Evening star., 1925-12-04
DECLARES PENAL
SYSTEM FAILURE
Dr.. White Tells Nurses Grim
inalS Should Be Permanent
Iy InStitutionaIized.

Imprisonment of criminals. most of
whom are feeble minded. in penal in
stitutionS in an attempt to reform
them is a failure as we'll as an old
fashioned method. DR. William A.
White. superintendent OF st. Eliza
beth's Hospital. said in addressing the
Middle Atlantic division OF the Ameri-
can Nurses Association In session at
the Washington Hotel today He as
serted that the only solution OF the
criminal Is to institutionalize him per-
manently.
This will be a great and difficult
problem to solve. DIR. White said, but
II is a vital requisite OF modern civili-
zation and one that must be solved II
we are TO maintain civiliZatio
The old idea of putting a desperate
criminal In solitary confinement in
the hope that he would mediate upon
his sins and be moved to start life
anew has been exploded in the light
OF modern scientific facts" he said.
Premature Deaths.
malignant criminal placed in soil
tary confinement for a length of time
goes crazy and eventually dies pre-
imaturely, he declared. Take away
from man all the reasons for living
d.N
and all the basis of his ambition. and
there is nothing left TO do but die. -
II Is hopeless, he said, to put Grim
inals in prison for a term of wears
and then to free them to repeat their
crimes, which they inevitably will do.
/ his 'compulsion to repetition.' as
Freud termed it." DR. White said. is
caused by the development of the
mental reactions.
Inc hope OF eradicating the feeble.
nilhoed ana criminal equation Of our
population, he said. lies in the proper
training and care of the child. who
stands at the point Of supreme i'm.
portance in development Of the race.
lhls involves bettering housing con.
dltions. childhood environment edu.
cational training and a great expan.
sion or the preventive medical work
Coolidge Receives Delegation.
At noon the more than 200 dele.
gates to the convention were receivd
at the White House by President Cool
idge.
Mrs. Anne L. Hansen. president of
the division. opened the meeting and
called DR.. Loren b. Johnson to the
chair to conduct the mental health pro.
gram. Miss Harriet Bailey Of the
New York State department Of edu-
cation also spoke.
Miss AIDA Eldredge president Of the
American Nurses. Association. which
has Nationwide membership of 90 :.
900. spoke on the development Of the
activities Of the association.
Miss Eldredge. in a conference with
other members OF the association. also
declared her support OF the proposed
bill which would require registration
of all nurses in the District of Co.
lumbia. before they be permitted to
practice as graduate nurses. The bill
was proposed yesterday by Miss Ger
trude Bowling of Washington.
Praises Health Nurses.
DR.. Hugh s. Cumming. Surgeon
General of the United States Public
Health Service. in an address last
night in which he pointed TO standard =
ization Of health measures and pro-
motion Of public health measures, de-
clared that mo agency has made bet
ter contacts with the individual or a
greater or more efficient appeal than
the public health nurse"
Public health nursing. he said. was
q comparatively new activity, the first
municipal nurse having been engaged
in Los Angeles in 1898. The World
War served TO stimulate a greater de-
mand and last year there was a record
of 10000 public health nurses at work
Half of these, he said. were enga ged
in municipal service in 99 OF the
largest cities Of the Nation.
DR.. Cumming said a budget was
necessary, and that it had been found
after two surveys in 100 of the larg.
est cities that efficient health work
could be carried on at cost Of $1.75
per capita annually.
Others Make Addresses.
Miss Grace Abbott, chief of the
Children's Bureau, Department of
Labor, and Miss Clara D. Noyes. di-
rector of the American Red Cross
Nursing Service here. also spoke.
Round-table discussions on the re-
lation of the local committees of the
American Red Cross to the units of
the nursing personnel of the Reserve
Medical Corps will be conducted this
afternoon by Capt. Blanche Rulon of
the office of the Surgeon General of
the United States Army, and Miss Ida
Butler, assistant to the director of the
American Red Cross Nursing Service
Of this city. Discussions on private
duty nursing will be led by Miss Helen
F. Greaney OF Philadelphia, and Miss
Ruth I. Taylor. instructor at the Army
School of Nursing. Army Medical Cen.
ter, of Washington, will speak on
methods in education of the student
nurse.
Maj. Julia c. Stimson. superintend.
ent OF the Army Nurse Corps. and
president OF the League of Nursing
Education OF the District OF Colum-
oia. will preside at banquet to be
held at the Washington Hotel at 7:30
o'clock this evening. Addresses Will
De made by DR.. Thomas A. Groover
president of the Medical Association
OF Washington. and by Miss Annie w
Goodrich, dean Of Yale University
School of Nursing. and by DR.. Haven
Emerson, dean Of the department of
public health and hygiene of Colun,.
bia University.