Part 2

When M. D. finds new diseases, Pass a Law! Got the mumps or enfermisis? Measles, croup or “expertesis?” Lest we all fly to pieces Pass a Law!

Are the lights a-burning red? Pass a Law! Paint ’em green, or paint ’em white! Close up all them places tight! My! Our town is such a sight! Pass a Law!

No matter what the trouble, Pass a Law! Goodness sakes! But ain’t it awful? My what are we going to do? Almost anything ain’t lawful, And the judges human, too! Pass a Law!

_W. L. Wells._

(From The Index, Wash. State Ref.)

BOOK REVIEWS.

BY PHILIP KLEIN

Assistant Secretary Prison Association of New York.

_The Walled City._--Edward Huntington Williams, M. D., New York, 1913, Frank & Wagnalls Company. Pp. 263. Price $1.00.

The general public looks upon a convict with a certain amount of fear. The word criminal is awe-inspiring. But the idea of the insane criminal is more than that; it is replete with the vague terror of the weird and unknown. People have in recent years come to consider the criminal with a little better understanding; but the “insane criminal” has retained its full quota of terror. Perhaps there was good reason for that. The older ways of handling both the insane and the criminal were very well calculated to bring forth the worst there was in them. But no one could probably read the “Walled City,” without experiencing a complete change of attitude towards the inmates of institutions for the criminal insane. They are primarily men, these unfortunates with hopes and plans, with differences in personality, education, tastes, relations, in all things that make for the differences among man and man in the normal outside life. And yet, there is a “kink” in every man; an innocent kink generally, yet a “kink” to be reckoned with. It makes things interesting, yet delicate and difficult to handle. “Every man in his kink” we might paraphrase Ben Jonson.

One gets from the book a feeling almost of old association. It is all told in a pleasant, almost anecdotal form. The reader feels himself introduced to citizen after citizen of the walled city and passes through the book as if in a series of personal conversations with its inmates. The author’s sympathy and understanding for his words speaks from every line. And yet when we close the book, we are surprised at how much we have learned. We have been given scientific, correct, technical information without knowing it; the book had done what it was evidently meant to do.

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_Hell in Nebraska._--Walter Wilson, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1913. The Bankers Publishing Company. Pp. 372. Price $1.00.

If individuality in a man means the possession of decided and highly developed qualities, both good and evil, and if books also may be said to have individualities on the same basis, then the present book has a valid claim to the distinction of possessing a goodly amount of individuality. From the title,--and from the illustrations on both covers,--one would be justified in expecting a horrible revelation of fiendish cruelties practiced in the Nebraska Penitentiary. But it is simply another indication of the “yellow journal” style that pervades the whole book. In fact, were it not for the thorough knowledge of conditions, evidenced throughout, one might very easily take the volume for a reporter’s paraphrase of a few selected annual reports of the penitentiary. It is full of inside personal information, of interest to nobody but the friends, relatives and enemies of the persons concerned. But there is a good deal of real good common sense and practical penology, that comes from a sympathetic yet rational observation, and from continued activity in the field. If the language is too strong at spots, and the emotions unrestricted, it may well be excused as being the result of righteous indignation, coupled with a sense for journalism and strong feeling for friend and foe--and also an invincible belief in one’s own righteousness. Incidentally, however, the book gives really valuable information of the conditions in the Nebraska Penitentiary.

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_Measures of Social Defence Against the Recidivist._--This was one of the three questions discussed by the International Union of Criminal Law at its congress in Copenhagen in August, 1913. A masterly report on the subject was submitted by Prof. Nabokoff, and after a spirited discussion by many of the leading authorities of Europe on criminal law, the following resolutions were adopted by the congress:

1. That system of procedure which combines the requirements of an objective scale of proof of recidivism with subjective judgment of the particular case in question and thereupon adjudges the said criminal a habitual recidivist, dangerous to the social order, should be recognized as the most rational.

2. The exclusion of the political criminal seeming inevitableness, they made the acsures of social security, applicable to habitual recidivists, are directed is a just and necessary proviso.

3. The minimum term to be pronounced against such recidivist at the time of his trial shall be at least as great as the term to which he would be sentenced if he were not adjudged a habitual recidivist; but it may be greater by not more than two years.

A special commission shall, at the expiration of such minimum, decide whether such prisoner shall be liberated or further detained. In the latter case the prisoner shall have the right to have his case reconsidered at intervals of two years. (It is understood that the judge sentences such recidivist to an indefinite period of which he fixes the minimum, but not the maximum).

