There are two County Prisons in Philadelphia, under the same Board of Inspectors, one at Tenth and Reed Streets, known as “Moyamensing,” and the other at Holmesburg. The former is used chiefly for prisoners awaiting trial and for those serving short terms for minor offenses; the latter, for those who are sentenced to longer terms.
Cleanliness and good order prevail in both institutions, but both are overcrowded. “Separate and solitary confinement” may be a part of the sentence, but the insufficiency of the accommodations renders it impossible to carry out this provision of the law. Since there is abundant room for additional buildings at Holmesburg, it is unfortunate that the county authorities do not erect as many buildings as may be needed.
Frederick J. Pooley, the Society’s Agent at the County Prisons, also considers it very unfortunate that those awaiting trial, some of whom may be found innocent, have their minds contaminated by listening to the stories of the older criminals. When released from prison they are the more easily induced to enter upon a criminal career.
Mr. Pooley visits Moyamensing three times a week and Holmesburg twice a week. He gives special attention to those who have been committed by magistrates for short terms. These he interviews as soon as they are committed, and when he feels assured that anyone is being wrongfully or unduly punished, he takes measures to have him released. He regards the untried department as an especially fruitful field of work.
OTHER PRISONS
Among other prisons visited by members of the Acting Committee are the following: Chester County, by William Scattergood; Delaware County, by Deborah C. Leeds; the Western Penitentiary, by the Rev. A. J. D. Haupt, D. D., and Mrs. E. W. Gormly; Erie and Warren Counties, by the Rev. C. Theodore Benze.
THE DOOR OF BLESSING
The door of Blessing, at 4220 Chester Avenue, was founded and is conducted by Mrs. Horace Fassett. Its object is to provide a home for women discharged from prison until they shall return to their relatives or be put in the way of earning a livelihood. During 1908 forty women and one infant were admitted. Thirty of these women were from the County Prison, two from the Eastern Penitentiary, one from the House of Correction and three were sent by magistrates. Of the whole number five were returned to their homes in other states, seven to their homes in Philadelphia, twenty-two left to take positions and four to look for work. Only six are known to have resumed their former evil life. The Door of Blessing is indeed what its name implies, as many of the women who have been its inmates are now leading orderly lives.
THE HOME OF INDUSTRY
The Home of Industry, Seventy-third Street and Paschall Avenue, Mr. Frank H. Starr, Superintendent, is doing for men what the Door of Blessing is designed to do for women. It provides food and shelter, gives employment at broom-making, for which regular wages are paid, and seeks to bring all who seek it under the saving power of the Gospel. Its success in reclaiming men has been very pronounced.