The San Francisco call., 1906-12-23
Preachers Meeting

T the meeting of the Association
N Of preachers Of the Methodist
~ Church Of this city and it's VI
~ cinity held in Wesley Church
4 - last Monday, the many ministers
present were addressed by w. A.
Gates. secretary of the State Board OF
Charities and Corrections. He stated
that there were twenty-six States OF
the Union which had boards with sup
ervfsion over the public institutions
handling money contributed by the
state to maintain prisons, asylums, re-
formatories and orphanages. The
boards act for the State and the man
aEement and see to it that the money
zppropriated is expended properly and
that abuses are corrected. He said
there were cases OF abuse discovered
and remedied without being given pub
iicity in the press.
The board in this State is composed
Of men Of different political views and
several denominations are represented,
there being at this time on the board
a Protestant, q Catholic. a Hebrew end
a Presbyterian. with an Episcopalian
Tor clerk.
In speaking of the work OF the board,
which he said was supervisory, he as
serted that some of the managers of
the institutions of the land did not
like the examinations into affairs
w LlCn LASS DtA4CfC0 AACS WOAC AAAAS
capable to attend TO, and that these
managers looked upon the board as in
dividuals who interfered with their
duties and rights
Secretary Gates stated that the board
was not run by politicians for the rea-
son that there was no salary attached,
and no patronage, and that conse-
queptly there were no politicians who
desired 20 serve on the board.
He stated that several attempts had
been made TO have the board abolished,
but that up TO the present the attempts
had not met with success. He said that
the board desired change in the mat
Ter of granting relief from county
funds to certain poor people which was
the persons for political favors rem
dered at some time. rather than money
contributed to relieve need.
The Home for 1ncurables, he said.
was q disgrace TO San Fra ncisco when
twas conducted there q nd 1t was
no better now. The board would make
recommendations looking to the bet
terment OF the Home.
The board also viii ask for the i'm
provement OF conditions In the State
prisons and endeavor to have an ap-
preparation made to increase cell-room
with the idea of segregating classes of
inmstes. The conditions in the prisons
were described as deplor6ble. the
average being four prisoners TO a cell.
Some OF the youths serving a first
term are thrown in contact with crirni-
nails serving their third and fourth
terms. Mr.. Gates said that felonfes
were committed in the prisons daily
and that these were the result OF the
prison system He declared that the
methods in vogue did not make better
men Of the inmates, but were quite
likely TO make them worse. He said
the recor6s showed that 40 per cent
of the felonies in the State, so far as
the arrests and convictions proved,
were committed by youths who had not
attained their twenty-drst year OF age,
and that II had been discovered that
nearly all OF these youthful criminals
had left the public schools before hav-
ing completed the sixth grade.
Secretary Gates spoke OF the efforts
- at the board would make TO secure