The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-07-09
Report of the Census Bureau
Refutes the Charges which
the Reformers Have Been
Loudly Crying.
RESPECT FOR LAWS
SHOWN IN AMERICA
Out of Ninety Million People
Only 100000 People Are in
Prison-This Record Very
Good One.
BY SIDNEY ESPEY.

Washington, July S.-Refutation OF
the cry of political and social reform
srs that the number of criminals is
increasing each year in the United
States. is made in the report of DR.. J.
A. Hill, chief statjstician for revision
and results in the Census Bureau. The
figures in the report, which has just
been made public. seem to justify the
claims of the reformers, but the ex-
planation of them by DR.. Hill proves
the fallacy of their contention.
The preliminary count of the prison
population included the inmates OF the
United States penitentiaries, state
prisons, county jails, almshouses, and
institutions for the insane and feeble
minded. According to this prelimi
nary count, the prison population on
January l, 1910. was 109,311. OF this
oners confined in the penitentiaries at
Atlanta, Georgia; Fort Leavenworth,
Kansas; and Mcneil Island, Washing
ton. When one stops to think of the
ninety million of people that live in
the United States and that only one
hundred thousand are in prison. it is
an evidence of the firm grip that the
respect for law has upon the American
people.
Very Good Record.
The number of commitments to pri-
son during 1910 were 462. $50, and the
number of prisoners discharged dur
ing the year on account Of expiration
of sentence, pardons, or death, was
456, 1896. The number of violations of
the law in which the offender had
been sentenced to prison is exceed
ingly small, considering the popula-
tion. Only one person in every $780,
900 committed some breach of the
felony laws.
The last previous census of prison
ers was taken June 80, 1904, and at
that time the prison population was
S1,772, and the admissions and commit
ments during that year, 149,691. One
taking a hasty glance at the two re-
ports will Immediately say that the
reformers are justified in their state
ments, for the figures of this years
report are much larger than in the re-
port of 1904 The two reports, how
ever, cannot be compared because the
1910 enumeration included cases OF
Imprisonment for the non-payment of
fines imposed by the courts, while the
census of 1904 did not include such
cases. Accordingly the marked in
crease in the prison population, and
more especially in the number of COM
mitments does not show an increase
in crime, but is largely accounted for
by the difference in the scope of the
two censuses. Taking into considera-
tion, there is very little difference in
the number Of prisoners and an in
crease would be trivial.
Later the Census Bureau will be able
to separate from the 1910 figures the
cases of Imprisonment for non-pay-
ment of fines, and thereby obtained a
figure which will be fairly comparable
with the enumeration of six years ago.
The larger number of admissions re-
ported as compared with the popula-
ton on January l. is indicative of the
fact that larger proportion of the
commitments are for short terms and
minor offenses. In the final census
report, the prisoners will be classified
with reference to the offense for which
they were sentenced, and the term of
the sentence.
A slight decrease in the number of
juvenile delinquents is shown in the
1910 report over the report of 1904. In
1910 in the reform schools and institu-
tions of that class. there were 22.eo3
inmates. In the same institutions in
1904 there were 23,o34.
Majority Are Males.
OF the convicts 93.5 per cent. are
males and 5.6o1. or 6.5 per cent. are
females. In the penal institutions TO-
069 of the convicts are males. and l.
701 are females. While S1,772 we're in
the institutions in 1904 only 51.172 OF
them were engaged at productive Ia
Dor. OF the remainder q ,403 were en-
gagged in prison duties, such as cook
ing. washing. cleaning and other do
mestic services On an average g
ia were sick or invalid, and 1856
were idle because no work was proyid-
ed for them, or because they were pur-
posely kept in confinement without
labor. The total value of the goods
produced by convict labor was $34..
a7s,2n5. This sum represents the mar.
ket value. that is the amount for