the solution of the problem is surrounded are not actually great,
because they are. But the problem itself is neither difficult nor
obscure, as soon as we take pains to place before ourselves distinctly
its precise nature and conditions. The thing to be done is simple
enough; the impediments in the way of doing it are nearly all of our
own creation, arising partly out of ignorance or thoughtlessness, and
partly out of willfulness; partly because we have not fully understood
what we had to do, and partly because we have been unwilling to
accept the consequences and incur the annoyance and expense of doing
it. Divested of all complications, our task is to _defend ourselves_
against the criminal population,--the professional criminals; to guard
society against their outrages and depredations in the most prompt,
effectual, and enduring fashion we can devise. That is all: we have
NOT to _punish_ them; and we shall only confuse our minds and perplex
our action if we try to do so. It is the almost universal neglect of
this vital distinction, more than any other error, which has led us
into such grotesque and inconceivable blunders. _Individuals_ may
regard these offenders in any light which harmonizes with their several
idiosyncracies. Some may look at them as objects of vengeance; some
as objects of compassion; some as subjects of conversion; some as
patients to be cured; some as unfortunate lunatics to be carefully
and comfortably confined; and there may be much truth in all these
different views, and they may be allowed to influence some of the
_details_ of the practical treatment of criminals in prison and on
their discharge from prison. But _the State_, as we said, has only
got to protect the community against them--to regard them as domestic
foes, against whom self-defence is legitimate and necessary. The reason
why it should not seek to _punish_ them, in the strict and proper
meaning of that word, is, that it has not the knowledge requisite for
the just discharge of that function. It cannot possibly apportion the
penalty it inflicts to the _guilt_ of the offender, which apportionment
constitutes the very essence of _punishment_. Neither the wisest judge,
nor the most patient and enlightened jury, nor the most omniscient
police officer, can do more than form a plausible conjecture as to the
_moral criminality_ of any convict; since this, it is obvious, must
depend on the organization which he inherited, on the antecedents which
have surrounded him from the cradle, on the degree of instruction he
has received, on the special nature and _adaptation_ of the temptation,
on a multitude of circumstances which we neither can know, nor could
estimate if we did. The State, too, is just as incompetent to estimate
the severity of the infliction as the guilt of the offence. How is
the legislator who awards, or the judge who pronounces, to ascertain
the weight and bearing of any given sentence upon any individual
culprit? The same penalty which to one man would be almost too lenient
for a theft, may, to a differently organized and differently trained
offender, be too severe almost for a murder. The educated convict,
whose ungoverned passion led him to a heinous but a single crime, would
be driven mad by the association and the _entourage_ which the habitual
and hardened ruffian would find congenial and even pleasant. Punishment
which _retributes_, like vengeance which _repays_, can, by its very
term, belong only to that higher intelligence which can estimate aright
both the debt to be repaid, and the intrinsic value of the coin in
which repayment is awarded.
The thing to be done, then, being ascertained, the next point for
consideration is how to do it. Now, society may protect itself against
habitual criminals in three ways, separately or in combination. It may
deal with him so as to _deter_ him, to _reform_ him, or to _get rid_ of
him. It may so arrange and contrive its penalties as to frighten him
from bad courses, or to incapacitate him from recurring to them, or to
persuade him to amend them. And, putting out of view the very few whom
it will or can hang, it has to effect these objects by such secondary
punishments as lie within its reach, as the public purse will pay for,
and public conscience and feeling will allow the State to inflict.
MEMBERS.
Ashhurst, Lewis R. Kintzing, William F.
Armstrong, William Kitchen, James, M. D.
Anderson, V. William Kneedler, J. S.
Atmore, Frederick B. Knight, Edward C.
Knorr, G. Frederick
Brown, John A. Klapp, Joseph, M. D.
Brown, Frederick
Brown, Moses Laing, Henry M.
Brown, Thomas Wistar Lambert, John
Brown, Abraham C. Landell, Washington J.
Brown, N. B. Lathrop, Charles C.
Brown, David S. Latimer, Thomas
Brown, Joseph D. Leeds, Josiah W.
Brown, Benneville D. Lewis, Henry, Jr.
Brown, Mary D. Lewis, Edward
Bell, John M. D. Lippincott, John
Biddle, William Lippincott, Joshua
Biddle, John Longstreth, J. Cooke
Barton, Isaac Lovering, Joseph S.
