Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-01-23

reason that the economy and efficiency
commission, appointed pursuant TO a
joint resolution of the session of 1912.
has had this matter under investiga-
ton, and | am assured its final report
will be presented to you within a few
weeks. l feel that this commission
has devoted much time to a searching
examination of the functions of and
the results accomplished by our state
departments and that its report will
contain information and recommended
lions of great value to you. With this
report SO near completion it would be
unwise to attempt any reorganization
scheme without the benefit of the o
illusions of the commission, and |
therefore recommend that you await
its findings before proceeding. would
refer you in the meantime to the pre-
liminary report presented by the COM
mission to the session of 1913.
Treatment of Convicts.
The sentiment of these enlightened
times demands a change in the care
and treatment of prisoners in our penal
institutions. The idea that offenders
against our laws can be reformed by
confinement and punishment alone is
obsolete. Confinement within prison
walls and h%arshness and severity nev-
er have and never will check crime, and
the proper treatment of convicts must
receive more intelligent thought. Grim
inal tendencies are very frequently the
result of mental or physical defects
and the lack of education, decent sur
roundings and bodily n~ourishment.
The state should be more concerned
In ascertaining and, If possible, remov-
ing the cause for crime than in admin
istering punishment. With first Of
tenders especially the state can hope
for better results from a more thought
full and modern system of treatment.
A careful mental and physical exami-
nation should be made under thes di-
rection of the prison authorities of
each person sent to a penal institution
and n serious attempt made to cure or
relieve the ills that such an examina-
ton discloses. Prisoners should be
placed at some occupation which they
can continue after the expiration of
their sentence, for the benefit of their
physical selves and to help pay for
their maintenance while In confine-
ment and to fit them to earn their own
livelihood after discharge. Prison la
Dor contracts should be terminated as
speedily as possible and the prisoners
placed at work under state direction
and an effective state-use system in
II ~ l-.~1 kAI~. akotA Il, tIsa
direction with the inmates of our
states prison, but sufficient funds have
not been made available by the legis-
lature to make much more than a
start. Placing men at work upon the
roads, the purchase of a farm and a
quarry the latter not yet actually ac-
quired) will provide for some of the
prisoners, but more funds are neces-
sary for these purposes, as well as for
the industrial employment in shops of
those who cannot be placed at labor
outside the prison.
Intimately connected with this is
the establishment of a businesslike
plan for the management of prison Ia
Dor and the disposition of the products
thereof. There are too many boards
and officials connected with this work
and with prison control, and this re-
suits in friction, a loss of efficiency and
unnecessary expense. | recommend
that the prison labor commission and
the board of inspectors of the states
prison be abolished and that a new
board be created to have entire charge
and management of the states prison
and of all places at which convicts are
put at work; that the keeper of the
prison be placed under the authority
the prison and be relieved from re-
sponsibility for the escape of those en-
gagged at outside work, and that this
board have control of the disposition
of products of convict labor. Such a
plan should lead to better results In
the performance of the states duty to
its criminal class as well as to econ
omy in operation.
Institutions Overcrowded.
1 have given some attention to our
charitable and correctional institu-
lions, and during my term of office
intend to secure a more intimate
knowledge of their operation and n
better understanding of their needs.
The members of legislative commit
tees on these institutions, too, will do
well to visit them and acquaint them
selves with their functions and man.
agement, for | feel they have been
much neglected by the state. Many
are o~vercrowded. and some are caring
for those who should be transferred
elsewhere. The per capita cost Of
maintenance Of some seems high, and
1t is not unlikely that money can be
saved by their boards of managers,
but all need state help and a fair OPP
portunity TO show the maximum
amount of usefulness. The members