The indeter minate sentence. Importance of religion and education. Necessity of a harmony of wills The prevention of crime. Society's discharged prisoner. dition. A regulated self-interest must be brought into play, and made constantly operative. VIII. Peremptory sentences ought to be replaced by those of indeterminate length. Sentences limited only by satisfactory proof of reformation should be substituted for those measured by mere lapse of time. IX. Of all reformatory agencies, religion is first in importance, because most potent in its action upon the human heart and life. X. Education is a vital force in the reformation of fallen men and women. Its tendency is to quicken the intellect, inspire self-respect, excite to higher aims, and afford a healthful substitute for low and vicious amusements. XII. A system of prison discipline, to be truly reformatory, must gain the will of the convict. He is to be amended; but how is this possible with his mind in a state of hostility? No system can hope to succeed which does not secure this harmony of wills, so that the prisoner shall choose for himself what his officer chooses for him. But, to this end, the officer must really choose the good of the prisoner, and the prisoner must remain in his choice long enough for virtue to become a habit. This consent of wills is an essential condition of reformation. XX. It is the judgment of the congress, that repeated short sentences for minor criminals are worse than useless; that, in fact, they rather stimulate than repress transgression. Reformation is a work of time; and a benevolent regard to the good of the criminal himself, as well as to the protection of society, requires that his sentence be long enough for reformatory processes to take effect. XXI. Preventive institutions, such as truant homes, industrial schools, etc., for the reception and treatment of children not yet criminal but in danger of becoming so, constitute the true field of promise in which to labor for the repression of crime. XXII. More systematic and comprehensive methods should be duty to the adopted to save discharged prisoners, by providing them with work and encouraging them to redeem their character and regain their lost position in society. The state has not discharged its whole duty to the criminal when it has punished him, nor even when it has reformed him. Having raised him up, it has the further duty to aid in holding him up. And to this end it is desirable that state societies be formed, which shall coöperate with each other in this work. . . . Questions on the foregoing Readings 1. What, in the opinion of Chief Justice Taft, is the most serious defect in American government? 2. Compare criminal procedure in England with criminal procedure in this country. 3. What, according to Chief Justice Taft, is the reason why the administration of justice is more effective in England than in the United States? 4. How may a wealthy criminal secure the postponement of his trial, or even escape punishment altogether? 5. What evil in criminal procedure is connected with the choice of jurors? 6. What can be said as to the abuse of the right of appeal in criminal trials in the United States? 7. When did the public defender movement begin? 8. What is the purpose of the public defender movement? 9. How does the public defender help to prevent unjust convictions? 10. What can be said as to the cost to the state of a public defender? 11. Illustrate the statement that the public defender saves time in criminal trials. 12. Why was the juvenile court developed? `13. What is the relation of medico-psychological work to the juvenile court movement? 14. With what type of cases might juvenile cases well be coördinated? 15. What is the relation of community coöperation to the juvenile court? 16. Professor Henderson says that for many of the criminal class, the prison fails in two important objects. What are these two objects of the prison? 17. Explain the operation of the probation system. 18. For what type of delinquents are colonies advisable? 19. What effect has the development of medicine and psychology had upon our treatment of the offender? 20. Outline the nature of the tests to which inmates of the Chicago House of Correction are subjected by the psychopathic experts of that institution. 21. What three courses may be followed by the authorities, as the result of these tests? 22. What is the importance of Frederick Howard Wines in the history of American penology? 23. Outline some of the principles adopted by the National Prison Congress, held at Cincinnati in 1870. 24. What did the congress say as to the "true field of promise in which to labor for the repression of crime "? 25. What did the congress conclude as to society's attitude toward the discharged prisoner? CHAPTER XXII THE NEGRO 127. Occupations of the American Negro 1 status of There has long been a feeling among students of the problem that Economic the improvement of the economic status of our colored population is the Amerione of the most fruitful ways of aiding in the adjustment of this group. can Negro. Industrially the Negro has made marked progress since the days of slavery, and yet it remains true that to-day the masses of American Negroes are unskilled workers, and perilously near the poverty line. The occupations of American Negroes, and their need of industrial education, are the subject of the following extract from a 1917 re- • port of the United States Bureau of Education in the Department of the Interior: have made progress, a poor people. The moral and political condition of any people is closely related The Negroes to their economic condition. Though the Negroes have made striking progress in the acquisition of property, they are still a poor people. but are still They are as yet "hewers of wood and drawers of water." According to the United States Census, a larger percentage of colored women and children are breadwinners than of any other group. While this fact indicates that a commendable percentage of the race is gainfully employed, it suggests the necessity of elevating the economic status of the group so that the children may attend school and the women may have a better opportunity to care for the morals and hygiene of the home. The comparatively low economic status of the race is further shown in the following table by the large proportion of all Negro breadwinners who are laborers, and the comparatively small numbers who are in the skilled and professional classes: 1 From the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. Bulletin, 1916, No. 38. "Negro Education." Washington, 1917. Vol. 1, pp. 84-85. |