Since October 1, 1898, I have made regular visits to Moyamensing Prison and the Philadelphia County Prison at Holmesburg. During 1910 more than 600 discharged prisoners were assisted with railroad tickets, board, lodging, room rent, tools, etc., and more than 700 letters written to relatives and friends at a distance, thus getting them quickly in touch with folks at home, and in many cases resulting in acquittal at court when a prisoner’s good record was shown. The Inspectors, Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Prison Agent and Matron, and all connected with the prison have rendered me every possible assistance, which I more than appreciate. The commitments to Moyamensing Prison during 1910 were as follows:
| White Males | White Females | Black Males | Black Females | Total |
| 13,518 | 1,138 | 2,547 | 706 | 17,909 |
| Total Committed 1909, | 17,685 | |||
From October 1, 1909, to September 30, 1910, 914 prisoners were sent to the County Prison at Holmesburg and 867 prisoners were discharged.
A glance at the above figures will show what a wonderful field of work there is for the Prison Agent and General Agent of the Pennsylvania Prison Society.
For the past two years I have felt very strongly the importance of visiting the prisoners at the Central Station, City Hall. The reason for this desire was brought about through a young man who was held in Moyamensing Prison on suspicion of larceny for a further hearing. I had a talk with him and he told me he left Louisville, Ky., seventeen years since, and had not written home in that time, and now he felt ashamed to write. After a long talk with him, he consented to let me write. When the letter came from the mother telling of her joy at the news of her long-lost son, whom she had long thought dead, I at once went to the prison and found the man had that morning been discharged—the letter came too late. Had I met the man when he was first arrested, that letter would have arrived before the second hearing, and upon his discharge he would have gone home.
It is with much pleasure I am able to state that on November 16, 1910, Director Clay granted me permission to visit the cell room at City Hall and directed the Superintendent of Police to issue me a permit, which reads as follows:
Department of Public Safety,
Bureau of Police.
Philadelphia, November 16, 1910.
Permission is hereby granted Frederick J. Pooley, General Agent Pennsylvania Prison Society, the courtesy and privilege of visiting prisoners in Central Station committed to County Prison.
(Signed) John B. Taylor,
Superintendent of Police.
Since receiving permission I have made daily visits to the Central Station and have written 126 letters to different parts of the country. One letter brought a young man’s father from Johnstown, Pa., and another from Richmond, Va., and when the cases came to court they were discharged. At the request of the Detective Department three women who were found on the street without a home were placed in care of Mrs. H. Fassitt, and Mrs. Fassitt had them sent to the Door of Blessing, and afterwards had one woman sent to her home in West Virginia and another to her home in Maryland, and the other to a hospital for treatment. In some cases the magistrates have requested me to look into the case, and upon my report they were discharged and sent home. I look for wonderful results from this field of work. Only the other day a man came to me and said, “We had not heard from sister for five months and had it not been for your talk with her at the City Hall we do not know when she would have decided to come home.” I think the words of our President, Joshua L. Baily, to the Magistrate when he visited the City Hall recently explains the new work of the Pennsylvania Prison Society when he said. “Our new work here is to try to keep men and women from going to prison.” The Magistrates and officials of the City Hall are doing all they can to help to make the work of your General Agent a success.