Evening Star Newspaper, December 13, 1929, Page 36

!‘ - 86 ANGING PENAL SYSTEM IS HAILED " Bates Says U. S. Should Work to Make Good Citi- zens of Criminals. Traditional methods of eriminals have failed-and the time has come when protection of the public “requires that prison attempts to turn smen out better than when they went =n,” according to Sanford Bates, super- intendent of Federal prisons. who spoke last night on “A Protective Prison Pro- gram” in the weekly National Radio Forum arranged by The Star and spon- sored by the Columbia Broadcasting Company. Liquor legislation, the narcotic act, the Dyer automobile act and the Mann white slave act have “tremendously in- creased Federal crime problems,” de- clared Mr. Bates. “It is quite certain.” he added. there will be no immediate diminut in the number of Federal offenders.” Holds Analysis Is Vital. Overwhelmed with the task of hous- | ing and feeding twice as many inmates ! as the penitentiaries should accommo- , date, the real work of Federal prisons rsonal reconstruction—has had to be deferred, Mr. Bates explained. He declared that if the program of protec- “tive penology is to be carried out, and if men are to be made better and therefore less dangerous to the public, 1t cannot be done by herding or over- =erowding, by idleness or Government -neglrct “It can only be done." Bates. “by analysis of the probiem, the classification of the inmates, the per- onal diagnosis of their needs, the proper penal discipline, by steady em- ployment and by the substitution of new incentives for old.” Mr. Ba said one of the greatest dangers is “the careless or cruel or criminal tendency of certain people to hurt us, to take our property, to make us suffer in other ways. “And in the same wa. sought to protect ourselves from other dangers we must seek to protect our- selves from crime in modern scientific ways,” he declared. “We, the innocent ones, are reasonably ent protection.” Text of Speech. Mr. Bates’' specch follows: 1 am privileged to address the radio audience on a subject which ranks high importance in our present civilization. The Attorney General is charged by law _ with the control of Federal peniten- - tiaries and reformatories. In the De- * partment of Justice, of which the At- torney General is the head. there is a_small bureau knewn as the Bureau of Prisons, to which the Attorrey Gen- eral delegates certain duties with ref- erence to the care of prisoners. As & representative of that bureau, pose to take the members of that huge audience into confidence in discussing some ¢l ‘e plans of the Federal Gov- emment with refersnce to the care of 1ts prisoners and to ask its support of such program. Much is being said and written about !he rren prevalence of crime in the d States. We have been urged on continued Mr. that we have led to such I pro- mlny hands to feel alarmed about it, and so we should. Too much cannot be 1 said as to the need for modern and effective methods to control this dis- concerting situation and for the need of an increase in our general desire for an orderly government and a crime-free And, after all, as our President has said, we have to want to be free from crime before we ever can be. We have built ourselves, it seems to me, a rather civilization. We want a deal faster travel, not old horse and uggy, and we pay the toll in automo- bile accidents. We want daily movies and a constant radio, and we pay for it in eyestrain and nervous exhaustion. We want the utmost in freedom and greatest liberty to express our per- sonal opinion. We can lead a quiet, gentle life if we want to, and we will be reasonably free from crime. Most of us demand a life of sport, or adventure, or of excitement. Now, ad- venture means danger. Every story book hero that started out to seek his fortune or to partake of a life of ad- venture always took his sword along ith him. S0 som> of our boys with a distorted or exaggerated notion of what true heroism is start out on an adven- ture with a pistol or revolver. Young America wants adventure. We have recognized that our mode of living is a hazardous one. So science has stepped in to make it more secure. Traffic lights, rubber tires, eyeglasses, fences, elevators, ulephones ether, pasteuriza- tion, X-ray and other scientific bene- __factions have prolonged our lives and =~made them more comfortable, in spite ~of the very evident dangers of our civil- Now, one of our greatest dangers is the careless or cruel or criminal mn- dency of certain people to hurt us, handling | “that | THE EVENIN SANFORD BATES, -—Star Staff Photo. take our property, to make us suffer in other ways. And in the same way that we have sought to protect ourselves from other dangers we must seek to protect ourselves from crime in modern scientific ways. We, the innocent ones, are reasonably entitled to such protec- tion 1. The prime object of a penal sys- tem, then, is to protect the public. Opinions differ as to how such protec- tion can best be secured That _traditional methods have failed is admitted by almost every one. The day of the Bastile and torture chamber has gone, ‘The solution of the problem as to how best to protect the public will never be obtained through ignorance, or apathy, or laisses faire, or by the argument that it always has been done,” or by reli- ance upon any other prejudice or pre- conception. Other difficult social problems have yielded before the application of scien- tific intelligence. 