The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1917-01-19
NEW YORK JUDGE INDORSES
GARDNER PRISON PROGRAM

committed to prison and sending them
forth to take their places as citizens
useful both to society and their FAM
lilies, instead of making hardened and
professional criminals out of them, was
described in detail by Judge VIM. ii.
Wadhams of the Court of General Ses-
sions of New York City and chairman
of the Legal Committee of the Nation
al Committee on Prisons and Prison
Labor, in an address to the City Club
of st. Louis last Saturday, says the
Post-Dispatch.
Judge Wadhams, who is one OF the
foremost authorities on prison reform
in the United States, declared that
Missouri had taken the first great step
in prison reform by the abolition OF the
contract labor system, which he char
acterized as a species of slavery. he
strongly advocated support of Gov
. Gardner's program of prison legisla-
ton.
"You have a wonderful opportunity
here in Missouri, with contract labor
abolished, with vacancy in the war
denship of your prison, with your new
Governor determined to carry through
a program of prison reform, to show
the way in the adoption of the most
approved and effective method OF
prison management" he said. "You
have cleared your name Of the stigma
of contract prison labor"
Judge Wadhams said that statistics
prove that one-half of all crime is COM
mitted by men who have come out OF
prison and gone back into crime. He
- OF a
have made their jails purely punitive
institutions, and have paid no attention
whatever to the work of rehabilitatlng
and educating prisoners. The result is
that men emerge from prison burning
with desire to get even with society,
instead of being reformed.
Educator, Not Jailer, Needed.
What is needed in prison work, he
declared, is an educator, and not jail
er. This sentiment was loudly applaud
ed by the City Club audience, compris-
ed Of members of the Board of Alder
men, Circuit Judges, prosecuting Of
ficials and club members.
The three essential principles in
prison reform were defined by the
Judge as:
Self-government of the prison
ers, to develop responsibility and
self-respect-
Classification of prisoners, with
examination as to physical and
mental condition, to determine
what education and training are
needed, and the character of the
work the individual prisoner is
best able to do.
The indeterminate sentence, un-
der which board of experts and
the court, after the convict has
been committed to prison, will de-
termine when he shall be released
tempting to guess in advance how
much punishment is necessary to
reform him.
The Mutual Welfare League of Sing
Sing prison, he declared, had demon
strated beyond any question of doubI
the feasibility of self-government Of
prisoners. The prisoners of each shoI
elect their delegates to the Mutual
Welfare League, these delegates elect
an Executive Committee and the Ex-
ecutive Committee appoints a serg-
eant-at-arms who is responsible for
prison discipline. The men, 1400 in
Sing Sing, instead of sitting silently
in ther messroom, under armed guards,
have freedom of speech and of action,
and maintain perfect order. Since the
installation of the self-governed sys-
tenn in Sing Sing, he declared that as
saults have decreased "a per cent, in
sanity 80 per cent, efficiency in in
,Cfv- hoc nd
there have been no riots.
Incident of Perfect Discipline.
AS proof of the perfect discipline
under the self-government system,
Judge Wadhams cited an incident in
the Sing Sing prison. The men were
in the assembly hall over the mess
room, when a fire broke out below.
The Sergeant-at-Arms ordered the fire
squad below to fight the fire, and just
as he was starting to give directions
to the prisoners as to what they should
do the lights went out. The Sergeant
Alarms then ordered the men to march
by twos back to their cells.
Sand when the lights came back
on" he said, "every one of the 1400
men was present and accounted for,
and there was not guard in the
prison.
"The Warden awarded the 20 men
who fought the fire $40 each for their
. services. Now $40 is lot of money to
man in prison. But the men held a
meeting and sent word to the Warden
that they could not accept the money
for the reason that their loyaly to the
Mutual Welfare League could not be
paid for.
"In my court sometimes sentence
nearly 400 men in month to prison,
but during the last two years only two
men have come into my court who had
been released from Sing Sing and gone
back into crime.
The Employment Bureau of the Ma
tional Committee on Prisons has found
employment.for $50 men released from
prisons during the past two years.
They were taking census of these
men when ! left New York. At that
time 450 had ben checked up, and it
was found that $40 were holding their
first jobs. Employers are willing to
take the men and give them a chance
because the training in the prison has
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