The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-06-24
PEOPLES FORUM
The Care Of Prisoners
To the Editor of The Age-Herald

To the Editor OF The AEe-Herald:
Prevention of crime is greatly
helped by the improvement
brought about by education. We
can all do our part to help re-
duce crime by setting good ex
ample. leading clean lives, giving
service. 1 do not believe that i'll
treatment of the prisoner or tor
turing him Is necessary as a de-
terrent. 1t has been used thou
sands of years and has not stopped
or diminished crtme. On the con-
trary it will harden the prisoner
and Is apt to make him revengcful
and worse than before. There is
one deterrent that ia Of particu-
lar Importance, and shat Is. swift
and sure Justice. The individual
should know that II he commits
crime it is very likely that he will
be caught and Will go TO prison,
and that there will be very little
delay about 1t.
In order to bring about good
conditions in prisons, the first
essential IS that the administra-
ton and those In charge of the
Lrisons. the officials high and low,
shall be high grads men of good
reputation and character ana shall
receive fair remuneration for their
services, and to aavo II under
stood that 1t is an honorable Of
flee II they do their work right.
These officials should receive in
struction how to handle the sub
ject. to qualify them for their
important duties. 1t should be
well understood that the adminis-
tration wants to help the prisoner
to reform and go out of prison a
better person than when he went
In. Cleanliness. proper care of
health. necessary exercise and
recreation. are imperat.vo; but
the prinoners should also be re-
CURED to do fair days work
and lie employed at such work as
they are fitted for and that will
be useful to them when they go
out of prison. For their labor
they should receive fair remuner-
alton. and for particularly good
work they should be rewarded.
Part of the wages earned should
be used for their maintenance
pendents. No good can possibly
be accomplished II the prisoners
see that those In charge of the
prisons are dishonest and unjust
or If those placed over them are
inferior. The prisons should of
course be entirely taken out of
politics. The education of the
prisoner both in the work which
he Is to perform and generally
with the view of improving him,
Is most important and there
should be the spirit of co-opera-
ton all around. think every
body will agree that the prisoner
upon entering the prison or re-
formatory should be thoroughly
examined as to his mental and
physical state. and his treatment
and the work assigned to him de-
termined accordingly. There
should of course be a competent
medical staff and the right type
Of religious representative. II we
devote the same effort toward
improving the prisoners that we
do In getting good results from
industry. We ought to succeed in
redeeming a very great number
Of cases.
ADOLPH LEwIsOHN,
New York. June 81, 1923.
State Regulation Needed
TO the Editor of The Age-Herald:
l know of no action that the
legislature could take that would
be of more Importance and of
greater benefit than the passing
OF law strictly regulating auto
mobile traffic. Automobiles are
increasing rapidly in Alabama, and
there is absolutely no attempt
made or any law on the statute
books regulating the traffic. Most
or the deaths. injuries and damage
is caused by reckless drivers, who
have no regard for other peoples
rights. County. as we'll as city,
officials should have full jurisdic-
ton over the traffic. No cars
should be allowed to be sold or
operated in the state that are not
equipped with non-glaring lamps,
and none should have cut-outs or
open exhausts. Your great paper
can create a sentiment for such
a law. T. M ROGERS
FlOrence Ale Tvc. IN 1000