Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-17
TO TRY TO. KILL
CRIMINAL TREND
IMPORTANT TOPICS DISCUSSED
BY PRISON ASSOCIATION
DOCTORS BELIEVE OPERATIONS
WILL KILL TENDENCIES
Members of Society Appeal to PhiIan-
thropists to Assist Them in Help
ing Those Who Have Been
Unfortunate

SEATTLE, Aug. 16.-The debate in
today's session of the American Prison
association was on the so-called lndl
ana plan for preventing propagation OF
criminals and idiots, and developed al
most a unanimous sentiment in favor
of the pla= and was, according 10
President J. T. Gilmour of Toronto,
Ont, the most profitable discussion the
association has held in years.
The feature of tonights session was
the report of the committee on preven-
ton and probation, presented by
Judge Ben B. Lindsay of the Denver
juvenile court, who said, in part:
"Our criminal law as 1t came down
to us through feudalism, tainted with
its extreme respect for property that
euualed its corresponding disrespect
for human life and feeling, was an In
strumentality of government far from
perfect even for the purposes for which
it was intended.
admitting it was necessary and jus
tifiable as a system in that period or
social development-as we must-yet
we must equally admit it must do more
harm than good as long as 1t rests
alone on force, violence, vengeance ana
punishment. The time may come,
however. far in the future ii may be,
or how unprepared we may be for 1t
now. when the state will deal with
criminal much as we do now with the
insane. but this treatment of the Grim
inal will be as unlike the extreme
methods in vogue-of stripes, iron cells
and other reminders of degradation, as
It is in the treatment of the insane,
who within a century were as COM
pletely brutalized and degraded as con-
victs are now"
Speaks on Progress
Mrs. J. Ellen Foster of Washington
spoke on "The Harmonies of Progress"
and Eli Brown of Frankfort, KY, on
probation in the South"
In the absence of DR.. Sharp, his pa
per was read by Amos w. Butler of
indianapolis and was listened to in
silence.
After a discussion of the outdoor
plan of treating convicts in which ev-
cry speaker told of the good results of
banishing armed guards and putting
the prisoner on honor, the debate on
the Indiana plan was begun by dele
gate moving that DR.. Sharp's paper be
suppressed.
Toronto said there had been too much
maudlin sentimentality on the subject.
He was applauded.
The speakers who wanted the paper
suppressed said the Indiana plan was
contrary to the Bible. One delegate OBJ
iected to the debate being continued
before women. who composed at least
one-third of the audience,
Thereon the women delegates at once
took the lead in the controversy, led by
Mrs. Deborah c. Weeks president OF
the Philadelphia Social Purity League.
Favors Indiana Plan
Other. speakers for the Indiana plan
were Mrs c. 3. Hoffman of Kansas,
Mrs. L. r. Eastwood of South Dakota,
and Mrs. J. G, Wood, of Topeka Mrs.
Eastwood's advocacy Of chloroforming
idiots elected roars of laughter.
The principal speaker in opposition
was Warden r. o. Hellstrom of North
Dakota.
During the debate it was announced
Connecticut and California had fol-
lowed Indiana.
The motion TO suppress was not put
to a vote. President Gilmour said it
would not have received three votes.
At the afternoon session there was a
discussion on discharged Prisoners. -
The discussion was opened by Rev. r.
Emory Lyon, superintendent of the
Central Howard association, Chicago,
and Rev. r. A, Fredenhagen, superin-
tendent of the Society Of the Friend
less, Kansas city.
Gen. Carlos Garcia Velez, Cuban min
lister to the United States, was 20 have
spoken on prison and reformatorv work
in Cuba, but sent his regrets. He will
visit Seattle later.
"The county Jail has been charged.
indicted, tried and convicted time and
time again for running the bodies and
souls of it's victims, but each time the
execution has been stayed and it is still
unwhipped of justice" said w A.
Gates. secretary Of the California
Board of Charities in an address at the
convention of the American Prison
association today
ITO reform the county Jail and make
it an instrument of good instead of evil.
the following steps are necessary:
District warehouses; for all nris-