The Review, Vol. 1, No. 11, November 1911

What, then, is the parole system? I do not like the general term “ticket of leave,” which has been the outcome of many failures, and resulted in the abuse of many systems, for the term ticket of leave is one which handicaps the prisoner who carries this synonym of “jail bird” printed in large letters on his license, but the word parole, “my word of honor,” is a much better term, and more within the true meaning of a conditional release.

It can be said, in view of the various methods adopted in many countries, that these systems all acknowledge the principle of conditional liberty to the citizen who has forfeited it by crime, and that a gradual restoration and rehabilitation is not only feasible, but is expedient to the higher and best interests of the state. It is a system which strengthens the weak, and fits them again for contact with society, and when they are sufficiently strong, restores them to full liberty and good citizenship. The parole system of Canada not only gives the released prisoner police supervision, which is an absolute necessity in keeping in touch with them, but it makes provision for a parole officer, as Sir Charles Fitzpatrick demonstrated to the house of parliament, as a “go-between” the police and the prisoner, giving the prisoner protection, sympathy and care in a time when he most needs a helping hand.

The parole system came in vogue in Canada under the late Honorable David Mills, then Minister of Justice, in the year 1899. He was followed by Sir Charles Fitzpatrick, who not only took a deep interest in the system, but he placed it on a well-organized plan of operation, and the present minister of justice, the Honorable A. B. Aylesworth, has been working out this organization with splendid success. The minister of justice occupies a unique position, having at his command the reports from the trial judges, the parole officer, the wardens and jailors of the institutions and the dominion police, for the investigation of complex cases. His position is a much stronger one than that of a “board of pardons,” or any local system operated in other countries, and it would be a step backward to even consider an alteration of our Canadian system. The minister of justice considers every application for a parole on its merits, and free from local prejudice or influence.

It has also been demonstrated that the Canadian parole system is working harmoniously with the principles of law and order in every community in which it is in operation, and that it has never been governed by that mawkish sentimentality which would convert a penitentiary into a summer resort, with perfumed baths, carpets, paintings, or orchestras for the prisoners. The administration realizes that the inmates are criminals, sentenced to confinement on account of crime, and to convert a penitentiary into a place of recreation and amusement would be to pervert the purposes for which it was instituted. In our Canadian institutions, men are punished for criminal offences, and on this fact or basis only the mercy of a parole can be safely administered. One fact I desire to lay stress upon is that our convicts receive a wholesome, humane treatment which leads to the beneficial results of our parole system.

As to the results of the parole system since 1899 in Canada, the following facts are quoted:

Paroles granted from penitentiaries 1,903 Paroles granted from prisons, jails and reformatories 1,276 ————— 3,079 Licenses cancelled 103 Licenses forfeited 62 ————— 165 Sentences completed 1,915 Still reporting 999 ————— 2,914

THE MASSACHUSETTS PRISON ASSOCIATION

=[From a leaflet just issued by the Massachusetts Prison Association we take the following facts:]=

The Association was formed in 1899 to enlighten public opinion concerning the prevention and treatment of crime, to secure the improvement of penal legislation, and to aid released prisoners in living honorably. Until the Association was formed, there was no organization in the state to do the work of “enlightening public opinion concerning the prevention and treatment of crime.” The literature of the Association has been distributed widely for educational purposes. Its annual appeal for Prison Sunday has met with a response from many churches, and a greatly improved public sentiment has been developed. During 1910 the Association printed and distributed 75,000 pages of printed matter. The public press and the lecture platform has been used also.

Three important changes have been made through the efforts of the Association, in the probation laws. Arrested persons who, after investigation by the probation officer, are found to be occasional offenders, are released from the station, by his direction, with a warning that a record has been made, and that another offense may be followed by punishment, 38,813 being so released in 1910. Since the time available before the opening of the court does not permit a full investigation of all cases, doubtful ones are sent to the court which has authority to release the occasional offender without arraignment. The offender suffers from public exposure in court, but is saved from the stigma of a trial and conviction; 25,295 were so released in 1910.

Commitment to prison formerly followed immediately after the imposition of a fine, if it was not paid on the spot. A new law, secured by the Association, authorizes the court to give a prisoner time to get his fine. He is placed under the supervision of a probation officer, to whom he pays the fine. The receipts from fines collected last year under the suspended sentence amounted to $25,379.

In connection with the abolition or the establishment of correctional institutions, the Association has succeeded in bringing about the abolition of the South Boston house of correction, and the establishment of the Shirley state industrial school for boys, a reformatory on the farm school plan for boys between the ages of 15 and 18. Through the efforts of the Association probation officers have been appointed in the superior court. In 1906 the society played a prominent part in bringing about the treatment of juvenile offenders as delinquents rather than as criminals. Back in 1900 the Association advocated a bill, which was passed providing for a central probation bureau. Not until 1908, through another law, was the principle of this bill put into execution. The Association secured a law expediting criminal trials by giving the lower courts jurisdiction over a greater number of offenses.