2. Intelligence must, therefore, be applied to the penal problem, whatever the immediate cost. The application of science to the penal problem is not inconsistent with safety. What is protection secured through pu: Many people confuse punishment with protection. Beginning with the Chris- tian Scriptures, history is replete with examples of the failure of punishment alone to modify the convictions and practices of the people. Christian mar- tyrs were thrown to the lions, the Span- ish Inquisition tortured the non-con- formists. religious liberals were burned at the stake, the Pilgrims were exiled. True enough, in the light of history. those people so punished are by us held to be in the right. However, many large groups of citizens today who are by our standards lawless nevertheless belleve themselves to be right. Hence p}\)mkhmem has little effect to control them, Is it always hment alone? It cannot be gainsaid, however, that the protection of the public requires the disciplining of a certain section of the lawless elements. How shall this discipline be appli (a) By taking a part of the offend- er's property (fine (b) By visiting disgrace or shame upon him. (¢) By loss of civil privileges. (d) By exile or deportation. (e) By bodily punishment or torture. (f) By the punishment of death. (g) By life imprisonment (h) By the loss of his liberty (term in prison) Discard Punishment Methods. ‘The first five of these alternatives are irequently employed, and with the large proportion of our citizenry, in whom celf-esteem is paramount, the shame and disgrace of a court proceeding is the kecnest punishment. We are defi- nitely discarding the application of man-to-man punishment in the form of whipping, branding or other forms of pain infliction, hecause of the degra- dation which it involves, both to the one who receives and the one who gives. and the necessary intervention of the human_element. The last three alternatives, therefore, are the ones which confront the stu- dent of penology today, and seem to have become the accepted expedients to be employed in the control of the more serfous kinds of eri Obviously, only & very small per- centage of criminals can be put to death. Also will it be impossible to inflict life imprisonment as a punish- Gift Koda as they are pmctzml New types, new colors, new de- signs await your selection here Be as practical as you wish=—as exacting, too, as far as style is concerned—these new Kodaks and Brownieswill please you either way. For each em- bodies a rare combination of utility and charm KODAK ENSEMBLE ( A-mm sguer littlecase covered ede. It contains, Testdes the. Keda { change and handkerchief pocket, ka8 compn | Labors h:i Prm s Inspect them ment except for very heinous crimes, and thus we find that in a very large proportion of serious criminals, prob- ably as high as 98 per cent, imprison- ment for a term has become the ac- cepted means of penal control. Our fundamental proposition of the protection to society is well carried out by the application of the death penalty or of life imprisonment, but if we are ;to continue to apply the principle of protection in the case of term imprison- ent_an important situation confronts us. In the case of term imprisonment the protection to the community lasts only while the man is in prison. If he comes out worse than when he went in, the temporary protection to the com- munity is more than offset by the sub- sequent danger from an individual who has become more lawless and more of a menace. The protection of the public, therefore, requires that prisons attempt o turn men out better than when they went in. Not by coddling, not by favoritism, not by an early release, not by sense- less cruelty, but by firmly and con- stantly— (1). Removing physical handicaps to success, and thus increasing the resist- ing power to temptation. We little real- ize how important a factor physical in- firmity or debility plays in influencing conduct. (2) imizing the economic pressure to com- mit_crime. (3). Through the study and classifi- cation of the individual to reach the personal problem involved and apply the remedy. (4). Through the right kind of edu- cation, good books and other construc- tive contacts to supplant a habit of lawlessness with a morale of patriotic co-operation (5). By release on parole under strict supervision: that is, in place of an abrupt change from confinement to lib- erty to supply an adjusted and con- trolled release, with home and employ- ment provided and activities circum- scribed. No Inconsistencies In Program. 