Teaching Vagrants a Trade.
The vagrancy problem, growing so great in every part of the country,
has caused the authorities of Massachusetts to make a trial of the
German plan of farm colonies for quasi-criminals. Vagrants are sent to
such farms under indeterminate sentences, forced to support themselves
by honest labor and made to stay there until they give evidence that
upon release they will become useful and self-respecting citizens.
This is a modification of the penal colony idea, which is to send
confirmed criminals to such a place for life. It is a great advance
upon the plan in use in Chicago, which is to send vagrants to the
Bridewell for a stipulated time and let them out again. While they are
confined they are an expense to honest citizens, they acquire more
extensive knowledge of crime, and when released they are less likely
than they were beforehand to go to work and support themselves.
The Massachusetts scheme promises well, so far as it goes. The
trouble with it is that in this climate a farm provides work for only
a small part of the year. From November to March other work would have
to be found for inmates, and up to this time society has failed to
agree upon any that would be satisfactory.
Persons interested in charities and prison reforms are indorsing a
plan for "tramp colonies," "forced colonies" and "free colonies."
Into the one put criminals, or incurable tramps who are unwilling to
work. The other would contain tramps who are unable to find work,
neuropaths, cripples and those who are judged to be curable. Both
kinds of colonies would be strictly agricultural, and their products
would pay all expenses of operation and relieve the country of the
enormous sums now required to be spent.
But why confine this plan, admirable and satisfactory as it is, to
tramps? Why not extend it so as to include criminals? Criminals cost
honest taxpayers millions of dollars every year. Why not reorganize a
system of confinement in such a way as to compel criminals to support
themselves?
But financial relief is not the only advantage. If habitual
criminals--that is to say, criminals who have served two terms in the
penitentiary, and then have committed another crime--were placed in a
penal colony, remote from society and kept there for life, the moral
tone of the country would at once be raised. The bad example of such
men, which leads youths into crime, would be removed. The knowledge
that there was no escape, that return was impossible, once an offender
was sent to the penal colony, would deter many would-be criminals. The
possibility that hardened criminals might propagate themselves would
end.
The penal colony is the one rational solution of the crime problem,
which becomes more difficult and menacing each year. It will be
adopted, sooner or later.