Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-19
LOCAL NOVEL PLEADS
FOR PRISON REFORM
LOS ANGELES WRITER SCORES
EXISTING SYSTEM
Mrs. 8ohan, Under Guise Of & Love
Story, Severely Arraigns Treatment
of Criminals Under Conditions
as They Now Prevail

Los Angeles has quite number OF
writer's who make "a speciality of pri-
son reform. one of the best known
among them is Mrs. Elizabeth Baker
BOhan. her articles On capIHi pun
ishment and the treatment O. prisun
crs having been conspicuous features
of the West Coast Magazine ana oth-
er WoU known periodicals. she now
comes forward with a more suostdn-
tial Offering under the title OF tho
Drag-Net," issued 10y the c. NJ Clark
Publishing company of Boston.
Mrs. BChau presents her subject
under the gu.sa on a romance, in the
course OF which many hard blows at
existing abuses arc struck The cham
gang. the city Jail, tie houndinE
down Of ex-ConyiCts and the e.tre
philosophy OF deterIyn e, based on Che
conception that ia is pOss bic ia fli:ht-
en- people from committing crime, are
indicted without WcrCy The Ilut is
as follows:
PrenGss Morello, OF aiiztocratic
Americans Spanish descent AMI iu!c-
pendent means, serves for a time on
the police force in western city, his
idea being that he win be given op-
portunities of studying the under
world. He arrests nero lad WHO has
beaten his way across the continent
in his arSiety To visit his widowed
mother. Tne prisoner" caught within
a few miles of his nome. is sentenced
to the chain gang. bur succeeds in
making his escape. Norelo and
brother officer track hm down sur
prlsing him I'm his mothers arms. The
boy shows fRht, kills M6relos COM
panion and is himself shot dead by
Morello
Manual Labor rs Cure
The shock Of this unexpected tras-
edy revo,utionizcd AIorelio's entire life
He Immediately sends i'm his resGna-
tion from the force and, as penitont,
seeks the counsel Of a Roman catholic
bishop depicted as combining the
Charactcri ties Of early Christianity
and shreV1 common sense-in short
a Bishop AIyriel. The bishop Traseribos
manual labor as the balm for his men
tai trouble and takes him into his
service as a gardener but subsequent
~ advances him to the post of secre-
tary.
Meanwhile Morello has been thresh-
ing matters out with himself and has
decided on an Independent course. Bent
on cXpiation and social service he res
cues from the city jail a girl arrested
as inmate Of a disOrderly house. This
girl, the victim of a cruel plot, he takes
to his home. That the voice of scandal
may he sileaccd he contracts with her
a formal marriage.
Morello p!unges into reform and
POUNDS THE Drag-Net," a paper de-
voted TO prison reform and the elm
iuation of the white slave traffic.
Among the first malefactora he feels
called on to expose is his Wi3e's be-
trayer, Fame ReddinG, owner OF a dis
reputable resort. Reddins twice at
tempts Morellos life and is himself
killed while fleeing the country.
Love Story Develops
Accompanying all this is the develop
ment of a love story, in which the fam
liy pride of Morello's mother and the
prejudiCeS of society make life eN-
caedingly unpleasant for the hero and
his wife This naturally sHrVes as q
foil Tor the moro generous philosophy
which IL is the purpose ot the book t.
inculcate The authors yicWs can best
be shown by quotations, the first Sc
lected being a description Of The clla!n
gang:
"Thea the wagons started back with
their loads ct trimua. some Of that
portion OF the worlds criminals, too
dull and stupid to commit ausht but
dui ana stupid crimes The petty
thief. the urunkagd. the Yagrant-
NtllhttE al tA II 4'l an 1911 4AHA ttt''r ltl|as
and IRRESPONSIBLE way. and the home
Jess wandereI who would have a home
Il he could, and the Workless unfur-
tunate who would jump at the chance
to work if he could get it-there lab
ored on the clty's streets. That uor-
tion OF the worlds crinanals who COM
nit the brilliant, dazzling. high f.
nance crimes-the ball and chain arc
not Tor them That disgrace IS re-
-t.r,y-.I those whose igIDI9Itp 1g
so great and whose crimes are So
small as TO be vulgar and contem-
ible."
or take this passage, in which
Morello Is describing his experience as
an officer: "Nell, they got me
securing the arroyo for tramps That
and Hi park are where they hide and
sleep. It's crime, iu this free and
enliEhtened country to be penniiess and
homeless, and its punished by i'm
prisonment. In England they used TO
imprison people for debt; the imprls-
onment served to check all employ
ment whereby the debtor could earn
money to pay his debts and so de-
feat its own purpose. Here We take
way the mans chance to earn his liv-
ing by shutting him up and putting
him i'm the chain gang
Held Without Trial
Moreulo takes as his assistant a for
mer police officer who thus expresses
himself on the subjects the paper