El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-11-09

AfAN IAeGeuL OUTBREAKS Wllcl EdAe
occurred in several peni-
teEtiaries, especially those in wy
OInlng during the past month, have
| naturally caused the average citizen to
give more consideration to the meth
; DDS OF dealing with human delinquents
( and the means taken to protect the
! public from the effects OF their wrong
| doing. Consequently, the American
Prison association, which opens its an
nual convention in Baltimore today,
Will have its deliberations more in the
public hmelight than is usually the
case.
This organization which owes its ex-
istence to the International Prison con-
gFess called in Cincinnati in 1872 is
composed Of all the different bodies
interested IN prison reform and the
safety and well being of the prisoners.
as well as the prevention of the crimes
for which people are consigned to
terms Of imprisonment 1t includes as
auSlliarleS the National Warden's as
ISOLATION, the Prison Physicians assO-
citation and several others. In addition,
most of the local organizations in the
different cities designed for the aid
OF prisoners, are also affiliated.
CIassificatiOns of Work.
Its work is conducted under tine di-
TectiOn of a number of standing COM
mittees. These have charge of the work
along such specific lines as criminal
law reform, prison discipline, preTen-
ton and probation, refOrmatOry work
tisticS Of crime, and include several
special committees for the investigation
OF the subject of prison labor and the
conditions OF JallS, lockupS and ponce
stations. At present the entire assO-
citation is agreed upon three principles
which viii form the basis Of the dis
cussiOns of the present convention.
These principles are: the advantages
OF the indeterminate sentence; the pro-
per use of the PAROLE and the value
OF probation.
The iDdeteru,iuata se-,terce has been
pronounced to be the only really just
way of dealing with individual often
ders OF all classes, since, in a measure,
It makes 1t possible for a prisoner to
limit his own confinement 1t does not
leave to the judge the responsibility of
fixing the term Of Imprisonment d-1l-
nitely, but rather to the prison authOri-
ties, who come IN daily contact with
the delinquent and know the prOba-
b1lltIeS OF his reform by observing his
general character. The present law may
Fix the term Of imprisonment for the
same offence, without regard to the
circumstances that led up TO il. but the
indeterminate sentence viii permit
prisoner, committed perhaps for a first
offence, to shorten his term if he shows
signs Of reform.
Among the recent cases that have
come up are those of two men SEN
fenced for cOunterteItlng. The one was
an old offender who raised the value of
a one dollar bill by paSting on it a CT
pher cut from a calendar he did this
OF these bills upon unSuSpecting trades
men in small towns. He was trailed
through several states before he was
finally captured and brought to court
Il happened that the judge before whom
he was tried was an old man and IN
usually lelIenL- The prisoner was SEN
fenced to year y few months later,
q young boy IN that state was brought
before the same court charged with
cOunterfeiting q fifty cent piece A
new judge was in charge who believed
10 naaaaaH d NnHa Hrnn En
first offence, was given five years for
the same crime for which the older Of
fender received only a light sentence
The Parole System.
The parole system is already in Op-
GRAFTON in many American prisons. -he
governor Of q western state has gone
to the length of sending men paroled
on their honor to distances Of thirty
miles or more to work upon the road
or some other public work At first
this leniency was greatly exploited but
months, that in at least one case a
party of parOled men were unworthy OF
the confidence repOsed IN them A
counterfeiting plant was discovered IN
the woods back of where they were
making a road, and they had induced
some outside men tOrtake charge Of 1t.
This is an unusual occurrence, however
and must not be used against the en-
tire parole system
The parole, as utilized in the Federal
prisons Of the country, has proved pro-
is credited to the fact that the parOled
prisoners, while not under guard, are
visited frequently and regularly Dur
ing the past year there have been 400
federal prisoners released on parole and
only six Of these have violated it. Ac-
cOrding to the reports presented from
the state institutions in which the pa
role is IN use, about 10 per cent violate
il. Yet this is a good showing and one
that proves its value, If given under
certain limitations In the federal pr1s-
Ons a man will be parOled only after
careful inyes tigatiOn. 1t must be known
that he is going into certain employ
ment, and some responsible man acting
as First Friend must guarantee his
good conduct. In addition to this. a
constant surveillance is kept as long
as may be deemed desirable 1t is felt
by the more conservative prison off
Gals that to allow a man or num-
Der Of men to go outside Of the prison
limits on their honor alone, is taking
too great a risk for the safety of the
temptation before the prisoners them
selves. There are many cases on re-
cord, however, in which II has work
ed out satisfactorily.
The Probation System.
The probation system is similar to the
parole, in that it permits convicted per
sons to live outside of the prison con-
fines so long as they are properly em-
plOyed, excepting that it applies to
persons before they are committed, Civ
ing them an opportunity to escape con-
InemeuL LulS Is the system " Men IDS
been so successfully used in the JuVe-
nile courts for delinquent children and
it has been tried with good results for
a large number OF adult offenders. The
greatest difficulty about its general
adoption is the probation officers who
would have to be provided to carry 1t
into effect From an economic stand
point it is especially good, as the Of
fender. working outside of the prison,
is entirely self-supporting instead of
being a tax upon the state.
Convict LqRbOr on Roads.
The utilization of convict labor for
roads and other public works is a mat
ter calling forth a great variance Of
opinion. 1t has been done with eN-
cellent results in a number Of states
In Georgia, especially in Fulton county,
there is system of public roads built
by oonvicts, which has become the
pride of the state The same may be
said of Virginia where it was arranged
that counties desiring to improve their Z
roads should furnish the raw material
and the state would supply convict Ia
Dor. It has been found, however, that
in many instances the cost Of convey ]
ing prisoners some distance TO the I
work, and of maintaining guards over
them while at work, was more eXpen- l
sfve than to hire outside labOrerS-
There are several other objections en-
terins into the utilization of convict /
labor outside Of the prison, some con- |
tending that ii lowers the price of work !