The Journal of Prison Discipline and Philanthropy (New Series, No. 50) November 1911Pennsylvania Prison Society
History
The Journal of Prison Discipline and Philanthropy (New Series, No. 50) November 1911
Pennsylvania Prison Society
Charities -- Periodicals; Prisons -- Periodicals
“The enactment of such wise legislation as is best calculated to
properly protect society and to provide, under humane discipline and
restraint, an adequate punishment for the offender; the securing of
the proper and regular employment of the prisoner in prison under
wise state law; the obtaining of a rightful portion of the prisoner’s
earnings for the use of his dependent family; the systematic
investigation of their real needs and the furnishing of prompt relief
to the worthy and possible effort for their rehabilitation or removal
to more favorable surroundings; the invoking of the probation law
where such will be conducive to the best results; the comprehensive
study of the prison population as far as possible to secure proper
statistics on which to base accurate results; the well organized
effort now at work in a number of our larger centers of population,
in the study and betterment of the slum districts and the more
general effort in many localities in the interest of the betterment
of the environment of the children and youth, are all encouraging
signs of the far-reaching interest at work for the uplift and saving
of humanity, and to this end we say, Godspeed to the organizations
which in carrying forward their work, have gone back to the childhood
days, and which, striving to break the bondage, not only of heredity
and environment, are, through sympathy, love and interest thus
securing a foothold in districts, communities and individual homes as
well, and in which their organized effort is bearing a fruitage most
encouraging, indeed and bids fair in due course of time to prove a
strong bulwark in the reduction of crime, as well as of the criminal
class.”
He referred with feeling to the deaths of Gen. Brinkerhoff and John J.
Lytle, referring to the latter as an Apostle of Peace and Good Cheer.
He then introduced Dr. Charles Richmond Henderson, of Chicago, who
spoke with his usual energy and earnestness. He would do away with
municipal and county jails, except as they may be necessary as places
of temporary detention. They are run on such a small scale, he said,
that the men in charge cannot have the training nor facilities that
should be present in the reformation of criminals. He would have the
criminals turned over to the state for punishment and reformation as
soon as they are convicted by the county or municipal courts. Dr.
Henderson emphasized the desirability of classifying wrongdoers and
declared that the stamp of criminality should not be placed upon men
who are not in spirit criminals. He pleaded especially for more humane
treatment of habitual drunkards. “Can you cure a drunkard by giving him
ten days in jail, in an atmosphere of degradation and crime, when the
habit is to him a thing of generations?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account