Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-04

lature about nine-tenths of the state
prisoners were liberated at the eXpira-
ton of their sentences, instead OF be-
ing paroled Few left San Quentin
without feeling it's cruelties and almost
unbearable humiliations, practiced for
over fifty years by officers who are
as sadly in need of training as the Of
tenders are of discipline.
'"rhe helpless prisoners after being
long fed on prison Stops and forced to
endure exposure in cold and rainy
weather with their minds and will
power dwarfed or paralyzed by the
treatment melted out by heartleSs, cruel
and whimsical overseers, are indeed IN
pitiable condition to face the world.
Out of many, as an illustration, l will
cite but one case.
"On a cold day in the fall of 1906
an intelligent looking young man, I'M
der 80 years of age, had served ten
wear sentence and was to be liberated
the next day. He had no trade or
relatives in this state and his So could
not take him very far, SO l expressed
my sympathy for him. He grew con-
fidential and evidently had in mind the
horrible tales told by recidivists forced
back to crime by San Francisco police
officers and sadly pictured his own
case.
When Helping Hand Is Needed
81 gave him some good advice. He
left San Quentin next morning with SO
in money and a brand on his body, In
the shape of a suit of clothes costing
the state $2.95, which evry policeman
and detective knew.
"If there be a time when an unfor-
tunate man needs a helping hand it is
then. He is not allowed to see state
| 10 in :
ly he does not know where to turn to
look for work, and that So is not going
to last very long.
"He energies from the bastile and as
/ have said before physically and men
tally handicapped. He is Indeed a
pariah. He is refused work and If
successful in getting job, men refuse
to work with him. With health shat
tered and courage gone he has shifty
bearing, bitter distrust of fellow
men and the loss of ambition to win
back a place in life. He is frequently
subjected to open scorn and always to
secret mistrust. Mankind shuns him
detectives and police watch and hound
him If crime is committed he is
arrested on suspicion and frequently
locked up for days or weeks without
evidence.
This lack of proper training I'M
questionably accounts for the unprece,
dented crop of recidivists in our state
prisons-361 out of 1920. If we had
an adult reformatory in this state this
class of first offenders would be taught
some trade and in other respects be
prepared to enter society again.
Union Labor Not Opposed
"Some say that our labor unions viii
oppose such a reformatory as is con-
templated in assembly bill No. $50. l
have every reason to believe the re-
verse. | sent a copy of my first lee
ture (Which suggests turningt san
Quentin into reformatory) to l25 sec
retaries of different labor councils in
Los Angeles and vicinity, and received
some very favorable replies and not
one unfavorable answer. l do not be-
lieve that any intelligent representa-
tive of organized labor in this country
can be found to oppose such worthy
object. provided the product can be
handled so that it does not injure free
labor. And as it is being done sue
cessfully in fifteen other states, why
not in California;"