Burgin, George H., M. D. Lovering, Joseph S., Jr.
Bohlen, John Ludwig, William C.
Binney, Horace, Jr. Lynch, William
Bayard, James Lytle, John J.
Beesley, T. E., M. D.
Beesley, B. Wistar McCall, Peter
Bowen, William E. Meredith, William M.
Bettle, Samuel Milliken, George
Bettle, William Myers, John B.
Baldwin, Matthias W. Morris, Isaac P.
Barcroft, Stacy B. Massey, Robert V.
Bailey, Joshua L. Maris, John M.
Baily, Joel J. Morris, Charles M.
Burr, William H. Morris, Wistar
Boardman, H. A. Morris, Caspar, M. D.
Bunting, Jacob T. Morris, Anthony P.
Bacon, Richard W. Morris, Elliston P.
Bacon, Josiah Montgomery, Richard R.
Brock, Jonathan Mercer, Singleton A.
Barclay, Andrew C. Mullen, William J.
Brooke, Stephen H. Megarge, Charles
Baines, Edward Martin, William
Budd, Thomas A. Martin, Abraham
Bispham, Samuel McAllister, John, Jr.
Broadbent, S. McAllister, John A.
Brant, Josiah McAllister, William Y.
Beaux, John Adolph Macadam, William R.
McAllister, F. H.
Corse, J. M., M. D. Marsh, Benjamin V.
Cope, Alfred Morton, Samuel C.
Cope, M. C. Merrill, William O. B.
Cope, Henry Morrell, R. B.
Cope, Francis R. Mellor, Thomas
Cope, Thomas P. Mitcheson, M. J.
Colwell, Stephen
Caldwell, James E. Norris, Samuel
Caldwell, William Warner Neall, Daniel
Cresson, John C. Needles, William N.
Claghorn, John W. Nesmith, Alfred
Chandler, Joseph R. Nicholson, William
Carter, John Neuman, L. C.
Carter, John E.
Campbell, James R. Ormsby, Henry
Comegys, B. B. Orne, Benjamin
Childs, George W.
Child, H. T., M. D. Purves, William
Chance, Jeremiah C. Parrish, William D.
Coates, Benjamin Parrish, Joseph, M. D.
Chamberlain, Lloyd Poulson, Charles A.
Conrad, James M. Perot, William S.
Cooke, Jay Perot, Francis
Collier, Daniel L. Perot, Charles P.
Comly, Franklin A. Perot, T. Morris
Patterson, Joseph
Demmé, Charles R. Patterson, Morris
Ducachet, Henry W. Patterson, William C.
Dawson, Mordecai L. Potter, Alonzo, D.D.
Dorsey, William Price, Eli K.
Dutilh, E. G. Price, Richard
Ditzler, William U. Pearsall, Robert
Dreer, Ferdinand J. Pitfield, Benjamin H.
Dickinson, Mahlon H. Peters, James
Davis, R. C. Peterson, Lawrence
Derbyshire, Alexander J. Potts, Joseph
Derbyshire, John Parry, Samuel
Dennis, William H. Palmer, Charles
Duane, William Perkins, Henry
Earp, Thomas Quinn, John A.
Evans, Charles, M. D.
Evans, William, Jr. Richardson, Richard
Evans, Robert E. Richardson, William H.
Evans, J. Wistar Robins, Thomas
Erringer, J. L. Robins, John, Jr.
Edwards, William L. Ritter, Abraham, Jr.
Elkinton, Joseph Rasin, Warner M.
Elkinton, George M. Read, W. H. J.
Ellison, John B. Robb, Charles
Emlen, Samuel Rehn, William L.
Eyre, Edward E. Rutter, Clement S.
Eyre, William Ruth, John
Erety, George Roberts, Algernon S.
Ridgway, Thomas
Farnum, John Robinson, Thomas A.
Fraley, Frederick Randolph, Philip P.
Fullerton, Alex. Rowland, A. G.
Farr, John C. Richards, George K.
Frazier, John F.
Ford, William Smedley, Nathan
Ford, John M. Shippen, William, M. D.
Furness, William H. Scull, David
Field, Charles J. Schaffer, William L.
Fox, Henry C. Scattergood, Joseph
Franciscus, Albert H. Shannon, Ellwood
Funk, Charles W. Sharpless, William P.
