New-York tribune., 1921-05-08
"SLAPPING THE SO ON YOU"

role Commission gave him eight months in the
reforinatory. Then we let him go UP in Cam
ada, where he worked in a lumber camp, doing
HIS first real manual labor. He let the drugs
alone, saved money and got himself new set
Of teeth, Of which he was very proud. He
came back to New York and fell into old CAM
Partnerships and old ways. He is taking drugs
again, but we are going to give him another
chance--oR somewhere away from the evil as
sociations that corrupted him in the first place.
If he is really game he will win out"
The Parole Commission has to deal with most
Of the oldtime criminals. Yet, no matter how
many times man has been. sentenced on pre-
vious occasions he is never looked upon as hope
less material. On the commissions records
there is the story of d man seventy two years
old, who has been eight times sentenced to the
penitentiary and has served approximately
thirty years of his life behind the bars. "There
is only she'll of the man left" says the type
written study of the old mans case. The re-
port shows that the commission secured job
after job for this "shell Of man" until some
thing was found which he could do. Now he
is a night watchman on the docks. He has
stuck at the work for months and recently had
his salary raised. Even "shels of men, are
worth salvaging, it would seem.
One man who is being wrestled with by the
Parole Commission has had forty-seven short
time convictions, and has spent eleven years in
jail. Seven times, according to official records,
he has been rearrested on the day of his re-
lease from jail. Such prisoners form real
problem, but surprising number Of them
have "gone straight"
"It Is not SO much desire to reform that
makes such oldtime criminals take the right
path as an inherent distaste for supervision"
said Mr.. Cruger. "When prisoners are out on
parole the commission keeps in touch with
them during the entire term Of jurisdiction,
which is three years. Thus prisoner may be
released from jail in one year, but we will
have control of his actions for the next two
years. If the commission so desires the pris-
oner must report regularly. We keep in close
touch with the more hardened cases. This
gets on their nerves in time. They become
restive under it. They go straight as the
only means of being relieved from the re-
straint of constant reporting. When such
case gets his release from parole he is pleased
beyond words
By personal contact the parole commits
sioners are able to ascertain just why and how
some men get led into ways of crime.
'Here is an interesting case,' said Mr.. Cru
ger, pointing to a paper on his desk. 'This
young fellow was sent up as dealer in mar
cotics. There is no question about his guilt,
but we have found out few things that seem
to be in his favor. He worked steadily for
ten years and turned in most of his salary to
his mother. Then he had finger cut off
while at work, and while he was laid off, wait
ing for the wound TO heal, he got into bad
company. Some one showed him how he could
make little easy money by selling drugs.
The new game looked attractive, and he kept
at it till he got caught. But his previous
good record will go a long way in his case
toward getting him short sentence and a
chance to make good on parole"
There are five women. among the parole