OUfJ 
 
fpRNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 3 1924 079 608 638 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924079608638 
 
In compliance with current 
 
 copyright law, Cornell University 
 
 Library produced this 
 
 replacement volume on paper 
 
 that meets the ANSI Standard 
 
 Z39.48-1992 to replace the 
 
 irreparably deteriorated original. 
 
 1997 
 
€mmll IBttivemtg ^itatg 
 
 BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME 
 FROM THE • 
 
 SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 
 anenrg W. Sage 
 
 1891 
 
 R-.li.T-A.f.AA. z./^/<>..Z... 
 
 99«3 
 
SOPHOCLES. 
 
 PHOTOGRAPH OF THE STATUE IN THE LATERAN MUSEUV 
 IDEAL TYPE OF WELL DEVELOPED MAN. 
 
 Froniisficce. 
 
Prisoners and Paupers 
 
 A STUDY 
 
 OF THE ABNORMAL INCREASE OF CRIMINALS. AND THE 
 
 PUBUC BURDEN OF PAUPERISM IN THE UNITED 
 
 STATES; THE CAUSES AND REMEDIES 
 
 HENRY M. BOIES, M.A. 
 
 MEMBER OF THE BOARD OP PUBUC CHARITIBS, AND OF THE COMMITTEE ON LUNACY 
 OF THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA J OF THE NATIONAL PRISON ASSOCI- 
 ATION ; OF THE FENNSYLVANtA PRISON SOCIETY, ETC 
 
 G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 
 NEW YORK LONDON 
 
 27 WEST TWENTY-THISD STREET 24 BEDFORD STREET, STRAND 
 
 S^c Untduibochti ^ttsi 
 1893 
 
^-l 
 
 ■Z OZ 
 
 Copyright, 1893 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY M. BOIES 
 
 Electrotyped, Printed, and Bound by 
 
 Ubc ftnicfterboclicr press, "Rcw ^orfe 
 G. P. Putnam's Sons 
 
" FIND OUT THE CAUSE OF THIS EFFECT : 
 OR, KATHER SAY, THE CAUSE OF THIS DEFECT ; 
 FOR THIS EFFECT DEFECTIVE, COMES BY CAUSE." 
 
 HAMLET, ACT II., SC. s 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 There are four hundred and forty-six charitable, 
 reformatory, and penal institutions in the State of 
 Pennsylvania, inspected at least once each year by 
 its Board of Public Charities. They have a wide 
 variety of objects, methods, management, and in- 
 mates. The view which a member of this Board 
 obtains, therefore, and the impressions he receives 
 of pauperism and criminality are of a very general 
 nature, inducing a consideration of the subject as a 
 whole. Most of the literature of these subjects, on 
 the contrary, is confined to particular and distinct 
 phases of them. 
 
 I have endeavored in this book to present this 
 general view of the case as it appears in our coun- 
 try ; to emphasize the waste of human sympathy 
 and public funds which results from what appears to 
 be inconsiderate and misdirected methods of treat- 
 ment ; to suggest not only possible improvements in 
 these methods, but radical changes in direction ; 
 and, finally, I have proposed a positive remedy, 
 which, however people may disagree concerning its 
 practicability, I think no intelligent person will deny 
 to be efficacious. 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 If the time has not yet arrived, it is certainly 
 approaching fast when the public welfare, the prog- 
 ress of civilization, the elevation of humanity, the 
 regeneration of the race, will be recognized and 
 obeyed as the supreme motive in the social organi- 
 zation, — the final purpose of legislation, as well as of 
 religion and philanthropy. The highest happiness, 
 advantage, and prosperity of the individual, indeed, 
 is only to be secured by such a widening of the scope 
 of public care, as will comprehend and benefit the 
 entire social mass. 
 
 If the facts and statistics which I have collected 
 in hours snatched from the engrossing cares of widely 
 different pursuits become useful to those interested 
 in philanthropic studies, or tend to give direction to 
 public thought and discussion toward the ameliora- 
 tion of present oppressive conditions, I shall be amply 
 repaid for my labors. 
 
 I have introduced some illustrations of symmet- 
 rical human development, both ideal and real, as 
 standards to which the abnormal may be compared, 
 and as examples of what is possible in development, 
 " to point a moral or adorn a tale." 
 
 I desire to gratefully acknowledge the aid and 
 encouragement rendered me in the preparation and 
 publication of this work by Mr. Cadwalader Biddle, 
 Secretary of the Board of Public Charities of Penn- 
 sylvania, Prof. John J. McCook, Hon. Alfred Hand, 
 Rev. S. C. Logan, D.D., Charleton E. Lewis, Esq., 
 Gen. R. Brinckerhoff, Eugene Smith, Esq., Mr. M. 
 J. Cassidy, Mr. Edward H. Hunter, and others ; 
 without which I doubt if I should have had the 
 
PREFACE. vu 
 
 courage or ability to print it in this permanent form. 
 Much of the matter was published in a local news- 
 paper, and the desire expressed by friends that it 
 should be made available for easy reference has been 
 chiefly influential in adding another to the innu- 
 merable list of books which floods the reading public. 
 
 Henry M. Boies. 
 
 ScRANTON, Pa., November, 1892. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 ABNORMAL INCREASE OF CRIMINALITY AND COST OF 
 
 PAUPERISM IN THE UNITED STATES ... I 
 
 The Growth of the Criminal Class Nearly Three Times 
 Greater than the Growth of Population — ^Vicious Immigra- 
 tion, Intemperance, and Unintelligent Laws the Chief Causes 
 — Our Jails Nurseries of Crime — Our Court Penalties Often 
 a Disgrace to Civilization. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE CONDITION IN PENNSYLVANIA . . . 9 
 
 The Number of Criminals has Increased in a Decade over 
 Fifty per Cent. Faster than Population, the Cost of County 
 Jails More thanFour Times as Fast, and the Public Expendi- 
 tures for State Institutions Five Times as Fast — Local Causes 
 Examined — Importance of the Question — Proper Direction 
 of Reformatory Action. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE RECORD OF A SINGLE COUNTY . . 19 
 
 Detailed Public Costs of Crime and Pauperism in Lacka- 
 wanna County, Pennsylvania — Appalling Increase — Unnec- 
 essary Waste of Half the Money Raised for Jails and 
 Poor-houses — Costs Compared with Other Counties in Penn- 
 sylvania — Appeal for Local Action. 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE NEED OF REFORM BY LEGISLATION . . .26 
 
 The Annual Costs of Criminality and Charity — The Evils of 
 General Taxation for Local Purposes — Has the State a Right 
 to Resort to this Policy — Some Figures about the Average 
 Annual Tax and How It may be Reduced — Defective Penal 
 Legislation — Unsystematic and Unconstitutional Methods. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PHASES OF THE PROBLEM 34 
 
 What Is the Solution? — Punishment by Law Absurd — 
 Deterrence, Reformation, and Prevention Proper Objects of 
 Penal Code — Incongruity and Aimlessness of Poor-Laws — 
 True Purpose and Scope — Economy of Correct System 
 Illustrated. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 UNRESTRICTED IMMIGRATION AS AN ELEMENT IN 
 
 THIS INCREASE ... ... 42 
 
 Alarming Proportion of Foreign Criminals and Paupers — 
 The Necessity and Possibility of National Regulation of 
 Immigration — The Value of American Citizenship and How 
 It should be Protected — The Land of the Bible and the Sab- 
 bath — Necessity of Inculcating American Principles — Appeal 
 to the Church. 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 THE NEGRO ELEMENT OF INCREASE. . . • ^S 
 
 Remarkable Disparity between the Proportion of Criminals 
 and Paupers from the Negro Race — Probable Causes : Social 
 and Political — Political Status of the Negro in America — 
 Responsibilities of the Government and People — Failure of 
 the South to Remedy the National Evil — Duty of National 
 Government — Importance of This in View of the Future 
 Increase and Position of the Race — Responsibilities of the 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 PACB 
 
 White Citizen to the Negro — Absurdity of the Prejudice on 
 Account of Color — Necessities of Education and Religion — 
 Elevation or Repression. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE URBAN POPULATION AS A SOURCE OF INCREASE. 88 
 
 Contribution of the Urban Population Compared with That 
 of the Rural — Rapid Growth of Urban Population — The 
 Problem — Its Social Factors in the Three Classes of City 
 Society — Interference with Family Life — Contamination of 
 Children — Neglect of Domestic Duties — Dangers to Youth, 
 of Tenement Life, of the Consolidated Business Systems, of 
 Sabbath Desecration, of Gambling, of Club Life — Evils of 
 Institutional Benevolence. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 THE URBAN POPULATION AS A SOURCE OF INCREASE 
 
 — Continued 112 
 
 Political Factors of the Problem — Erroneous Principles of 
 Urban Government — Proportion of Urban to Rural Popu- 
 lation — Disparity of Density of Population in Cities — 
 Remedial Suggestions — The Restoration of Equilibrium — 
 Importance of Suburban Facilities of Transit — I. B. Potter's 
 Testimony — Results of Bad Country Roads in New York 
 and Good Roads in France — Purification of Suffrage — Im- 
 provement of the Police Force — Necessity for Increased 
 Religious Effort. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 THE URBAN POPULATION AS A SOURCE OF INCREASE 
 
 — Concluded . . . . . . .129 
 
 Idleness Due to Inadaptation the Prolific Cause of Crime 
 and Poverty — Result of Inability to Meet Novel Require- 
 ments — Industrial Education the Remedy — Polytechnics 
 and People's Palaces — Especial Need in America — Elevate 
 Idleness to its Work, or Transport it to Where it Exists. 
 
XH CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE 137 
 
 Alcohol as .the PhysioI<^cal Cause of Crime — Proportion of 
 Crime and Pauperism Due to Intemperance — Testimony of 
 Experts — ^Alcohol to be Made to Pay as it Goes — Statistics 
 of Consumption — The Increase of Beer-Drinking — Failure 
 of License and Prohibition — Legislation for Drunkards — 
 State Asylums — Substitutes for Saloons — Educate the Girls 
 to Cook. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WHAT IS TO BE DONE WITH THE PRISONER? . 170 
 
 Existence of a Large Congenital Criminal Class — Importance 
 of its Identification and Special Treatment — Segregation 
 Essential to Elimination — Special Penitentiaries Necessary 
 — Criminality but Little Effected by Education or Wealth — 
 Crime a Disease — To be Studied and Treated as Such — Evil 
 of the Arrest — Consideration for Youthful Delinquents — 
 Importance of Reorganizing the Penal Code — Results of 
 Reformatory Treatment in Great Britain — County Jails Nurs- 
 eries of Crime — Number of in the United States — Evils of 
 Sheriff Control — Suggested Improvement in Management — 
 Regulations and Diet. 
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 PAUPERS AND POOR-HOUSES 204 
 
 Anomaly of Pauperism in the United States — Amount and 
 Cost of It — Causes and Classification — Defectives — Victims 
 of Accident — Hereditary and Incorrigible — Illegitimate 
 Children : Number of and Treatment — Homeless Children 
 —Four Objects of Charity— Out-Door Relief of— Prof. 
 McCook's Report on — E\-ils of — Heteronomic Paupers — 
 Legal Reduction of Their Numbers — ^Almshouse Treatment 
 — County Visitors — Location and Construction of Alms- 
 houses — Discrimination as to Admissions — The Four Motives 
 of Management — Gradation of Responsibility — Religious 
 Privil^es — Conclusion. 
 
CONTENTS. XUI 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE POLICE AS A RESTRICTIVE AGENCY . . .237 
 
 Peculiar Importance in United States — Reasons of, and 
 Opportunities for Usefulness — Possibilities — The Personnel 
 — How Chosen — Example of Milwaukee — Organization and 
 Management — Appliances and Facilities — Proper Number of 
 — Co-operation of Different Organizations — Discipline, In- 
 ternal and External — Duty of the People to the Police. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 DEGENERATION AND REGENERATION . . . 263 
 
 Summary of the Results of Investigation into Causes — 
 Universal Abnormality of Criminals and Paupers — A Con- 
 dition, Not a Disposition, Confronts Us — Fostered, Rather 
 than Ameliorated, by Present Methods — Remedy Proposed, 
 Advantages and Objections — Failure of Regenerative Meth- 
 ods in Humanity for Three Thousand Years — Supreme Vital 
 Function of Marriage : Evils of Social Neglect of Its Regu- 
 lation in General and in Detail — Dr. Strahan's Evidence 
 — Threatening the Republic — Principles which should 
 Govern the Regulation of Reproduction — Grandeur of the 
 Results to be Expected — The First Step of Decided Progress 
 in the Regeneration of the Race. 
 
 CONCLUSION 292 
 
 APPENDICES 295 
 
 INDEX 311 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 SOPHOCLES. PHOTOGRAPH OF THE STATUE IN THE 
 LATERAN MUSEUM. IDEAL TYPE OF WELL 
 
 DEVELOPED MAN .... Frontispiece 
 
 PAGE 
 
 VENUS OF MILO. IDEAL TYPE OF WELL DEVELOPED 
 WOMAN .... 
 
 THE UNION. A GROUP OF DISTINGUISHED AMERI- 
 CANS. PRODUCT OF AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS 
 IN STATESMEN 
 
 A GROUP OF SYRIANS FROM MT. LEBANON . 
 
 TYPICAL RUSSIAN" JEWS 
 
 A GROUP OF SICILIANS 
 
 A GROUP OF ITALIANS 
 
 PORTRAIT OF REV. J. C. PRICE, D.D. 
 
 PORTRAIT OF REV. C. N. GRANDISON, D.D. . 
 
 PORTRAIT OF HON. J. H. SMYTH 
 
 A GROUP OF WELL DEVELOPED PURE NEGROES 
 
 A GROUP OF " INCORRIGIBLES "... 
 
 PORTRAITS FROM THE ROGUES* G.ALLERY 
 
 A GROUP OF PAUPERS IN AN ALMSHOUSE 
 
 44 
 48 
 
 54 
 
 58 
 
 62 
 
 76 
 
 80 
 
 86 
 
 172 
 
 180 
 
 208 
 
VENUS OF MILO. 
 JOEAL TYPE OF WELL DEVELOPED WOMAN. 
 
PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ABNORMAL INCREASE OF CRIMINALITY AND COST 
 OF PAUPERISM IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The Growth of the Criminal Class Nearly Three Times Greater than 
 the Growth of Population. — ^Vicious Immigration, Intemperance, 
 and Unintelligent Laws the Chief Causes. — Our Jails Nurseries 
 of Crime. — Our Court Penalties Often a Disgrace to Civilization. 
 
 The eleventh census of the United States, as it is 
 being published, furnishes statistics of a national 
 growth in numbers, wealth, and general prosperity- 
 unparalleled in the history of civilization. Our own 
 people, if not the whole world, seem to have accepted 
 these marvellous records as indicating the existence 
 on the American continent of conditions and envi- 
 ronments of a national vitality destined to develop 
 here, in the immediate future, the supreme race and 
 people of the world — the consummate flower of 
 humanity. Some of the disclosures made are, how- 
 ever, shocking, if not appalling, in the highest 
 
2 PRISO.VESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 degree to our confidence in the future. One of 
 these is the abnormal and disproportionate increase 
 in the criminal class in society. That increase is 
 from I in 3,500 of our population in 1850 to i in 
 786.5 in iSgo, or of 445 per cent. ; while the popula- 
 tion has increased but 170 per cent, in the same 
 period.' 
 
 In the last decade, with an increase of 24.5 per 
 cent, in population, the number of the inmates of 
 our penitentiaries, jails, and reformatories has in- 
 creased 45.2 per cent., or nearly twice faster than the 
 general population ! ' This, too, in spite of the 
 enormous multiplication of churches. Christian 
 efforts of all kinds, schools, educational progress, 
 and various philanthropic agencies of an elevating 
 and conservative nature, attended with a lavish 
 expenditure of money and labor. 
 
 Such a disproportion cannot continue indefinitely 
 without a relapse into barbarism and social ruin. It 
 is more startling because such a state of things 
 does not exist in other civilized nations, as public 
 records show. 
 
 In England criminal convictions have fallen from 
 15,033 in 1868 to 9,348 in 1889. In Scotland, from 
 2,490 to 1,723 for the same years, and in Ireland 
 from 3,084 in 1870 to 1,225 in 1890. During this 
 decade there has been a fair increase in the popula- 
 tion of those countries ; also a considerable growth 
 in wealth ; a notable influx of foreigners from the 
 Continent, mostly of the lower orders, into London 
 
 > Statistics of the Tenth U. S. Census, and Bulletins Nos. 71, 72, 
 and 95 o/lhe Eleventh Census, 
 
ABNORMAL INCREASE OF CRIMINALITY. 3 
 
 particularly, similar in social conditions to the mass 
 of emigrants to the United States. The number of 
 imprisonments in France has increased but three- 
 fold in half a century. 
 
 Such an exposition of the actual foundations for 
 our boasts of the beneficence of free government 
 and American institutions cannot be permitted to 
 continue. This horrid growth must be stopped. It 
 will be when the people, who are the rulers, under- 
 stand the causes and learn how to apply the necessary 
 remedies ; as Bishop Gillespie has well said, " Public 
 abuses do not exist where there is public knowledge." 
 Of course it is understood that exceptional and 
 peculiar conditions have contributed somewhat to 
 increase this disappointing disproportion between 
 the worthy and unworthy in our citizenship. In 
 1850 our colored population was mostly enslaved, 
 and it was the interest and policy of the slave-holder 
 to keep his property out of the public criminal list 
 by the infliction of domestic punishment and by 
 personal management. But now our colored popu- 
 lation, emerging from the degradation of slavery and 
 naturally prone to cdlow the excitement of liberty to 
 run into license, furnishes over one third of our con- 
 vict class, although it numbers only 7,470,040, about 
 ' one eighth, or 13.5 per cent., of our total numbers.' 
 Doubtless, too, the ignorance and comparative help- 
 lessness of the colored race, with the unreasonable 
 prejudice of white officials, the desire of politicians 
 to disfranchise voters, and of others to secure a 
 greater plenty of convict labor, have unduly swelled 
 
 ' Census Bulletin No. igg. 
 
4 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 the number of arrests and convictions among them 
 out of proportion to the actual criminality of the 
 race. 
 
 Another circumstance peculiar to our country is 
 the almost unrestricted immigration of the lower 
 classes of foreigners from all lands. Foreigners of 
 the first and second generations constitute at 
 present about twenty per cent, of our population. 
 But they furnish more than half the inmates of our 
 reformatories, over one third of our convicts, and 
 nearly three fifths of all the paupers supported in 
 almshouses ! Our paupers, foreign born, or of 
 foreign parentage, equal in number all the white 
 native paupers of purely native origin with the 
 colored paupers taken together ! These figures are 
 derived from Rev. F. H. Wines' report upon the 
 eleventh census, and are believed entirely reliable.' 
 
 In addition to these extraneous causes may be 
 noted some of a domestic character. 
 
 First, an unnatural increase of intemperance, which 
 is the first cause of nearly all crime. Whether this 
 is at all due to peculiarities of climate, the fervid, 
 nervous energy of life here, exciting desire for alco- 
 holic stimulus, and the freedom of indulgence which 
 is everywhere possible, as some think, or not, it is 
 certain that the legal or legislative handling of in- 
 temperance has so far been an absolute and complete 
 failure, either in prevention, restriction, or cure. 
 The drink habit is still spreading. Drunkards are 
 increasing in numbers, and no enactments have yet 
 
 ' Census Bulletin No, 199. 
 
ABNORMAL INCREASE OP CRIMINALITY. § 
 
 been framed which provide a rational and scientific 
 force or authority for dealing with the subject either 
 with a view to prevention or cure. 
 
 A second cause, of the increase of crime and 
 pauperism is found in the crowding of the people to 
 the centres, or the constant increase of the urban 
 population. Twenty-eight of our largest cities have 
 increased 44.86 per cent, in ten years, while the 
 twenty-eight cities of England increased but 11.2 
 in the same time. Our total urban population has 
 grown from 12.5 per cent, in 1850 to 27.7 per cent, in 
 1890, there having been in the last ten years air, 
 increase of 60.5 per cent, in our urban populatiori/n 
 cities of ten thousand and over. The packing of these 
 millions of humanity into blocks and squares in tene- 
 ments means vastly more than the mere crowding of 
 the depraved and criminal together, where they teach 
 and aid one another in crime. It involves the hud- 
 dling whole families — father, mother, and children 
 — into one room, in which to live and sleep in the 
 midst of the uncleanness of beastly poverty and the 
 indiscriminate cohabitation of the sexes. It involves 
 not only the greater temptations to intemperance, 
 licentiousness, and crime, with increased facilities and 
 opportunities, but far worse, the universal disgorging 
 of the children indiscriminately into the streets for 
 air, exercise, and play. In these streets the human 
 tide mingles much as, in the sewers beneath, the 
 pure rains and waters of the service pipes are mixed, 
 compounded, and lost in all the waste and filth of 
 the city, and flow away in a conglomerate uniform 
 flood. So the children of the street soon reach a 
 
6 PRISONESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 social and moral equilibrium of a complexion and 
 character not far removed from the death-gendering 
 dregs from which the city must be cleansed. Girls 
 and boys crowd the curb-stones and door-steps late 
 into the night, corrupting one another and familiar- 
 izing themselves with sin before they reach their 
 teens, so that the very source and springs of social 
 life are poisoned. 
 
 A third cause for the increase of criminals is found 
 in the existing laws for their punishment and the 
 unintelligent manner in which they are administered. 
 In their principles and scheme these laws are an 
 inheritance of mere barbarism, with modified penal- 
 ties. Deprived generally of their chief efificacy by 
 the diminution of the death penalty and continuous 
 durance in their execution, upon the demands of an 
 advancing civilization, they have retained most of 
 the evil effects of false ideas concerning the treat- 
 ment of criminals and crime. Hence they now con- 
 tribute to the increase of both, and tend to nullify 
 the very purpose of their existence. Our criminal 
 court and jail system are a reproach upon our in- 
 telligence, a disgrace to our civilization, an unnec- 
 essary extravagance in our social economy, a curse 
 upon our philanthropy and religion, and an outrage 
 upon humanity. 
 
 Our jails are conducted as public schools of crime 
 and nurseries of criminals. Into them our constabu- 
 lary and courts hustle ravishers, sodomites, cor- 
 rupters of youth, murderers, burglars, thieves, drunk- 
 ards, prostitutes, and all the foul members of society 
 they can lay hands upon, with children convicted of 
 
AStfORMAL INCREASE OF CRIMINALITY. J 
 
 petty larcenies or of incorrigibility, with detained 
 witnesses, and people accused of misdemeanors 
 or crimes not tried. Inside the walls, comfortably 
 housed, clothed, and fed, supplied with tobacco and 
 cards, with promiscuous intercourse permitted during 
 a part, if not all, the day, the professional criminal 
 and the hardened sinner recount their adventures to 
 an interested audience, and delight to initiate the 
 more ignorant into all the mysteries of iniquity. 
 Incarceration here has no deterrent dread for the 
 "rounder," while the erring one, confined for a 
 first assault, soon becomes assimilated to his com- 
 panions, and joins the ranks of crime. Except for 
 the brief period that the victims are restrained of 
 their freedom of action, our jails are a menace rather 
 than protection to society. 
 
 These causes sufficiently account for the humiliat- 
 ing and disappointing record of our social develop- 
 ment. It is absolutely essential to the arrest of the 
 serious disease that the potency of each should be 
 recognized, carefully and patiently diagnosed in the 
 light of the present science of penology and soci- 
 ology, if effectual remedies are to be discovered and 
 applied. The subject is one of paramount interest, 
 not only to the sociologist, philanthropist, and Chris- 
 tian, but it reaches and powerfully affects the welfare 
 of every individual member of society, even to those 
 who regard only their own selfish enjoyment, pros- 
 perity, and existence. It demands instant and intel- 
 ligent consideration and immediate action by citizen 
 and legislator alike. Aside from the loss and damage 
 to society entailed by robbery and arson, and the 
 
8 PRISONEJiS AND PA VPERS. 
 
 waste of life energy of the criminal, the cost of 
 criminal arrests and maintenance is, next to that for 
 education, the largest item of public expenditure, as 
 it constitutes nearly one tenth of the total burden of 
 taxation in the state. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE CONDITION IN PENNSYLVAJSTIA. 
 
 The Number of Criminals has Increased in a Decade over Fifty per 
 Cent. Faster than Population, the Cost of County Jails More than 
 Four Times as Fast, and the Public Expenditures for State Insti- 
 tutions Five Times as Fast. — Local Causes Examined. — Import- 
 ance of the Question. — Proper Direction of Reformatory Action. 
 
 The statements which we have made upon the 
 disproportionate increase of the criminal class in the 
 United States cannot be dismissed as only of general 
 or national importance, to be dealt with solely by 
 legislators, boards of charity, and philanthropic 
 societies. Their baneful and terrible influence ex- 
 tends to the home and pocket of every individual 
 member of society. 
 
 The official statistics of Pennsylvania speak on 
 this subject in a language which all can understand. 
 Let us examine and consider them, even if they 
 should proclaim unpalatable or humiliating truth. 
 They are of vital and personal interest to us all. 
 A study of the detailed reports of the Board of 
 Public Charities of Pennsylvania for the years, 1880 
 and 1890 reveals a very alarming and unnatural 
 increase in the number of criminals and of all other 
 wards supported at public expense. The total num- 
 
10 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 ber of inmates of the various public institutions in 
 tlie State, on the 30th of September of each of those 
 years, with the percentage of increase in each class, 
 is shown in the following table. 
 
 Per Cent. 
 18S0 l8go of Increase 
 
 Population of State 4,282,891 5,248,574 22.5 
 
 Inmates, Penal Institutions 5,449 7,34° 34.7 
 
 Defective Classes 6,070 9,712 60. 
 
 Sane in Almshouses 6,648 6,905 38. 
 
 Totals, 18,167 23.957 31-8 
 
 InCounty Jails, (includedabove) 1,648 2,195 33-19 
 
 Committals during the Year 45,842 54.950 19.8 
 
 The aggregate of all classes supported and assisted 
 at the cost of the public, including " out-door relief " 
 and reported vagrants, in 1890 was 61,816; one in 
 84.9 of our population ; about 1.18 per cent. 
 
 The following table also shows the expenditures 
 of the various penal and eleemosynary institutions 
 of the State during the years 1879 and 1889 
 respective. 
 
 Penitentiaries 
 
 $536,056 
 
 $570,857 
 
 Reformatories, Workhouses, and Jails 
 
 980,016 
 
 1.329.353 
 
 State and Private Insane Asylums 
 
 527.297 
 
 1,222,475 
 
 Deaf, Blind, and Imbecile Asylums 
 
 262,797 
 
 439.477 
 
 Almshouses 
 
 1,193,512 
 
 1,184,495 
 
 Totals 
 
 $3,499,678 
 
 $4,746,657 
 
 An increase of 35.3 per cent, in a single decade. 
 
 The Huntingdon Reformatorj- and the Norristown and Warren 
 Insane Hospitals were not in operation in 1879. 
 
The cdNt>iTtoM in Pennsylvania. ii 
 
 The cost of county jails alone, was $372,290 in 
 1880, and $723,013, in 1890, an increase of 94.2 per 
 cent. There was expended in support of all classes, 
 including hospitals, homes, etc., (some of which items 
 were estimated, as accurate returns could not be se- 
 cured) in 1880, $4,480,351, and in 1890, $9,511,970, 
 an increase of 1 10.9 per cent, in a single decade ! 
 
 It appears, then, from these official tables that the 
 number of criminals has increased in the last decade 
 54.6 per cent, faster than the population. The cost 
 of county jails has multiplied more than four 
 times as fast, and the public expenditures upon all 
 penal, reformatory, and charitable classes about five 
 times as fast. The cost was equal in 1890 to the 
 burden of a bonded debt, bearing interest at four per 
 cent., of $237,799,250. Such a debt resting upon 
 the Commonwealth would mean ruin and bank- 
 ruptcy. Capital and manufactures would flee beyond 
 our borders from it as though our soil were smitten 
 with the plague. But the incubus is dragging upon 
 the neck of our prosperity just as heavily as though 
 it were a bonded debt, whether we realize it or not. 
 
 Each year the demands of our charitable and 
 penal institutions grow larger, more urgent, and nu- 
 merous upon the public treasury, as well as upon 
 private benevolence. Our best people seem to de- 
 vote their chief thought to the relief of present dis- 
 tress, without consideration of the causes which 
 produce the growing requirements ; while our law- 
 makers occupy themselves more with projects for 
 increasing the revenues by taxation, in order to 
 provide larger sums to pour into these public sieves, 
 
12 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 than with the study of measures for stopping the 
 leaks in our social economy. Already the majority of 
 our people, the tillers of the soil, complain that the 
 burden of taxation is greater than the wide and fruit- 
 ful acres of their grand domain can bear. Hence 
 they are striving to shift its weight upon the 
 shoulders of commerce and manufactures, which will 
 surely slip from under it far easier than they imagine. 
 If relief is necessary for our farmers, it must come 
 from a wiser economy of expenditure, a diminution 
 of the needs of a philanthropic social organization, 
 by intelligent legislation calculated to remove the 
 causes and cure the diseases which afflict society ; 
 rather than by a lavish extravagance of appropria- 
 tions wrenched from other sources. Indiscriminate 
 public charity nourishes and cultivates public pau- 
 perism just as certainly as indiscriminate private 
 charity increases mendicity. 
 
 The increase in the number of convicts in Penn- 
 sylvania has been quite as great as the general 
 increase in the nation ; and this, too, notwithstanding 
 the fact that our foreign-born population is only 
 about i6 per cent, and our colored population only 
 2.09 per cent, of our total numbers." These two 
 prolific sources of criminals in the country at large 
 must be, therefore, practically eliminated from our 
 consideration of the causes of the increase in our 
 own State. The population of our cities having 
 10,000 or more inhabitants has increased in the last 
 decade 35.6, which is just .9 per cent, more than the 
 increase of criminals in the State.' We are con- 
 
 • Census Bulletin No. 1S3. » Census Bulletin No. 165. 
 
THE CONDITION IN PENNSYLVANIA. 1 3 
 
 strained, therefore, to the conviction that very grave 
 and serious reasons exist in our domestic administra- 
 tion and our social conditions for this unenviable 
 prominence of criminal growth. 
 
 It may be observed that the cost of our county 
 jails has increased over 94 per cent, in ten years. 
 This aggregated in the 69 county jails $723,013 in 
 1890, an average weekly cost per prisoner of $4.19, 
 with a range for the individuals of from $7.51 to 
 $2.03. 
 
 The inspection of the Board of Charities reveals 
 an almost total disregard in all jails — managed, as 
 most are, by county sheriffs — of any consideration 
 for the reformation of the prisoners, or moral preser- 
 vation of the falsely accused. These jails permit a 
 promiscuous and unrestrained commingling of the 
 most depraved and vilest professional convicts with 
 children, accused persons, and detained witnesses 
 without let or hindrance. In many cases even sexes 
 are not separated. Total idleness of inmates, with 
 double beds, and two inmates of the same cell at 
 night seem to be the rule. There is a general lack 
 of regular chaplains, of religious or moral instruction, 
 or of even philanthropic visitation. Unrestricted 
 visitation by outside friends and companions, and 
 supply of depraving papers, literature, cards, tobacco, 
 and often liquor, are permitted. In short, there is 
 an utter absence of all conservative and reformatory 
 influences, a prevalence and activity of almost 
 every means of corruption ; which must inevitably 
 result in the confirming of all inmates in a criminal 
 course of life. 
 
14 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 A single case, which is vouched for by the 
 author's personal inspection, is believed to be a fair 
 type of the jails in the State and country. 
 
 A recent visit to the jail in Sunbury, which is 
 reckoned one of the best in the State, disclosed the 
 circumstances and privileges of fifty-four inmates of 
 all classes. Among them were two bright, nice- 
 looking boys, one thirteen and the other fourteen 
 years old, who had been incarcerated already two 
 months, and would have to remain two months 
 longer before trial. They were accused of stealing 
 four bottles of ginger-beer ! 
 
 Another boy of sixteen years was waiting trial for 
 attempted rape — a depraved and vicious-looking 
 wretch. 
 
 In the female department, which was merely 
 separated from the male corridor of cells at one end 
 by a wooden partition, through which access was 
 had to it, there were placed six females. Here was 
 a Polish woman with her three children, all under 
 ten years of age, none of whom could speak or under- 
 stand English, indicted for selling liquor without 
 license ! Probably the poor creature had never so 
 much as heard of a license. Here in one cell, to 
 which all had access, lay a woman apparently dying 
 of syphilis. A good-looking fourteen-year-old girl, 
 confined as an " incorrigible," and three other hard- 
 looking creatures completed the complement. 
 
 The two boys and the budding girl had been com- 
 mitted by the same " Justice," whose elevation to 
 office would seem to have added quite an increment 
 to his original want of sense. These may be taken 
 
THE CONDITIOlf IN PENlfSVLVANtA. 1 5 
 
 as specimens of the life placed in durance in this 
 public institution. 
 
 Now can there be any doubt but that this whole 
 body of fifty-four inmates will be as hopeless crim- 
 inals as the worst among them before three months 
 shall elapse ? 
 
 If any are not, they will be miracles of grace, 
 triumphant over a most adverse system. This is 
 not an abnormal or even an unusual condition in 
 Pennsylvania jails, as even a casual visitation will 
 reveal. Nor can the chief blame be laid upon the 
 jailers, many of whom do the best they can with 
 their perplexing charges and inadequate provision 
 and powers. 
 
 The fault is in the system which makes possible 
 such a foolish and fatal administration. Judges and 
 justices plunge children into these hot-beds of vice, 
 apparently without thought of consequences, or be- 
 cause no alternative is left them in their clearance of 
 court duty. Those who have fallen under penalty 
 of law for a first or trivial offence are huddled indis- 
 criminately with hardened villains, and left indefi- 
 nitely often, where scarcely a single hand is stretched 
 out to save or help them. It would seem that 
 philanthropy even exchanged hope for despair at the 
 portal of a county jail. 
 
 Another fruitful source of criminality in our State 
 is the growing laxity of parental discipline and care. 
 Children are turned over more and more to secular 
 and Sunday-school teachers for training and religious 
 instruction. Warden Brush, of Sing Shig Prison, 
 who has given much study to penology, and has had 
 
1 6 PSlSO/fERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 long experience with prisoners, in an admirable paper 
 read at the last Prison Congress, gave as the cause 
 which sends most men to prison " the lack of family 
 discipline." Children on the streets, in the saloons, 
 brothels, and places of public amusement, neglected 
 at home, can hardly fail of moral ruin. 
 
 It is impossible to say whether unrestricted liquor 
 selling has contributed to any disproportionate in- 
 crease of intemperance in this State, or whether the 
 utter lack of intelligent legal dealing with drunkards 
 differs with us from that existing elsewhere. Cer- 
 tainly we are no better in that respect than are 
 others, and we may discover in our inadequate 
 statutes concerning drunkards a sufficient reason 
 for their increase in numbers and general failure to 
 reform. 
 
 Much too is doubtless due to a very general miscon- 
 ception of duty which prevails among the officers of 
 the law, the constabulary and police, who are apt to 
 regard themselves simply as agents for the appre- 
 hension of criminals rather than for the prevention 
 of crime, which is the real and main purpose and 
 object of their office. Doubtless also our very 
 increase in wealth and material prosperity, making 
 prominent before the eyes of all classes of our people 
 a liberality of expenditure and luxury of living here- 
 tofore unknown, has excited cupidity, envy, and 
 desires for indulgence, which cannot be honestly 
 satisfied. In confirmation of this, we find that over 
 ^6 per cent, of the crimes punished in our peniten- 
 tiaries were against property, and only 24 per cent, 
 against the person. 
 
THE CONDITION IN PENNSYLVANIA. 1? 
 
 We will consider causes more fully in connection 
 with projects of remedy hereafter. It is desired first 
 to arouse public attention to the fact that our present 
 methods of dealing with crimes and criminals are a 
 monstrous and dangerous failure. 
 
 The number of the indigent and defective classes 
 has increased over 30 per cent. — that is, about 8 per 
 cent, more thim our population (almost i per cent, 
 per annum) ; and almost the entire increase of the 
 amount expended upon all classes has been in 
 support of charitable institutions of various kinds, 
 making evident as impressive a failure in our man- 
 agement of the dependent classes as appears respect- 
 ing the criminal classes. The flood of crime must be 
 checked, and the number of criminals diminished ; a 
 more intelligent and economical support of depend- 
 ants inaugurated, or our social and civil organization 
 must of necessity crumble into chaos. It is impos- 
 sible that this disparity of criminal and pauper 
 increase should continue indefinitely, or even long, 
 without disaster. This is not a figure of speech, but 
 a mathematical verity, as certain as the multipli- 
 cation table. 
 
 Christianity and philanthropy have been anxious, 
 exercised, and diligent in the amelioration of the 
 condition of the poor and the prisoner ; but it would 
 appear that the exigencies of this noble work had 
 so completely absorbed attention as to obscure and 
 distract thought from the grander object of reducing 
 their numbers by operating wisely to diminish the 
 causes of poverty and crime, and to restore the 
 pauper and criminal to a self-supporting, honorable. 
 
l8 PSISOIfERS AND PA UP ESS. 
 
 and productive condition in society. The inspec- 
 tions of the Board of Public Charities show now, 
 however, that the indigent of the State are well pro- 
 vided for, and that its prisoners are everywhere 
 treated with humanity and kindness. Under its 
 careful supervision there has been a constant improve- 
 ment and progress toward excellence in the manage- 
 ment of public institutions of all kinds, and even 
 solitary instances of bad or brutal treatment have 
 become exceedingly rare. The popular tendency 
 indeed is to coddle the jail-bird, so that in many jails 
 he fares better than when he is free. The time has 
 come to govern the methods of treatment by princi- 
 ples which will discourage pauperism and crime 
 and decrease their burden upon society without 
 inhumanity. 
 
 The facts thus inadequately stated, which are, 
 with complete details, preserved in official docu- 
 ments and buried in both annual and special reports 
 in every State, certainly suggest a subject of national 
 proportions and of vital concern to every intelligent 
 citizen. Our issue is not with the Commonwealth of 
 Pennsylvania alone, for the burden and danger 
 involves the whole nation. In the following chapter 
 the facts as they appear in a single county will be 
 given as an illustration of what may be found by the 
 earnest inquirer generally. The truth brought to 
 the light will show that we have pressed upon our 
 attention questions of the most serious consequence. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE RECORD OF A SINGLE COUNTY. 
 
 Detailed Public Costs of Crime and Pauperism in Lackawanna 
 County, Pennsylvania. — Appalling Increase. — Unnecessary 
 Waste of Half the Money Raised for Jails and Poorhouses. — 
 Costs Compared with Other Counties in Pennsylvania. — ^Appeal 
 for Local Action. 
 
 If the condition of the nation at large is alarming 
 in respect of the increase of criminals, and of the 
 State quite as disturbing as that of the nation, our in- 
 terest in the subject may be localized and intensified 
 by a detailed comparative statement of the percentage 
 of increase in one county in the last decade. Many 
 will be shocked to learn that bad as the foregoing 
 tables have appeared for the nation and the State, 
 the showing of Lackawanna County in detail is much 
 worse than that of the State as a whole even, as 
 appears from the following figures taken from the 
 reports of the Board of Public Charities for 1880 and 
 1890 for Lackawanna County. 
 
 It is probable that a similiar examination would 
 disclose similiar conditions existing all through the 
 country. 
 
 19 
 
20 
 
 PRISONERS AND PAOPERS. 
 
 Inmates of Jail and 
 Almshouses in Lacka- 
 wanna Co., Pennsylvania 
 
 1880 
 
 .S 
 
 •si 
 
 ll 
 
 1890 
 
 u 
 V 
 .£ 
 
 «• 
 
 .s§ 
 
 1 s 
 
 '3 
 
 »4 
 
 e 
 »-( 
 
 c 
 
 V 
 
 U 
 
 V 
 
 p. 
 
 3 
 
 In County Tail 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 135 
 
 18 
 61 
 
 20 
 
 75 
 
 II 
 
 8 
 
 231 
 
 11 
 53 
 
 62 
 
 27 
 14 
 II 
 
 3 
 31 
 
 495-6 
 
 $3.82 
 
 In Blakely Poorhouse. . . 
 In Carbondale Poorhouse 
 In Hillside Poorhouse. . 
 In Northern Luzerne 
 
 Poorhouse 
 
 In Ransom Poorhouse . . 
 
 
 Total 
 
 224 
 
 
 314 
 
 86 
 
 78.S 
 
 
 
 
 The increase of the population during this decade 
 has been 59.1 per cent., which is a greater increase 
 than is shown in the number of paupers, but less 
 than one eighth the increase of criminals. The in- 
 crease of the cost of maintaining the paupers of 
 Lackawanna County has, however, been excessive, 
 like the numerical increase of criminals, and presents 
 a very discomforting comparison for the considera- 
 tion of the frugal and industrious. 
 
 The cost of the support of paupers in Lackawanna 
 County, including " out-door relief," with the aver- 
 age weekly cost in 1890, is shown in the following 
 
 ' The number maintained in other institutions by the different 
 Poor Boards is not given in the report for 1880. 
 
THE RECORD OF A SINGLE COUNTY. 
 
 21 
 
 table, together with the percentage of increase in the 
 decade. 
 
 POORHOUSE 
 
 l88o 
 
 1890 
 
 Per Capita 
 
 Cost per 
 
 Week in 
 
 1890. 
 
 
 Blakely 
 
 $4,221 
 
 4,459 
 
 33.407 
 
 992 
 
 10,622 
 
 $9,629 
 4,727 
 
 74,738 
 2,450 
 
 12,609 
 
 $3.04 
 
 5-54 
 3.62 
 2.64 
 2.26 
 
 
 Carbondale 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 of 
 Increase 
 
 Hillside 
 
 Northern Luzerne 
 
 
 
 Total for Lack. County. . 
 Cost of County Jail 
 
 $53,701 
 8,307 
 
 $104,153 
 20,547 
 
 $3.82 
 
 93-9 
 147-3 
 
 Total 
 
 $62,008 
 
 $124,700 
 
 
 
 
 
 The population of Lackawanna County in 1890, 
 according to the census returns, was 142,008, of whom 
 those of foreign parentage numbered 54,760, or 38.6 
 per cent.' The number of taxables recorded in the 
 County Clerk's office for 1889 was 59,373, and the 
 assessed valuation of property in the county in the 
 same year was $23,333,058. The cost of supporting 
 the county poor and prisoners during the year was 
 then a tax of 5.3 mills upon eveiy dollar of valuation, 
 and equal to a per capita tax of 82.8 cents upon 
 each man, woman, and child in the county, or of $2.10 
 upon every taxable recorded for the preceding year. 
 
 The average weekly cost of prisoners per capita 
 in this county jail is $1.79 in excess of the well 
 
 ' Census Bulletin No. 183. 
 
22 PXISOJVJEXS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 managed Allegheny County Prison, where it is but 
 $2.03 per week. Even in Philadelphia County 
 Prison the weekly cost is but $2.39. The weekly 
 cost per capita of the maintenance of paupers in the 
 State ranges from .78 per week in Centre County, 
 where it is least, up to $5.54 in Carbondale Poor- 
 house, one of the most expensive in the State. 
 
 The foreign population of this county, which in 
 1880 was 30.1 per cent, and in 1890 was 38.6 per 
 cent, of the whole population, furnished over 70 per 
 cent, of our paupers. If the same proportion exists 
 as shown in the United States census for the whole 
 country, they have furnished over one third of our 
 convicts. No colored convicts or paupers are 
 reported in this county, although the colored popula- 
 tion numbers 357.' An examination of these state- 
 ments certainly discloses both a shocking increase in 
 criminality, and a wasteful extravagance in the cost 
 of maintaining our poor, which demand immediate 
 attention and remedy. 
 
 Allegheny is a city of 104.967 people, — a city lit- 
 tle greater in numbers and very similar in elements 
 to Scranton, the county seat of Lackawanna. Its 
 244 paupers were sustained in the Allegheny City 
 Home, a well-designed and admirably managed in- 
 stitution, eight miles from the city, during the year 
 1890 at a weekly cost of $1.45 per capita. A good 
 farm furnishes employment and much of the provi- 
 sion for its inmates, who also do most of the neces- 
 sary work of the institution, and make most of their 
 own bedding and clothes. 
 
 ' Census BtUUUn No. 183. 
 
THE RECORD OF A SINGLE COUNTY. 23 
 
 The grounds about the City Home are pleasant 
 and tastefully kept. The buildings are always neat, 
 in good repair, and orderly ; the inmates well-fed 
 with plain, well-cooked, and neatly served food. 
 They are apparently as contented and satisfied as it 
 is desirable for them to be. Its department for the 
 insane on the female side is as comfortable and home- 
 like as any similar institution need be made. The 
 management of the institution leaves very little to 
 be suggested in the way of improvement ; while the 
 condition of the paupers is quite as comfortable and 
 pleasant as it ought to be. The weekly cost is 
 abundantly sufficient to secure the best results. 
 
 At Pittsburg City Farm the weekly cost per capita 
 in 1890 was $2.05 ; at the Luzerne County Home, 
 $2.26 ; at the Blockley Almshouse, in Philadelphia, 
 but $1.27; at the Schuylkill County Almshouse, 
 $1.92. Indeed in thirty-one, out of the seventy-one 
 poorhouses in the State, the weekly cost was less 
 than $2.00 per capita. 
 
 If the weekly cost of the paupers of Lackawanna 
 County had been no greater than that of the Alle- 
 gheny County Home, the burden of our poor-tax might 
 have been reduced over one half, — that is, instead of 
 $104,153, it might as well have been $52,057. It will 
 be noticed that the highest weekly cost occurs in the 
 Carbondale, Blakely, and Northern Luzerne poor- 
 houses, the last situated near Clark's Green. Yet 
 it is evident that in these the inmates receive far 
 inferior care and live in much less comfort than in 
 the Allegheny City Home. Five institutions, with 
 five farms, five superintendents, all with their hired 
 
24 PXISONESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 staffs, are all employed to accomplish what could be 
 done in a much more satisfactory manner in one in- 
 stitution, on a single farm, with one superintendent. 
 The proceeds of the sale of four of these farms and 
 improvements would, probably, be sufficient to pro- 
 vide ample and suitable accommodation for all their 
 paupers in one place. Some wise legislation, with 
 intelligent management, might effect a reduction in 
 our taxation, which would be a sensible relief to the 
 whole people of our county. Wherever in this State 
 all of the paupers are cared for in one institution, the 
 results are the most satisfactory, both in their phil- 
 anthropic and economic aspects. 
 
 At the same time, the same number of criminals in 
 our jails could have been maintained at the average 
 weekly cost of those in the Allegheny County Jail 
 (viz., $2.03), which would have saved $10,054 in the 
 last year. Thus we find through these evident facts 
 an actual and unnecessary waste, in one year, of 
 $62,091 in the maintenance, in one county, of its 
 prisoners and paupers ! This inexcusable loss is 
 only emphasized if the results of the system are com- 
 pared with the administration of other counties in 
 the State. Schuylkill County supported 129 prison- 
 ers in 1890 at a weekly cost of $2.43; Dauphin 
 County, 73 at a cost of $2.63 per week ; Montgomery 
 County, 66 at a cost of $2.36 ; Northumberland, 64 
 at $2.30.' Wardens, appointed to serve during good 
 behavior, govern all of these jails, except that of 
 Dauphin, and convicts are made to earn as much as 
 possible of their own subsistence. 
 
 ^ Report of the Board of PublU Charities, StaU of Penna., 1890. 
 
THE RECORD OF A SINGLE COUNTY. 2$ 
 
 Thirteen of the sixty-nine country prisons sup- 
 ported their inmates on "less than $3 per week; and 
 twenty-six at less than Lackawanna County in 1890; 
 our 62 convicts in the Eastern Penitentiary cost the 
 county but 66 cents per week." 
 