Simons, George W.
Garrett, Thomas C. Smith, Nathan
Griffin, E., M. D. Stokes, Shmuel E.
Greeves, James R. Shoemaker, Benjamin H.
Gilpin, John F. Speakman, Thomas H.
Grigg, John Starr, F. Ratchford
Gummere, Charles J. Saunders, McPherson
Gardiner, Richard, M. D. Stokes, Edward D.
Sloan, Samuel
Hunt, Uriah Smith, Joseph P.
Hockley, John Stone, James N.
Holloway, John S. Simes, Samuel
Husband, Thomas J. Stuart, George H.
Hughes, Joseph B. Stewart, William S.
Homer, Henry Stevens, Edwin P.
Homer, Benjamin
Hancock, Samuel P. Townsend, Edward
Hand, James C. Taylor, Franklin
Hazeltine, John Taylor, John D.
Hastings, Matthew Taylor, George W.
Huston, Samuel Trewendt, Theodore
Hacker, Morris Tredick, B. T.
Hacker, William Thomas, John
Hunt, William, M. D. Taber, George
Hurley, Aaron A. Troutman, George M.
Harbert, Charles Thornley, Joseph H.
Thissel, H. N.
Ingersoll, Joseph R.
Ingram, William Van Pelt, Peter
Iungerich, Lewis Vaux, George
Jackson, Charles C. Wharton, Thomas F.
Janney, Benjamin S., Jr. Wood, Horatio C.
Jeanes, Joshua T. Wood, Richard, Jr.
Jenks, William P. Welsh, William
Jones, Isaac C. Welsh, Samuel
Jones, Jacob P. Welsh, John
Jones, Isaac T. Wetherill, John M.
Jones, William D. Williamson, Passmore
Jones, Justus P. White, John J.
Jones, William Pennel Wainwright, William
Johnson, Israel H. Wright, Samuel
Johnson, Ellwood Wright, Isaac
Johnston, Robert S. Willets, Jeremiah
Justice, Philip S. Wiegand, John
Wilstach, William P.
Kaighn, James E. Williamson, Peter
Kane, Thomas L. Warner, Redwood F.
Kelly, William D. Walton, Coates
Kelly, Henry H. Williams, Jacob T.
Ketcham, John Wilson, Ellwood, M. D.
Kiderlen, William L. J. Woodward, Charles W.
Kimber, Thomas Whilldin, Alexander
Kingsbury, Charles A., M. D.
Kinsey, William Zell, T. Ellwood
Kirkpatrick, James A.
LIFE MEMBERS.
ON PAYMENT OF TWENTY DOLLARS AND UPWARDS.
Barclay, James J. Ogden, John M.
Bache, Franklin, M. D.
Bonsall, Edward H. Perot, Joseph
Besson, Charles A. Perkins, Samuel H.
Parrish, Dillwyn
Cope, Caleb Powers, Thomas H.
Potter, Thomas
Ellis, Charles
Sharpless, Townsend
Fotteral, Stephen G. Sharpless, Charles L.
Foulke, William P. Sharpless, Samuel J.
Steedman, Miss Rosa
Hacker, Jeremiah
Horton, John Turnpenny, Joseph C.
Hollingsworth, Thomas G. Townsend, Samuel
Knight, Reeve L. Whelen, E. S.
Willits, A. A.
Learning, J. Fisher Weightman, William
Love, Alfred H. Wilhams, Henry J.
Longstreth, William W. Wain, S. Morris
Marshall, Richard M. Yarnall, Charles
Yarnall, Benjamin H.
ARTICLE IV.
The Treasurer shall keep the moneys and securities, and pay all orders
of the Society or of the Acting Committee, signed by the presiding
officer and Secretary; and shall present a statement of the condition
of the finances of the Society at each stated meeting thereof.
All bequests, donations, and life subscriptions, shall be safely
invested; only the income thereof to be applied to the current expenses
of the Society.
ARTICLE V.
The Acting Committee shall consist of the officers of the Society,
ex-officio, and fifty other members. They shall visit the prison at
least twice a month, inquire into the circumstances of the prisoners,
and report such abuses as they shall discover, to the proper officers
appointed to remedy them. They shall examine the influence of
confinement on the morals of the prisoners. They shall keep regular
minutes of their proceedings, which shall be submitted at every stated
meeting of the Society; and shall be authorized to fill vacancies
occurring in their own body, whether arising from death, or removal
from the city; or from inability or neglect to visit the prisons in
accordance with their regulations. They shall also have the sole power
of electing new members.
