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_San Quentin May be Made a Reformatory._—Last month THE REVIEW stated
that the California legislature was considering a bill providing for
the establishment of a reformatory for first offenders. Now comes news
of another bill which seeks to convert San Quentin prison into such
a reformatory, thereby making Folsom the only penitentiary in the
state. The bill, it is reported, seeks the reform of young criminals by
setting aside San Quentin as a reformatory to which will be sent after
July 4 next all female prisoners and all males, except those convicted
of murder or treason, who at the time of commitment are between the
ages of 16 and 30 years and who have never before been convicted of a
felony.
Provision is made, however, that any person convicted of a heinous
crime, robbery or burglary, may be committed either to San Quentin
or Folsom. The board of prison directors may also transfer from the
reformatory to Folsom prison all who seem hopeless of being reformed,
and when Folsom is overcrowded to the extent of having more prisoners
than cells, the board may transfer likely prisoners to the reformatory
until the latter institution is not overcrowded. It is set forth that
all life termers over 55 years of age in San Quentin shall not be
moved. Provision is also made for putting the indeterminate sentence
system into effect.
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_National Probation Officers’ Association._—The national probation
officers’ association will meet in Boston from June 5th to 14th
inclusive, which will be immediately before and during the sessions
of the national conference of charities and correction in that city.
Judge Harvey H. Baker of the Boston juvenile court is president of the
association, and the secretary is Roger N. Baldwin, Security Building,
St. Louis, Mo.
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_A Radical Step Proposed in Pennsylvania._—A bill has been prepared
by Representative Alfred Marvins, of Pine County, Pennsylvania, which
provides for the transference to one vast farm of 2,000 acres of all
the criminal, insane and epileptic inmates cared for by the various
institutions of the state. Once there these classes will be segregated.
It is planned that the criminal inmates shall work the farm and make it
self-supporting.
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_Want Branch to Extend Work of Reformation._—A bill has been presented
to the Massachusetts legislature empowering the state to utilize an
empty jail in Fall River, surrounded by 12 acres of land, as a branch
of the Concord reformatory. The project is favored by the local county
commissioners as well as by Warren F. Spalding, secretary of the
Massachusetts Prison Association. Concord reformatory is reported to
have a miscellaneous population, including a considerable percentage
who do not respond readily to reformatory treatment, thus tending to
impair the work with the better prisoners. A need is strongly felt of
some method of classifying the inmates. The utilization of the Fall
River jail will also make it possible to give reformatory treatment to
a greater number than now receive it.
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_Probation Manual._—The Massachusetts commission on probation in
December published a probation manual of 61 pages. It states concisely
the probation laws of that state, and gives a list of probation
officers in the state. Each court in Massachusetts has the services of
a paid probation officer.
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_Probation Commission Wanted in Pennsylvania._—Persons interested in
the extension and development of the probation system in Pennsylvania
are desirous of having a state probation commission similar in
powers and duties to those which have been established in New York
and Massachusetts. A bill has been introduced into the legislature
providing for such a body consisting of five members, two of whom shall
be women.
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_Statistics of Probation, Defectiveness, etc., in Pennsylvania
Reformatory._—Greater opportunities to secure work and the increased
use by the courts of the probation system, are the reasons given by
the board of managers of the Pennsylvania Industrial Reformatory, at
Huntingdon, Pa., for the decrease in the number of commitments to that
institution during the past two years. This reformatory is designed as
a place of confinement for male first offenders between fifteen and
twenty-five years of age, who have been convicted of a crime punishable
under existing laws in a state prison. During 1907-8 the number of
commitments was 1,046, as compared with 938 for 1909-10.
Interesting figures concerning the operation of the probation system
are contained in the eleventh biennial report of the reformatory.
During 1909-10 there were paroled 639 inmates. Sixty-two of these, or 9
and 7-10 per cent., violated their paroles. Forty-four of these 62 were
returned to the institution, so that only 16, or two and one-half per
cent. of the total number are still at large as delinquents.
Figures covering the last eleven years show that a total of 2,605 were
paroled during that period, of whom 349, or 13 4-10 per cent., violated
their paroles. Three and six-tenths per cent. of these are still at
large.
Persons paroled with the necessary promise of employment by responsible
firms are allowed to go to their places of employment unattended. Of
3,369 inmates so released during the last 14 years, only six have
failed to report to their employers.
The report contains a mass of figures concerning the habits and
characteristics of the 938 persons committed during 1909-10. Classified
as to quality of mind, 17 are found deficient, 226 only fair, and
695 good. Thirty-nine were found to be absolutely without any moral
sense, such as filial affection, sense of shame, etc., two hundred and
eighty-nine were given the benefit of the doubt, 619 were ordinarily
sensitive and 2 were especially sensitive.
During the two years seven inmates were transferred to insane asylums.
In Massachusetts the agent of the state prison commission spent during
1910 the sum of $1,860.56 in aiding discharged prisoners. Aid was given
to 163 men, 129 of whom left state prison last year. For railroad fares
$352.34 was spent, for board and family stores $1,021.20, for clothing
$353.31, for tools $100.21, and for spectacles, medicine, etc., $33.50.
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_Probation Profitable Here._—A report, prepared by Judge Collins, of
the City Court, Indianapolis, Ind., shows that through the probation
system started by him one year ago, the city was saved $2,663.70. The
commitments to the County Jail and Workhouse numbered 1,619 in 1910, or
50 per cent less than in 1909. Out of the 1,619 commitments during the
year Judge Collins estimates that 95 per cent of the victims would have
served their time out in the Workhouse, making an expense on the city,
besides depriving it of the fines, had it not been for the probation
system. Besides saving this amount for the harboring of prisoners, over
$8,000 was paid into the probation department by prisoners who were
given a chance to settle the amounts in small installments.
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_Prison Physician Sees Defects in Hospital._—Prison Physician Pray, of
Jackson, Mich., has called to the attention of the State Prison Board
of Control of Michigan the lack of facilities in the prison hospital
for the segregation of contagious diseases, especially tuberculosis.
Mr. Pray declares 50 per cent. of tubercular cases would not end
fatally if they were taken care of in time. It is stated that an effort
will be made by the board to prevent the commitment to prison of
persons in the last stages of consumption.
[Footnote: [A] First published In the New York World.]