 Ranking as the fifth county in the State in wealth 
 and population, having for a county seat the fourth 
 city in the Commonwealth, our penal and charitable 
 institutions, and their management, fall far below the 
 degree of excellence which we are entitled to expect. 
 Our citizens have earned a reputation for intelligence 
 and progressive public spirit, which is not consistent 
 with their neglect of these important subjects. We 
 have not only been inattentive to the increase of our 
 criminals, but heedless of the unnecessary cost of 
 their maintenance, until the consequences have as- 
 sumed proportions which would seem to require 
 instant and skilful treatment. There is no imagin- 
 able good reason why these expenses should exceed 
 the average of the State. It should be expected 
 rather, that our institutions should be models for the 
 rural sections to imitate, as are those of Philadelphia, 
 Pittsburg, and Allegheny. 
 
 ^ Report of the Board of Public Charities, State of Penn., 1890. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE NEED OF REFORM BY LEGISLATION. 
 
 The Annual Costs of Criminality and Charity — The Evils of General 
 Taxation for Local Purposes — Has the State a Right to Resort 
 to This Policy — Some Figures about the Average Annual Tax 
 and How It may be Reduced — Defective Penal Legislation — 
 Unsystematic and Unconstitutional Methods. 
 
 The Legislature of Pennsylvania has appropriated 
 during the last ten years for the criminal class, 
 together with so-called charitable objects, the fol- 
 lowing amounts: 
 
 For the Insane $2,oi6,gg5 
 
 For the Deaf and Dumb 1,494,447 
 
 For the Blind 535, 000 
 
 For Feeble-Minded Children 747, 500 
 
 For Hospitals and Miscellaneous Objects. .. 2,145,280 
 
 Poor Boards and Directors have Expended. . 16,444,002 
 
 This Makes a Total Expenditure for the De- 
 fective and Dependent of $23,383,224' 
 
 During the same period the Legislature appro- 
 priated : 
 
 Upon Penitentiaries, Reformatories, and 
 
 Houses of Refuge $4,241,878 
 
 And Counties Expended upon Jails and In- 
 mates 5,849,884 
 
 Making a Total for the Criminal Class $10,091,762 ' 
 
 ' Reports of the Board of Public Charities of Pennsylvania, 
 26 
 
THE NEED OF REFORM BY LEGISLATION. 2/ 
 
 Thus we have a grand total of cost to the people 
 of the State, for both classes, of $33,474,986. 
 
 The actual cost of the criminal class, however, 
 must include a much larger sum, impossible to be 
 accurately stated ; including that which is expended 
 in the detection, arrest, and trial of prisoners ; with 
 expenses of constables and courts. It ought to in- 
 clude also the loss and damage inflicted upon 
 society by the crime and predatory habits of the 
 criminals. The mere statement of these enormous 
 sums must impress every intelligent observer with 
 the conviction that they are out of all proportion to 
 the benefits derived by society from their expendi- 
 ture. The public certainly receives no adequate 
 value for its money. 
 
 In preceding chapters we have endeavored to 
 indicate how proper legislation may reduce alms- 
 house and criminal costs. Let us now consider 
 the possibility of reduction in these other items of 
 expense by the correction of improper legislation. 
 Much of this is the result of a false popular opinion 
 and understanding as to the proper objects of State 
 appropriations, and much to an unnecessary and 
 wasteful cost of maintaining proper objects. 
 
 One might conclude that our people had become 
 I confused as to the real idea of government. The 
 object of government is the protection and benefit 
 of the governed in this country. Taxation should 
 be submitted to only for the securing of these 
 objects, promoted with intelligence and executed 
 with true economy. State institutions for criminals 
 under long sentences or confined for reformation 
 
28 J'JilSONESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 are evidently correct in design. Because in such 
 institutions only can economical arrangements be 
 made for proper employment and self-support, 
 systematic treatment had with a view to reformation, ^ 
 or a careful determination made as to the proper 
 time and method of restoration to liberty. So also 
 are the State institutions for the insane, the deaf 
 and dumb, the blind and weak-minded, composing 
 unfortunate classes which can be best cared for in 
 this way and treated by themselves, with special 
 adaptations, methods, purposes. For competent 
 superintendents, medical specialists, and attendants 
 are not found in sufficient numbers in the general 
 county institutions to warrant in them the expecta- 
 tion of successful care of these classes. They have 
 come to be wisely regarded as the wards of the 
 State, to be cared for by legislative appropriation. 
 For them the State must provide. Hence the mini- 
 mum of cost must be secured by wisdom and econ- 
 omy in the management of. all the institutions 
 designed for their treatment. 
 
 In the insane hospitals probably over 75 per cent, 
 of the 7,649 inmates on the 30th of September, 1891, 
 could be occupied, advantageously to themselves, 
 with useful labor, so that they might contribute a 
 large portion of the cost of their own maintenance. 
 This has been demonstrated to be the case in many 
 institutions, both in this country and abroad. 
 
 One of the most painful impressions made upon a 
 visitor to our hospitals for the insane, is the absolute 
 idleness of the inmates ; who sit and lie about the 
 corridors and rooms, day after day, week after week, 
 
THE hTEED OF REFORM B Y LEGISLA TtON. 29 
 
 year after year, with absolutely nothing to do, or to 
 occupy their attention, — nothing to distract their 
 diseased minds from their own misery. This en- 
 forced idleness arid confinement transforms, for 
 them, what should be a pleasant home and retreat, 
 into a prison ; escape from which becomes their 
 constant longing, and their almost universal appeal 
 to every one from the outside world. Productive 
 labor would be for them as grateful and useful an 
 agency of cure, as it would be a measure of economy 
 to the taxpayer. 
 
 The institutions for the deaf and blind are intended 
 and used chiefly for the education of these classes, 
 and their preparation, while young, to sustain them- 
 selves independently outside. But they can, and in 
 some cases they do now, largely reduce their ex- 
 penses by the work done by the pupils or inmates. 
 
 To wise management therefore we must look for 
 the economy of maintaining the defective classes. 
 Public attention has apparently been so intently di- 
 rected toward securing adequate and comfortable 
 care for them, that now, when it appears that this 
 has been secured, it rests satisfied, as though its full 
 duty were discharged by protecting them from want 
 and suffering, whatever it may cost. As a matter of 
 fact, what has been solved is but the primary and 
 simplest part of the problem. How to restore the 
 largest number to independence as members of so- 
 ciety, how to restrict with humanity the propagation 
 and natural increase of defectives, so as to keep these 
 classes at their minimum, and how to properly care 
 for those necessarily supported at public cost with 
 
30 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 the smallest possible burden upon the public, are 
 now the vital questions of government concerning 
 them. These ought now to be the subjects of phil- 
 anthropic study. 
 
 A saving of at least a million dollars a year of the 
 present annual expense in Pennsylvania could cer- 
 tainly be effected, with an increase of comfort to the 
 dependent classes, if the best methods should be 
 employed in their treatment. Legislative appropria- 
 tions for hospitals and miscellaneous charities have 
 averaged, during the last ten years, $214,528 per an- 
 num, increasing in amount at each session, until the 
 session of 1890, which voted the princely sum of 
 $690,745 a year for 1891 and 1892 for these purposes ! 
 
 The pernicious practice termed "log-rolling," 
 which has prevailed so pertinaciously in Congress in 
 regard to public buildings and improvements, seems 
 to have crept into our State Legislature. Every 
 Assemblyman and Senator appears to have been 
 emulous to carry back to his constituents as large an 
 appropriation as possible, in evidence of his ability, 
 and even to have been willing to vote for any mem- 
 ber's " little bill " who would vote for his. Philadel- 
 phia and Allegheny, having the most numerous 
 representation, of course got the largest slice of this 
 luscious legislative melon ; but most of the important 
 delegations secured at least a bite. Many of the 
 institutions aided have had cunningly coupled to 
 their names the worthy title " of the State of Penn- 
 sylvania," to give color to their claims, although their 
 sphere of operations is manifestly local 
 
 It must be evident to all that unless this leak can 
 
TttE NEED OP REFORM BY LEGISLATION. 31 
 
 be stopped decisively and speedily the limit of sup- 
 portable taxation must soon be reached. 
 
 But the imminence and magnitude of this danger 
 are not the only or even the most important reasons' 
 for checking it. Appropriations to hospitals and 
 local charities of actual, real, unsectarian, and unde- 
 nominational organization, if made by a two-thirds' 
 vote of the Legislature, may not be contrary to the 
 letter of the constitution, but they are certainly con- 
 trary to the spirit of that constitution, and in viola- 
 tion of sound, fundamental principles of popular 
 government. As corporations have no souls, so the 
 supreme corporation among American institutions, 
 the State, is incapable of charity. It cannot exercise 
 benevolence. This is a natural impossibility for the 
 State. The so-called " charitable institutions " which 
 it maintains are wrongly named. The purpose of 
 the State may be called a selfish one — that is, to pro- 
 tect the mass of the governed from injury from de- 
 fective and irrational members in the most economical 
 manner. These institutions are managed by paid 
 officials, who serve primarily for wages without 
 charitable motive, while the recipients of their care 
 receive and demand their benefits as a right rather 
 than a kindness. 
 
 Whatever is necessary to protect its people from 
 external or internal injury, that the State may do. 
 Whatever will promote the highest prosperity • and 
 happiness of the people as a whole, that the State 
 may assist and encourage. As she levies her taxes 
 with an impartial hand upon all alike, so she must 
 expend them for the benefit of all. 
 
32 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 She has no right to exact money from the mer- 
 chants or manufacturers of Philadelphia to expend 
 upon injured miners in her coal fields ; or to tax the 
 farmers of the Cumberland to take care of the suf- 
 ferers among the iron mills of Allegheny or to bind 
 up the wounds of her railroaders. What law, hu- 
 man or divine, requires the citizens of Scranton to 
 contribute to the cure of a sick Philadelphian or for 
 a surgical attendance upon a citizen of Pittsburg? 
 Hospitals and all kindred local institutions, Homes 
 for the Friendless, and the like are useful within a 
 limited area, and are to be supported and maintained 
 by the community which is benefited by them. No 
 community is obliged to impose upon itself a larger 
 expense for these purposes than it can afford, nor to 
 appeal, under ordinary circumstances, until it has 
 exhausted its own resources, to strangers and the 
 outside public for assistance. A reliance upon others 
 to materially diminish the burden of local duty, de- 
 grades and diminishes the Christian charity of the 
 community, and inflicts injury instead of benefit 
 upon its society. The voting of State aid to local 
 charities, therefore, not only violates the fundamental 
 principles of free government, but inflicts a serious 
 and subtle injury upon the community which re- 
 ceives the donation. There is no doubt from the 
 wording of the new constitution that its framers 
 intended to prohibit State appropriations to local 
 charities, except in emergencies ; but the ingenuity 
 of the modern politician has devised a way to evade 
 the intention. Hence, on the plea of charity the 
 average annual tax upon society in Pennsylvania for 
 
THE I^EED OF REFORM £V LEClSLATtON. %% 
 
 the last ten years has been, as shown above to be, 
 $3,347,498. Of this amount over $214,528 annually 
 went to local objects. Yet the last session increased 
 this sum to $690,745. 
 
 Suppose by wise economy and judicious manage- 
 ment the support of the insane, and of jails and alms- 
 houses, were reduced 50 per cent., which is quite 
 possible and practicable, we think we should thus 
 effect a relief from taxation of $1,215,543 ; and adding 
 the amount wrongfully given away to local objects, 
 $1,430,071 (together with the apprehension of un- 
 limited increase of the last item). The statesman 
 who should accomplish a reduction of almost 50 per 
 cent, in the burden of taxation, while conferring a 
 positive benefit upon the social organization, ought 
 to achieve lasting renown, and certainly would 
 deserve the gratitude of his fellow-citizens. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 PHASES OF THE PROBLEM. 
 
 What Is the Solution ? — Punishment by Law Absurd — Deterrence, 
 Reformation, and Prevention Proper Objects of Penal Code — 
 Incongruity and Aimlessness of Poor-Laws — True Purpose and 
 Scope — Economy of Correct System Illustrated. 
 
 We have thus far considered the convict and 
 dependent classes in the aspect of a present and an 
 abnormally growing burden upon society. We have 
 proposed a serious problem for popular solution, and 
 have appealed to an economic and selfish motive 
 to excite a general interest in its study. Christ said, 
 " The poor ye have always with you," and the voice 
 of human nature proclaims with equal truth that the 
 wicked will never " cease from troubling " on this 
 earth. Criminals and paupers will probably always 
 exist in the widely varying gradations of humanity ; 
 and Christianity, philanthropy, and political economy 
 alike impose the duty and necessity of helping the 
 weak, sustaining the incurable, and raising the 
 fallen. 
 
 A professional criminal is a beast of prey constantly 
 endangering society. As the class cannot be exter- 
 minated, we must look to protective measures for 
 security from the obdurate, and to preventive and 
 
 34 
 
PRASES OF TffE PROBLEM. 35 
 
 reformatory influences to diminish as far as possible 
 the numbers of the class. The burden of pauperism 
 must be lightened by a wise economy of necessary 
 expenditures, made in support of the helpless poor, 
 by affording all an opportunity to contribute to the 
 extent of their ability towards their maintenance ; 
 chiefly by a united effort of the independent mem- 
 bers of society to restrict the constant reproduction 
 of the dependent and defective, and to stimulate and 
 assist the weak, the incompetent, and unfortunate' 
 to avoid a public support. Can this be efficiently 
 done? 
 
 When we attempt to descend to definite practical 
 measures, we are reminded that the best doctors 
 often disagree as to the remedies, even when entirely 
 agreed as to the disease and the end sought. 
 While careless and thoughtless politicians are al- 
 lowed to invent and enact shortsighted or unintel- 
 ligent plans to remedy the most flagrant evils, under 
 a " penny-wise and pound-foolish policy," or to 
 waste their time and the people's money in stopping 
 spigot leaks to neglect of the open bung-hole, little 
 can be expected of value. Our whole system of 
 criminal and pauper legislation needs a complete 
 revision, in order to bring it into conformity with 
 the new principles evolved by the experience of ages 
 and brought to light by the science of modern civili- 
 zation. Reformation must begin with the laws. 
 Those principles which came into existence as the 
 means of enforcing the power of rulers, have become 
 the palladium and bond of modern society, the very 
 essence of its government. The principles which 
 
36 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 were reduced to practice in an age of ignorance and 
 ^ barbarism, no longer apply in our advanced social 
 conditions. 
 
 The idea of the mere legal punishment of crime, 
 for instance, upon which our penal legislation is 
 based has been found fallacious in theory, false in 
 principle, absurd in practice, and almost a total fail- 
 ure in results. God, the Creator and Ruler, has 
 reserved to himself the sole power of determining 
 the exact degree of blameworthiness in huinan trans- 
 gressions of both divine and human law. He alone is 
 capable of inflicting a just and proper punishment 
 upon the transgressor. All human attempts to usurp 
 this prerogative are acknowledged parodies on jus- 
 tice, even as it is understood by mankind. He who 
 steals a loaf of bread to feed his starving child, ac- 
 cording to human law, is just as real a thief, and 
 must suffer as mercilessly the penalty, as he who 
 violates the most sacred trust to gratify a morbid 
 appetite. The penalties of crime have been greatly 
 diminished in severity within the present century, 
 and various crimes distinguished by degrees of guilt 
 with distinct penalties ; but the inequality and in- 
 justice of punishment becomes only more and more 
 glaring thereby. With moral culpability, and its 
 . punishment, human law can properly have little, if 
 anything, to do. Its proper object and purpose is 
 the protection of society. 
 
 The chief province of penal legislation is confined, 
 we think, by nature to the control of the criminal 
 for the general security, and to his reformation as a 
 preventive and economical project. 
 
PHASES OF THE PROBLEM. 37 
 
 These purposes, however, have small recognition 
 in our penal codes, which are chiefly a blind and 
 blundering attempt to prescribe the method of ex- 
 piating particular transgressions by the imposition of 
 various amounts and kinds of suffering — imprison- 
 ment for ten days, thirty days, sixty days, ninety 
 days, six months, one year, eighteen months, two 
 years, five years, ten years, in the discretion of the 
 judge, for certain named crimes, as though it were 
 possible for the criminal to measure off his criminality 
 in just such regular amounts as would require the 
 specified days, or months, or years, or for different 
 criminals to deserve the same penalty for similar 
 crimes, or to be equally punished by imprisonment, 
 where some would enjoy a comfort, and even luxury, 
 of living in idleness, which they never could attain 
 at liberty, and others find utter blasting ruin and 
 misery. 
 
 Our present legislation ought to be reorganized 
 upon the principle of confining the criminal at self- 
 supporting labor, in healthful but not agreeable 
 quarters, until he ceases to be a criminal, or dies ; 
 also of keeping him so separated from others in con- 
 finement that he shall neither receive nor impart 
 contamination. First offenders, on the other hand, 
 should suffer such inflictions as will discourage 
 repetition of the offence, without running any risk 
 of being criminalized by confinement. 
 
 In short, the scheme of the penal code should be 
 deterrent, reformative, and preventive, instead of 
 punitive. The purpose of the judiciary should be 
 equally the protection of society and the restoration 
 
38 PRISONE/tS AND PA UPERS. 
 
 of the convict to an honest independence of life, 
 rather than a vindictive meting out of penalty for 
 crime. William Tallack states that an intelligent 
 public and official recognition of correct principles 
 in dealing with criminals has abolished six out of 
 seven jails, and a large percentage of convicts, in the 
 county of Gloucester, England.' There can be little 
 doubt but that similar results will follow in every 
 community. They have universally followed in 
 other counties and countries where they have been 
 adopted wholly or in part. The penal laws of this 
 country greatly need a complete remodelling and 
 codification. 
 
 For the decrease of the burden of pauperism, 
 legislation, public intelligence, and effort are neces- 
 sary. Our poor-laws are incongruous, generally 
 intended to provide for obsolete conditions, and 
 framed to maintain the needy, rather than to assist 
 and enable such to maintain themselves. Without 
 harmony with themselves, they are confusing 
 and wasteful by their multiplicity, and false 
 in their purpose and scope. They require to be 
 conformed to the new status of society, with the 
 manifest object of reducing both the number of 
 dependants and the public cost of their maintenance. 
 They should be based upon the biblical principle that 
 " if a man will not work neither shall he eat." Every 
 one receiving public aid should contribute, to the 
 extent of his or her ability, to his or her own sup- 
 port ; society only being called upon to supplement 
 to the extent of the actual inability. This can be 
 
 ' Penological and Preventive Prineiplcs, p. 33. 
 
Phases of the problem. 39 
 
 best done and most economically by gathering the 
 paupers into homes, or almshouses, by themselves. 
 
 One county house only should be maintained in 
 each county ; with sufficient farming land about it 
 to raise all iirticles of food which can be economically 
 produced in the section with the labor of the inmates. 
 A county overseer of the poor should be appointed 
 by the county court, or selected by the people, with 
 sufficient salary to enable him to devote his entire 
 time to their care ; to hold office for not less than 
 five years, or as long as efficient. His certificate 
 should be necessary to secure public assistance. 
 
 In this country, where work is always to be had, 
 it should be his first duty to bring self-supporting 
 work to the needy, either outside or inside the 
 county house, and to see that none suffer through 
 misfortune or adversity ; and second, to enforce the 
 best methods of managing the county home. 
 
 Annual conventions of county overseers should be 
 provided for mutual consultation and instruction ; 
 and a State official, or overseer of the poor, should 
 be appointed, to whom all should report and be sub- 
 ject. When similar officers shall have been provided 
 in other States, annual conventions of such officials 
 should be held for the study and consideration of 
 plans for the decrease of pauperism and the manage- 
 ment of paupers. In agricultural districts the county 
 farms should be model and experimental farms, for 
 the test and development of methods of farming and 
 breeds of stock for the public benefit, so that the 
 community may receive some return for the cost of 
 their maintenance. 
 
40 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 By such a general organization excessive costs, 
 due to ignorance and inattention, would be reduced, 
 and the expense of all institutions be brought down 
 to a minimum. In 1890 the various poor-directors 
 of Pennsylvania expended $1,782,849, more than 
 half of which great sum was worse than wasted, 
 in that its expenditure, even when made for the 
 legitimate support of the poor, probably tended to 
 increase instead of curing the evil upon which it was 
 administered. The enactment of a general code, 
 conferring general powers of regulation, administra- 
 tion, supervision, and audit upon a State Board, 
 would undoubtedly greatly reduce the weekly cost 
 of maintenance, and inaugurate measures to reduce 
 pauperism to a minimum. A wise and comprehensive 
 poor-law, embodying most of these features and re- 
 pealing all the rest of the confusing and antagonistic 
 legislation of the State, was reported to the last Legis- 
 lature after a very full and careful study of the whole 
 subject at home and abroad. This was done by an 
 able commission appointed by Governor Beaver, of 
 which our late distinguished fellow-citizen, Hon. 
 Lewis Pugh, was chairman. There is no doubt its 
 enactment would have accomplished all the good 
 results possible at the present time from legislation. 
 It would have effected a saving to the people of at 
 least one million dollars a year in taxation. 
 
 The politicians and poor-directors, however, who 
 now have the handling of this great sum, by a 
 general movement upon legislators, were able to 
 prevent even a consideration of this wise and humane 
 law, either by the Legislature or by the public. 
 
PHASES OP TJffE PROBLEM. 4' 
 
 With some slight amendments of detail, retaining 
 supervision by the Board of Public Charities, etc., it 
 ought to be enacted without delay. The people 
 must interest themselves in this as well as in the 
 measure so longed urged by the Board of Public 
 Charities, which removes the sheriffs from the charge 
 of jails, or there can be no cure of the cancer which 
 is sapping the vitals of our prosperity. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 UNRESTRICTED IMMIGRATION AS AN ELEMENT IN 
 THIS INCREASE. 
 
 Alarming Proportion of Foreign Criminals and Paupers — The 
 Necessity and Possibility of National Regulation of Immigration 
 — The Value of American Citizenship and How It should be Pro- 
 tected — The Land of the Bible and the Sabbath — Necessity of 
 Inculcating American Principles — Appeal to the Church. 
 
 Having indicated how materially taxation may be 
 reduced by wise legislation and improved manage- 
 ment of public institutions, let us now consider 
 whether the numbers to be supported at the public 
 expense may not be so reduced as to effect even a 
 greater economy. In this connection it is to be 
 remembered that the transfer of an individual from 
 a class supported at the public expense to the class 
 of self-supporters, benefits society not only by the 
 relief from the burden of maintenance, but by the 
 value of his productive effort, which, besides afford- 
 ing the person a better living, usually yields a profit 
 to society. Every such transfer, therefore, is worth 
 more than double the present public expense. 
 
 42 
 
UNRESTktCfEb iMMtGkATtON. 4J 
 
 There is, then, a double incentive to our present con- 
 sideration, and to effort for relief in this direction. 
 
 It has been stated that our population, foreign-born 
 or having one or both parents foreign-born, while 
 constituting but about 20 per cent, of our whole 
 number, furnishes over one third of our criminals 
 and three fifths of our paupers.' Let us then first 
 examine the foreign element as the most important 
 point of philanthropic attack. 
 
 The last census shows, however, that our white 
 paupers, native and of native parentage, were only 
 29 per cent, of the total in our almshouses, and that 
 the colored native population, constituting about 12 
 per cent, of the whole, furnish only 8.8 per cent, of 
 our dependents." The ratio of foreigners to natives 
 among the defective classes, so far as we have been 
 able to determine (for the examination among them 
 is both more difficult and less accurately reported 
 than respecting paupers and prisoners), appears to be 
 about the same as among these. In Massachusetts 
 the commitments of the insane of foreign birth or 
 parentage in 1889 were three times the number of 
 natives. 
 
 During the last decade there has been an influx 
 of foreigners to the country through our own ports 
 of entry of 5,246,613, equal to an annual average 
 of 524,661 souls ; besides the large unnumbered 
 multitude which has flowed over our Canadian 
 frontier. The flood of immigration is constantly 
 
 ' Ctnsus Bulletin No. 31. 
 
 ' Census Bulletin, Eleventh Census, No. 90. 
 
44 PSISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 swelling, having nearly doubled in the last decade 
 the numbers of the preceding. There sweeps in 
 upon us now each year a greater horde than that of 
 the Goths and Vandals which overwhelmed the 
 Roman Empire when it ruled the world. As irre- 
 sistible and constant a current as the Moslem 
 invasion which once overthrew and subdued Chris- 
 tendom, it must produce changes and results to which 
 as Americans we cannot remain indifferent. 
 
 Two principal inferences are suggested by these 
 statements. The first is this: that the principles 
 and institutions which mould and nurture the Amer- 
 ican people must be of wonderful and unparalleled 
 beneficence, vitality, and strength to transform in 
 two generations this heterogeneous and largely low- 
 grade mass into wholesome, independent, and repu- 
 table citizens. There is, indeed, no grander or more 
 conclusive demonstration of the excellence of 
 American institutions possible than is afforded by 
 our present condition. Notwithstanding the con- 
 stant injection of foreign languages, customs, beliefs, 
 religions, scepticisms, communisms, and nihilisms ; 
 nothwithstanding the fact that all nations have for a 
 century or more been sloughing off their insupport- 
 ables upon us, together with a moiety of their 
 ambitious and enterprising people in search of " a 
 better country," still the bounding current of our 
 national life has been able to absorb it all ; and to so 
 cleanse, purify, elevate, and ennoble it, that the 
 American people of to-day stand without a peer 
 upon the face of the earth in happiness, prosperity. 
 
UNRESTRICTED IMMIGRATION. 45 
 
 intelligence, and Christianity ! This is not the 
 result of climate or soil, of inherited traits or cross- 
 ing of blood or races, nor of liberty and the 
 abolition of caste or classes. It must come from 
 the vigor, truth, and overruling influence of the 
 whole body of American thought, customs, laws, and 
 institutions. These united in the bonds of Christi- 
 anity, have so far been sufficient to cope with and 
 triumph over all these evil elements. But when we 
 notice the growing quantity and rapidly changing 
 character of our immigration, a less satisfactory 
 inference is suggested. 
 
 In the forty years from 1820 to i860 our English- 
 speaking immigrants numbered 2,744,850; our 
 Germans, 1,545,508; and those of all other nation- 
 alities, 763,671. From the Revolution to 1820 the 
 arrivals are estimated by good authorities at 250,000, 
 making a total of 5,304,029. Between the revolu- 
 tionary period and that of the civil war there were 
 only 57,416 more than arrived during the last decade. 
 Over 84 per cent., moreover, of these immigrants pre- 
 vious to i860 were either English-speaking or German 
 people, attracted to the country chiefly, doubtless, 
 by their love of liberty and their preference for our 
 institutions and form of government, to which they 
 adapted themselves voluntarily. 
 
 But how different has the tide been for the last ten 
 or fifteen years 1 Immigration to the United States 
 during the last three decades has been from the 
 sources shown in the following table, " alien passen- 
 gers" being included to December 31, 1867. 
 
46 
 
 PRISONERS AND PA UPERS. 
 
 *0^ J3AO 
 
 •ot-Si 
 
 -JU33 J3£ 
 
 ■siB3^ Si 
 jspun 
 
 •}U30 J3J 
 
 •iCgi 'o£ 3unf 
 Suipu^ .res^^ 
 
 ۥ1 OO 
 
 «0 en tn 
 
 iH o* in Qtoo 
 
 «o 0*« en 
 
 en o^ ^ en C^ 
 O 00 M o en 
 
 I 
 
 
 ■fe. 
 
 ^ 
 
 a 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 •o68T oi iggi 
 
 CO « o^ 
 
 OO GO \0 
 tC »o ^ 
 
 \0 \0 M 
 
 O^oo 0<« CI 
 M CO O coo 
 r* O e*^ "-I en 
 en »n tCod"acr 
 inO O CO \0 
 en « CO »n 
 
 •0881 oj lisi 
 
 t-co «n 
 o enoo 
 
 O* ^ O* ■-< "^ 
 vO »rt *r» r^ ^ 
 o^ « r>. r>» CJ 
 
 *o£8i *o£ 3unf 
 1 98 1 *i XjBnuBf 
 
 •H r^ r^ 
 
 co" moo 
 O en to 
 
 0*0 00 ^CO 
 
 O CO e« o* o 
 QO irt r^ O « 
 
 
 
 g So ui £ 
 
 b. 2°° iJ i! 
 
 ■^ "^ ea 55 
 
 01 ea e^ 
 
 c 
 W 
 ace! „ 
 
 •^_rt 4J eB 
 
 H.5OT 
 
 o 
 
 u s s a u o 
 
 i >■ ;^ ^ 
 
 §s -3 6 
 
 H <! 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 
UNRESTRICTED IMMIGRATION. 47 
 
 In respect to occupations, but .056 per cent, of the 
 alien arrivals in the last decade are classed as " pro- 
 fessionals " ; 10.3 per cent, as " skilled " artisans ; 
 39.63 per cent, of , miscellaneous trades ; 47.34 per 
 cent, are reported as having " no occupation," and 
 2.22 per cent, as " not stated." Note that the " new 
 immigrants" in the last decade are ten times as 
 many as between 1861 and 1870; that they exceed 
 both the English-speaking and the German ; that 
 the percentages of males, of children and aged, is 
 excessive, except among the better classes from 
 Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Also observe that 
 the immigration from Austria, Hungar\% Russia, 
 Poland, and Italy during the last year more 
 than doubled the annual average of the whole 
 decade. 
 
 It must be evident, then, to the statistical student 
 as well as to the thoughtful observer of his environ- 
 ments, that we are now not only taking in faster 
 than we are assimilating, but that the kind and 
 quality of our food is becoming more difiScult of 
 digestion. The proportion of arrivals from the 
 effete races, of Russian Jews, Moslems, adherents 
 of the Greek Church, and Romanists speaking 
 strange tongues, with prejudices, habits, customs, 
 and religions of the inbred strength of centuries, 
 has suddenly grown to alarming dimensions. These, 
 too, being from the lower classes of their people, 
 are much more difficult of education and transforma- 
 tion, and have a much greater advance to make in 
 order to reach the level of American citizenship 
 than the Anglo-Saxons or Teutons, with some com- 
 
48 PXISONESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 munity of race, language or religion, who have 
 hitherto constituted our chief increment. 
 
 Their labor being less valuable, is cheaper, and 
 tends to depreciate the wages of our own citizens, 
 which militates against national prosperity, is op- 
 posed to the spirit of our institutions, and contrary 
 to the purpose of our government. Here, where 
 the people reign, the object and design of their 
 organization is, necessarily, that most general diffu- 
 sion of prosperity, which involves the raising of the 
 earnings of the wage workers, who constitute the 
 largest proportion of our numbers, to the highest 
 possible standard. 
 
 A continuous tide of cheaper labor than our own, 
 depreciates the value of that with which it comes in 
 competition here, just as it has done in its native 
 land, and so acts as a constant retardant of national 
 progress. Instead of the impetus and momentum 
 which immigration has hitherto imparted to our 
 development, this change in its sources and char- 
 acter converts its influence into a weight and clog. 
 Its inspiration or impelling motive has also declined 
 from an ennobling desire of emancipation from 
 autocratic repression to a mere sordid and selfish 
 wish to share with us the prosperity and wealth 
 which are the fruit of our past struggles; or to 
 enjoy, without cost to itself, the unparalleled privi- 
 leges and opportunities for individual success with 
 which these struggles have endowed American 
 citizenship. Our present notable position among 
 the nations, the sudden grandeur of illumination 
 which we have shot into the darkened sky of human 
 
UNRESTRICTED IMMIGRATION. 49 
 
 misery, and hopelessness in other lands, has attracted 
 the lighter, mobile elements from every direction. 
 Wretched people from all lands fly toward " Liberty 
 Enlightening the World," like the insects of a sum- 
 mer night, without purpose, without thought, with- 
 out care, save to bask in the beams of this new 
 sun. 
 
 Our national growth, then, is becoming adipose 
 rather than muscular. We can no longer naturally 
 digest all we receive. Unless assistance can be ob- 
 tained from a modification of diet, exercise, or effi- 
 cient medicament, national lethargy, enervation, fatty 
 degeneration, ulceration, and other fatal disease must 
 inevitably ensue. While our food was natural in 
 kind and quantity, we grew and flourished ; the 
 national vitality and functions being sufficient for 
 its utilization. Youth, indeed, may ignore the 
 stomach with apparent impunity, but maturity will 
 not, and cannot. 
 
 What needs to be done, then, now that the dan- 
 ger has become imminent, and threatens our very 
 existence? The right and duty of the nation to 
 preserve itself and protect itself from injury, in 
 whatever way this danger may threaten it, cannot 
 be questioned. The national government must 
 enforce a discrimination as to who shall be admitted 
 into social and political fellowship. Congress must 
 regulate immigration as the initial remedy. The na- 
 ture and amount of restriction possible is measured 
 largely by the value of the attractions offered. The 
 price demanded should naturally be proportioned to 
 the. advantages to be obtained. 
 
50 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 What is American citizenship worth in the world's 
 market? The American citizen, when he obtains 
 this title, becomes the owner of an undivided twelve 
 millionth of 2,306,485,760 acres of the best land on 
 the North American continent, a domain stretching, 
 through the temperate and sub-tropical zones, from 
 the Atlantic to the Pacific, — equivalent to over 190 
 acres to each voter ; of the usufruct of an accumula- 
 tion of over $65,000,000,000 of wealth, — of wealth, 
 won through penury and infinite hardship and suf- 
 fering during a period of over three centuries of 
 struggle with nature and with savages, including all 
 that has been done on the continent to ameliorate 
 the conditions of life — forests cleared, roads made, 
 rivers and harbors improved, habitations erected, 
 cities built, manufactories established, commerce 
 organized. He becomes endowed with an interest 
 in $10,122,635,900 capital invested in railroads, and 
 hundreds of millions in steamers, for the comfort and 
 convenience of his land- and water-travel and trans- 
 portation; 715,591 miles of telegraph wire running 
 to every part of the domain ; in schools provided for 
 every child ; colleges and universities founded and 
 flourishing for their higher education ; the benev- 
 olent principles of Christianity regnant in society ; 
 and its institutions providing amply for the needy. 
 He finds here a government which is the growth 
 and fruit of all the ages ; the way to the highest 
 place in which, or to the most prominent positions 
 in wealth or social rank, open and unobstructed to 
 him according to his ability and worth ; a govern- 
 ment perfected through the trials and vicissitudes of 
 
UNRESTRICTED IMMIGRATION. 51 
 
 an hundred years ; its foundations established by the 
 blood and suffering of the Revolution ; cemented, 
 strengthened, and sanctified by the tremendous and 
 soul-trying fires of the civil war, the material cost 
 of which has been already nearly paid. He becomes 
 an owner in its public buildings, its postal ser- 
 vice and offices, its armament, its fortifications, its 
 treeisury, its army and navy, its history, its glory, 
 and its flag. 
 
 The possessor of this inestimable fortune may 
 enfold himself in the flag of the Union, and instantly 
 63,000,000 of freemen will surround him with the 
 aegis of American power ; wherever on land or sea 
 he may wander, when he calls for protection, all the 
 wealth and blood of these millions will be poured 
 out for his defence. 
 
 Who then shall presume to question any price we 
 may place upon the privilege of American citizen- 
 ship ? If any refuse it upon our own terms, we 
 have no need to dispose of it, let him stay where 
 he is. 
 
 Have not Americans a right to prescribe who shall 
 be admitted to partnership with them in such a pos- 
 session ? Congress, we are persuaded, should enact, 
 that no immigrant shall be admitted into the country, 
 except those of sound and strong physical and men- 
 tal health, of fair mental ability and intelligence, 
 of good moral character, probable ability of self- 
 support, and of becoming a good citizen. It is citi- 
 zens, not paupers, the country wants. Why shall 
 Europe make America its almshouse ? Certificates 
 of these facts, given, under proper regulations to 
 
52 PJilSONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 secure accuracy and avoid fraud, by the United 
 States Consul nearest the point of departure, should 
 be required upon entering the country. These should 
 be examined. and approved by the Commissioners of 
 Immigration, who should register them, with the 
 intended destination. The immigrant should be 
 required to register, and have his consular certificate 
 visM at the county ofifice, immediately upon his ar- 
 rival at his place of settlement, and whenever moving 
 from one county to another. 
 
 This will greatly simplify and prevent fraudulent 
 naturalization. Any fraud discovered in such certifi- 
 cate, or crime committed during the five years of 
 his naturalization, or his failure to properly qualify 
 himself within this period, should render him liable 
 to arrest, and return to his native place after expi- 
 ating his crime, if convicted. The examining judge 
 might be allowed discretion to extend the probation 
 an additional five years, if this should appear to be 
 just or desirable. The imperative qualifications 
 required for citizenship should be physical and men- 
 tal soundness ; ability of self-support, and to read 
 and speak English readily ; correct knowledge of, 
 and real belief in, the fundamental principles of our 
 government and institutions. All pestilent agita- 
 tors against law, order, and government should be 
 denied not only citizenship, but domicile, and be 
 returned whence they came. The importation of 
 low-grade contract labor should be prohibited, as it 
 is men who are wanted. A sufficient registration fee 
 should be exacted to defray the expenses of the reg- 
 ulation and- return of the rejected, and a capita,tiqj5 
 
UNRESTRICTED IMMIGRATION. 53 
 
 tax of ten dollars to insure good faith, offset foreign 
 aid, and cheapened cost of immigration, as well as to 
 protect native labor. An act embracing most of 
 these features has been introduced, I understand, 
 though I have not seen it, into the present Congress 
 by the commission appointed to examine this sub- 
 ject by President Harrison. It should be made to 
 include registration here also, for this is quite as im- 
 portant as the foreign certificate. The forms and 
 procedure of naturalization should be made more 
 impressive and thorough. The induction into citi- 
 zenship should be a grave judicial proceeding, in 
 which undue haste and fraud would be practically 
 impossible, instead of a mere ministerial perf unction. 
 
 Having restricted the foreign increment to proper 
 persons, the numbers attracted to our shores will 
 still continue so large, and of such a character as to 
 require intelligent, energetic, and general attention 
 and effort by our patriotic people to properly and 
 rapidly Americanize them. In the natural reaction 
 from the fierce fervor of patriotism aroused during 
 the civil war, there has been of late too great neglect, 
 even among our native population, of the ethics of 
 citizenship. It is to be feared that the rising generation 
 has far less veneration for, and loyalty to, American 
 institutions than its fathers. There is an imperative 
 need for a general revival in the instruction of the 
 people concerning the nature of our institutions, the 
 functions of our government, and the individual 
 responsibility and duty of loyal citizenship. 
 
 The things which have made us the grand nation 
 of the earth have been acquired at a tremendous 
 
54 PRISOMESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 cost, and we cannot afford to fritter them away 
 by neglect. 
 
 Much greater than restriction is the need for the 
 instruction of the alien. Associations for the study 
 and promotion of true Americanism ought to be 
 organized in all towns and cities, where little atten- 
 tion is now paid to this or to the emigrant, save by 
 the selfish politician with an eye for votes. Instruc- 
 tion in the use of the English language should have 
 the first place among the purposes of these associa- 
 tions. Knowledge of it must be insisted upon as the 
 prerequisite of citizenship. It is the language of 
 America, of our legislation, our literature, our press, 
 and of our schools, — the only medium of instruction 
 we employ. The settlement of foreigners in com- 
 munities retaining foreign tongues must be broken 
 up and discontinued. Newspapers, churches, schools, 
 or business conducted in foreign languages should 
 not be supported or encouraged. These associations 
 should have a care for the education of the new- 
 comers in the primary principles of political ethics, 
 without partisanship or sectarianism. They should 
 strive to kindle a spark of love for, and loyalty to, their 
 adopted country in the breast of all. Distinctive 
 societies of foreign nationalities, public processions 
 following foreign flags, are to be disapproved as 
 tending to sustain that loyalty to native land which 
 their members have forsworn and should forget, in 
 the new relations they have assumed. None but the 
 American flag should ever fly above any American 
 public building ; but there it should kiss the breeze 
 on all public occasions. 
 
UNRESTRICTED IMMIGRATION. 55 
 
 Equally with the English language and the suprem- 
 acy of the flag, we must insist that America is the 
 land of the Christian Bible and the Christian Sab- 
 bath. While we impose no religious tests either 
 upon immigrant or citizen ; while every one here en- 
 joys perfect freedom of conviction, and liberty to 
 worship or not to worship, according to his convic- 
 tions, whether Protestant, Romanist, Greek, Jew, 
 pagan, infidel, agnostic, atheist, or pantheist, yet 
 no man can be permitted to interfere with or change 
 this cardinal principle of our existence. With the 
 Bible in hand the Pilgrim fathers, first landed on 
 these shores ; with the Bible in hand the boundaries 
 of these States were fixed ; with the Bible in hand 
 our independence was achieved, and our form of 
 government established. With the Bible in hand 
 our officials are inducted into power, and under its 
 principles of common law are they held responsible. 
 With the Bible and with prayer, our schools 
 have hitherto trained our children. Upon Christ's 
 summary of the law and prophets, which demands 
 the love of God with all the heart, and the love of 
 our neighbor as ourselves, and upon the observance 
 of the Christian Sabbath as a day of rest and wor- 
 ship, our state is founded ; and upon these must our 
 system of legislation and polity be based. It is the 
 highest, the most imperative duty of the patriotic 
 American to prevent any sacrilegious hand from 
 disturbing these foundations upon which our great- 
 ness has been built. 
 
 As our public-school system is our main hope for 
 the future, and as an insidious, persistent, and in 
 
S6 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 many localities successful effort is being made, under 
 the cloak of a pretence of the inviolability of religious 
 belief and preference, to banish the Bible and Chris- 
 tianity from all our public schools, a determined 
 and immovable stand must be made, by every one 
 who loves his country, for their retention in our 
 educational system. Experience has abundantly 
 demonstrated that intelligence without morals, 
 religion, and patriotism contributes to the demoral- 
 ization of society, and therefore is an absolute danger 
 to the state, instead of a benefit. 
 
 The education of criminals renders them only more 
 skilful and successful in crime. So also our charita- 
 ble institutions, almshouses, reformatories, jails, and 
 penitentiaries, with three fifths of their inmates of 
 the foreign class, must be managed as Christian 
 institutions, designed for the cure and transforma- 
 tion of their inmates into good citizens, as well as 
 for the protection of the public, and their own 
 temporary maintenance. The Bible and the Sabbath 
 must continue their power and sway in them, with 
 potent but unsectarian influence. The associations 
 referred to above must make it their care to see that 
 this is done. 
 
 Another vital duty devolving upon the native 
 American and the Association is the preservation, 
 absolutely inviolate, of public appropriations from 
 sectarian objects. This is indeed prohibited in the 
 constitutions of twenty-one of our States, as well as 
 by the spirit and traditions of our general constitu- 
 tion, an amendment to which is now being urged to 
 make this positive. Large sums are annually secured 
 
UNRESTRICTED IMMIGRATION. 5/ 
 
 both from the National and State treasuries for sec- 
 tarian institutions, principally Romanist ; very worthy 
 and excellent in themselves, indeed, but obtained by 
 hidden plans of va:rious kinds in direct violation of 
 this fundamental principle of our government and 
 constitution. These attacks upon the public treasury 
 and welfare are increasing in strength and numbers 
 continually. In our own State they are disguised 
 and subtle as yet. In the National Congress they 
 have been secured more openly. In New York 
 during the legislative session of 1891, under the 
 guise of a " Freedom of Worship Bill," the assault 
 was made direct, and carried through the Assembly 
 without deliberation and with indecent haste by 
 the votes of members afraid, evidently, of offending 
 the foreign voter. The Democratic Legislature of 
 1892 has enacted a similar bill. This will compel 
 the support by general taxation of Roman Catholic 
 worship in every institution receiving State aid, if a 
 single inmate requires it ; thus imposing the religion 
 of about one tenth of the people upon the public in- 
 stitutions of a Protestant State and community. The 
 necessary result will doubtless be an increase of the 
 bitterness of religious differences ; the restriction of 
 admission to denominational institutions to those of 
 their own faith; a general scramble by all denomi- 
 nations for State aid; and the straining, if not 
 the destruction, of the principle of separation of 
 Church and State. 
 
 The competition of politics in the ambition for 
 preferment and success has, moreover, led nomi- 
 nees of all parties to truckle and pander to foreign 
 
58 PXISONEJiS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 prejudices and preferences, for the purpose of secur- 
 ing their suffrages, to the serious weakening of 
 even native defence of our national institutions. 
 If these questions are brought unequivocally and 
 plainly before the public attention, there can be 
 no doubt that the large majority will sustain adhe- 
 rence to them regardless of party lines or nomi- 
 nees. It is high time that every patriotic lover of 
 his country should array himself, in association with 
 his fellows, for the defence of American institutions 
 against the insidious and indirect assaults which are 
 being made upon them, or the very freedom of 
 political action, which has been our boast, will surely 
 become our destruction. 
 
 The necessity for organization has become so pal- 
 pable and pressing, that already two strong and 
 powerful national societies have been established to 
 meet the requirements of the times. These are "The 
 American Institute of Civics," and the " National 
 League for the Protection of American Institutions." 
 But to secure efficiency, branches of these ought to 
 be established in every considerable community; 
 supported and sustained by every intelligent and 
 faithful citizen, without regard to party. This seems 
 to us to be the only hopeful and rational way of pro- 
 tecting ourselves from the foreign overflow which is 
 pouring in upon us. 
 
 "^ Our very prosperity and success as a republic has 
 become an element of danger. That very pros- 
 perity has in itself become an attraction to the 
 inhabitants of other lands, who now come to us in- 
 cited by our wealth, rather than by that love of 
 
UNRESTRICTED IMMIGRATION. §9 
 
 freedom and religious liberty which actuated the 
 Pilgrim Fathers. In earlier times in the world's his- 
 tory, when national wealth excited the cupidity of 
 neighbors, the invasion was with an armed force and 
 open war; but these insidious millions cross our 
 borders now no more for our benefit than if they 
 came in war. Padrones and other agents collect and 
 import men to be farmed out for their own profit. 
 They will doubtless soon be contracting to supply 
 voters as cheaply as laborers. Foreign quarters are 
 established in our cities, where all the business of 
 their native lands is conducted in their native 
 tongues, and where their imported customs, religions, 
 and habits are preserved. In some of these quarters 
 a native American would hardly be safe after dark, 
 and even the missionaries of churches or of philan- 
 thropy seldom dare venture into them for their 
 redemption and naturalization. 
 
 Our cities are the weak spots in our social struc- 
 ture. If wholly American, their rapidly growing 
 number and size would constitute a perilous element 
 in our civilization, because the recent immigration 
 seems to concentrate in them. New York is said to 
 contain more Irish than any city in Ireland, and has 
 a population of 80 per cent, of foreign birth or 
 parentage. Chicago has more Teutons than any 
 German city except Berlin ; a population of 91 per 
 cent, of foreign birth or parentage. Some Western 
 towns and cities are entirely of foreign population 
 and customs. New Alarus, in Wisconsin, has been 
 a foreign town since 1845, and is now. There are 
 localities in our own State of Pennsylvania, where. 
 
6o PRISONERS AND PAUPERS.' 
 
 for more than a centurj', the German language and 
 the customs of Germany of one hundred years ago 
 prevail, and the English is an almost unknown tongue. 
 Large tracts of the public domain, of hundreds of thou- 
 sands of acres, are taken up by communities for the 
 express purpose of retaining their native customs and 
 religions. They come over here in vast numbers, seat 
 themselves, organize, and demand to be let alone to 
 enjoy the freedom guaranteed by a Constitution of 
 which they are entirely ignorant and which they 
 propose to ignore. Even here they claim the right to 
 retain their native language, and to organize their 
 churches, schools, and society in their native man- 
 ner, after their native traditions. We must insist, 
 with a vigor and resolution we have never yet exer- 
 cised, upon a thorough and complete Americanisa- 
 tion of all our people. 
 
