The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-03-15
KEEP MEN OUT OF JAIL RATHER THAN
 IN, SAYS OSBORNE
Noted Penologist Compares English Prisons With
 Sing Sing.

New Haven, March 15-That the whole question: of pgison reform had shifted $fronfeE Eh owl t6--keep men in prison to the question of how to send men out of prison, was the belief or ] Warden Thomas Mott Osborne, of Sing Sing prison, who Friday night continued his talks on penology at WooIsey hall. The subject Friday I night was ''The Old Prison System '' -
 Contrasting the methods of English prisons with those she had seen at Sing Sing, the warden said, one Eng fish. woman had said to shim that it seemed to her the aim at Sing Sing was to make good citizens, while in England the aim was toward nak- ing good prisoners.
 seThe difficulty with prison punish
 nent, so far as it's object is reta1la- ton, is this: that revenge is motive not only hateful in itself, but dit rectly productive of hatred and wick edness.'' said the speaker. This is well expressed in Shylock's utterance: seThe villainy you teach me I will exc cute; and it shall go hard, but Will better the instruction. .s Moreover, the practical irnpossibility of making the punishment fit the crime, has been al ready dweIt upon; and wherever it does not fit, the result is disastrous It is bad when a man does not get enough punishment; it encourages him to think that he can always es- cape with less than his deserts; and thus crime is encouraged It Is pad when a man gets too muchs punish irnent it makes him bitter and re- lvengeful; and thus crime is encouI- aged. Failure results in either case
 Continuing Warden Osborne said; tsWe do not send men to prison to be punished; we punish men by. send ing them to prison; which is a very .5.1 11o iT17Y3 the punishment; and the direst pun ishment that can be meted out to any man. Severe as. it is, however, so- ciety has the right to infict 1t upon the offender who is interfering with the orderly progress of civilization And when I say that society has the right, I mean that such an act is wise because it can be made to inure to ft1e benefit both of the community and of the individual who has offend ed. But while society has the right to send a man to prison, it has no right whatever to deprive him. of his hsa1ths Of shis W otlxiflg capacity, his sanity, his faith in God.
 ssIInprisonInentAth denial of indi- vidual freedom, is not only the great est punishment that society can in sdict on man, but you cannot go far tFer without ceasing to punish in an impersonaIs way-the way of nature.
 
 we have from time to time added to iri4prisonment: The lash, the paddle, the head-cage, the ttstringing-up,' the gill of water, the dark cell all these are n0fEhe inpersonaI sdeerees of so- cxety-they are the personal, vindic- tive arbitrary acts of some one or more individuals holding irresponsible authority over other human beings; a relation which has most disastrous eff fleets in both directions; it not only turns the punished into wicked, and revengefu1 V1ld-beasts, but it changes wise and good zfffte entioned men into arbitrarzaa and cruel tgrants-
 SThe difficulty with prison punish ment, so far as it's object is retaliative, not only hateful in itself, but. directly productive of hatred and wickedness. This is well expressed in Shylock's s utterance: The vil1ainy you teach me- will execute; and it shall go hard but will better the instruction,' Moreover, the practical impossibility of making the punishment fit the crime has been already 5sdwe1t upon; ] and wherever it does not fit, the result is distsarous. It is bad when a man does not get enough punishment; it encourages him to think that he can , always escape. with less than his de- serts; and thus crime is encouraged. It is bad when a man gets too much punishment; it makes him bitter and revengeful; and thus crlIne IS encour- aged. Failure results in either case"
 A large part of the. lecture was de- voted to a reading of the diary of his own personal experiences in Auburn prison where MT. Osborne got first hand by taking the place ofla prisoner, his information about the conduct of prisons, which served later to make a 2 s1oundation for the reforms which he 1Tlstituted at Sing Sing when he was made warden.