The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1931-07-27
HORRORS
ARE MADE PUBLIC
BY FEDERAL BODY
Wickersham Commission Says
Present Methods Have Been
Proved Failures

washington, July q. B The
Wickersham law enforcement COM
mission Monday condemned the ma
tons prison system as antiquated,
inefficient. falling to reform the GRIM
inal or protect society, and as using
brutal disciplinary measures without
justification.
Submitting its seventh report to
President Hoover, dealing with penal
institutions, probation and parole"
the commission advocated creation of
q new system In which iron bars
would play but a small part and edu-
cation would be uppermost.
Much OF the report was q denuncia-
ton Of prison conditions, character
lied as almost incredible" under
which men were imprisoned in over
crowded cells without sufficient light
or fresh air or benefit of modern
plumbing.
It dashed out also at the system Of
prison discipline described as "tradi-
tional, ~antiquated, unintelligent and
not infrequently cruel and inhuman."
Asserting these methods contribute
to the increase Of crime by hardening
the prisoner" the commission urged
they be banished by law.
Among the punishments revealed,
many Of them visited upon prisoners
for slight offenses. were the shack
ling Of men to doors for IL hours a
day, whipping, placing them In
straight jackets, lashing them down
under streams Of cold water, confin-
ing them In cages so small that
movement was impossible, and keep
ing them in complete darkness for
days at a time on q ration OF four
ounces of bread every a. hours.
Branded as Failure
After asserting fatty the American
prison had failed as a business en-
terprise," and as an educational insti-
tuition, since men were released no
better than when committed, the com-
mission added:
THE prison has failed as q disciple
nary institution, the riots, the fire, the
use Of cruel and brutal measures of
punishment, the persistent recurrence
of murder within the prison, the pres
ence of narcotics, the frequent atmos-
phere Of hatred and bitterness, are
sufficient evidence.
1T is clear at present that the more
punishment in prison the more dis
content. the more discomfort the more
irritation, the more irritation the
more plotting, the more plotting the
more violation of rules and the great
er need for more severe punishment.
The whole procedure is In the nature
Of q vicious circle for which there
seems to be no remedy"
Outlining what it considered the
ideal, the commission asserted segre-
cation Of the diseased, insane, drug
addicted and hardened criminal is
one Of the first requisites. It held
fortress-like prisons of the Auburn
type were unnecessary save for the
worst types.
1.-The millions Of dollars now en-
ployed to construct elaborate maxi
mum security prisons" it said, could
with much better advantage, be used
In the development and proper fl
nancing Of adequate systems of pro-
baton and parole"
Would Pay Wages
Under the proposed system all pris-
oners would be paid wages, their
treatment would be more humanized,
the choosing Of prison officials would
be removed from politics and guards
would be trained specifically for their
task.
The commission asserted the pres
ent system of parole, In most Sec
tons, was little more than "a huge
joke" It scored the loose supervision
Of paroles, which in Is states was car
ried On by correspondence, making 1t
"easy to beat the game"
Some Of the institutions specifically
criticized were the state prison in
Oregon, the Charleston prison In
Massachusetts,. the Auburn and Gin
ton prisons in New York, the Folsom
prison in California and the old
prison at Joliet, III.
In the face Of such conditions, the
commission said, unemployment adds
q burden and strain upon both the
prison administration and the in
mates which becomes almost intoler-
able" It cited some instances In
which men were kept In their cells
almost "a hours q day and others
where they were made to sit on
benches In q loft from breakfast until
supper. simply for lack OF work.
Mentioning the riots at Folsom, the
Colorado state prison, Columbus.
Leavenworth. Jefferson City, Missouri.
Auburn, and Clinton. the commission
said In general that II the prisoners
were unnecessarily irritated "then no
amount Of discipline or cruelty viii
save the institution from internal vio-
lence, riot, fire and murder"
It disclosed that after "strict discip-
linary methods" were instituted ct
jefferson City, five men committed
suicide, four were killed by other
prisoners and 70 escaped.
FOOTBALL PLAYER KILLED