 Next to these demands upon citizenship, the call 
 of the hour is to the Church. Indeed, the call upon 
 it is first and loudest ; for our citizenship is but the 
 result of a movement hither of those who desired 
 the establishment of the Christian institutions which 
 she embodies. Every branch of the Church must 
 recognize and respond to this call everywhere. May 
 not the Church add to its many beneficent branches 
 of Christian activity a plan to promote the true 
 naturalization as well as the conversion of foreign- 
 ers ? A general and enthusiastic movement by the 
 churches throughout the land, wisely directed, with 
 the co-operation of the various Home Missionary 
 Societies and Young Men's Christian Associations is 
 the most hopeful, and would surely be the most 
 
UNRESTRICTED IMMiGRATION. 6l 
 
 fruitful means of remedy to be applied to this 
 national disease. By them the great body of their 
 members may be enlisted in a most profitable and 
 efficient work, teaching our language, our cus- 
 toms, our Christianity, to those within their imme- 
 diate reach. The evil we have depicted is sure to 
 grow unless all these efforts are made for its suppres- 
 sion and cure. If they are made, it can certainly be 
 prevented from increase, and a material reduction be 
 effected in the number of our criminals and paupers. 
 The Roman Catholic Church- especially has a 
 grave responsibility in these respects resting upon it 
 in America. A very large proportion of our immi- 
 grants know no other religion. This church exer- 
 cises over its adherents an unquestioned power which 
 no other attempts. It has a unity of organization, 
 an experience of record for centuries, to guide it. 
 It has an accumulation of property and benevolent 
 institutions more wisely, perhaps more efficiently, 
 managed than any other Christian denomination. 
 But it has failed so far in all these years to identify 
 itself completely with America. It has never made 
 itself, as other Christian churches have, a distinctively 
 American institution, by a cordial adoption and loyal 
 support of those distinctive and fundamental princi- 
 ples of our government, the absolute separation and 
 independence of religion from politics, and the public- 
 school system, which are held as sacredly, and con- 
 sidered as essential to our continuous prosperity, as 
 the principle of perfect freedom of religious convic- 
 tions. Therefore as a church and organization it is 
 tolerated, but with apprehension. 
 
62 PHISONERS ANJO PA UPERS. 
 
 It not only has failed to merge into our system, 
 but it is very prone to exert its influence and power 
 contrary to our accepted principle of complete 
 divorcement of church and state. It interferes as 
 a church in political affairs, and in our elections, 
 as no other church ever presumes to do. Who- 
 ever, for instance, would think of voting for a politi- 
 cal nominee because he might be a Methodist, 
 Baptist, Episcopalian, or Presbyterian, as Catholics 
 do ? What leader or minister of any denomination 
 would expect to make a single vote by any order 
 or appeal to such a motive among his people? 
 Yet many a public office is filled, as all politicians 
 know, by the direct efforts of priests of the Catholic 
 Church. It is feared that this exertion of religious 
 influence to obtain political power is intended to se- 
 cure for sectarian objects appropriations from the 
 public treasury, and to procure the eventual aboli- 
 tion of the public schools, by banishing the Bible 
 and religious instruction from them, which appears 
 to be the universal result when they secure a suffi- 
 ciently strong representation on school boards, and 
 thus impairing their utility and destroying confidence 
 in them. 
 
 So long as the Romish Church permits itself here 
 to pass beyond the true province of a religious 
 institution, it will be regarded with jealousy and 
 alarm, and like any other church or organization 
 be properly subject to public criticism and appeal. 
 We appeal, therefore, to the wise and broad-minded 
 men at its head in America, to make this great and 
 otherwise beneficent organization a truly American 
 
REV. JOSEPH C. PRICE, D.D. PURE NEGRO. 
 
 cflESIDENT OF UVINGSTON COLLEGE, SALISBURY, N. C. 
 
 EXAMPLE OF THE RESULT OF NEGRO ELEVATION. 
 
UNRESTRICTED IMMIGRA TION. 63 
 
 institution, by a complete and evident withdrawal 
 from political ambitions and efforts. By a strong 
 and unselfish devotion of its magnificent machinery 
 to the salvation, elevation, and Americanization of 
 the foreign millions flocking to our shores, this Church 
 may do one of its best works for the race. 
 
 Its priests and sisters can accomplish more for the 
 church of their affection, more for the country, more 
 for Christ, than any other organization can possibly 
 effect among them, if they will but divest themselves 
 of this last vestige of foreign prejudice and obsolete 
 notion, as they have of much of their worldliness. 
 Let them join the rest of Christ's church in America 
 with an undivided and purely unselfish effort to make 
 good, honest Christian citizens of these immigrants, 
 as they already have ranged themselves beside them 
 for the Sabbath and temperance, and the battle will 
 be as good as won. It is because they are not a 
 purely American church in these respects, that their 
 hold grows feeble on the second generation. No 
 more convincing illustration of the necessity for this 
 change of policy is needed, than was afforded by the 
 virulent attack made upon the author, when this 
 chapter was first published in the Scranton Tribune, 
 by certain local politicians, hoping to make political 
 capital by pandering to foreign prejudice, in a com- 
 munity largely composed of recent immigrants of 
 the Roman Catholic faith. 
 
 About nine tenths of the American people cer- 
 tainly, who are not Catholic, are confirmed in their 
 faith in the beneficence of their institutions by the 
 glorious results of the first century's experience 
 
64 PXISO/fERS AND PA UPERS. 
 
 under them. They will never yield to so small £1 
 minority upon the questions of perfect independence 
 of Church and State, and the public education of the 
 young. These questions are entirely distinct from 
 all religious belief, and disconnected from spiritual 
 and ecclesiastical affairs. We are unable to discover 
 any sound and proper reason for the refusal of the 
 Catholic Church in America to completely Ameri- 
 canize itself by a cordial acceptance of these princi- 
 ples. It would, in our opinion, greatly strengthen 
 itself here by so marching, shoulder to shoulder, with 
 the rest of the people. 
 
 Extraordinary emergencies require extraordinary 
 effort. The tremendous tide of immigration now 
 sweeping in upon us, constituted largely of refrac- 
 tory elements with which we have hitherto had little 
 experience, appears to demand of all true lovers of 
 American government, whatever may be their diver- 
 sities of political and religious conviction, a vigilance, 
 an energy of patriotic service, an exercise of self- 
 sacrificing devotion to our country, never before 
 called for in times of peace. That eternal vigilance, 
 which is the price of liberty, cannot now be relaxed 
 for an instant without peril. The reduction of the 
 unnatural contribution of imported criminals and 
 paupers to our public burdens, important as this is 
 to our continued prosperity, is not the chief incen- 
 tive to our vigilance. We seem to be threatened 
 with a tidal wave of immigration which may shake 
 the very foundations of our government. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE NEGRO ELEMENT OF INCREASE. 
 
 Remarkable Disparity between the Proportion of Criminals and 
 Paupers from the Negro Race — Probable Causes: Social and 
 Political — Political Status of the Negro in America — Responsi- 
 bilities of the Government and People — Failure of the South to 
 Remedy the National Evil — Duty of National Government — 
 Importance of This in View of the Future Increase and Position 
 of the Race — Responsibilities of the White Citizen to the Negro 
 — Absurdity of the Prejudice on Account of Color — Necessities 
 of Education and Religion — Elevation or Repression. 
 
 Another distinct source of the excessive increase 
 of our criminals was stated to be our colored popula- 
 tion. Our population of African descent numbered 
 in 1890 7,470,040.' They constitute less than 13.51 
 per cent, of our total population ; yet they contrib- 
 ute one third of our convicts, though only 8.8 per 
 cent, of our paupers and a still smaller percentage 
 of our mutes and insane are found among them. 
 This statement is so anomalous and startling that it 
 demands careful investigation. It is very remarka- 
 ble that a certain well defined part of our people 
 shall produce both an abnormally large proportion 
 of criminals and an abnormally small proportion of 
 paupers supported at the public expense, — ^this, too, 
 
 * Census Bulletin No, igg. 
 5 65 
 
66 PJltSONEJlS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 notwithstanding it is well known that this fraction 
 possesses the least wealth, and indeed is almost uni- 
 versally recognized as very poor and improvident. 
 We would naturally expect, from the well-known con- 
 dition and characteristics of the colored race, an ex- 
 cess of pauperism rather than a reduction of it to 
 almost a minimum, especially when we find an undue 
 proportion of criminals among them. 
 
 How can these two contradictory abnormalities be 
 explained or reconciled ? The colored inmates of 
 Northern institutions for the indigent and defective 
 classes seem to receive the same consideration and 
 treatment from those in charge as the whites. 
 Nevertheless, it may be possible that those who 
 need aid, are deterred to some extent from apply- 
 ing for assistance to public charity by a fear that the 
 colored defective may be subjected to the additional 
 discomfort and annoyance which their experience in 
 life leads them to expect from the large number of 
 foreigners with whom they would be associated in 
 the public asylums and almshouses. This appre- 
 hension may induce the relatives and friends of 
 many, who, ordinarily among white people, would 
 be committed to a public institution, to make extra- 
 ordinary efforts to maintain their needy at home. 
 It is quite possible also that directors and oiificials 
 are less willing to receive colored applicants than 
 white, and to discriminate against them upon one 
 pretext or another. We have never heard of such 
 an instance, and merely give this as a supposition. 
 
 The mass of the colored people resides in the milder 
 latitudes of the land, where there is less hardship 
 
THE NEGRO ELEMENT OE INCREASE. 6j 
 
 in indigence, where nature provides more of the 
 actual necessities of existence. Here a less ex- 
 penditure of money and care is required to prevent 
 extremities of suffering than in the more rigorous 
 climate of the North. We may then assume that a 
 smaller number of the unfortunates would be com- 
 pelled to call upon the public for assistance. The 
 dire penury of the great majority of freed farm 
 laborers and plantation negroes is so narrowly 
 removed from pauperism that there is but slight sug- 
 gestion in their manner of living of any advantage 
 to be obtained from almshouse support. So even the 
 most abject accept their present lot as inevitable or 
 impossible of improvement. Provision for pauperism 
 in the South is, besides, less ample and systematic than 
 in the Northern States, hence the opportunity of be- 
 coming enrolled among the pauper class is greatly 
 diminished. Indeed there exists in the Southern 
 States generally no special provision for the poor 
 or defective members of society. The negro is re- 
 stricted, if not cut off, from the benefits of the few 
 institutions open to the white people which are 
 supported by taxation upon white and black alike. 
 Although his race constitutes the working class from 
 which the pauper and dependent are everywhere 
 mostly derived, he is left by the responsible white 
 people, with a shameful disregard of the example and 
 demands of our present Christian civilization and 
 even of Christian humanity, to shift for himself as 
 best he can. 
 
 Actual pauperism indeed is an inability to main- 
 tain life and health in a greater degree of comfort 
 
68 prisomMrs and paupers. 
 
 than can be obtained from alms. Tested by this 
 definition there probably is less pauperism among 
 the negroes of America, and probably also among 
 the negroes of Africa, the native land of the palm 
 and banana, than among the whites in highly civilized 
 countries with cultivated wants and impaired physical 
 and mental efficiency. These are the natural ex- 
 planations for this pauper anomaly. 
 
 As an element of the alarming increase of crimi- 
 nality in this country the colored race presents a 
 peculiar and more interesting study. It is quite 
 as important and threatening as the foreign element 
 which we have considered, and it will require quite 
 as thoughtful, strenuous, and general an effort for 
 the correction of the evil tendencies which now have 
 sway over it, although the initial obstacles to be 
 overcome are less, and the encouragement to success 
 much greater than with the immigrants. The most 
 difficult obstacle of all, that of a foreign language, in 
 the first place, will not be encountered with this 
 negro problem. They all understand and speak our 
 own tongue, though the proportion who read intelli- 
 gently is much smaller than of the native whites. 
 The census of 1880 returned only 8.7 per cent, of 
 our native white people of ten years old and upward 
 in the whole country as unable to write, twenty of 
 the Northern States having 3 per cent, and less. 
 Massachusetts has but 0.7 per cent., while fifteen 
 Southern States have over 10 per cent., and nine of 
 these over 20 per cent. Of colored persons ten 
 years old and upward 70 per cent, were unable to 
 write. Only 8.6 per cent, of colored children attended 
 
THE NEGRO ELEMENT OF INCREASE. 69 
 
 school during the year, and but 7.4 of the public 
 schools were for separate colored children. Their 
 ignorance deprives them of the advantages of the 
 educational and elevating influences derived from 
 our literature and periodical press. This induces 
 them to receive with avidity oral instruction, and 
 renders them especially susceptible to the influences 
 of oratory — stump, platform, or pulpit. This charac- 
 teristic, which opens to them indeed a wide avenue 
 of instruction, exposes them, on the other hand, to 
 the wiles and sophistries of the intriguer and politi- 
 cian, and makes them a ready prey for the designing. 
 They are consequently easily and frequently allured 
 into political and social movements, the inevitable 
 failure of which leaves them stranded in disappoint- 
 ment and helpless want, or inspired with a despera- 
 tion which leads to crime. 
 
 The inbred habits of life, confirmed by generations 
 of slavery, when all were the property of a master, in 
 common with his flocks and herds, his chickens and 
 his provender, have tended to utterly obliterate all 
 consciousness of meum and tuum. Especially is this 
 true in respect to right of property in the neces- 
 sities of life, which they are prone to convert to 
 their own uses in whosoever possession they may 
 temporarily be found. Petty thieving has involved 
 by far the largest number of them in the enumerated 
 criminal class. The serious annoyance to the prop- 
 erty owners by this general proclivity among them 
 has, moreover, rendered their white neighbors and 
 " justices " more strict and severe, in the enforce- 
 ment of legal penalities against them, than is custom- 
 
•JO PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 ary against the whites for similar offences. The 
 average sentence of penitentiary convicts in the 
 United States in 1890 is shown by the census to 
 have been for a native white, of native parentage, 
 5 years and 208 days, that of a colored convict 6 
 years and 183 days; the average penitentiary sen- 
 tence in Rhode Island being 2 years and 356 days, 
 and in Mississippi 12 years and 116 days. Those 
 sentenced for life in the North Atlantic and Central 
 group of States were 2.1 per cent, of the whole ; and 
 the life sentences in the South Atlantic and South 
 Central group were nearly 3.1 percent, of the whole. 
 2.97 per cent, of the sentences in the North Atlantic, 
 were for life and S-7I per cent, of those in the North 
 Central, while in the North Atlantic 7.86 per cent, 
 were for life, and in the South Central group, 9.78 
 were for life. Of all convicts serving sentences for 
 less than life, the native whites, of native parentage, 
 had 64,335 years to serve ; and the native colored, 
 86,359 years. In some of the Southern States the 
 sentences of colored convicts average nearly double 
 those of white convicts for the same crimes.' 
 
 Compelled often to steal or starve, and without 
 conscientious scruples to deter them, they fall into 
 the hands of those who know no mercy for the 
 negro, and being without either means or knowl- 
 edge with which to defend themselves, they are con- 
 victed, often on slight proof. They are frequently 
 condemned to prolonged companionship with hard- 
 ened criminals, in chain gangs and mine camps, 
 where their fellows take delight in completing their 
 
 ' Census Bulletin No. io6 
 
THE NEGRO ELEMENT OF INCREASE. f\ 
 
 destruction and making their enrolment in the 
 criminal class permanent. 
 
 Petty crimes, which among civilized white people 
 would not be serious in their consequences to the 
 perpetrator, almost universally in the South con- 
 demn the negro to the criminal class for life. So, 
 large numbers are held in durance for acts which 
 would not subject a white man even to arrest. No 
 hand is ever stretched out there to save him when 
 once he falls. Apparently no thought is practically 
 given to the reformation of any criminal there. 
 There are not even State institutions for their con- 
 finement, but the poor wretch convicted of crime is 
 leased out to the highest bidder for the profit of the 
 State. Convicts clean the streets chained together, 
 or work upon public improvements, or are marched 
 out surrounded by Winchester rifles, to make rail- 
 roads or work in mines, to live in huts upon scanty 
 rations. 
 
 It would seem to be futile to condemn a system 
 which has been so often branded as a " blot upon 
 civilization," and which is so dreadfully repugnant 
 to the common sentiment of humanity, as is the 
 " convict lease system " prevailing in the South. 
 The majorities of Southern Legislatures insist upon 
 retaining it, contrary as it is to all the principles of 
 modern, intelligent penology and sociology. In- 
 spired by the inordinate and short-sighted economy 
 of first cost, it is wholly destructive of hope for the 
 convict, obstructive of the purpose of legal correc- 
 tion of crime, attended with the brutality and inhu- 
 manity of the Middle Ages, and cruelty worse than 
 
72 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 Siberian or Algerine administration developes. It is 
 a national stigma and reproach more disgraceful and 
 humiliating than any the world has yet charged upon 
 Russia or Turkey. 
 
 Our national honor and reputation are involved 
 in the removal of this curse, this legalized crime, 
 from among our institutions. Our rank and position 
 among civilized nations, and the credit of these benefi- 
 cent American institutions, which we claim to be 
 the most favorable to human progress, are at stake 
 in this matter. That our criminal statistics reveal 
 an augment of crime of such an amount, from so 
 barbarous a source, compromises and conflicts with 
 all our patriotic boasts. No successful effort for the 
 diminution of the criminal class is possible, while 
 such a system is tolerated. No civilized nation in 
 the wide world of Christendom so utterly ignores 
 the primary principles of penology in the manage- 
 ment of its convicts, and in its neglect of reformatory 
 measures, as do these States of the South. Their 
 lack of system degrades white and black alike, as 
 did the slavery of which it is the relic and conse- 
 quence. 
 
 The savage code of slavery still prevails there, in a 
 swift and summary visitation of capital punishment, 
 without trial often, for crimes against the person, so 
 that small increment comes from this source. The 
 main augmentation of criminality is from crimes 
 against property; the severe sentences imposed 
 upon youthful transgressors, who for slight and 
 perhaps first faults are condemned to long associa- 
 tion with the depraved and vicious ; the entire lack 
 
THE NEGRO ELEMENT OF INCREASE. 73 
 
 of reformatories for youth ; and a prevalent disposi- 
 tion in Southern society to recruit their criminal 
 gangs for the profit of the State, as they ignorantly 
 imagine. To these also must be added another 
 motive, which, horrible as it may seem, contributes 
 to a material extent in this direction. That is, the 
 practice of instigating the arrest and conviction of 
 persons who become politically obnoxious or hostile 
 to the ruling class, in order to deprive them of their 
 voting power. No one will be found willing to ad- 
 mit the truth of this charge. It is too gross to find 
 a defender. But we are assured by intelligent col- 
 ored men of the South, that negroes are frequently 
 made convicts to nullify their right of suffrage. 
 
 The slaveholder's code in regard to the marriage 
 relation between slaves, which recognized little 
 more of sacredness in it than in the breeding of their 
 brute stock, has left a pernicious and baneful influ- 
 ence on the colored race in America, which is 
 the prolific source of many evils. With strong ani- 
 malism by nature and cultivation, without much 
 knowledge or experience of virtue and continence, 
 and little moral restraint of conscience among the 
 lower classes of them, sexual sins, v/ith all their 
 deplorable consequences, become common. The 
 responsibilities of parentage are but slightly recog- 
 nized from a sense of duty, although the parental 
 affection is naturally strong in their breasts. Neither 
 their own public sentiment, nor the interference of 
 the whites, operates to restrain the largest license 
 to lust, which contributes its full quota to their 
 criminal clciss. 
 
74 PRISONERS AND PA UP ESS. 
 
 They are also particularly addicted to intemper- 
 ate indulgence in the use of intoxicants, by nature 
 and habit, on account of their poverty and the 
 paucity of their connforts and enjoyments. Licen- 
 tiousness and intemperance, the two great and pro- 
 lific causes of criminality among any people, prevail 
 to an unusual and prominent extent in producing the 
 abnormal results which we are considering. 
 
 A public sentiment must be aroused in the South 
 which will exert itself to remedy these evils. It 
 would seem to be wise to set about the matter in 
 an intelligent way. The initiative should be taken 
 by the State Legislatures. The country has waited 
 patiently for twenty years in vain for a movement to 
 ameliorate these dangerous conditions. The colored 
 race is here to stay. In fifty years, increasing with 
 the rate of the last decade, which was 13.5 1 per cent., 
 they will number fourteen millions in the land. Legis- 
 lators if possible must be made to understand, and 
 act upon the understanding, without further delay, 
 that the highest interests of the State and the safety 
 of our social organization are only to be promoted 
 and secured by wise measures calculated to elevate 
 society, diminish crime, and reduce the numbers of 
 the criminal class ; but that it is foolish statesman- 
 , ship and false economy to endeavor to reduce the 
 present cost of maintaining prisoners at the expense 
 of these primary and essential objects. Neither 
 their own interests nor the national welfare can 
 allow these Southern States to continue to operate 
 their present criminal manufactories, which turn out 
 one third of all the criminals in the country. If 
 
THE NEGRO ELEMENT OF INCREASE. 75 
 
 they are too blind or ignorant to see and act of their 
 own volition, a sufficient pressure of public sentiment 
 from the North must be brought to bear upon them 
 to induce suitable action. 
 
 So also regarding the terrible incubus of ignorance, 
 which the South permits to drag upon the wheels 
 of our national progress, it must be made to take 
 speedy action. We cannot wait longer in safety. 
 What they have done so far was so plainly and 
 forcibly stated by George W. Cable in his discussion 
 of the " Negro Question," that I venture to quote 
 it here. His figures are deduced from the report of 
 the United States Commissioner of Education for 
 I 883-1 884: 
 
 "... A century of public education has helped to make Massa- 
 chusetts so rich that she is able to spend annually $20 per head upon 
 the children in her public schools, while Mississippi, levying a 
 heavier tax, spends upon hers but $2 per head. . . . The public- 
 school property of Ohio, whose population is one million, is over 
 twice as great as that of ten States of the new South, whose popula- 
 tion is three times as large. . . . With one third more wealth than 
 Virginia, and but one tenth of the illiteracy, Iowa spends four times 
 as much per year for public instruction. With one fourth less wealth 
 than Alabama, and but one fourteenth the percentage of illiteracy, 
 Nebraska spends three and one half times more per year for public 
 instruction. With about the same wealth as North Carolina and less 
 than one eighth the percentage of illiteracy, Kansas spends over five 
 times as much for public education. Dakota makes an expenditure 
 in the year per capita on average attendance in the public schools of 
 $2;. 77, being more than the sum of the like per capita expenditures 
 by Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, Alabama, 
 and Georgia combined. 
 
 " . . . -^Vs to comparative wealth, the taxable wealth of Dakota 
 in 1880, at least, was but one two-thousandth part of that of the six 
 States with which it is compared." 
 
^6 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 Some effective compulsion of public opinion must 
 be applied ; or, if that is impracticable, the national 
 government must again intervene. There is no pos- 
 sibility of healing this national sore without the 
 primary tonic of education. 
 
 The political position of the negro on this conti- 
 nent is entirely different from that of any other 
 citizen of the United States ; and it devolves upon 
 the white people grave and imperative duties. 
 Unlike all other inhabitants of our country, the 
 negro was transplanted to our soil against his will. 
 These people are not responsible for being here. 
 Their immigration was forced and cruel to a degree 
 which long since incurred the universal condemna- 
 tion of all Christendom ; and it was stopped by the 
 international mandate of humanity. For two hun- 
 dred and sixty years the negro lived and increased 
 here in the enforced ignorance and savage degrada- 
 tion of slavery, until this wrong and outrage became 
 so intolerable to our advancing civilization, that the 
 nation was willing to expend the blood of half a 
 million of men and over three billion dollars as the 
 price of their freedom. Suddenly transformed by 
 this act from slaves to citizens, without its volition 
 or effective demand, without preparation or the im- 
 position of any test of fitness, it would seem to be self- 
 evident, from the mere statement of these facts, that 
 the whole race is, in the fullest sense, the dependent 
 ward of the nation, and must continue to be so con- 
 sidered and treated, until it shall rise in all respects to 
 a level of equality with its white fellow-citizens, and 
 at least have a fair show in the competitions of life. 
 
REV. C. N. GRANDISON, D.D, PURE NEGRO. 
 
 PRESIDENT OF BENNETT COLLEGE, GREENSBORO, N. C. 
 EXAMPLE OF THE RESULT OF NEGRO ELEVATION. 
 
THE NEGRO ELEMENT OF INCREASE. TJ 
 
 Its numbers are so great as to preclude the 
 possibility of their return to Africa, even if this 
 were desired either by them or by ourselves. But 
 it is not desired by either. It would be contrary to 
 public policy, if it were desired and possible. We 
 cannot spare their labor or help. Their generations 
 of nativity here have engendered in their natures 
 the same love of our country, the same loyalty to our 
 institutions, the same patriotism, as white citizens 
 possess. Their language and religion are our lan- 
 guage and religion ; they are in every political sense 
 as much a part of the American people as any one is, 
 as essential to, and identical with, the nation, as the 
 whites. Poor and despised, weak and submissive as 
 they still are, they constitute in numbers and useful- 
 ness a very important part of the commonwealth, 
 which must remain with us ; and, while preserving 
 its race distinction of color, continue to increase in 
 numbers, wealth, intelligence, influence, and power. 
 The problem which this indisputable fact presents 
 is one of the most serious and difficult presented by 
 our social condition to the statesman and philan- 
 thropist of the present day. Its wise solution must 
 include the solution of the question we have before 
 us here. 
 
 While our government is not founded upon the 
 parental model, and our public sentiment is wisely 
 opposed to conferring upon it parental functions as 
 concerning the people in general, the inexorable 
 facts and logic of its past relations to the colored 
 race have incontestably installed it in loco parentis 
 over this portion of our people, which through its 
 
78 FJiTSONEXS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 acts have come into our life and family in the con- 
 dition of children. It is then the duty of the 
 national government, representing the national 
 authors of their being as citizens on this continent, 
 and because of their helplessness, to protect them 
 in the enjoyment of equal public and political privi- 
 leges and rights with the rest of the family. It is 
 clearly a national duty to secure them from injury, 
 or imposition by those with whom they have been 
 brought into association ; to care for their proper 
 subsistence and education, until, as a race, they 
 arrive at a condition of self-supporting maturity, 
 and are able to make their own way in the struggle 
 of life, without handicap or disadvantage on account 
 of the accident of political birth or minority ; until, 
 in short, they have a fair field and need no favor. 
 We may as well recognize the fact first as last, — ^that 
 the colored man is an integral part of our nation ; 
 that he is destined to remain a member of our 
 national family, without the assimilation and obliter- 
 ation which follow the additions we receive from 
 other races by intermarriage and absorption. 
 
 The sooner he is fitted for the fullest enjoyment 
 of all the privileges of equality, political and social, 
 the sooner all causes of family dislike, quarrel, dis- 
 turbance, or hatred will be removed. His color 
 alone constitutes no reason for dislike, and has in- 
 herently no element of repugnance. Colored and 
 white children associate as intimately and affection- 
 ately as those of the same color. Colored and white 
 men and women of equal education and similar 
 tastes mingle without constraint, in one another's 
 
TtlE NEGRO ELEMENT OP INCREASE. 79 
 
 society and may be mutually agreeable. No white 
 gentleman or lady, except in the South, hesitates to 
 associate with a West Indian or South American or 
 negro gentleman or lady of congenial nature, not' 
 even as little as a white laborer dislikes to work 
 alongside of a jolly, laughing, singing negro. Even 
 as slaves the colored nurses and family servants 
 were regarded and loved as affectionately by the 
 master's family as if they had been white, probably 
 more so. 
 
 The very essence and purpose of this government 
 " of the people, by the people, for the people," is the 
 widest and most general diffusion of intelligence, 
 prosperity, and happiness. Only in proportion as it 
 secures this for every citizen is our system success- 
 ful and worthy of loyalty ; and from whatever direc- 
 tion it fails in this there is a reflux of danger 
 involving its perpetuity, and even the destruction 
 of the blessings it bestows upon humanity, and its 
 hopes of the future. It is impossible that the equal 
 rights of seven and a half millions of its citizens 
 should be longer denied them with impunity or 
 without real danger. 
 
 The South has claimed the right to deal with this 
 question in its own way. We left the solution to 
 the Southern people, and they have demonstrated 
 their determination to continue the policy of repres- 
 sion, instead of adopting the national plan of eleva- 
 tion. In the years during which they have controlled 
 and shaped legislation concerning the negro race 
 they have succeeded in reducing the problem to its 
 original simplicity. A ruling white minority, possess- 
 
8o PRISONERS AND PA UPERS. 
 
 ing the wealth, stands over a black majority which 
 is paid for their labor actually less than the fairly 
 comfortable subsistence which they received when 
 slaves ; and denies to them every right of equality ; 
 except the simple name of citizen. This is as hostile 
 to true Americanism as was slavery. It has become 
 so palpable, atrocious, and pregnant a national peril, 
 as to require national intervention. The natural law 
 of self-perservation, to which we appealed in the 
 destruction of slavery, as superior to all other law, 
 demands the securing of equal, complete, and perfect 
 liberty to every colored citizen in the country ; and 
 a sensible political economy requires that these seven 
 and. a half millions, valuable and even indispensable 
 as they now are, should be enabled to add as great 
 an increment to the national prosperity and power 
 as they would if they were equal in education and 
 wealth to the same number of whites. 
 
 Congress must then enforce, by suitable legisla- 
 tion, the protection of the colored race in the enjoy- 
 ment of the rights it has conferred upon it, in the 
 face of the world ; the rights " of life, liberty, and 
 the pursuit of happiness," with equal freedom to 
 that enjoyed by the white citizen. As this race has 
 received the right of suffrage without conditions, 
 Congress must provide security for the fullest exer- 
 cise of it. Above all must arrangements be made to 
 afford colored children the amplest benefits of that 
 common-school education which is generally admitted 
 to be the fundamental essential of national security, 
 and of the permanence of American institutions. 
 Neither taxation of their own industry, nor the 
 
HON. JOHN H. SMYTH. PURE NEGRO. 
 
 , U. S. MINISTER, ETC., ETC., WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 EXAMPLE OF THE RESULT OF NEGRO ELEVATION. 
 
THE NEGRO ELEMENT OF TNCREASE. 8 1 
 
 benevolence of the North, is adequate to meet the 
 needs of these emergent millions. Though the 
 latter has been severely strained in the effort for 
 many years, and has provided education for more 
 than seventeen thousand pupils and supplied more 
 than sixteen thousand teachers for colored schools, 
 this charity has clearly proved its inadequacy. Our 
 national representatives have at last apparently 
 reached a consciousness of the necessity of expend- 
 ing somewhat of our treasury surplus upon fortifica- 
 tions against foreign foes ; but the defence of the 
 national integrity and public health, against the 
 insidious and far more threatening dangers to which 
 they are exposed by the growth and expansion of 
 the colored race in ignorance in our midst, has as 
 yet made little impression upon them. 
 
 A few millions of the duties received in the protec- 
 tion of American industries could be annually ex- 
 pended in the protection of American industry, by 
 the elevation of the negro to a higher plane of com- 
 petition and productiveness as a citizen, without 
 injustice to any, and with the highest advantage to 
 all. This would be done, too, in the discharge of 
 what must be acknowledged as a national obligation, 
 and as some part of the compensation in justice due 
 for the unrequited wrongs of the past. 
 
 It is of the utmost importance also that legislation 
 in the North should be directed toward the encour- 
 agement and assistance of the colored race in reaching 
 a condition of intelligence and comfortable self-sup- 
 port. They are destined to be the farmers and pro- 
 ducers of the South. They must become the owners 
 
§2 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 of the agricultural lands, the yeomen of the tropics, 
 the peers in wealth and independence of the farmers 
 of the North and West. As such they will become, 
 much more quickly and much easier, an element of 
 strength, wealth, and glory to the State, than is pos- 
 sible for immigrants from a foreign land. In the 
 independence and honest patriotism of its agricul- 
 tural population is the strength and power of any 
 people. If the colored man is made contented upon 
 his farm, he will be much more willing to remain on 
 it, and to avoid the town and city, than the white 
 man appears to be. Schools and colleges must be 
 multiplied for their children, until the percentage of 
 their illiteracy is reduced to a minimum ; and the 
 cheap education of the press and all the wonderful 
 dissemination of knowledge which that affords shall 
 be opened up to them. 
 
 Penitentiaries and reformatories must take the 
 place of the chain-gang and lease-system. And these 
 must be managed according to the principles of 
 modern penology, to reduce the criminal element by 
 reformation, as in the North. Humanitarian insti- 
 tutions for the care and diminution of pauperism 
 must be organized. White society all over the 
 country has the responsibility resting upon it of in- 
 sisting upon these reforms ; and in the North, of 
 educating the ruling whites of the South to the con- 
 sciousness of their real duties in these respects. The 
 pulpit and press, patriotic and philanthropic citizens 
 everywhere, must impress this responsibility upon 
 the people continually. Their first effort must be 
 made toward the effacement from the general con- 
 
THE l^EGRO ELEMENT OP INCREASE. S3 
 
 Sciousness of all prejudice on account of the acci- 
 dent of color. It is unnatural and absurd in itself, 
 a relic of slavery unworthy of true manhood, an 
 ofTence against humanity which is hostile to national 
 welfare, and an insult to the Creator. This arroga- 
 tion to one's self of superiority on account of race 
 hinders the acquirement of that self-respect by the 
 negro which is the foundation of nobility of charac- 
 ter, is contrary to the spirit of our institutions, and 
 falsifies our boasted assertion of complete freedom 
 for development in our country. Where brains, in- 
 telligence, and personal ability are the only recog- 
 nized titles to social rank and preferment, distinctions 
 of birth and race can have no logical or rightful 
 place. Let society be taught to ignore them, as 
 regards the negro, as a patriotic duty. Let every 
 colored man be treated, everywhere in public and in 
 private, exactly as if he were white; according to his 
 deserts as an individual, his merits as a man. 
 
 But the white people of this country owe the negro 
 more even than this. By the immutable law of just 
 compensation they are compelled to make good to 
 him the value of two hundred and sixty years of 
 unpaid service, in special effort to restore to him the 
 lost advantages of two hundred and sixty years of 
 civilization. 
 
 In whatever the colored race are behind the 
 white, in religion, morals, education, prosperity, and 
 charitable institutions, the obligation rests upon the 
 latter, who have enjoyed them in a higher degree, 
 to contribute from their accumulations until both 
 share alike in these blessings, and an equilibrium is 
 
84 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 established. The social equality which is necessary 
 is impossible while the present disparity continues. 
 Not only the national and state governments must 
 discharge their, duty, but the wealthy and benevo- 
 lent whites, North and South, will have to sustain 
 more liberally the beneficent institutions already 
 founded for the education and amelioration of the 
 negro race — such as Lincoln University, Biddle Uni- 
 versity, and the Hampton Institute, and hasten to 
 provide ample means for the training of teachers and 
 preachers sufficient for the whole race. The situa- 
 tion IS so grave that it will require the united efforts 
 of all to alleviate it. The common-school education 
 must be provided from public funds. The benevo- 
 lent care for the needy and defective must be en- 
 larged, the services of the philanthropic redoubled, 
 to work the elevation and reformation of the de- 
 graded and criminal. But all these must be supple- 
 mental to the necessary legislation. 
 
 The Christian Church ought to devote an increased 
 zeal and multiplied agencies to instil into the recep- 
 tive natures of the negro race the salutary and cor- 
 rective principles of our national religion in their 
 fulness and purity. 
 
 The Christian Church has a double obligation 
 toward the colored people on this continent. For, 
 as to them, there is added to the duty of salvation 
 for Christ, the necessity of christianization for the 
 sake of the State and civilization. Missionary enter- 
 prises must be greatly increased among the freedmen. 
 Religious as they are by nature, for the lack of edu- 
 cated direction their faith and belief are mostly 
 
THE NEGRO ELEMENT OF INCREASE. 8$ 
 
 exercised in transient emotion, and to a large extent 
 are without fruitful development in improved and 
 benefited life. Whatever other doors are open in 
 these days for Christian effort toward the work 
 among the colored people of America, every instinct 
 and motive of Christianity, hopefulness, philanthropy, 
 and patriotism call with a voice that must not and 
 can not be ignored. 
 
 If adequate remedies are thus applied to this 
 third part of the national disease, there is every rea- 
 son to expect, and no room to doubt, that the pro- 
 portion of criminality among the colored population 
 will soon be reduced to a parity with that of the 
 native whites. Such a reduction, upon the basis 
 accepted in the estimates of sociologists, that every 
 individual reduction in the number of criminals is 
 equivalent to a saving of two thousand dollars in 
 public expense, would be worth to the country in 
 the neighborhood of forty million dollars, and a large 
 portion of this annually. 
 
 ■We have considered the colored element chiefly 
 in its relation to our criminal statistics. " The 
 Negro Question " is the momentous one of our 
 national politics. It has well been termed "the 
 running sore of our body politic," sapping more and 
 more the very fountain of its strength and vitality. 
 But it is not our province to discuss it in general 
 here. Those who are interested in a fuller study of 
 the whole subject, we refer to the thoughtful, tem- 
 perate, and masterly treatise of George W. Cable, 
 published last year, entitled The Negro Question, and 
 to the able representation of what the author as- 
 
86 PHISONEHS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 sumed to be the correct Southern side of the ques- 
 tion, made by the late Hon. H. W. Grady, in the 
 Century for April, 1885, entitled In Plain Black and 
 White. It must be evident to all, that the differences 
 of the two sections of the country upon this subject 
 are fundamental and irreconcilable. They are as 
 incapable of harmonization and adjustment as they 
 were before the war. The whole administration of 
 the South upon it proceeds upon the false and un- 
 American idea of a servile class, to be maintained in 
 a condition of suppression ; an idea which the welfare 
 of our institutions, society, and government cannot 
 tolerate, and must, in some way, totally eradicate, 
 abolish, and extinguish. The American people, this 
 nation, and its free government are irrevocably 
 pledged and devoted to human progress, elevation, 
 and civilization, without regard to tribe or tongue, 
 sex or color, or any previous condition of nativity, 
 servitude, or intelligence. Let this national adjura- 
 tion enforce the reclamation of the race which it has 
 made free men : for their sake, if it will ; for its own 
 sake, if it must. 
 
 The negro question is in no sense a question, as 
 most Southern and many Northern people seem to 
 think, whether the whole negro population of the 
 country can be soon, or at all, so elevated that all of 
 them will be capable and fitted for legislators. Con- 
 gressmen, and rulers. This is no more to be expected 
 in regard to the negro than the white race. We 
 select all our public officials from a class composed 
 of about one tenth of our numbers, while nine tenths 
 live upon daily wages. The question which is urgent 
 
THE NEGRd ELEMENT OF INCREASE. S7 
 
 and imperative is this : Shall this eighth of our sixty 
 millions be iitted by education and privileges to make 
 their fair and equal contribution to public prosperity, 
 and receive a fair and equal share of its enjoyments 
 with the other seven eighths ? or shall a small minor- 
 ity in the Southern States be permitted to rob the 
 country of this contribution, and the race of these 
 enjoyments, for its own selfish, private profit, by con- 
 tinuing to repress, or neglecting to elevate them? 
 What answer is to be made ? 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE URBAN POPULATION AS A SOURCE OF 
 INCREASE. 
 
 Contribution of the Urban Population Compared with That of the 
 Rural — Rapid Growth of Urban Population — The Problem — Its 
 Social Factors in the Three Classes of City Society — Inter- 
 ference with Family Life — Contamination of Children — Neglect 
 of Domestic Duties — Dangers to Youth, of Tenement Life, of 
 the Consolidated Business Systems, of Sabbath Desecration, of 
 Gambling, of Club Life — Evils of Institutional Benevolence. 
 
 The streams of vice and poverty which spring 
 from the three sources to which we have traced 
 them, the native whites, the native colored, and the 
 foreign immigration, flow alike and are augmented 
 alike in their course through the mire and bogs of 
 intemperance, and through the dense population of 
 cities, whose sewage they take up. Intemperance 
 is indicted as the cause of more than 75 per cent, 
 of the crimes committed, while our cities supply 
 about 90 per cent, of the criminals in our public 
 institutions. It may be both interesting and useful 
 then, to consider the effect of intemperance and of 
 urban life upon public morals ; to measure them as 
 accurately as possible ; to investigate and analyze 
 them, and discover if we can, some means to correct, 
 check, and diminish these contributions to crime and 
 poverty; not only for the sake of reducing the 
 
 88 
 
INCREASE FROM URBAN POPULATION. 
 
 89 
 
 public cost and burden of taxation, but far more, 
 for the benefit of society and the good of mankind. 
 We will confine our attention first to the urban 
 population. The group of States called in the 
 United States Census the North Atlantic Division 
 afford the most accurate returns of their criminal 
 population, and exemplify the most advanced treat- 
 ment of it. These States have been the longest 
 settled of any, and contain the largest proportion 
 of cities. We have arranged the following table to 
 show the relation between criminality and urban 
 population there. The numbers denominated crimi- 
 nals include the inmates of penitentiaries, jails, and 
 reformatories returned in the Bulletins of the Census 
 of i8go. The percentage tabulated is that of cities of 
 ten thousand inhabitants and over, of the total popu- 
 lation of the several States ; the number of such cities 
 also being given and the total number of criminals : 
 
 PERCENTAGE OF URBAN POPULATION AND CRIMINALS 
 IN CERTAIN STATES.' 
 
 • 
 
 Number 
 
 of 
 
 cities. 
 
 Percentage 
 
 of urban 
 
 population 
 
 to total. 
 
 One crimi- 
 nal to 
 
 every 
 
 Total 
 criminals. 
 
 The United States 
 
 345 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 33 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 32 
 
 37 
 
 I 
 
 27.6 
 7.6 
 17.1 
 24-7 
 39-1 
 41.8 
 
 51- 
 57.6 
 57.8 
 66. 
 100. 
 
 786.5 
 1605. 
 1031.3 
 
 II37-5 
 929. 
 
 454- 
 4S9. 
 556. 
 455- 
 703. 
 548. 
 
 79,617 
 
 207 
 
 641 
 
 331 
 
 5,659 
 
 1,641 
 
 2,948 
 
 621 
 
 13,159 
 
 3,182 
 
 370 
 
 Maine 
 
 New Hampshire 
 
 Pennqdvania 
 
 Connecticut. ... ..... 
 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 District of Columbia. . 
 
 ' Collated from the Bulletin of the Eleventh Census. 
 
00 PiilSONERS AlfD PAUPERS. 
 
 This table is, of course, rather indicative than 
 absolute in regard to the relation which exists be* 
 tween crime and urban life. However, enough is 
 apparent to justify closer examination. In general, 
 and notwithstanding disturbing elements, it will be 
 observed that the States with more than the average 
 of urban population have more than the average of 
 criminals. Also that the distinctively rural popula- 
 tions of Verniont, Maine, and New Hampshire have 
 the smallest averages. 
 
 The report of the Board of Public Charities of the 
 State of Pennsylvania, however, affords us an oppor- 
 tunity for a closer examination. The total number 
 of inmates of the penitentiaries, jails, and reforma- 
 tories on September 30, 1890, is there shown to 
 have been 7,320, or one in 718.2 of the population 
 of the State. Of these the city and county of 
 Philadelphia supplied 3,200, or one to every 327 
 of its population ; more than twice the general 
 average of the State. If now we eliminate from the 
 record the counties of Allegheny, Berks, Bucks, 
 Cambria, Carbon, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Forest, 
 Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, 
 Montgomery, Montour, Northampton, Northum- 
 berland, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Venango, West- 
 moreland, and York, twenty-three in all, as containing 
 the principal cities and towns, and on account 
 of incomplete returns, the remaining forty-eight 
 counties of the State have a population of 1,673,556 
 of a distinctively rural character. These counties 
 are charged with furnishing 401 convicts, and 291 in- 
 mates of reformatories on September 30, 1890, a total 
 of 692 ; which is but one in 2,418 of their population. 
 
INCREASE PROM VkBAN POPULATION. 
 
 9i 
 
 The county of Allegheny, where are the cities of 
 Pittsburg and Allegheny, with a joint population of 
 343,440 out of 551,959 in the county, largely made 
 up by mining and manufacturing towns, supplies 2,023 
 of the criminal population of the same date, or one in 
 272.7 of its population. This is nearly three times the 
 average of the State. Philadelphia furnishes about 
 seven and a half times, and Allegheny nearly nine times 
 as many criminals as the average of the rural counties. 
 
 A similar condition exists in regard to pauperism. 
 
 COMPARATIVE STATISTICS OF PAUPERISM BY RURAL AND 
 URBAN COUNTIES AND THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA.' 
 
 
 .2" 
 
 ^.2 
 
 "1 
 
 
 ^1 
 
 3 e 
 
 
 5,258,041 
 
 9,026 
 
 20,858 
 
 4,826 
 
 606 
 
 800 
 
 74 
 561 
 
 3,301 
 183 
 
 1,046,964 
 2,877 
 
 16,913 
 
 1,406 
 
 108 
 
 90 
 
 12 
 
 75 
 
 2,271 
 97 
 
 551.959 
 719 
 
 592 
 
 352 
 
 86 
 
 II 
 
 5 
 
 31 
 
 551 
 23 
 
 1.673.556 
 2.075 
 
 5,26s 
 
 2.427 
 
 159 
 
 58 
 
 37 
 
 291 
 
 30 
 19 
 
 Inmates of almshouses... 
 
 Inmates of homes, asylums, 
 and other charitable in- 
 stitutions, and receiving 
 temoorarv aid 
 
 
 Indigent deaf and dumb. 
 Institutions for feeble minds 
 
 Other institutions 
 
 Homes and private families 
 
 Average daily occupants of 
 
 hosoital beds 
 
 Institutions reporting. 
 
 Totals 
 
 40,052 
 ■ 759 
 
 23.752 
 2.268 
 
 2,347 
 ■425 
 
 10.342 
 .618 
 
 Percentage of population. . 
 
 The above table, collated from the same report, 
 shows the relative proportion of paupers maintained 
 
 'Collited from the Report of the Board of Public CJiaritits for j8go. 
 
92 PSISOI^rERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 at public expense in the State of Pennsylvania, 
 also in the counties of Philadelphia and Allegheny 
 and the rural counties specified above, on September 
 30, 1890, with the number receiving temporary relief 
 during the year. 
 
 This table is not complete as to all institutions, as 
 some failed to report. Also no " temporary relief " 
 is intended for Allegheny County. This is an item 
 of several thousand in Philadelphia, and of 4,630 in 
 the rural counties. If bestowed, it would doubtless 
 increase the percentage of Allegheny considerably. 
 The city and county of Philadelphia had three times 
 the average of paupers in the State, and the rural 
 counties .141 of i per cent, less than the average. 
 If we omit the number afforded "temporary relief " 
 in the rural counties as not actually paupers, and be- 
 cause this relief in the country is generally unwisely 
 afforded, the paupers of the rural counties are only 
 .341 of I per cent, of their population, only one 
 seventh the percentage of Philadelphia. These com- 
 parisons are cited as definite illustrations of our 
 assertion, which will not be contradicted by any one 
 conversant with the facts — that the strictly urban 
 population of our country furnishes about 90 per 
 cent, of the criminals and 75 per cent, of its paupers. 
 
 Not only this, but the urban population is in- 
 creasing with great rapidity. As the civilization of 
 humanity advances, the social instinct seems to grow 
 in intensity. Cultivation, education, refinement, and 
 wealth so increase the wants and desires of mankind 
 that it is both driven by a force like crystallization 
 and drawn as by magnetism to focal centres, which 
 
I If CREASE FROM URBAN POPULATION. 93 
 
 will swell and expand in a geometrical progression. 
 The activities, competitions, conveniences, luxuries, 
 opportunities, and excitements of city life attract 
 high and low alike. When our government was 
 established a century ago, its first census showed 
 only 3.3 per cent, of the inhabitants of the country 
 living in cities of 8,000 and over; in 1850 this per- 
 centage had increased to 12.5 ; in 1880 to 22.5 ; and 
 now, in 1890, cities of 10,000 and over contain 27.6 
 of our population. During the last decade our urban 
 population in cities of 10,000 and over, now number- 
 ing 345, has increased 41.37 per cent, in number of 
 cities and 60.57 per cent, in number of people. This 
 approximates in the increase of population the 80 
 per cent, increase of criminals in the country. The 
 North-Central and Western groups of States have 
 indeed exceeded this, with an urban increase of 96.07 
 and 1 1 8. 1 3 per cent, respectively,' so that the corre- 
 spondence of this growth with the increase of crimi- 
 nals is in itself sufiScient to attract attention. 
 
