The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-04-10
FOR SHORT TERMS
Court Martial Sentences VIII
Be Reduced to Months.
Soldier May Return to Civil
Life Soon, Is Plan.

New York, April 10.-Heavy court
martial sentences of life imprisonment
or such terms as twenty and thirty
years are reduced to minimum or
months by plan permitted under
army regulations which has been in
troduced into the disciplinary bar
racks at Governors Island by the com
mandant, Col. John E. Hunt The
plan involves a far-reaching scheme
by which the soldier-pr prisoner may
not only return to civil life free from
the stigma of imprisonment, but bet
ter equipped physically and educa-
tionally to take up the battle OF ire
To explain the working of the
scheme and of the care of prisoners
a party of newspaper men were IN
vited to visit the island UNDER the
auspices of the national war work
council of the Y. NJ. c. A. The coun-
Gil is cooperating with the military
authorities in the educational work
being ca rried on among the prisoners
There are between 500 and 700 pris-
oners at present in the barracks.
Some of the men are from overseas
and about half are serving sentences
for military offenses, including one
life term, several of twenty years
and a few for less periods. What
these sentences really mean was ex-
planned by Colonel Hunt.
Terms Are Indetcrminate.
ain practice" he said, men serving
ten, twenty, thirty years or life SEN
fences are really sentenced to indie
terminate terms. When a man comes
here we make a careful investigation
of his whole life from boyhood- All
the circumstances involving his Of
lenses are reviewed and if his gem
eral conduct is, and has been good. ne
can apply for restoration after three
months. Such application is rarely
if ever refused and within six months
from the time he was convicted, he
may rejoin his regiment to complete
his service and receive an honorable
discharge. There has been a good deal
of criticism of the heavy sentences i'm
posed by courts martial, but I believe
it has been largely due to the public
misunderstanding the facts. Such
sentences have been imposed purely
because of the deterrent effect and
am convinced thai they have saved
thousands of young men from get
ting into trouble"
The extraordinarily small proportion
of men convicted of serious offenses in
the American army was emphasized by
Colonel Hunt "Out of about four
million men who Joined the colors,
he said, there are only about five
thousand in the military prisons at
Leavenworth, A1catraz and here. I'm
der the draft system we got into the
army a great number of men with
criminal records in civil life. we
know five thousand of these by name
and half of that number are included
in the five thousand now in the three
military PRISONS
Colonel Hunt i'm Charge.
One of the principal features of the
reha bilitation scheme introduced into
Fort Jay, under Colonel Hunt, is the
"honor system" Two companies have
been formed of prisoners with good
records and these men are put on their
honor, without any interference from
the prison officials. They occupy a
barracks apart from the fort, work
under their own on-cOmmisSioned Of
ficers and even detail their own
guards IL
Under the educational portion of the
prison curriculum, largely in the hands
of the Y. M. G. A. officials, classes are
held in various trades. There are also
classes of purely scholastic nature.