Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1907-01-10

there been greater or more creultaDie
advancement than In the realm OF the
sciencea Of criminology and penoiogy.
The world is growing better, and this
great fact Is nowhere better evidenced
than in It's attitude toward crime, itu
cause and cure. In the evolution OF
thought and practice on this subject
there has been a complete revolution. In
reference particularly to the purposes
and effects Of penalties.
now beg to suggest to you a further
advance along the line Of modern and
humane legislation. recommend that
the trial judges have the power to issue
parole Immediately after sentence has
been imposed, in cases in which they
may think 1t wise to do 80.
PenitentIary.
A day recently spent at this institution
revealed wonderful external and Internal
Improvement. Mr.. Haskell is great
warden, and | commend his recommen-
| dations to your favorable consideration.
The Reformatory.
| recently spent two days at the State
Reformatory, at Hutchinson. l have
long regarded this as one Of the most
| hopeful institutions In the state. In 1t
are incarcerated offenders between the
ages of 16 and rs years, sent there at the
discretion of the district Judges, The
| institution now has Sb7 inmates. Nearly
as many-S50 in round numbers-are out
on parole. 1t Is gratifying fact that
| the number of inmates is much less than
two years ago, the result, believe, Of
many creditable causes, including the
better enforcement of the prohibitory
law, the wise management Of the Boys
Industrial school, and the awakened In
/ terest In youthful offenders inaugurated
i by the new juvenile-court law. Much is
4 yet to be done to make 1t ideal and these
| efforts should be directed along three
I natS tEaA. u tnI
and moral or spiritual. The day-school
should be greatly improved. Surely
| there Is a great need Of this, for over Is
per cent of the boys who are sent to this
| institution must enter the first or sec
ond reader class. Many Of them cannot
read or write. / believe women teach
ers should be provided for these young
men. Over rs per cent Of the teachers
| In our common schools are women, and
In the lower grades perhaps 80 per cent
are women. If this Is wise pelicy on
the outside Of reformatory,. why is 1t
not inside? These boys need the refining
influence Of womanhood more than the
boys on the outside. And this educational
process should not be confined to the reci-
tation room. The library should be care
fully overhaued. and a system Of pri-
vate reading inaugurated and encour-
aged, under the supervision particularly
Of the chaplain and the teachers. A
wonderful reform work can be wrought
| in this manner. There should be a resi-
dent chaplain In the institution, with a
salary Of at least $1,000, who should de-
vote all his time to work among these
ices but In countless private ways and
| In the hospital. He should be not only
a man Of piety but of infinite tact.
Salt Plant.
A renewal of the effort made In the
| lnat laOialatuFA will ha mada In fhia
one to establish salt plant at the
State RefOrmatory at Hutchinson and
trust with more favorable results
c;FIs' Industrial School.
1 recently spent pleasant and profit
able day at this institution. It 10 q
model. doubt II 1t has Its equal in
the United States. 1t looks more like
big boarding g-school or an elegant
home than priNn for incorrigibles.
Jails.
The condition of the falls In this
state is Disgrace to the counties in
which they are located. l have visited
1t would be an outrage to incarcsrate
eS5 Vseir asSSaHRe 4 ynlS uSes
them, and yet all kinds Of alleged Of
tenders, innocent as well as guilty, are
imprisoned in these foul places.
The law should require that all coun-
ty and city jails should be constructed
with special view to light, air. and
sanitation; that they should be kept
clean; that the beds should be furnished
with clean linen and covers that can
be washed and changed frequently. The
jails, particularly in populous counties
and cities, should be so arranged as to
permit classification of prisoners. There
should be an adult department, a Ju-
venile department, and. Of course,
10 AnVa NJ nj ri Inc
sentence and prisoners awaiting trial
should be separated. When possible,
prisoners should be given employment,
and some system Of pay Tor their SER
vices adopted.
judicial Salaries.
I believe the salaries OF our supreme
court judges and our district judges
alike are ridloulously low. This Is par
ticularly true of our supreme court
Judges, and inasmuch as there is con-
stitutiOnal inhibition against Increasing
these salaries during their term of ser
vice, and inasmuch as four Of our su-
preme judges have just been reelected
and there is fortunately week Of leg
islatlve time before the new term Of these
judges begins, 1 heartily indOrse the
suggestion that the salaries Of these
judges be increased to a reasonable
sum.
Educational Institutions.
The three state educational institu-
tions, the state university, the state
normal school. and the state agrlcul-
tural college, show a most gratifying
growth and each appeals to the patriot
ic pride OF every loyal kansan. Each
Is worthy Of your fostering care.
cannot discuss in this message the
specific needs of each institution. These
are set forth at length by their re-
spective boards OF regents. II these re-
quests seem large, beg to assure you
from q careful study Of their needs that
they are not extravagRnt.
Text Be- ks.
Kansas, leader in real reform, was
enc Of the first states to require uni
formlty Of achool-bOoks in its public
schools. The law was passed In 1897 and
has worked wonders. The large school
book Publishing companies and the
school-book trust have stubbornly Op-
posed this law. but Il is more strongly
entrenched than ever In the minds Of
the teachers and school patrons OF the
STATE. A comparison Of prices in Kan
saa with those In California, where the
state prints its own books, shows that
the people Of California pay from 100
70 30 per cent more for their school
bookn than DO the people Of Kansas.
Plausible schemes will doubtless be sub
mltted 70 you for the purpose Of weak
sning this law and warn you against
only after the most careful study and
thorough investigation
state School Tax.
Among the other suggestions made
By the State Teacher association I
would call especial attention 70 the pro-
position 10 levy q state school tAx. This
z nnf n uruu0eifion materially to In