 The recent and novel growth of cities to the 
 enormous sizes that are now becoming common, so 
 largely in excess of the general increase of the popu- 
 lation, is undoubtedly one of the potent causes of 
 the abnormal increase of the criminal class. There 
 is no probability that the disproportion between the 
 urban and general census will diminish in the future. 
 On the contrary, as agricultural attractions become 
 less, and the quantity of desirable farming-land not 
 settled decreases, and manufactures and commerce 
 offer multiplied inducements, it is likely to be en- 
 ^ Census Bulletin Jio. 16$. \ - ...;;i 
 
94 PRISONERS AND PA UPERS. 
 
 larged. With constantly cheapening facilities of 
 transportation and intercommunication, permitting 
 the support of more and more people in town and 
 city occupations, it is likely that the close of another 
 hundred years may find 50 per cent, of our inhabi- 
 tants dwelling in cities. Even were it possible to 
 check this tendency, it might not be desirable to 
 attempt to do it. 
 
 The problem then is that of the reformation of 
 city life. There is no sound reason why people ag- 
 gregated into dense communities by natural instincts, 
 and finding in such communities a mode of living 
 there, superior in physical, intellectual, and moral 
 advantages, should be debased by concentration. 
 Indeed, as those who are first and most attracted to 
 cities are the brightest, most skilful, ambitious, 
 hopeful, and able, the young, the strong and bold, 
 we should naturally expect a constant and rapid 
 improvement in character and morals, rather than a 
 decline of these in the urban population. That we 
 are so greatly disappointed in this expectation must 
 then be due to faulty conditions, which, we think, 
 can be discovered and rectified. It cannot be indefi- 
 nitely tolerated that society in its highest estate, its 
 most scientific development, of refined cultivation 
 and satisfactory environments, should be rapidly re- 
 lapsing into vice and immorality. The next step 
 would of necessity be a descent into disorganization. 
 The cycle of modern civilization would complete its 
 round and return, as all others have done, to barbar- 
 ism, thus leaving the race to begin its struggle 
 again at the bottom. 
 
INCREASE FROM URBAN POPULATION. gj 
 
 Our Christian faith rejects such a result as contrary 
 to the will of the Creator, as well as to the scheme 
 and promise of redemption. The upward tendencies 
 of the race in America at the present time are more 
 powerful than the downward. All that makes for 
 good in human life leads upward to strength and vi- 
 tality, to endurance and power, while the evil debases, 
 corrupts, weakens, and destroys. The vicious and 
 criminal classes are wearing themselves out in igno- 
 rance and indulgence, while the moral and wise are 
 lengthening and strengthening their lives. Notwith- 
 standing this, however, the public safety and welfare 
 require the most energetic and immediate effort to 
 correct the evils of our dense society. What are 
 they? 
 
 The Creator ordained the family to be the social 
 unit, by a law as immutable as the law of gravita- 
 tion. Wherever the family relations are distinctly 
 and perfectly preserved, society is safe from internal 
 corruption. Progress, purity, and the millennium are 
 possible. In proportion to the interference with the 
 proper and full development of family life, the welfare 
 of society is endangered, and the elevation of human- 
 ity towards its ultimate plane is hindered. Rural 
 life is honest and moral, not on account of any in- 
 herent virtue in the countryman, or any other thing 
 in it or him, so much as the privacy and complete- 
 ness of his domestic relations. Where there is little 
 else to occupy the attention the family becomes the 
 world to its members, and each strives to contribute 
 to the general fund of happiness and hope for the 
 present and future life. 
 
96 PSISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 The separate and distinct family is universal in 
 rural life, but the exception as communities become 
 crowded. We shall find, as we pursue our inquiry 
 into the causes of the social corruption of cities and 
 the growth of criminality and pauperism in them, that 
 they are discovered in the various interferences with 
 the integrity of the divinely instituted family which 
 occurs there, in evils which strike the very vitals of 
 social progress. This is the root and germ of a dis- 
 ease with frightful and fatal symptoms. Fortunately, 
 this reduction of the case to a fundamental principle 
 of sociology establishes a basis for unerring diagnos- 
 tication, and inspires a hope of cure. 
 
 Humanity crowded into cities divides itself into 
 three distinct strata in their extreme divergence, 
 although so gradually merging together as to leave 
 no positive line of demarcation between them. At 
 the top of the social scale is the wealthy class, able 
 to live without labor, and to in,dulge itself in the 
 gratification of most of its desires. Next below is 
 the middle class of workers, living in comfort with- 
 out extreme luxury. At the bottom all the rest, the 
 largest number of all ; hustled and swirled in the 
 fierce currents of life hither and thither ; packed and 
 crowded into such tenements as are left to them ; 
 mostly unable to procure or incapable of enjoying any 
 but the baser sensual pleasures ; mixed indiscrimi- 
 nately in their habitations, and everywhere with the 
 most vicious of mankind, with everything to corrupt 
 and but little to improve 'them. 
 
 The influences of city life upon these three classes 
 are different in nature and degree. The two upper 
 
INCREASE FROM URBAN POPULATION. 97 
 
 are extensively reached by the conservative and ele- 
 vating privileges of intellectual and religious culture 
 and stimulation ; the lower but slightly. Wealth, 
 and the power it confers, tends to engender in the 
 highest stratum a sense of independence of, and 
 superiority over, the rules and regulations of human 
 and divine law. Selfishness and indulgence weaken 
 the moral sense and physical powers ; the incessant 
 pursuit of pleasure by individuals disturbs and dis- 
 rupts family relations ; domestic enjoyment is aban- 
 doned for the more exciting attractions of "society," 
 and the family home becomes but little better than 
 a hotel to sleep and eat in when not otherwise en- 
 gaged. As a consequence, marriage tends to become 
 simply an arrangement of convenience like the home ; 
 children are committed to the training of hired nurses 
 and tutors ; parental responsibilities are ignored or 
 neglected, and one by one the members of the highest 
 class sink out of it, by loss of health, character, 
 or wealth, and it makes its contribution to crimi- 
 nality or pauperism in due time from those ruined 
 in it. The display of luxury and splendor by 
 the wealthy also, doubtless, excites ambitions and 
 desires among those who are unable to gratify 
 them honestly, which leads to dishonesty and crime. 
 The inability of many of the young who are in 
 association with the wealthy, to maintain the ex- 
 pense of a family in the style to which they are 
 accustomed, operates to discourage matrimony, 
 and conduces to licentiousness and the increase of 
 prostitution. It is commonly understood that 
 social morals and religion are at their lowest ebb 
 
98 PRISONEJiS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 in the upper and nether strata of society the world 
 over. 
 
 The great intervening mass of citizens which con- 
 stitute the social leven, ordained to save the whole 
 lump, are exposed to grave dangers of a different 
 nature in city life. They are subjected to tempta- 
 tions of the most attractive and insidious kinds. 
 Vice clothes itself in its most alluring vesture in 
 great cities. The most capable and skilful of the 
 vicious and immoral naturally seek and find here 
 their most fruitful field of operation, as well as op- 
 portunity to hide themselves amid the thronging 
 thousands. Gorgeous saloons for gambling, drinking, 
 and prostitution invite the unwary on all sides. 
 Traps for the innocent are baited with every kind of 
 " entertainment " ; names are invented to clothe 
 wrong-doing in the garments of respectability, and 
 the constant, necessary familiarity with the various 
 forms of vice which abound, leads the unwary first 
 to "endure, then pity, then embrace." The den- 
 sity of population affords also opportunity for secret 
 indulgence in sinful practices, without attracting 
 attention. People live for years in houses whose 
 doorsteps are only separated by an iron railing, with- 
 out knowing one another. Thousands spend their 
 lives in " flats," with other families above and below 
 them, others in hotels and boarding-houses. The hus- 
 band and father is absent regularly every day at his 
 business, the home deserted ; Sunday, being the only 
 day when the whole family is together, becomes a day 
 of enjoyment and recreation ; religion wanes and dies, 
 and its restraints and elevating influences disappear. 
 
INCREASE FROM URBAN POPULATION. 99 
 
 Worse than all, the children are compelled to 
 play in the streets, and to associate with all they 
 meet there ; to learn all the evil known by the 
 worst. Here they- become familiar with «very form 
 of evil and sin. The curbstones and doorsteps of 
 the respectable resident portion of large cities, 
 crowded with children on a pleasant evening, are 
 often a painful sight to a philanthropist. Girls and 
 boys of all ages and kinds, sporting promiscuously 
 of necessity, where every foul nighthawk seeks its 
 prey, lose the lovely innocence of childhood before 
 they reach their teens, and each generation of city 
 growth takes a lower level in purity and morals 
 as its average than the preceding. Parents, too, 
 absorbed in the urgent competitions and activities 
 of business and pleasure, become more and^more 
 prone to delegate the nurture and admonition of 
 their children to the day-school and Sunday-school 
 teacher, — often to omit the latter entirely. Family 
 training and duties grow lax as communal social 
 requirements increase. As the divinely-instituted 
 responsibilities are ignored, the conservative and 
 elevating influence of domestic life declines ; so the 
 community takes the place of the family. 
 
 It is a threatening and dangerous change which 
 substitutes public pleasures for private enjoyments, 
 or a public for a private life in society, obliterating 
 the home from the consciousness and recollections 
 of a people. 
 
 An inordinate eagerness to accumulate wealth is 
 inflamed in the ranks of the successful ; a specula- 
 tive spirit akin to gambling depraves honest business 
 
lOO PRISOMERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 principles, and the standards of upright dealing are 
 gradually lowered at the expense of the general 
 average of morality. 
 
 This middle class of citizens is moreover largely 
 constituted of new families from the country, seek- 
 ing wider opportunities for success, or for indulgence. 
 It is continually augmented by the aspiring youth of 
 both sexes, looking for employment. Both families 
 and youth are strangers to the older residents. They 
 are freed from the restraints which have surrounded 
 them in their former homes, — of acquaintance, cus- 
 tom, good habits, friendly advice and influence, and 
 religious counsel and invitation. The youth, espe- 
 cially, enjoying in all their spirited buoyancy an un- 
 known sense of personal freedom, are easily enticed 
 into excesses which would have been repugnant to 
 them in their country homes. There are thousands 
 on all sides eager to introduce them to the forbidden 
 pleasures of the city, and scarce one to invite them 
 within the shelter of improving society, elevating 
 entertainment, or Christian care. 
 
 After a laborious day they must return at night to 
 a cheap and cheerless room, or accept the comfort 
 and enjoyment provided so luxuriously for the 
 public. What is the wonder then that the youth 
 fill the theatres, the billiard-, liquor-, gambling-, ill- 
 famed saloons, our jails and prisons, while the old 
 people fill the churches ? 
 
 The modern disinclination for marriage compels 
 a large influx of girls to the cities looking for self- 
 support; in shops, in counting-houses and offices, 
 where they are forced by disappointment, or by poor 
 
INCREASE FROM URBAN POPULATION. lOI 
 
 pay and the wily seductions to which they are too 
 often suddenly exposed, in large numbers, to swell 
 the " social evil," becoming rapidly one of the ttiost 
 alarming features. of city life. Under such condi- 
 tions the middle class, must continue to augment its 
 contribution to criminality and pauperism.. 
 
 If the life of the upper classes of citizens conduces 
 to degradation, what shall be said of the lower, and 
 lowest ? What can be expected from the helpless 
 and hopeless ; the dregs of humanity, settled, out 
 of the ferment of civilization in the cities? Their 
 want and misery, iinmorality and vice, have reached 
 bottom, and can descend no farther with life. The 
 shocking and deplorable condition of the " sub- 
 merged " has been forcibly portrayed by General 
 Booth of the Salvation Army, and other recent 
 writers. Whole families, (fourteen, even, were 
 found in one room,) huddled in single garret or 
 cellar rooms, to feed together on garbage, and sleep 
 together on rags and straw gathered on the streets ; 
 murderers, robbers, thieves, worn-out drunkards, and 
 prostitutes crowding together in vile dens ; establish- 
 ing communities which the police scarcely dare enter 
 after dark ; filling single tenements with the popu- 
 lation of a village ; whole precincts living in actual 
 if not open defiance of the law of God and man, of 
 decency, of health, of honesty, social welfare, morals 
 and religion.' Their numbers, constantly recruited 
 by criminal fugitives from every direction, have no 
 
 • President Wilson, of the Health Board of New York, published 
 in December, l8gi, a census of 37,358 tenements with 1,225,411 
 occupants. 
 
102 PX/SOA^ESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 thought or study but to prey upon society, and to 
 educate one another in the ingenuities of vice. Few, 
 feeble, and futile are the efforts that are made to 
 rescue or help or save them, and even these are ^ 
 received with a snarl like that with which the hunted 
 street cur takes a morsel from the hand of pity. 
 
 Next above these, are found the so-called homeSJ^ 
 of common honest laborers. Crowded, comfortless, 
 generally dirty; wives and children compelled to 
 companion with criminal neighbors, constantly cor- 
 rupted by evil communications. The bottle seems 
 to them their only blessing, and opens a wide and 
 easy road to ruin, while penury shuts up every 
 upward way. Skilled laborers and their families 
 in most cities inhabit tenements, common to several 
 families, devoid of privacy and seclusion ; and must 
 permit the children to seek their exercise and play 
 in the streets. Mills, factories, great warehouses, 
 enormous office buildings, collect factory girls, mill- 
 hands, shop girls, tj^pe-writers, clerks, office boys, all 
 together in great crowds daily, where they make 
 improper acquaintances, form evil associations, and 
 become the office, shop, and street prey of the 
 designing. 
 
 The minions of vice ply them with their seduc- 
 tions, and advertise their allurements among them, 
 as they go and return from work. Considering their 
 youth and inexperience and comfortless homes, the 
 wonder is that so many escape ruin, rather than that 
 so many fall. 
 
 Amid such environments society is corrupted 
 chiefly by the frightfully increasing vices of Sabbath 
 
INCREASE FROM URiAN POPULATION. lOJ 
 
 desecration, intemperance, fornication, and gambling. 
 To these debasing influences are to be attributed 
 largely the shocking increase of pauperism and 
 criminality from cities. These are the honor des- 
 troyers ; the family disruptors ; the youth corrupters ; 
 the corroders of vitality ; the obliterators of morality ; 
 the savage enemies of religion in cities. They 
 assail all classes with equal virulence and assiduity. 
 They are the common enemies of Christianity and 
 humanity, grown already into such proportions and 
 power in our cities as to threaten the public welfare 
 and endanger the State. They have been ignored 
 and tolerated, or unwisely dealt with, so long, 
 that they have acquired a status and strength which 
 displays its arrogance even in the organization of 
 the government which should suppress them. They 
 demand and often receive official protection, instead 
 of police extinction. Public sentiment, even, is half 
 disposed to recognize and accept their presence, as 
 an inevitable necessity. With a contempt bred of 
 familiarity, many question and doubt the possibility 
 of their control or eradication ; while their minions 
 and votaries, with amazing audacity, assert and pro- 
 claim their immunity from interference. The burglar, 
 the robber, and embezzler might, with equal pro- 
 priety, make common cause with their pals, and 
 claim a right to exercise, unchallenged, their nefarious 
 professions. 
 
 It is high time that society should be aroused from 
 its lethargy concerning these perils. It is absurd 
 that this great people, boasting of its prosperity, 
 happiness, and intelligence, should continue to allow 
 
104 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 these prolific causes of vice and poverty to run their 
 venomous course unchecked through its urban 
 centres. The results are already appalling. All the 
 resources of philanthropy, religion, science, and 
 politics will be severely strained, in the contest with 
 them. They must all be enUsted for the war, and 
 the struggle cannot be deferred. 
 
 The quiet, rest, peace, and religious observance of 
 the American rural Sabbath are rapidly disappear- 
 ing from our large cities ; and with them the great 
 conserving influences which have so largely con- 
 tributed to our national prosperity and greatness. 
 The disproportionate tendency of foreign immigrants 
 to the cities ; and their insistence upon importing, 
 along with themselves, foreign ideas and customs in 
 regard to the non-observance of the day ; the necessity 
 for the uninterrupted operation of street-cars and 
 public conveyances; the disregard of the day in 
 public hotels, saloons, and places of entertainment ; 
 the demands for Sunday newspapers ; the increasing 
 occupation of the day for recreation by the employed 
 classes in excursions, visiting, and carousing; the 
 freedom from restraint allowed those who are inspired 
 by selfish motives to work on the Sabbath, are all 
 rapidly tending to break down the sanctity of the 
 day. The wise and wholesome distinctions between 
 it and the other days of the week, in the moral con- 
 sciousness of the people, seem to be fading away. 
 Sabbath desecrators are strong and urgent, as well 
 as cunning, in the urban organization. There is 
 imminent danger of their soon becoming a majority, 
 obtaining the control of urban government, so gather- 
 
INCREASE PROM URBAN POPULA TION. lOJ 
 
 ing power to eliminate the workers' day of rest and 
 the Christian Sabbath from its place among American 
 institutions. The degree to which this has already- 
 been accomplished adds a material quota of ■ the 
 urban contribution to the evils we seek to diminish. 
 
 Another prolific source of crime and pauperism, 
 in cities, is the gambling spirit which pervades all 
 classes. From speculation in real property or in 
 the paper tokens of property, such as stocks and 
 bonds, and social card-playing for money, down 
 through the gilded gambling-saloons, glittering with 
 an almost regal splendor, and made attractive with 
 almost every luxury of temptation to appetite; 
 through the private poker-rooms of the hotels and 
 liquor-saloons; through skilfully-disguised lottery 
 schemes; plain betting on competitions, on horse- 
 races, on base-ball games ; indeed on every unde- 
 cided event, the desire and effort to acquire the 
 property of another without labor, or without the 
 rendering of a fair equivalent of value, seems to per- 
 meate and corrupt a constantly increasing proportion 
 of city people. The inevitable losses which befall 
 the losing half, and the hope of retrieving them 
 where they were made, are the incitements to more 
 frauds, embezzlements, misappropriations, robberies, 
 and even thefts, than are the demands of actual 
 want. There is no good title to property acquired 
 by chance or luck, and its speedy dissipation and 
 loss almost invariably testify to the violation of law 
 and right in such acquirement. 
 
 The. gambling spirit which seems innate in the 
 lowest conditions of savage life is revived and encour- 
 
106 PSISdNESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 aged more in modern civilization among rich and 
 poor, young and old alike, by the horse-races and 
 base-ball games which make their annual rounds of 
 the principal cities, than by any other means. There 
 is need that strong public sentiment should be 
 aroused against the sin and crime of betting. This 
 whole thing is a relic of savage life. It violates the 
 fundamental principles of social and commercial 
 honesty, and leads to the commission of innumer- 
 able crimes as the inevitable result of indulgence. 
 
 Let society set its face sternly against gambling 
 in all its phases, then, in self-protection. Let efficient 
 law punish the gambler and bettor as offenders 
 against social order and public welfare. Like the 
 appetite for intoxicants, the gambling spirit seems 
 to grow by indulgence, and when once it fastens 
 its influence on a person his ruin is almost inevitable. 
 Those who live by gambling recognize this fact, as 
 do the dealers in intoxicants. So they make it their 
 study to ensnare the young and unwary as mere 
 beasts of prey, heedless of the tears, sorrow, and 
 suffering they inflict, and careless of the wrong and 
 cost they impose upon society. Gambling is a crime ; 
 let the gambler be branded a criminal, and be made 
 to share the lot of his many victims. The power of 
 the gambler in politics is sufficient in cities to pro- 
 tect him in open and flagrant contempt of statutes 
 and public interest. Gamblers control Tammany, 
 which controls the city of New York, which controls 
 the state of New York, which controls closely con- 
 tested national elections, and they are able to 
 defeat, and have often defeated, parties and candi- 
 
mCREASE FROM URBAN POPULATION. lOJ 
 
 dates inimical to their interests and favorable to 
 social progress. 
 
 Another modern development of urban life con- 
 trary to nature and prejudicial to good morals is 
 becoming recognizable in the multiplication of 
 "clubs" of all kinds. Some of these are useful as 
 midday resorts for those engaged at a distance from 
 home. Others are unobjectionable when formed for 
 the promotion of a laudable object. But when they 
 become substitutes for home, and are made to satisfy 
 the desires and wants of young men apart by them- 
 selves, they deserve the condemnation and discour- 
 agement of every Christian, moralist, philanthropist, 
 and patriot. 
 
 The New York City Directory contains the names 
 of two hundred and forty-two of such clubs as having 
 sufficient prominence to warrant record there. Be- 
 sides these, there are the unnumbered small coteries, 
 unnamed or unknown beyond their immediate mem- 
 bership, which exist in all parts of the city. This 
 lead of the metropolis is being followed to a greater 
 or less extent in all important cities, and the ten- 
 dency to club life appears to be growing. Inspired 
 in the inception largely for the comfort and con- 
 venience of the unmarried young men abounding 
 in the cities, by providing opportunity and tempta- 
 tion to indulgence of all kinds in comparative 
 privacy, especially for convivial drinking and social 
 gambling, they not only threaten the young there 
 with the dangers of intemperance and gambling, but 
 so ameliorate the loneliness and discomforts of 
 bachelor life as to become an obstacle and hindrance 
 
108 PJUSONEXS AND PA UPERS. 
 
 to marriage. It is said that the sales of liquor in 
 some of the most popular clubs in New York exceed 
 those of any bar-room in the city. 
 
 But their encouragement to acquire bad habits is 
 a less evil than their discouragement of marriage. To 
 whatever extent they make young men content and 
 satisfied with bachelor life, they hinder his entrance 
 into that relation which has been instituted by 
 natural and divine law as the completion of the 
 social unit, and so become opposed to public policy 
 as well as private interest. One of the main objects 
 of these institutions is to provide a pleasant place in 
 which their members may spend their leisure, to 
 enable them to gratify their need for agreeable com- 
 pany, to supply themselves with the comforts of 
 home, and indulge their private desires. 
 
 It must be self-evident, then, that as far as they 
 accomplish their design, they are hostile to domes- 
 ticity and the family institution. 
 
 It should be the first object of a young man upon 
 reaching maturity to render himself complete by the 
 selection and marriage of a wife. A bachelor is but 
 half a social unit, half what he was intended to be, 
 half what he is capable of being ; half in comfort, in 
 happiness and usefulness. Sociologically, the life of 
 a bachelor is of necessity a failure, if not a crime. The 
 bachelor stands but half a chance for success in any 
 respect, relation, or business of life. In these days of 
 competition and emulation, the single man is unable to 
 cope with the pair, which possesses double his power. 
 
 A man and woman, with physical, mental, and 
 moral endowments supplementary and comple- 
 
INCREASE FROM URBAN POPULATION. 109 
 
 mentary to each other, with an absolute single 
 and undivided purpose and ambition, without the 
 possibility of separate or selfish motives, identified 
 as a social unit, bound together by a natural affec- 
 tion for one another and for the children which 
 combine them both, whose welfare becomes their 
 chief incentive, overmatch fourfold the bachelor in 
 the race of life. Nothing else can supply the value 
 of a good wife's wit and wisdom and counsel to the 
 husband she loves ; to restrain from mistakes, to 
 suggest and encourage in noble enterprise, to assist 
 in all life's work, and above all with kindly hand 
 detect and check the first steps downward or estray. 
 With her the husband may confidently discuss and 
 consider the most secret subjects of his life and 
 business. No one will watch him with keener anxi- 
 ety, no one appeal so urgently or powerfully, no one 
 cling to him so closely. 
 
 The hope of the city is in her good wives. No 
 ambitious young man can afford to be without one. 
 Nature and Heaven have provided some woman for 
 every man. It is a duty to society no less than to 
 himself that the young man should abandon the 
 club, obey the dictates of nature, and complete him- 
 self as a social unit by marriage. 
 
 We will discuss the subject of intemperance and 
 the treatment of criminals more fully hereafter, but 
 desire in this place to direct attention to a reason 
 for excessive pauperism in cities, as existing in the 
 inconsiderate and indiscriminate dispensing of so- 
 called charity in them. In the city of Philadelphia, 
 for instance, there is a benevolent institution for 
 
no p/nsiTNEJis AW2) PAUPEJ<rs: 
 
 every ten thousand of its inhabitants. Basing their 
 claims for public support largely on the number 
 they relieve, their managers naturally become emu- 
 lous of making this number as large as possible. 
 As a consequence, it becomes easy for the poor to 
 secure aid from them. Every benefit bestowed, 
 pauperizes the recipient, and so the noble spirit 
 of charity is made to increase the evil it attempts 
 to remove. If an institution can secure support by 
 appropriation from the public treasury, it ceases to 
 that extent to be a benevolence, or charity. Its 
 benefits are demanded as a common property or 
 right. The indolent and improvident exact assist- 
 ance without even the return of gratitude. 
 
 The possessors of great wealth living in cities where 
 so much of human misery appeals to their charity, are, 
 more generally than is supposed, conscious of their 
 responsibilities, and give liberally to those who at- 
 tempt to relieve it. It is important that an improved 
 system of public charities should be organized in all 
 cities to prevent the abuse of benevolence. The 
 " organization of charity," which has begun under 
 this necessity, ought to be perfected and sustained 
 by law. It should comprehend within its scope the 
 reinstatement of the family unit in its original po- 
 tentiality in urban life. It must endeavor to adapt 
 the family to its urban environments, and urban 
 environments to the essential family privacy and 
 integrity. 
 
 The very plan and method of institutional charity 
 is a mistake in almost every direction. It violates 
 the primordial principle of the social organization 
 
WCkEASS: FROM URBAN POPULATION. Ill 
 
 by the effort to substitute communal treatment for 
 the natural family arrangement. Certain classes of 
 the indigent may be collected into establishments 
 intended for their care and improvement, such as the 
 aged, and infirm, and the imbecile, but the construc- 
 tion of extensive buildings for the accommodation 
 of large numbers under one management, with a 
 view to their improvement and reformation, for the 
 purpose of returning them to society, fitted for self- 
 support and usefulness, is becoming more and more 
 manifestly an error. 
 
 Humanity confined in an inclosure, as inevitably 
 finds a common level as any fluid. Nor is that a 
 fair average level of the combined morality and 
 intelligence of the mass. The depressing elements 
 are always the most powerful and numerous. The 
 most degraded may be improved, but the whole 
 mass will be infected to some degree with their color 
 and vice. It is a trite but faithful saying, that one 
 cannot touch pitch without being defiled. The 
 general consensus of the wisest students of sociology 
 is coming to favor a smaller classification and a more 
 domestic provision for dependants, that which most 
 closely resembles and reproduces private family 
 relations in the reduced classification, as most hope- 
 ful of wide and permanent success. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE URBAN POPULATION AS A SOURCE OF IN- 
 CREASE — Continued. 
 
 Political Factors of the Problem — Erroneous Principles of Urban 
 Government — Proportion of Urban to Rural Population — Dis- 
 parity of Density of Population in Cities — Remedial Sugges- 
 tions — The Restoration of Equilibrium — Importance of Suburban 
 Facilities of Transit — I. B. Potter's Testimony — Results of 
 Bad Country Roads in New York and Good Roads in France — 
 Purification of Suffrage — Improvement of the Police Force — 
 Necessity for Increased Religious Effort. 
 
 These factors of the problem of city life seem to 
 require the exercise of public power. Law, legisla- 
 tion, and government are needed, which are at present 
 wanting or inefficient. While our national and 
 State governments and institutions are producing 
 results which are the admiration and emulation of 
 the world in the general condition of the governed, 
 our management of the dense aggregations of people 
 in cities is a palpable failure. Indeed, the dispro- 
 portionate degradation of society in them is not 
 the only indication of this fact. The increased death- 
 rate, the foolish extravagance of public expenditures, 
 the waste and misappropriation of public funds, the 
 corruption and dishonesty of public officials, the 
 inefficiency of the police, the insufficiency of public 
 
 112 
 
INCREASE FROM URBAN POPULATION. I13 
 
 conveniences, the lack of interest of the taxpayer 
 and voters in local elections, their hopeless submis- 
 sion to the domination of professional politicians, 
 whose only motive is selfish greed, and whose sole 
 ability is to manage elections as " wire-pullers," all 
 testify to the weakness and insufficiency of our 
 system of city government, which Prof. Bryce de- 
 nominates " the one conspicuous failure of the United 
 States." 
 
 It is beyond the scope of our present purpose to 
 attempt the solution of a social problem which has 
 engaged the study of some of the ablest and best- 
 equipped minds in this and other lands without 
 success. If we can here, as we have attempted to 
 do along other lines, put up a guide board indicating 
 the direction of safety and improvement, pointing 
 out the road to be taken to reach the desired end, 
 we shall be content to have contributed some- 
 what to the economy of the effort which others 
 must expend to accomplish the salvation of our 
 cities. 
 
 There have been many cities built on the face 
 of the globe while mankind has been struggling 
 upward, — some of them larger and richer than any of 
 the present age, — which have so completely perished 
 that their very location is either unknown or marked 
 only by mounds of useless debris ; some whose very 
 names have slipped into oblivion, and a soil of pot- 
 sherds and broken bricks is the only indication of 
 their former existence. So far as history preserves 
 the record for us, their destruction and ruin were the 
 result of the same internal diseases which we have 
 
114 Prisoners AND PAUPERS. 
 
 diagnosed as active in our own growing cities. 
 Unless they can be cured by the application of 
 adequate remedies, suggested by the higher intelli- 
 gence and wider science of modern civilization, the 
 same fate must inevitably befall them as befell those 
 cities of ancient days ; and with them must perish, 
 as heretofore, the nations and people who build 
 them. The subject is therefore supreme. 
 
 The first observation we make upon the govern- 
 ment of American cities is, that it is instituted in the 
 beginning, contrary to and in violation of that funda- 
 mental principle of self-government upon which our 
 successful national and State institutions are based. 
 Our cities are chartered by the State Legislatures. 
 Their legislation and government are largely formu- 
 lated by an external, superior power, applied from 
 without instead of generated by internal need. We 
 need not pause to explain how this anomaly in 
 American politics has been imposed upon the people. 
 It is sufficient to point out the fact that this great 
 nation of freemen, which has secured for itself un- 
 paralleled prosperity and happiness by organizing 
 self-government upon the principle of the New Eng- 
 land town meeting, has hitherto omitted and still 
 refuses to confer the inherent right of autonomy 
 upon its cities, the most influential elements of 
 the political entity. It creates them, and restricts 
 them. It organizes them and proceeds to exercise 
 over the organization an absolutism more complete 
 and dangerous than exists in nations which make 
 no assumption of popular freedom. In other lands 
 cities have first achieved a measure of independence. 
 
INCREASE PROM URBAN POPULATION. 11$ 
 
 and then accepted or created a general government. 
 Here the order of procedure is reversed. 
 
 This is not only contrary to our principles, it not 
 only destroys one side of the united trinity of 
 principle as enunciated by President Lincoln, viz.: 
 " government by the people," and which is a symbol 
 of truth and continuous existence, but it is mani- 
 festly, in a popular government, a fatal elision. 
 
 It is not to be expected that the rural legislator 
 can understand, or know, or properly provide for 
 the needs of an urban population. Its interests are 
 so intense, so numerous, and so diverse, often of so 
 great magnitude, affecting in so important a manner 
 the rights and privileges of the individual and the 
 welfare of the family, involving questions entirely 
 novel and unknown in country life, that it is almost 
 impossible that any one but a citizen should be 
 qualified to deal with them. Notwithstanding the 
 peril of entrusting the venal, the corrupt, the largely 
 foreign mass of voters in cities with the powers of 
 self-government, however, the first correction to be 
 made is, surely, to confer the most complete auton- 
 omy upon the city population ; with simply some 
 wise limitations upon incurring indebtedness, or 
 exercising powers threatening the welfare of society, 
 the State, or other municipalities. 
 
 The attempt in Pennsylvania to govern cities by 
 the enactment of general laws applicable to classes 
 based upon numbers, is as ridiculous and iniquitous 
 in practice as it is absurd in conception. Why should 
 39 per cent, of the people controlling three fourths 
 of the property of the State, living in peculiar envi- 
 
Il6 PJiZSOJ^ERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 ronments, be subjected to the ignorance, lack of in- 
 terest, or cupidity of the representatives of the other. 
 6 1 per cent., who, themselves, are unaffected by the 
 result of their votes ? It is because the State rules 
 the city that men of ability and prominence give so 
 little attention to municipal affairs. The appeal for 
 remedy is to the State, and not to local influence, 
 therefore interest in self-government dies out of the 
 breast of even patriotic citizens. 
 
 The cities should sustain a somewhat similar rela- 
 tion to the State that the State does to the nation. 
 There is a far greater differentiation of the seventeen 
 million of the urban population from the rural of our 
 country than is found in any other political sub-divi- 
 sion. In Pennsylvania nearly two fifths — exactly 
 2,055,723 — of its people living in cities, require 
 special and peculiar legislation, which they should 
 be allowed to provide for themselves according to 
 their respective needs. If they enjoyed this privi- 
 lege those who have the largest stake in good govr 
 ernment would exert themselves to secure it. The 
 social perils which we are considering would be 
 treated with the maximum of wisdom and vigor, 
 because superior wisdom and intelligence, though 
 confined to the minority, always rules the masses 
 when it is active and in earnest. Our political ex- 
 perience demonstrates that a majority of voters can 
 always in time be brought to support wise measures 
 for the public welfare. 
 
 One of the primary objects of good local govern- 
 ment in cities should be the restoration of a fair 
 equilibrium in density of population. The last census 
 
INCREASE FROM URBAN POPULATION. H? 
 
 shows enormous differences in the ratios of popula- 
 tion to area included in the principal cities, ranging 
 in number of persons to the acre from 4 in St. Paul 
 to 59 in New York. Philadelphia averages 13 to the 
 acre. These ratios have even a much wider range 
 in the closer-built sections of cities, as in New York 
 from 3 to the acre in Ward Twenty-four, to 474 to 
 the acre in Ward Ten ; in Philadelphia from i to the 
 acre in Ward Twenty-three, to 163 in Ward Three. 
 The Health Department of New York reported in 
 1891 a count of 37,358 tenement-houses in the city, 
 occupied by 276,565 families, and 1,225,411 souls. 
 This shows an increase of over 200,CXX) in tenement 
 population in three years, and an average of 32.8 
 occupants to each tenement ! The average density 
 of the twenty-two largest cities in the country was 
 15.92 persons to the acre, so that the greatest density 
 in New York was thirty-two times, and in Philadel- 
 phia ten times the average. 
 
 Crime and pauperism naturally increase, and 
 church and conservative influences decrease, in a 
 geometrical ratio with the density of the population. 
 It ought to be the province of the government to 
 relieve this social congestion. People do not live in 
 misery from choice, but because they are unable 
 to escape it. Let society, in self-protection, open up 
 the way of escape if it can, and nature will relieve 
 itself. Real estate in cities increases in value accord- 
 ing to its accessibility to transportation terminals 
 and occupation centres. The poor abide where they 
 obtain subsistence, because they cannot afford the 
 time and money to live farther away. Offer them 
 
Il8 PJtISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 cheap and quick transfer to healthier and better 
 homes and they will quickly spread themselves out 
 of their stifling abodes. 
 
 It becomes a public necessity, then, to provide 
 rapid and cheap transportation from centres to 
 suburbs. Electrical tram-ways and cable-roads for- 
 tunately have been devised as an adequate means of 
 accomplishing this. It would be a reasonable condi- 
 tion of franchise to restrict fares upon roads using 
 the public streets, to two cents within three miles, 
 and to five within ten miles of centres, during the 
 hours between five and eight in the morning and 
 evening. This would tend to diffuse population and 
 reflexively increase the revenue of the roads. As an 
 expulsive measure the Health Department might 
 prescribe the minimum of space and accommodation 
 permissible for individual and family occupation. 
 Capital would thus be compelled to seek more lucra- 
 tive return from cheaper and better homes, or less 
 valuable lands in the suburbs, and so both ways and 
 means would be provided for a uniform distribution 
 of population. More drastic measures even are war- 
 ranted if necessary to secure this result. This is one 
 way it may be accomplished, but it must be done 
 some way, to restore the family unit to the " sub- 
 merged tenth." 
 
 It may be remarked in this connection that the 
 improvement of country-roads and the extension of 
 electric tram-ways along the principal highways, 
 with accommodations for freight as well as passenger 
 traffic, would tend to decrease the flow of the pop- 
 ular current from the country to the city. 
 
INCREASE FROM URBAN POPULATION. II9 
 
 Very much of the dissatisfaction of the farmer and 
 his children with his lot is caused by the unprofit- 
 able return received for his toil, and the seclusion 
 and discomfort of his life. Country life has a thou- 
 sand charms which would attract, satisfy, and retain 
 a proper proportion of our people if these objections 
 were reduced or removed. It is almost self-evident 
 that no farmer with a smooth, comfortable, and pleas- 
 ant road leading from his door to a railroad or tram- 
 way station, which would rapidly convey his produce 
 and family to the market town, would think of ex- 
 changing his farm for a town residence. It is because 
 it costs him more to convey a load of his products 
 to the nearest railway than to transport it thence a 
 thousand miles to market, because during the long 
 periods of bad weather and impassable roads, he and 
 his family are imprisoned on their own limits, shut 
 off from society, from schools, entertainments and 
 all the pleasures of the town, that he is discontented 
 and unhappy. The insignificant moiety of his taxes 
 has little to do with the matter. It is a burden now, 
 as the grasshopper is in old age, for he cannot earn 
 even this. But if he were doing a profitable busi- 
 ness, the slight increase or decrease of taxation 
 possible, would be of no moment. 
 
 Let us quote from an article of Mr. Isaac B. Potter, 
 secretary of the New York State Roads Improve- 
 ment Association, in Tlie Forum for November, 
 J891. Mr. Potter is a noted bicycle traveller, who 
 has done more probably to bring this subject to 
 public attention than any one in the country, and 
 will be accorded a high rank among philanthropists 
 
I20 PRISONEJIS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 as well as among political economists when his work 
 is consummated and appreciated : 
 
 " If you \rill travel one of these roads, going out as near as may 
 be in a radial direction from the market town, you will be interested 
 in noting the gradations of thrift, from good to bad, as your journey 
 proceeds. Leaving the town limits, there will first appear the 
 comely homes and kindred evidences of comfort, which commonly 
 belong to the suburban farmer. The market is just beyond his door- 
 yard, and no condition can be imagined so calamitous as to sever the 
 industrial value of his location. A distance of two or three miles 
 will lead you to a more scattered population, living in homely and 
 more secluded structures, and, in spite of their evident sobriety and 
 industry, surrounded by certain signs of unrequitted toil, while the 
 further progress of your journey vdll introduce you in due time and 
 with tolerable certainty to a region of hovels and deserted farms. 
 Wherever you go the rule is the same, and it is no exaggeration to 
 say that with the enlargement of concentric circles surrounding every 
 American inland town is to be found an apparently undue diminution 
 of agricultural population, wealth, and thrift. 
 
 " In the great State of New York, where the value of farm crops 
 was exceeded last year by those of only two States in the entire 
 Union, the disproportion between the wealth of country and town 
 has become so marked that the officially estimated value of farm-lands 
 last year was less than eight per cent. , and that of the incorporated 
 cities and villages more than ninety-two per cent, of the total wealth 
 values within the State. " 
 
 He quotes Mr. Campbell, of Ohio, as stating that 
 there had been a decline in market value of farm- 
 lands in that State in the last ten years of at least 
 $220,000,000, while the census shows an increase of 
 the aggregate wealth of the State in the same time 
 of $243,000,000, indicating a gain of $463,000,000 in 
 municipal values, against the depreciation of farm 
 values noted. He states the annual increase of farm 
 mortgages to be $8,500,000. 
 
INCREASE FROM URBAN POPULATION. 121 
 
 There is no doubt that the inordinate cost of local 
 transport and travel due to bad country-roads is 
 quite sufificient to consume the reasonable profit of 
 agriculture and account for rural discontent. The 
 rural population of France is undeniably the most 
 thrifty and happy of any in the world, domestic life 
 there the most contented, and the family relations 
 the most carefully maintained and sacredly guarded. 
 As a consequence the immigration from France to 
 America from 1873 to 1890, inclusive, has been only 
 1.5 per cent, of the total arrivals here during this 
 period. France is the only European nation whose 
 people our inducements fail to attract. 
 
 Burdened with an enormous and increasing public 
 debt, the necessity of maintaining as great a military 
 and naval power as Germany, she has borne the cost 
 of two wars since our own, and paid five milliards of 
 francs war indemnity, without inspiring in the minds 
 of her people a hope of improving their condition by 
 immigration, because her general government has 
 built over one hundred and thirty thousand miles of 
 good smooth roads, and spends some eighteen mil- 
 lion dollars annually to keep them in repair. The 
 territory of France is about equal to that of New 
 England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and 
 I Ohio, which States waste annually much more than 
 this sum upon their roads in work that is washed 
 away by the first shower. What a transformation 
 would be effected in the condition of the rural popu- 
 lation of these States if they were provided with 
 roads equal to those of France, and how sensibly 
 would the congestion of their cities be relieved. 
 
122 PJtlSONESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 The reflux toward the country has already begun 
 among the wealthy and those who can afford a 
 country residence with city business ; it is certain 
 to increase in proportion as the decrease of cost in ^ 
 time and money brings this within the range of 
 possibility for the masses. 
 
 A proper protection and purification of suffrage 
 in cities is also essential to their good government. 
 The control of affairs must be wrenched from the 
 hands of professional politicians, who maintain their 
 power by venal and corrupt methods and by part- 
 nership and collusion with the keepers of brothels, 
 liquor-saloons, gambling-dens, and with thieves. 
 Last fall the Tammany Society again carried the 
 State of New York by rolling up a larger majority in 
 the city than could be overcome in the country. 
 The 83 leaders of this Society the New York Even- 
 ing Post lately classified as follows : " Twenty-eight 
 professional politicians, i convicted murderer, i tried 
 for murder and acquitted, i indicted for felonious 
 assault, I indicted for bribery, 4 professional gam- 
 blers, 5 gambling-house or ' dive-' keepers, 4 liquor 
 dealers, $ former liquor dealers, 3 former pugilists, 4 
 former ' toughs,' 6 members of the Tweed gang, and 
 17 office-holders." These " fellows of the baser sort " 
 control the city and State of New York, and some- 
 times the national elections by the perversion and 
 corruption of, and frauds upon, the right of suffrage, 
 as flagrant and outrageous as any committed in the 
 South. They impose upon the ignorant foreigner, 
 who abounds there ; they purchase the vote of the 
 poor, impress that of the criminal, and are always 
 
INCREASE FROM URBAN POPULATION. I23 
 
 able to base their estimates unerringly upon majori- 
 ties corresponding to the fund available for use. 
 Similar organizations exist in almost all the great 
 cities. Safety requires special regulation of the act 
 of suffrage by each city for itself, so that the will of 
 the majority of real and actual citizens may obtain 
 control, and keep it. 
 
 The recent tremendous tendency of immigration 
 to our cities, magnifies the importance of a careful 
 execution of our naturalization laws ; while the 
 magnitude of the multitude applying to the courts 
 for citizenship renders this almost impossible. Our 
 city papers report many instances of immigrants 
 being endowed with the full rights of American 
 citizenship, who have complied with none of the im- 
 portant conditions ; who have been in the country 
 but a few months ; and who know so little of the 
 language, as to be actually ignorant of what has 
 been bestowed upon them. One of the most valuable 
 results, a registration of all immigrants, whenever, 
 and wherever they make their residence, would con- 
 duce to the correction of this abuse. 
 
 An autonomic municipality should and would 
 greatly improve its police. It would recognize its 
 increased dependence upon it, and the importance 
 of making it the absolutely safe reliance which it 
 should be. The municipal police is the public exec- 
 utive force, the manifestation of the authority and 
 power of the people's government. Instead of being 
 the tool of politicians, it must be made entirely in- 
 dependent of and superior to partisanship. It should 
 be so organized that it will be recognized and re- 
 
124 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 spected by all as the representative and agent of the 
 public in the suppression or regulation of whatever 
 is injurious to the peace, health, morality, general 
 intelligence, and thrift of the community, and its 
 internal safety. 
 
 Its officers should be selected after suitable exami- 
 nation as to physical, mental, and moral fitness; 
 held responsible for obedience to superiors, as in the 
 army, only to lawful orders ; and liable to dismissed, 
 only after trial, for the failure to execute municipal 
 law and regulations ; or for the misuse of authority. 
 Instead of occupying themselves chiefly in the arrest 
 of law-breakers, they should make it their first care 
 and duty to prevent crime, and the infraction of the 
 laws ; to keep public places and streets free from 
 obnoxious characters and nuisances ; to return way- 
 ward children to their homes and parents ; and warn 
 the latter of their neglect of duty ; and to bring 
 speedy aid to the injured or distressed. A wisely- 
 selected and well-trained police force could accom- 
 plish more toward the reduction of public expense 
 of crime and poverty, than any other instrumen- 
 tality. To its present inefficiency in these respects, 
 in most cities, is to be charged a very considerable 
 portion of the excessive cost to the public of crimi- 
 nals and paupers, and the alarming urban increase 
 of this. 
 
 We enter into the consideration of this subject 
 more fully and in detail hereafter. It is sufficient 
 here to suggest the importance and usefulness of a 
 better police administration than is at present enjoyed 
 in most of our cities. 
 
mCSEASE FROM URBAI^ POPULATlOff. 12$ 
 
 Indeed, in all the departments of city government ; 
 of health, highways, light, water, and transportation ; 
 the need is not greater for honesty, than for special 
 knowledge, science, skill, and experience in their 
 management. Citizens are learning this, and if left 
 to their own selection, the responsible heads of these 
 departments would soon come to be elected for fit- 
 ness, rather than for political partisanship. Local 
 politics should be entirely separated from State, or 
 national partisan elections and parties. 
 
 Under an autonomic government, whatever else 
 might be found necessary to be done for the cities' 
 welfare, could be readily and quickly inaugurated, 
 as soon as it should become manifest, while it might 
 cost more ability and effort to secure the power 
 from the State, than any citizen, or number of them, 
 could be brought to exert. 
 
 The redemption of the urban population, however, 
 is not to be expected from the government alone, 
 although this may facilitate it. Government may 
 restrict and abolish drinking-saloons, gambling- 
 saloons, and brothels. It may punish vice and crime ; 
 it may chase immorality from public sight. It must 
 provide for the helpless indigent, and put forth effort 
 to reform the criminal in its hands. But the ref- 
 ormation and elevation of society at large devolves 
 upon philanthropy, patriotism, and the church of 
 Christ. 
 
 The increase of urban population has outrun the 
 comprehension and effort of all these agencies. There 
 is need of a great awakening and revival among them. 
 Dr. Josiah Strong, in his great book entitled. Our 
 
126 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 Country, which ought to be put into the hands of 
 every school-boy and immigrant, gives some inter- 
 esting statistics on this subject ' : 
 
 " According to the last census there was a Protestant church or- 
 ganization to every 438 of the population of the country ; including, 
 of course, the 27. S per cent, of urban residents ; but, including mis- 
 sions, in Boston, only one to 1778 of its population ; St. Louis, one 
 to every 2662 ; excluding missions, in Cincinnati, one to 2195 ; in 
 Buffalo, one to 2650 ; in Chicago, one to 3601 ; in Brooklyn, one to 
 2997 ; in New York, according to the police census, one to 4006. 
 In 1851 Chicago had a Protestant church to every 1577 of its popu- 
 lation ; in 1880, one to 3062. Brooklyn had in 1S50, one to 1760; in 
 1880, one to 2673. New York in 1850 had one to 2442 ; in 1880, 
 one to 3048. According to this there has been an excess of growth 
 about 33 per cent, in numbers above the increase of church accommo- 
 dation in New York. Dr. Strong adds: "These three cities seem 
 to be exceptional only in degree. So far as I have made investigations, 
 there is a general tendency, with variations, in the growth of urban 
 population, to outrun church provision." 
 
 " In Chic^o there is a certain district of which a careful examina- 
 tion has been made, and in that district, out of a population of 50,000, 
 there are 20,000 under twenty years of age, and there are Sunday- 
 school accommodations for less than 2,000. What wonder that the 
 police arrested last year 7, 200 boys and girls for various petty crimes ? 
 There are 261 saloons and dago shops, three theatres, and other vile 
 places, and the Christian Church offers Sunday-school accommoda- 
 tions for only 2,000. In the Fourth and Seventh Wards of New York 
 there are 70,000 people and seven Protestant churches and chapels ; 
 in the Tenth Ward, 49,000 people and two churches and chapels ; 
 south of Fourteenth Street there is a population of 596,878, and only 
 no Protestant churches and missions. It was stated by Dr. Schauff- 
 ler, in 1888, that during the preceding twenty years nearly 200,000 
 people had moved in below Fourteenth Street, and seventeen Prot- 
 estant churches had moved out. One Jewish synagogue and two Roman 
 Catholic churches had been added, making a net decrease of religious 
 centres of fourteen." 
 
