Arizona republican., 1913-04-20

" leased out. It is rather a reason why the state should particularly guard it's honor by giving him such advan- tageS as are possible under the direct administration of the state alone The state must get away from the theory that financial profit from it's prisoners is is first consideration. The protection of society is the primary purpose of imprisonment and the next purpose 'is reformation. The penalty must be wise and humane, and the prisoner must be made, as far as possible, to be self supporting while in prison or under imprisonment The state should do it's own farming, con- duct its own industries, pay it's own men, and should not take a profit from the prisoners save in so far as they are dealt with according to the best sense of justice of the twentieth century. The state should be able to sell it's products as far as pos sible to it's own institutions and to it's political subdivisions, such as the countries, cities, towns etc. Pri- soners should receive a reasonable amount for their work and should
 
 their labor Over and above their maintenance cost (maintenance in- cluding all expenses attendant upon running an institution or convict farm. such as salaries wages, food clothing, lodging, but not large inn provements such as additional build ings, etc), the surplus should be used for the prisoner or for his de- pendent relatives. The inability of state to buy sufficient acreage for all of it's prisoners. or to conduct convict camps. or to build a prison, looks to be very large inability only so long as the state takes profit from the sale of each prisoner to a con tractor or to a lessee. If the state were absolutely prohibited from con tracing or leasing out, it would ob- viously find a way to handle it's pri- soners otherwise. It is all a. question of emphasis and need The -Htate must find the money for the humane treatment of prisoners
 At present when a man has served his term in prison he is simply turn ed out into the world, with his prison record barring him from honest em- ployment and often times forcing him again into crime in order that he may live. It is highly desirable that some other plan for properly handling the discharged convict situation should be adopted I believe the fol- lowing principles to be sound:
 (a) The period immediately follow ing the prison period is the most crucial time for the convict He is often an outcast without money and with most sof his tendencies directing him toward his old associates
 (b) The state spends a consider able sum on his imprisonment; surely it can wisely spend something on his 1 after prison period to prevent his being again a charge on the state. Co The only method of keeping convicts under proper supervision is l by parole, that is conditional liberty under official supervision.
 (d) The parole of negroes in the south will doubtless be attended by greater difficulties than the parole of white men in the northern states. nevertheless I firmly believe in it. 1 Gel The problem of the rehablita- l tion of the prisoners, of their decent conduct during the parole period. is peculiarly a problem to be handled by prison association or prison CTS aid society Such a society should co-operate with the state in developing volunteer parole workers l probation workers, taking convicts on 1 parole, cooperating with state parole 1 agents. paying out in instalments to ] parOled men the money they have | earned in prison, and in general de- veloping this supervision If there l are dependent families of prisoners the prisoners aid society might well be the association through which the l earning of prisoners could be paid, o1 , the association could work in CO., operation with the poor law officials 1 the various counties or towns.
 The fact that a prisoner can carr 1 money while under Imprisonment k | the greatest incentive to right livine
 than can be given him. A further great incentive is the indeterminatt 1 sentence whereby the prisoner earns
 his own way to liberty through goot
 conduct and progress Undetermined sentences are found on the statute.
 Of practically all of the more prog.
 ressive states in this country
 I am a strong believer in the valu.
 of a through survey of prison condi
 tions whenever a state is inclined
 to make radical changes in it's laws
 Our principal trouble in prison re-
 forms have been patch work. Tn,
 time has come, it seems to me, fo
 thorough going studies followed D,
 thorough going reform
 i THE WORTH OE TIME uava 1o,