The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1916-11-08
FORMER CONvICTS
TO Get A CHANCE.
Ex-Members Of L.: Sing Sing
League Tell Of Troubles.
WORK TO PREVENT ALL CRIME
New York Police Commissioner Prom
ises That His Detectives Will Ne
Longer "Doa" the Ex-Prisoners.
"Once a Crook, Always a Crook"
Will Never Again Be Slogan of Police.

Ex-convicts are going to get a fair
show in New York-at least during the
commissiOnership Of Arthur Woods,
police head.
There Is to be no more logging the
trail Of men who have done their
prison bit by bulls" who hold to the
motto, "Once q crook, always a crook. :"
Commissioner Woods said so at a re-
markable dinner gathering. This was
an affair arranged by the national COM
mittee Oh prisons, whereby thirty for
mer inmates Of Sing Sing and Auburn
prisons were the committees guests.
Furthermore, the police commission
er is going to cooperate with the ex-
convicts, with the idea that they can
by influence and example, help to keep
down new crime.
He will meet them from time to time
and talk things over. both from their
viewpoint and his.
Guests Prison Alumni.
The guests Of the national committee
Outside Mutual Welfare league, a sort
Of alumni association of free men who
have belonged to the Mutual Welfare
league in two state prisons. They
were at work and doing we'll they re-
ported.
But several of them in addresses
they made to the assemblage told bit
-, y
life miserable for them-how they had
been bounded from one job to another
because the detectives had pointed out
to the men for whom they were work
ing that they were crooks, jaibirds,
and they had no alternative except to
admit it.
81 am glad to meet you men and help
you,' Commissioner Woods said. ut is
the first time | have had any expert
ence with your organization. | will
gladly work with you and see that the
police of New York city instead of
bounding ex-cOnvicts will help them in
every way possible. In case of any ex-
convict your organization will o. K.
we will see that he is given every pos
sible chance and all assistance within
our power.
Il am hired to prevent crime. You
can help me there perhaps. I hope you
will and that we may work together
tremendously"
1--WE will" exclaimed several of the
commissioner.
Put 1t Squarely to Woods.
One of the ex-convicts asked, Com
missioner, if you got out of prison
with only SO and had to spend it for
food, what would you do next?'
ut was a mighty lucky thing for
me-" said Mr.. Woods, talking of the
incident. that some one changed the
topic. l couldn't have answered the
question very well, I'm afraid.
He asked the men how many had
been in reformatories. 1t seemed
twenty of the thirty had been. He in
CURED if they were taught anything
good there. They hooted derisively
and explained that they had been
taught only the most evil of things
how to be worse instead, of better
The commissioner told them. in con-
clusion, he thought they could be of
"mestimable value in helping to keep
down crime You can do as much as
| can along that line" he said.
Martin LOOnan, an eX-convict chair
man of the employment bureau of the
NJ. W. L., reported that he had got
jobs for 200 former prisoners and 115
had made good. Ernest S. Roche of
the employment committee of the ma
tional committee on prisons said he
had placed 800 in steady employment
and 300 had justified the work.