, 1922-01-12

treatment that most people would agree upon As rea-
sonAble and sensible. We are bound 20 have q Ger
tain percentage Of law breakers and untortunAtes IN
every community and the problem Is the same the
country over, the only difference being the percentage
The subject has attracted no less q perzsn than
AGoiph LeWisohn who has said; There are q Few tun-
damentaI principles regarding the treatment Of pris-
oners on which we all must agree. namely. that tn
prisoner must not be exploited by contract labor or In
any other way and that there must be humane and sen
sible treatment Of the prisoner, with a view that when
he goes back to the community he viii be able to take
care Of himself and his family and be likely to become
a good and useful member Of society
81 would like to see the number Of prisoners greatly
reduced. 1 would only put such people in prison as
arc likely TO be dangerous to the community. As It
is now, most Of the prisoners are, of course. only tenn
porarily confined, and if il 5 claimed they are a men
prison does not solve the problem, because when they
come out they are at least as dangerous or more
dangerous than they were before, as long as we con-
duct prisons as most prisons are now conducted.
1--WE spend a tremendous amount Of money every
year all over the country in building new cOurthouses,
maintenance Of courts, judges, attendants, criminal
lawyers, district attorneys, prisons, wardens, keepers
and all other enormous expenses connected with this
work. / would not be astonished if it amounts to at
least several hundred millions Of dollars a year. II
would like TO cut this expense, say, in half, and use
the money thus saved for the prevention Of crime.
~ would like to give all the people good educations,
Rave plenty Of Young Mems Christian Associations and
Young Women's Christian Associations, educational al
li-rees. plenty Of public baths, many free concerts,
music, school settlements, Fairgrounds, parks, recrea-
ton for the people, young and old instruction in home
gardening, good housing facilities and many other
things. / think il we do all these things we will great
ly reduce the number Of prisoners.
"When the prisoner is sent TO prison he is made de-
pendent, and therefore IL evidently becomes the duty
Ct the community to see that he Ut she is properly
treated and taken care of. It is for the self-protection
Ct the community to try to so arrange that when the
prisoner is discharged from prison he will be able to
AXE care of himself and his family, also that he has
been so treated that his health is not impaired, as
otherwise he becomes n danger to the community,
spreading disease.
Besides the practical side Of the matter there is,
Of course, the humane side. We are neglecting our
duty If we remain Indifferent to these matters. | con.
slider 1t just as cruel to neglect the proper care Of the
prisoner rs was the sinking Of the steamer Lusitania
with n number of civilians on board. The course which
should be pursued is, / think, evident to every fair
minded man who has given this matter thorough con-
sideration.
"As soon as the prisoner is committed he should be
examined by a first class physician to determine
whether he is feeble-minded, also his general health
should be determined and the occupation he is suited
for. He shc1'd be put to work promptly, preferably
at outdoor labor, such as farming, road building, etc.
He should receive q fair remuneration for the work
he performs, which should go partly toward the sus-
tenance of his family. He should be altogether so
treated that when he comes out of prison it is likely
that he viii be in good normal condition, able to take
care Of himself and become a useful member of
society. |
what greater folly can there be than to have un.
hcalthy cells for these prisoners, narrow, dark and
damp, so that It is almost certain that they will con-
tract disease and when they come out will spread the
disease? It certainly is a crime against the prisoner
and a crime against the rest of the population. There
night be some difference Of opinion as to the way
prisoners should be handled with regard to how COM
Portable they should be made, but to leave the insane
with the sane, to put prisoners in unsanitary cells, to
subject prisoners to inhuman treatment of any kind is
utterly inexcusable ard criminal.
eve certainly have no right to ignore these matters
end to plead, Am 1 my brothsr's keeper?'"