 ' Our Country, p. 185. 
 
INCREASE FROM URBAN POPULATION. I2i7 
 
 Some tithe of the great wealth of our cities must 
 be expended to raise the average of urban church 
 accommodation to a closer accordance with that of 
 the country at large, if we are to hope for an equal 
 average of prosperity and morality in our cities with 
 the country. 
 
 The Young Men's and Young Women's Chris- 
 tian Associations must be more generously sup- 
 ported and encouraged in their fruitful work among 
 the throngs of homeless youth in city streets and 
 boarding-houses. Societies to succor the poor and 
 assist them to self-support ; to kindle anew the 
 spark of hope in the breast of despair ; to enforce 
 parental care and education for children ; to find 
 country homes for the little waif and outcast ; to 
 aid discouraged families to leave the rookery and 
 tenement and secure suburban residence ; to teach 
 English to the foreigner ; to instruct the children ; 
 to visit the public institutions, the jails, and prisons ; 
 and strive to become acquainted with and gain the 
 confidence of the inmates, so that some may be 
 rescued from the ranks of criminality, — all these must 
 be organized and made efEcient, and supervised by 
 some general authority, as the common duty of 
 philanthropy and patriotism. 
 
 A recent and most promising agency for the re- 
 demption of the city is that " Salvation Army " 
 which had its birth in the slums of London. Their 
 dress and ways are not those of the churches, but 
 they are evidently reaching down into social depths 
 and darkness which the churches cannot penetrate. 
 They have rescued and reclaimed and hopefully con- 
 
128 PS/SOATE/IS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 verted over twenty thousand out of the ranks of the 
 " submerged " during the last year in America.' 
 Wherever they plant themselves, these consecrated 
 ones who abandon the world for Christ, the leaven 
 of Christianity begins to work, even in the ferment- 
 ing mire of the bottom. Whether their methods 
 are agreeable to our tastes or not, they are successful. 
 Let us give, then, our God's speed and our support ; 
 they are cleansing the very fountains of vice and 
 want, and saving those who are beyond all other 
 reach. 
 
 ' Statement o{ Commander Ballington Booth. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE URBAN POPULATION AS A SOURCE OF IN- 
 CREASE — Concluded. 
 
 Idleness Due to Inadaptation the Prolific Cause of Crime and Pov- 
 erty — Result of Inability to Meet Novel Requirements — Indus- 
 trial Education the Remedy — Polytechnics and People's Palaces 
 — Especial Need in America — Elevate Idleness to its Work, or 
 Transport it to Where it Exists. 
 
 That idleness is the mother of mischief is a trite 
 phrase, but that it expresses one of the eternal veri- 
 ties, applicable to all conditions of humanity, each 
 step of change and progress of the race confirms. It 
 is the idlers of mankind who fill its poor-houses and 
 prisons. The industrious and frugal not only take 
 care of themselves, but are compelled by the instincts 
 of human brotherhood and the necessities of self- 
 protection to take care also of the idle and vicious. 
 A broad generalization of analysis divides society 
 everywhere into two classes — the independent and 
 the dependent. The economical instinct, no less than 
 the divinely inspired one of charity and desire for 
 the general elevation and regeneration of the race, 
 impels and compels the former to strive continually 
 to reduce the members of the latter class. 
 
 The conditions and environments of urban exist- 
 ence have not as yet adapted themselves to a natural 
 
 9 
 
 129 
 
I30 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 and fair relation and proportion between these two 
 classes ; or, rather, the two classes have not properly 
 adjusted themselves to these conditions for the main- 
 tenance of dueproportion between themselves. The 
 social condensation by steam and electricity has been 
 too rapid and forcible for free adjustment. As a 
 consequence, the most capable, intelligent, and alert 
 to take advantage of the novel opportunities have 
 acquired affluence and wealth, while the mass, who 
 are bewildered and impotent, amid the altered 
 requirements of society, is enormously increased. 
 The abilities which were adequate to an honest 
 content where maintenance was secured under 
 simpler conditions become insufficient in the com- 
 plex competitions of science and skill. Human 
 desire is ever for something beyond, higher and 
 better than what it has. Possession never satisfies. 
 Old fields of labor are deserted as new ones are devel- 
 oped. The occupations of the past have become 
 and those of the present are fast becoming as obso- 
 lete as the trade of the flint arrow-head maker. The 
 skill of the former generation is either common or 
 not needed in this, in which, nevertheless, a thousand 
 new calls are made for it. 
 
 It is this lack of adaptation, rather than lack of 
 I disposition, which augments the ranks of the unem- 
 ployed in cities, which constitutes the army of the 
 idle there, the swelling source and fountain of the 
 appalling stream that our cities pour into overcrowded 
 asylums and prisons. There is work enough, pay 
 enough, bread enough for all, everywhere ; there is 
 anxious desire to transform work into bread and 
 
INCREASE PROM VRBAN^ POPULATION. 13 1 
 
 content, but the progress and refinements of civiliza- 
 tion have pushed work up out of the reach of many, 
 and their willing hands fall down into idleness, into 
 want, into crime, into desperation, because they are 
 found unable and unfit. Health and a common-school 
 education alone are no longer sufficient, in cities, to 
 satisfy the needs of all the bread-winners, and so 
 the great mass of them has become discontented, 
 desperate ; and, ignorant of the causes, of the whys 
 and the wherefores, prodded by the spur of want, 
 like a lumbering blind giant it strikes out in wrath 
 at whatever attracts its attention. So nihilism seeks 
 the life of Alexander of Russia ; anarchy schemes, and 
 the hungry besiege the palace of William in wealthy 
 Berlin ; communism plots in Paris ; angry workmen 
 parade the streets in London; "knights of labor" 
 secretly discuss, combine, strike, and run wild riot in 
 America. Dissatisfaction with what is, pervades the 
 workers universally, and even faith in God is shaken. 
 The throes which convulse the social status of 
 cities indicate the imminence of a new birth of hu- 
 manity. If the physicians are prompt and the facili- 
 ties ample, the deliverance will be safe, and the 
 result an elevation and advance of the race unparal- 
 leled in its history. Neglect, misinterpretation of 
 the signs, or faulty appliances are full of peril to 
 society and progress. Adaptation is the panacea of 
 the present, the balm to ease the new birth and calm 
 the turbulent waves of popular discontent. It well 
 behooves the independent, the powerful, the wise, 
 the wealthy, to act the faithful physician, to provide 
 and apply this remedy. 
 
t32 PSISONESS AND PAUPEHS. 
 
 As work cannot be brought down again to fit the 
 abilities of those who want it, the abilities of those 
 who want must be elevated to work. 
 
 There is demand everywhere for intelligence, sci- 
 ence, and skill at large pay, limited solely by ability. 
 It is far beyond the supply. Its growth with accel- 
 erating rapidity outruns the supply. New and 
 extraordinary effort is required to quickly increase 
 the supply to equal the demand. More and more of 
 the skilled must be moved up into the rank of the 
 expert, and their places filled by a much greater 
 promotion from the mass of the unskilled, until only 
 enough common labor is left to do the common 
 work of the world. This will solve the whole diffi- 
 culty, transform commotion into content, eliminate 
 the contribution of enforced idleness from the crimi- 
 nal and pauper class, and tend to restore urban society 
 to a natural condition. 
 
 This is not a theory but a fact, abundantly demon- 
 strated by tentative experiments in various localities 
 and in a variety of directions. One phase is well 
 illustrated by the results which have followed the 
 general establishment of " business colleges," in con- 
 sequence of the enlarged demands of modern business 
 for clerical service. Their graduates have become 
 so plentiful that an advertisement in a city for a 
 bookkeeper, clerk, or stenographer will overwhelm 
 the advertiser with applicants for situations at less 
 pay than ordinary artisans receive. So, also, the 
 learned professions are overcrowded by the colleges. 
 In some American cities, the appreciation of this 
 need has been evidenced by the donation of millions 
 
' ""increase from urban population. 133 
 
 of dollars by various individuals to enable the chil- 
 dren of the poor to fit themselves for the fullest 
 employment of their abilities, notably by Peter 
 Cooper, in New York, in the foundation of the 
 Cooper Institute ; by Stephen Girard, in Philadel- 
 phia, in the endowment of Girard College; and 
 lately by the munificent provision made by Mr. 
 Drexel there for the training of the children of arti- 
 sans, and the bequest of Peter Williamson for this 
 purpose. 
 
 Probably the most complete and perfectly adapted 
 institutions in the world, to satisfy these require- 
 ments of the age, are the Polytechnics of Quin- 
 tin Hogg, and the People's Palace, of London, 
 described by Albert Shaw in the Century Magazine 
 for June, 1890. They had then become so success- 
 ful, and had so fully demonstrated their utility, that 
 the Charity Commissioners were about to appropriate 
 three million dollars to the founding of others in the 
 city ; and the writer expressed his confidence that 
 the near future would see from nine to twelve of 
 these admirable polytechnics in different parts of 
 London. They are carefully calculated for the phys- 
 ical, mental, and moral improvement of the chil- 
 dren of the poor, between sixteen and twenty years 
 of age, at a minimum of cost to them. To this 
 end gymnasiums, swimming baths, athletic games 
 and careful physical training, night schools, with 
 scientific and theoretical instruction in technical 
 and trade subjects, lectures and entertainments, 
 reading-rooms, libraries, etc., and religious instruc- 
 tion and meetings, are provided, the object and 
 
134 PSISONEkS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 result being to fit these youth for a higher degree of 
 usefulness than would be otherwise possible, to in- 
 crease their earning capacity, and, in short, to enable 
 them to adapt themselves, if they will, to the advanced 
 requirements of human living. 
 
 Such institutions are more imperatively required 
 In American cities than in other countries, because 
 our very declaration of principles guarantee to all 
 the people freedom to find their highest happiness ; 
 otherwise there must exist here an oligarchy of 
 wealth, and a slavery of labor, more intolerable than 
 the African slavery which perished in the Rebellion. 
 
 Our city life has outgrown the public school. The 
 poor and middle classes of society need more than 
 it provides. Their children need a larger and more 
 practical training to prepare them to meet the de- 
 mands of these times. Their physique must be 
 improved, their dexterity increased, their associations 
 and ideas elevated, their hands trained to skill in 
 new trades and arts, their minds instructed in the 
 theories, principles, and science of their work, their 
 morals cultivated and strengthened. 
 
 All our cities must provide for the adaptation of 
 the rising generations to the probable needs of the 
 coming time, for the general advantage indeed, but 
 especially to reduce the herds of the idle — the prolific 
 source of crime and poverty. This provision cannot 
 safely be left longer to the bequests of the benevo- 
 lent. It has become a necessary function of govern- 
 ment ; as imperative as the public school, as palpable 
 and obligatory as the provision of almshouses, 
 asylums, and prisons, and a thousand times better. 
 
INCREASE FROM URBAN POPULATION. 135 
 
 A fraction of the sums expended in maintaining 
 these would be sufficient to transform idleness into 
 earning, and largely empty them of their inmates ; 
 an ounce of prevention, equivalent to many pounds 
 of ineffectual cure. 
 
 It will be necessary to remove those who are in- 
 capable, by nature or disposition, of adaptation to a 
 higher life to the simpler requirements of the country, 
 to locations where labor suitable to their abilities is 
 in demand. The time has come when the public 
 welfare requires not only that the advantages of 
 adaptation shall be general and sufficient, but also 
 that the privileges of a constant and even equilibrium 
 of work and labor shall be maintained uniformly, "and 
 without friction. The ease and economy of modern 
 facilities of travel and transportation, in America 
 certainly, have not only made great famines impos- 
 sible, but human idleness inexcusable. If the hands 
 are unfit, and cannot be made fit for the work at 
 hand, let society see to it that they are taken where 
 fit work waits. 
 
 We have thus endeavored to emphasize the 
 centripetal social forces of advancing civilization, to 
 expose the dangerous heats developed by this con- 
 centration, to direct attention to the unnecessary 
 public waste and dross of the operation. We have 
 explained in detail some of the more prominent 
 sociological extravagances and evils in the upper, 
 middle, and lower strata of the people in cities, and 
 suggested correctives. We have shown the weakness 
 of our urban political organization, the horrors, harm, 
 and needlessness of overcrowded areas ; how a more 
 
136 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 even distribution of population is to be maintained, 
 city government improved, political and social tonics 
 administered, and how idleness, the chief source and 
 fountain of crime and pauperism, is to be reduced 
 and dried up. A full consideration of the conditions 
 is essential to reformation. " Knowledge is the wing 
 wherewith we fly to heaven." 
 
 The evils of city life are numerous, insidious, com- 
 plex, terrible, and stupendous, but not necessarily 
 fatal or incurable. Remedies are known and acces- 
 sible for them all. This rapid age of energy will 
 brook no delay in their application. Promptitude, 
 faith, and invincible courage may yet redeem this 
 highest development of our civilization from cancer- 
 ous corruption. Let us then begin at once the 
 attack upon the germs and roots of disease, and 
 cease the concentration of our treatment upon the 
 purulent surface indications. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE. 
 
 Alcohol as the Physiological Cause of Crime — Proportion of Crime 
 and Pauperism Due to Intemperance — Testimony of Experts — 
 Alcohol to Be Made to Pay as it Goes — Statistics of Consumption 
 — The Increase in Beer-Drinking — Failure of License and . Pro- 
 hibition — Legislation for Drunkards — State Asylums — Substi- 
 tutes for Saloons — Educate the Girls to Cook. 
 
 We have attributed the abnormal increase of 
 criminality and pauperism in the United States 
 largely to an increase of intemperance. Alcoholic 
 ^rink is estimated to be the direct or indirect cause 
 of 75 per cent, of all the crimes committed, and of 
 at least 50 per cent, of all the sufferings endured 
 on account of poverty, in this country and among 
 civilized nations. 
 
 The terrible effects of this curse of humanity are 
 displayed to all the elements of our population, the 
 native, the foreign, the colored, and the urban alike. 
 It smites the citizen and the countryman, without 
 distinction of either race, color, sex, religious belief, 
 education, present or previous condition, with its 
 subtle and virulent poison, and the lovely bloom of 
 innocence, manhood, nobility, honor, and honesty 
 fades from face and character, and the horrid signs of 
 
 137 
 
13^ Prisoners and paupers. 
 
 sensuality, immorality, and depravity appear. Once 
 inoculated in the system, it creates and nourishes an 
 appetite which grows upon indulgence until it be- 
 comes irresistible and overmastering. 
 
 The very first effect the habitual use of intoxicants 
 has upon persons is to make them untruthful. No 
 sooner does one begin " to drink " than he begins to lie. 
 He first deceives himself concerning the power of the 
 habit ; he denies the practice to others ; then he be- 
 gins to lie about anything to subserve his purpose ; 
 next he lies without purpose, and, finally, he lies when 
 the truth would better suit his purpose. The truth is 
 not in him ; it is all burnt out. This is the invariable 
 course and the constant result. Every one who has 
 carefully observed the downward career of one who 
 indulges in alcoholic stimulant is cognizant of this. 
 The inference is common where a truthful person 
 begins to lie, although no other evidence is apparent, 
 that he has begun to drink. All drunkards are liars. 
 
 Whatever the physiological effect of alcohol is 
 upon the brain and nervous system, and science 
 demonstrates that it is serious and great, it certainly 
 so disarranges, distorts, and unbalances their natural 
 functions as to first impair and then destroy the 
 power of accurate perception, judgment, and expres- 
 sion. The habitual drunkard probably lies without 
 being conscious of it. Now when the mental and 
 moral faculties are thrown out of gear, the actions of 
 which they are inceptive are erratic ; they no longer 
 follow the straight and direct course of truth and 
 rectitude. Errors of judgment, errors of speech, 
 errors of conduct result. Error is the essence of 
 
INTEMPEkANCE AS A CAUSE. 139 
 
 crime, and of.the-mistaltes^of manageme nt _and lif e 
 which lead^tn j'aihireand povert y When the errors 
 of action become so great and hostile to society as 
 to require repression and correction, they become 
 crimes, and the perpetrators criminals. 
 
 Al cohol, therefore, is in fact a natural a nd , actua l— 
 ^jaiise^f^riminalit}^ It is not simply a contributor, 
 stimulus, an d inciter to crime ; not only an a ccessory 
 before the fact, an dau t hor of de generacy,_but-lhe 
 real first caus e in all cas es where np_.a^^£^an_be, 
 pro^^~ This is so rarely possible that Alcohol is 
 to-day cited before the Bar of the Public Welfare to 
 plead to this indictment, which has been framed after 
 due and diligent inquiry and careful examination 
 made as to the facts. 
 
 Before His Honor, 
 
 Judge Common-Sense, 
 
 and twelve good men and true, sworn as a jury to 
 fairly try and decide upon the evidence submitted. 
 
 THE PUBLIC WELFARE VS. ALCOHOL. 
 
 INDICTMENT. 
 
 A true bill. 
 
 Signed, HUMANITY, Foreman. 
 
 In the Court of Public Welfare of the People of the 
 United States. 
 
 General Sessions, 1891. 
 
 The People of the United States, ss.: 
 
 The Grand Inquest of the People of the United 
 States, inquiring for the Public Welfare, upon their 
 
I4<^ PXiSOJ^EHS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 respective oaths and affirmations, do present : That 
 Alcohol mixed, incorporated, and disguised in various 
 enticing and acceptable intoxicating drinks, the same 
 being brandy, gin, whiskey, rum, wine, porter, ale, 
 and beer, did in the year of our Lord one thousand 
 eight hundred and ninety, in the domain of the 
 United States, and within the jurisdiction of this 
 Court, corrupt, debase, and ^eprave 59,703 mem- 
 bers of the Body Pohtic, and cause the same to 
 perpetrate various heinous crimes against the peace, 
 prosperity, progress, and dignity of the People, so 
 that it has been necessary to confine them in Penal 
 Institutions, and thereby the Public Welfare has 
 suffered loss and damage, to the amount of 
 $1 19,406,000. 
 
 And the Grand Inquest aforesaid, upon their 
 respective oaths and affirmations, do further pre- 
 sent, that the said Alcohol, mixed and disguised as 
 aforesaid, hath, in and before the year of our Lord 
 one thousand eight hundred and ninety, in the 
 domain of the United States and within the juris- 
 diction of this Court, corrupted and incapacitated 
 for self-support 36,522 members of the Body Politic, 
 so that they have become a charge upon the People 
 for their maintenance in almshouses, whereby the 
 Public has suffered loss and damage to the amount 
 of $73,044,000. 
 
 And the Grand Inquest aforesaid, upon their oaths 
 and affirmations, do further present : That the said 
 Alcohol, mixed and disguised as aforesaid, in and 
 before the year aforesaid, within the jurisdiction of 
 the Court, hath impaired, maimed, weakened, and 
 
INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE. I4I 
 
 destroyed the soundness of the brains of 48,767 
 members of the Body Politic, so that it has become 
 necessary to confine them in Asylums for the 
 Insane, and maintain them therein, whereby the 
 Public has suffered loss and damage to the amount 
 of $97,534>ooo. 
 
 And the Grand Inquest as aforesaid, upon their 
 oaths and affirmations, do further present: That 
 the said Alcohol, mixed and disguised as aforesaid, 
 hath afflicted the aforesaid loss and damage of $289,- 
 984,000 upon the People of the United States, in and 
 before the year of our Lord aforesaid, within the 
 jurisdiction of this Court, against the peace and 
 dignity and prosperity of the People, and contrary 
 to the first law of nature and of God, recognized, 
 obeyed, and maintained universally, not only by this 
 people and nation, but by every people and nation, 
 by humanity at large, by every individual of the 
 race of mankind, by every animal and living thing 
 that has come from the hand of the Creator, to wit, 
 namely, the Law of Self-Preservation. 
 
 Signed : PHILANTHROPY, 
 
 Public Prosecutor. 
 
 WITNESSES. 
 
 E. C Wines, D.D., LL.D., Rev. Jos. Strong, 
 D.D., Chief-Justice N. Davis, Hon. M. H. Dickinson, 
 Hon. Sanford M. Green, Hon. Alfred Hand, Hon. 
 Robt. T. Porter, Dr. T. J. Morton, et al. 
 
 Public Prosecutor. — May it please the Court and 
 gentlemen of the Jury. It is not intended to encum- 
 
142 PSISONESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 ber this trial with evidence beyond the scope of the 
 indictment. There are other and much more serious 
 indictments pending against the prisoner at the bar, 
 for fraud, embezzlement, theft, robbery, burglary, 
 arson, assaults, maiming, manslaughter, murder, 
 seduction, fornication, rape, adultery, incest, sodomy ; 
 for inhuman cruelties to wives and children ; for 
 causing one third of all the diseases of the people ; 
 for causing the death of sixty thousand of our people 
 every year ; for the destruction within the last cen- 
 tury of more of the general earnings than the cost 
 and value of all the public improvements,made on 
 this continent, including all our railroads, canals, and 
 telegraphs. These indictments may be tried at 
 another time; we refer to them only to show the 
 general animus of the prisoner, and that this indict- 
 ment is not the only one or the most serious found 
 against him. Nor is it for the first offence ; on the 
 contrary, it appears from the records that he is one 
 of the oldest criminals at large in society ; the chief, 
 the leader, the king of all the vicious and criminal 
 class. We have attacked the head in the confident 
 expectation that if we crush that we shall paralyze 
 the whole loathsome train which depends upon it. 
 Neither shall we attempt to excite your sympathies 
 by a rhetorical arraignment, depicting the soul-har- 
 rowing incidents and concomitant circumstances of 
 these crimes specified and charged. The loftiest 
 eloquence, the most convincing arguments, withering 
 invective, the finest arts of vituperation of the grand- 
 est intellects have exhausted their powers in vain on 
 this subject. Your time, patience, and oaths require 
 
INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE. 143 
 
 a decision upon the facts which are submitted in 
 evidence, and upon these we rest our case. 
 
 THE PRISONER PLEADS NOT GUILTY. 
 
 Public Prosecutor. — We offer in evidence chemical 
 analyses of the various liquors specified, showing 
 that brandy, gin, whiskey, and rum contain from 40 
 to 50 per cent. ; that wine contains from 7 to 20 per 
 cent. ; that ale and porter contain from 5 to 7 per 
 cent., and that beer contains from 2 to 10 per cent, 
 of pure alcohol.' 
 
 That it is the stimulating and intoxicating ele- 
 ment of all these beverages.' 
 
 That the definition of the word intemperance, in 
 this trial, is excessive indulgence in intoxicating 
 drink. Also, the American table of mortality, 
 adopted by the State of New York as the stand- 
 ard for valuation of life insurance policies, giving 
 the " expectation of life " of persons thirty years 
 old as 30.3 years ; also the annuity table of the 
 Equitable Life Assurance Society, showing present 
 cost of annuity of $icxd for a male thirty years old 
 to be $1,652.50, and for a female of the same age 
 $1,697.50 ; from which it appears that $3,305 is the 
 cash value of an annuity of $200 to a male of thirty 
 years of age. Also statements of various sociolo- 
 gists and physicians, too numerous to specify, that 
 the foundation of intemperate habits is almost uni- 
 versally laid before the victim has reached the age 
 of thirty years. 
 
 ' Century Dictionary. 
 
144 J'SISOMERS AND PA UPERS. 
 
 E. C. Wines, D.D., LL.D., President of the Inter- 
 national Penitentiary Congress of Stockholm, author 
 of State of Prisons in the Civilized World, etc., etc., 
 testifies : 
 
 " Intemperance is a proximate cause of a very large proportion of 
 the crime committed in America. Fully three fourths of all the 
 prisoners with whom I have personally conversed in different parts 
 of the country admitted that they were addicted to an excessive use 
 of alcoholic liquors. ... In a circular letter which I once 
 addressed to the wardens of all our State prisons, this question 
 was put to them, among others : * What is your opinion as to the 
 connection of strong drink and crime?' The answers were all 
 one way. Mr. Pollard, of Vermont, did but echo the general 
 sentiment, though -he put it more sharply than most, when he 
 said : ' My opinion is that if intoxicants were totally eradicated, 
 the Vermont State Prison would hold all the criminals in the United 
 States.' " > 
 
 William Tallack, Secretary of the Howard Asso- 
 ciation, London, England, author of Defects of 
 Criminal Administration, Penological and Preventive 
 Principles, etc., etc., testifies : 
 
 " It is unquestionable that, in most countries, the worst sufferings 
 inflicted upon women, children, and dumb animals are perpetrated 
 under the influence of strong drink, for this is provocative of both 
 cruelty and lust. . . . ^ost crimes must be and a re-attrihutahlp^ 
 to intemperance . . . . What is the origin, in innumerable in- 
 stances, of the wretchedness of those homes which it is a calamity 
 for a child to be born into ? It is intemperance. And whatjsjhe. 
 main source of that poverty whicJl-£ailses_io_many-£hildrea-to_be— 
 either negJeHedpr. driven4Bto-esiLcoutseii_A^n it. iajiBg uestiona- 
 bly intemperance." ' 
 
 ' State of Prisons, pp. 113, I14. 
 
 ' Penological Principles, pp. 2g6, 300. 
 
INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE. I AS 
 
 Chief-Justice Noah Davis, of the New York Su- 
 preme Court, testifies : " Among all causes of crime, 
 intemperance stands out the unapproachable chief. 
 That habits of intemperance are the chief causes of 
 crime, is the testimony of all judges of large ex- 
 perience." ' 
 
 Dr. Harris, of the Prison Association of New 
 York, testifies : " That fully 85 per cent, of all con- 
 victs give evidence of having in some larger degree 
 been prepared or enticed to do criminal acts because 
 of the physical and destructive effects upon the 
 human organism of alcohol." " 
 
 The State Board of Charities of Massachusetts, in 
 their report of 1869, testify: "The proportion of 
 crime traceable to this great vice (intemperance) 
 must be set down, as heretofore, at not less than 
 four fifths." 
 
 Hon. Sanford M. Green, Judge of the Supreme 
 and Circuit Courts of Michigan, testifies : " That_it 
 (intgmperance) J £ the pare nlLof pau perism . That-it 
 
 Ic ^fVip rhjpf ran tiP nfj^rjrnp" ' 
 
 John C. Park, District Attorney of Suffolk County, 
 Mass., testifies : " While District Attorney I formed 
 the opinion (and it is not a mere matter of opinion, 
 but is confirmed by every hour of experience since) 
 that ninety-nine hundredths of the crime in the 
 Commonwealth is produced by intoxicating liquors." 
 
 J. Wilson May, District Attorney of Suffolk 
 County, Mass., testifies : " According to my official 
 
 ' Address before the National Temperance Society, 1S78. 
 ' The Relations of Drunkenness to Crime, 
 • Crime, p. 37 et seq. 
 
146 PRlSO^TEJiS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 observation, drinking in some form is directly re- 
 sponsible for about three fourths of the crime that 
 is brought to the cognizance of the county." 
 
 Judge White, of Pennsylvania, testifies : " After 
 fifteen years on the bench I believe four fifths of all 
 crimes committed are the result, directly or indi- 
 rectly, of the use of intoxicating liquors. Three 
 fourths of the expense to the State for the prosecu- 
 tion of criminals is attributed to the same cause." ' 
 
 Hon. Alfred Hand, ex-President Judge of Lacka- 
 wanna County and ex-Justice of Supreme Court of 
 Pennsylvania, in a letter to the writer, testifies : 
 
 " In the trial of criminal cases in Lackawanna County during ten 
 years it. was constantly forced upon my mind, that the great cause of 
 crime, overtopping all other direct causes, has been intemperance. 
 The estimate of crimes due to intemperance, which my observation 
 compels me to make, I place at the minimum, at 75 per cent., and I 
 at one time so stated in Court. It was the same estimate made by 
 Judge Davis, of New York, which I found was fully borne out in 
 Lackawanna County. The exact figures, I am confident, would go 
 above rather than below this estimate." 
 
 Hon. Mahlon H. Dickinson, President of the 
 Board of Public Charities of Pennsylvania, testifies, 
 by his report for i8go : 
 
 " That 82.7 per cent, of the commitments to the Penitentiaries of 
 Pennsylvania in 1889 were addicted to the use of alcoholic drink ; 
 that over 87 per cent, of those sentenced to county jails and work- 
 houses in that year were addicted to alcoholic drink ; that over 42 per 
 cent, of the youths committed to the Huntingdon Reformatory ad- 
 mitted the use of alcoholic drink, 22.7 of whom acknowledged in- 
 temperance ; that of the 5,265 township poor relieved, 408 were 
 recorded intemperate ; that only 66 per cent, of those receiving out- 
 
 ' Address, Pittsburg, May 28, 1889. 
 
INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE. 147 
 
 door relief because of destitution on account of permanent disability 
 claimed to be abstinent ; that of those relieved for temporary disa- 
 bility only 54 per cent, claimed to be abstinent; that no cases of 
 1,634 admitted to insane hospitals were directly due to intemperance, 
 more than double the number attributed to any other definite cause, 
 except " ill-health." 
 
 The report of the Allegheny County Workhouse, 
 testifies : That of 52,783 prisoners received since 
 1869, over 83 per cent, were addicted to alcoholic 
 drink. 
 
 Dr. Thomas J. Morton, Chairman Lunacy Com- 
 mittee of Pennsylvania, in a letter to the writer, 
 testifies : " A careful consideration leads me to be- 
 lieve that in probably one half the cases of insanity, 
 or about that percentage, the causes will be found 
 in intemperance directly or indirectly." 
 
 Dr. H. M. Wetherell, Secretary of the Lunacy 
 Committee of Pennsylvania, testifies in a letter to 
 the writer : 
 
 " From my experience and observation of a very large number 
 of cases, and of the records of each year, as well as from my hos- 
 pital observations, I fully believe that it would be well within the 
 limits of fact to state that one half of all the cases of insanity is 
 attributable to intemperance." 
 
 Mr. Fisk, in a report of the United States Com- 
 missioner of Education, 1871, testifies: "At the 
 Deer Island House of Industry, Boston, 88 per 
 cent, of the committals were for drunkenness and 
 93 per cent, of the confinements were connected 
 with strong drink." 
 
 Charles S. Hoyt, Secretary of the State Board of 
 Charities of New York, testifies : 
 
148 PSISONEXS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 " After an examination made of the inmates of the various poor- 
 houses of the State in 1875, numbering 12,614, **•=>* 84.36 per cent, 
 of the males and 41.97 per cent, of the females were intemperate ; 
 and of 4,047 insane examined, 79. 2 1 of the males had been intem- 
 perate, and 21.44 pci' cent, of the females." 
 
 Hon. Robert P. Porter, Superintendent of the 
 Eleventh United States Census, testifies : 
 
 " The number of convicts in penitentiaries of the United States 
 June I, 1890, was 45',233 ; the number of prisoners in county jails 
 . 19.538 ; and the number of inmates of juvenile reformatories was 
 14,846 ; a total number of inmates in all penal institutions, 79,617 ; 
 the a^regate of inmates of almshouses was 73,045 ; and the total 
 number of insane persons treated in public and private institutions 
 during the year 1889 was 97,535, an increase in nine years of 73.53 
 per cent. The annual cost per head for the number of insane 
 treated was $161." 
 
 Hon. Edward Atkinson, testifies : " That the 
 average expense of individuals in the United 
 States for fuel, food, clothing, and shelter does 
 not exceed fifty cents a day, and that the average 
 earnings of all classes engaged in useful occupations 
 must equal $600 per annum." 
 
 The taking of testimony is closed. 
 
 THE PRISONER IS DUMB BEFORE THE COURT. 
 
 Public Prosecutor. — May it please the Court and 
 gentlemen of the Jury. We make no comment 
 upon the evidence. It is plain and sufficient. The 
 indictment charges a minimum sum of damage to 
 the public, much less than is commonly estimated 
 by competent authorities, on account of these per- 
 
INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE. 149 
 
 sons now supported at the public expense. This 
 sum is found by multiplying three fourths of the 
 number of prisoners and one half the number of 
 paupers and insane by $2,000, which is taken to 
 be the value of each individual to the State when 
 he becomes a public burden. 
 
 It is well known that the foundation for intem- 
 perate habits is laid under thirty years of age. At 
 this age the average earning capacity of a male in 
 this country is $450 per annum. At an average 
 cost of fifty cents a day for maintenance, or of 
 $138 per annum, the average annual addition of 
 each individual to the general profit or advantage is 
 equal to $263. We admit that intemperate habits 
 have diminished the expectation of life of these in- 
 dividuals one third, and that therefore $2,200 would 
 be sufficient to purchase an annuity of $200 for the 
 diminished expectation. We are also willing to 
 throw off $63 from the annual average profit of 
 these persons to the public, on account of depreci- 
 ated value of service ; and to assume, in accordance 
 with the well-known estimate of Hon. D. A. Wells, 
 that the value of these lives to the country was but 
 $2,000 each. We ask you to find a verdict of dam- 
 age of $2,000 each to the people for these lives 
 changed from productive efficiency to a public bur- 
 den, on account of the ruinous action of alcohol 
 upon them, and to enable you to impose an equiva- 
 lent fine. We ask that the Court charge that the 
 time of this action is self-evidently in accordance 
 with the indictment ; that the jurisdiction of the 
 Court is unquestionable ; that the law and statute 
 
150 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 violated are as charged, and so leave the case upon 
 your consciences, gentlemen 'of the Jury. 
 
 Charge of the Court. — The fact of the confinement 
 of the persons enumerated in the several penal and 
 eleemosynary institutions of the country, at the 
 time stated in the indictment, if sufficiently proven, 
 establishes without the necessity of other evidence 
 the fact that they were, and are, within the jurisdic- 
 tion of this Court, and that the reasons and causes 
 of their confinement must have, of necessity, ex- 
 isted in and before the time specified in the indict- 
 ment. Moreover, whatever causes the loss or 
 destruction of human energy and productiveness 
 in the social organization, whatever renders it im- 
 potent as a contributor to the welfare and prosperity 
 of the community as a whole, or imposes instead of 
 such contribution a tax and burden upon the other 
 portion and remainder of society, violates, and is 
 contrary to the universal sway, domination, and 
 authority of the Law of Self-preservation, the first 
 law of nature. It is, therefore, a proper and unde- 
 niable function of the public to lay its hand upon, 
 arrest, and exact compensation from the violator 
 and offender. 
 
 If, therefore, you find from the evidence before 
 you, that the prisoner at the Bar has caused the loss 
 and damage to the public welfare charged in the in- 
 dictment, you will find for the People ; if, however, 
 you find that the prisoner indicted is not proven to 
 be the cause of such loss and damage, or that, if the 
 cause, yet of a different amount, you will so make 
 your verdict. This the law of common-sense. 
 
INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE. 15I 
 
 After consultation the jury present their verdict. 
 
 The Court — How say you, gentlemen of the Jury : 
 Guilty or not guilty ? 
 
 Foreman — Guilty, your Honor, as charged in the 
 indictment. 
 
 The Sentence of the Court — Let Alcohol stand 
 committed until he shall have paid the People 
 $289,984,000. 
 
 How shall the sentence of Common Sense be 
 executed, and the fine imposed upon Alcohol be 
 collected ? 
 
 There has been, during the last fifty years, and 
 particularly in the last decade, an astonishing in- 
 crease of beer drinking in this country. Beer is the 
 common and cheap stimulant of the poor and lower 
 classes of society, which, on account of their larger 
 numbers, furnish the largest proportion of criminals 
 and paupers. It would seem, therefore, when we 
 discover an abnormal increase in the consumption 
 of beer, co-incident with an abnormal increase of 
 criminality, knowing the physical and moral effects 
 of alcoholic stimulant upon humanity, that there 
 must exist the relation of cause and effect between 
 these facts. This assumption is confirmed also by the 
 fact that in other civilized countries, where statistics 
 show no such alarming increase of crime, the per 
 capita consumption of stimulants has not unduly 
 increased. Indeed in Great Britain, where the in- 
 crease of criminals has been less than that of its 
 population in the decade, there has been a corres- 
 ponding decrease in the consumption of intoxicants. 
 
152 PSISONEXS AND PAUPERS.' 
 
 The tables appended' display the consumption 
 of intoxicants in the United States, and some foreign 
 countries at different periods, and some other inter- 
 esting data concerning this. From which statement 
 it appears that the consumption of distilled spirits per 
 capita, has not materially changed, even in fifty years, 
 in this country ; but the consumption of malt liquors 
 has increased 738.1 per cent., contemporaneously 
 with an increase of 445. per cent, in criminals in 
 fifty years ; and 109 per cent, against an increase of 
 population of 24.5 per cent in ten years ; more than 
 four times as fast. In the United Kingdom, on the 
 contrary, there has been a decided decrease in the 
 per capita consumption of all intoxicants, and, as 
 elsewhere noted, in criminality. It may also be 
 noted that the Treasury Department reports 
 "From the data accessible to these authorities, 
 the consumption of alcoholic liquors in the arts and 
 manufactures in the United States, would appear to 
 be between 7 to 10 per cent, of the entire consump- 
 tion. At least 90 per cent, then, of the distilled 
 spirits used in the country has been consumed as 
 beverages." 
 
 The monstrous increase of criminality, so far as it 
 is caused by intemperance, must then be attributed 
 to the increase of beer drinking. The temperance 
 agitation, which has been active so many years, and 
 the license system, have signally failed in America 
 to check the rising tide of intemperance, or to re- 
 strain the consumption of alcohol within the limits 
 of parity even, with our growth in numbers. The 
 ' See Appendix I. 
 
INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE. I S3 
 
 temperance reform has been effective in the classes 
 of society which it has been able to reach as a moral 
 movement. The decanter has been banished from 
 the sideboard, and the wine bottle largely from the 
 table of the educated, " well-to-do " classes of 
 society. But beer saloons and beer drinkers are 
 constantly multiplying. Political prohibition has 
 proven unsuccessful in most localities for lack of 
 general popular support. The people may come to 
 such a universal intelligence as will enforce prohibi- 
 tory legislation, but they have not reached that 
 plane as yet. The temperance reform has failed, not 
 on account of any lack of intrinsic truth, force, or 
 need, but chiefly because it has been allowed to 
 become obscured and confused, as a strictly moral 
 movement, against the individual or personal sins 
 of appetite and avarice, and made no effective effort 
 to restrict the multiplication of drunkards by procrea- 
 tion. It has been impaired by a complication with 
 politics and civil legislation, which in America are, 
 of right and necessity, distinct and separate from 
 matters of religion and morals ; but, especially, 
 because it has not extended its influence very much 
 into the intemperate classes of society. It has been 
 embarrassed and impeded, also, by the License and 
 Prohibition ultraists among its promoters, who with 
 violent vituperation and intolerance of adverse 
 opinion endeavor to achieve spiritual success with 
 carnal weapons, and so excite and organize an un- 
 necessary opposition and unpopularity. 
 
 The license system is unsound in principal because 
 it gives governmental protection and sanction to a 
 
154 Prisoners ai^d paupers. 
 
 traffic which is an intolerable public injury. It is a 
 mistake and fallacy of statecraft, because it increases 
 an evil it is intended to diminish, European nations 
 have discovered this fallacy in licensing the " social 
 evil," and are abandoning that experiment. We 
 must soon follow their example in this respect in 
 our dealing with the saloon. Absolute prohibition 
 is unsound in principle, because it is an attempt to 
 reform society by ballot : as unnatural and impos- 
 sible a purpose as to attempt to legislate people into 
 Christianity. The " Prohibition " idea has no logi- 
 cal or authorized standing in American politics. It 
 is contrary to the spirit of American institutions, in 
 the proposed restriction of personal liberty of action 
 which it involves, and therefore it invites the oppo- 
 sition of political judgment and sentiment. As 
 American society is at present constituted it is evi- 
 dently impossible of attainment, even if all the 
 expected relief could be secured from it, which is 
 doubtful. The mass of mankind will not submit to 
 dictation and interference in matters of taste, appe- 
 tite, or of morals, however much such submission 
 would conduce to the benefit of either the indi- 
 vidual or the mass. The progress of civilization 
 and elevation has always been by gradual advance, 
 by progressive steps, by evolution, rather than by 
 revolution, edict, or legislation. 
 
 If, therefore, it is impossible, as it appears to be, 
 to prevent the consumption of intoxicants by law, let 
 us see if we cannot discover some plan which will 
 receive the support of the public, and effect a partial 
 relief, if not a complete deliverance ; suggest some 
 
INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE. 1 55 
 
 practical method of legislative action which will pro- 
 mote and assist, instead of impeding the progress of 
 the temperance reformation of society. Some com- 
 mon acceptable ground must certainly exist where 
 the great majority of the people will take a stand, 
 and present an united and invincible front against 
 this fearful evil of intemperance. It is too tremen- 
 dous and alarming to be ignored. 
 
 Such a basis of action must be harmonious with 
 the inborn and cherished principles of general liberty 
 and personal freedom upon which our institutions 
 are founded. Political action must, we believe, be 
 directed upon the thing itself, without reference to 
 the personalities involved ; it must aim at the protec- 
 tion of society from the injury and burden it inflicts, 
 by securing compensation, as far as possible, for 
 them. Let us eliminate from the whole subject the 
 personal equation, when we deal with it politically, 
 and the strength and vitality will quickly vanish 
 from the opposition leagues which are now united 
 upon a plea of self-defence. Legislation cannot cure 
 the evil, but it may provide protection from its con- 
 sequences. It may require compensation in behalf 
 of the public for the damages it inflicts. This is a 
 legitimate function of government. We propose 
 that Alcohol, the pernicious element in all intoxicat- 
 ing beverages, shall be made to pay as it goes. That 
 it shall be made to settle its own bill every year, 
 instead of fraudulently devolving it upon innocent 
 tax-payers. 
 
 Let Congress substitute for our present internal 
 revenues and tariff laws upon the subject, a tax upon 
 
156 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 the percentage of alcohol contained in distilled spir- 
 its, wines, and malt liquors, manufactured or im- 
 ported for use as beverages, of an amount per gallon 
 sufficient to defray the entire cost to the country of 
 maintaining the penal, reformatory, deaf-mute, blind, 
 and insane hospitals, inebriate and idiot asylums, 
 and almshouses of the country, as shown by the re- 
 ports of the preceding year. The proceeds of this 
 tax should be divided to the States according to 
 their respective expenditures for these purposes. 
 The grievous burden would thus be transferred from 
 the people in general, and laid entirely upon those 
 who of right ought to pay this cost ; namely, those 
 who drink. 
 
 In the table' we have calculated that a tax of 
 $3.00 per gallon of pure alcohol would add to the 
 first cost of distilled spirits $1.50 per gallon, to wine 
 30 cents per gallon, and to malt liquors 15 cents 
 per gallon, according to the general average of 
 alcohol contained in them. Also that this tax would 
 have yielded, in 1890, a revenue of $268,000,000, 
 which would probably have about equalled the ex- 
 penditure for the maintenance of criminals and pau- 
 pers. If it is objected that the entire cost of these 
 classes should not fairly be laid upon alcohol, we an- 
 swer that the enormous expense for buildings and ac- 
 commodations already incurred, and of maintenance 
 for centuries, has been paid by the general public, — 
 an expense which it will take alcohol a long time to 
 reimburse. No charge is included in this estimate 
 for the costs of arrests, trials, convictions, or the spoils 
 ' See Appendix I. 
 
INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE. I $7 
 
 of prey. This would require an increase of only 60 
 cents per gallon in the present tax on spirits, and a 
 trifle over $3.00 per barrel on beer, while it would 
 effect an actual reduction of duty on wines, the use 
 of which is already decreasing. It would not be pro- 
 hibitory on account of an increase of cost of drink to 
 the poor, although it would probably restrict the con- 
 sumption, which is the main object to be effected. 
 It would, in effect, doubtless add one cent to the 
 price of a glass of beer. There was a very decided 
 reduction in the consumption of distilled spirits 
 following the imposition of the present tax. We 
 should expect a similar reduction if it were increased. 
 There would be a check to the disproportionate in- 
 crease of the consumption of beer. Crime and pau- 
 perism would decrease pari />assu with a decrease in 
 consumption and revenue from the tax, so that a 
 constant equilibrium would be maintained. The 
 public appropriation of this revenue to the support 
 of criminals and paupers would be, moreover, an 
 omnipresent argument before the people for temper- 
 ance ; more cogent, practical, and universally applied 
 than any other that could be made. The whole ques- 
 tion of temperance, license, and prohibition, would 
 thus be taken out of politics. The liquor dealer's 
 organizations would dissolve, and temperance resume 
 its appropriate place among the other virtues, to be 
 inculcated and promoted as honesty, chastity, reli- 
 gion, and charity are. 
 
 We are confident that this plan offers the easiest, 
 soundest, most practicable, and hopeful solution of 
 the economical and political part of this greatest of 
 
1 58 PSISONEXS AND PA UPERS. 
 
 social problems. It is constitutional ; it accords with 
 American principles of government; it infringes 
 upon no personal or individual rights or privileges ; 
 restricts no freedom of will ; interferes with no one's 
 fancied right to deal in, or use, strong drink. It 
 simply abolishes the unequal and annoying system 
 of license machinery and espionage, imposes the 
 financial burden where it justly belongs, and fulfils 
 the highest purpose of government, by the protec- 
 tion of the governed. 
 
 This done, religion, philanthropy, and humanity 
 can devote their undivided and unhampered atten- 
 tion to the prevention and cure of intemperance and 
 drunkenness among the people, with faith and hope- 
 fulness. Let us then abandon the misdirected efforts 
 of the past, and all unite in this one purpose, almost 
 sublime in the simplicity of its grandeur, to make 
 Alcohol pay as it goes. 
 
 Whether drunkenness or dipsomania is a physical 
 or mental disease, an uncontrolled habit, or a sin, 
 it is unnecessary for us to discuss, for our present 
 purpose. Our__opinion is that in so me cases it is a 
 disease, in others a habit, and in all a sin . The ex- 
 perience of mankind from the beginning down to the 
 present has established one thing indisputably, that 
 the introduction of alcohol into the system excites 
 a tendency to repetition, and that ever\- repeti- 
 tion increases this tendency ; that the tendency, if 
 unchecked, invariably becomes overmastering, and 
 results in such a weakening of will-power, moral 
 consciousness and intelligence, that the victim is 
 finally reduced to a mere animal, as cruel as a hyena, 
 
INTEMPERAtfCE AS A CAtJSE. 159 
 
 and as sensual as a hog. Modern science has like- 
 wise positively demonstrated that this tendency to 
 drunkenness is often hereditary, and may be com- 
 municated, like other characteristics, from parent to 
 child ; and that children begotten or conceived under 
 the influence of alcohol are inevitably depraved or 
 unhealthy. It seems also to be contagious and 
 communicable by intimate association. Unique 
 among the diseases which afflict mankind, in the 
 universality and unremitted diffusion of its terrible 
 ravages upon the race, the iniquity of its uniquity is 
 tremendously magnified by the fact that it is the 
 only disease for which there is known an infallible 
 cure — ^the certain and practicable specific, abstinence, 
 voluntary, or enforced. 
 
 We have proved that intemperance and drunken- 
 ness are the direct or indirect cause of most of the 
 crimes, and much of the suffering and want of 
 society. In view of this fact, who can deny the 
 right of society to legislate logically for its treat- 
 ment and cure? as it legislates concerning its 
 kindred affection of insanity. It is, indeed, not 
 only a right, but a duty of self-preservation, espe- 
 cially where the evil grows so rapidly as it now 
 does in this country. The present legislation rela- 
 ting to drunkenness is based upon no correct or 
 general principle, and is entirely inadequate. 
 
