Palisadian., 1924-12-05
ADDRESS ON PRISON REFORM BY AN
EX-CONvICT, ED M0RRELL, HOLDS.
A LARGE GATHERING SPELLBOUND
Tells of Horrors in San Quentin Prison and Urges Penal
Reform; Says Prisons Train Criminals and They
Come Out Wanting to Get Even;" Miss Helen
Turner Gives Delightful Illustrated Talk on Art.

The auditorium of the Cliffside High
School was filled on last Wednesday
evening by representative audience,
who heard one of the finest addresses
ever delivered in Grantwood. Ed
Morrell, a former convict. was the
speaker, and he came to Grantwood
under the auspices of the Cliffside
Park Parent Teacher Association.
Mr.. Morrell told of his experiences
as a convict in San Quentin prison in
California some fifteen years ago,
where after three years of solitary
confinement he was subjected to al
most unbelievable tortures for two
years.
He was the youngest of band of
robbers as youth. They specialized
in Wells-Fargo Express robberies. He
was caught after several offenses and
together with several companions was
sentenced to life imprisonment in San
Quentin.
For three years he was in solitary
anu NifCu thO hOi AOAc
of that living death. He explained
that the average length of time man
could live in solitary confinement is
sixteen months.
Having survived three years, his
prison keepers removed him and start
ed to apply tortures, such as lashlng
for thirty-six hours continuously, sew
faRino with
the whip. Another torture he describ-
ed was the lifting of his body by four
men to considerable height, then it
was dropped into heavy chair, which
finally crashed from the force of the
impact.
His case came to the attention of
higher authorities and he was put in
charge of 1900 prisoners. He made
good, started the first school in San
Quentin and had the first dental chair
installed. He was pardoned and is
now devoting his life to bringing
about a change in the penal system
through the state legislatures.
He could neither read nor write un-
til he was twenty-five, and his early
youth was spent working in coal
mine.
Mr. Morrell claims that prisons to-
day are nothing more than schools for
crime and that 100000 come out an
nually better trained and more in
clined toward law breaking than when
they went in. The idea of the aver
age ex-convict is to "get even" with
society.
He said there are 100000 (nearly
1,OOO,OOO) in the prisons of this coun
try today and the cost of maintaining
the penal institutions is $10,000,000,-
900 a year.
1t is his contention that criminals
are the result of environment. He
says there never was voluntary
criminal and he never knew MUIR
derer whose desperate act was not
caused by some outside force.
There is no such thing as prison re-
form, he insisted, and there won't be
until the prisons cease to be run by
politicians. Real conservation of hui
mans must start in the public schools.
Mr.. Morrell is urging the appoint
ment of psychopathic boards in all
states to examine law breakers and
determine whether or not they are
mentally responsible for their acts and
whether they need treatment or pun
iShment.
He said he had long ago discovered
there is one great force, in the world
and it can be used either construc-
lively Or destructively, and that is
love.
Miss Helen Turner gave an illus
trated talk on the worlds works of
art which was an able and highly en-
tertaining as we'll as instructive fea-
ture of the evening and was enjoyed
and appreciated by all. Miss Turner
is the head of the art department of
the local schools.
Professor George Hall introduced
Mr.. Morrell.