4. There is nothing inconsistent in the above program of penal treatment with the cotemporaneous program for law enforcement and observance. Penologists believe in the necessity or— ) in criminal cases through the simplifi- cation and clarification of legal pro- cedure. Celerity of justice is more de- terrent than severity. (2). Scientific analysis of the indi-| vidual and the causes of his crime. Th's contemplates an adequate system o( criminal statistics. (3). Special treatment for the lrre— sponsible. The punishment of the in- sane or feeble-minded as & means of social correction has long since been abandoned as incon, (4). Strict dlsclpnne for all normal or Teaching a trade, and thus min- Prompt decision and disposition intentional criminal (5). Permanent segregation of the defective or incorrigible. ~As the At- torney General recently stated, the prison of the future should be at once a disciplinary school for those who can be reformed, a place of segregation for the Incorrigible, and a laboratory for the study of the causes of crime. It is submitted that the above sug- gests a basis for a rigorous yet humane, & sclentific yet common sense, a pro- gressive yet protective program of penal reform. (Note—A word should here be said in very difficult and comment upon a —das smart 7 7 7 14 now at this store . . ...where they are displayed in their proper setting . . . %, where salesmen with a practical knowledge of things photographic will help you in making your gift selections. EKODAKS PETITE Dainty, feminine Kodaks in viva s color: blue, vender and grecn. )u:l\llu 1 lxll ‘and cost Bnth. POCKET KODAKS JUNIOR Luflrl- ed s metal ‘barmoniously muhd. o blue, iz 343 No. 1, Ro. 1y nx 4x4}. Prices: Soi with case, S1i. No. 14, sio; with case, COLORED BROWNIES The world’s most nwl-r cam- ting drese. on. g1y, brows tnutuuiflluu'nluu. ) —pe 3 o Superintendent of Federal Prisons, who spoke in The Star Radio Forum last night. | ; 3 in : 3 3 s y A y . ; Nation. 3 ibed. ks ; ’ s ¥ ). nt dangerous Vi v the v b ! i I | wi rdin, gruous. v 3 inals. | i i ¢ fible, and ization, sly, e I D e P T Y, . o ith case o match; $6.50 with f own b i \ A 1. oma 2 % %, . . ch ./ ¥ / ahn v B -~ ; e I ; : 'u. i’u.n asd 28 | ? $3 and . e Eastman Kodak Stores, Inc. 607—14th Street, N. W. STAR. WASHINGTON, fiwbluoms aspect of fln Qfle% Most agree with tI reform the mumdun! and thu- protect. the public, but they see a danger in carrying a reformative program so far that punishment commences to lose its deterrent force upon the tential criminal. Punishment is and should be deterrent upon a certain percentage of i law-breakers. Punishment is unavail- ing against the influence of the broken home, bad associates, physical disease, mental inferiority, and an inverted sense of social values. Our whole ob- ject in retaining a system of punish- ment is in deference to the idea of de- terrence, but this in no wise minimizes the importance of improving while we punish. Punishment, then. is a neces- sary element, but oniy an clement.) Ir. The Needs of the Situation. The old system was easily and cheaply administered. Strength of control, both structural and personal, was the prime requisite. “I know not whether laws be right or whether laws be wrong. All that we know who be in gaol Is that the wall is strong, And that each day is l!ke a year— A year whose days are long. But this I know: That every law ‘That men have made for man D. C, FRIDAY, Since first man took his brother’s e And the sad world began But straws the wheat and saves the chaff ‘With a most evil fan.” ‘The new system needs something in addition—more intelligence, more pa- tience, more equipment, more personnel, and, therefore, more money. In the same way that history is full of the failures of the old system, so are we finding some gratifying examples of success under the new system. For ex- ample, Massachusetts, with the highest use of probation and parole of any State in the country and a humane prison system, has the lowest homicide rate and a record of less serious crime than was the case 15 years ago. The English prison system hes been not only centralized under the home secretary but professionalized. Prison work in England offers a carcer to a