New Britain herald., 1929-08-17
CROWDED PRISONS
 HANDICAP REFORM
College Education Would End Many Criminal Careers, Is Claim

New York, Aug. 17.-For many prison inmates a college education would work the greatest possible retormatory measure, and for many college students few months be- hind the bars would be inestimable character builders.
 This is according to Prof, AL sernon Tassin, college professor and author, who teaches literature at Columbia University and has taught the same subject in several prisons. He says there is no difference in the quality of work turned out by his various pupils.
 Prisoners are just as good stu dents as college men," he said. The prison of today has too much discipline: the college has prac- tically none. If we could strike some sort of an average between these two institutions, it would be better all around"
 Providing Activity
 Tassin is sincerely interested in prison reform work and has de- voted much time to it. He has gone into eastern penitentiaries to teach because he believes that the reform problem is to give some form of activity, mental or manual. besides the prison routine. He believes a convict must have some thing to do besides chew on his own resentment.
 In some of his prison classes, Tassin has found men with excep- tional literary ability and he has following up the mems work and helping to place it in magazines. At present there are about 50 men in various penal institutions who submit their work to him, and ask for suggestions Much of his own free time is given to this voluntary service.
 The professor now keeps in close touch with his special protegcs. When he feels that some member of this unusual extension class" is becoming discouraged with his literary efforts, Tassn personally goes to the prison and confers with the man, reading his manuscripts and offering encouragement.
 "To be sure" he said, "cvery safe cracker isn't mute, inglori- ous Milton. I have found very few geniuses among prisoners, but I have found few in college, for h, ;- ;,, the world at large. but what there is should be fostcred
 Looking to Future.
 "Take, for instance. the very fine work that is being done by Lawrence Maynard, in Trenton prison. It appeared in the Ameri- can Mercury and other leading magazines. Since the first of the year he has written ten articles and short stories, nine of which Henry Mcnken himself has declared sal able. I don't know of anyone in college with better record. May nard also is working on a novel and has completed two plays. When he comes out, he will have a future and mighty few prisoners do" Warden Lewis Lawes of Sing Sing ridiculod the idea that certain physical characteristics proclaim the criminal He said if he could | dress his prisoners in street clothes and mix them with any average crowd, no one could pick the crimi- nal from the free man, by his ap- pcarance.
 Tassin is equally sure there is no | criminal type, and that there is no criminal mind. He says he could transfer college boys to prison and prisoners to college classes. and he himself could not tell which person belonged where.
 He agrees with Lawes that the basis of the crime problem lies in meet the convenience of society Irather than the conscience, and that nobody cares about the ethics in volved.
 \ Human Trait
 eve should regard prisoner as a person like ourselves" Tassir went on, "a person who wants tc gratify his desires, and gets caught doing so.
 with prisons crowded as tA,y are today, it is no wonder the men become desperate and stage revolts. They feel that they have nothing to lose, and possible free