Los Angeles herald., 1910-09-28
MUST DIG TO THE ROOTS
n HE convening in Washington, D.
C. of the American Prison asso- |

TN HE convening in Washington, D.
c., of the American Prison asso-
Il citation and the international
prison congress testifies to worldwide
recognition of the gravity of the prob
lem with which those bodies profess
to deal Never before will so large an
aggregation of experts have gathered
together, and this, at least, should
hold out promise for the future. Yet
we feel by no means sanguine when
we survey the differences of opinion
admittedly existing among those who
have made this subject their special
study.
In Mondays Herald We gave an
exhaustive digest of the addresses to
be delivered, and we confess to hav-
ing risen from its perusal with a sink
ing heart. We had supposed, for ex-
ample, that the indetermnate SEN
tence, whereby the term of detention
is gauged by the prisoners proved fit
ness for release, had been thrashed
out so thoroughly as to rank among
the issues on which a practical agree
ment had been reached. Nevertheless,
it will be opposed by four of the
scheduled speakers, while its five sup
porters will uphold it. only with re-
strictions.
Again, on the eternally debated abo-
lition of capital punishment there are
conflicting views, and one delegate
will argue in favor of extending the
death penalty to many crimes besides
murder.
AS has been shown by our own
Prison Reform league, modern Grim
inologists denounce unsparingly the
deterrent" philosophy declaring that
the law should purge itself of vindic-
tiveness and examine more particular
" into the causes that result in Grim
inal acts. Many of the European del
egates, however, will plead for a more
drastic code, and one gentleman ad-
vances the opinion that 1.-The period OF
Imprisonment for tramps should be
from one to ten years, with power to
prolong the term" Now, the preva-
Ience of vagrancy admittedly de-
pends on economic conditions, and we
note that the English delegate frank
ly acknowledges this as an incontes-
table truth.
In the abstracts submitted we find
hardly a trace of that study of so
GEOLOGY without which it is impossible
for criminologists to reach a just con-
clusion, the papers having been pre-
pared apparently by specialists, whose
work has been confined mainly to the
conduct of their own administrative
departments and experimentation with
their own cherished remedies. On the
causes of crime an ominous silence
is preserved, and there is a not unde-
served sting in our correspondent
closing remark that NATURALLY those
mainly concerned--the criminals-haVe
not been invited to give their views"
Many Of them could tell a story of
temptation-such temptation as often
forces them to choose between suicide
and crime-from which the easier
financial circumstances of the experts
seated in judgment happily exempt
them.
on one point, however, the writer's
of these papers agree-crime is alarm
ingly on the increase. For this, as for
ali else in nature, there must be ex-
act and adequate causes, as the arith-
metic of the universe never gets out
of gear Let us hope that in the con-
yention's debates these causes will be
elucidated. Failing this, the experts
will have been but scratching on the
surface of a problem that calls for
deepest plowing.