4. The Congress is not agreed as to whether the period of preventive detention pronounced against the recidivist shall follow the period of punishment or take its place.

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_The IKV, Anniversary Number._--To celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the “Internationale Kriminalistische Vereinigung,” a special number was issued in January of this year. It contains, in addition to the history of its establishment, a symposium as to the effect that its activities have had on the development of the problem of delinquency in its various phases, and in the various countries. The contribution for the United States is written by Prof. Charles R. Henderson of the Chicago University. Most characteristic of the spirit of the IKV is perhaps the paragraph in the introduction to the anniversary number, that reads as follows: “This volume should be a milestone in this sense also, that it shall define the program of the future activities of the Union. In addition to such legal questions as the regulation of international extradition, restitution instead of punishment, and the diminution of the concept of the punishment by imprisonment as the ultima ratio in the struggle against crime, the Union shall pay more attention to the sociological aspect of crime.”

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_The Four Gunmen._--Under this title Winthrop D. Lane writes in the Survey of April 4th about the social history of the four unfortunate young fellows who were executed at Sing Sing on April 13th. Mr. Lane found on careful investigation that all four came from “decent” families; that their career of crime started apparently from street life and its temptations; that each of the four had a previous correctional institution record; that they each started their lawbreaking career early; that the early years of each seem to have been normal and straightforward, giving no hint of the direction later conduct was to take. “One by one, through disease, going to school, or going to work, they came into contact with the abnormal street life of a crowded and heterogeneous community. Their youth demanded play and excitement, and they sought these where they were easiest to find. Gradually, but with seeming inevitableness, they made the acquaintance of older boys and men who had mastered the trick of turning an easy dollar.... Their own entrances into crime were gradual, beginning in all but one case with petty attempts while they were still in their teens to get spending money easily.... Whatever help there may be in probation and suspended sentence was not extended to them.”

EVENTS IN BRIEF.

[Under this heading will appear each month numerous paragraphs of general interest, relating to the prison field and the treatment of the delinquent.]

_New Cell House at Iowa Penitentiary._--The new cell house, built by convict labor at the Fort Madison penitentiary, will be completed in May. The structure has been six years under construction, and its value is said to be more than $200,000. It probably will be sixty days before the board will have everything completed so that the new prison house can be used. The structure is of stone and concrete, and the cells are considerably larger than the rooms in the old cell house. There will be room in each cell for a single iron bed, a rocking chair, hot and cold water and toilet conveniences. The rooms formerly provided for prisoners held but a cot.

The board of control has not yet decided what it will do with the old cell house when the new one is occupied. It is probable that prison labor will be used in the remodeling of the walls so that one fair-sized cell may be made out of two cells.

There are 590 prisoners now in the Fort Madison penitentiary. The new cell house will provide for 400 of them. The remainder will have to remain in the old structure.

The board has received samples of hollow building blocks manufactured at the State clay works at the hospital for inebriates at Knoxville. This is the first of the output of the new industry and, according to experts, the tile is as perfectly made as that of other institutions. It is the intention to have the hollow building blocks needed in the new building at Oakdale sanitarium made at Knoxville.

The State institution at Knoxville is also ready to turn out tile and brick. Orders have been sent to all State institutions to order from Knoxville whatever material of this kind is needed.

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_Training For Prison Warden._--Warden Clancy, of Sing Sing Prison, recently resigned. Eugene Smith, president of the Prison Association of New York, has written an open letter to the New York city papers, as follows:

“The resignation of Mr. Clancy is an event that has, for several reasons, unusual significance. Mr. Clancy has stated with great candor the reasons that induced him to resign. The principal reason, as alleged by him in an interview, was his lack of experience and consequent ignorance of the work to be done. He says, ‘The warden should be selected from among the keepers or others who have had a large amount of experience. There is nothing more ridiculous than the selection of a man like myself who has no such experience.’

“These statements, so frankly made, do honor to Mr. Clancy and they convey a valuable message to the public. A warm heart and a large brain alone do not qualify a man to fill the wardenship of a prison. The administration of a prison must be governed, in this modern age, upon the principles established by the science of penology. The proper treatment of prisoners requires an acquaintance with those methods and agencies which have been proved by scientific experiments to be most effectual in reforming and rehabilitating the prisoners.

