The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1920-07-01
@THE TRACY SYSTEM
Lcsle's Weekly Writes Up the Sheriff
OF Washington County.

~ ~ pS'illi1AOit GOG'iNJs
The last issue OF Leslie's Illu5treted
Weekly contains rpicture of the fami,-
lar face Of Sheriff Frank II. Tracy OF
Montpelier, advocator of the honor sys-
tenn In jails and prisons The article
reads
The other day, Boston newspaper
reporters were surprised at an out
pouring OF men and few women from
the jail. 1t would have looked like a
jail delivery if the prisoners hadn't
come down tho steps laughing and
chatting just like ordinary folk. In
quiry developed the fact that there was
a band concert on the common. sew
.eral blocks from the Jail. The sheriff
opened the celsand jail doors and the
music lovers Sailed forth. No guards,
10 sign of the 'stfong arm. They left
the jail, split up into little groups
and sauntered down the avenue. There
were ~ prisoners who were loosed on
the community by Sheriff Tracy act
AT o'clock that night there were %
Of them back in their cells,
"All Of the prisoners serving terms
have jobs about the town. Hair OF
what they make goes to the county
for their maintenance, and the other
half to the prisoners family, or him
Iae = II lie is unmarried They are let
out Of their cells in the morning to go
10 work and they go alone. They re.
turn alone and going to their cell doors
unlock them with the keys obtained
from the wall Of the sheriffs Office
IThay return to their cells, and in clos
ing their cell doors, lock themselves in.
Back in 1897 Sheriff Tracy put this
System into effect. He realized that
the evil OF the system then in vorpe
and still generally in vogue elsewhere.
| Is that prisoners sentenced for mis-
Idemeanors have been kept in ildeness
with nothing to do but corrupt one an.
iother. He saw chat prisoners left
jail worse men and women than when
they entered. He saw that for
a prisoner to regain his soltrespect
Inc mut be employed at remuneratiye
labor.
lie had his troubles. He was crit
aizcd even Y5liiied, according TO DR..
w, j. Smgerlandq who was sent to
olm9ht iy tile RasseIl Sag Founda
Itlon to investigate. but he won his
point. In 1915 the Vermont legisla.
turo passed % law permitting any her.
III IN the state to use the same sys.
TEN. 1t was adopted with mod'fica.
lions, but moi worry marked ones, at the
state prison in Windsor The Trcy
system perhaps better known as the
Vermont system, is nof in effect TO q
greater or lesser degree in Connect.
! cut Delaware, Ohio and wi consin.
The sheriff, i'm his earlier experi.
Iments, found opposition from organized
labor so he came to an ind arstanding
with the trade unions. The unions wifi
allow no prisoner not even union.
ized man, 20 work on a union lob. nj.
though he rogaing his union status on
their release, so the sheriff and his pris
oners stick to un-uniouized forms Of
employmeont, while the sheriff gets his
lEch a good jobs at as good wages
as he can. The Vermont plan takes
the burden Of. caring for the prison.
'ets or THE taxpayers' shoulders. II i'm.
proves the health and seif-respect of
tI prisoner and In moss case II
makes him better man when he
leaves Jail than when ne entered par.
5 eIe breaker have been few"