college graduate. Security of tenure, freedom from politics and a period of training for employes testifies to Eng- land’s recognition that practical penol- ogy is a science. ‘The United States should follow this example. It should take the lead in insisting upon the professionalization of prison management and not lag behind ‘The recent establishment of a train- ing school for prison officers by the DECEMBER 13, 1929, Dep‘rmntolmflulllmflnlnfllh )luch ‘indeed, has been done to im- prove the Federal system in the last decade. The establishment of the United States Industrial Reformatory at Chillicothe, Ohio, and the Federal Industrial _Institutfon for Women at Alderson, W. Va., a start upon the Ped- eral probation system, and the authori- zation of two narcotic drug farms are a few examples of progressive tendency. In personnel, in appropriations and in the recognition of its importance, the Prison Bureau has not kept pace with developments in the sphere of Federal criminal affairs. 1. A small group of 19 employes has been charged with the duty of admin- istering this growing business, and while comparisons may be odious one has but to look at other Government bureaus, such as the Prohibition Bureau, Iden- | tification Bureau and the Veterans' Bu- reeu, to realize how inadequate this per- sonnel is. 2. The President’s Commission on Law_Enforcement and Observance, in common with every other investigating body. is calling for information and statistics of crime and criminals. Cer- tainly no intelligent action can be taken until such statistics are provided Whether the Prison Bureau should take the lead or not in the gathering and compilation of State statistics of crime, certainly it ought not only to know the “F Street at Seventh” Saturday Why Wait for After Christmas Here’s a Sale of § Coat or Women and Misses Worth $39.75, $49.75, $59.75and $69.75 $2 Most of the Coats Are Silk or Satin Black Coats with Black Skunk . Black Coats with Kit Fox : Black Coats with Black Caracul Black Coats with Pointed Wolf . Black Coats with Black Wolf . Novelty Coats with Lapin . . . ..... number of Federal but 1t ought to know somet! of the vital Sitistics connected. withs cases, and the why and how of their commit- ment, and whether it is their first, second or third appearance. 3. During 1928 8563 parole came before the United States hmle Board. One of the first items in the program of protective penology would be to revise the statutes covering parole and provide a proper personnel to deal intelligently and in the public interest with this feature of prison inistra- tion. 4. Supervision is the sine qua non of parole. Without strict supervision, pa- role is merely an early release instead of an extended protection to society, a: it should be. The Federal parole super- vision system relies entirely on volun- | teers or first friends for sucl supervi- sion. Some more effective or officlal | control should be devised. 5. There are 3,703 counties in t:e United States, and nearly every one of them has a jail. There are Federal prisoners in about 1,100 of these insti- tutions. The Bureau of Prisons now has two inspectors whose duty it is to make sure that these Federal prisoners are properly housed and cared for and that the Government gets its money's worth in this regard. 6. The probation system, after a half century of administration in the States, has demonstrated its importance as a 15 a.m. necessary feature in a penal ‘program. e e F o s Ivi ', and, prop- erly applied, it reduces crime. There are 91 Federal judicial districts, with 144 f;l.d:u. each ’hom has been author- t & probation officer. At the present time there are eight such officers, and one is said to have 1600 cases in his charge. If he visits them :nre a month, he will have to see 50 a ay. 7. The Atlanta Penitentiary was au- thorized in 1893. It has a normal ca- pacity of 1452. Even with the ques- tionable practice of placing two or more men in a cell, it might house comfort- ably 1,712 people. It now has 3.400 prisoners. The Leavenworth Peniten- tiary, having a normal capacity of 1,560, now has 3,723. 8. All persons, of whatever shade of opinion with Teference to prison mat- | ters, agree that prisoners should be kept at work. This is the best solution of disciplinary problems. It helps re- duce the cost of maintaining the prison and it makes easier the problem of re- habilitation. Recent scientific studies, one in Illinois and one in Massachu- setts, have demonstrated that the great- est factor making for successful reform is an ability and willingness on the part of the subject to do a day's work. But one industry has been authorized by Congress at _the Atlanta Penitentiary, “(Continued on Thirty-seventh Page.) Tflf Hrecur Co. ) ¢