SOME INTERESTING THINGS IN VIRGINIA.

As compared with 864 whippings administered to prisoners in the Virginia penitentiary during the first eight months of 1909, only 133 were administered during the corresponding period in 1910, according to the second annual report of the Board of Charities and Corrections of that state. The report states that this more humane administration has resulted in greatly improving the discipline of the institution.

It is one of the duties of the board to visit paroled prisoners, though lack of money has hindered this phase of the work. Recommendations looking to an improvement in the present parole system will be made to the next General Assembly. During the year ended September 30, 1910, the parole work of the board was as follows:

No. paroled prisoners reported to Board 270

No. investigated 161

Dead 4

Satisfactory 90

Unsatisfactory 46

Returned to the Penitentiary 3

Ran away from employers 13

Failed to report to employers 5

The Board favors the establishment of a home for inebriates, for whom no state provision is made at present. Seventy-five inebriates and drug fiends are cared for yearly in hospitals for the white insane, at a cost of $9,000 per annum.

The Board finds a need of larger co-operation between the persons in charge of institutions for delinquent and dependent children, of which there are 49 in the state. Studies of the causes of juvenile destitution and of the amount of juvenile defectiveness have been undertaken by the Board. An investigation of 31,640 school children in the state revealed that 17,830, or 56 per cent. of those examined, were more or less defective, either physically or mentally.

WORK OF A MUNICIPAL PAROLE BOARD

The board of pardons and paroles of Kansas City, Mo., has issued the following summary of its work during the period from January 1, 1909, to April 13, 1910:

Total persons sent to work house, 3,202; white men paroled, 770; white women paroled, 47; colored men paroled, 267; colored women paroled, 25. Total number paroled, 1,109. Number re-arrested and returned to work house for violation, 114; amount paid through this office for the support of families, $2,975.67.

The board of pardons and paroles, which was created by an ordinance of the city of Kansas City, began its duties about January 1, 1907. It consists of three members, unpaid, who are appointed by the mayor. It has a paid secretary. It is the duty of the board to recommend that paroles be granted to misdemeanants convicted in the municipal court and sent to the work house, whenever, in their judgment, such parole seems wise. The mayor must grant the parole. Paroles may be revoked, however, at the discretion of the secretary of the board.

Paroled prisoners are asked to make written reports to the board once a week. A man who fails to report is notified by mail, and if he continues delinquent in this respect, his case is handed over to a parole officer. The board employs one investigator and one parole officer.

The board has under its direction a municipal farm of 135 acres, which is used in both the physical and moral rehabilitation of a number of the paroled men.

YEAR’S WORK OF THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY

During the year ended Nov. 30, 1910, 2,114 male offenders who had served terms of imprisonment varying from eight days to twelve years, in the prisons of Massachusetts, were aided in their efforts to regain in society a place that would provide for their future support, according to a report recently issued by George E. Cornwall, agent for the Massachusetts Society for Aiding Discharged Convicts. One thousand and thirty-one of these men from the Massachusetts reformatory and 457 from the Prison Camp and Hospital at Rutland, were assisted as follows: Railroad fares to homes or places of employment, $1,996.67; board while seeking work, $2,420.24; clothing, $1,284.01; tools, $194.65; miscellaneous purposes, $32.75; total, $5,928.42. One hundred and sixty-three men from the state prison, 129 of whom came out last year, were aided as follows: Railroad fares, $352.34; board and family stores, $1,021.20; clothing, $353.31; tools, $100.21; miscellaneous, $33.50; total, $1,860.56. In addition to these who were aided from the state appropriations, 463 others, released from the jails, houses of correction, state farm, and in two cases United States prisoners, have been helped from the funds of Society for Aiding Discharged Convicts, at an expense to that society of $1,690.12.

Of the 129 men released from the state prison last year, 5 have been returned for other offences. Four of the 5 are known to be intemperate. The report contains the following suggestion:

“Fortunately, but a small percentage of the men released from state prison or the Massachusetts Reformatory use liquor to an extent that interferes with their ability to earn a living. There is, however, a very large number constantly coming out of the jails and houses of correction and from the state farm who by their habits of intemperance are deprived of employment and are ever shifting from place to place. If a permanent home could be established for these unfortunate human derelicts, where they could not obtain liquor, and where they would be obliged to live indefinitely, doing such work as might be provided by intelligent overseers, I believe it would tend much to purify our cities. The money that is expended for their repeated arrests and conviction, under the present plan of dealing with them, would be saved; and this, with what labor they might learn to do, would contribute towards their support. Furthermore, the existence of such a resort might tend to keep away some of the undesirable population who now gather in the cities in constantly increasing numbers.”

DEFECTIVE DELINQUENTS AND THE NEW YORK ASSOCIATION

The New York Times printed recently the following:

The Prison Association of New York is taking up the study of mentally deficient criminals, and has appointed several committees to inquire into what can be done to deal with their cases. An average of nearly four out of ten inmates of Elmira Reformatory are below the ordinary standard of intelligence and are not able to take advantage of the institution, but there is no place to which they can be sent except such establishments as Dannemora State Hospital for the Insane, where association with hardened criminals will destroy all hope of their reformation. The Prison Association believes that special institutions should be established for the delinquents.

