As a matter of fact, when crooks get together, no matter what their sex or age may be, they are sure to brag of their criminal accomplishments, and escapades. It is in such an atmosphere that crime is taught, and especially among the young. To a beginner in crime who hears them, all such utterances are exceedingly interesting, and much of it is sure to make a deep and lasting impression for evil. As a rule, many criminals are exceedingly garrulous and talk much, and when they tell a rosy tale of how to get money or valuables without working for them, the whole thing seems captivating. Frequently such a story carries a new beginner in crime off his feet. It is in this manner that our jails, reformatories and houses of refuge become schools of crime. It is the general opinion of the leaders of bench and bar that crime is carefully and systematically planned and taught in our prisons. The fact is that more than fifty per cent. of all our first offenders return to jail a second time, showing clearly that rather than being weaned from such a life by the imprisonment, many of them are encouraged to continue it. When I have asked boys and young men why they returned to crime a second time, they informed me that while inmates of different prisons and reform schools, they learned scientifically how to become pickpockets, thieves, second-story men, and burglars. That is, they were taught it. In some of the prisons which I have visited at different times, such as Sing Sing, Auburn, and Elmira, the inmates have not the same opportunity of speaking to each other, as the law is strictly enforced to prevent such communications. But in the City and District Prisons of Greater New York, Blackwell’s Island Penitenetiary, the House of Refuge, the reformatories and county jails without number, where old and young crooks are huddled together, they are permitted to communicate their ideas as they please. My opinion is that all such places are simply schools of crime. My cure for such a condition of affairs is entire isolation, segregation and classification, and the inculcation of moral and religious teaching. The old adage, that prevention is better than cure, is as true to-day as ever. And yet our law-making bodies and prison authorities seem to forget all about it in this mad age. Recent statistics show that crime among young people is alarmingly on the increase, and one of the main reasons for it is what may be termed “criminal contamination.” But little or nothing is done to prevent it.