PAYMENT OF COSTS AND FINES BY INSTALMENTS.
Act No. 111, approved by the Governor, May 17, 1917, grants permission to any Court or sentencing authority to dismiss any person held for non-payment of fines and costs on condition of agreeing to pay said charges by instalments.
In previous publications of this Society, it has been shown that the practice in the 67 counties of the Commonwealth is far from uniform. The law of 1836, except for first offenders, is still in force, which prescribes that when a fine is $15.00 or less the defendant may be detained 30 days in prison; if the fine is more than $15.00, the term of imprisonment is 90 days. Comparatively few counties observed this regulation. Many counties detained the prisoner as many days as there were dollars in the fine.
Some counties have already profited by availing themselves of the privilege of Act No. 111. In one county the sum of $2600.00 had been collected in fines on the instalment plan in less than three months. Formerly the county collected nothing, and in addition maintained the prisoner who was detained in idleness. If the prisoner thus detained could do any service to the county in the line of road-making or other useful employment, his detention would be considered sensible. To present him with board and lodging for a hundred days with no employment, because he owes the county a hundred dollars, is an absurdity.
The privilege of paying the fine and costs in instalments ought to inure to the benefit of all parties concerned.
Employment of Prisoners on County or Almshouse Farms.
Act No. 337, approved by the Governor, July 17, 1917, authorizes the employment of convicts at the county jails “at agricultural labor on any county or almshouse farm of the county ... by the poor authorities of such county under the direction of the warden.” Section 2 of the Act releases the warden from liability in case of the escape of said convicts while thus employed, if due care has been exercised.
The beauty of this Act consists in the fact that it can be immediately put into execution. No formal meeting of Boards is necessary to consider the matter. No expense is required for buildings and land. This enactment is exactly in line with Act No. 359, Laws of Pennsylvania, 1915, providing for the employment of prisoners at road-making. The law of 1915 provides for the payment of wages to those thus employed and forbids the wearing of stripes. We infer that no conspicuous degrading dress is to be worn. We hope that under the present Act, no degrading costume will be imposed upon the workers and that some compensation shall be given.
Already the counties are reaping benefit from this recent enactment. But with next season we believe many of the counties will avail themselves of the opportunities afforded by this Act. Some counties have taken immediate action. The following reports have been received showing what has been accomplished. However, in several of these counties the Court had previously to the passage of this legislation granted special parole to certain prisoners in order that they might be employed on farms. The passage of this law, however, will make it vastly easier to place the men on farms. The machinery of parole is sometimes a little cumbersome.
| County. | Employed. | ||
| Berks | Ten men employed three times weekly. | ||
| Cambria | A number of prisoners on farms and roads. | ||
| Delaware | Fourteen men on farm. | ||
| Lehigh | Twelve men paroled to farmers. | ||
| Luzerne | Not allowed by Court to county prisoners. City prisoners work on almshouse farms. | ||
| Montgomery | Six to ten men every day. | ||
| Westmoreland | Twenty-five working on jail farm. | ||
| Schuylkill | They have employed ten men on county farm. |