The question has often arisen, How will you find out correctly about the past history of individuals? Some conclude that, because prisoners are dishonest, there is no method by which you can find out about their past life or early conditions. A careful study of this question by men who are expert in handling criminals, has convinced the public that this may be done. Possibly as much of the record of the prisoner as is convenient to be obtained, should be procured by the court and sent to the warden with the sentence. If it could not, the warden then could ascertain through a commission the past history of each prisoner as he comes to him and a full record of his life, condition, habits, etc. If this was not complete, it could be verified from time to time or be changed from time to time, as facts developed later on. Perhaps no one has succeeded any better in this line than has Mr. Brockway, general superintendent of the Elmira reformatory. Mr. Brockway presents the subject in the following letter: [7] Havelock Ellis, The Criminal, page 93. F. W. BLACKMAR, ESQ., Lawrence, Kansas: DEAR SIR:--Yours of the 21st. There is a mistaken impression abroad about the possibility of ascertaining from prisoners the truth on any subject. They are liars, in common with the remainder of the race not in prison. Perhaps more apparently so, but nevertheless they are not in this respect more untruthful than witnesses called to the stand in courts, witnesses who have never been and, probably, never will be in prison. My observation is, in the five investigations of my prison administration, had during long years of it, that the statements of prisoners before the several commissions were as truthful as are the statements of witnesses heard at trials outside. The real difficulty in ascertaining the truth in the examination of prisoners is not very much more difficult than to ascertain the truth of any other common class of witnesses. It goes without saying that the examination of witnesses needs to be made by a competent, pains-taking examiner, before whom it is usually easily determined whether the witness is lying, prevaricating or making substantially a truthful statement. Moreover, it is possible by clues ascertained in the course of the examination from statements made by the prisoner,--names, dates, etc., to verify or disprove the accuracy of the statement he makes on his examination. There are some cases, not very many, where no clue can be had or dates or names ascertained. These, however, constitute such a small percentage of the prisoners examined, that it constitutes a class scarcely worth considering in this connection.