Recently the society has secured the passage of a law requiring the state inspectors of health to make an annual inspection of police stations, lockups and houses of detention, and to make rules for such places, relative to the care and use of drinking cups, dishes, bedding and ventilation. The law requires that no such places shall be built, hereafter, until the plans have been approved by the state board. A supplementary law extended this provision to jails and houses of correction.

In the assisting of discharged prisoners the Association has often filled the place of next friend. In 1910 the Association gave relief to 335 different men. The receipts of the Association were in 1910 $3,682, and the expenditures, $3,678.

A NEW KIND OF PRISON

At the annual meeting of the American prison association at Omaha, Mr. W. C. Zimmerman, state architect of Illinois, presented to the careful scrutiny of most of the principal wardens in the United States a half-section model of the new cell house which is to be the unit of construction in the proposed Illinois state prison of which Mr. Zimmerman is the architect. In view of the novelty of the prison plan proposed by Mr. Zimmerman and in view furthermore of the general approval, often enthusiastic, which the wardens gave to the plan and the model, a brief description is submitted herewith to the readers of the Review.

At present the prevailing construction of cell blocks in the United States embodies the following features: (a) the walls of the building; (b) the corridor next the wall; (c) the cell blocks, which are back to back, except for the so-called utility corridor which separate the rows of cells. In short, it is a cell block built within a building known as the cell house. It is obvious that the natural light for the cells must come through windows in the wall of the building.

[Illustration: Half-section Model of Proposed Illinois State Prison Cell Houses. (See “A New Kind of Prison,” page 7)]

European prison construction is the exact opposite, in that the cells are built on the “outside” principle, that is, up against the walls of the cell house. The corridor, therefore, is in the middle of the cell house and each cell has a room to itself with a barred window to the outside air.

The “inside” cell construction in the United States has been held to have several distinct advantages, for the utility corridor, containing the various pipes, wires, etc., is an economical form of construction. The cells on the “inside” are furthermore safer in that the cell door acts as a window and the prisoner in order to escape must first go through the cell door, then through the wall of the cell house and then over the wall of the prison grounds.

[Illustration: Plan of Proposed Illinois State Prison. (See “A New Kind of Prison,” page 7)]

Prisons built on the “inside” plan are strongly criticised because of the limited amount of direct sunlight and direct fresh air that may be admitted to the cells. The importance of these two essentials of life is obvious. A further objection to the “inside” cell plan is that as the cells have no doors, the acts and the words of one prisoner can be readily heard or learned throughout a good part of the cell house. Supervision with either the “inside” or the “outside” plan is at present carried on through the patrolling of the corridors by a guard.

The plan evolved by Mr. Zimmerman for the cell house of the new Joliet prison seemingly overcomes the above objections in a most careful manner. It is proposed by Mr. Zimmerman to build circular shaped cell houses about 120 feet in diameter, placing the cells against the cell house wall and thus assuring direct light and air. Now comes the novelty. Instead of having an open front of steel bars, heavy glass will be fitted into the open space between these bars so as to make a completely closed room out of the cell. A full view, however, of this room is possible from a central point. This central point is a steel shaft in the center of the cell house, enclosing a circular stairway. The stairway will be as high as the highest tier of cells, and from a position half way up the circular stairway, which is completely sheathed with steel, the guard within the “conning tower” has a full view of each and every cell, at the mere turn of his head. The shaft will be arranged with narrow slots opposite the level of the eye so that it will be impossible for inmates to see the guard and impossible to know at what time they are under observation. The shaft will be bullet proof, which in case of possible mutiny assures absolute safety for the guard. An armed guard could undoubtedly from his secure position readily control a mob even though the mob be fully armed. Entrance to the shaft will be possible only through a tunnel which opens into the administration building outside the prison enclosure.

A number of these circular cell houses will be erected as indicated in the group plan here published. That this arrangement lends itself most readily to extension is evident.

Another novel feature is the possibility of classification of prisoners in different groups. Easily moving partitions will be erected as high as the upper tier of rooms and placed with sufficient frequency so that no prisoner can see from his cell into that of any other cell, an arrangement which does not interfere with the view of the guard in the “conning tower” into any room of the cell house.

Escape seems practically impossible, for the guard in the “conning tower” will have at his hand a complete system of levers, push buttons, etc., electrically controlled in such a way that at any time the locks of any or all of the tiers may be locked or unlocked and the lights in any or all of the cells may be dimmed or increased.

In order that all rooms may obtain direct sunlight the roof will be made largely of glass and the diameter of the cell house is sufficiently large to admit of the shining of the sun into the lowest tier of rooms facing the north. Most of the rooms will enjoy direct sunlight at some period of the day through the outside window.

The building of this prison in Illinois will be watched with great interest by all those in the United States interested in the construction of prisons and in the proper housing of the delinquent. The circular form of prison is not entirely new. In 1901 a circular prison was built in Haarlem, Holland, to accommodate about 400 inmates. The Haarlem prison, however, has wooden doors for each cell which renders the supervision of the prisoners much more difficult. The specially new features of Mr. Zimmerman’s plan are the glass inside front, the circular form of construction, the central stairway with its “conning tower,” the partition providing for the obstruction of vision, for the classification of prisoners and the elimination of a number of the attendants otherwise needed for supervision. Mr. Zimmerman believes that this cell house can be built for ten per cent. less than the familiar rectangular cell block.

