Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-06-08
SAYS N 0 RAJ
EUPL|FT NEEDED
IN STATE JAILS
Report States Agitation for
] Better Jail Condition Failed
= in Omaha for Lack Of
=
Sympathy.

~ Lincoln, Neo., june /.-(Special)
-Supt. J. A. Leavitt Of the Nebras-
ska Society for the Friendless, an or
sszanization the purposes of which
are the prevention and cure of
crime, the reclamation and restora.
Hon of the criminal and the relief
of the needy and distressed, told
T4he board of directors at their an
snual meeting recently in Lincoln
i4hat while there are some new jails
an the state there is not a frst-class
spne that provides adequate work
sfor the inmates.
= Mr.. Leavit declared that the arch
EJECT has yet to make. his bow who
has incorporated one idea for the
intellectual or moral uplift of the
s5nen and women incarcerated. He
said, in his annual report, that there
should be statewide effort to sup
ply these institutions with suitable
literature. There is a good library
m the penitentiary. and it is we'll
sFatronized by the inmates.
Failed in Omaha.
X The great need is to reach the
short time men. A beginning has
been made in the Lancaster county
Jail, but one started at Omaha fail
ed for want of sympathy. His re-
sport also says: -..
The agitation for better Jail con-
aditions has resulted in better feed
ing of the men. We went into one.
However, the other day, where | am
lSatisied that the men are underfed,
where men would have gone
hungry if they had not means of
S4heir own or were not fed by their
Fellows, who could not bear to eat
while their associates were suffering
from hunger. Consequently they
bought for them as we'll as for them
selves. A system that promotes
graft by officials off of the men in
their power is certainly vicious.
N "The Omaha county Jail has by
Edar the largest number of prisoners.
INF l am correctly informed winter
ssBnd Summer the prisoners there
lsnever have anything between them
ssand the steel Stats on which they
sleep except one blanket and they
have but one over them. At times
I have known nearly all Of them to
She suffering from colds. This con-
@iition ought to be remedied. The
sail is on the fifth floor and. under
= low fiat roof In hot weather the
pipes become very warm and for
4bout 10 weeks the last two years
the inmates would not have a cool
drink ii the Society for the Friend
iiess had not furnished it, ..-..~
l ls Praises Government Work. y
MFR. Leavitt praised the govern
,EH1ent for its efforts to protect sthe
soldiers located near Omaha from
~ssihe diseased women, but did not
ehelieve the attempt satisfactory be-
scause the women are put on a pun i
Ishment basis and conditions. are
Issuch that partial failure was in
laevitable. The custodial farm for
,$,omen, authorized by the legisla-
Isfure, he expects will help solve the
Isqnestion of women misden1eanants.
He had words of commentator per-
Esonally for Superintendent Nc
sAuley of the state school for girls
ut Geneva, but insisted that this is
~ womans job and that McAuley
MAS doomed to fail because of the
conditions beyond his control.
81 The superintendent said that he
had been treated royalty at the boys
industrial school for Kearney, but
That h.. had been made to feel he
MAS an interloper. He said that it
IS apparent that the school, intend
sd to be run on the cottage plan,
g actually run on the military plan.
lie suggested that while the educa-
,aional course offered at the prison
ias a fine one, he would like to see
lswork carried higher than the ninth
,avrade. to include popular courses
there in agriculture, horticulture,
history, literature, ethics, evidences
'sN christianity and the Bible. He
concluded his report thus:
After nearly eight years of serv-
ice am convinced that our penal |
s5ystcm is largely unintelligent and
vicious. The laws are enacted for
normals, but applied in large part,
perhaps 50 per cent, to subnormals. |
s. he penalties are adapted to the
crime and not to the criminal. This
leads to the infection of gross
wrongs, bitterness and pauperism
And increases criminality. Revenge
still persists and reformation lags
behind We put the sick on = pun
@shment basis. We forget that the
solidarity Of the race is as universal
"a law az gravitation and that we
cannot mistreat one of the least of
these our fellows with impunity."