“No warden can administer a prison with success unless he has a scientific knowledge of what has been developed and accomplished through the studies and experience of the great leaders in prison reform and such scientific knowledge can only be acquired and practically applied by personal experience in dealing with prisoners. There are to-day, in the prisons of this State, men who have had long experience, as guards or in other subordinate posts, who possess both the scientific knowledge and executive ability qualifying them to fill with success the office of warden of Sing Sing Prison. It is earnestly hoped that the candidates for the vacancy may be selected from some such competent source.

“But besides scientific knowledge, ability, and experience, there is another condition, or sine qua non, absolutely essential to success in administering Sing Sing or any other prison. As a warden should be selected without the slightest regard to his political affiliations, he should also have a free hand in discharging his duties unhampered by political influence.

“Politics constitute the greatest obstacle encountered by every movement for prison reform. So long as the appointment of prison officials and their retention in office are dependent on political favor or influence, it is hopeless to look for improvement in prison systems or any measures of reform. The infusion of politics into our prison can never be prevented except by the force of a united public opinion, a consensus strong enough to condemn and drive out of public service every person who participates in the appointment or removal of any prison officer for merely political ends in order to confer favors or promote expedience.”

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_Progress in New York City’s Department of Correction._--Commissioner of Correction Katharine Bement Davis, and her deputy, Burdette G. Lewis, have already planned important improvements in administration. The upper floor of the Tombs is to be transformed into a hospital with nearly ninety beds; a visiting building, with screens between visitors’ seats and prisoners’ seats, will be built; food brought in from the outside is to be prohibited, and improvement in the catering service in the Tombs is arranged for; classification of prisoners in the various institutions is being developed; the punishment cells in the Penitentiary are to be abandoned in favor of a separate punishment building with “reflection cells,” a detention house for women prisoners is to be built; the Department has moved from an antique building on Twentieth street into adequate quarters in the new Municipal building; stripes are to be abolished in the Island institutions; several “crews” of youngsters have been sent out to the tract of six hundred acres in Orange county to be used for the new City Reformatory for Misdemeanants; the clothing of women prisoners at the workhouse and Penitentiary is to be considerably bettered; and so forth. The fundamental plans for the re-organization of the Department’s institutions are being carefully worked out.

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_The Power of Suggestion._--Some of the complacent ones who maintain that you must leave to youngsters of either sex their own governing, and hold them pretty completely responsible for crime committed by them might pause for a moment to read the following--except that no such complacent ones read The Delinquent. This is from the monthly journal called the Training School, published at Vineland, New Jersey:

Mamie S---- was a middle-grade imbecile girl about eighteen years old, testing about six by the Binet. She was strong and active, a cheerful and willing worker, subject to occasional fits of temper, but usually quite easily controlled. Her work in the laundry was helping Miss B. to feed the big steam mangle.

One day the superintendent was escorting a party of visitors and explained to them the use of the shield over the reed rolls of the mangle, saying that if it were out of place there would be great danger of the workers’ fingers being caught between the rolls and a serious accident occurring before the machinery could be stopped. Mamie heard his remark and the visitors had no sooner left the laundry than she turned to Miss B. and said: “Say, Miss B., if I put my fingers in there, would it draw in my arm and crush it?” Miss B. answered, “Of course it would, you silly girl.” Mamie declared, “I am going to try it,” and at once lifted the shield and would have put her fingers between the rolls had not Miss B. grappled with her.

Mamie struggled desperately and would have overpowered Miss B. but she called for help and it took three of the employees to drag Mamie away to safety. It is needless to say that Mamie’s work in the laundry ceased with that incident.

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_Farewell, and Don’t Come Back!_--The editors of prison newspapers sometimes “gets theirs” in very pleasant fashion. Here is one of the most recent events of the kind, quoted from the Mirror, published at the Minnesota State Prison:

“‘Chip’, the editor of Our View Point, the Walla Walla, Washington, prison paper, has been paroled after serving several months conscientiously and well as the guiding spirit of that publication. Prior to his departure for the outside world, the inmates subscribed a dime apiece and presented him with a watch as a testimonial of their appreciation. The presentation speech was made by the warden in the presence of the inmates in the chapel, the Sunday prior to his departure.”

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_Hayward._--Here is a story to make a man “feel good”.

Harry S. Hayward, after seven years’ influential work with the newspaper called the Cumberland, Md., News, disappeared recently because politicians and evil interests he had opposed learned that he had served in prison, and threatened to reveal his past. Hayward had made very many friends. The proprietor of the newspaper received a letter from Hayward, in which he reviewed the trials he had endured in trying to live down the past, and in which he declared that he was determined to lose himself in some distant part of the country, and continue the struggle to live a decent life.

