The Coconino sun., 1925-04-17
GIVE OUR PRISONERS A FAIR CHANCE


good business sense and sense Of justice:
When your good chairman gave me the privi-
lege of having part in your conference program
she permitted me to choose my own subject. AS
/ looked over the list of measures that have been
proposed and fostered by the women of Arizona,
realized the hopelessnesS of discussing them all
even in a general way. So I decided to confine
my discussion to one subject-the employment of
prisoners.
To my mind there-is no greater need for con-
stIuctiye and humane legislation than upon this
subject, and few problems of our present day
civilization more important than the problems of
how to prevent crime; what TO do with our criIni-
mails how to bring about their reformation
am going to suggest the same prescription as
a solution of all of these problems, but before do
ing 50 | am going to classify our criminals and
eliminate one class from this discussion.
am going to place in this class those who are
inherently bad and mentally deficient; the degen-
erate the immoral as distinguished from the i'm
moral. | am content to leave the disposition of
this class to experts. They get attention enough
from the sentmentalists, the theorists and re-
llgious fanatics; and notoriety-the thing they
crave nost-from our newspapers. If science can
do anything for them, it of course should be DONE
but If not, the best interests of society demand
that they be incareerated in some suitable insti-
tuition during their natural lives, and the world
would be better off 1T they would put with them
the newspaper men who fill their papers with the
nauseating details of their revolving crimes.
In order that may not be misunderstood /
want to make it plain now that I am eliminating
from this discussion this type of criminal and am
going to talk to you about the normal man who
has been caught in the meshes of the law the
aaan who commits crime In fit of passion, or
with some provocation and the man who commits
crime for personal gain the thief, the enbezzler
the robber, the burglar and the forger.
IS | have no doubt the records of our penal insti-
tutions will show that 90 per cent of their in
mates are included in this class
Some are there because they wanted to get rich
thing.
Il Some are there because they were not content
to live within their means and hoped that by some
good fortune they would be able to pay back the
money taken, because they were determined to
t'keep up with the Joneses."
Some are there for petty thefts and forgeries
to relieve real distress of themselves or their
families.
But the great majority are there because of
their aversion to work. because of their deter
1nination to travel the easy road.
In all probability rs per cent Of the crime COM
fnitted is due to determination to get by with
out work. and we fathers and mothers must as
sumo our share of the responsibility for that con-
dition.
How many of us assign to our children task
to perform each day and make it our business to
see that they perform it.
How many fathers after hard work in office or
factory carry in the wood and do the chores while
their boys chase the streets?
How many mothers have rough and calloused
hands from washing, scrubbing and sweeping in
order that their petted, pampered and spoiled
daughters may keep their hands soft and lily
white?
How many of US proudly tell our children we
are going to see that they have an easier time
than we had?
1t is all wrong In following this tendency of
the whole American people, we are doing ourselves
an injustice and are depriving our children of
one of the greatest privileges of lfe the privilege
of working, the doing of something worth while.
We are all too willing to leave the education
and training of cur children to the schools. We
are too willing to shirk our responsibilities and
look to the schools to teach our children lessons
of thrift and industry.
1t is no discredit to our schools and our school
system to say that they fall short of the accom-
pishment of the impossible things we expect of
them. Educators and our common sense will tell
us that schools educate but do not and cannot
train our children. They are in school and under
the supervision of their teachers about 40 per cent
of their wakeful hours. We demand enough of
our schools when we turn over to them the re-
sponsibility for our children DO per cent of the
time 1t is up to us to assume that responsibility
for the other 90 per cent
If we will teach our children to work. if we can
make them realize that work is one of the great
est blessings of mankind and the accomplishment
of something worth while one of it's greatest joys,
we will soon be able to get along without about
rs per cent of our prisons.
Before considering the problem of what to do
for our prisoners, can't resist paying my re-
spects to those unfortunates who have not learned
their lessons of industry; who were not taught to
work those loafers and vagTants who infest every
community in the United States. To my mind
they are the most pitiable, and the most useless
specimens of humanity God has ever created. And
when / speak of the loafer and vagrant don't
want to be understood as referring solely to the
poor ragged hobo of the bumpers, the trucks, and