The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1909-01-13

ence that they may act with fairness
and impartiality upon all cases to be
considered. thus insuring both justice
to the individual and protection to So
ciety. A board consisting of the sup
penitentiary, a parole officer and two
superior court judges would possess
those qualifications in the highest de-
gree. The judges should be appointed
by the governor to serve for one year
without additional compensation than
necessary travelling expenses in at
tending the meeting of the board
Merit System.
s1n the administration of the chart
table, penal and reformatory insti-
tutions, the highway and fisheries de-
partments. and other departments Of
the state government where the SER
vices of skilled and experienced en-
ployes are necessary, the doors should
be barred to the consideration of poll
teal affiliations in the retention and
selection of faithful and competent
employees. Their tenure of office
should be made more permanent by
the enactment Of legislation behavior,
and to be advanced according to rules
of seniority when they have demon
strated their efficiency by practicable
rules of merit or civil service. This
practice has been largely followed dur
ing the present administration, but it
| should be supported by mandate Of
law. So long as the fallacious plea is
accepted that experienced and compe-
| tent employees of the state may be dis
missed to make room for persons with
| out experience Or skill but who are in
| political sympathy with the admins
| tration, SO long will our institutions
| and departments suffer in their man
agement. With such a law and its
| thorough enforcement, the executive
would not be compelled to spend the
,, major portion of his time considering
questions of patronage. Our state
| could then move along the advanced
| plane when party contests will not be
| a mere scramble for spoils or party
| leaders considered paymasters of
| body of political adherents who de-
| mand compensation for their support
| at the public expense.
Criminal Insane.
Entertaining the belief that the
act Of the legislature, which
| provided for the restraint of persons
| adjudged insane under the terms o.
| the criminal insane law, approved Feb
ruary Fl, 1907, could be improved.
appointed a commission to make in
! quiry into and recommend proper re-
vision of the act. This commission
| consisted of DR.. E. E. Heg, secretary
of the state board of health and vital
statistics; Senator Will G. Graves, Of
Spokane. author of the law; c. S.
Reed, superintendent Of the peniten-
tiary; DR.. A. P. Calhoun, superinten-
dent of the Western Washington hOspi-
tai for insane; DR.. J. M. Semple, sup
erintendent, of the Eastern Washing
I ton hospital for insane; DR.. S. B. L.
Penrose, president of Whitman col
lege; Rev. Andreas Bard, of Walla
Walla, and Richard T. Buchanan, Of
Tacoma. The commission found the
conditions at the penitentiary for the
care Of the criminal insane and the
insane criminals inadequate and even
cruel; that the cOmmingling of con-
victs with insane criminals is imprac-
ticable; and that the establishment of
a separate institution, remote from the
penitentiary, and its location on a de-
tached farm one and half miles from
the buildings of the hospital for insane
at Medical Lake, would be advisable.
The new institution would then be
practically separate yet might have
the service of the medical staff of the
al i,,ca a "a
der the supervision of the superinten-
dent Of the latter institution.
Il am fully in accord with the con-
clusion of the commission that a sep
arate institution for the criminal in
sane and the insane criminals should
be created, but l firmly believe that,
owing to the great saving which could
be effected in it's construction, the in
stituton should be located on land be-
longing to and adjoining the peniten
tiary at Walla Walla. Prison labor
could be used in the manufacture of
greater part of the material and in
the erection of the buildings, while
much of the maintenance could be pro-
vided from the products of the prison
farm.
Women to Hold Office.
II am not in harmony with the sem
timent that women should be debar
red from employment in the state ser
vice. The present legal disability, dis
qualifying women from holding office
by appointment in the state as execu-
tive heads of institutions, should be
removed Should a training school for
girls, separate and apart from the pre-