New-York tribune., 1910-01-24
.4LIENS FILL JAILS.
Collins Wants l.. S. to Main-
tain Foreign Prisoners.

Albany, Jan. 23.-That the recent remark
able Increase in prison population in New
York State is due largely to the influx of
immigrants into the state is tho conclusion
of c. V. Collins. superintendent of state
prisons, who, in his annual report TO the
Legislature, suggests that the federal gov
ernment, which permits these alien crimi-
mails TO land on its shores, should assume
the burden of maintaining them until they
have served the1 sentences, when they
should be deported and never allowed to
return.
A census Of the 4,,3O prisoners in Sing
Sing, Auburn and Clinton prisons on Sep
tember 80 last showed that 1880 were ma
tives Of New York State, S78 were natives of
other states, 521 We're foreign born but citi-
zens Of the United States. while 1.Oe1, or Is
per cent, were aliens. Without these aliens
the $500 cells in the present prisons would
afford ample quarters for the states con-
victs The report says:
1t is apparent to all that the interests of
this country would best be served by the
exclusion of this undesirable class of i'm
migrants, who claim and receive the nrO-
lection and benefits that our form of gov
ernment affords but disregard our laws.
If, however, they are TO be permitted to
enter our ports with no further restrictions
than the present laws and system OF in
spection imposes, is it just and equitable
that the individual states in which they
may chance TO locate and who are power
less to exclude or deport them should be
obliged TO bear the expense of maintaining
these criminal aliens in their penal institu-
tions, or that the discipline of such institu-
tions should be demoralized and reduced in
effectiveness by their presence?
They a class by themselves. Our
modern methods of penal administration
and control do not fit them. They should
be segregated and iv trgsted Tia as +S class q and
government, which permits these alien
criminals to land on its shores, Should as
sumo the burden of maintaining them when
they are convicted of crime, and that it
should provide prisons where they may be
kept by themselves and where the sys-
shall be especially adapted TO apply to this
distinctive class of prisoners. When they
have served their terms they should be de-
ported and new ar allowed TO return here.
AS So per cent Of the alien prisoners now
in our prisons are unmarried and less
than 80 per cent of the married men have
wives or children in the United States. the
claim that should not be deported
leaving helpless family here would apply
to only few of the present alien prison
It may be urged that state prisoners can
not be legally detained in federal prisons
Until recently, and to some extent STILL
United States prisoners were kept in the
penal Institutions of nearly all of the in
dividual states. Only brief, simple laws
were required to legaliZe this practice. and
il would seem that similar laws would per-
NIT state prisoners to be confined in fed
Superintendent Collins points out that
while natives Of thirty-three countries were
represented in the alien population, 7S per
cent of the whole number were from Aus
tria, Germany, Italy and Russia, Italy con-
tributing the greatest number, 43 per cent
1T is a fact worthy of note says the
superintendent. that among the nineteen
condemned prisoners there was no natural
lied citizen of the United States. nor do
the prison records show that a naturaliZed
citizen has been executed in this state since
the electrical execution law took effect. in
1889. The total number Of executions dur
ing this period was H.
Superintendent Collins calls attention to
the non-enforcement of the law enacted in
1907 which provides that persons convicted
of felony for the fourth time shall be SER
fenced for life. The proviso is made. how
ever. that after serving a period of time
equal to the maximum penalty prescribed
for the offence of which he is convicted
less the usual Communication for good be-
havior, the convict may be paroled He
cannot, however. be discharged.
During the two years the law has been In
force the superintendent says only three
prisoners sentenced under its provisions
have been received at the prisons. but dur
ing the last year 103 prisoners were re-
ceived who should have been so sentenced.