[The American Prison Association held its annual meeting at Omaha, Nebraska, from October, 14th to 19th. The Review publishes this month some echoes of the convention. In November further attention will be devoted to the meeting.]

Morons in New Jersey Reformatory.—Dr. Frank Moore, superintendent of the Rahway Reformatory gave an address before the annual convention of the American prison association at Omaha, on “Mending the Immoral Moron.” He said, in part:

“In our New Jersey reformatory we have during the last two years made a careful study of this problem. Each inmate that has been received has been tested concerning his mentality, with the result that 46 per cent. were found to be deficients and to have minds that in knowledge or ability were only equal to the minds of children from 5 to 13 years old. Fully 33 per cent. or one-third of our population, we concluded was of the Moron class.

“The problem presents very great difficulties. The ordinary institution officers declare that prisoners are ‘dopes,’ and sometimes the psychologist agrees with them.

“The methods employed in dealing with this difficult problem must be unusually wise. The first thing that seems important is to know the man. He must be recognized as a defective. A special system must be adopted to him. His is a feeble mind. To place the same load upon him that is put upon others is either to cause him to balk or to break down altogether under the strain. He is a child mentally and not the abstract, but concrete or kindergarten mode of instruction must be used. In school he must be separated in some way from the others.

“In his training in work the calibre of his mind needs also to be considered. The trades that need planning and skill are too much for him. To the work of the laborer, the farm, garden and dairy he is best suited, and in them he is really most contented.

“Discipline which is firm yet kind is most successful. The most of immoral morons that we get have been ill-treated. Those who have not understood them have tried to beat sense into their stupid heads, and they are filled with fear and suspicion. They need, therefore, to be reassured.

“Care must be given to correct such physical defects as are often times the cause of mental and moral weakness.

“Of the 46 per cent. who by the test were feeble-minded in our institutions the percentage of physical defects was as follows:

“Defective eyesight, 40 per cent.; flat foot, 35; bad teeth, 32; throat difficulties, 17; nasal obstruction, 47; total number having some physical defects, 88 per cent.

“The work that the true chaplain may do is very great. The best way to mend the immoral moron is through persuasion and influences of religion.

“Our learned friend, Dr. Goddard, of Vineland, N. J., has declared that nine years is the average age when the tendencies of crime begin to develop. At this and even an earlier age it has been arranged by infinite wisdom, it would seem, that religion should begin to make its formative impressions on the mind.

“Concerning the question of parole or discharge, we cannot agree with those who advocate that the moron should be kept in permanent custodial care. Our success with this class on parole has been fully as good as it has been with the normal mind. Of eighty-three paroled during three months, not long ago, the morons have made even a better record than the normals.

“We could point to many other morons who are doing their part well in the world’s work. They have their place in the economy of society; they peculiarly fit certain kinds of employment.”

Judge De Courcy on Unpunished Homicide.—Quoting President Taft as saying that “The administration of criminal law in this country is a disgrace to civilization,” Judge C. A. De Courcy of Lawrence, Mass., justice of the supreme court of Massachusetts, pointed out in a paper read at Omaha in his absence that the United States is conspicuous for the great number of unpunished murderers. The defence of insanity, the limitation of the power of judges and the character of testimony allowed to be introduced in behalf of the defendant were some of the evils which, he said, ought to be rectified. “The number of homicides in this country for 1910 were 8975—an increase of nearly 900 over the number in 1909; yet but one in eighty-six was capitally punished in 1910 as against one in seventy-four during the year preceding,” said Judge De Courcy. “It is said that in 1896 for each million of the population there were 118 homicides in the United States; in Italy less than fifteen; in Canada less than thirteen; in Great Britain less than nine; in Germany less than five.

“In New York City, 119 cases of homicide were investigated by the grand jury during the last year, but only forty-five convictions resulted. Chicago reports 202 homicides were committed in that city during the last year. Only one of the offenders was hanged; fifteen were sent to the penitentiary and the others were set free. In Louisville, with a population of 224,000, during the last year, there were forty-seven cases of homicide and not a single murderer was hanged. In Alabama a conviction for stealing hides was recently set aside because the indictment failed to state whether they were mule, cow, goat or sheep hides. And indictments were dismissed because father was spelled farther (in South Carolina); because the letter ‘i’ was omitted in spelling malice (in Alabama).” Judge De Courcy then suggested some criminal law reforms which included simplified forms of indictments, change in the selections of juries and in the rules governing pleadings.

