Had it not been for reforms inside the prisons it would have been impossible to successfully apply the parole and probation systems in the State. A writer in the World’s Work says, “With the last ten years greater advances in the reform of prison administration have been made throughout civilization than during all the previous centuries that man has been forcibly sequestering his lawless brother from society,” and he declares that the United States has led the world in these reforms, and that New York has led the other forty-seven States. More than to any other one man the constructive legislation and the progressive reforms that have brought about this splendid advance in humanity and civilization is due to Cornelius V. Collins, who, as has been mentioned, recently resigned the position of State Superintendent of Prisons, which he had held for thirteen years. When Mr. Collins first took charge of the prisons of New York the essential principal of penology was retribution; in the words of Dr. Frederick H. Wines, “to measure guilt on the one hand and suffering on the other, and to strike an equitable balance between the two.” The effort seemed aimed at stamping out the convict’s self-respect. He was forced to move about outside of his cell in the degrading lockstep formation, his hand on another convict’s shoulder and his eyes on the ground; he wore a hideous black striped suit of ashen gray; his hair was cropped close to his head; he ate his meals from tin dishes. Although it was against the law, corporal punishment was quite generally administered to prisoners. To-day, due to the efforts of Mr. Collins, a well fitting uniform of bright blue gray has been substituted for the convict’s striped suit, and the military squad formation has superseded the lockstep. His hair is trimmed with shears to suit his individual preference. Crockery has replaced the old tin cups and pans in the prisons of the State. An oculist and a dentist look after the eyes and teeth of the prisoners. An electric light in each cell has replaced the old tallow candles. Infraction of rules in the New York prisons to-day merely consigns the convict to solitary confinement until he reaches a normal condition of mind and signifies his willingness to conform to discipline. The paddle, the rack, the ducking stool and all other forms of corporal punishment have been abolished in New York’s penal institutions.