The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-05-19


 why should not. a violator of the state law be a prisoner Of the state Why is it not as much the duty of tlae state to care for Sthose who com xr.st petty offenses as for those who commit greater ones
 As itsis now in practically all our states the petty offenders are cared for by local officials. and in most oA the eor11nonweaIths without rnuea. if any Supervision To Massachu- sets. perhaps. can be given the crsole for leading the way in tho suggese1oh xhax the minor prisons be piaeeo un- @ der state auth In other staLes, nowhere has any material progress been made in this d1recdon.
 English Experfence.
 rrhe experience of the United King don since 1877 is suggestive Three acts passed siials1ltan aneousiy by the hxse ln@d eszas plssed the .eontEol. elessl on 4s1s 49l5fss,isA rssfisons under central gov erI4z3aeIff{J The end solght&y was a uI71Ti form system of punishmeIt the re- nression Of crime the economy Tn ex-s ranse That the law was effectivve is to be gathered from the9f following ssFvss,e s .sf came into eaects on April
 1878, 11s local prisons being so transferred. Since that date theaT . bar Ell EselA ts' S so o- +laas lime Of their transfer. the local s1r4son popnlat1on stoodaat 21 seSO. the fsighest slxIi ioyVf. From that date a continuous fall was recorded until 1885. when the numbers reached slightly over I6. poo Aftersa series
 BEisBAs popalat1on stands IF Fs 5s ooa af the present time
 h what other countries has there been such great decrease in the number Of mIsdennean nanfs
 Our short term prisoners are our ereatest prison problem There are more of them We give less thought to them and do less for them Our county jail system in a survival of the early days, Eehcssof the past Considered in the light of modern social development it is an obsolete thing. A card that was issued tin sIndi- ana to call attention to the county jail system read as follows: !. How prisoners live and learn ID s.rhey live in idleness at the ex- pense of the taxpayer.
 .sThey learn vice. immortality and crime.
 They degenerate bothN physieany and morally.
 The Wrong End.
 4 similar legend would apply with more or less force to the Jail system all over the United States
 Out of these legal prisons come all fsse prisoners 1nsour state institutions One of the delegates to the I11ferna- tforaaI Prison Congress in Washing- ton in 1910, spoke in admiration or the refornatorye laws of some o1 our states, but added, Tt seems to me that you have begun at the wrong end with the fe1ons in the state prison instead of with the petty of fender whose numbers are many times as great, in the local jail-
 Altogether the local jail presents the most difficult problem to solve. Few people are interested in it, fewer still care No one goes to the jail on business unless he is conn nitted, and yet perhaps these local prisons to which few people give a thought are making more criminals than any other one agency Our public schools are supported by taxes for the pur- pose of making good citizens Our jails, too, are public schools, but they are making bad conditions They are schools for the training of cri1ni- naIs.
 An important dexe1op1nen in pen nlogy has been the recent changes in the treatment of misdemennants ir Indiana This involves a change ot affituda and 6f theory: An offender against the federal law becomes 2 prisoner Of the United States. The judge of the court having jurlsdic tion-a United States ofieer-las fr1 authority over the prisoner including his keeping and care.
 Where Indiana Leads.
 effect that principle has beer adopted by the State of Indiana alon. sos far as we know Under it's jai supervision law, all prisoners arr really prisoners of the state. The!
 IT. ZA1... 4E.- a. of the circuit or criminal court whe is a state officer The judge may de ter1nine where the prisoner shall b' kepts how he4 SEaqlI7 Res eared for; hi food bathing etc. He is, given au tFority to adopt rules for the car and behavior of prisoners and tn conduct of officers. to condemn 8 jai if it is unfit for use and remove tn prisoners until it is repaired. reTnod e1ed or rebuilt. As result the build i11gs are in better cond ifion-s Ther is Improvement in cleanliness; neat ness and sanitation.
 These combine to effect a a lessen ing in the number of prisoners i many of the jails. Where discipline irregular habits and cleansing of guar ters and persons are required, man persons who love careless ways o living manage to keep out Of jail.
 Indiana also established a Hous of Correction for women misdemean ants This is a branch of the Wo mems Prison It is wholly under tn charge of women. This law has bee in operation since 1908, with yer gratifying results. Many of the Swo men who know nothing about dones tic employment are trained so tha when they go out they may do some thing for themselves Some of ther have been reclaimed and re-estab lished and are doing well.
 The New Farm
 The next step was the estabIishmen Of the state farm for male naisde c Eneanants- This was provided for b