Wickersham on Prison Reform and Parole.—The attorney general of the United States said at Omaha that in the battles of economic forces for supremacy, the law must be obeyed, even though it seems to favor one class as against another. Punishment in some form, declared the attorney general is still necessary in our land to prevent crime. He discussed at length the broad question of punishment for crime and the administration of the federal parole law. Modern penal legislation, he said, is based on a recognition of the expediency of endeavoring to reform the criminal. Mr. Wickersham favored the extension of the parole law to include life prisoners. He regarded it as an incongruity that prisoners sentenced to long terms for vicious crimes should be eligible for parole when the man convicted of second degree murder must remain in prison for life.

Since the parole law was placed in operation last autumn, only one prisoner had violated his parole. The two hundred prisoners who were paroled from the time the law was put into effect in the autumn of 1910 to June 30, 1911, earned nearly $22,000, whereas, if they had remained in prison, the attorney general pointed out they would have been a charge on the government. Mr. Wickersham expressed the belief that the parole boards should be enlarged by adding two unofficial persons selected from among prominent citizens of the locality in which the prison is situated.

Base Ball in Prison.—At Omaha this question was vigorously discussed, not unfavorably, but as to the day or days when the game should occur.

J. K. Codding, warden of the Kansas penitentiary, told of base ball and other recreations for prisoners in his institution and the discussion which followed the general expression was that base ball, athletic contests, moving picture shows and other recreations render prison discipline easier by affording opportunity to reward those who do well and to deprive of pleasure those who break the rules.

The statement of Chaplain Le Cornu of Walla Walla, Wash., that Sunday afternoon in his institution is devoted to base ball, raised a protest from others, particularly Warden Codding of Kansas and Warden Saunders of Iowa. Mr. Codding said he didn’t let the men play ball on Sunday because he didn’t expect them to advocate Sunday ball when they got out. Mr. Saunders said his men played Saturday afternoon; that he would allow the men to play Sunday if they couldn’t play any other day.

Warden James of Oregon said he not only had base ball games, at which the men were allowed to root until they were hoarse, and weekly moving picture shows, but he intended this fall to put in a gymnasium. Several wardens said the reason that prisoners in many prisons are locked up all day Sunday is that the state is too stingy to hire a few extra guards.

A Colorado woman delegate said the men in the Colorado prison play base ball without guards, and in the rock camps they enjoy themselves at various sports, without guards, all day Sunday.

Mrs. Booth on Prisoners’ Earnings.—“Every man who works in prison should work for the support of his family or those depending upon him, after his board and clothing have been paid for,” declared Mrs. Maud Ballington Booth in a lecture at Omaha. “Some officials and law makers seem not to know that a convict may have a family, yet there is always this heart-saddened, home-broken circle of gloom, the mothers, wives and children of convicts, about every penal institution. Wherewith are they to be fed and clothed? What recognition does the state give to them, from whom it has taken their only source of support? When this wife married the man he promised to support her. Then if the state takes him in hand, why should it not make provision for his carrying out the promise?

“I know of one case where the state gets $500,000 a year for its convict labor. A nice little source of revenue! What of the army of helpless and hopeless wives and children who are being deprived of the support of these laborers who are their husbands and fathers.

“The helping hand extended to the family frequently has a reflex action on the man in prison. He decides that if there are people outside who think enough of his babies to care for them they are worth his efforts too.”

Shackling Chain Gangs.—At Omaha, during the American Prison Association meeting, some plain talk was printed in one of the newspapers, quoted from the lips of some delegates who saw the Omaha chain gang going through the streets, and who pronounced the shackling system bad and unnecessary. Word comes now from Columbus, S. C., that the convicts on the city chain gang who are not disorderly or those who have not attempted to run away are no longer required to wear the iron shackles about their ankles. When a prisoner is convicted before the recorder and given a sentence on the gang he is told that the shackles will not be put on him if he promises not to give the guards trouble.