On April 1, 1903, C. W. James as superintendent and Frank C. Curtis as warden, appointees of Governor George E. Chamberlain, took charge of affairs at the prison. They proceeded cautiously, but with a marked advance in their treatment of the prisoners.
The striped clothing formerly worn by the prisoners was abolished, except as a mark of disgrace for infraction of the prison rules. Flogging was abolished by act of the legislature. Necessary underclothing was furnished the prisoners. A dining room was built and cooking in the cells was stopped. The sanitary conditions were improved. An orchestra and band were organized among the prisoners. A parole officer was provided, whose duties were practically that of chaplain. A prisoners’ aid society was organized, which looked after the welfare of the prisoners, both before and after release. A printing office was donated by the prisoner’s aid society, and the publication of a small monthly paper by the prisoners and in their interest was begun. This paper was known as “Lend a Hand,” and has now a circulation that reaches across the continent. An innovation worthy of special mention was the permission of baseball games between clubs of the prisoners, which the prisoners were not only permitted to witness, but they were allowed to cheer and “root” to their heart’s content. These and various other reforms which were inaugurated during the eight years previous to Governor West’s inauguration laid the foundation for the success of his policies.
Great as had been the changes before the term of Governor West began, they had been spread out over a period of eight years, and while awakening considerable opposition, had not attracted much notice. When Governor West came into office, notwithstanding what had already been accomplished, he found plenty of room for improvement, and he went at it in characteristic fashion. His “honor system” was put into effect and with surprising success, if one did not know of the care with which the cases were selected to whom it should be applied. The indeterminate sentence law was passed by the last legislature, and provision was made for a parole law and a parole board to have oversight of its administration. Various advanced methods of treatment of the prisoners were adopted, prominent among which were plans for giving the prisoners a portion of their earnings. The contract system of employing the prisoners has been practically abolished, or will be as soon as the work now begun is completed.
A new auditorium has been built entirely by convict labor. A weekly moving picture entertainment is furnished the prisoners and various schemes for the improvement of their condition have been put into effect, all with the result that the burden of expense has been lightened, and the inmates have come to feel more as if they were still considered human beings. The details of these improvements are too well known to need repetition here. It but remains for me to say that, with the unusual opportunities accorded me as manager of the printing office and “Lend a Hand” to observe the effect of his policies in the working out, I am impressed not only with the spirit of Governor West, and the scope of the plans which he proposes to put into effect, but even more with the wisdom he has shown in the reforms he has undertaken.
The fundamental principle of Governor West’s prison policy appears to be that “A man’s a man for a’ that.” While he believes that prison sentences are primarily for the protection of society, he also apparently believes that the protection of society will be best accomplished by helping the prisoner regain his manhood and self-respect, and that is the keynote of his policy. I asked an “old-timer” the other day to tell me how the spirit of the inmates of the prison now compared with that of the time before these reforms began. He said: “There is no comparison; they are as different as heaven and hell.”
THE WAYWARD GIRL AND THE BINET TEST
By Henry H. Goddard, Ph. D., and Helen F. Hill
[This is an abstract of a paper published in “The Training School” for June, 1911. Dr. Goddard is no theorist; his conclusions always deserve very serious thought.]
It was with a good deal of interest that we accepted the offer of a prominent probation officer to examine some fifty of her girls who had been in the girls’ reformatory, but were now out on probation.
Some little experience with similar groups had led us to feel confident that quite a percentage of these girls would be found to be distinctly feeble-minded, but we were not prepared for the results that we did find. In all, fifty-six girls were examined, ranging in age from fourteen to twenty, the average probably being eighteen and a half. The usual misgivings were had on the part of those who knew the girls, as to the effect of asking them to do the test, but as experience always shows, there was not the slightest difficulty. Indeed, the girls took hold of the tests with great earnestness and enjoyment, and, after they were through, were very proud of their achievements.