 In the first place, we believe that drunkenness 
 should be made a crime in itself by law, as it is in 
 fact. Instead of this, criminals are permitted often 
 to urge it in court as an excuse for crimes committed 
 under its incitement. They plead drunkenness, or 
 
l6o PSISONEJiS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 the influence of liquor, with the brazen assurance 
 with which temporary insanity is offered in extenua- 
 tion of guilt, when it should be held as an aggrava- 
 tion, because the criminal generally stimulates his 
 courage and stupefies his moral sense for the pur- 
 pose of facilitating his crime. If the drunkard were 
 liable to arrest and punishment for the mere fact of 
 drunkenness alone, the fear of the law would restrain 
 many from those first steps which lead to absolute 
 ruin, if the penalty were sufficiently severe. The 
 first offence should be punished by solitary confine- 
 ment for from ten to thirty days, the second from 
 thirty to sixty days, the third from sixty to ninety 
 days. The next conviction should consign the cul- 
 prit to confinement at self-supporting labor in a 
 State asylum, house of correction and reformation, 
 if it should be preferred to so name it, not to be 
 released until a competent authority should pro- 
 nounce that a permanent and reliable cure had 
 been effected. 
 
 It is a reproach upon our intelligence and civiliza- 
 tion that a drunkard must commit some additional 
 crime before he can be confined, in Pennsylvania, 
 for even sixty days, when it is known that in most 
 cases, at least six months or a year are necessary to 
 restore the drunkard to a normal condition of phys- 
 ical and moral health. Whether drunkenness be a 
 disease or a habit, it is certainly beyond the control 
 of the victim. No one can doubt this who has 
 witnessed the remorse and anguish, or heard the 
 vows and oaths never to touch the accursed cup 
 again, which often follow a debauch. These are 
 
INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE. l6l 
 
 as sincere and earnest as any pledges made by man, 
 but broken almost as soon as made. Nor can any 
 one who has heard them doubt the necessity of 
 external aid and treatment of such a sufferer, suffi- 
 ciently prolonged and enforced to re-establish a 
 healthy operation of the personal will, if this can 
 be effected, or indefinitely, if it cannot be. Our 
 laws afford no means of extending this aid to the 
 victim of intemperance, or of protecting society, or 
 him, from its dangers. We provide institutions for 
 every class of defectives but drunkards, the largest 
 and most dangerous, as well as the most hopeful of 
 cure of any. Hundreds of thousands of our best 
 and brightest minds go down yearly to the drunk- 
 ard's grave, to a horrible physical and spiritual 
 death, because society fails to do its duty to them 
 and for them. Every one of them, without excep- 
 tion, could be cured and saved. Their blood is 
 upon our heads ; society must answer for it. We 
 must not permit this awful and useless loss to con- 
 tinue. This " government for the people " must 
 take hold of these helpless ones and put them in a 
 place of safety and cure. 
 
 Every State should have Reformatories, to which 
 drunkards should be sent, voluntarily, upon applica- 
 tion to the court by friends, or upon arrest and con- 
 viction, where, under the skilled care of medical men 
 and moral teachers, they should be confined until 
 cured. Those who are unable to pay the cost of 
 treatment and maintenance should be obliged to work 
 at profitable labor, and the excess of their earnings 
 distributed to those dependent upon their support. 
 
1 62 PRISOIfERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 The record of the Keeley Bichloride of Gold Insti- 
 tution at Dwight, Ills., is given as 95 per cent, of 
 cures out of over twelve thousand cases, most of 
 them the most hopeless and obdurate, with whom 
 every other effort had failed. Whatever may be 
 said against this method of dealing with drunken- 
 ness, it certainly succeeds. We have personal knowl- 
 edge of many confirmed inebriates who have been 
 restored to a normal condition of health and appe- 
 tite, with no more desire for liquor, apparently, than 
 existed before they began to drink. Some may 
 again succumb to temptation and fall, or the latent 
 fires burst out again ; if so, they will fly again to 
 the physician ; but as months pass and the condi- 
 tion of health grows stronger, faint hopes become 
 absolute faith, and it would seem that at last hu- 
 manity had triumphed over its arch enemy. It is 
 the duty of the State to supply this or any other 
 tested cure to its drunkards. 
 
 Other inebriate asylums in this country, and in 
 other lands, have also restored a large proportion of 
 their patients to sobriety. The Christian Home, 
 in New York, has saved hundreds ; it is claimed by 
 its managers at least 75 per cent, of those com- 
 mitted to it ; the Franklin Home in Philadelphia, 
 and the " Rescue One " mission of Col. W. W. 
 Hadley in New York, have been very successful, 
 relying solely on the saving efficiency of the Holy 
 Spirit of Christianity. The Binghamton Inebriate 
 Asylum, in the sixteen years of its existence, treated 
 over four thousand and restored 6i per cent, of its 
 patients, although the legislation for the purpose 
 
INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE. 1 63 
 
 was inadequate, and the science of the subject not 
 as well understood as at present. The failure in 
 obtaining the highest success in asylum treatment, 
 hitherto, has been found to be due to the impossi- 
 bility o"f retaining the patient under restraint long 
 enough to build up the natural functions of body, 
 mind, and morals, to a condition of health and 
 strength sufficient to resist the temptations to which 
 they originally succumbed. As soon as the inebri- 
 ate has recovered an apparently normal tone of sys- 
 tem he insists upon his cure and liberation, although 
 it is manifestly contrary to reason and common 
 sense that habit or disease of ten, twenty, or thirty 
 years* duration should be permanently eradicated in 
 a few weeks or months. 
 
 The medical profession, scientists, philanthropists, 
 and Christians, all who have given the matterproper 
 consideration, agree that quarantining of the ineb- 
 riate, the application of proper remedies, and time, 
 will, in a much larger proportion of cases, effect a 
 positive cure of this terrible affliction than can be 
 predicted of any other serious ill to which flesh is 
 heir. Where cure is impossible, confinement will at 
 least prevent indulgence and propagation. It seems 
 inexplicable that State hospital treatment should 
 have been so long delayed, or that any reasonably 
 intelligent legislator should now oppose it. 
 
 There can be no doubt that State institutions, 
 under proper management and organized with 
 adequate control over their patients, would accom- 
 plish more for the relief of human misery and for 
 the public benefit than all the almshouses, insane. 
 
164 PStSONEXS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 deaf and dumb, and blind asylums together effect. 
 Let the next step of the temperance reform then be 
 to secure the enactment of legislation for the estab- 
 lishment of State inebriate asylums and the care of 
 drunkards. These would depopulate in time the 
 almshouses and asylums for the defective, and save 
 each year their cost in the reduction of taxation. 
 
 I believe the majority of voters also will favor, 
 generally, as it does in most States, the absolute pro- 
 hibition of the sale of intoxicants to minors, insane, 
 idiotic, or intoxicated persons, drunkards, those 
 whose relatives or friends or poor directors give 
 notice should not be supplied, United States troops. 
 State militia, prisoners, and paupers; the soliciting 
 of others to drink ; the sale on the Sabbath, on elec- 
 tion day, or within a block, in cities and towns, or a 
 mile, in the country, of public schools, churches, 
 assemblies of people for religious purposes; fair 
 grounds, military encampments, in jails, prisons, 
 almshouses and public buildings ; the furnishing of 
 liquor on pass-book or store orders, for goods of any 
 kind, and the collection of dram bills by law. The 
 majority would also favor making whoever supplies 
 liquor to a person who should commit crime under 
 its influence liable for the damage done, the inca- 
 pacitating manufacturers and dealers in intoxicants 
 for jury duty, and the requirement of scientific tem- 
 perance instruction in the public schools. 
 
 Let adequate penalties be imposed for infraction 
 of these simple prohibitions and requirements, and 
 then let all the complicated, confusing, diversified 
 and inconsistent license laws be repealed. They 
 
INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE. 1 6$ 
 
 have been tinkered and experimented with in this 
 country ever since the first settler landed, and the 
 consumption of alcohol has steadily increased under 
 their protection and fostering authority until the 
 hideous results have become the heaviest burden 
 upon public prosperity, and a nightmare in almost 
 every family in the land. 
 
 How many hundred years of experience will be 
 necessary to convince the American people, ordi- 
 narily so quick to profit by these lessons, that the 
 license system is not only a failure but a public 
 iniquity ? It would seem that an increase of over 
 lOO per cent, in the consumption of beer, and of 
 nearly 54 per cent, per capita increase in the con- 
 sumption of intoxicants in ten years, should be 
 enough to appall the most indifferent and phlegmatic 
 citizen. Where is this increase to end ? When is it 
 to stop ? These are questions that touch every 
 heart and every pocket-book in the land. 
 
 We have purposely avoided the introduction into 
 this discussion of the more serious evils and losses 
 to the country on account of intemperance, and 
 confined our attention to its influence upon crime 
 and pauperism. The physical, intellectual, and moral 
 degradation of the race, the weakness and disease it 
 imparts to succeeding generations, the harrowing 
 bodily and mental suffering it causes, the direct and 
 indirect cost in cash it inflicts upon the country 
 (estimated by competent statisticians to be at least 
 $2,000,000,000 per annum, with a present annual in- 
 crease of $500,000,000) all these we leave for others 
 to present. The totals are too great for ordinary 
 
l66 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 comprehension. We simply state the parallel facts 
 of abnormal increase both of criminality and of in- 
 temperance, and appeal to our fellow-citizens to 
 make one pay for what it produces of the other, as 
 a fair and just relief of the burden of taxation, and 
 efficient preventive measure ; to retain the present 
 prohibitions ; provide for the cure of the drunkard, 
 and repeal all license sanction to the liquor traffic, 
 in the full confidence that Christianity and philan- 
 thropy in such a fair field will be equcd to the 
 emergency. 
 
 There are two things which we have to recom- 
 mend to philanthropy as a means to reduce intem- 
 perance among the people which have not been as 
 yet adequately tried, but which, we believe, would 
 be most effective. The first is this : Supply a satis- 
 factory substitute for the liquor saloon. Man is a 
 social animal. He will go out nights where he can 
 meet his fellows and have amusement and entertain- 
 ment of some kind, different from what he can find 
 even in a comfortable home with a congenial family. 
 The very poor are fairly driven out of their lodgings 
 for any comfort or pleasure. The door of the 
 saloon is invitingly open to them everywhere. 
 Their innate sense of fair dealing compels them to 
 drink before they leave as compensation for rest, 
 fire, and company, if nothing else impels. But once 
 inside there are plenty of other inducements to drink. 
 It is largely because liquor saloons offer the only 
 free and common resort for the poor, that the poorer 
 classes drink the most, and consequently populate 
 our prisons and asylums. We must accept the situa- 
 
INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE. 167 
 
 tion as it is. We must deal with man as we find him 
 if we are to expect success. 
 
 Establish coffee- and tea-houses, social halls, with 
 neatly sanded floors, cheap tables and comfortable 
 chairs, where a good cup of coffee or tea can be had 
 at about cost, say two cents ; or any of the non- 
 alcoholic drinks, with oysters, sandwiches, crackers 
 and cakes, pleasantly lighted and warmed ; where 
 smoking is allowed, and pipes, tobacco, and cigars 
 furnished cheaply. Let them be supplied with news- 
 papers, periodicals, and games ; and whatever attrac- 
 tion, music or entertainment can be afforded, in 
 style suited to the tastes and requirements of the 
 poorest. Let there be apartments for families and 
 women. Then the groggeries would soon lose a 
 large portion of their customers ; the reform of life 
 would begin naturally, and the waste of dram-drink- 
 ing be checked where it is most severe. 
 
 This is no experiment. The project has been in 
 successful operation for some time abroad. It is 
 one of the most fruitful and beneficient methods of 
 General Booth, and the Salvation Army, and has 
 been attempted upon a limited scale and in various 
 cities of our own country. We need these social halls 
 multiplied and convenient in all the densely popu- 
 lated quarters of our cities. Alcohol plants half a 
 dozen brilliant saloons in a block, and they are 
 profitable out of the scant and hard won earnings of 
 the poor. Let us have at least one life-saving station 
 to every half dozen false beacons it sets up, and I am 
 confident the result would be grand beyond our 
 hopes. 
 
1 68 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 Another project is also based upon the old adage, 
 that "the way to a man's heart is through his 
 stomach." I believe that much of the intemperance 
 of the poor is due to bad cooking. An early and 
 hastily prepared breakfast, a dinner out of a tin 
 pail, and a poorly cooked supper after a long and 
 hard day's labor, cannot conduce to comfortable 
 digestion. The inward uneasiness or leaden lethargy 
 of the digestive organs after such a day call for 
 assistance and stimulation ; so the poor man leaves 
 wife and children to seek relief in the saloon, where 
 he soon learns to stay until he goes home drunk. 
 Now, if the good wife but knew how to prepare the 
 family meals in a neat, attractive, appetizing, and 
 healthful way, how much of the want, privation, 
 suffering, sickness, doctors' bills, and loss of time 
 might be saved ? How much domestic comfort, con- 
 tent, and happiness might be added to the bread 
 winner's family ? 
 
 There are a hundred different ways of cooking and 
 serving bread, pork, and potatoes, so that with these 
 three items alone one might have a different and 
 toothsome bill of fare every day of the year if the 
 cook but knew how to prepare it. Let us then teach 
 the poor how to cook, and to be neat and cleanly. 
 Neatness is next to Godliness; cooking next to 
 manliness ; both should be a part of the prescribed 
 course in every public school. 
 
 From twelve years upward every girl should be 
 carefully and continuously trained by competent in- 
 structors in the best methods of cooking and serving 
 the common articles of daily food, and in the ordi- 
 
INTEMPERANCE AS A CAUSE. 1 69 
 
 nary duties of family life. How infinitely more im- 
 portant is a knowledge of these things to the after 
 life of 90 per cent, of the girls in our schools, than 
 many of the studies upon which at present they not 
 only waste their time, but which actually tend to 
 unfit them for the enjoyment of the life they must 
 necessarily live. We believe in manual training for 
 boys, too, but when we consider how much the 
 health and happiness of the home depends upon the 
 wife and mother, especially among the wage-workers, 
 it seems incredible that we should so totally ignore 
 any effort to prepare the girls in our schools for their 
 lot in life. Let us change this now, and graduate 
 housewives instead of novel readers, factory-girls, 
 and house ornaments, and we shall accomplish more 
 for the promotion of temperance, the decrease of 
 crime and poverty, and the general good of society, 
 than the public schools have ever yet dreamed of 
 doing. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WHAT IS TO BE DONE WITH THE PRISONER? 
 
 Existence of a Large Congenital Criminal Class — Importance of its 
 Identification and Special Treatment — Segregation Essential to 
 Elimination — Special Penitentiaries Necessary — Criminality but 
 Little Effected by Education or Wealth — Crime a Disease — To 
 be Studied and Treated as Such — Evil of the Arrest — Considera- 
 tion for Youthful Delinquents — Importance of Reorganizii^ 
 the Penal Code — Results of Reformatory Treatment in Great 
 Britain — County Jails Nurseries of Crime — Number of in the 
 United States — Evils of Sheriff Control — Suggested Improve- 
 ment in Man^ement — Regulations and Diet. 
 
 There has been much thought, study, and 
 wisdom expended in the discussion of this question ; 
 much has been already accomplished in this country 
 and more in other countries by this expenditure, 
 toward the improvement of the condition of crimi- 
 nals and their reformation. Inspired chiefly by a 
 Christian philanthropy, the socialogical and govern- 
 mental object has become greatly obscured and 
 neglected in the discussion. It appears that so far 
 as the public is concerned, in America the results are 
 very far from satisfactory or encouraging. Notwith- 
 standing all that has been said and done, crime and 
 criminals are increasing in a fearful ratio, and the 
 necessity for some more drastic treatment seems 
 manifest and pressing. The people, the social 
 
 170 
 
rVSTA T IS TO BE DONE WITH THE PRISONER ? 17I 
 
 organization, must take consideration of the subject 
 in general, as affecting the public welfare, and 
 threatening the social order, and even its existence. 
 
 We may check the abnormality of the increase 
 of criminals in this country by the faithful use of the 
 means we have recommended, but until the mil- 
 lenium arrives, society will doubtless have to deal 
 with its refractory elements, — the products of the 
 impoverishment and degradation of excess and 
 immorality. Let us see if some improvement in 
 our present methods may not be made to contribute 
 materially to the reformation and reduction of the 
 numbers of those which it is compelled to keep 
 under treatment. 
 
 The condition of the case in America is this. On 
 the first day of June, 1890, the census enumerators 
 reported 79,617 inmates of our reformatory and 
 penal institutions. It is estimated by the best 
 authorities that not over one third of the criminals 
 are in durance at any one time. We may assume, 
 therefore, that we have in our population at least 
 238,000 criminals, or persons "who have been con- 
 victs, and are likely to become convicts again. 
 Morrison ' gives the police estimate of the crime class 
 in England and Wales in 1891, as between 50,000 
 and 60,000 persons, contributing but 12 per cent, of 
 the inmates of the prisons. 
 
 Every one who has visited prisons and observed 
 large numbers of prisoners together has undoubt- 
 edly been impressed, from the appearance of the 
 prisoners alone, that a large proportion of them 
 ' Crime and its Causes, p. 142. 
 
1/2 PRISOI^ESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 were born to be criminals. There would seem to be 
 certain recognizable features which differentiate 
 these from the rest of mankind, and set them apart as 
 a class by themselves ; a criminal class, of which it 
 might be reasonably assumed that, although any 
 given individual might be reclaimed and saved, as a 
 class the whole were destined to live and die crimi- 
 nals. Indeed, it would seem that a composite 
 photograph of a hundred or so of them might pro- 
 duce the typical criminal, which would be useful in 
 identifying the relationship of a suspect to the class. 
 These are they who have . inherited criminality 
 from parents, who are the product of generations of 
 vice and crime, or who have slid down the plane of 
 transgression and excess to the very bottom of 
 degradation, and whose children will inevitably 
 follow the family calling. They are human deform- 
 ities and monstrosities, physically illshapen, weak 
 and sickly, with irregular features. They bear a 
 sinister, ignoble, and furtive expression. They have 
 an unbalanced and distorted cranium, are of a low 
 order of intelligence, apparently devoid of the 
 nobler sentiments ; with a depraved if not utter 
 absence of moral sense or conscience. They are as 
 abnormal and anomalous mentally and morally, as 
 physically, yet we know physical anomalies often 
 exist without psychical deformity, and moral obli- 
 quity or depravity is found in youth without outward 
 evidence, though they stamp their seal indelibly 
 upon the physique before old age. 
 
 Herr Sichart, director of prisons of Wurtemburg, 
 found by jnquirj' extending over several years, and 
 
q: w 
 
 O LJ 
 
 K^4.^^^i,^£ ^, 
 
IVI/A T IS TO BE DONE WITS THE PklSONRRf 1 73 
 
 including 1,714 cases, that "over one fourth of the 
 German prison population had received a defective 
 organization from their ancestry, which manifests 
 itself in a life of crime." Dr. Vergilio says that " in" 
 Italy 32 per cent, of the criminal population have 
 inherited criminal tendencies from their parents." 
 According to Dr. H. Maudsley " the idiot is not an 
 accident, nor the irreclaimable criminal an unac- 
 countable causality." Of the 527 convicts received 
 in the Eastern Penitentiary of Pennsylvania in 1890, 
 ninety-three were upon their third or more sentence. 
 Seventeen of these had been detected, arrested, 
 tried, and convicted more than six times. One of 
 them was to serve his fourteenth sentence; sixty- 
 eight of these prisoners had relatives who were then 
 or had been in prison ; and 103 were received upon 
 their second sentence. One was received upon 
 his seventh conviction for buglary. The convict 
 who was received upon his fourteenth sentence had 
 served nearly thirty years in prison since he was 
 twenty years of age, for burglary, and is the father of 
 the burglar received on his seventh sentence.' 
 These are fair examples of most penitentiary con- 
 victions. 
 
 Commenting on these and others, the Hon. 
 Richard Vaux, president of the Board of Inspectors 
 of the Eastern Penitentiary, who is recognized all 
 over the world as the great champion of the 
 separate confinement principle of dealing with 
 criminals, and who has devoted a life-time to the 
 introduction of practical common-sense into penol- 
 
 ' Annual Report of Eastern Penitentiary for tSgo. 
 
174 PSISONEJiS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 ogy, says : " Where crime is a vocation, the outcome 
 of inherent, inherited, chronic or constitutional, 
 moral and physical defects, it is absolutely necessary 
 to try the best means to produce an alterative that 
 will reduce, change, or correct the pre-existing cause 
 of crime." Of the 52,783 persons committed to 
 the Allegheny County Workhouse between 1869 
 and 1 891, 15,824 were upon their third conviction 
 and over, 542 upon their tenth ; 135 upon their 
 twentieth; 33 upon their thirtieth; 12 upon their 
 fortieth ; 5 upon their fiftieth ; and i each upon their 
 sixtieth, sixty-first, second, third, and fourth con- 
 victions, with corresponding intermediate numbers." 
 The cases in the lower courts of Massachusetts during 
 the year ended Sept. 30, i860, aggregated 81,255 ; 
 and in the Superior Court, 2,158, of which 33,290 
 were committed to jails, and more than half the 
 cases were recommitments.' 
 
 In a paper on " Criminal Anthropology " read be- 
 fore the National Prison Association in Cincinnati, 
 Dr. H. D. Wey, physician to the New York State 
 Reformatory, quotes from Dr. J. S Wright : 
 
 " The concurrent and unanimous testimony of those who are, from 
 their experience and knowledge, most competent to judge, is : that 
 the great underclass of criminals have more or less defective organiza- 
 tions, especially as relates to their nervous system, and more especially 
 as to their brain ; that they are more or less deficient in moral sense, 
 showing in this respect the lack of development or result of decay ; 
 the best and last developed sense, the moral sense, disintegrating first 
 of all ; that they are perversely wicked and indomitably inexpedient, 
 
 ' Report vf Allegheny Co. Workhouse for iSgi. 
 *W. P. Andrews, Clerk of Court at Salem, at National Prison 
 Association, Pittsburg, 1891. 
 
W/W T IS TO BE DONS WITH THE PRISONER? 1 75 
 
 committing crimes when doing right would be of more use to them ; 
 that they are as passionate as the wild beasts of the forest, and as rest- 
 less as the ocean that heaves with every gust of wind ; that they are 
 at war with mankind and ever in commotion with themselves ; that 
 they are like the ship beaten out by the storm — the ship without 
 compass, rudder, or captain ; they are formed and fashioned by the 
 hand of an evil genius whose name is bad heredity, and whose hand- 
 maid is ignorance ; and that they cannot be very much reformed, and 
 that their reformation ought to have begun in their ancestors." 
 
 In all human probability 99 per cent, of all 
 the effort and expense society may incur for the 
 reformation of this class will be wholly thrown 
 away, and any freedom or leniency allowed them 
 will be abused to the injury of the benefactor. 
 
 The public welfare reqixires that this criminal 
 class shall be speedily identified, separated, and 
 permanently secluded from society for three impera- 
 tive reasons. First, for the protection of society 
 from the injury and ravage of criminals. Second, 
 that the public may save the cost of repeated de- 
 tections, arrests, trials, and expensive confinements, 
 and the waste and discouragement of unsuccessful 
 efforts for their reformation. And third, in order 
 that the class may be exterminated. The first of 
 these reasons has apparently been the chief motive 
 of penal legislation and philanthropic action hith- 
 erto, but the last is by far the more important and 
 imperative. 
 
 Criminality and criminals will inevitably increase 
 faster than the rest of society if the latter are per- 
 mitted to breed without restraint, for the limitations 
 which restrict reproduction among the better classes 
 are inoperative upon them. Neither religion, morals, 
 
176 PRJSONEJiS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 marriage, or the burden of supporting their offspring, 
 have the slightest influence in repressing their sen- 
 sual indulgence. Indeed, the sexual sense is abnor- 
 mally developed in them. They spawn their noxious 
 progeny with as little care as the fish of the sea, and 
 with almost equal prolificacy. Dugdale in his study 
 of the "Juke" family, traces 1,200 criminals and 
 paupers impregnated with the vicious blood of one 
 ancestor in seven generations, who cost the public 
 over $1,300,000. 
 
 Rev. O. McCulloch, of Indianapolis, discovered 
 and identified 1,750 descendants of Ben Ishmael, 
 living in Kentucky in 1 790, who had been criminals 
 and paupers, among whom 12 1 were prostitutes. In 
 six generations 75 per cent, of the cases treated in 
 the City Hospital in Indianapolis were of the tribe 
 of Ben Ishmael. Court Pastor Stocker, of Berlin, 
 investigated the history of 834 descendants of two 
 sisters, the eldest of whom died in 1825. Among 
 these he found j6 who had served 116 years in prison 
 for serious crimes, 164 prostitutes, 106 illegitimate 
 children, 17 pimps, 142 beggars, 64 paupers in 
 almshouses ; estimated to have cost the state more 
 than $500,000. 
 
 The trustees of the Children's Home in Washing- 
 ton County, O., in their eighteenth annual report 
 state that 66 per cent, of the inmates of their home 
 from that county in the preceding two years had 
 been related by blood or marriage. 
 
 It is impossible to estimate the dreadful diffusion 
 of criminal characteristics and tendencies which may 
 be disseminated through the social organism in 
 
WITA T IS TO BE DONE WITH THE PRISONER? 1 7/ 
 
 seven generations by the 238,000 present members of 
 the criminal class in this country. There is virus 
 enough in them to corrupt and poison the entire 
 population in that time. Heredity of character is 
 too well understood and too generally accepted as a 
 fact to require more than the statement. Races, 
 nations, communities, and families preserve their 
 distinctive peculiarities through hundreds of genera- 
 tions. Special skill and excellence in particular 
 trades, occupations, and artifice have been recog- 
 nized in particular families from the time of Tubal 
 Cain and Moses to the present. Family traits, like- 
 nesses, and tendencies are familiar to all, and heredity 
 is acknowledged almost universally as a biological 
 law as invariable as the law of gravitation. But we 
 pay far more attention to the breeding of domestic 
 animals than to that of their masters. 
 
 It is time, however, that society should interpose 
 in this propagation of criminals. It is irrational and 
 absurd to occupy our attention and exhaust our 
 liberality with the care of this constantly growing 
 class without any attempt to restrict its reproduc- 
 tion. This is possible, too, without violating any 
 humanitarian instinct, by imprisonment for life ; and 
 this seems to me the most practicable solution of 
 the problem in America. As soon as an individual 
 can be identified as an hereditary or chronic criminal, 
 society should confine him or her in a penitentiary 
 at self-supporting labor for life. Every State should 
 have an institution adapted to the safe and secure 
 separation of such from society, where they can be 
 employed at productive labor, without expense to 
 
178 PRISONESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 the public, during their natural life. When this is 
 ended with them, the class will become extinct, and 
 not before. Then each generation would only have 
 to take care of its own moral cripples and defectives, 
 without the burden of the constantly increasing 
 inheritance of the past. 
 
 The question of separate or solitary confinement 
 need not be considered in such a prison. There 
 would be no danger from contamination, no objec- 
 tion on account of criminal acquaintance and com- 
 panionship. The inmates would be compelled to be 
 honest and harmless, and might be converted to a 
 religious or Christian life, but they should be kept 
 close nevertheless. No pardon, no hope of liberty 
 should be possible except in a clear and positive case 
 of mistake in the character, or where, after indubit- 
 able reformation, the convict should be made inca- 
 pable of reproduction. 
 
 When upon a third conviction the judicial 
 authorities determine the prisoner to belong to the 
 criminal class, the law should imperatively require 
 the sentence to be the penitentiary for life, whatever 
 the particular crime committed. The main question 
 to be decided should be, is the prisoner a natural or 
 incorrigible criminal ? The certainty of the third 
 sentence ending the social life would act as a power- 
 ful deterrent upon criminals, and assist in the settle- 
 ment of the question in respect to any case which 
 even this fear could not restrain. 
 
 A. board of pardon, consisting of the superintend- 
 ent of the penitentiary, the sentencing judge, and 
 the Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of the State, 
 
IVHA T IS TO B£ DONE WiTtI THE PktSON&R? 1 79 
 
 might be given power to correct mistakes of sentence 
 in annual session, when it could be done without 
 danger to the public; but, except by unanimous 
 action, even this should be made legally impossible. 
 The penalty for murder, arson, and rape should also 
 be a sentence to such a penitentiary. This should be 
 constructed with a view to the safe confinement, 
 economical management, and profitable employment 
 of the inmates. Any excess of earnings above the 
 cost of self-support should be applied to the relief of 
 dependants of the convict. 
 
 But hereditary criminals do not constitute the 
 entire class. It is constantly recruited from the 
 social lees. Drunkenness, excess, and vicious lives 
 are constantly begetting " defective organizations," 
 which will in turn beget criminals or paupers, as 
 certainly as the child will bear the family resem- 
 blance. The laws of heredity operate as inexor- 
 ably downward as upward, under suitable conditions. 
 The act and fact of reformation is naturally and 
 solely individual. The reformed criminal must 
 reconstruct his entire organism before he can beget 
 reformed progeny. His children are morally certain 
 to reproduce his natural immoralities. 
 
 General Booth, the most far-sighted, benevolent, 
 and whole-souled philanthropist of this age, whose 
 life has been devoted to saving men, says : ' 
 
 " There are some cases within our knowledge which seem to con- 
 firm the somewhat dreadful verdict by which a man appears to be a 
 lost soul on this side of the grave. There are men so incorrigibly 
 lazy that no inducement you can offer will induce them to work, so 
 
 ' Darkest England, p. 205. 
 
I So PXISONESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 eaten up with vice that virtue is abhoirent to them, and so inveter- 
 ately dishonest that theft is to them a master-passion. When a 
 human being has reached that stage, there is only one course that 
 can be rationally puisued. Sorrowfully, but remorselessly, it must 
 be recognized that he has become lunatic, morally demented, incapa- 
 ble of self-government, and that upon him, therefore, must be 
 passed the sentence of permanent seclusion from a world in which he 
 is not (it to be at large." 
 
 To quote from Morrison again, " It is hardly pos- 
 sible to do anything with these offenders, and they 
 unfortunately constitute at least one fourth of the 
 criminal population." ' " The only effective way of 
 dealing with the incorrigible vagrant, drunkard, 
 thief, is by some system of permanent seclusion in a 
 penal colony." ' 
 
 This life confinement should not be confounded 
 with the " indeterminate sentence " proposal, nor 
 regarded in the light of a penalty for a single crime, 
 which it is not ; but as the legitimate consequence 
 of such a continuance in vicious practices, as has 
 depraved and unfitted the convict for a share in the 
 public freedom, and made him dangerous to the 
 social organization and prosperity. He must be 
 incarcerated for the public safety. In a less civilized 
 and advanced society he would probably be put to 
 death, and so exterminated. Our Christian charity 
 and power may mercifully extend to him oppor- 
 tunity for reformation and salvation, but it must 
 prevent his perpetuation of his crime-branded lin- 
 eage. The abnormal increase of criminals cannot 
 
 ' Crime and its Causes, p. 224. 
 ' Crime and its Causes, p. 226. 
 
V _^ .-^,5-^...., 
 
 f^^. 
 
 \, - 
 
 2f'' ■.■■■■'■; IP 
 
 f 
 
 
 It 
 
 
 
 wBk 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 PORTRAITS FROM THE "ROGUES' GALLERY.' 
 ILLUSTRATING A3N0RMAL PHYSIOGNOMY. 
 
H^/fA t IS TO BE DONE WITH THE PRISONER! \%\ 
 
 be checked so long as unrestricted reproduction is 
 permitted. 
 
 With such an extirpation of the distinctively 
 criminal class, the conservative, elevating, and 
 reformatory philanthropy of modern society will be 
 enabled to cope successfully with the degenerating 
 influences constantly at work in the social fer- 
 ment. The abnormal increase will be arrested ; but 
 without this the task is hopeless, absolutely hope- 
 less. The hand of reformation cannot efficiently 
 reach or touch the loathsome creatures in the miry 
 depths. 
 
 As a matter of social economy, the costs of 
 repeated crimes, detections, arrests, trials, trans- 
 portations to prisons, and maintenance there, would 
 in this way be entirely saved, as well as the conse- 
 quential damages from future generations. The 
 service of the life sentence need not be rigorously 
 punitive. Its very hopelessness and seclusion would 
 be sufficient in this direction. But it should be sure 
 and certain as a life sentence, and attended with 
 self-supporting labor at least, and profitable if pos- 
 sible. This appears to us to be a perfectly just and 
 righteous solution of the problem, and entirely 
 within the proper power of legislation and govern- 
 ment. We think it should be inaugurated without 
 hesitation or delay. Nearly all the authorities and 
 students of penology agree upon the necessity of 
 permanent seclusion of the incorrigible, for the good 
 of society ; but none, so far as I am aware, have so 
 far urged this most important of all reasons for it, 
 the natural extirpation of this class. The penal 
 
1 82 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 colony would only perpetuate it, but this plan is 
 not to be thought of for America. 
 
 Having provided for the extermination of the 
 criminal class, Penological Reform must also con- 
 sider measures to prevent its reconstitution from 
 society. It is not only necessary that the citadel of 
 crime should be besieged, but that its communica- 
 tions of supply should be cut off. A complete dis- 
 cussion of. this aspect would naturally comprehend 
 in its purview the entire subject of sociology. But 
 we limit our present study to the treatment of those 
 who have been detected and arrested, who have 
 thus manifested an inclination to sink below the 
 social average towards the bottom, for the purpose 
 of checking this inclination and restoring them to 
 society. 
 
 Major McClaughry, the eminent penologist who 
 had charge of the Joliet prison in Illinois for many 
 years, and lately resigned the superintendence of 
 the Huntington Reformatory in Pennsylvania, to 
 accept the office of chief of police in Chicago, says, 
 "that criminal parentage, and association, and neg- 
 lect of children by their parents," are the great 
 causes of the increase of criminality in America. 
 
 Mr. Charles Martindale says, in the North Ameri- 
 can Review, " that pauperism and crime are the 
 results of heredity, and association can no longer be 
 doubted." 
 
 The be"st authorities abroad fix the proportion of 
 the incorrigible at from 25 to 32 per cent, of the 
 convicts. In America it is undoubtedly larger, be- 
 cause we have so long offered an open haven of 
 
JVHA T IS TO BE DONE WITH THE PRISONER? 1 83 
 
 refuge to all people, without any application of our 
 proverbial common-sense to penal legislation and 
 management. Without statistical information I 
 should say that at least 40 per cent, of our convicts 
 belong to the incorrigible class. 
 
 We now have to deal with the remaining 60 per 
 cent. Notwithstanding all that has been written 
 upon ignorance, poverty, intemperance, climate, 
 temperature, and seasons as causes of criminality, 
 there are but two in the final analysis and classifica- 
 tion. Heredity and Heteronomy, — inherited de- 
 fects, or the corruptions of circumstance and associa- 
 tion. Recent studies of the convict in prisons 
 reveal the astonishing fact that the proportion of 
 highly educated criminals to the number of highly 
 educated in society, is greater than that of the 
 ignorant criminals to the uneducated class, and that 
 the number of convicts from the wealthy class is of 
 a greater proportion than that from the poor.' 
 Verily, 
 
 ■ ' Honor and shame from no condition rise." 
 
 Neither birth, nor culture, education, affluence, or 
 social position, apparently, secure the individual 
 from the attack of the spirit of evil, any more than 
 they do from the measles, drunkenness, or smallpox. 
 Indeed, the opportunities and temptations to ex- 
 cesses and drunkenness in the higher classes natu- 
 rally result in degradation and vicious diathesis in 
 the descendant. Until the human race has been 
 brought up to a condition of perfection, to the 
 
 ' See Morrison on Crime, pp. 82, 143. 
 
184 PRTSONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 " measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ," 
 " who knew no sin," and who had "power and au- 
 thority over all devils, and to cure diseases," there 
 will be a proportion in all the walks of life who will 
 violate the restrictions of human and divine law. 
 There will be found in the intricate system of co-op- 
 erating physical, mental, and moral organization, 
 which is named man, an imperfection, weakness, or 
 unbalancing of power in certain individuals, what- 
 ever their birth or education, which will render them 
 liable to yield to evil influences and to fall into the 
 commission of crime. In appendix will be found 
 some interesting statistics from the census and re- 
 ports of the State Penitentiaries of Pennsylvania, 
 New York, Ohio, and Illinois, which corroborate 
 this view.' 
 
 The 60 per cent, we are now to treat of are 
 largely the victims of heteronomy, the subjects of 
 evil associations and environment. It is fair to 
 assume in regard to these, that if the heteronomical 
 conditions are changed and corrected for a sufficient 
 time, a complete reformation can in most cases be 
 accomplished, and the prisoner restored to freedom 
 without danger to the public. Criminality is always 
 a kind of disease, due either to physical, mental, or 
 moral deformity, malformation, or vitiation. Crime 
 is but the symptom. Some are incurably afflicted, 
 others curably. There are chronic and temporary 
 conditions ; active and morbid, violent and latent 
 states. It is contagious, and sometimes epidemic. 
 This is the accepted belief of those who have 
 
 ' See Appendix, II. and III. 
 
WHAT IS TO BE DdNE WtTH TtiE PRISONER f 1 85 
 
 given the matter proper study. The argument 
 in support of this conclusion is very fully made 
 by ex-Judge Sanford M. Green, of Michigan, in 
 his book on Crime, to which those interested are 
 referred. 
 
 The first thing necessary to be determined, then, 
 when an arrest is made, is the character of the dis- 
 ease with which the prisoner is afflicted. Is it 
 hereditary or heteronomic, deep-seated or tempor- 
 ary, habitual or sporadic. This diagnosis is of vital 
 importance, because it is estimated that over 95 per 
 cent, of the arrests made are for trivial offenses, 
 slight aberrations over the line of rectitude ; mere 
 sporadic transgressions, resulting from sudden im- 
 pulse, passion, or accident, which instantly transfer 
 the prisoner from his place in society into the ranks 
 of the criminal. The accidental transgressor should 
 be restored to his place again in society, before he 
 is contaminated by or identified with this class, 
 either in his own mind, or in the public estimation. 
 That is, the effect of the arrest upon this 95 per 
 cent, must be made as slight as possible. Indeed, 
 arrests should be avoided, except in the most 
 necessary cases, as conducing to criminality, rather 
 than restricting it. But if an arrest must be made, 
 the effort of the officer of the law should first be 
 directed to prevent confinement. For disorders, 
 misdemeanors, and the infraction of local ordinances, 
 it would be far better that the prisoner should be 
 taken home or before a magistrate to be fined, or 
 even dismissed with a reprimand, than that self- 
 respect should be impaired by imprisonment, or 
 
1 86 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 criminal disposition, acquaintance, and association 
 formed. 
 
 The best system that has been devised for avoid- 
 ing the evils of imprisonment and indiscriminate 
 arrests, is undoubtedly that which has been in suc- 
 cessful operation in Boston for more than ten years, 
 which is called the " Probation " system. The city 
 is divided into districts, each having a " Probation " 
 officer in supervision of the persons arrested in his 
 district. It is his duty to get the names of all 
 arrested, examine the history and character of the 
 prisoner, visit his residence and family, and if he 
 concludes that it would be best, and the charge will 
 permit, he recommends his liberation ; if found 
 guilty, that sentence be postponed. He keeps him 
 under supervision for a year, assisting him to an 
 honest living if possible, or if he fails to do well 
 orders his arrest and sentence. One district there 
 records 7,25 1 cases under the probation officer in ten 
 years, of whom only a little over i per cent, ran 
 away, and but 6^ per cent, were returned for sentence. 
 
 The dread of the jail is the most powerful deter- 
 rent to those who have not suffered the degradation 
 of an imprisonment, or enjoyed its comfortable ease. 
 No child under eighteen years of age should ever be 
 sent to a jail. A "jail bird " is branded for life, and 
 without powerful assistance from within and with- 
 out, stands a small chance of escaping permanent 
 criminality. Fines, restitutions, and compensations, 
 under outside supervision, anything almost, should 
 be substituted for a jail sentence. Where imprison- 
 ment is necessary, it should be for first and second 
 
IV HA T IS TO BE DONE WITH THE PRISONER? 1 8/ 
 
 offences of the corrigible, to a State reformatory. 
 The law under which conviction is had is a law of 
 the State, and its penalties should be enforced under 
 State jurisdiction and superintendence. 
 
 The State rather than the county is responsible for 
 the future of the convict. He is adjudged diseased 
 and needs cure. His case must be wisely studied, 
 and receive appropriate treatment. He must be 
 educated into correct notions of right and wrong, be 
 taught self-restraint by the influences of rigid disci- 
 pline, and self-command, self-reliance, self-support, 
 and the habit of industry, by the tonic of hard labor. 
 His body, mind, and soul must be brought into 
 rational, harmonious correlation and co-operation. 
 This can only be accomplished in a State institution 
 of sufficient importance to warrant capable manage- 
 ment ; where defects and weaknesses, physical, men- 
 tal, and moral, can be discovered and possibly reme- 
 died ; bad habits corrected and good inculcated, 
 by intelligent exercise, education, and religious 
 instruction. 
 
 The laws concerning the punishment of children 
 especially need a thorough revision. Children are 
 sent to jail, and transformed there into criminals, in 
 Pennsylvania and in most States, for mischief of 
 various sorts, such as trespass, skylarking, stealing 
 fruit, petty larcenies, riding on railroad cars, and 
 " incorrigibility " (which last is most frequently 
 parental incompetence or heartless desire to be 
 relieved of the support of their children). Such 
 children should be controlled and punished by their 
 parents, who should be held legally responsible for 
 
1 88 PJiiSONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 the conduct of their children during their minority. 
 This is the natural way of controlling them, and 
 would be by far the most efficient with the natural 
 parent and child. Abnormals should pass into the 
 reformatory. Children of unnatural or vicious par- 
 ents, however, should be taken under the care of 
 society, and their parents punished. 
 
 Child-saving societies and institutions are the most 
 efficient and hopeful agencies of all for diminishing 
 the criminal class. They ought to be established 
 in all large communities, and be represented and 
 supported everywhere. Through them homes can 
 be secured for children of unnatural parents, or 
 those without proper parental control or support. 
 Christian women can accomplish more, in this direc- 
 tion of philanthropic effort, toward the reduction of 
 crime and for human progress in general, almost than 
 in any other. It is the kind of work to which they 
 are adapted by nature. Legislation should make it 
 obligatory upon the courts to take charge of neglected 
 children, and either enforce proper parental care or 
 transfer them to such an institution as will attend 
 to the rearing of them up into honest and self-sup- 
 porting citizenship. 
 
 The reformatory for youth should be a reform 
 school rather than a prison, in its design and manage- 
 ment. The experience of the reform schools of 
 England, France, Germany, Massachusetts, Connec- 
 ticut, New York, Ohio, and Michigan demonstrate 
 the inutility of prison walls and cells. The grand 
 success of Christian kindness and charity, in dealing 
 with the young, has the seal of promise and expe- 
 
WHAT IS TO BE DONE WITH THE PRISONER} 1 89 
 
 rience both. These institutions reclaim on an average 
 85 per cent, of their inmates, mostly convicts. The 
 percentage would be larger if the incorrigible should 
 be transferred from them to the penitentiary for life. 
 It is evident from these considerations that our 
 present penal legislation requires a complete reorgan- 
 ization. Laws are largely the outgrowth of prece- 
 dents, which stretch back into the earliest times. 
 Thus they are venerated for age and immemorial 
 usage, often when the fundamental principle has 
 become obsolete. Our penal code has been amended, 
 modified, and added to for centuries, but it has 
 grown up about principles which took root and 
 germinated in a barbaric age. Based upon the now 
 absurd theory of punishment for crime, instead of 
 the natural and rational one of correction of the 
 relations of the offender to society, it is utterly un- 
 worthy of and abhorrent to our present knowledge 
 and civilization. It should be remodelled, or rather 
 entirely repealed, and a new code enacted, with a 
 chief regard to the person of the prisoner instead of 
 the accident of the crime. It must substitute for the 
 vindictive idea that of disease in the culprit. It 
 must prescribe for the cure of the curable, and the 
 permanent seclusion of the incurable. To this end 
 all definite time sentences should be abolished ; all 
 convicts committed to the reformatories upon an 
 indeterminate sentence, until they are by proper 
 authority adjudged permanently restored and fit for 
 social freedom. The incurable should be transferred 
 to the penitentiary of the incorrigible. By such a 
 system all the unjust and crime-encouraging differ- 
 
I go PSISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 ences and uncertainties of sentences, which are the 
 inevitable result of the " discretion " of judges of dif- 
 ferent temperaments, intelligence, and environments, 
 would disappear, and all criminals everywhere receive 
 a uniform treatment. This in itself would produce 
 a powerful moral deterrence upon criminals. 
 
 But the most beneficent influence of such a reor- 
 ganization would appear in the opportunity afforded 
 for an exhaustive effort for the reformation and cure 
 of the criminal, almost impossible under the present 
 illogical and unreasonable system of definite time 
 sentence. It is as manifestly impossible for a judge 
 to predetermine the time required for the cure of 
 a criminal, as for a physician to diagnose the time 
 necessary for the cure of his patient. It is as absurd 
 to sentence a criminal for thirty, sixty, ninety days, 
 or one, two, or five years, as to commit an insane 
 person to an asylum for a similar period. Let it 
 then be made the duty of the judges to commit every 
 prisoner, upon the first or second conviction, to a 
 reformatory indefinitely, and a competent tribunal 
 be established to terminate this commitment by 
 liberation, or transfer to the penitentiary. The 
 periodical removal of the incorrigible from the re- 
 formatory will nullify many of the objections raised 
 against the present educational features of reforma- 
 tory management in America, which have given 
 these institutions the name of " Collegiate Prisons " 
 abroad. 
 
 There will then be necessary, in each State, local 
 jails for the retention of prisoners awaiting trial, the 
 reform school for minors, the reformatory, and the 
 
WHAT IS TO BE DONE WITH THE PRISONER t I9I 
 
 penitentiary for chronics or incorrigibles. A simple, 
 uniform, and certain course for the criminal, inevita- 
 bly devolving upon his personal choice, nature, and 
 responsibility, the quantity and quality of the recom- 
 pense to be made to society, and the punishment to 
 be endured for the infraction of the law. So, exact 
 justice would be secured, both to the public and 
 convict, which at present is generally disputed, and 
 seldom possible. The penitentiary, reformatory, and 
 reform school would necessarily be under State man- 
 agement, and competent superintendence with the 
 most intelligent system would eventually be secured. 
 
 Great Britain supports over four hundred reforma- 
 tories and industrial schools, through which have 
 been passed in twenty years over one hundred thou- 
 sand children and youths ; and they have been able 
 to close there fifty-six out of one hundred and thirteen 
 prisons and jails within ten years. During this ten 
 years the number of male prisoners there has de- 
 creased 28 per cent., and the female 45 per cent., 
 and this notwithstanding a natural increase in popu- 
 lation. The British Home Ofifice reports, " It is cer- 
 tain that by reformatories and industrial schools a 
 large proportion of the supply of raw material for 
 the manufacture of criminals has, to a great extent, 
 been cut off." ' 
 
 The foregoing is the system and these are the 
 methods to be striven for and attained in the future. 
 Concerning the treatment of prisoners in our present 
 State institutions, reformatories and penitentiaries, 
 
 ' These statements are taken from an address of Hon. Robert 
 Stiles,- president of the Prison Association of Virginia. 
 
192 PRISON^ERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 little need now be said. They are, in Pennsylvania 
 especially, in charge of intelligent and experienced 
 managers, who have devoted years of conscientious 
 study to the subject'of criminology and penology. 
 Men who have well defined opinions, and pursue 
 consistent and wisely planned methods, intended for 
 the best and broadest results in dealing with those 
 in their charge. The separate system in the Eastern 
 Penitentiary, under the illustrious Hon. Richard 
 Vaux, and the almost equally well known warden, 
 Michael J. Cassidy, has been in successful operation 
 for many years. It is known the world over as the 
 "Philadelphia" or "Pennsylvania" system, and as 
 such is being gradually adopted in other countries. 
 In our Western Penitentiary, the congregate system 
 has been brought to its highest efficiency under 
 Major Wright. In both, the reformation of the con- 
 vict is the main purpose and desire, and the public 
 costs are reduced to a minimum, for the system. 
 Probably little improvement in results is to be ex- 
 pected from well managed State institutions under 
 our present penal code. They all do the best they 
 can with the heterogeneous mass temporarily under 
 their care, constantly discouraged by the conscious- 
 ness that many are hopeless recidivists upon whom 
 all their labor is in vain. In the purview of punish- 
 ment and reformation, as well as the prevention of 
 the diffusion of criminal knowledge, taste, and habits, 
 separate confinement is generally accepted by penol- 
 ogists, as the most rational and hopeful, and conse- 
 quently the most economical, kind of imprisonment ; 
 certainly so long as the chronic, natural criminal is 
 
WHAT IS TO BE DONE WITH THE PRISONER} 1 93 
 
 to be incarcerated with the sporadic, or accidental. 
 The manifest failure of philanthropic and intelligent 
 management to produce the desired results is chiefly 
 due to causes outside the institutions ; to the faults 
 of the laws under which they are operated. 
 
