Los Angeles herald., 1909-01-10

lnnumanlty TO man this California
prison horror might not have con-
slstently happened in any of the be-
fore mentioned places of human tor
ture?
Turn on the Light
Just across the bay and only short
distance from where the San Quentin
atrocities are committed, modern JUS
tice Is seated in her court; the youth
of the common schools are committing
to memory the text of the CHARTER
OF RIGHT; Old Glory waves to the
national trio of Fraternity, Charity
and Loyalty; while the good people in
over 200 churches in nearby cities are
teaching the precepts of the Lowly
Nazar1ne; and my belief is so sincere in
the good intentions of all these agen-
cies, that l trustingly hope it is only
necessary to TURN ON THE LIGHT
to bring about needed reforms.
The causes of crime are deep, ancient
and persistent. Let US live in hope
that some day these causes may be re-
moved. The annual cost Of crime in
this country is estimated at 500, 900, 900
and the number Of men in prison in
the United States is over 100, 900. Be
tween 80 and 80 per cent of them COM
mitted crimes against property. By
looking deeply into the subject it is
!
that there are many causes for crime
outside of the inherent weakness of
men. Long ago it was said that the
number of crimes rose and fell in ac-
cord with the price of bread and when
ever work was scarce crimes were
plentiful. Poverty, or the faulty and
unfortunate circumstances of our So
cial and economic system, account for
a large percentage of crimes in this
/ try fc n Hin
G. A. England, NJ. A, in the October
| Q90S) Arena, quotes statistics show
ing that in the years Immediately fol-
! lowing dreadful financial panics, when
! poverty was at it's worst, killing
reached it's highest percentage. Fol
| lowing the terrible panic of 1884, kill
/ ings were more common than at any
| time before or since 1S95, 10000, a
ratio of / in 6575 Of population, the
worst record in the history Of the
| country" Again, let us look at these
facts December %, 1906 there were
191 prisoners in the Tombs, New York,
! 62 Of them awaiting trial, 129
awaiting the action of the grand jury;
! and SAL cases standing on the calendar.
The corresponding figures for Decem-
Der %, 1907, after the panic had struck
were 1923; 2S8; So and 1911. Comment Is
| superfluous.
/ AulLOr y. 0oNOAA5 49, 1~'S -
| his latest book, Diseases Of Society, -
holds disease as responsible for many
| crimes. Several instances came under
my observation of the most convincing
| in their nature. However, with many
sociOlogists, 1 agree that If but half
the money and energy used in pros
ecuting crime and prosecuting people
was applied to finding employment for
idle men, conditions would greatly I'M
prove.
California Worst of All
According to records published in
1907, by the American Prison asSocia-
ton, the commitments to prison in this
country average 1874 in each 100, 900 of
population; the ratio being 55.7 for
Alabama; S0.5 for Illinois; while Cali
fornia is in the lead with 1924 per 10O,-
600 population. Do not these figures
indicate something wrong with both
our laws and system? Iowa had two
state prisons and no reformatory for
minors or first offenders. One Of the
prisons in 1907 was tranformed into
state reformatory, and the parole law
has been adopted and made applicable
to both institutions.
With modern laws and methods and
the right men managing from 20 to 80
per cent of our criminals can be
changed into law abiding citizens. They
are doing 1t in Indiana, and why not
in California? Is 1t not distinct and
substantial gain both to society and
the state? Does it not transform a
liability into an asset, and transgres-
sor of the law into a defender of the
law?
Hon. Samuel J. Barrows of inter
national prison fame, after visiting San
Quentin last fall, used this language:
"Our prison methods are a relic Of the
early days and ought to be exhibited in
49, co.. H.
to be kind to him and to help him re-
form We must put aside the old law
of retaliation and substitute that of
redemption of the prisoner. The scien-
tific application of mercy is the only
resource"
Foremost among the great prison re-
form leaders in the United States to-
day are Hon. J. r. Brockway, DR..
Spaulding, Rev. Samuel Fallows, Fred
erick Howard Wines, Amos J. Butler,
J. F. Scott These and all modern
thinkers concur in the methods DR..
Barrows advocates. 1t is not diff
cult to do our duty to our superiors
or to those we love, but to do our duty
to those who have wronged us is surely
a rare virtue, because in savage times
we sought revenge for a wrong, and
today we have the same spirit of re-
taliation in all our laws against
criminals.
Officials Not Trained
The weakest place in our prison sys-
tenn in this state is the lack of proper
training on the part of prison officials.
No one acquainted with the facts will
doubt that. 1 studied conditions from
all viewpoints, and I can sincerely say
from personal experience and knowl-
edge that the officers generally man
aging such institutions are as sadly
<@f+ Troiya he ir1Too ofoe-
of discipline.
In England they have training
schools exclusively for prison officials,
while Baden, Prussia, and other Ger
man states have institutes at which all
prison employees must attend. At these
Institutes different courses are taught,
some for the higher officials including
wardens, inspectors, ETC., and also for
states attorneys and the judges of
criminal courts, as we'll as for the sub
ordinate officials, the instructors be-
ing university professors, officials of
the department of justice and the high
er prison officials.
The nearest approach in this country
to the institutes referred to are our
civil service laws in Massachusetts and
a few other states which resulted in
securing better class of men, thereby
giving a permanency of prison service
Is it not possible for some progressive
noble institute of learning, like the
Leland Stanford university, to set
pace in this part of the world by af-
fording such training?
Over the entrance gate at San Quen-
tin are these words: HE who enters
here leaves all hope behind" If this
legislature turns the prison into a re-
formatory such sentiments may change
with modern conditions. Instead, we
may even read: Love is the fulfilling
of the law