of one year with no law to
uphold the system-nothing to sustain the
plan but the philanthropic feeling for the
welfare of the young negro boys and
girls?
In England.
"a. The Harvard Associations (of Lon
dom report for 1904 says: The poor re-
suits that still follow from our system,
with all its improvements, are shown by
the terrible number of re-convictions. No
fewer than 81 per cent of our male prison
ers and 70 per cent Of our females have
been previously convicted Of crime Eng
lands first offenders show up worse than
Birmingham's ncorrigible little negro
boys These facts and figures are the
more remarkable when we call to mind
that the experiment here In Birmingham
Is with the negro race, while that in Eng
land and France is with the white race.
New Yorles Aid Society.
Besides this favorable comparison of
the probation system here in Birmingham
we find that the Childrens Aid Society of
New York city is doing the same thing
we are. They have sent out 1647 children
from the slums of New York city to
country homes in the west. That the
city of Paris, France, Is today sending
out the children from her slums to the
country, that they may be away from
hurtful environments and in healthy and
pure surroundings to enable the children
to grow Into helpful, useful lives, cease
to be tax burdens and consumers and be-
come tax producers and tax payers
THE fault with us is that we have not
here, like the New York Children's Aid
Society and the Paris officials, paid
agent to visit often the homes of these
-t.ft hs frxyf n
see that they are properly treateu and
kindly cared for by those to whom they
are committed.
ut would be an advance In the right
direction for the State to pay some Off
cial to visit these children and secure
| for them good homes If they should
happen to be in unkind hands.
IN. B. EEAGIN,
Judge of the Inferior Criminal Court
Of Birmingham.
Chief Wler's Views.
While Judge Feagin was writing the
foregoing communication to The Age-Her-
aid. w. e. Wier, Chief of Police, was
sitting in his private office, talking to
an Age-Herald reporter about the pro
bation system"
Chief Wier for more than 20 years has
studied criminals and especially the Grim
inal element In the negro population of
the south. He has well defined views
on the System of Probation" and he has
also an uncommonly clear way of stating
them
Here is what the chief has to say:
Praises Judge Feagln.
II do not wish to rush into print over
this probation business. The plan was
devised by my friend, Judge Feagin. l
have such a high regard for the judge
that l don't like to be put In the position
o. criticising his schem es unfavorably.
"I know the Judge is absolutely sin
cere In the work he is attempting to
do. 1 cannot truthfully say however,
that I approve of his scheme.
THE results of the plan, as shown by
19O4's experiments. do not commend my
approval.
I'm the first place, there is no law that
furnishes a reason, or even an excuse,
for the existence of the scheme. What
ever is done under Judge Feagins plan
Is done without authority.
As officer Of the Law.
LAS an officer of the law l conceive It
to be my duty to enforce the laws as
written, and to enforce them vigorously.
but l do not conceive 1t to be my duty
to do that for which there is no legal
warrant or legal provision of any kind.
"Once this practice Of officers of the
law doing things without lawful author
ity becomes general, we shall cease to
have a government of law, and shall es-
tablsh in its place a government of in
dividual caprice.
IT do not mean by that to reflect UNI
pleasantly upon Judge Feagin. But even
| though his object is worthy one, think
| the precedent he establishes Is danger
| Gus.
Where Danger Lies.
IT am afraid that the probation plan,
| IL 1t continues, will cause us trouble. Sup
pose. for instance, that the first offenders
leave the court and go back promptly to
stealing, would not the public then have
reason to condemn the court for turning
| loose upon the city the little criminals
Would not the public have the right to
| say: If you had made that boy serve his
| sentence in Jail the punishment would
| have deferred him from repeating the
| offense and, thereby have saved us from
| being thus robbed Or. again. would not
| the public have rignt to ask by what
| authority the court failed to punish the
| offender as the written laws. which court
| officials are sworn to enforce. required
| that the offender should be punished?
A Larger Question.
These questions bring Up the larger
| question:: Who is to Judge what kind Of
Is 10 De lnulCteQ-tne regular
| ly constituted authorities or the indi-
vidual?
IA greater danger lies in the DISPOSE
| ton Of the second offenders. These are.
| as you know, sent to the country. There
| is no law that permits them to be sent
| there. Their sentences when they go
| there are not definitely fixed. The pur-
| pose in sending them away is. first to
| get them out of Birmingham. and second,
| to give them a chance to live better lives.
| They are sent to negro families or white
| families.
How II Works.
Statistics prove that the negro fami-
| lies are incompetent to rear them intel
| ligently. The probationers run away. go
l to some nearby city, commit crime. and
! are sentenced to serve in the penitentiary.
| Are we sure that they would have land
| ed in the penitentiary II they had been
| punished as the law required? Upon
| whom falls the responsibility for these
| negro boys landing in the penitentiary.
/ or for their running away and commit
| ting burglaries In other towns and cities
Other cities Complain.
Complaints come to me from other
| cities where these runaway probationers
have gone. Chiefs of police there do not
| like 1t. They say 1t isn't fair for Birming-
| ham to dump Its UNPUBLISHED criminals
| upon other communities. 1t may seem to
| be good for Birmingham. but 1t doesn't
| help the offenders True, these runaway
| probationers do not always come back
| here, though some of them do. But the
theory is about as broad as 1t is long. II