The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-10-18
American Prison Congress
Hears New Plan For
Reforming Criminals
NATION CONSPICUOUS FOR
ITS UNPUBLISHED MUROERERS
Records Show S,975 Homicides and
Only Eighty-Six Capital Punish
ments During Last Year-Holnicide
Rate Greater Than Italy.

Omaha, Oct. 1s.-'Farm Work for
Misdemeanants' was discussed before
the American Prison congress here to-
day by L. A. F'lbert, general superin-
tendent Of $50 board Of public well
fare of Kansas City. Mo.
Society,"" said Mr.. Halbert. has
no right to deprive any man of the
opportunity to engage in wholesome
be prisoner. If We have any human
sympathy for, or interest in. prison
ers, we will see to it that they have
a chance to work. II any jailer is
Indifferent to whether his prisoners
have work or not, he is not fit ~"r-
son to be jailer.
'"The labor Of prisoners should
stand the 1870 tests as that Of any
other persons not prisoners. Any fac
tory labor or mining or any other kind
Of labor carried on in prisons must
be done under healthful conditions,
and with reasonable hours and no
improper strain. l do not believe we
should use the idea or give the idea
to prisoners that work is punish
ment. We do not want to teach them
to hate work. To try to make their
work distasteful is cruel and sense
less"
out of big ones." as prisoners refer to
that form Of prison l.bor, the speaker
decried as undesirable and unecono-
mical. This method he described as
antiquated.
Mr.. Halbert attacked contract
prison labor and. he said. judging
from experience. he had found out
door work the best kind for prison.
ers.
"A prison farm might be just about
as bad an institution as any prison
II it were not properly managed" said
Mr.. Halbert. Il say this merely to
suggest that the establishment of a
farm for misdemeanants does not do
away with the usual problem Of prison
management.
There are. however. certain adj
kinds of labor for prisoners. In the
first place the nature Of farm work
does away with all problems of light
and ventilation. Secoa. there is a
great variety Of motions and some
flocomotion required in all farm work
and thus all the sets of muscles in a
mans body get some exercise.
| I'm the third place, farm work
can be done with less previous knowl-
edge and skill than almost any other
! form of productive labor. 1t is es-
pecially necessary to have work suit
ed to unskilled labor where you en-
ploy misdemeanants because the po-
lice cannot be depended upon to fur
nish workers trained in any particular
industries you may establish and be-
| cause the sentences OF misdemeanantS
are too short for them to learn any
| trade while they are in custody.
Il am quite we'll aware of the fact
that it requires considerable amount
of skill and knowledge to be a good
aGricu:turist, but it does not take long
to teach {: man the difference between
an onion and suntlower. or any other
weed. When YOU have taught him
| that, he is qualified to weed the onion
patch"
Unpunishcd Murdcrers.
Quoting President Taft as saying
that, "the administration of criminal
law in this country Is a disgrace to
civilization" Judge c. A. DeCourcy Of
Lawrence. Mas, justice Of the supe-
rior court Of Massachusetts,. last night
pointed out that the United States
was conspicuous for the great num-
Der of unpublished murderers.
THE defense Of insanity. the linn
itation of the power Of judges and
the character of testimony allowed to
be introduced in behalf of the de-
fendant, were some of the evils which,
he said, ought to be rectified.
THE number Of homicides in this
country for 1910 were S.a75-an in
in 1909: yet but one in Sc were cap
italy punished in 1910 as against one
in "a during the year preceding" said
Judge DeCourcy.
.It is said that in 1896 for each
million of the population there were
11S homicides in the United States;
in Italy less than Is; in Canada less
than 13: in Great Britain less than
8: in Germany less than S.
I'm the last year in London. with
a population of seven millions there
were but IL cases of murder. OF the
10 murderers five committed suicide.
All of the others except four were ar
rested and either convicted and en-
ecuted or committed to the insane
asylum.
"In New York city. 11s cases of
grand jury during the last year. but
only as convictions resulted. Chicago
reports 20c homicides were commit
ted in that city during the last year.
Only one of the offenders was hanged:
Is were sent to the penitentiary and
the others were set free. In Louis
willie. with population Of 224.Oo0.
cases Of homicide and not a single
murderer was hanged. In Ala bama
for the two years ending Sept. 80.
1910, $50 cases of homicide were dis
posed OF and the death penalty was
imposed in but % cases. In North
Carolina in the last year there We're
141 homicides. and in Ohio 191. and
in each an absurdly small number
capitallv punished. The report Of the
attorney general of Texas. states that
there were 1.04s indictments for mur-
der in that state during the years
1909 and 1910 and undoubtedly a
large number of homicides in addition
for which no indictment was found.
I'm Alabama a conviction for steal
ing hides was recently set aside be-
cause the indictment failed to state
whether they were mule. COW. goat
or sheep hides. And indictments were
dismissed because father was spelled
farther Gin South Carolina): because
the letter T. was omitted in spelling
malice Gin Alahama)."
Judge DeCourcy then suggested