3. The minimum term to be pronounced against such recidivist at the time of his trial shall be at least as great as the term to which he would be sentenced if he were not adjudged a habitual recidivist; but it may be greater by not more than two years.
A special commission shall, at the expiration of such minimum, decide whether such prisoner shall be liberated or further detained. In the latter case the prisoner shall have the right to have his case reconsidered at intervals of two years. (It is understood that the judge sentences such recidivist to an indefinite period of which he fixes the minimum, but not the maximum).
4. The Congress is not agreed as to whether the period of preventive detention pronounced against the recidivist shall follow the period of punishment or take its place.
The IKV, Anniversary Number.—To celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the “Internationale Kriminalistische Vereinigung,” a special number was issued in January of this year. It contains, in addition to the history of its establishment, a symposium as to the effect that its activities have had on the development of the problem of delinquency in its various phases, and in the various countries. The contribution for the United States is written by Prof. Charles R. Henderson of the Chicago University. Most characteristic of the spirit of the IKV is perhaps the paragraph in the introduction to the anniversary number, that reads as follows: “This volume should be a milestone in this sense also, that it shall define the program of the future activities of the Union. In addition to such legal questions as the regulation of international extradition, restitution instead of punishment, and the diminution of the concept of the punishment by imprisonment as the ultima ratio in the struggle against crime, the Union shall pay more attention to the sociological aspect of crime.”
The Four Gunmen.—Under this title Winthrop D. Lane writes in the Survey of April 4th about the social history of the four unfortunate young fellows who were executed at Sing Sing on April 13th. Mr. Lane found on careful investigation that all four came from “decent” families; that their career of crime started apparently from street life and its temptations; that each of the four had a previous correctional institution record; that they each started their lawbreaking career early; that the early years of each seem to have been normal and straightforward, giving no hint of the direction later conduct was to take. “One by one, through disease, going to school, or going to work, they came into contact with the abnormal street life of a crowded and heterogeneous community. Their youth demanded play and excitement, and they sought these where they were easiest to find. Gradually, but with seeming inevitableness, they made the acquaintance of older boys and men who had mastered the trick of turning an easy dollar.... Their own entrances into crime were gradual, beginning in all but one case with petty attempts while they were still in their teens to get spending money easily.... Whatever help there may be in probation and suspended sentence was not extended to them.”
EVENTS IN BRIEF.
[Under this heading will appear each month numerous paragraphs of general interest, relating to the prison field and the treatment of the delinquent.]