The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-09-19
REFORMING WOMEN
MRS. EMMA O'SULLIVAN
TALKS OF WORK.
Tells of What She Has Seen in Court
Rooms and in Reformatories.
Asks for Better Conditions.

Asks for Better Conditions.
o one occasion there was a necessity
for my presence in our police court in
Toronto. A seat was given me in the
Crown Attorneys office adjoining the court
room, and only when that case in which l
was interested came up was 1 invited to
enter the court. l saw the habitues of the
court-the rowdy element of the city. !
heard the voices from the motley crowd
interrupting, d~eridlng. exciting, prisoner
and witnesses, In spite of the admonitions
of the court. There was abundant evil
dence, to quote Warden Haddox, that their
notions of the majesty of the law were
not OF the highest character. | came away
with an understanding of some of the rea-
sons for the absolute loss of self-respect,
the bold, defiant air of the women received
into the reformatory, and incidentally ap-
precIated the consideration which suggested
for me some other place of waiting than
the court room. Why is 1t there cannot be
some privacy in the hearing Of cases against
women ?"
The plea was made by Mrs. Emma
O'Sullivan, superintendent OF the Andrew
Mercer Reformatory. Toronto. Canada, at
this mornings session of the National
Prison Association, now meeting In Chi
cago.
Continuing. Mrs. o'Sullivan said that It
was with great satisfaction that she heard
1t stated at the congress held In Louis
vile that in the city of Boston women
who are arrested within the city limits
are taken directly to the House of Deten-
ton. OF city prison for women, from
which the are sent directly to court, and
tried In a session separate from that used
for the men. This was four years ago.
l am not aware whether other cities or
the Union have followed this example,
but I know in. Canada we have not, and
yet how simple it would SEEM TO arrange
for such consideration of the cases against
women in the police court, whether the
offense be drunkenness, vagrancy, thett,
prostitution, or the other so-called mlsae-
meanors which condemn to confinement IN
a r~eformatory. =.
Allied to the publicity of the sessions OF
the police court are the offensive, hippant
reports of the proceedings In the news
papers: bad as this is for men-I speak with
knowledge-it is worse FOR women. Deplor-
able surely Is that humor which is based
on the misfortunes of others, but to make
the crimes and punishments OF a woman
a matter of jest not only belittles the
administration of justice but makes the
enormity of the offense consist m oelns
found out. There is hardly a newspaper
| IIldI 10 HOi litlb -
sees her fall and her punishment equally
A source of amusement to society what pos
sibility is there of her observing the laws
and respecting the discipline OF the same
society. Need I illustrate this? There was
to me a very pathetic example or the mas
terry of drink In the case OF a young wom-
mn whose sister-a capable forewoman IN
a large wholesale manufacturing establish
ment-cam regularly to visit her during
her detention In the reformatory. The
Victim of drunkenness was honest ana
faithful in her work and a docile pris-
oner, The disgrace of her Imprisonment
finally drove her sister out OF Canada. In
a recent newspaper l read of her In this
style:
"In the Police Court this morning
Johanna Sheehan was given the option of
paying a fine of $40 and costs or going to
the Mercer Reformatory for six months.
As Johanna could not produce the coin,
she will reappear in society some time
during the Christmas holidays.
Magistrate Denison was of the opinion
that Johanna is a booze artist. On Satur-
day the lady denied that she was drunk,
and was arraigned on the same charge this
morning. In the meantime Johanna will
~recuperate,"
Who that thinks can be patient with
such buffoonery-such frivolous treatment
of the daily chronicle of sin. DR.. Charlton
Lewis's words ring In my ears:
I'VE are dealing, not with acts. but with
actors: not with deeds, but with men; not
with abstractions, but with human hearts,
minds and lives"
Yet another difficulty, which is given by
the women concerned, the harsher name OF
injustice. / speak of course with knowl-
edge Of the PRACTISE in the pr0yine er OF u
house of ill-famc is r~aided-the inmates
are sent by the magistrate to the reforma-
~tory-the keeper, not always. but 100
often is given the option OF a hne, or con
hnement In The reformatory, while the
male frequenters are either acquitted on
account Of insufficient evidence, or given
the lightest of sentences. DISCRIMINATORY
Is certainly not In favor or the poor weak
tool. Again In the case of drunkenness
this is very often in women the conse-
uuence or the cause Of prostitution, yet
the option Of n fine from a dollar ana
costs upward is usually given. l nave a
case in point where after sentence or TINS
sort the woman had hardly reached the
goal before a companion in debauchery ar
rived to. pay her fine. There may have
been sentenced at the same time what we
call n decent drunk" who without
means, and as yet uncontaminated by nm
morality remains to work out her sentence.
and to puzzle over the stubborn fact OF
the release of tho immoral fellow-prisoner
Lastly comes the difficulty of placing in
helpful employment and In suitable enVlr-
onment the discharged woman prisoner.
The stigma of the prison Is on her as II
never is on a man. The larger percentage
of the inmates of our reformatories for
women have been immoral. TIT world
knows how almost impossible, humanity
speaking, 1t Is to reform a drinking or dis
solute w~oman-the finer the vessel the more
disastrous a fnll-and who will undertake
the task of guiding her over the pathway
narrower and straighter than that Of her
who has never been imprisoned. We read
many glowing accounts Of tho successful
agencies with men, but the more difficult
vocation of saving women has fel follow
ers-few enthusiasts.
To sum up / would ask for:
First-Separate sessions Of the police
courts for the trial OF women offenders.
Second-Less newspaper publicity and
elimination Of the fippant reports of po-
lice court proceedings.
Third-A revision Of the present system
OF sentencing the keepers of houses of all
fame-their inmates and frequenters-and
OF female DRINKS.
Fourth-The protection and care of the
discharged female prisoner.