ARTICLE VI.
Candidates for membership may be proposed at any meeting of the
Society or of the Acting Committee; but no election shall take place
within ten days after such nomination. Each member shall pay an annual
contribution of two dollars; but the payment of twenty dollars at any
one time shall constitute a life membership.
ARTICLE VII.
Honorary members may be elected at such times as the Society may deem
expedient.
ARTICLE VIII.
The Society shall hold stated meetings on the _fourth_ fifth-day
(Thursday) in the months called January, April, July, and October, of
whom seven shall constitute a quorum.
ARTICLE IX.
No alterations of the Constitution shall be made, unless the same
shall have been proposed at a stated meeting of the Society held not
less than a month previous to the adoption of such alterations. All
questions shall be decided where there is a division, by a majority of
votes; in those where the Society is equally divided, the presiding
officer shall have the casting vote.
OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY.
PRESIDENT,--JAMES J. BARCLAY.
VICE PRESIDENTS, { TOWNSEND SHARPLESS,
{ WILLIAM SHIPPEN, M. D.
TREASURER,--EDWARD H. BONSALL.
{ JOHN J. LYTLE,
SECRETARIES, { EDWARD TOWNSEND.
{ HENRY J. WILLIAMS,
COUNSELLORS, { CHARLES GIBBONS.
_Members of the Acting Committee._
Charles Ellis, Mahlon H. Dickinson, Joseph R. Chandler,
William S. Perot, William Ingram, Samuel Townsend,
Thomas Latimer, James Peters, Albert G. Roland,
John M. Wetherill, Robert E. Evans, Benj. H. Shoemaker,
Abram C. Brown, Charles Palmer, Lewis C. Neuman,
Benjamin H. Pitfield, Charles P. Perot, Wm. Warner Caldwell,
James E. Kaighn, Charles C. Lathrop, Henry Perkins,
Alfred H. Love, William Dorsey, George M. Elkinton,
Jeremiah Willits, Abram Martin, William R. MacAdam,
William H. Burr, John Adolph Beaux, J. M. Corse, M. D.,
Jacob T. Bunting, Wm. Armstrong, M. D., E. Griffin, M. D.,
John C. Farr, Wm. Nicholson, William Hacker,
George Taber, Charles W. Funk, John E. Carter.
William L. J. Kiderlen, Philip P. Randolph,
_Visiting Committee on the Eastern Penitentiary._
Townsend Sharpless, George Taber, William Nicholson,
Edward H. Bonsall, William L. J. Kiderlen, Charles W. Funk,
John J. Lytle, Mahlon H. Dickinson, Samuel Townsend,
Edward Townsend, James Peters, Albert G. Roland,
Abram C. Brown, Robert E. Evans, Benj. H. Shoemaker,
James E. Kaighn, William R. MacAdam, William Hacker,
Alfred H. Love, Charles Palmer, J. M. Corse, M. D.,
Jeremiah Willits, William Dorsey, E. Griffin, M. D.
William H. Burr,
_Visiting Committee on the County Prison._
William Shippen, M.D., John C. Farr, Philip P. Randolph,
Charles Ellis, William Ingram, Joseph R. Chandler,
William S. Perot, Charles P. Perot, L. C. Neuman,
Thomas Latimer, Charles C. Lathrop, Henry Perkins,
John M. Wetherill, Abram Martin, George M. Elkinton,
Benj. H. Pitfield, John Adolph Beaux, Wm. Warner Caldwell,
Jacob T. Bunting, Wm. Armstrong, M.D., John E. Carter.
👉 WM. J. MULLEN is Agent of the County Prison, appointed by the
Inspectors, and acting under their direction, and also appointed by the
Prison Society.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Less than one-sixth the size of the cells in the corridors which
were then completed in our penitentiary, as described by the same
writer, to wit: eleven feet nine inches long, seven feet six inches
wide, and sixteen feet high to the top of the arched ceiling.
[2] William J. Mullen.
[Transcriber's Note:
Dialect, obsolete and alternative spellings were left unchanged.
Printing errors, such as backwards or upside down letters, were
corrected; duplicate words were deleted; missing punctuation was added.]