The New York herald., 1921-11-27
EInira Real Laboratory
To AnaIyze Poor Humanity

EImira Real Laboratory
To AnaIyze Poor Humanity
'Elmira Reformatory is finely equipped
for its campaign for the betterment of
delinquents. It's comfortable houses large
grounds and farming area, its excellent
educational and vocational equipment are
unsurpassed by any similar institution of
the country. The Judges have been assured
of these facts by the prison commission,
and If any doubt fingers in their minds as
to the facts a personal inspection would
convince them.
"A tremendous step was taken this year
by utilizing the reformatory at Napanoch
in a manner advised by increased know
ledge of the mental condition of delin-
quents. This institution was abandoned
as a reformatory and all young men SEN
fenced to reformatories are now at Elmira.
The last Legislature passed an act which
permits the commitment of the defective
criminal to the Napanoch institution,
which is now known as the State Institu-
tion for Defective Delinquents.
"a large proportion of the inmates of
penal and correctional institutions are
mentally subnormal and those definitely
feeble minded will hereafter be committed
to Napanoch, where they will be held for
a long period
ALREADY the institutions and the courts
have committed 300 of this class to Napa
noch. This procedure will be of benefit to
the institution and to the community, as
these defective inmates are those who upon
release from a correctional institution
often get into difficulties with the police.
There is room at Napanoch for 1000 pa
ho a1
Subject Fully Investigated
BY Committee in 1913
In 1918 special committee made up of
Frank e. Wade, John S. Kennedy, Sarah
L. Davenport George w. Davids and Allan
L. Holloway made report to the Legisa-
ture of its investigation on the matter of
mental disease and delinquency. In its
summary the committee said:
The most depressing part Of the situa-
ton is that New York State. with all its
vast expenditure of money to detect. try.
convict and punish the criminal, is not
repressing crime because 60 per cent of
the population of the various penal and
correctional institutions Of the State have
served previous commitments.
OF the 2,279 felons received into the
state prisons curing lne year 1911 81 per
cent we're repeaters With each new group
of repeaters in cost of trials, &C. the State
spends approximately s2,Oo0.OOO.
In the chronic repeater (recidivist) is
found the crux of the whole criminal prob
lem His existence TO such a large extent
among the inmates of prisons Is of itself
nroof of societys failure TO repress crime
or 70 reform the criminal.
Mr.. Kennedy, commenting on these con-
clusions, said
"At the last conference of prison commits
sions the hard boiled wardens who had
sneered at pschyiatry and its information
admitted that there was something in 1t.
I express myself too mildly; all are willing
to try what can be accomplished with this
new ala to reform.
every student of crimnology has
learned almost at the outset of his studies
that the most important single factor found
associated with chronic criminalsm is the
abnormal mental condition of the criminal
himself. Well authenticated facts are at
hand to indicate that at least 90 per cent