The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-01-31
THE PAMPERING OF PRISONERS

office as second ciaas mail matter.
THE PAMPERING OF PRISONERS.
No state in the union is more bene-
dcient to its public charges than is the
state of Iowa. The insane asylums,
the poor houses, the prisons-all are
under separate boards of control.
These boards are composed OF the fin
est men that the state can find. There
has never been a breath of scandal in
connection with these institutions
since the boards have taken charge.
AS matter of fact certain politicians
have been only too eager to find such
conditions so that they might have
an opportunity to fitch the state funds.
Now recently these politicians have
seized what to them was sufficient ex-
cuse to embarrass the board OF control
Of the prisons, for a certain warden Of
a state prison took it into his head to
try a new scheme of treatment under
his wardenship.
He took off their chains; he allowed
them to wear citizens clothes; to have
daily newspapers, to form clubs, to as
sociate together and many more things
of like character.
Then came a howl.
The protest came first from the poll
ticians. Next it came from the day Ia
borers who worked for small wage.
And SO on.
The board OF control Immediately
backed up the warden.
The scheme of the warden is utterly
untried and has obvious disadvantages.
The greatest objection is Of course
that 1t makes Jail too pleasant. The
man who goes to prison is at least
sure OF his days food and place to
sleep at night. There are many men
In the United States who are not sure
Of either and vast majority of these
men have families to support. It is
easy to see that il you make prison life
attractive that you will have men in
the prisons.
There may be many people will
sheer at the idea. But their attention
need only to be called to the fact that
undesirables in the large cities are
simply told to move on" And the
police are locked a certain amount il
they arrest man who wants to be ar
rested.
Half the crime or a large percentage
Of it is charged to the attempt Of jail
birds to get into easy berths again.
It remains to be seen at any rate
what the effect of the warden in Iowa
will be on the statistics OF crime. The
treatment of criminals is still much
vexed problem. 1t may be the idea oil
the board OF control to try this scheme
out--there is no other way of finding
out. But according to those things
which are accepted up to this time the
new regimen seems almost criminal.
There must be somethig in human
nature which demands that the people
who have offended or rather those
(vho have been caught, shall suffer.
BY those who look forward to better
things it might be advanced for The
side Of the kind hearted warden that Z
hundred years ago the treatment O.
the insane was one of hardship. /,
may have been and probably wa.
advanced at that time as val
i'd proposition that the insane
should be abused SO that the
population would not choose IL
be insane. 1t may be than in years II
come we shall regard the criminal Al
an insane man. Without joking thi
seems to be the trend of events. NJ
one can have failed to notice the in
crease of men who commit murde,
who are found insane Many Of thes'
no doubt are not insane. But some o
them must be. The scientists are NOR,
and more inclined to the view that cri
minals are men suffering from som,
form Of perversion of instincts
The time may easily be at hant
will not seem so criminally beneti
cent.
WAYNE COUNTY,: A GOOD PLACE
TO LIVE.