 As prisoners are first gathered into jails to await 
 trial or to expiate minor crimes, jail-management 
 effects the larger number, and is consequently the 
 most important factor in this consideration. 
 
 There are in the United States, seventeen thou- 
 sand and fifty-eight county-jails, and only forty-four 
 juvenile reformatories. There is no juvenile reform- 
 atory in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, 
 Georgia, Idaho, Indian Territory, Mississippi, Mon- 
 tana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North 
 Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South 
 Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washing- 
 ton, West Virginia, or Wyoming. They have been 
 established in all the States of the North Atlantic 
 census division, and in all but two of the North 
 Central division, while there are but three States 
 which have them in the South Atlantic division ; 
 two in the South Central ; and two in the Western.^ 
 It is of interest to note that the census reports of 
 1890 show four fifths of the negro-convicts in the 
 South Atlantic and South Central divisions, and 
 more than three fifths of the negro juvenile delin- 
 quents in the North Atlantic, North Central, and 
 Western divisions. 
 
 It is the unanimous testimony of every one who 
 
 is conversant with the management of county-jails, 
 
 ' Census Bulletins, Nos. 72 and 95. 
 13 
 
194 PSISONEJiS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 that they are nothing more or less than breeders of 
 criminals, where they are, as is generally the case, 
 committed to the superintendence of political sheriffs, 
 who have secured their election for the profit of the 
 office, to be acquired in a single term. Eminent 
 penologists have repeatedly denounced them as a 
 more prolific cause of the increase of criminality than 
 intemperance even. Were the sheriff actuated solely 
 by a desire for the reformation of his prisoners, he 
 could scarcely acquire, during his brief term, a super- 
 ficial knowledge of the proper duties of a warden. 
 If by diligent care he should obtain this, he would 
 quickly be obliged to give place to a new and ignorant 
 incumbent. Hon. Eugene Smith, one of the vice- 
 presidents of the National Prison Association, de- 
 scribes most concisely, in a paper read at the annual 
 convention of the association in 1885, the evils of 
 sheriff-management, as follows : 
 
 " The sheriff is an autocrat in the county-jail ; its management is 
 a disagreeable part of his function and is tolerable to him only as it 
 is made profitable. The sheriff's office, speaking generally, repre- 
 sents a bad element, but a very powerful element, in local politics — 
 an element which takes little interest in moral reforms, but has a 
 keen eye for the emoluments of office. Improvements in the county- 
 jail involve the expenditure of money ; the sheriff is averse to incurring 
 such expenditures on his own account, and in justice to him it must 
 be said that the people are equally averse to raising the money by 
 taxation. There is no tax that the supervisors of the county are so 
 loth to impose, or that the people so grudgingly pay, as a tax to enlarge 
 or improve the county-jail. The public take no interest in details 
 about the management of a prison ; the whole subject is most posi- 
 tively distasteful to them. There is no organized public body that 
 feels much responsibility about the county-jail ; and so the whole 
 business is relegated to the sheriff, who exercises a supreme and un- 
 challenged control. The sheriff has a brief tenure of office, he has 
 
WHAT J S TO BE DONE WITH THE PRISONER? I9S 
 
 little knowledge about prison-management, and still less about prison- 
 reform. He takes the jail as he finds it, and administers it as his 
 predecessors have done ; and so it has been handed down from gen- 
 eration to generation. Indeed, the sheriff, even if an earnest and 
 intelligent reformer, would be powerless to accomplish any radical 
 improvement. He could not keep the prisoners in solitary confine- 
 ment, because the construction of the jail is such that the inmates of 
 cells can communicate with each other almost as freely through the 
 grated doors as when congregated in a common hall. He could 
 hardly be expected to keep the prisoners at hard labor unless some 
 specific appropriations were made for the purpose. The possibilities 
 of jail-reforra by the action of the sheriff are only in superficial and 
 meagre particulars." 
 
 We foolishly maintain then, in America, forty 
 times as many criminal hotbeds as reformatories, re- 
 cruiting depots for the criminal class in nearly every 
 county, while more than half the States make no of- 
 ficial effort for its reduction. Designed apparently, 
 as a general rule, without the faintest conception of 
 the proper purpose of confinement, with no visible 
 object except security, combined sometimes with 
 cheapness, sometimes with an attempt at architec- 
 tural display, committed to the management of a 
 professional politician as a reward for partisan ser- 
 vice rendered or required, the county-jail is an un- 
 mitigated curse upon the community. And yet, 
 quoting again from Hon. Eugene Smith : 
 
 ' ' If all the convicts now herded in the county- jails were placed in 
 reformatory prisons under a proper and skilful regimen, it is a rea- 
 sonable anticipation that 80 per cent, of them could be reclaimed 
 from crime and so trained as to lead a life of honest self-support. As 
 to the economic gain to the property interests of society in being 
 freed from the depredations of so large a fraction of jail convicts, I 
 shall make a statement which will appear startling and extravagant, 
 
196 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 but it can be fully vindicated by positive figures at my command — 
 ike saving to the community, computed in actual money, resulting from 
 the reclamation of 80 per cent, of our jail convicts, would be sufficient 
 in a single year to rebuild all the county-jails in the United States." 
 
 This is an undisputable fact, and seems sufficient 
 in itself alone to account for the evil we are discuss- 
 ing. We might well afford to destroy and reconstruct 
 all our defective jails at once, as well as our penal 
 code, to effect a reduction of 80 per cent, in the num- 
 ber of those we are supporting continually in and by 
 them. No county can afford to maintain the infa- 
 mous jails as they at present exist at the county 
 towns. No State should tolerate their influence. 
 However small the number of inmates, they must be 
 confined separately, and without the possibility of 
 intercommunication and association. Under our 
 present laws they will for a time, doubtless, be con- 
 tinued as a necessary evil, but they should be used 
 only for the temporary confinement of prisoners 
 awaiting trial. No convict ought ever be confined 
 within their walls. 
 
 Until the whole penal system is reorganized upon 
 a new basis of common-sense, the following princi- 
 ples should regulate their management. I venture 
 these suggestions as the result of careful observation 
 and some study, in the hope that their publication 
 may result in a temporary reduction in the conta- 
 gion of vice which is now disseminated through the 
 community by them. 
 
 First. There should be separation of the sexes, 
 so complete and distant as to preclude the possibility 
 of a single communication by sight or sound. 
 
friTA T IS TO BE DONE WITH THE PRISONER) igj 
 
 The necessity of this is obvious to all who know 
 anything of the depravity of the habitual "jail-bird," 
 of both sexes. It is too horrible and ingenious for 
 publication. The entertainment obtained by ob- 
 scene conversation through soil pipes used as speaking 
 tubes, is beyond the imagination of most people, but 
 these creatures seem to enjoy even this where it is 
 possible, and sign language where that can be used. 
 
 Second. Confinement of the accused, whom the 
 law assumes to be innocent until convicted, and de- 
 tained witnesses, under fairly comfortable circum- 
 stances, and entirely apart from convicts. 
 
 As some of the accused, however, would be of the 
 depraved and vicious class, it is necessary that the 
 jailer should exercise the utmost diligence that none 
 of such should have intercourse with the others. Un- 
 tried prisoners, quite free from suspicion of innate 
 depravity, might be allowed intercommunication, but 
 where there is a possibility of corruption, separate 
 confinement should be rigorously enforced. Children 
 and youths should, of course, be kept separate from 
 adults especially, as well as from one another. 
 
 Third. Convicted prisoners should invariably be 
 held in solitary confinement, and secluded from in- 
 tercourse with the outside world. This is important 
 in order that the imprisonment may be irksome, that 
 there may be no distraction of the mind from whole- 
 some meditation upon the folly of their course, and 
 that reformatory influences may have uninterrupted 
 effect upon them, as well as to prevent them from 
 corrupting others, or strengthening one another in 
 vicious thought and knowledge. 
 
IgS PSISONEJRS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 Fourth. Convicts should be made to work regu- 
 larly ten hours a day, in order to contribute as much as 
 possible to their own support, but chiefly that a habit 
 of industry may be instilled into them, and that they 
 may be taught an honest means of livelihood. They 
 should be clothed in a distinctive prison garb, and 
 their diet be made as plain and cheap as is consistent 
 with the preservation of health. 
 
 Fifth. Regularity, system, order, and neatness 
 should be enforced in all the operations and conduct 
 of the institution. The convict needs to be taught 
 these habits as the first step in reformation, and they 
 are quite as essential to the proper and economical 
 management of the jail. 
 
 Sixth. Visits by friends and companions of con- 
 victs should be strictly prohibited, except by a mem- 
 ber of the immediate family, at rare intervals. Gifts 
 and presents, calculated to alleviate the discomfort 
 and rigor of confinement, should not be permitted, 
 nor should the Police Gazette and such periodicals 
 as criminals delight in ever be allowed inside the 
 walls. It would be better to prohibit newspapers 
 altogether. 
 
 Seventh. Convicts should not be permitted to 
 cover the walls of their cells with pictures or hang- 
 ings, because they are not intended to be a home- 
 like or comfortable place, and because such things 
 may become the breeding places of vermin and 
 noxious things, or hide attempts to dig through 
 and escape. 
 
 Eighth. Liquor and tobacco should be strictly 
 prohibited, under all circumstances, to convicts. All 
 
WHA T IS TO BE DONE WITH THE PRISONER? I99 
 
 letters sent, or received, should be read by the war- 
 den, restricted to necessary family matters, and to 
 long intervals. 
 
 Ninth. All of the work of the jail should be 
 performed by the prisoners, as far as is possible; 
 certainly the regular scrubbing and semi-annual 
 whitewashing, both as a measure of economy and 
 exercise. Floors and all wood-work in cells and cor- 
 ridors should be thoroughly scrubbed at least twice 
 a week, and cleaned daily. Every prisoner should 
 be made to bathe once a week. 
 
 Immediately upon the admission of a prisoner, he 
 or she should be examined by a physician as to 
 physical health, be given a bath and a clean suit of 
 clothes, vaccinated if necessary, hair cut, height, 
 weight, and description taken and recorded, and the 
 personal effects and clothes, after cleansing the lat- 
 ter, packed up with a description list, and stored for 
 restoration upon liberation. 
 
 Prisoners should be required to rise at five in the 
 summer and at six in winter, wash and dress, make 
 their beds, and arrange their cells in order before 
 breakfast. This, and all meals should be served, 
 for the separately confined, in the cell. Two hours 
 after rising, work should begin, and continue until 
 noon, when half an hour's exercise should be given 
 in the open air, when possible, before dinner. At one 
 o'clock work should be resumed, and continued till six 
 o'clock, with half an hour of open-air exercise. Sup- 
 per should be at 6:30 ; at nine all lights should be 
 extinguished, and prisoners go to bed. They should 
 not be permitted to sleep in their day garments. 
 
200 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 Beds should be straw or husk mattresses, furnished 
 with sheets and pillow-cases and sufficient blankets. 
 The cheapest and best bedstead for jails is made 
 with two wooden saw-horses and three inch-thick 
 boards, a foot wide and seven feet long, which can 
 be washed and kept clean. No other furniture than 
 a chair, a small table, three hanging shelves, wash 
 basin, a small mirror, tooth- and hair-brush, and comb 
 are necessary, or should be allowed. 
 
 Work in jails cannot well be made profitable on 
 account of the usually short sentence to be served, 
 but stocking-knitting with machines, carpet-making, 
 mat-making, brush- and broom-making, and, best of 
 all, shoemaking and cobbling, can be usefully con- 
 ducted. Machinery has so completely taken the 
 place of hand labor in the manufacture of boots and 
 shoes that the old-fashioned shoemaker is hard to 
 find, and it is difficult to get a shoe mended any- 
 where. If prisoners were taught in jails to make 
 shoes and slippers for the inmates, they might acquire 
 a trade which would afford them a certain support 
 upon liberation, and so a double utility be received 
 from instruction in this. All bedding and under- 
 clothing should be made and washed in the jail 
 where the inmates are sufficiently numerous, and, 
 where the character of the prisoners will permit, the 
 outer clothing should also be made by them. The 
 best of them should cook and serve the meals and 
 do the kitchen work. In localities where there 
 should be a market for it, kindling-wood might be 
 prepared and sold, or stone broken for country roads. 
 Industry of some kind should be regularly enforced. 
 
H^ITA T IS TO BE DONE WTTtI TRE PRISONER ? 20I 
 
 The tendency in all jails managed by sheriffs is 
 toward extravagance and unnecessary attractiveness 
 of food supplies to prisoners. The comfortable quar- 
 ters, ease of life, and superior food furnished at public 
 expense, makes jail life so desirable to tramps, vag- 
 rants, and the large class determined to live without 
 work that " good jails " have become a favorite winter 
 resort for them. They get themselves incarcerated, 
 to enjoy the comforts supplied by a thoughtless pub- 
 lic, by the commission of some venial offence, and 
 are frequently known to complain of the unexpected 
 brevity of their sentence. It is absolutely necessary 
 that jail life should be made in all respects less 
 agreeable than that to which the prisoner is accus- 
 tomed at liberty, to secure any deterrent influence 
 from it. 
 
 As a guide for inexperienced sheriffs and wardens, 
 we offer the following suggestions upon the jail 
 dietary. We have obtained from Mr. Michael J. 
 Cassidy, the well-known warden of the Eastern Peni- 
 tentiary of Pennsylvania, who has had a long and 
 successful experience in the management of prisoners 
 and prisons, the following expression of his views 
 upon the food question, as valuable as any obtainable, 
 and we quote them in full : 
 
 " A proper diet for persons confined should not be a fixed diet. 
 Much depends on the location and the condition of those to be cared 
 for. A certain quantity, or one particular sort unvaried, is not best ; 
 as much variety as the produce of the locality in which the institution 
 is located, sufficient in quantity, distributed in accordance with the 
 judgment of the management or direction is better. Some physical 
 constitutions require more than others. A fixed quantity would 
 not be economy. Good and sound articles of food, certainly not 
 
202 PRiSOlfERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 fine or specially selected ; vegetables that are in general use, and 
 bread made from sound wheat flour, not high bolted, but that which 
 contains some of the middlings ; meats such as can be made into 
 stews or soup, all grease or fats of the meats used in the food 
 in some way should constitute the general diet. Short-calce or 
 bread, with lard made up in it, one day in the week is very de- 
 sirable. The following are the daily rations as served at present : 
 Bread is given according to the need of the prisoner, coffee in the 
 morning, tea for supper ; Monday, beef soup, with vegetables, pota- 
 toes, turnips, rice, or barley, one pound of beef cooked, cut into 
 rations and served separately ; Tuesday, short-cake and one half 
 pound of bologna sausage ; Wednesday, bean sonp and beef ; Thurs- 
 day, satter-kraut and one half pound of pork ; Friday, Irish stew, 
 beef, unions, potatoes, and barley ; Saturday, mutton soup, three 
 fourths of a pound mutton, and vegetables ; Sunday, meat pie, beef, 
 onions, and potatoes with top and bottom crust, baked in pans in the 
 ovens in which the bread is baked. 
 
 " The above may be varied or changed any time. Green vegetables 
 in season, when they are abundant in market, such as tomatoes, green 
 onions, carrots, beets, and pickles, when they are low in price should 
 be supplied. I cannot suggest a more economical method than the 
 above." 
 
 The army ration for a ten days' supply of the 
 articles of food enumerated below indicates what is 
 ample for men in active service, and need not be 
 exceeded in the issue to prisoners in jail : Roasted 
 coffee, 12.8 ounces; tea, 2.4 ounces; vinegar, 3.2 
 gills; molasses, 0.8 gills; soup, 6.4 ounces; salt, 6 
 ounces ; pepper, 0.4 ounces. Three pounds of fresh 
 vegetables are equivalent to one pound of beans, 
 peas, rice, or hominy. Vinegar, molasses, salt, pep- 
 per, and soap should be issued in about this propor- 
 tion to the cell ; then the following dietary would be 
 suitable for a week, varied according to location and 
 season. Tea and coffee should be served clear. 
 
tViTA T is TO BE DONE WITH THE PRISONER? 203 
 
 A suitable and economical dietary for use in county- 
 jails is given in the Appendix, for the information 
 of those interested in a proper supply of food to 
 prisoners.' 
 
 By such a management of jails and the prisoners 
 in them, many of the evils which they now propagate 
 may be corrected or diminished, and some reduction 
 be made of their contribution to the general stock 
 of criminals in numbers, as well as of the total and 
 per capita cost of their support. 
 
 Permanent seclusion for the natural and incor- 
 rigible criminal, and indeterminate sentence to a 
 reform school or reformatory for first and second 
 convictions, except for the most heinous crimes, 
 and special, permanent wardens for all jails, with 
 complete reform of management, are the three 
 vitally essential requirements of modern penology 
 in America. 
 
 ' See Appendices IV. and V. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PAUPERS AND POOR-HOUSES. 
 
 Anomaly of Pauperism in the United States — ^Amount and Cost of 
 It — Causes and Classification — Defectives — Victims of Acci- 
 dent — Hereditary and Incorrigible — Illegitimate Children: 
 Number of and Treatment — Homeless Children — Four Objects 
 of Charity — Out-Door Relief of — Prof. McCook's Report on — 
 Evils of — Heteronomic Paupers — Legal Reduction of Their 
 Numbers — Almshouse Treatment — County Visitors — Location 
 and Construction of Almshouses — Discrimination as to Admis- 
 sions — The Four Motives of Management — Gradation of Re- 
 sponsibility — Religious Privileges — Conclusion. 
 
 We now turn briefly to the subject of pauperism 
 in America. We confine ourselves to America be- 
 cause the conditions of society in this country are 
 essentially different, in respect to the independence 
 of the individual, from those existing elsewhere. It 
 is our just pride, that in the United States every 
 human being of sound body, mind, and soul, has an 
 equal and perfect right to, and ability for, an inde- 
 pendent existence. There is absolutely no external 
 restriction of birth, circumstance, or law, upon his 
 comfortable self-support, success, or ambition. The 
 human nature is entirely untrammelled and unfettered 
 in the struggle and competition of life. The neces- 
 sary supply of food, fuel, clothing, and shelter are 
 ample, and obtainable by a reasonable minimum of 
 
 204 
 
PAUPERS AND POOR-HOUSES. 20$ 
 
 industry. It may be asserted with assurance that 
 no sound man, woman, or child in good health in 
 this country need ever be a pauper. But humanity 
 is the same here as elsewhere, and presents the same 
 examples of widely diversified, and different grades 
 of ability and independence ; all the way down from 
 the distinguished accumulator of immense wealth to 
 the helpless imbecile. 
 
 The social condition here, as everywhere, in civil- 
 ized Europe, antique Asia, or savage Africa, is an 
 effervescence, in which strength and purity are con- 
 stantly rising toward the top, and weakness and the 
 dregs are settling toward the bottom. The condition 
 is constant, the proportions only are variable. Under 
 our institutions, an intelligent sociology can and will 
 produce a maximum of clarification and a minimum 
 of lees, the greatest human advantage, and social 
 economy. The line of separation between indepen- 
 dence and pauperism is marked everywhere at the 
 point of ability for a self-support, congruous with the 
 condition of civilization in the community. Our 
 conditions and standards of living are higher than 
 the average, but our institutions are also the most 
 elevating, and the proportion of our population above 
 that line to that below would increase much more 
 rapidly, but for our incomprehensible neglect of 
 rational measures to restrict degeneration, and the 
 constant influx of those who are below it from all 
 over the world. The distinguished Professor R. T. 
 Ely, of New York,' estimates the number of paupers 
 in the United States at about 5 per cent, of the 
 
 ' The North American Review for April, l8gi. 
 
206 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 population, or over three millions; and their pecu- 
 niary cost to the country one hundred million dol- 
 lars per annum. Our case is therefore not only 
 special, but serious. Nature requires active and im- 
 mediate assistance for its relief and convalescence. 
 The subject, notwithstanding our wonderful growth 
 in wealth and general prosperity, is worthy careful 
 and exhaustive study, and courageous intelligence of 
 treatment. 
 
 Pauperism has been attributed to various causes ; 
 but in America, as in the case of criminals, paupers 
 may be all resolved into two classes, as determined 
 by the cause. Heredity and heteronomy; natural 
 incapacity from deterioration, and the force of 
 environment, developed in habit or misfortune, 
 will account for the whole class. These two classes 
 require quite different treatment. For convenience 
 of consideration they may be separated into three 
 sub-divisions. 
 
 First, we have the incapable, by nature unable 
 to maintain themselves without assistance ; the 
 physically, mentally, or morally defective ; cripples, 
 deformed, deaf, blind, imbecile, weak-minded, dis- 
 eased, insane, or criminal. 
 
 Second, beggars, vagrants, tramps ; the incorrigibly 
 idle, dissolute, and criminal, who prefer to prey 
 rather than work. 
 
 These two classes are mostly hereditary paupers. 
 They are the victims of congenital defects ; the pro- 
 duct of ancestral excesses, weakness, or sin. 
 
 Third, the unfortunate ; whom adversity, destitu- 
 tion, old age, affliction, sickness, or accident, have 
 
PAVPMRS and POOR-HOUSES. 267 
 
 reduced to a necessary dependence upon charity for 
 the support of life and health, either temporarily 
 or permanently. 
 
 These are mostly heteronomics, many of whom 
 a change or improvement of environment will restore 
 to independence. 
 
 For the maintenance of the morally defective or 
 criminal pauper, society has been compelled to pro- 
 vide temporarily, at the discretion of judges and 
 juries. We have suggested plans for disposing of 
 these in the preceding chapter. Our States most 
 advanced in civilization have also recognized the 
 claims of the principal defective classes, such as the 
 insane, deaf, blind, and imbecile, for public care, by 
 the establishment of special asylums for their main- 
 tenance by taxation. This is a first step imperatively 
 required in every State ; for all classes, where they 
 are sufficiently numerous, to warrant separate treat- 
 ment. The next should be to secure such manage- 
 ment of these institutions and their inmates, as 
 to reduce the public burden of these classes to a 
 minimum. 
 
 This object will be attained by such instruction, 
 training, and employment, as will prevent their repro- 
 duction, supplement their several defects, and render 
 them as far as possible self-supporting. This can 
 only be satisfactorily accomplished in moderately 
 large State establishments, under skilled and intel- 
 ligent direction. It is manifestly impossible in alms- 
 houses. Irresponsible victims of a congenital mis- 
 fortune as they are, it is absolutely necessary for the 
 good of all that they shall be prevented from trans- 
 
208 PXISONSRS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 mitting their incapacity to future generations by 
 marriage. They must be denied that privilege as a 
 price of the assistance they receive from the public, 
 for it is obvious that society might better permit 
 them to perish, than to allow them to perpetuate, 
 through generation after generation, their depend- 
 ence upon the public. The alarming increase in the 
 number of these, where they are systematically sup- 
 ported by the public, and where, for this reason, 
 accurate statistics are accessible, is undoubtedly 
 mostly due to hereditary transmission of defects and 
 tendencies from parent to child. This unnecessary 
 and unnatural increment should be. prevented by 
 adequate police regulations. Legislation should 
 prohibit the marriage of the physically, mentally, or 
 morally defective person, provide for the complete 
 seclusion of these by law, and punish illegitimate 
 sexual intercourse with them by a life-sentence to 
 the penitentiary. 
 
 The noble spirit of philanthropy dangerously inter- 
 feres with the natural processes of extinction of the 
 deteriorated, incapable, and unfit, by interposing 
 public care when they would perish if left to them- 
 selves by induced sterility and weakness. The dis- 
 eased, crippled, or degraded pauper ought to be 
 placed in special hospitals under State management, 
 for cure, and surgical or educational treatment. In 
 this way many might be restored to a condition of 
 self-support, and liberated without danger to society, 
 either from themselves or their descendants. In cases 
 where competent medical authority should decide 
 that defective offspring would naturally ensue upon 
 
PAUPERS AND POOR-HOUSES. 209 
 
 marriage, the patient should be detained in seclusion, 
 and made to devote his life to earning his own and 
 his dependent's support, under public care and direc- 
 tion. In such hospitals the victims of disabling acci- 
 dents could and should be cared for and assisted, 
 although, of course, without restriction as to mar- 
 riage. Almshouses are as unfit and unsuitable places 
 lor the proper maintenance as these, as they are 
 generally acknowledged to be for the maintenance 
 of the large defective classes of deaf, blind, and in- 
 sane. In such hospitals also, the weak-minded, the 
 harmless and mildly insane, epileptics, and the in- 
 capable crank, could be cared for, made useful, and 
 so prevented from propagating their disability. 
 
 Modern philanthropy has provided hospitals in 
 our densest communities for the temporary relief of 
 almost every special ailment ; but, so far as we are 
 aware, no State or city has yet established an institu- 
 tion for the permanent treatment and care of these 
 large classes of defectives. A complete and com- 
 prehensive plan for dealing with pauperism must, 
 however, include such an institution for each definite 
 ratio of population. A ratio which could be properly 
 determined by an examination of the various institu- 
 tions where they are now maintained. 
 
 The second class of paupers, by our analysis, the 
 hereditary or incorrigible beggar, tramp, vagrant or 
 idler, should be incontinently passed into the State 
 reformatory for convicts, to be treated ; and either 
 transformed into honest self-supporters, or transferred 
 into the State penitentiary, for life. The attempt 
 to procure an unearned living, the practice, or habit 
 
2 to PklSONERS AND PAVPEKS. 
 
 of securing it, is in itself a theft from society. It is 
 a crime against social order and divine law much 
 more grave and injurious to the public, than any 
 single taking of the property of an individual with- 
 out his knowledge or consent. It should be made a 
 penal offence, and consign the offender to his appro- 
 priate place among other convicts, where such of- 
 fenders would become subject to the same influences 
 and restraints as have been recommended for crimi- 
 nals, to which class they belong. Such an enactment 
 would of its own motion tend to restrain and reduce 
 the numbers disposed to fall into this class, and by 
 its terror very largely protect society from those 
 outrages which it now frequently suffers from it. It 
 is well known, moreover, that the entire class is 
 largely composed of criminals at large, who would 
 thus be gathered into the institutions intended for 
 them, without the cost or delay of a special crime, 
 detection, trial, and conviction. This would be a 
 result of important public economy, and sufficient 
 alone to warrant the legislation required. 
 
 Another considerable and important class requir- 
 ing special legislation and treatment is composed of 
 those commonly spoken of as " unfortunate girls." 
 It is made up of persons of all degrees of intelligence, 
 immorality, and depravity, from the comparatively 
 innocent victim of seduction to the common 
 prostitute. They are driven to the almshouse or 
 charitable institution by the compulsion of their 
 circumstances. They remain pauperized so long as 
 may be necessary, and depart, leaving their offspring 
 to be reared at public cost ; many returning repeat- 
 
PAUPERS AND POOR-HOUSES. 211 
 
 edly for the same cause, and never leaving better 
 than they came. 
 
 Indeed, with this double brand of sin and pauper- 
 ism upon them, thei-e is but one way to open them, — 
 it is the way which " taketh hold on death." Under 
 present conditions they are not only condemned to 
 the pauper criminal class themselves, but to a con- 
 tinual breeding of criminals and paupers. Their 
 children, " conceived in sin " and brought forth in 
 iniquity, generally inoculated with the virus of 
 drunkards, tainted with physical disease as well as 
 moral corruption, are, if they live, destined by the 
 law of heredity to follow the parental tendency, 
 often so strong and dominant that, even under the 
 most favorable environment and the wisest training, 
 they are unable to overcome it. 
 
 The number of these illegitimates added to the 
 population annually is much greater than is generally 
 supposed. If the whole truth could be known, I 
 have no doubt it would be appalling. I have been 
 in almshouses where a stock of two dozen cradles 
 were not considered unnecessary. There were 
 twenty-one born in the Hillside Home of Scranton 
 in the first six months of 1891. The number of 
 children born in the almshouses of Pennsylvania 
 each year, ending September 30th, for the ten years 
 beginning with 1880, as shown by the reports of the 
 Board of Public Charities, was consecutively 406, 
 355, 416, 435, 481, 436, 383, 376, 391, 365, a total of 
 4,054, and an annual average of 405.4. In 1889 
 there was added a report of seven " lying-in " hos- 
 pitals in Philadelphia and fifteen general hospitals 
 
212 PSlSOIfEJiS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 throughout the State, showing 505 illegitimates born 
 therein ; which, added to the average, makes a total 
 of 910. In 1890 the total from both sources was 
 852. The reduction of births in almshouses since 
 1885 is doubtless to be attributed to improved hos- 
 pital facilities. If the same ratio prevails throughout 
 the entire population of the country, it would have 
 yielded 10,834 illegitimate children to the United 
 States in 1890. There is no good reason for believ- 
 ing that the state of society in Pennsylvania is worse 
 than the average in this respect, and we are com- 
 pelled to conclude that the criminal and pauper class 
 is being augmented by births from this source alone 
 at the rate of at least 10,000 per annum, in addition 
 to the legitimates, if we may so call them, or the 
 births to married criminals and paupers. This is 
 certainly an element of large and serious consequence 
 in our sociology. It reveals a condition which must 
 be promptly recognized, adequately dealt with and 
 counteracted. The danger of such an infusion of 
 corruption into our national life-current cannot be 
 safely ignored, for it is as great as any that threatens 
 our welfare. 
 
 Scarcely any intelligent or comprehensive remedial 
 scheme has been attempted, except perhaps by the 
 Roman Catholic Church, in its system of " orphan- 
 ages " for children and " Houses of the Good Shep- 
 herd " for the mothers. In these institutions, which 
 are models of good management, the children are 
 reared under kind and religious instruction until they 
 can be entrusted to good familes ; and the mothers 
 maintained in seclusion occupied with useful indus- 
 
PAUPERS AND POOR-HOUSES. 213 
 
 try until, reformed in character and health, they 
 can be restored with safety to society. They indi- 
 cate the general direction of the effort which must 
 be made to meet the necessities of the case. 
 
 The first object society has to consider in the 
 matter is to stop this illegitimate increase. The 
 second is the reformation of the mother, and of the 
 father, if he can be caught. The third, the rearing 
 of the children into a condition of independent good 
 citizenship. 
 
 The proportions of the evil have passed beyond 
 the powers or control of private charity, and 
 urgently demand the exercise of governmental func- 
 tions. Every State must establish a " House of the 
 Good Shepherd," though not in the ecclesiastical 
 sense, sufficiently commodious for the care of all 
 unmarried pauper mothers, to which the laws should 
 compel its magistrates to remove them, with their 
 children, wherever they are found, as soon as fit for 
 removal; where they should remain at least two 
 years to care for their children, if they live so long, 
 or if they should not, until in the judgment of the 
 matron and committing magistrate it would be best 
 to restore them to freedom. In these houses the 
 mothers should be kindly and judiciously trained, 
 physically, mentally, and morally, with a view to 
 reformation and cure. They should be kept em- 
 ployed, to educate them to honest self-support, and 
 to reduce the expense to the public. The manifestly 
 defective, diseased, or incorrigible should be trans- 
 ferred to the penitentiary for females, while the 
 healthy and reformed should be provided with good 
 
214 PjRISONERS and PAUPERS. 
 
 situations. When the children arrive at two years of 
 age they should be transferred to nurseries and kin- 
 dergartens, whence, at a proper time, it should be the 
 effort of the management to remove them into pri- 
 vate families, by adoption, or indenture, if they are 
 healthy and sound. These nurseries would afford 
 employment for the best of the mothers. 
 
 The State of Pennsylvania requires such an institu- 
 tion to accommodate at least one thousand at the 
 present time. As it would be expected to greatly 
 diminish the evil it would be intended to relieve, the 
 institution need not be of expensive design or con- 
 struction. The buildings should not be large ; they 
 should be detached, for a proper division of the 
 mothers according to moral and physical conditions, 
 and for the care of the children. It should be 
 managed by Christian women of ability and intel- 
 ligence. Such an establishment would doubtless 
 save the public direct cost of at least two hundred 
 thousand dollars per annum ; and more than twice 
 that much in indirect and consequential damage. 
 This, too, would be a constantly increasing benefit, 
 for the number of depraved mothers is increasing, 
 and contaminated children are multiplying contin- 
 ually under our present neglect. 
 
 Homeless children are a still larger class of pau- 
 pers needing special care and attention. The 
 deserted waifs of our city streets, the neglected 
 offspring of the criminal and drunkard, orphans 
 and half-orphans of the indigent, who may be un- 
 able or unfit to properly rear them, constitute an 
 important and growing element of our denser com- 
 
PAUPERS AND POOR-HOUSES. 21 J 
 
 munities, and require the immediate consideration 
 of legislators for the protection of society. The 
 pressure of necessity has compelled charitable 
 societies and individuals to establish houses of 
 correction and refuge, juvenile asylums, homes for 
 the friendless, childrens' aid societies, and similar 
 institutions here and there ; but they are managed 
 without any general, regular, or complete system, 
 according to the ideas and ability of their benevolent 
 promoters, and afford but a local and sporadic relief. 
 
 The New York Juvenile Asylum, according to its 
 last report, has cared for 28,745 during its existence. 
 The report of the Board of Public Charities of Penn- 
 sylvania for 1890 gives the following census of 
 pauper minors in public institutions in the State, 
 September 30, 1890: In Philadelphia House of 
 Correction, 1,005 > House of Refuge, 735 ; Mor- 
 ganza, 509; Huntingdon Reformatory, 332; Deaf 
 and Dumb Asylums, 648 ; Blind Asylums, 179 ; 
 Elwyn Institution for Feeble-minded Children, 800 ; 
 in almhouses, 445 ; reported in forty-seven out of 
 one hundred and eighty-three other institutions, 
 homes, orphanages, etc., excluding Girard College, 
 7,103; a total of 11,756. There were aided by 
 " outdoor relief," during the year, 9,698. There 
 were 78 sent to the penitentiaries ; and 457 com- 
 mitted to county-jails, under twenty-one years of 
 age. For its 6,45 5 public insane patients, the State 
 appropriated $465,166.14; but has absolutely no 
 system for the care of its 21,455 pauper children ! 
 
 It is of great importance that the States should 
 adopt a systematic and adequate plan of care and 
 
2l6 PJilSONEJlS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 education for this large element of its future con- 
 stituency, which will not only comprehend the 
 entire class, but provide completely for its growth 
 into self-sustaining, useful citizenship. This can 
 only be assured by the maintenance under the man- 
 agement of Christian women, of homes for all these 
 children, into which they may be gathered and 
 trained, until they can be located under the domes- 
 tic influence of good families in the country. The 
 subject of child-saving is of sufficient magnitude to 
 warrant a much more complete consideration than 
 we can ^ve it here. 
 
 We have yet the third class of paupers for whom 
 to provide. These are the wounded, maimed, ex- 
 hausted and sick in the battle of life; the true 
 objects of charity and benevolence. Many of these 
 have fallen out in the march from inherited weak- 
 ness, or incapacity, but they have bravely under- 
 taken the struggle, and are entitled to social and 
 human sympathy and care. The sterner restrictions 
 of legislative enactments are unnecessary, except 
 to secure to them the aid and relief they may be 
 unable alone to obtain. There are two methods of 
 bestowing this in common use. One known as " out- 
 door relief " ; the other as " almshouse treatment." 
 
 Public " out-door relief " is liable to serious abuse 
 and imposition. Almost universally it makes con- 
 firmed paupers of the recipients, who soon come 
 to depend upon, and demand it as a right due 
 them from the public treasury. On these accounts 
 " out-door relief " is regarded with disfavor by the 
 public and humanitarians. As the administering 
 
PAUPERS AND POOR-HOUSES. 21 7 
 
 officials are generally unable to properly investi- 
 gate applications, they encourage fraudulent claims, 
 waste the public funds, or pervert them to poli- 
 tical purposes, thus stimulating instead of reducing 
 pauperism. The fearful results of careless out-door 
 relief have been most impressively demonstrated in 
 the exhaustive and instructive report of Prof. J. J. 
 McCook, of Hartford, chairman of a committee 
 appointed by that town in October, 1890, upon 
 "out-door alms." He shows that Hartford, in 
 twenty years, had gained 41.1 per cent, in popula- 
 tion, 51.8 per cent, in paupers, and 277.9 P^*" cent, 
 in cost of relief per capita. Its pauper population 
 had increased, notwithstanding the general pros- 
 perity of the city, to i to every 16. i of its people. 
 This is a greater average than exists in any of seven- 
 teen European countries, which averaged i in 29.8 ; 
 England and Wales having i in 36, Ireland i in 35.7, 
 Scotland i in 57.9. Compared with cities in 1890, 
 London had i in 40.6 ; Manchester i in 42.2 ; 
 Whitechapel (London) i in 41.7; Philadelphia in 
 1889, I to 78; Worcester, Mass., in 1890, i to 23; 
 Berlin in 1885 had i in 26.2; Dresden in 1889, i in 
 49.' The charge upon the taxpayers of the city had 
 grown to one hundred and eighty-nine dollars per 
 capita in this time. The reform resulting from his 
 investigations and recommendations are concisely 
 stated by Professor Grahcim Taylor, D.D., in the 
 Congregationalist of November 26, 1891, and we 
 quote what he says, as indicating in detail the 
 restrictions to be imposed upon that kind of relief. 
 ' See Appendix V. 
 
2l8 PBISONESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 " In a single year, with an increasing population, the city of Hart- 
 ford, Conn., has reduced the 'out-door alms' of its municipal or 
 ' town ' charities by nearly ten thousand dollars. This is offset by 
 the addition of only eight inmates to the almshouse, despite the 
 cutting off of seventy-four ' rents,' and the reduction of all payments 
 of rent to a maximum of four dollars per month. Not only has there 
 been no appreciable increase in the demand upon the voluntary chari- 
 ties, but the town expense in caring for the poor in the almshouse has 
 actually decreased ; the burial account, upon which the expense of 
 one in five of all the burials in the town were found to be chained, 
 has been lessened by seventy-six cases ; the coal account was dimin- 
 ished by two hundred and forty-eight tons, and the pauper population 
 has been reduced 18.14 V^^ cent. Notwithstanding additional ex- 
 penses incurred this first year by inaugurating the new system, the 
 selectmen report a reduction of g.48 per cent, in the total expense for 
 "all relief.' The yearly average of this reduction should be much 
 more marked within the first few years of the reform period. But the 
 saving in the manhood of the poor is worth more to the common- 
 wealth than the money saved. 
 
 " This genuine social economy was effected by the adoption in town 
 meeting of the following business methods for the administration of 
 towTi charity : rent not exceeding four dollars per month to be paid 
 only to families in 'legal settlement,' having one child under four- 
 teen ; investigation and recorded report of all applications for any 
 aid ; not more than one dollar and fifty cents to be given in any case 
 before such investigation ; no grocery orders on stores to be given ; 
 grants of supplies to be made only from storeroom kept by the town 
 and stocked with ten designated articles most necessary to sustain 
 life ; medical treatment only for present existing sickness or injury ; 
 town physicians to be nominated by the Hartford Medical Society ; 
 police court commitments to be excluded from almshouse, which shall 
 be resen-ed for poor persons only ; revision of rules for almshouse 
 management ; burials paid for by the town to be managed by the 
 to^vn at a cost not exceeding fifteen dollars ; lengthened terms of 
 commitment to jails after third conviction ; fuller statistical and com- 
 parative reports to be made of all charity administration. 
 
 " Of equal and even more permanent and wide-reaching value are 
 two results attained in the instrumentalities used to secure this reform. 
 First there came the long-belated, but now permanently established, 
 Charity Organization Society, which is an essential substitute for the 
 
PAUPERS AND POOR-HOUSES. 2ig 
 
 vicious methods abandoned. But the greatest of all the good accom- 
 plished by this whole movement is the report of the special committee 
 on out-door alms, upon which were based the above-given recommen- 
 dations that were adopted by the town. It contains the most exhaust- 
 ive tabulation and practical study of comparative statistics bearing on 
 municipal out-door relief that has ever been made in this country. To 
 its author, Rev. Professor J. J. McCook, of Trinity College, Hartford, 
 the country is indebted for the most important contribution on this 
 subject to its sociological literature. His tables of the comparative 
 charity statistics of American and foreign communities, and the 
 appendixes, including discussion of the legal, historical, political, 
 economic, sanitary, and social aspects of the charity problem ; make 
 the report a permanent classic in the literature of the subject." 
 
 Prof. McCook has kindly permitted the publica- 
 tion in the Appendix of several tables collated by 
 him in the interest of public instruction, to which 
 attention is invited.' 
 
 In our opinion it were better that public out-door 
 relief should be prohibited by law, except in cases of 
 sudden calamity, and to assist honest, hard-working 
 children to maintain indigent parents at home ; or 
 indigent widows to keep their children under their 
 own care. All other proper objects of charity should 
 be provided for either in the almshouse, or by private 
 benevolence. This latter should be allowed oppor- 
 tunity, as a public necessity, to foster the birth and 
 growth of divine charity in the human heart. For 
 upon the development and diffusion of this spirit 
 depends all human progress. In order that private 
 benevolence may be wisely and efficiently adminis- 
 tered in these days of steam and electricity, when 
 those best able to give are least able to investigate, 
 because of the incessant pressure of personal affairs 
 ' See Appendices IV. and V. 
 
220 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 upon their time, a system and organization are 
 necessary. For it must be accepted as an axiom, 
 that every dollar that is given for the mere asking 
 is worse than wasted. 
 
 Every city should have an organization of all its 
 charitable individuals and societies, represented by 
 an agent, or agents, to whom all applications may 
 be referred ; and whose duty should be to see that 
 no needy, deserving persons should suffer for want 
 of timely aid. Such aid should be only temporary, 
 and intended to restore the assisted to a position of 
 self-support, by providing work, and teaching how 
 to earn. In this way mendicity may be totally 
 eradicated without compunction to the conscience of 
 any. Where such an organization is sustained, in 
 conjunction with the necessary State institutions 
 suggested, there need be no suffering on account of 
 poverty, and pauperism will be reduced to its mini- 
 mum. This is not simply a theory or opinion, but 
 has been demonstrated in many places, and repeat- 
 edly. The most beneficial relief is that of human 
 sympathy and kindness; a manifestation of the 
 universal brotherhood of man ; which not only re- 
 vives the flagging hope of the afflicted, but gives 
 him courage, with the consciousness that he is recog- 
 nized as still in the race, and capable of indepen- 
 dence, so soon as he is on his feet again. This is 
 better than all material aid, though this must be 
 supplied also. Let us then have organization in 
 every community to look after and help the needy, 
 and abolish, as far as. possible, the dole from taxa- 
 tion so often demanded as a right. 
 
PAVPZkS AND POOk-HOUSES. 221 
 
 How then shall the real objects of charity, our 
 third class of heteronomics be provided for? That 
 is, those whom age, disability, infirmity, or misfor- 
 tune, have rendered permanently dependent ? 
 
 Proper legislation might materially reduce the 
 number of these also, by enforcing the support of 
 the aged and children by the next of kin, wherever 
 it is possible ; thus recognizing and enacting the 
 laws of nature in the human code. For there are 
 some (the inspector of pauperism is shocked to dis- 
 cover so many) children who are not only willing, 
 but anxious, to shift the burden of the support of 
 their helpless parents upon the shoulders of the pub- 
 lic ; as insensible of the claims of filial affection as 
 of duty. Unnatural and hard-hearted parents abound 
 also who seem to regard their offspring as an encum- 
 brance and expense, from which they strive to ob- 
 tain relief in almost any way short of actual murder ; 
 some who do not even stop short of that. It may 
 not be for the public interest that such parents 
 should be compelled, or that the difficult attempt 
 should be made to compel them to discharge their 
 natural duties, but they certainly should be made to 
 defray the cost when the public performs this for 
 them. Their natural disposition warrants the exer- 
 cise of severity, absolves the public from considera- 
 tions of pity or sympathy on account of any alleged 
 inabilities, and they should be held to a strict 
 account. 
 
 As the numbers of this third class are great, always 
 have been, and probably always will be, experience 
 and theory agree in an indisputable demonstration 
 
222 PSTSONESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 that they must be cared for in public almshouses. 
 It is unwise and unsafe to attempt regular and per- 
 manent relief to them in any other way, for any 
 other plan inevitably results in neglect and suffering 
 to the worthy, in great imposture and abuse of 
 charity, and in the increase of pauperism to an in- 
 supportable extent. It must be accepted as an axiom 
 of public relief that when it is to be continuous and 
 regular the aid must be rendered in a regularly or- 
 ganized institution. To this the applicant for as- 
 sistance must be transferred before public support 
 by taxation can be conferred. As the duty of main- 
 tenance rests upon society in general, the response 
 must be from the social organization, and not from 
 private charity ; by equal taxation of all, rather than 
 the benevolence of a few, however large their 
 interest. 
 
 This duty being a just and properly admitted one 
 in all ages and among all nations, its performance 
 should be consistent with the best sense of kindness 
 or charity of the community when the objects are 
 restricted to legitimate dependents. It becomes 
 a public duty to be discharged with intelligence, 
 care, thoughtful consideration, and as much of 
 human sympathy as can be infused into a public 
 function or functionary. While the actual perform- 
 ance must necessarily be delegated to paid officials, 
 it is very important that the community at large 
 should retain a vital and constant interest in it, and 
 manifest this by frequent visitation and supervision. 
 This is more necessary to the community than even 
 to the well being of the dependent. For society 
 
PAUPMRS and POOR-tlOUSES. ^2% 
 
 cannot relieve itself of its responsibility by simply 
 paying the bills. This is the only way even a flavor 
 of charity can be retained in public alms, either as to 
 the giver or recipient, without which the " poor rate " 
 becomes an irritation and its disbursement a graceless 
 exaction. 
 
 We have already indicated the necessity for uni- 
 form and systematic legislation concerning the poor ; 
 for single county almshouses, where a dense popula- 
 tion does not make more than one necessary ; for 
 paid county overseers, who shall devote their entire 
 time to the administration of the public alms. We 
 have also called attention to other improvements 
 formulated in the law which was presented to the 
 Pennsylvania Legislature of 1891, but prevented 
 from receiving even a consideration by the short- 
 sighted or selfish influence of present officials. 
 
 In addition to the general provisions of this law, 
 a Board of County Visitors should be constituted 
 from the most intelligent and philanthropic citizens 
 of both sexes, with rights and powers of visitation 
 and inspection, and the duty of making a public re- 
 port upon the management of the poor fund in 
 every county. The public should also be constantly 
 urged to visit and inspect the almshouse, and com- 
 fort the inmates by their attention. 
 
 County visitors should minutely inspect the build- 
 ings froni cellar to garret, talk with and encourage 
 the inmates to talk freely with them, suggest such 
 reforms and changes as seem necessary, in a kindly 
 way to the officials, endeavor to secure as near 
 approach to the conditions and management indi- 
 
224 PRISONOUS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 cated hereinafter, as practicable, and keep a record 
 of their observations. Constant inspection and 
 suggestion will promote continual improvement, 
 and finally secure fair results, even where the accom- 
 modations have been badly located and unwisely 
 built. 
 
 The location, construction, and naming of public 
 poor-houses in America has hitherto been governed 
 by no settled rules or principles, but rather by the 
 caprice of officials of every diversity of intelligence 
 and disposition, so that examples are frequent of 
 almost every degree of excellence and unfitness, 
 extravagance and meanness, — results due, we are 
 confident, more to lack of proper information than 
 intention. The consequence is an enormous waste, 
 in the aggregate, of the public resources, both in 
 first cost and subsequent conduct. We therefore 
 venture to offer some suggestions, derived from a 
 diversified observation, upon these subjects before 
 proceeding to a consideration of the treatment of 
 paupers in them. 
 