At a meeting of the Committee on Defective Delinquents, held last Thursday, a letter from Dr. Frank Christian, senior physician of the Elmira Reformatory, was read, in which it was stated:

Daily contact with our inmates must impress one that a large proportion are far below a normal status. Our examinations show 39 per cent. mentally defective and 70 per cent. below a normal physical standard. We have always made allowance for these defectives and have excused their failures in school and overlooked their shortcomings in deportment. The superintendent of the reformatory has recommended that a law be passed at the present session of the Legislature allowing us to transfer the imbeciles to a custodial asylum. They really have no place in a reformatory, and are a hindrance to its work for the brighter boys.

Dr. Robert E. Lamb, Superintendent of Matteawan State Hospital for the Insane, has also written to the Prison Association stating that certain cases under his care are “practically on the border line between criminal and lunatic, sometimes with intermixing of the two,” and declaring that proper study of this class of criminals would be of service to the commonwealth. Dr. North, Superintendent of the Dannemora State Hospital for the Insane, in advocating a thorough study of the delinquent, especially the adolescent delinquent, from this point of view, has said:

“From time to time we receive patients from the reformatories who are so defective that they could not by any possibility enter the reformatory routine and benefit by it. As they are under sentence, there is no place for them but this institution, but here they meet more hardened criminals, and while we can improve their condition in some ways, their stay in a hospital of this character should not be prolonged. Had they been recognized as defective at the time of trial, as it would seem that they should have been, they could have been more suitably provided for elsewhere.”

At the meeting of the Prison Association’s Committee, Joseph P. Beyers, ex-Superintendent of the House of Refuge, Randall’s Island, argued that every juvenile reformatory should have expert advice available on the mental development of its inmates, and Ernest K. Coulter, clerk of the Children’s Court, and Thomas D. Walsh, Superintendent of the Children’s Society, gave information of the work done for defective children.

WORK OF THE “HOPPER HOME.”

An interesting feature of the work of “The Women’s Prison Association,” New York, is the “Hopper Home,” situated at 110 Second avenue. The first “Home” of the Association was opened in June, 1845, “as a place of shelter for liberated female prisoners.” It was before the day of the sewing machine and ready-made clothing was not thought of in those days. This was the main industry. The association was very poor and at one time had but two cents in the treasury. It was then that Miss Catherine M. Sedgwick, the first director, said: “Well, Mrs. Gibbons, I think even you will be ready to give up now.”

But Mrs. Gibbons answered, “When you are ready to give up, I am ready to take up,” and she went out that afternoon and raised eighteen hundred dollars, with which she stocked workroom and larder. From that time there was no talk of “giving up.”

For many years the main source of income has been the laundry. The treatment of inmates consists of work in the laundry as soon as possible, good food and general hygienic care. When a woman applies for admission, the understanding is that she shall give a month’s labor to the institution. At the end of that time she is generally in good condition and is sent out to service, preferably to the country. Often she remains in her place for many months and sometimes even for years, returning from time to time to make additions to her bankbook, the policy being to encourage such thrift.

That the habit of drink is a disease requiring prolonged treatment is an accepted fact in these days, and it is for this reason that the “Women’s Prison Association” has obtained by act of legislature an appropriation for a state farm for women misdemeanants over thirty years of age. It hopes, by outdoor work, medical attendance and good food to make many of them self-respecting as well as self-supporting members of society.

The average amount earned by eighty-eight women during the year previous to their entrance to the “Home” was $91.37. The average amount the same women are capable of earning per year is $207.36.

Our sixty-sixth Annual Report presents full statistics of our work.

SARAH H. EMERSON.

SOME RESULTS AT BEDFORD (NEW YORK STATE) REFORMATION FOR WOMEN.

What has been accomplished with a thousand girls committed to her institution is shown in the Survey for Feb. 18, 1911, by Katherine B. Davis, superintendent of the New York State Reformatory for women, situated at Bedford. Miss Davis prefaces her article with the following statement: “Now, there is nothing quite so difficult to measure in figures as change in character. We can say how many have kept their parole; how many we know have been re-arrested; of how many we know the whereabouts and believe them to be doing well; but the changes in character, the establishment of higher ideals, the doing of more efficient work as a result of the training received, these things can never be measured.” This inability to measure results is regarded by Miss Davis as the weak point in our reformatory system.

The first of the 1,000 commitments dealt with by Miss Davis was received at Bedford May 11, 1901; the last November 26, 1909. The percentage of foreign born is 29.1, of whites born in the United States 52.7, and of colored born in the United States 18.2. Twenty-two and one-tenth per cent. were committed for misdemeanors, 26.4 per cent. for felonies, and 51.5 per cent. for other offences, such as being a common prostitute, habitual drunkenness, etc.

