It was his personal views, and not those of the committee. Nearly the whole morning was taken up in its discussion. This was the first time figures were even given based on the actual investigation of the cause of crime.
On the matter of heredity and environment, he said in part: “I have no hesitation in saying that at least 85 per cent. of all men and boys who have committed crime, if taken charge of in time and subjected to proper treatment, will become good citizens.” IF physicians and professors who believe that heredity is the direct cause of crime is true, then it cannot be done, but their theory is not correct, nor
FOUNDED ON FACTS.
It is true unquestionably, that there are hereditary criminals, but they constitute a very small per cent. of the whole number. For the purpose of putting this controversy to the test of facts, I have had an investigation made of the record and family history, so far as the commission of crime is concerned. Of 1,000 boys admitted to the Illinois State Reformatory, between Oct. 26, 1897 and Oct. 23, 1898, these figures would be substantially true of any other thousand, as they are taken consecutively; and were from the city, villages and farm.
Of this number there were 71 brothers, 3 sisters, 17 fathers and 2 mothers, who had been convicted of violation of the law, 20 for disorderly conduct only, for which they were fined. The others had workhouse, jail, reformatory, or penitentiary sentences. Forty of these were cases in which there were two in one family, thus the 40 represented 20 families. This leaves a total of 73 families represented, making a little over seven per cent. with criminal inclinations traceable to heredity.
The others admitted came from families of which all the other members were law-abiding citizens. It may be said heredity might affect the boy, and yet the remainder of the family do well. Conceding this to be so, and probably is, in some cases, it would not add more to the per cent. given, than would be subtracted by withdrawing from it the families in which two members had committed a crime where heredity was not the cause.
Considering 10 per cent. of the criminal class to be such because of heredity—(that is a liberal estimate) 90 per cent. must be accounted for in some other way. Ninety per cent. of the young convicted of crimes, would not become criminals with proper surroundings, proper companions, and proper attention.
He claimed that all severe punishment must be abolished in reformatories, else they may as well be extinct; he believed in the indeterminate sentence and
THE PAROLE LAWS.
“They are necessary to the effectual work in the reformatory. They furnish the lever, with which to maintain discipline.” In the indeterminate sentence and the parole of the reformatory, the prisoner will succeed when he finds that he can pass the examinations if he lives up to the proper requirements. The length of time for a cure is uncertain, it may be a year or two. Under the indeterminate sentence they serve longer, than under the determinate! We all know that in court when his case is heard, the sympathy of the jury is almost always with the first offender.