Evening star., 1933-12-10
Mob Rule and Our Prisons
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In North Carolina county complained:
There have been q number OF men
frcm this county who have served terms
in the Federal Penitentiary at Atlanta.
Upon their return they invariably re-
port good treatment and better food
than they ever had In their lives and
dilate upon the base ball games, moving
pictures and other entertainments ar
ranged at the penitentiary. feel that
q term in the Federal Penitentiary
should be made less attractive to q
class of men who are inclined 10 regard
It as q vacation from family RESPONSE
hilities."
The foregoing correspondence most
emphatically gives only one side of the
prison picture. There is another which
Is most unsatisfactory. Prison riots.
causing bloodshed and death, that so
often have occurred in the last few
years, have been staged, not merely
because the inmates are bad actors"
or have tired of their confinement and
want liberty, but because of intolerable
conditions under which they have been
compelled to exist. Then, too, there
have been instances of unwarranted
.leniency on the part Of the jailers.
sRich bootleggers have been given op-
portunities to absent themselves at will.
Skeptics ask whether our prisons can
be improved and the potential criminal
deferred at the same time. They won
der whether new and more adequate
buildings, decent living conditions, well
balanced diets, better qualified prison
guards and efforts to educate the in
dividual will not remove the fear Of
punishment by those who transgreSs the
law. The Governments authority on
the subject, Sanford Bates, director of
the Bureau of Prisons, has this. to say:
with conscientious effort we can do
all of these things and bring about
certainly some of the desired results.
In fact, our new prison system is to
be built around the concept that all
its prisoners must be returned to So
ciety and that society Is not protected
unless they are returned more efficient,
more honest and less criminal than
when they went in.
"A prison need not have dirt, idle
ness, graft and cruelty to deter persons
from committing crime. A strict pro-
gram of industry, enforced education
and fair discipline with q modicum
of constructive recreation will certainly
not induce people to commit depreda-
tions on society If the experience Of
punishment makes possible an ac-
quaintance for the first time with
some Of the higher things OF life. it
may still be desirable disciplinary ex-
perience.
Requirements High.
"a personality that can Withstand
continual association with human de-
pravity and be constantly assailed by
the anxieties and hazards which beset
the average prison warden must pos
sess more than the usual amount OF
physical, mental and moral stamina.
In all the varied fields of human re-
lations it would be difficult to imagine
q task requiring more Of intelligence,
patience and the will to serve than is
required of the prison warden under
the newer ideals.
Even with the provision for oppor-
tunities for improvements, with steady
employment at productive labor, with
o force of tactful and intelligent prison
guards, with suitable surroundings,
nourishing food, elevating literature
and stimulating recreation, no perma-
nent reformation can be expected until
In some mysterious manner the will
to reform can be instilled into the in
dividual personality. There Is no doubt
much to criticize In the management
Of our prisons, and there will be until
there is a deeper public recognition
Of the needs of these institutions;
together with more intelligence and
more liberation.
Acceptance of the new standards
makes it obvious that in place Of the
simple, easily administered functions OF
the traditional prison we have imposed
q difficult task upon our wardens and
superintendents. It seems to be gener-
ally agreed that delinquent personah-
ties cannot be basically changed by the
punitive approach. They may be sub
dued or terrorized. but not ,funda-
mentally altered. Can they be cured
with modern methods and with the ex-
penditure of an amount Of money within
q reasonable limitation?
In the same way that the failure
OF the repressive system is said to have
been demonstrated, there is not lacking
evidence, especially with our women's
hghtened State prison systems, that the
modern methods are more effective. The
highest percentage of success is among
the graduates of those institutions
which have the least aspect of punish
ment in their curriculum. What
We are demanding now Is further ac-
complishments.
Prisons of Future.
There are several directions which
will bring improvement in the future.
For instance, the prison buildings and
equipment of the next generation will
be so constructed and devised as to lend
themselves to the application of con-
structive programs of rehabilitation.
Stone caves and barred doors may be
necessary for a certain percentage of
our criminal population, but they are
not designed to bring out the higher and
nobler sentiments in human nature.
"The prison of the future will be of
strong construction where strength is
needed. but it will be clean and teach
cleanliness. It will be busy and teach
industry 1t will be stern and teach
discipline. The prison of the future
will be manned by persons who will be
trained in the science of understand
ing human nature . The prison
service can be professionalized. The
Government Is making start In that
direction.
RESORTS.