Evening star., 1938-05-15

nothing remotely suggestive either of
fan dance or fade out in the way in
which the leagues Committee on Gov
eminent and the Legal Status of
Women has tackled the study Of
! prisons. They have observed and dis
cussed what goes on in the institutions,
the physical surroundings, what the
offenders do when they leave and how
they behave on probation.
Tomorrow at 1890 pm, the an
nual open meeting of the committee
will be held in the Y. w. c. A. The
Speaker will be DR.. Mary B. Harris,
superintendent of the Federal Indus
trial Institution for Women at Alder
son, w. Va. Her subject is What to
Do With Women Offenders" Mrs.
Klein will preside. The honor guests
will be DR.. James Nolan, director Of
the Criminal Justice Association: Ell
wood Street, director of public well
fare; Ray Huff, superintendent Of
penal institutions of the District Of
Columbia; Vincent 6accardi, chairman
OF the Corrections Committee of the
Council of Social Agencies, and John
VI lllS SOlltCllOllS
Committee of the Board of Trade.
The Committee on Government and
Legal Status of Women is not a large
one. 1t meets twice month. One is
a discussion meeting and the other is
a field trip to one of the institutions
under study. After the first hand
information has been obtained, the
t,or 1,ic
information. ideas developed in discus
sion and ideas presented by speakers
are added together and weighed and
evaluated. Recently as result of this
procedure the committee has formu-
lated nine recommendations, which
represent the concenSus of the group.
1t is no mere coincidence that the
Prison Industries Reorganization Ad-
ministration, appointed by the Presi-
dent to study the same subject has
arrived at practically the same con-
clusions.
During the past year, the group has
studied the Woman's Bureau and the
House of Detention. the District Jail,
and the work house at Lorton
First of ALL" Mrs. Klein said "the
most important of our recommended
tions is that a changed technique be
instituted in handling prisoners. Un-
like the present situation where in
general the punishment fits the crime,
the punishment should in our opin-
' ion fit the criminal. BY that is meant
that the offender should be carefully
examined, physically, mentally, So
cially and economically. With clear
picture of his or her condition and
background, it will be easier to come
to some sort of a conclusion as to
what should be done with the case.
The objective in handling offenders
is to protect society and, if possible,
to fit the individual for a return to
nomal life.
1.-THE emphasis, of course, is always
on the protection of society. which is
more important than the individual
Yet the individual is entitled to proper
handling. Two men might be con-
victed of the same offense, and in
one case five years would be the
proper term of restraint. One year
might be sufficient to recondition the
second man and return him to the
paths of good behavior. This could
be determined through the clinical
method of studying the two cases. 1t is
2 technique that is being tried in New
York State, in Detroit and in Chicago
with promising results"
Mrs. Klein believes the second i'm
portant point, in the treatment of
offenders. is education, particularly
vocational education, which will fit
them to earn a livelihood on their re-
lease from prison All grades and
types of mentality come into prisons.
Some of the women are unable to earn
living except as domestics. others
could develop valuable skills under
training. All of them face brighter
world, on their release, if they are
equipped with some training. Given
the will to reform, and the training
with which they may provide for
themselves. they may in time become
useful members of society.
Proper provision for medical at
tention is one of the points stressed by
the Leagues report. Not only do the
women fall sick while in prison, but
some of them are drug addicts, some
of them are alcoholics some have We
nereal diseases. All of these classes
should be segregated, and receive spe-
cial treatment.
In the House of Detention, at the
present time, the only segregation pos
sible is that of race. One floor is given
to white women and one to the colored.
Drug addicts, alcoholics and material
witnesses, who are nice" people and
are only being detained because they
cannot furnish bonds, are all placed
together. A somewhat similar condi-
ton prevails at Lorton. The women
there do not have adequate hospital
facilities, and it is only recently that
they have been given nurse to look
after them. The committee recon-
mends for Lorton, that the women be
placed at a distance from the mems
quarters and supplied with their own
medical officer.
Another point stressed in the COM
mittee's recommendations Is that wom-
en- offenders should be paid for the
work they do while in prison over
and above the sum required for their
board and keep" Some OF the
women can make salable articles" Mrs.
Klein pointed out. Some of them are
skilled in other ways, or they can do
clerical work or something over and
above the work done by other prison.
ers. If they are paid for these goods
or services, they have something to
start life with when they are released"
The recommendations of the COM
mittee have been Endorsed by the
league as a whole. The next step
will be an effort to translate as many
Of them as possible into reality.
They are:
A clinic to serve both the adult
courts and the adult institutions with
main headquarters located at some
central point, not the District Jail,
with ambulatory services to the insti-
tIItiOnS