Our prison Wardens, Chaplains, and Official Visitors by their oft personal visitations in the cells, have done faithful work endeavoring to reform the morals of the men, but after all, only a small percentage can be determined as really reformed from crooked ways, for many return a second or more times. Much of the kindly suggestions and godly teachings are lost to the official visitor by having to address two or more in a cell at one time, at the Eastern Penitentiary. Therefore, the sooner we arrive at the introduction of the Reformatory System, (known as such) and applied to all our penal institutions, the more hopeful for all our charges and benefit to the community in general. The Reformatory System has four main principles as established in Massachusetts. 1st. Classification and advancement by merit. 2nd. Education and Sloyd work. 3rd. Trades and manual training. 4th. Parole and care of those discharged. This State has not yet introduced a Parole System, though such a law has twice been passed by the Legislature and vetoed by different Governors. At the beginning of this century, the bill appears for the third time, but it is not intended to affect those now in custody. An Indeterminate sentence law is still a future possibility of the new century. At the last National Prison Congress of Wardens and State Delegates held at Cleveland, Ohio, Sept. 1900, the Indeterminate Sentence System, was unanimously recommended. The Official State delegates of this Prison Society present at that Congress were, Mrs. Deborah C. Leeds, John J. Lytle, and Rev. R. Heber Barnes, whose report will be found further on. The matter of a House of Detention, for our first-class cities, juvenile prisoners between 8 and 16 years, has made but little progress, and it still awaits consent to appropriate one of our unused school-houses for that purpose. The inequality of sentences often come to the knowledge of the Acting or Visiting Committee, both at the Penitentiary and the County Prison; and we often wonder that our Judges do not adopt some uniform length of sentences, especially for first imprisonments for minor offences. The Acting Committee of 50 of this Society, and who are official visitors to the Eastern Penitentiary and County Prison and annex, have been untiring in their efforts to reform those whom they have visited in their cells. The monthly reports show that members of the Visiting Committee have made the past year 731 visits to prisoners at the Eastern Penitentiary on 15,616 prisoners, and at the County Prison and Convict Dept. Holmesburg, 848 visits to 6,191 prisoners.