The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-09-21
Liberal Viewpoint
-Ry DR. HARRY ELMER BARNES

THE development Of the parole system was
| i one of the major phases Of progress in
penoIogy during the last century. A recognition
| Of this fact does not imply any belief that our
parole procedure has attained perfection Like
most other manifestations of present-day civil
| ization it has been subject to notable abuses.
Many critics have been unable to diferenti-
| ate between the virtues Of the parole system as
pathological principle and its incidental defects.
| the latter due more to inadequate funds for
parole administration than to Incompetence on
/ the part Of the parole administrators.
OF late, the parole system has been bitterly
attacked In the last issue of the Saturday
Evening Post, for example, there was a cartoon
| by Herbert Johnson, depicting the chairman of
prison parole board kissing a cynical thug
eood-by with the injunction, Nov be a real
good boy" Behind them stands a car filed with
heavily armed grinning gunmen the car door
open to receive the paroled criminal.
TINE real essence of the situation of the pa
l. rolled man today, even one who wishes to
| go straight, is much more accurately described
in the following news note in last Sundays
New York Times:
"The problem of what to do with man who
asked to be sent to Sing Sing SO that he might
go straight confronts Bridgeport police.
"Penniless, exhausted and unable to find
work 50-year-old Herbert Corwin walked into
police headquarters and asked to be sent back to
the prison from which he was paroled month
ago.
"Td rather serve the rest of my time back
in Sing Sing than resort to stealing Mr. Cor
win told Sergeant William Foster. I want you
to turn me back for violation Of parole
Sergeant Foster was reluctant to accede to
the request.
az hate to book you, Corwin,' he said, be-
cause you've got what lot of other former
criminals lack 1 admire any ex-convict who
tries to go straight. you're victim of circum-
stances, but the breaks will eventually be yours
Sergeant Foster said he would notify the
New York state parole board of the situation.
MIR. Corwin said he served more than six
years of ten-year sentence for third degree
burglary in Riverhead, N. "
THE pathetic figure portrayed in the above
i citation differs from the average paroled
person only in his rather sensible determination
to return to prison with no more against his
record than existed at the time of parole
The best cure for flip criticism of the parole
system is for the critic, if he has modicum OF
honesty and candor to try to put himself in
the place of the man who just has been released
from a penal institution on parole
It is hard enough for an ordinary man
without prison record to be out of a job. 1t
is desperately difficult for him to get any work,
even though he may have the best of creden-
tials If we slap on top of this the almost
insuperable handicap imposed by prison record,
or the evasiveness necessary to conceal one, the
chances of getting an honest job are practi-
caly nil.
The alternative We impose on the great ma
jority of paroled prisoners is to return to crime
or starve 1t was not so long ago that the presi-
dent of one of our greatest railroad systems
publicly stated that if he were faced with the
alternative of starving or stealing he would steal
without hesitation We hardly can expect
paroled prisoner to reveal higher ethical stand
ards.
There will be no safe or sane administration
of the parole system until we make an employ
ment agency a compulsory department in every
up-to-date prison. To parole man without
assurance of a job or some form of reliable
come back within prison walls with another
string of crimes added to his already unfortunate
record.