So much for the nature of the thousand cases. In November, 1910, the disposition which had been made of these cases was as follows:

Paroled 668

Still in institution 111

Escaped 3

Died in institution 12

Transferred 47

Deported 16

Served entire term 80

Discharged by court 63

It will be noted that 668 out of the thousand cases have been paroled. The status of these 668 in November, 1910, was as follows:

On parole 110

Discharged, having done well 393

Violated parole, not found 52

Broke parole and returned 102

Transferred to Auburn Prison while on parole 1

Discharged by court while on parole 2

Died on parole 8

Immorality has been the largest single cause of violation of parole. A comparison of those placed with their families and those placed in positions at the time of their parole shows that the percentage of the former who violate their paroles is twice as great as that of the latter. This is not surprising when it is reflected that if home conditions had been what they should be, the girl might not have come to the reformatory in the first place.

The following table shows the present status of the 393 girls who did well on parole and received their discharges:

Known to be doing well 127

Known to have criminal record 38

Known to have been immoral 53

Known to drink 9

Dead 12

Whereabouts unknown 154

The occupations of those who are doing well are as follows:

Married (44 since leaving here) 58

Dressmakers 3

Keep house for members of family 3

Assist at home 6

Nurse 1

Office clerks 2

Salvation Army officer 1

Laundry 1

In sanatorium in poor health 1

Attendant Institution 1

Piano accompanist 1

Factory operatives 6

Saleswomen 5

Domestic service 38

In conclusion Miss Davis points out that one reason why the results are not more satisfactory than they are is the fact that the period of legal control which the reformatory has over a girl is fixed at three years. In the case of a girl of the worse sort it may be over two years before the reformatory can begin to exercise an influence over her. The period of its after-supervision is then inadequate to secure effective results. The reformatory should be allowed, Miss Davis thinks, at least one year of after-supervision, no matter what the length of confinement may be.

REGULAR EMPLOYMENT NOT GOOD FOR DISCHARGED PRISONERS

The Home of Industry for Discharged Prisoners of Philadelphia, Pa., which was organized in 1889 to provide a home and employment for released prisoners, cared for 73 men during the year 1910. These men were given board, lodging, and an additional money remuneration for employment provided them by the organization. This is accomplished at a financial loss which is met by state appropriations, donations, etc. The work provided consists of making brooms, caning chairs, etc., the products being placed upon the market. The Board of Managers, in its annual report says:

“It is our firm conviction that it is a radical error to place a man in regular employment as soon as he leaves prison. There should be a probationary, or convalescent, period in every case. The Home of Industry for Discharged Prisoners provides a retreat for just such a period, where the man can be rebuilt. When he shows by his actions, outside of prison walls, that he is worthy to be recommended it will be quite time enough for the philanthropic to assume sponsorship. The best part of it all is that no sponsorship is then needed, for the man is quite capable of taking care of himself.”

CONCERNING OUR LIST OF SOCIETIES.

In the issue of January, 1911, The Review published a list of societies engaged in prisoners’ aid work, with a request that corrections and additions be sent to the editors. This request is repeated at this time. Instead of the Kansas and Missouri divisions of the Society for the Friendless, the following should have appeared:

The Massachusetts House of Representatives recently refused by an overwhelming vote, to substitute for an adverse committee report two bills relating to capital punishment—one giving the jury the right to say whether the penalty for murder in the first degree should be life imprisonment or death, and the other providing that the punishment should be life imprisonment.

Opposes Walking Chained Prisoners Through Streets.—Dr. Elizabeth Cassidy, of Denver, Colorado, is urging the board of county commissioners to provide means for transporting prisoners from the courthouse to the county jail, other than walking them along the streets chained together.

“That system is a relic of barbarism,” declares Dr. Cassidy. “Persons sentenced for vagrancy and other minor offenses should not be chained together like criminals and be subjected to public gaze.”

The recommendation of the Ohio legislative committee, as reported in the last issue of The Review, that a joint reformatory and prison for women, under a management separate from that of the penitentiary, be built without delay, has obtained the approval of Gov. Harmon. In a recent message to the legislature he urged that appropriations be made for such an institution.

Kansas-Missouri Division.—Rev. Edward A. Fredenhagen, General Superintendent; Mrs. Edward A. Fredenhagen, General Matron; Rev. J. O. Stutsman, General Superintendent’s Assistant. District Superintendents, Rev. George S. Ricker, Wichita; Rev. Jonathan Staley, Salina; Rev. Benj. Porter White, Topeka; Rev. James B. Bollman, Kansas City; Rev. Taylor Bernard, St. Louis.

The officers of the National Society for the Friendless follow: President, Judge T. F. Garver, Topeka; Vice-President, Ex-Mayor Henry M. Beardsley, Kansas City; Secretary and National Superintendent, Rev. Edward A. Fredenhagen, Kansas City; Treasurer, Cashier James T. Bradley, Kansas City; National Matron, Mrs. Edward A. Fredenhagen, Kansas City.