Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-03-03

T UNDREDS of thousands of de-
IL PENDANTS are annual ly
charged with crime in this
i Il country. Let us step into a
court room in any American
city and look at one of them as he
is brought to the bar Of justice. His
trial, which may have been long, or
short. or no trial at all If he has
pleaded guilty, Is concluded. If he
is found guilty, he stands to receive
his sentence. If he is an accidental
offender, he may be put on probation,
possibly he may get of with a fine
and an admonition. But last year
over 5000 such hapless individuals
were committed to Federal peniten-
tiaries and $4,000 more were COM
mitted to penitentiaries of the sew
eral States.
Who is this prisoner? One out of
100 is a gangster: one out of 1000 is
the much-publicized public enemy
No. /, 2 or 3. These desperadoes re-
ceive a long sentence in some peni-
Tertiary and the community breathes
sigh Of relief.
Other Group Most Important.
What happens to the other 90 per
cent? They are first offenders, va
bank embeZZlers, wife deserters. etc.
Some commit crime from economic
pressure. Some are sorely tempted.
Some are feeble minded or neurotic.
Some have lived in the squalid areas
of our large cities. in which, in very
truth, no other course but crime was
open to them.
Many Of these varying types Of indi-
viduals likewise receive a sentence
long or short. and again the district
attorney and the law-abiding element
of our society sit back with the reali-
zation that a job has been finished
and that they have assisted in the
maintenance of law and order and the
protection of our communities.
But this. unfortunately, is not the
end of the story. It is not the end
of the story for the man led away to
prison, be he penitent or defiant: it
Is not the end of the story for the
unfortunate and suffering family
which. in a goodly proportion of such
cases, Is left behind. It is but the
beginning of the modern attempt to
protect society through the reforma-
ton Of the offender.
Many Finish Sentence.
During the same period that these
$4,000 persons are safely housed in
our penal institutions another 10000
will emerge, having finished their SEN
fences, an experience which. at its
best, has been a bitter and deteriorat-
ing one. A young prisoner in Fed
eral penitentiary is approaching the
end of his sentence. Through all his
term he has maintained an air of
turbulence and unwillingneSs to abide
by the rules. Considerable of his
time he has had to spend in segrega-
ton.
He was asked the other day by an
official of the prison:
what do you propose to do when
you have served up until the last day
that the Government can hold you on
this sentence?"
His answer was this:
II propose to 60 out and kill every
officer of the law that I meet"
Bravado, no doubt. When he
breathes the free air Of the outside
once again he may change his tune.
The fear of prompt retribution may
deter his hand. The officer of the
law may get him first. But just sup
pose that 10000 men emerged from
prison each year for the next 10 years
with this attitude of mind.
Assimilation Big Task.
The problem of the discharged pris-
oner has been q battling one for So
ciety to solve for generations past.
In the early days society was afraid
to make the attempt to assimilate
such hardened individuals. They were
deported. They were branded. They
were set apart from their fellows. The
ticket of leave man and the ex-con-
Wet have always been thorns in the
flesh of the body polite. How can