The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-24
WORKS TO. STOP {: : EXPLOITING 3 OF
 ]: ]: PRISON INMATES
Millionaire's Hobby Is To 2 ts Arouse Public Senti- : ment On Subject


 -s.,,cs sts @- ------- s.z3a NEW YORK, Aug. 24-The editors sG of the various metropolitan dailies, not sSaexcluding those of other periodicals,
 will agree that Adolph Lewisohn has occupied no little space in their editorial -secolumns. Indeed. it seems that Mir. Lew. s.fisohn, who is seventy five, multi-mil- --s,hefazre,, and a philanthropist, finds it ,zseasential thatyhis letters appear regular aaalyA9 These epistles invariably deal with AScprison reform, which doubtless is the vs avocation of this gentleman whose sta zL dium-~the Lewisohp Stadium--is by no szmeans,an unknown feature of New York S4City. =. # es ...- .ss.44
 *:3 Tn his office at 61 Broadway, situated , in the heart of the financial district, .,, Mir, Lewfsohn granted iie a half hour --T bis time, preparatory to engaging in an emergency conference. Tn slow and measured time, the eminent industrialist efaborated on his theories and work, ~ finding it somewhat arduons to gather = his sentences with ense. On several oc- ,.casions he was. obliged to resort to his ,.sseeretary. for information on sundry points =.
 elgc There have been great improvements sEin the, industries related to. the prisons and prisoners" began Mir. Lewisohn, especially those regarding the extrac- tion of by-proddcts. There is not so sEsh1ch waste now as there used to be. .
 ea..@ To Better Conditions
 As president of the National Com --mittee on Prisons and Prison Labor, Mir. Lewisohn contributed his liberal share to the many suggestions submitted in favor of better industrial conditions in the prisons. It might be noted by the . way. that Mir. Lewisohn was to great degree responsible for the work of this committee, his financial contributions accounting for much. Many of the rec contradictions made by the philan- thropist, not only as president of this committee, but also as president of the Prison Survey Committee, have been .acted upon with desirable results. In fHCt, Governor Smith, in his message - recommending the reorganization of the E prison industries, declared that ''the . key to the prison problem lies in the : prison industries and that by definitiz- 2 ing the prison industry program and @,putting it into effect, we shall be talk : ing as long a step as can be taken at : this. time toward the solution of the 6 entire problem" The governor was not E inappreciative in his report, for he in- 2 cluded that the expense of the investi- z gatinn made by the Prison Survey Com E mittee was borne by Adolph Lewisohn, E whom he had appointed its head.
 AStop exploiting the prisoners 3 z pleaded MT. Lewisohn, addressing the z industrial world at large, presumably, ss.l ''so. that he may be able to support him self and his family when he gets dis charged"
 One of his suggestions is that the , governor appoint superintendent of prison industries, whose duty it will be s to supervise and regulate the work of the convicts. Another recommendation 2 is4hat regular examinations be made of the prisoners. K .as.sas
 is hoped that New York state will conduct these examinations through psychiatrists," he continued. "The pris- { oners should be then treated according ly. The sub-normal should be sent to in- stitutions where they can be properly [ taken care of. It has to be done"
 Talent Lies Dormant.
 G.-e4 It-is. Mir. Lewisohu's contention that Ssmnch talent and genius ie-d dormant in many a prison inhabitant. Furthermore, he believes that the men who are on the y inside of the prison are little different from those who are on the outside
 "In Atlanta" went on Mir. Lewisohn, $ thirty per cent of the inmates have ] been jailed for offending the prohibi- ton law. That is not what you would consider a vicious crime in the sense ! of real wrongdoing. Murder, and so on, that's different. And you win find that ! in Sing Sing twelve per cent of the men [ have served in the World war.
 Many of the convicts," declared Mir. ! Lewisohn, ''have been. misguided. Their ability has been revealed in the wrong way. These men should be treated de cently their conditions should be sani- ! tary, and their education should be at tended to. They should be given work to do, the right work, and should re- ceive remuneration for their labor. You can't get good work unless you pay for it. The men in Sing Sing get only a cent and half day. That's not going to make them give their best"
 Incidentally, this opinion coincides with that of Governor Smiths, for in the 1atter's message he declared: "The prison industries are in other respects not organized to offer any incentive to the prisoners to do more than the min imum amount of work"
 Mir. Lewisohn was appointed the president of the Prison Survey Commit tee in 1919. The governors report was , made to the legislature on January q, 1924, and contained suggestions that { were actuated by the committees find ings. a&-s:s. p Lost articles are fornd.s work is ob-