The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-09-30
CHARITIES BOARD
To MEET TO-DAY
Will FORMULATE AND AnoPr
ANIMAL nR~
PORT.
F0K PRISON REFORM
WILL NE FULL OF RECoaaEsDA~
Tf0Ss LOOKING To PRACTICAL
CHANGES Eon BETTER ~
PRIsoS METHODS.

Iak@eli1nS ~li meet tU~3dy f@F ina
puFpose OF formulating its annual rs-
port
Raw, j, T, dastin, secretary OF thu
board, has completed season OF
Very active work In tho counties tn
tbs state, and viii now during the
winter months coutins his activities
principally 90 the cities.
II Ia a foregone conclusion that the
boards REPORT via contain a largo
nunsbar OF recomm endations EN-
hodying many OF the reform policies
80 successfully adopted by tho ma
tioaal and State governments in the
handling Of prisoners
The making OF the prison a. real
reforming influence rather than one
OF hardening, the giving OF tho prts-
ots3r work IA GODS pure air and in
ths great pAsovors Will be beyond
question among the recommended
toms, There ara now In the various
jaiis of tho State approximately two
thousand persons confined In idle
nsss, 1t is impossibl to build tho
eharaetes Cf any man Imprisoned ia
idieness, Dr. Aastin taxed interest
ingls on the experience OF others in
PRISON reform work
The past year experience OF tho
prison commissioners OF the District
or Column Dia has made great i'm
preston upon him, aa Il has on every
thouKhtili student OF crlmlnology
Two years ago Congress wrote in the
appropriation bill authority to the
prison comm lsa 10 ners Of the District
~ do away with the Jail system By
placing the prisoners on a farm. The
sum OF $4,000 was appropriated for
the purpose, Under the ole system
IL VAS costing the conn ssioners
tlao.5U9 10 care Tor tae prisoners
each year.
The eoard took ihs money and
bought a farm OF eleven hundred
acrea near occeauan. Ia Prince VII
liam county. Va
They took the male prisoners 10 tho
farm and used them exclusively in
the clearing OF the land ana prepar-
Ing II for cultivation and In the eree-
ton OF tho necessary buildings. The
buildings erected by the prisoners
were frame. one story To illustrate
the economy OF the work the admins
tration building, which is 80 hy l75
feet, cost in actual money two hun
bred dollars. the prisoners doing the
WORK, saving the lumber from the
lumber on the property.
The work proved a splendid moral
and physical tonic to tbs men The
prison motto was made, "Keforfna-
ton, not vindiCtive punishment
Al first one guard had charge NJ
SIX prisoners. Now one man has
charge OF twenty prisoners and d.
reefs them In their work,
The prisoners do not wear chains
and are not bound at night. There
are no bars at the windows and two
men take care OF 235 male prisoners
al night and ona woman carus for
sixiy female prisoners
During the FIRST year there passed
Through the prison farm three thous~
~na men There were but sixty at
tsnrts - escape-1ust two per cent
Twenty OF these attempts were sue
G'-Sssfui, or less than one per cent Of
tNt tetal mum Der Of men confined.
III. punishment for the unruIy IS
SOLITARY confinement GA Ii diet af brs&a
Ant "atei and this form % discipline
.t-ts only Keen found necessary Tor
an a.esage ~ five cat~es each month
sffs an 'sFage prison popu'a'i,s. of
sao men, or lass than one per cent
From July 70 Septem Der s there had
been but tour women punished, This
shows that the methods in use the
farm work and country QUIET, and tho
sHnoeiing influence of honest toll in
the open. have accomplished wonders
la the handling Of the prisoners,
A spicndid Economy.
Then the farm method of handling
prisoners Is splendid economy 1t is
estimated that tn com piete the rock
crushing and brick manufacturing
plant. 10 finish grading the grounds
and building the roads and the eree-
ton OF additional barns and other
"atouiidlngs and To pay the ordinary
expenses OF the prison for the year
the cost will be $4,000 which Is
tairty thousand dollars less than ii
cost the District to support the prls-
oners during the last year under the
old jail system.
Within three years the superinten-
dent estimates that the farm viii be
seif-SuppoTt!ng and 1t may be reason
ahls expected, the saparintenfteDt
thinks. that the farm will clear from
twenty TO thirty thousand dollars A
year after paving all the expenses OF
maintaining the prisoners
II Is found that the new system has
caused decrease ia prison popaia-
ton. Many ~ the prisoners reform,
while ths class which has no liking
for honest toll and has heretofore
taken season in the district lail In
search OF rest ard refreshmant which
thsy could not otherwise obtain are
nghsink shy ~ The district police
eomrts IL seems now that at the pres
ant rate NJ decrease, the population
or the prison farm this second year
VIII 40 some ninatcsn hundred less
than during the nrst year,
The superintendent endeavors 10 Inn
press upon The men that tt is better
ta every way to work as free men and
earn wages than to ns sent to tho farm
and ba compelled 10 WORK without
wages. Three OF the best and mest
useful employees of the farm are mun
who we're once coafinea thereon as
prisoners,
The products Of tha work ga the
Farm Will not be used ia competition
with those OF the pubue sueh pro-
duets VIII hs used la connection with
the support VT ether public instilu-
unns or tai the construction af public
roads,
Ii is ps@tty @eil assured that " hat
vssF the NirEsnia prison and charities
ussaeiais are plea std L. ree3ta1nsad
locking Ia the amuliaragion ef prison
conditions and tha reformation 81 ths
prisoners via meet with the hearty
approval and oomtnandatian Of Gov
esnar Aamn ~ho absorbed a nau.-
her OF ideas along the iins of the
handling ar pfssan~rs at Tia recent
conference Saf Governors
rhe report pf the beard Ut char
titles and corrections viii b@ aMmlssa
~iih xr~At interest as Ii 10 expected
10 r~eemnenI that Virginia be placed
Iii tins very fsant rank 81 prison 20.
foTsst-
AnA Ei..a Al a. E3~w