OUR FIRST ANNUAL MEETING

The first annual meeting of the National Prisoners’ Aid Association was held at Omaha, Nebraska, on Monday, October 16, while the members of the Association were in attendance upon the American Prison Association annual meeting in that city. That the National Prisoners’ Aid Association meeting was encouraging to its members there can be no doubt. In fact two meetings were held, one an adjourned meeting. At each meeting from 30 to 40 members were present.

In a report sent out by the secretary to the various prisoners’ aid societies in the United States, the following paragraphs occur:

Vice President F. Emory Lyon was in the chair. After Mr. Lyon had stated the purpose of the annual meeting and had outlined briefly the history of the Association, the Secretary, O. F. Lewis of New York, was asked to report. The main business presented by Mr. Lewis was the question of the publication of the Review, a monthly periodical of sixteen or more pages, which has been published since January, 1911, in the interest of the National Prisoners’ Aid Association by Mr. Lewis as editor.

Mr. Lewis showed that the receipts of the Review had been up to the 6th of October $503.67, that the disbursements for the same period had been $445.97, leaving a balance of $57.70 in the treasury; that the principal items had been

Printing the Review $388.82 Postage 46.50 Other expenses 10.65 ——————— $445.97

Mr. Lewis then raised the question of the continuance of the publication of the Review. The expression was unanimous that the Review was a useful paper and should be continued and developed; that the affiliating societies should so far as possible obtain contributions and raise their own contributions to the Review; that the Review should be continued to be published by Mr. Lewis; that the affiliating societies should furnish more information for the Review than during the last year. Mr. Lewis on his part stated that he would gladly continue to be editor of the Review and would do what he could to obtain further contributions in New York and vicinity.

The meeting then proceeded to consider the nomination and election of officers for the ensuing year. After a frank and sincere discussion as to the proportional representation on the board of officers and executive committee of the various associations represented in the national association, it was voted on motion of Mr. Lewis that a nominating committee of five be appointed from the floor and the following persons were named:

Mr. Parsons of Minnesota, Mr. Lewis of New York, Mr. Cornwall of Massachusetts, Mr. McClaren of Oregon and Mr. Messlein of Illinois.

The meeting was then adjourned until 5.30 of the same date.

The adjourned meeting of the National Prisoners’ Aid Association was held at 5.30 P. M., October 16, 1911, at the Hotel Rome, Omaha. Vice President Lyon in the chair.

The nominating committee brought in the following list of officers and executive committee for election: President: Judge Carver of Topeka, Kansas; Vice President: William R. French of Chicago; Secretary and Treasurer: O. F. Lewis of New York; Executive Committee: General Edward Fielding, Chicago; F. Emory Lyon, Chicago; E. A. Fredenhagen, Kansas City; Joseph P. Byers, Newark, N. J.; W. G. McClaren, Portland, Oregon; R. B. McCord, Atlanta. Georgia; and A. H. Votaw, Philadelphia, Pa.

On motion of Mr. Fredenhagen, the above persons were elected officers and members of the executive committee respectively.

A brief discussion followed on methods of supporting the Review.

It was voted that the executive committee of the National Prisoners’ Aid Association should in their discretion ask of the American Prison Association that the National Prisoners’ Aid Association be recognized as a section of the American Prison Association, and that it should have on the program of the 1912 American Prison Association one of the sessions.

Adjourned at 6:30 P. M.

NEW YORK CITY’S BOARD OF INEBRIETY

The city of New York has taken initial steps to make more adequate provision for dealing with inebriates and persons arrested for public intoxication. Following the enactment of a law authorizing the city to establish such a board, the board of estimate and apportionment of the city appointed a special committee to inquire into the feasibility and advisability of undertaking such a work. As a result of the report of the committee the board of estimate and apportionment decided to initiate the work. In accordance with provisions of the law, the mayor appointed a board of five members. The commissioner of public charities and the commissioner of correction are ex-officio members of the board.

This board has started its preliminary work. Possible sites for institutions have been studied and a request for funds for carrying on the work of the board has been made to the city authorities. In the budget for the coming year, provision is made for a sufficient amount of money for the board to secure a secretary and necessary office assistance. The appointment of a secretary, who can give his whole time to the work, will enable the board to study the problem further and formulate more in detail their plans and present them to the city for its ratification by providing the necessary funds for carrying them out.

This board has been established to do a most important piece of work. It will provide not only a hospital and industrial colony for the care of inebriates, but will establish under its jurisdiction a system of special probation work for cases of intoxication. The work of the board will doubtless be watched by persons interested in this work all over the country. A measure similar to the New York city law, giving authority to any city of the first or second class in the state of New York to make provision for the care and treatment of inebriates, was enacted at the last session of the legislature, and a committee has been formed in the city of Buffalo to secure the adoption of the plan in that city.