Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-01-14

neeQS OI lne WnOlS Stdto anu WouiN not be dependent on the arbitrary geography of counties; uniform methods of administration could be secured; and an opportunity for the classification of prisoners would be provided.
 The advantages of central control of jails would be many, great, posi- tive. I am disposed to go a step further and to suggest that the varl- ous departments of Connecticuts penal system, such as the jails, the state prison and the school for boys, might wisely be brought under single management in order to har- vest the benefits of cooperation and of unified policy.
 A third need, born of conditions that thrust themselves under tlle public nose 365 days a year, is the establishment of a special asylum, perhaps farm colony, for alcoholic rounders In the four largest cities of Connecticut over 5000 arrests for drunkenness are made annually, and it is probably safe to assume that in the state at large not less than
 
 trousers and some, alas! in. petti- coats-tarry at the beer bottle and the whiskey glass so consistently that they may fairly be classed as round- CTS. Only the other day a grog- soaked woman in Hartford was ar rested for the sixty-eighth time and the pity and pathos of it is that she stands for type and is not a social freak.
 Under the present policy the life of the rounder is a vibrating vermi- form appendix 'twixt gutter and jail, until in the final chapter the Black Maria gives way to the hearse and the tragedy is ended. The Connec- ticut method of dealing with the rounder is bankrupt. It is indicted by the logic of results. It turns states evidence and gives itself away whenever anybody takes the l trouble to use the probe and to ask questions.
 The problem of retaining the rounder-the task of converting an economic liability into an economic ! asset-is perplexing. Solution of 1t is rendered the more difficult be- cause the rounder himself is rarely inclined to lend hand. He has lost the capacity for self-control. His nerve tissue is in tatters. His moral fibre is played out. He's a tough 1 proposition. But the easy notion l that he should be regarded either as truism to be taken for granted or as a conundrum to be given up is a | policy of scuttle. His own welfare and the public welfare demand the substitution of vigorous measures for the short jail sentence He should be committed, under the indeter- minate sentence, to special institu- 1 tion where scientific treatment, 1 largely in the open air, may be ad- ministered to him and where, under discipline, he may be compelled to earn his bread by the sweat of the brow. Even in the most hopeful l cases years would be required to make rounders over, to enable then | to keep themselves right side up with care and to put them on per manent basis of self-mastery, but it is likely that under the suggested scheme enough salvage would be ob- tained from the social wreckage to i justify the experiment.
 The fourth and biggest need in connection with the crime problem | in Connecticut, is the extension Of preventive work. This, in the final analysis, is the heart of the whole matter. Relatively too much attention is paid to getting offenders back on the right track and relatively too little attention to keeping young fellows from getting on the wrong track. For nation is better than reformation and pays better quarterly dividends. If q dozen youngsters are being developed into criminals while dozen adult ras- calls are being steered into the ranks of law and order the net process is plaguey low and what is gained at the spigot is lost at the bung. The in- junction to train up a child in the way he should go is the foundation philosophy of correction. Better ad- vice the wit of man never invented.
 Any adequate programme of pre- vention involves the employment of many agencies operating along paral- Tel lines and aiming at the same gen eral result. The probation system, if applied with judgment and discrim- ination, is capable of serving great purpose fin helping early offenders woo back their self respect. The juvenile court is a valuable institution and when touched by the personality of a tactful judge who understands boy nature, has saved many a wayward youngster. All the resources of so- ciaI science may wisely be applied to rescuing a youth from a criminal life.
 But probation and the juvenile court don't reach down to the first principles
 They are not the starting point. but merely way stations. The main mis. sion of prevention is to get to work ahead of these judicial institutions and to keep the volume of theil business down to it's lowest terms. IT its larger aspects the problem of pre- yentIon is the problem of the kid ir the alley, of the youngster in thu street. of the life in the home. Boys clubs, if managed with tact, are [ helpful steering apparatus. Municipa play grounds In congested districts have a part to play in preventive work. Opportunities must be provid ed where a boy can blow off stean without committing a misdemeanor; where, under regulation. he car gratify a natural love for daring and adventure without being chased of the reservation by a bluecoat. ana where the free and full development of hody and soul can be accomulishet