The Colville examiner. [volume] (Colville, Wash.) 1907-1948, 1916-07-15

per OF the SIdCe DOdFu VI COu1hoA'
In the fall of 1906 a committee OF
fifteen prominent citizens of the
state were appointed by Governor
Mead to investigate, consider and re-
port to him on the subject of estaD-
fishing a penal reformatory In this
state, such institution to be created
along the lines of the Elmira Re-
formatory in New York; the purpose
of such institution was to contem-
plate the classification of those con-
victed of felonies, so that the insti-
tuition at Walla Walla will be con-
tinued as prison for the detention
of those convicted of graver crimes,
including those known as profess
sional criminals, the reformatory to
be conducted as a place for the de-
tention and reformation of that class
of offenders who are too old for COM
mitment to the State Reform School
(now State Training SchooD and
yet are not hardened criminals, those
between the ages of sixteen and
thirty years, and for the punishment
and reformation of those who have
not been convicted of any previous
crime, and whose convictions were
for crimes of less magnitude than
murder, manslaughter, highway
robbery, etc.
In its report to the Governor this
committee said:
"At first some members were in
clined to think that the governing of
the institution, to say nothing about
the Reformatory should be under the
State Board of Control, the same as
many other state institutions, but
after a thorough consideration of
that feature of the matter. and in
view of the fact that practically all
of the other states, who likewise
have Boards of Control, have seen fit
to inaugurate a separate Board OF
Managers for the Reformatory, IL
seemed wise to us that to avoid
making the Reformatory a mere
penitentiary it should have it's own
Board of Managers,
Thus the passage of the Reforma-
tory Act was secured in the 1907
session of the Legislature. 1t had a
very strong opposition, but passed
the House on March 1st, by vote of
55 to 28. Eight days after its adop-
ton by the House the bill passed the
Senate by vote of 28 to 8. Five
days later, March 14th, 1907, the
bill became a law.
The bill provided for the estab-
lishment of the Washington State
Reformatory in Snohomish county,
and the appointment of a committee
of four to select the site. The Board
of Control were designated, after the
site was selected, to erect and equip
such buildings as may be necessary
for present use. The government
and control of the institution to be
vested in a Board of Managers, to
consist of five members, not more
than three of such to belong to the
same political party, and to be ap-
pointed by the governor; the mem
bers of the board to receive no sal
airy compensation, but to be allowed
travelling expenses. The warden of
the State Penitentiary, together with
the members of the Board of Control
were to select from the inmates or
the Penitentiary, convicts between
the ages of 16 to 80 years whom they
might deem amenable to reforma-
tory methods, provided that none
had been convicted of murder in the
first or second degree, and none
who had been convicted and sentenc-
ed more than three times (Which
was made the law for admission)
and transfer them to the State Re-
formatory.
The law further provided that ey-
Try sentence to the State Reforma-
tory must be a general sentence to
Imprisonment, and the courts OF
THIS state cannot impose SucH sVh-
tence and fix the limit which a pris-
oner shall serve, except that such i'm
prisonment shall not exceed the
maximum provided by law for fell
ony. The length of imprisonment 10
be terminated by the Board of Man
ayers or by pardon of the governor.
The Board of Managers to have
power to transfer, with the consent
of the governor, to the State Peni-
tentiary, any prisoner who, subse-
quent to his committal shall be shown
to have been at the time of his con-
viction more than thirty years OF
age, and may also transfer any ap-
parently incorrigible prisoner whose
presence in the Reformatory appears
to be seriously detrimental to the
we'll being of the institution.
The business management and the
purchase of supplies and the sale or
products and manufactures, together
with the auditing and keeping OF all