The proprietor, W. W. Brown, immediately tried to reach Hayward, but in vain. He inserted then the following advertisement in papers all over the country:

H. S. Hayward:--Have known two years. We are with you to the end. Come back soon.

W. W. Brown.

Many prominent citizens joined in the effort to find Hayward. The Governor of Maryland pardoned him and restored him to citizenship. And, finally Hayward came back, in triumph.

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_The Latest Thing in Joy Rides._--Edward Smith, a lifer, and James McGee, sentenced for seventeen years, escaped from the Joilet Penitentiary recently, in Warden Allen’s automobile. After riding around Chicago all night they decided to return to the prison. Guards had been hunting the men in three States.

Smith was the Warden’s chauffeur and drove in and out of the prison without attracting attention.

“We could have got away without much chance of being captured,” he said, “but we got to thinking that our escape might interfere with the good treatment given the other honor prisoners.

“Warden Allen treated us mighty well and we thought it best not to violate the confidence he placed in us. We certainly had a fine time while we were away. We rode all over Chicago and saw all the sights.”

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_Advice in the Shadow of the Gallows._--Several years ago there was executed at Trenton State Prison, New Jersey, a very intelligent man, who had committed a fearful murder. A day before his execution he was asked to leave some word for the young men of this country. Here is what he wrote, in a firm hand, without tremor:

“I can add but little to what others have said. I would suggest early religious training. It should begin with the lisping of the child and be continuous and never end until death. The child should be given to know the dangers of environment that is not religious. His associations should be only those that reverence God. The parental responsibility comes in here. The child looks for examples. As the example set before it by its parents or associates are good or evil, so it will in most cases grow.

“If the boy be disciplined in religion with environments good, associations good, and with love as his teacher till he is come of age, to the age of reason, the point of the early training will be invariably a moral religious life. Not all of these came into my early life but of those that did my one regret is that I did not use them to my advantage, for the wages of sin is death, and the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

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_Progress at Bellefonte._--According to the Pennsylvania Prison Society (the 127th annual meeting of which was recently held), “about 75 prisoners from the old Western Penitentiary at Pittsburgh are at Bellefonte, busily engaged in taking care of the farm and in various preliminary operations. (Pennsylvania is to build a farm industrial prison on 5,000 acres). They have been employed in the repairing of the old buildings on the estate, in quarrying stone for roads, and for other construction. There have been erected a number of new buildings, among them a machine shop, blacksmith shop, power house, large dining room and a dormitory. The work done on all the buildings was almost entirely by the prisoners themselves, superintended by an experienced outside foreman. It would be difficult to get together on the outside an equal number of men who worked as zealously or faithfully. There have been but three attempted escapes since the men arrived in the summer of 1912. The prisoners are allowed to go to all parts of the large farm in gangs of from three to twenty, under the care of one guard or trusty. The population is transitory, as almost weekly some are paroled, while new ones take their places.”

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_An Honor Colony Hoped For._--The New Jersey Reformatory is a congregate institution run by trustees and officers that believe in individualization and classification. So, in the current annual report the Board of Managers urges the establishment of an honor colony. “This should be at some distance from the Institution, and should be utilized for those inmates who are near parole, and who have demonstrated that they are learning the lessons they have been sent to the institution to learn.... It has been for some years the custom to permit inmates to return to their homes when a death occurs in the family, unaccompanied by anyone from the institution, relying solely upon the promise of an inmate to return at a given time. In no instance has an inmate broken the promise or failed to show an appreciation of the trust reposed in him.”

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_The Limits of Reformatory Treatment._--Superintendent Frank Moore, of the New Jersey State Reformatory, writes in his annual report:

“The Reformatory can take that which has worth, even though it may be bent, twisted and corroded with sin, and making it plastic, it may form it over again, reform it; but that which is useless, which is only dross, it can do little with. The Reformatory can reform, but it cannot re-create. We may as well be candid about it. The idea has been created in the public mind that every reformatory is a miracle-working machine; that no matter what is run into it, it will return all material, no matter how good or bad, back into the world, made over into first-class men. The word HOPE in big letters has been written over the doorway of our reformatory institutions, and so it ought to be. There is no charitable or correctional institution of which society expects so much, and there is no kind of institution that has a greater desire to meet that expectation, but honesty and fairness demand that it shall be stated that the quality of human material given to it is of such a character as to, of necessity, greatly limit its results.”

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