I am satisfied that the reclamation of the criminal, and his restoration to society, a saved man, should be the first duty of every well organized prison. It is to be regretted that the greatest barrier in the way of reforming and saving the prisoner is found in our antiquated methods of dealing with him. Whatever else imprisonment is to-day, it certainly does not reform the unfortunates who are sent there. Hundreds and thousands of lives have been blasted forever by prison life, that might have been saved if proper efforts had been made at the right time to place them on parole before being sent to prison. All first offenders should get a chance by being paroled. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER XXX STRONG DRINK AND CRIME From actual observation as a Prison Chaplain, and a careful study of this subject extending over several years, together with repeated interrogations and conversations with thousands of prison inmates, committed thereto for every crime on the calendar; and, further, from personal inquiry among experienced prison officials in various parts of the country, I say frankly without any hesitation or equivocation that strong drink is the most prolific cause of crime in the United States. I further affirm that after thousands of personal conversations with men and women charged with murder, robbery, assault and every form of larceny, and from interviews with criminal judges and magistrates, I firmly believe that from seventy to eighty per cent. of all the crimes of the day can be traced directly or indirectly to strong drink. I have said more than once in public addresses, in the past twelve years, that if the saloons of this city were outlawed for two years, the prisons of Greater New York would be almost tenantless. I believe the only way to reduce crime is to stop the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors, which in the end will close the gin-mills that swarm our cities and villages, and which are the real generators of crime. We deeply regret that many of our well meaning people are poorly informed on this question. They look with longing eyes for help from our State and National political partisans for the overthrow of this traffic, but these fond idols of the people care nothing whatever for moral reforms. They are in politics only for what they can make out of it, and not for the reformation of the people, and are indulgent toward the saloon vote.