Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-23
NEED0F REFORMATION
\: |N.THE PENAL SYSTEM
William T. Cross, Writing in the
Survey, Condemns the Aver
age Jail.
Results Achieved in Communities
When More Modern Methods
Have Been Tried.

lave Been 1r1eus
Setting forth that dark Jail cell is
often the school and the church of the
lawbreaker. an article just published
by the Survey outlines ideal conditions
for the men who have been incarcer-
ated. These ideal conditions were
given by William T. Cross, general sec
rotary of the National Conference of
Charities and Correction. The article
follows:
Have you ever been in the local Jail
or lookup in your community? 1t not,
make it visit the next time you have
an hour or two to spare.
As you stand before the dark. insan-
itary cells. and the prisoners idling
their minds away, you will be looking
at the whole process of treatment of
the man who breaks the petty laws of
the state. The Jail is the misdemean-
ants place of temporary detention, his
abode while awaiting trial. his prison
after sentence. 1t is his school, the
haunt of his leisure hours. the place
where most of his thinking is done,
and too often it is his church.
The Jail is still doing a big business.
The latest figures show that 80 per
cent of the population of penal institu-
lions are in county and municipal jails
and warehouses. Worse still, 91.5 per
cent of all prisoners committed dur nE
a single year are sent to these local
institutions.
Agency of Vice.
Penologists are agreed that the Jail
is in nine cases out of ten IAN agency
of vice and a school of crime" Some
of these fortress-like structures are in
scribed with dates as far back as 1896
the days of Andrew Jackson, of the
invention of the steamboat, of the pi-
oneer struggle.
The past generation has made some
Improvements in the Jail These have
had to do chiefly with cleanliness, food,
moral supervision, classification of
prisoners, abolition of the fee system,
state inspection and Standardization OF
Jail rules and of specifications for con-
struction and repairs.
To-day we are coming to something
better, says Mr.. Cross
I'VE are approaching a conscious
social policy in the treatment of the
come into prominence. Jail reform is
but one aspect of the problem of the
petty offender"
Mr. Cross describes these newer ideals
as follows:
l. Methods involving a change in the
plan of Incarceration.
(a) State penal farms. Perhaps the
most revolutionary and practical pro-
poSal for the cure of the jail evil is
that prisoners sentenced for any but
the briefest terms be sent to state
farms. state farm for male mis-
demeanants sixteen-twenty-one years
of age is in process of establishment
in New York. In Indiana 1906 acres
have been purchased for a state insti-
tuition for misdemeanants, and the con-
struction of buildings has been begun.
The creation of institutions of this
character is the practically unanimous
desire of reformers in this field.
Payments to Prisoners.
(b) Payments to prisoners in the ma
ture of wages The object of this is to
support the prisoners dependents. Pay
ments to convicts are optional with
prison authorities in a number of
states, and the way seems clear for
the adoption of the principle with re-
spect to the misdemeanant class. In
the administration of the Kansas City
municipal farm up to 81 day may be
allowed the family of any prisoner.
(c) Revision of sentences. The prin-
ciple of systematic revision of SEN
fences on the basis of more complete
knowledge of the criminal and of his
action subsequent to conviction has
been established through the success
of the indeterminate sentence acts The
principle needs yet to be extended to
the misdemeanant class.
& =" bitual offender acts. A recent
study at Springfield Ill, shows that As
per cent of those convicted in the city
courts are repeaters The desira bility
of a plan of sentence and treatment
which takes into consideration the
repetition of offenses is generally con-
coded.
animation, school operated success
fully for several years at the Baltimore
city Jail cannot be ignored Both school
work and classification within the in
stitution should be based on thorough
mental examination of every prisoner.
Methods Involving Supervision.
II. Methods involving supervision I'M
der conditional liberation.
ta) Adult probation-Adult proba-
ton laws have been adopted in twenty
three states. In Cook county. Illinois
(Which includes Chicago, during the
first three years operation of the adult
probation law the earnings of proba-
tioners amounted to over $4,000
(b) Parole-Conditional pardon has
lately begun to be adopted for ,nisde-i
meanants. 1t is not uncommon at mu-
.nicipal warehouses. A successful in
stance appears in Onondaga county
n. Y.
(c) Outwork fo- local prisoners-It is
quite common for local prisoners to be
used on road work. Wisconsin so en-
ploys them, turning over earnings to
the prisoners dependents.
Cd Honor system-AIthoUgh there
has not been the opportunity to build
upon the trustworthiness of prisoners
in case of misdemea nants that there
has been in case of feIons. occasions
for II seem to increase with the en-
ployment of prisoners In larger num-
bers, as on municipal or state farms
90 Change in system of commitment
for fnes-One OF the most abhorrent
features persisting in our system of
treatment of petty criminals is that of
Imprisonment In lieu of payment of
fines. Unless graded according to the
ability of the offender TO pay, fning
Is a poor means Of attaining justice,
and in case of certain classes, like
prostitutes. II serves merely as IL
eensing system, The International