The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-12-22

reached the mental age of Is. and only
three seemed to be normal.
Among the prisoners confined for
larceny one out Of forty seemed TO lie
normal, while only seven had ad-
vanced beyond the mental age OF Il.
"Of the five murderers examined
one passed the 15-year-old tests, two
passed the 1~2-year-old tests. one
passed the 1-year-old tests, and one
passed the S-year-old tests-this in
the Kansas institution. where ! EAR
nestly hope that the efforts OF Or. ].
" Faulkner to establish q newly in
telligent method Of handling criminals
Will not result in his undoing. 1t Is
from such men as he that real pro
gress must be expected. Any check
upon his work would be a real loss to
humanity.
1T is a sad fact that positions in
the management of prisons and allied
institutions always have been used
for the payment Of political debts in
this country. A traveller passing New
FORK States LetchWorth Village
asked a boy working in the fields
which form a part of the institution:
What place is thiS?'
"a farm for fools the boy replied.
Some are on the payroll, some are
not
at is only rarely that the best Of
prison superintendent can get rid OF
the miSfit employees saddled upon him
by political machines, and therein lies
one Of the biggest problems included
in the whole matter.
1t is rather striking that these
two Western States should have made
more ogre than the East can show
striking and melancholy. Europe IL
doing something, for an expert re
Gently reported in Europe that he
could find little difference between the
cranial measurements of prisoners and
Oxford undergraduates.
But the Western work Will have its
influence. The adult criminal whose
mental age is 10 or IL and will never
increase cannot become a man and
brother, and the sooner his is reCog-
niZed the better.
The warden of the penitentiary
at Jackson, Mich, has just asked for
an appropriation of $4,000 for the
purpose of enabling him to vaCate the
cell bloch and build normal dormito-
ries, with bedrooms and bathrooms.
for groups Of eight persons each. He
knows chat these men cannot be
punished into moral worthiness. Such
q structure would cost but One-third
as much as the sort of Wild-beast
cage in which the men are locked at
present.
} This progressive prison physician
told me, and [ believe that if he
should be permitted to handle his
5 charges as insane patients or chill
dren he could safely take bars off
the windows, locks off the doors. and
remove every gun and club from the
person Of every guard in the institu-
! ton.
: II asked him what he would do
with the prisoners who suddenly 60
= mad and become. riotous, starting
fights and general disorder. He re
D piled that the fellOW-priSOnerS Of such
men always know, from twelve to for
4 ty-eight hours in advance, when such
an outbreak is to occur. and would
< warn the keepers if they were encour-
+ aged SO to do. The dangerous men
therefore, could be removed, given
hot baths, and scientifically treateC
through their Thus mOs1
h of the bursts Of homicidal excitemen,
common to prison life might be
= avoided.
= THE ideal system would involve
investigation Immediately after thu
4 arrest of n person. to determine
= what treatment would be most bene
q fetal to him and to society. Thi:
r would do way with all the scheme o
punishment, substituting for it scien
= tific remedial measures, where the,
could be of any service, or perma
nent but comfortable sequestration 0
n entirely hopeless cases.
"And if the start should be mad,
! even earlier, in such a way as to kee,
those prediSpOSed to crime out of tn,
criminal ranks, still more would b,
y accomplished. That would protect tn,
community as no community ever ha
been protected up to date. PuniShin,
# those who err won't help. Their who'll
a lives, whether or not the hand Of Law
, falls on their shoulders, are sure to b.
"A unCeasing puniShInents.
= In New York the situation is
le slngularly simple one. Consider wha
the police We're able to do in connec
e ton with the recent Baff murder.
n They knew how to round up almOs
t. every gunman in the city. Well, i
all these gunner had been rounded III
1t before the murder was committed, pu
b nrough the new established scientif
a | tests = nd txGatQd % haGo