 The location of the almshouse should be decided 
 upon these considerations chiefly. There should be 
 connected with it at least one hundred acres of good 
 fertile land, for a less quantity does not warrant 
 building and the expense of management. The 
 quantity of land should not be less than two acres 
 for each expected inmate, between fifty and two 
 hundred and fifty. When larger numbers are to be 
 provided for, a proportionate increase should be 
 made in acreage according to circumstances. In 
 agricultural communities the public farm should be 
 
PAUPERS AND POOR-tiOUSES. 22$ 
 
 made as far as possible an experimental station, 
 where local problems concerning crops, cultivation, 
 and breeding of stock could be solved at the public 
 expense, for the general good. The land should be 
 fertile and fitted for economical tillage, so that it 
 may be made to produce with the inefficient labor 
 of the paupers as much as possible of their support. 
 
 All vegetables, potatoes, cabbage, turnips, carrots, 
 beets, peas, beans, green corn and dry, rye and 
 buckwheat, and in favorable localities wheat, needed, 
 should be raised on the premises. The railroads 
 have made it generally possible to buy wheat flour, 
 beef, and pork from the West cheaper than they 
 can be produced in the East. It will be found 
 economical to raise some pork, generally, to dispose 
 of refuse, and sufficient pasturage and fodder for the 
 cows needed to supply butter and milk must be 
 calculated upon. Orchards and fruit-trees should 
 be set out, and plantations of small fruits, berries, 
 and grapes made to whatever extent they can be 
 cared for. Some flowers and ornamental shrubbery 
 will afford pleasant entertainment in cultivation, and 
 appearance to all. 
 
 The buildings should be placed upon a high and 
 well-drained position, where proper sewerage may 
 be secured, and where they may be plentifully sup- 
 plied with pure soft water by gravity to the second 
 storj'. This supply of water is indispensable, and 
 must be secured by an elevated reservoir where the 
 natural fall is insufficient. Without such a perpetual 
 and reliable water-supply it is impossible to main- 
 tain satisfactory conditions or management. 
 
226 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 They should be within a reasonable distance of a 
 station on a railway or water-way, so as to be acces- 
 sible to visitors, but remote enough to prevent the 
 premises from becoming a loafing ground for the 
 idle and curious, and to prevent the inmates from 
 easy access to liquor saloons. 
 
 The buildings should be permanently constructed 
 of brick or stone, to save the cost of renewals and 
 repairs, and for security against fire. They should 
 never be more than two stories high. The best de- 
 sign we know is in plan in shape of the letter " X-" 
 A house for the steward and the offices being at the 
 intersection of the cross, connected with a wing on 
 each side, one for males, the other for females, and 
 toward the rear with the building containing kitchen 
 and dining-rooms, by a corridor divided lengthwise 
 by a partition, which continues and completes that 
 separation of the sexes so absolutely essential. The 
 two floors of the wings have a wide hall running the 
 entire length, and ending at a large window from 
 which an iron fire-escape leads to the ground. In 
 the middle of each wing is a large day-room open- 
 ing to the front, and a passage leading to a separate 
 building in which are bath-rooms, closets, cells for 
 filthy or diseased patients, and which are also suita- 
 ble for use as an infirmary ; this passage is ventilated 
 on both sides by windows to prevent contamination 
 or odor. In each annex there should be a closet for 
 brooms, brushes, pails, and utensils. In each wing 
 a room is devoted to the storage of the clothing 
 and effects of the inmates, with a framework for 
 compartments, eighteen inches square, along the 
 
PAUPERS AND POOR-HOUSES. 22; 
 
 sides. Trunks and boxes may be arranged in the 
 middle. 
 
 Walls should be covered with adamant plaster, all 
 corners rounded, to avoid the angles where cobwebs 
 and vermin are apt to collect, and wainscoated high 
 enough to prevent the hand from soiling the plaster. 
 The cellar and closet floors and washboard through- 
 out, should be of cement. All doors should open 
 outward into the hall, be fitted with such locks that 
 a single master-key will open all, both for conven- 
 ience of inspection and safety of the inmates, and 
 from sleeping-rooms have an open transom reaching 
 to the ceiling, \yithout glass or frame, for ventilation. 
 The buildings should be heated with steam hy in- 
 direct radiation, supplied from boilers located out- 
 side. 
 
 Where fuel is cheap, electrical lighting is prefer- 
 able, as safest and most easily controlled. The 
 laundry may be over the boiler-house ; it should not 
 be in the main buildings. The stairs should be of 
 iron with slate treads. A room should be provided 
 for religious worship and general meetings. Barns, 
 stables, and out-buildings should be far enough 
 removed to avoid disagreeable odors and noises. 
 
 Such a plan as this may be adapted to the require- 
 ments of any number almost. It is important that 
 the appearance of the whole establishment should 
 express economy and plain utility, rather than ele- 
 gance or display. Iron bedsteads with woven spring 
 mattresses have been found the cheapest and clean- 
 est. They should have also straw or husk mattresses ; 
 two sheets, woollen blankets, a white cover, pillows 
 
228 PRJSONEXS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 and pillow-cases, so that they may always be kept 
 clean and appear neat with but slight cost, for the 
 washing should be done by the inmates. Porcelain 
 lined bath-tubs with rounded edges are best and not 
 now expensive ; they should be set on legs above the 
 floor and not cased in with wood, but neatly painted 
 outside. Wash-basins and water-closets should also 
 be open underneath, so that perfect neatness may 
 be preserved, and the nuisance of decaying wood 
 avoided. A flue to the chimney-shaft from under 
 the closets will carry away all gases. It is important 
 that the plumbing be done by a skilled and intelli- 
 gent designer and workman, to prevent future dis- 
 ease and cost. Bath-rooms and closets must be kept 
 neat and clean by frequent scrubbing, or they will 
 soon become repulsive. Small cheap towels, to be 
 used but once, should be supplied to avoid commu- 
 nication of skin arid eye diseases. 
 
 In these days of cheap and durable porcelain, tin 
 and metal dishes should be banished from the eating 
 tables. But more important than clean white dishes 
 are the services of a good baker and cook; more 
 important to the content of the inmates than plenty 
 and variety of food even, for by them the cheapest 
 articles of diet can be made attractive and sufficient ; 
 without them, the most extravagant outlays will be 
 spoiled and in vain. 
 
 The exercise of a more careful discrimination as to 
 admissions to the almshouse is not only important in 
 a social aspect, but is in justice due the real objects 
 of charity, who ought not to be compelled to asso- 
 ciate with the vicious or depraved, or even kept in 
 
PAUPERS AND POOR-HOVSMS. 2i^ 
 
 the same institution. Much of the repugnance of 
 the pauper to the poor-house is doubtless the out- 
 growth of this understanding that it is the receptacle 
 of so many disreputable persons. It is abhorrent to 
 all that the poor unfortunate, bereft of family, health, 
 and means of support, should be condemned by 
 misfortune to the society of drunkards, tramps, and 
 prostitutes. Wherever these are found in sufficient 
 numbers they should, even now, before the general 
 reformation of our laws is secured, be confined in 
 a workhouse where they can be treated by them- 
 selves. 
 
 County workhouses are more necessary than alms- 
 houses, in most parts of the country. By means of 
 these the proper objects of charity may be kept by 
 themselves and the manner of their treatment may 
 not only be greatly simplified and improved, but will 
 become more economical. The attendants will be 
 of a better class, and the sympathies of ofificials and 
 the community will not be dulled by the exactions 
 of professional beggars. The numbers to be main- 
 tained would thus also be reduced from one half to 
 three quarters in most localities. 
 
 As helplessness will then be the chief character- 
 istic of the inmate, attention and care will become 
 the chief feature of the charity, and may be made to 
 express the kindness of the public, instead of its 
 economical impulses. Almshouse management 
 should be actuated primarily and principally by 
 four motives. 
 
 First, by a desire to conform to " Heaven's first 
 law " of order and neatness in every detail. Noth- 
 
230 PRISOlfEXS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 ing can compensate for shortcomings in these 
 respects, because complete conformity is always 
 possible under all circumstances, and because lavish 
 attention and expenditure will be unsatisfactory to 
 all concerned without this, while content will be 
 assured with even limited allowances with it. To 
 this end the grounds and buildings must be kept in 
 order and repair, grass and shrubs trimmed, walks 
 clean and neat, fences and walks painted or lime- 
 washed, comfortable seats provided for the aged and 
 invalids to sun themselves in cool weather, and rest 
 themselves in shade in hot, and the whole outward 
 appearance of the premises made as pleasant as 
 possible with the labor of the inmates. 
 
 Inside, the floors should be oiled every few months 
 and washed twice a week at least ; beds and bedding 
 aired daily, fresh mattresses supplied each new-comer, 
 and the straw of those in use changed every sixty 
 days. Sheets, pillow-cases, and coverlets washed 
 weekly, and all beds made up neatly, and alike, each 
 day before noon. A separate bed should be given 
 to each inmate, no clothing, boots, shoes, hats, or 
 personal baggage kept in sleeping rooms, and bed- 
 steads thoroughly washed weekly. Each inmate 
 should be made to bathe and change underclothing 
 once a week. Washing of clothes, dishes, or uten- 
 sils in bath-tubs should be prohibited, bath-rooms 
 and closets should be scrubbed daily, and in hot 
 weather a bucket of water with a pound of dry cop- 
 peras (sulphate of iron) dissolved in it, or a little 
 carbolic acid, should be poured in closets once a 
 week. No vegetables or fruits should be stored in 
 
PA UPERS AND . POOR-HO USES. 23 1 
 
 the cellars of occupied buildings, which should be 
 kept dry, and whitewashed every spring. 
 
 The cooking should be under the direction of a 
 competent cook, capable of preparing and serving 
 the food in a digestible and attractive manner, prop- 
 erly seasoned ; who also should keep kitchens, store- 
 rooms, pantries, utensils, and all employed about 
 them in the most scrupulous neatness. Meals should 
 be served at regular hours, upon neat tables in the 
 dining-room, where some officials should always be 
 present at meal time to see that all are well served 
 and everything in order. 
 
 In the Appendix will be found several dietaries 
 in use in various well-managed institutions, which 
 will indicate what experience has demonstrated to 
 be the best provision for the pauper. These, of 
 course, are to be varied according to season and 
 locality, especially in regard to fruit and vegeta- 
 bles. All meats, fish, bread, and butter must be 
 perfectly sound, fresh, and sweet.' 
 
 Secondly, the benevolence of the public is to be 
 administered with kindness and thoughtful care. The 
 aged, the bedridden and invalid require patience 
 and a measure of indulgence. Their lot is hard 
 enough at best, and should be alleviated in every 
 possible way by the attendants. A competent 
 physician should visit such daily, for comfort and 
 assurance sake, even if no medicines are needed, 
 and prescribe the diet and attention needed by them. 
 Where there are as many as three or four of these 
 constantly, a trained nurse should be regularly em- 
 
 ' See Appendix IV. 
 
232 PXISdNERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 ployed with a sufficient number of assistants to care 
 for all in the house, under the direction of the doctor. 
 Such a nurse will secure the necessary cleanliness 
 and neatness in all the surroundings. The people's 
 money cannot be more advantageously expended 
 than by the employment of capable attendants. 
 
 Thirdly, nothing will contribute to the health 
 and content of the inmates and the economy of 
 their support more than constant and judicious 
 employment. By this they will be able to feel that 
 they are to some extent earning their own support, 
 and so much of the bitterness will be removed from 
 the gall of pauperism. 
 
 The males should do most of the farm- and gar- 
 den-work; raising the principal farm and garden 
 supplies, do the heavier house work, the repairing, 
 painting, whitewashing and most of the scrubbing, 
 and in winter or bad weather be occupied in basket-, 
 broom-, mat-making, carpet-weaving, shoemaking and 
 mending. 
 
 The females should do the sewing, mending, dress- 
 making, the washing and ironing, kitchen and dining- 
 room work, and those with a taste for it could be 
 occupied with flowers and flower-beds outside. The 
 old women and invalids should be made to knit 
 socks, mittens, and do such other light work as 
 they can perform ; they might be permitted to sell 
 such articles as may be in demand, and supply 
 themselves thus with those things they desire 
 beyond the regular supply. 
 
 The officials and attendants should pay sufficient 
 attention to discover the abilities of the various 
 
PAUPERS AND POOR-ItdVSES. 2%% 
 
 inmates, and to make adequate plans to use these to 
 the best advantage. Useful labor will distract the 
 mind from brooding over personal miseries, soothe 
 the suffering, comfort the mourning, strengthen the 
 weak, and bring sweet, soul-refreshing sleep to the 
 tired and forlorn. Better than drugs, more blessed 
 and efficacious than idle rest even, suitable labor is 
 the most beneficial boon public charity can confer 
 upon its objects. 
 
 By a studious effort to adapt work to the abilities 
 of the inmate the highest economy of management 
 will be secured. This is the fourth motive principle 
 referred to above. The people's money must be nei- 
 ther wasted nor so expended as to fail of the best 
 results. Poor directors should inform themselves 
 carefully of the best methods of management ; 
 of the fair cost per week in the best institutions, 
 and strive to keep their own expenses down to a 
 parity with these. 
 
 Successful and economical management can only 
 be secured by a proper grading of responsibility. 
 Poor directors are responsible to the people ; the 
 superintendent to the poor directors; the subordi- 
 nates to the superintendent ; each is, and ought to be, 
 supreme in their respective spheres of operation. 
 The superintendent cannot accomplish what is 
 expected of him without strict discipline and sys- 
 tem ; he cannot maintain either without the unbiassed 
 power of selection and discharge of all employees 
 about the establishment. Even a superintendent of 
 mediocre ability with unhampered powers and con- 
 trol will produce better results than is possible with 
 
234 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 the highest abilities, and a double- or triple-headed 
 management. Experience has abundantly demon- 
 strated that success in private or public aflfairs de- 
 pends more, upon that unity of purpose, plan, and 
 action, which can only flow from a " one-man 
 power " at the head, than upon any other element. 
 
 Directors may prescribe the general plans and 
 policies, limit the expenditures, provide facilities, 
 buildings, and improvements ; fix the rate of salaries 
 and wages, and select a superintendent to manage ; 
 but they must leave him entirely free to do it in 
 his own way, to hire and discharge all his subor- 
 dinates, if they expect him to produce satisfactory 
 results. The slightest infraction of this rule will 
 seriously affect the whole administration, and direc- 
 tors should neither recommend appointments with- 
 out assuring the superintendent that he is perfectly 
 free to exercise his own judgment and preference in 
 the case, nor interfere to secure the reinstatement of 
 a discharged employee. 
 
 It is far better that an individual should suffer 
 injustice even, than that the whole organization 
 should be impaired. 
 
 It is the duty of the management to facilitate 
 religious instruction, worship, and consolation to the 
 paupers, according to their respective convictions 
 and preferences. To this end a proper place for 
 Sunday services should be provided, and regular 
 services held in them by ministers and priests of such 
 denominations as are most numerous in the alms- 
 house, every Sunday, upon invitation of the man- 
 agement to those most conveniently located to render 
 
PAUPERS AMD POOR-HOUSES. 23$ 
 
 such ministry. Ministration to the minority accord- 
 ing to their belief and desire should be secured as 
 often as possible. Pastors and priests of sincere 
 piety will always be found willing to render such 
 services without cost to the public. When these 
 become too burdensome upon individuals, the de- 
 nomination most interested should defray the neces- 
 sary expense, as a proper and necessary contribution 
 of the church to its poor. 
 
 It cannot be tolerated or allowed that any portion 
 of the public fund raised by general taxation should 
 be expended in payment for such services to sec- 
 taries. Such expenditures are in violation of one of 
 the most sacred and cardinal principles and funda- 
 mental institutions of American government, as well 
 as the constitution and laws of many of the States. 
 
 Poor directors are somewhat prone to be oblivious 
 of the fact that they, as a part of the general govern- 
 ment, are bound to sustain and uphold its principles 
 in all their actions. If they may appropriate the pub- 
 lic funds to sectarian ministers or priests, legislatures 
 and Congress will soon begin to make similar appro- 
 priations, and a general scramble of the churches 
 would follow to secure the largest amounts for their 
 denominational institutions. The inevitable result 
 in the process of time would be that the largest de- 
 nominations would obtain undue wealth and power, 
 and the usual sequestration become necessary. 
 
 The practice of defraying the cost of maintaining 
 minor or adult paupers in sectarian institutions from 
 the public poor fund is likewise reprehensible and 
 illegal in States where appropriations to such insti- 
 
236 pmsOlfESS AND PAUPERS, 
 
 tutions are prohibited by the constitution or laws. 
 This cannot be permitted, however much better or 
 cheaper the pauper might be sustained in them, than 
 by the poor directors directly. It is an unjust and 
 unfair subversion of funds derived from " Jew and 
 Gentile, Greek and Barbarian " alike, to the support 
 of a particular sect, which, if it desires to support, 
 train, or educate the needy according to its own 
 creeds, should be willing to procure the necessary 
 means from its own adherents. 
 
 The strict observance of this principle is neces- 
 sary, whatever the hardship which may follow in 
 some cases, in order that the general good may 
 finally be promoted by compelling a proper, just, 
 and unobjectionable provision for the needy by the 
 State ; such provision is unlikely to be made so long 
 as the most urgent and impressive cases are con- 
 stantly removed from public attention by private or 
 denominational institutions. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE POLICE AS A RESTRICTIVE AGENCY. 
 
 Peculiar Importance in United States — Reasons of, and Opportunities 
 for Usefulness — Possibilities — The Personnel — How Chosen — 
 Example of Milwaukee — Organization and Management— Ap- 
 pliances and Facilities — Proper Number of — Co-operation of Dif- 
 ferent Organizations — Discipline, Internal and External — Duty 
 of the People to the Police. 
 
 Nowhere, probably on the face of the globe, does 
 what is commonly known as the police force occupy so 
 prominent, important, and influential a position and 
 sphere in the social organization as it does in the 
 United States ; nowhere does it sustain so potent a 
 relation to pauperism and crime cis here. We do 
 not minify or disparage its power or operations in 
 other civilized nations, however much these may be 
 obscured among them by the display of superior 
 and more impressive authority ; for the potentialities 
 and full usefulness of this element of modern civil- 
 ization and human progress does not appear to be 
 popularly recognized or appreciated anywhere. In 
 the United States, however, under a social organiza- 
 tion for self-government, a government of laws, 
 which are solely the formulated decrees of popular 
 judgment and will, the police and constabulary con- 
 stitute almost the only incorporate and vital evi- 
 
 237 
 
238 PXISONEXS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 dence, or general manifestation of the authority and 
 dignity of government ; they represent the concrete 
 absolutism of the laws, and exercise the majesty and 
 power of the people in, among, and before the 
 people constantly. They become, therefore, to the 
 people here, not only the agents and representatives 
 of self-government, but the express force and soul 
 of government, the general and popular concep- 
 tion of government itself. This increases the power, 
 dignity, and influence of the police officer in this 
 country immeasurably above what exists elsewhere. 
 It is his province here to bring the popular power 
 into direct contact with and control over the people. 
 From the manner in which he does this the masses 
 form their opinions largely of the worth and value 
 of the rule to which they submit themselves. His 
 action thus becomes a potent factor in the conserva- 
 tion or destruction of popular government, and ex- 
 tends its influence beyond the direct effect of its 
 exercise to the very sources of its power. The 
 legislation which the people enact for their own 
 benefit is committed to him for execution, and it 
 fails or accomplishes the wish of the people accord- 
 ing as he discharges his duties. The most necessary 
 and wisest laws are useless without his faithful ex- 
 ecution, and the simplest regulations and ordinances 
 may be made imperative or obnoxious by his neglect. 
 Success of administration, and popularity of govern- 
 ment both depend, therefore, very largely here upon 
 the efficiency of the police. 
 
 The protection of society from the violence of 
 mobs and the insane rage of riot, to which it is 
 
THE POLICE AS A RESTRICTIVE AGENCY. 239 
 
 always more or less exposed in dense communities, 
 devolves, in the United States principally, if not 
 altogether, upon the police. With our system of 
 city. State, and national government, the only 
 regular military force being under national orders, 
 small in numbers and scattered in detachments over 
 a wide extent of territory, circumstances as well as 
 law prevent its being called into action until local 
 authority has failed, and there is no force organized to 
 meet sudden emergencies of popular excitement, at 
 the time when it can be most easily and successfully 
 allayed, but the police. 
 
 Our cities, besides, are becoming the resort and 
 refuge of the worst elements of immigration as well 
 as of our own population. Criminals, anarchists, and 
 ferocious human beasts of prey from all over the world 
 seek to escape foreign espionage, and to ply their 
 ungoverned vocation amid our crowds of freemen, 
 because they expect to enjoy a liberty here denied 
 them under the sterner governments of other lands. 
 The very immigration which swells and increases 
 our national growth and power beyond its natural 
 increment becomes thus a source of new danger, and 
 magnifies the importance of police supervision." It 
 introduces another element, also, of disturbance and 
 danger to our peace and natural order, by importing 
 into our social organization the prejudices, feuds, 
 and hostilities of foreign nationalities, religions, and 
 
 ' The New York Tribune of March 20, 1892, says, under date of 
 Paris, March 19th, in relation to anarchist deviltries there, " Thirty 
 have fled to London, and are seeking funds there to reach New 
 York." 
 
240 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 clans, liable to blaze up into conflict and strife in our 
 midst from the embers of antagonisms kindled in 
 other lands and times. We are transplanting the 
 hates and strifes of other peoples upon our soil, as 
 well as the acknowledged enemies of all law and 
 order, the communist, anarchist, and nihilist, and 
 thereby exposing ourselves to imported disorders 
 which have no natural origin here. We must de- 
 pend upon our police to control these elements, to 
 protect us from the attack of the vice of the whole 
 world, from the burden of the pauperism of the 
 whole world, from the ignorance, corrupted intel- 
 ligence, depraved philosophies, wrath, malice, and 
 hate of the whole world, as no other people is com- 
 pelled to depend upon them. 
 
 The police are, particularly in this country, the 
 eyes and ears, as well as the hands, of the body 
 politic ; not only the means of governmental appre- 
 hension, but of discovery ; the agents of prevention 
 as well as of cure. It devolves upon them to 
 observe the very beginnings of error, failure, and sin 
 in society ; to note the sources, the inception and 
 conception, of crime and poverty ; to watch their 
 birth, growth and development ; to become familiar 
 with causes and occasions, to recognize the necessary 
 remedies. They seldom feel called upon to inter- 
 fere ; indeed, the principle of their action is not to in- 
 terfere before the overt act, when correction becomes 
 necessary and prevention is no longer practicable. 
 The intimacy and constancy of their contact with 
 society and its elements should enable them ta 
 stretch out the helping or the warning hand of gov- 
 
THE POLICE AS A RESTRICTIVE AGENCY. 24I 
 
 emment when it could be efficient, when the needed 
 slight change of direction can be given the indi- 
 vidual faced the wrong way, before the club, the 
 handcuff or the lock-up have become necessary. 
 Indeed, an interference which would be resented 
 from a private person, however gently or kindly 
 made, would be received not only without objection 
 ordinarily from the policeman, but it would carry 
 with it the weight and influence of the wisdom and 
 will of society. A word or an act which would 
 make no impression without authority, with it might 
 be effectual in saving many a youth from ruin. If 
 the police then could be enlisted as conservators of 
 morals as well as preservers of the peace, they would 
 become a power in the community of inestimable 
 utility, and the necessities of their harsher activities 
 would be greatly decreased. The task of training 
 the twig is lighter than bending the tree. If they 
 could be made to devote their chief care to the 
 children and youths when they are beyond the 
 parental eye or control and be placed in a position 
 representing with authority the organized parentage 
 and domesticity of the community outside its homes, 
 upon the streets and in public places, many of the 
 dangers of city life would be alleviated. Their 
 parental functions might be extended for the gen- 
 eral benefit to the relief of the poor from suffering, 
 to the ministrations of charity, to the restrictions of 
 intemperance, the arrest of drunkenness, the correc- 
 tion of evil tendencies and the rescue of those in 
 peril of moral corruption and ruin. They are 
 
 already required to know the various saloons, traps 
 is 
 
242 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 and pitfalls set for the feet of the unwary, as well as 
 the criminals and human life hunters that infest the 
 streets. Set as they are to watch over the welfare 
 of society, they may properly be expected and re- 
 quired to protect the ignorant and innocent from 
 contamination as well as from direct assault. 
 
 Modern civilization appears to have revolved in 
 its cycle to the section of tribal supervision again, 
 to have reached a social condition where the power 
 and authority of the whole community must be exer- 
 cised over the children of all. It seems to be neces- 
 sary that the old patriarchal system should be 
 revived again in some of its fittest features in our 
 denser communities, to supplement and perfect the 
 delimitations which the new environments impose 
 upon the family. The power of the city home is 
 growing weaker, the influence of city streets and 
 public places upon the rising generations of all 
 classes and degrees is being disproportionately mag- 
 nified in every way, by the decreasing part of daily 
 life spent in the homes, and by the increasing attrac- 
 tion and entertainment offered to the public. These 
 things greatly enlarge the duties and opportunities 
 of those to whom society commits the charge of its 
 common possessions and the frequenters of its public 
 places. Many children of the city are under the eye 
 of the police much more of their time than they are 
 under any other charge or care, yet society only re- 
 quires of its police protection from actual violence, 
 ignoring the greater and more far-reaching injury 
 and damage certain to follow the neglect of its 
 children and youth. 
 
THE POLICE AS A RESTRICTIVE AGENCY. 243 
 
 In view of these considerations it will be well to 
 study the present conditions and possibilities of the 
 police force, to discover how it can be best made 
 to fulfil the demands of the times, the require- 
 ments of government and the expectation of society. 
 These are subjects quite as grave and important as 
 the enaction of wise laws; indeed, just now more 
 depends upon faithful administration and vigorous 
 execution than upon legislation even. Another 
 reason for such a study is found in the tendency of 
 the public mind toward an extension of the police 
 system over the rural part of the population. It is 
 probable that the time is not remote when all 
 constabulary functions will be devolved upon a 
 uniformed and systematically organized police force 
 in the United States. The country constable and 
 justice of the peace, as at present chosen and paid, 
 supporting themselves upon fees for the performance 
 of their duties, are becoming more and more gen- 
 erally recognized as a social abomination and public 
 nuisance, which must before long be abated, together 
 with the sheriff's control of jails for the public wel- 
 fare. In the cities the constable has cease^l to be 
 regarded as more than a court messenger, and the 
 police are depended upon for order and safety. The 
 necessity for a regularly employed and well organ- 
 ized State police force, sufficiently strong, when con- 
 centrated, to control riotous strikers and protect 
 property and willing workers for a longer period 
 than the members of the National Guard can be 
 expected to suddenly leave their occupations, has 
 been notably illustrated by the shocking experiences 
 
244 PSISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 this year at Homestead, in Western Pennsylvania. 
 A couple of thousand well drilled policemen could 
 have been concentrated and camped there for an 
 indefinite stay, without serious inconvenience to 
 themselves and to the great discouragement of the 
 strikers, as rapidly as the guard was. The police- 
 man is becoming continually more prominent in a 
 sociological aspect, and it is time careful attention 
 should be given to his selection and duties. 
 
 The personnel of the force is of the first import- 
 ance. As he is to be popular representative of the 
 majesty and authority of our government, the 
 policeman ought to be suggestive, and, as far as 
 possible, typical in appearance of the dignity and 
 invincible authority of the government. He should 
 be a man of imposing health, strength, and stature ; 
 expressing morality, firmness, decision, and power, 
 in his demeanor; and always manifesting considera- 
 tion for the public weal in his actions. It is neces- 
 sary then, that he should be a man of good character 
 and morals, of strong physique, sound intelligence, 
 judgment, and patriotism ; an American citizen by 
 birth or lawful naturalization, with a good knowledge 
 of and hearty sympathy with American government 
 and institutions, and capable of becoming familiar 
 with our laws and local ordinances. 
 
 While he should be a young man when appointed 
 on the force, he should still be old enough to warrant 
 the possession of discretion and courage; between 
 twenty-five and thirty-five should be limits of age. 
 He should be above the average height, and of pro- 
 portionate weight and strength, in order that fewer 
 
THE POLICE AS A REST&ICTIVE AGENCY. 24S 
 
 may dare resist him. It would be well to adopt a 
 minimum height of S feet, 10 inches, and 150 pounds 
 as a minimum weight ; but no man should be appointed 
 or considered for appointment, until after he shall 
 have passed a satisfactory examination by a compe- 
 tent surgeon as to physical health and strength ; nor 
 till after he has produced conclusive evidence of good 
 character and habits. As he is to represent among 
 the people the honesty and honor of society, he 
 must exemplify before them sobriety, sturdy incor- 
 ruptibility, and dignity of character. These are 
 valuable and rare qualities it is true, but obtainable, 
 though not cheaply ; the pay of the police must be 
 sufficient to secure them. The old soldier said to 
 his colonel in mitigation of an impending sentence 
 for drunkenness, " You cannot expect all the 
 civic virtuesj and temperance included, for $13 a 
 month." 
 
 An appointment upon the force. should be for life 
 or good behavior, and should relieve the officer from 
 further solicitude concerning his position. Dismissal 
 should never be possible, except as a result of a fair 
 trial before a competent court, upon charges and 
 specifications, for unfitness or misconduct. Ap- 
 pointments should never be made on account of 
 political service, rendered or expected. The force 
 must be absolutely independent of partisanship to 
 be efficient ; it cannot be tolerated that it should be 
 prostituted to political purposes, or to influence elec- 
 tions. More than officials in general, it represents 
 and has the care of the whole body of society, irre- 
 spective of party, or including all parties. The very 
 
246 PRISOJVESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 fact that it could be made so powerful an instrument 
 in carrying elections renders it essential that it 
 should be entirely independent of politicians, both 
 in respect to appointments and promotions. Politi- 
 cal indorsement or influence ought always to be 
 fatal to any application for place or advancement. 
 Politicians must evince enough patriotism to at 
 least keep hands off from the police. No political 
 corruption can be more debasing or destructive of 
 our free people's rule, than the subordination of the 
 popular agents of government to partisan pur- 
 poses. They must be as far above suspicion even 
 as Caesar's wife. 
 
 To insure this, it appears to be necessary that all 
 appointments to the force should be regulated by 
 legal enactment. This should prescribe the essen- 
 tial qualifications of physical, mental, and moral 
 character, age and record, to be determined by a 
 board of four commissioners, not more than two of 
 whom should belong to the same political party ; and 
 that the selection should be made, according to the 
 need of the service, from the list of applicants whose 
 examinations have shown the best qualifications. 
 Promotions should be similarly regulated, and depend 
 upon seniority and ability combined. , Service and 
 merit stripes should mark and reward faithfulness, 
 and be attended with increase of pay. The rules for 
 appointment and promotion adopted by the Board 
 of Police Commissioners of Milwaukee, Wis., have 
 been so successful in securing the desired objects, 
 that we quote a very concise and complete summary 
 of them read before the Fourteenth Annual Con- 
 
TUB POLICE AS A RESTRICTIVE AGENCY. ^A7 
 
 ference of Charities at Omaha, by Col. F. J. Ries, 
 Chief, for the benefit of other places. 
 
 "Applicants for patrolman must not be less than twenty-five nor 
 more than thirty-five years of age, at least 5 feet, 7 inches tall, must 
 be citizens of the United States, must be able to speak the English 
 language understandingly, and must have resided in the city of Mil- 
 waukee at least three years immediately preceding the application. 
 Every application must be in the applicant's own handwriting, and 
 state his age and place of birth, weight, chest measure, place of resi- 
 dence, occupation, schooling, how long the applicant has resided in 
 the city, what trade he has learned, if any, and by whom employed 
 the last three years. Applicants must also state what language, if 
 any, besides the English, they can speak understandingly. Each 
 application must be accompanied by the certificates of at least three 
 reputable citizens, each certifying that he has been personally ac- 
 quainted with the applicant for at least one year last past, and 
 believes him to be of good moral character, of correct and orderly 
 deportment, of temperate and industrious habits, and in all respects 
 fit for the police service. As a safeguard against partisanship, it is 
 provided that certificates signed by office-holders will not be consid- 
 ered. Every applicant must answer such questions and submit to 
 such examination as to physical strength, capacity and activity, and 
 also as to educational qualifications, as the board may deem necessary 
 to ascertain his fitness for the service. The educational tests consists 
 of reading from print and manuscript, handwriting as shown from 
 copying from manuscript, writing from memory the substance of 
 matter communicated orally, arithmetic — addition, subtraction, mul- 
 tiplication, and division of whole numbers and decimals applied to 
 United States money. They will also be questioned about city gov- 
 ernment, location of streets, public buildings, and such general 
 matters as strangers in the city inquire about. They must also submit 
 to a thorough medical examination by a surgeon appointed by the 
 board. Those passing a satisfactory examination are then certified 
 by the board as eligible as patrolmen, and, after due inquiry and 
 satisfactory evidence of their good character, are appointed by the 
 chief, subject to confirmation by the board, as fast as vacancies occur. 
 But the appointment is not yet final. For the first sixty days they 
 are on probation only, and if, after two months of active duty, any 
 one proves himself unfit for the service, he will be dropped from the 
 force. If, however, he gives satisfactory evidence of becoming a 
 
248 PXISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 good and competent ofEcer, he is retained on the force, so long as he 
 performs his duties faithfully, and will only be discharged for neglect 
 of duties, disobedience, or other conduct unbecoming an officer. All 
 promotions to higher grades are made within the force. Here again, 
 as in the case of patrolmen, the honors are bestowed upon those who, 
 in connection with their record while in the service, are found by 
 competitive examination to be best qualified for the place. Under 
 the rules governing promotions, the chief shall give due notice of all 
 examinations for promotion, and any officer who is eligible and who 
 wishes to be a candidate for it may notify the chief in writing of his 
 wish, and the chief will make such provision as shall be necessary, so 
 that the examinations shall not interfere with the good of the service. 
 The rules regulating promotions are as follows : Promotion to the 
 position of roundsman will be made from patrolmen who have been 
 in the service not less than two years ; promotion to the position of 
 sergeant will be made from roundsmen ; promotion to the position of 
 detective will be made from roundsmen and sergeants who have been 
 in service not less than three years ; promotion to the position of lieu- 
 tenant will be made from detectives and sergeants ; promotion to the 
 position of captain will be made from lieutenants. The inspector is 
 appointed by the chief, subject to confirmation by the board, while 
 the chief is appointed by the board. Thus, it will be seen that every 
 precaution is taken to keep politics and favoritism out, and retain 
 good officers in the department." ' 
 
 It certainly will be possible to secure a good relia- 
 ble personnel on the force in this way, but good 
 material alone will not constitute a perfect police, or 
 secure its highest efificiency. Wise and firm instruc- 
 tion, drill, management, and discipline, and adequate 
 faculties of operation are quite as essential, both as 
 relating to the individual members, as well as to the 
 force as a whole. It will be necessary to have every 
 recruit drilled by a competent instructor, in what are 
 known in military service as the "setting up exer- 
 
 ^ Report of the Fourteenth Anntial Conference of Charities and 
 Correction, Omaha, p. 120. 
 
TH& POLIC& A^ A llESTRtCTJV£ AGJSATCY. 249 
 
 cises,'" by which he will be taught to stand erect, to 
 pace his beat with a soldierly carriage of the person, 
 and an expression of decision and power. He must 
 be instructed in boxing, wrestling, handling his club 
 with dexterity, and firing his revolver with accuracy, 
 in the best methods of overcoming resistance in 
 arrests, preventing and quelling disturbances, ren- 
 dering assistance in accidents, protecting pedestrians 
 on the streets, stopping fast or reckless driving, and 
 runaway horses, the management of crowds, the 
 care of property at fires, action on the discovery and 
 giving of fire-alarms, and in other contingencies 
 likely to arise. He should be required to exercise 
 regularly in a gymnasium, for the development of 
 strength and agility and the preservation of health, 
 and to study the laws and ordinances he will be 
 required to enforce. 
 
 His tour of daily duty should be eight hours, with 
 four hours additional for meals, special details, in- 
 struction, etc., during which twelve hours, he should 
 be dressed in the neatly fitting uniform of the corps. 
 The superior officers should endeavor to inspire him, 
 by precept and example, with a respect and love for 
 the service, and a proper esprit du corps. He should 
 be made in every way to feel perfect confidence that 
 his place is assured for life to the age of retirement, 
 unless abridged by misconduct or incompetency. A 
 life-insurance and pension-fund should relieve him 
 from anxiety for himself and family in case of dis- 
 ability, or old age. Experience should teach him to 
 expect exact justice and impartiality of management 
 and inexorable firmness of discipline from his supe- 
 
2 so PRiSOI/ERS AND PAUPEKS. 
 
 riors. Such vigilance of inspection and care should 
 be exercised by the superior officers, that no infraction 
 of orders, regulations, good morals, neglect or failure 
 of duty, should escape detection and punishment. 
 
 The force as a whole should be drilled together, 
 and instructed in operations as a united body against 
 mobs, both with clubs and with rifles, on public 
 occasions, and in parades. These parades are neces- 
 sary to stimulate the esprit dii corps, for instruction 
 of the force, as well as to impress the public with the 
 power of the force to cope with opposition. All pro- 
 motions should be from the next inferior rank if it 
 contains proper ability. The measure and test of 
 efficiency should not be the record of the arrests made, 
 so much as the observance of law and freedom from 
 disturbances and need of arrests on the beat or in the 
 precinct. Every arrest should be recognized as a 
 serious expense and damage to society, as well as 
 to the individual arrested, and the effort should be 
 to avoid rather than to multiply them. 
 
 The usual organization of a good police force with 
 rank in the order named is as follows: First, the 
 chief, in command of all; second, inspectors, one 
 for every four captains or less, required ; third, 
 captains, one for every one hundred patrolmen; 
 fourth, a lieutenant for ever fifty patrolmen ; fifth, 
 detectives ; sixth, sergeants for every twelve men ; 
 seventh, roundsmen ; eighth, patrolmen. The duties 
 of these officers are so well stated by Col. Ries that 
 we quote again from his admirable Omaha paper. 
 
 " The officers of each of these ranks are chained with specific 
 duties. It is the duty of the chief of police to cause the public peace 
 
THE POLICE AS A kESTRlCTlVE AGENCY. 2^1 
 
 to be preserved, and to see that all the laws and ordinances of the 
 city are enforced ; and, whenever any violation shall come to his 
 knowledge, he shall cause the requisite complaint to be made, and 
 see that the evidence is procured for the successful prosecution of the 
 offenders. He is also responsible for the efficiency and good conduct 
 of the force. 
 
 " The duties of the inspector are to assist the chief in his various 
 duties, and to have charge of the force in his absence. He has par- 
 ticular supervision of the detectives, who are especially charged with 
 the apprehension of persons charged with criminal offenses, and the 
 prevention of crime by the arrest of known thieves and criminals. 
 
 " The captain has supervision of the patrol service of the city. He 
 is required to visit each police-station daily, inspect the men and the 
 books of the station, and satisfy himself that good order prevails. 
 He is also required to instruct the men in such military tactics as are 
 useful for the police service. 
 
 " The city is divided into three police precincts, each having a 
 police-station. Each of these precincts is in charge of a lieutenant. 
 It is the duty of the lieutenants to see that the patrolmen perform 
 their duties faithfully, investigate all complaints made by residents of 
 their precincts, cause the prompt arrest of offenders, and maintain 
 discipline among the men under them. 
 
 " The sergeants and roundsmen are to assist the lieutenants in 
 supervising the patrolmen, see that the latter are on their several 
 beats, and report any delinquency they may discover. 
 
 ' ' The patrolmen are to obey the orders of their superior officers, and 
 are charged \vith the duty of becoming thoroughly acquainted with 
 their beat, so as to be better able to protect life and property and 
 maintain good order. They are to treat citizens and strangers 
 making inquiries with civility, and give all proper information in their 
 power. It is also their duty to report all saloons on their beat, and 
 see that no liquor is sold without a license, nor to minors or common 
 drunkards, report all street lamps which are not lighted at night, see 
 that signal lights are displayed at street obstructions, report all 
 defective sidewalks and streets, prevent fast driving, serve official 
 notices, collect delinquent personal taxes, and perform numerous other 
 duties of minor importance. In the performance of their duties, they 
 are to maintain decorum and attention, command of temper, patience 
 and discretion. They must refrain from violent, coarse, profane, 
 and insolent language, and never interfere idly or unnecessarily, nor 
 
252 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 make an arrest unless they can prove some specific act against the 
 person, but, when required to act, do so promptly and with iirmness. 
 It is also their duty to assist and succor sick and injured persons, 
 summon medical aid when necessary, have such unfortunates con- 
 veyed to their homes, and be at all times on the alert to relieve 
 suffering as far as possible." ' 
 
 There will also be required at station-houses a 
 police matron to care for female prisoners and 
 children, a police surgeon, an electrician, and other 
 employees, according to circumstances. 
 
 As to what is the proper and most economical 
 number for the force in our cities there exists a wide 
 divergence of opinion and practice. New York 
 maintains an officer for every 443, at a cost of $2.90 
 to each head, of its population, the largest and most 
 expensive force in any of our fifty largest cities, 
 while Scranton, Pa., may boast of the smallest force, 
 an officer to every 2,023 of population, and Bing- 
 hamton, N. Y., the cheapest, at a cost of 21 cents 
 per capita, of these cities." If public opinion, Dr. 
 Parkhurst, and the recent indictment of the New 
 York police by the Grand Jury are to be credited, 
 neither large numbers nor high cost secure efficiency 
 or satisfactory results. 
 
 The police force cannot well be proportioned 
 entirely upon a population ratio. The streets to be 
 patrolled, the area, the amount and kind of property 
 to be protected, the character of the population, the 
 peculiarities of location and the exposure to special 
 
 ' Report of the Fourteenth Annual Conferoue of Charities and 
 Correction, p. 116. 
 
 ' Census Bulletin, No. lOO, Eleventh U. S. Census. See Ap- 
 pendix. 
 
THE POLICE AS A RESTRICTIVE AGENCY. 2S3 
 
 dangers must all be taken into consideration and 
 given their due influence in this determination. The 
 Milwaukee police, to which we have referred above, 
 numbered in 1890 one for each 1,187 of th^ city's 
 population ; it had a patrolman to each 244 miles of its 
 streets, 10.13 patrolmen to each square mile of 
 territory ; cost but 60 cents and made only 1.75 per- 
 centage of arrests per capita of population.' In a 
 population half German and but one quarter native, 
 itself largely composed of citizens of German birth 
 or decent, such is the excellence of its organization 
 and discipline that it suppressed a dangerous German 
 socialistic mob without firing a shot, a few years ago, 
 and has a general reputation of being the most effi- 
 cient force in this country. We may, I think, assume 
 as a general rule, that one policeman to each 1,200 
 people will be sufficient, if properly selected and 
 disciplined, for most localities. In the Appendix 
 will be found a table of some of the Census police 
 statistics of 1890 of our fifty largest cities making 
 complete returns. It will be apparent from a glance 
 at this table that we directly waste millions of 
 dollars annually upon our police by bad manage- 
 ment, and that, too, without securing even a 
 moderate approximation to the benefits which 
 should be secured from it. The tible may be 
 studied with profit by all our urban legislators. 
 
 Large cities must necessarily be divided into sec- 
 tions convenient for direct supervision and control. 
 A police sub-division of this kind is known as a 
 
 lUd. 
 
2S4 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 precinct, which should be in immediate command 
 of a captain or lieutenant. Each precinct should 
 have its station-house centrally located and speedily 
 accessible to all its patrolmen, where a capable com- 
 manding officer should always be present, and a 
 sufficient reserve force for use in emergencies. The 
 patrol-wagon should be housed adjacent and kept 
 packed with ropes and stakes for use at fires ; a 
 canvas to catch people jumping from windows, a 
 stretcher for injured persons and some temporary 
 surgical appliances for use in cases of accident. On 
 each patrolman's beat there should be a sufficient 
 number of signal-boxes connected by electric signal 
 wires with the fire-alarm system, the patrol-wagon 
 and station-house, and with the latter by telephone, 
 so that every officer can place himself in speedy 
 and full communications with headquarters, sum- 
 mon assistance, the patrol-wagon for arrested 
 persons, without being obliged to leave his beat, 
 and give such information and receive such orders 
 as may be necessary. Our modern electrical appli- 
 ances, lights, wire signals, and telephone, may be 
 made, if intelligently used, to both greatly reduce 
 the cost and increase the completeness of police 
 protection. 
 
 The use of the patrol-wagon to convey arrested 
 persons to the station-house is incomparably better 
 in a philanthropic aspect than the shocking spec- 
 tacle, so common before it came into use, of a 
 struggling, resisting victim, bloody from clubbing, 
 often loathsome, profane and obscene, dragged along 
 the sidewalk at the head of a procession of youths 
 
THE POLICE AS A RESTRtCTlVE ACENCY. 2^5 
 
 and children, a spectacle so degrading that it is a 
 question if such arrests do not injure more than they 
 benefit society. 
 
 Each station-house should be in direct and con- 
 stant communication with general headquarters, 
 reporting all occurrences in the precinct. All verbal 
 or telephone reports should be, of course, reduced to 
 writing and preserved on file. 
 
 By the assignment of a patrolman to each twelve 
 hundred ratio of the population, it would be quite 
 practicable for the officer to become personally 
 acquainted in a short time with every resident of 
 his beat, to know their names, circumstances, em- 
 ployment, habits and tendencies. He would thus 
 be able to report and prevent suffering from poverty 
 or misfortune, and the abuse of charity by impos- 
 ture. He should know who might be leading an 
 idle or vicious life, without visible means of honest 
 livelihood, those who were falling into evil habits 
 and practices, and warn them or those who should 
 be responsible for them, and readily recognize 
 strangers or wandering criminals entering his sec- 
 tion. These he could report to his captain, so that 
 they may be watched. In short, he could make 
 himself a perfect reliance and safeguard of society, 
 and not only protect his charge from depredation 
 but from the evils of a growing pauperism and 
 criminality. 
 
 Provision should be made by general State legisla- 
 tion for a systematic interchange of information and 
 reports between the chiefs of police of its several 
 cities, and a uniformity of surveillance over crimi- 
 
256 PRISONEHS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 nals, convicts at liberty upon probation, and suspected 
 persons. Similar intercommunication and co-opera- 
 tion might also be secured by law to the general 
 advantage between cities in different States, and in 
 this way the benefits of the uniform police systems 
 of foreign nations could be introduced here. One 
 the most useful of these, the liberation of convicts 
 upon probation, to finish their sentences at useful 
 and self-supporting labor, as members of society 
 under the eye of the law, is practically impossible in 
 this country without such harmony of co-operation 
 among our various police organizations. 
 
 There is but one thing more needed, in addition 
 to proper material, correct organization, and ade- 
 quate appurtenances, to render our American police 
 worthy the confidence and reliance of our people. 
 The prerequisites which we have specified are neither 
 novel nor impracticable ; they have been tested and 
 proven, nor is this final quality doubtful or even 
 difficult. It is expressed in one word, which de- 
 scribes the means of all success, if it is rightly under- 
 stood, the common term. Discipline. 
 
 The discipline of the police involves, of course, 
 the instruction, training, and obedience of every 
 member ; but more important far than these, knowl- 
 edge, good character, correct disposition, determina- 
 tion, and competent will-power in the head, the 
 chief. It resolves itself from all its various ramifica- 
 tions at last back to the power of one man, to his 
 ability to comprehend his duties, and his courage to 
 perform them. The weakness and failure of our 
 police has been due far more to the lack of discipline 
 
TJTE POLICE AS A RESTRICTIVE AGENCY. 2^7 
 
 at the head than in the body. Does any one doubt 
 what the result would be if the Mayor of New York, 
 or of any city in the United States, were to say in 
 such a manner as would carry conviction to his chief 
 of police, " If I find any brothel, gambling-saloon, 
 policy shop, illegal liquor-selling, or public immorality 
 within the limits of this corporation after to-mor- 
 row noon, your official head will go into the basket " ? 
 The order would be at once transmitted to the cap- 
 tains, to the sergeants, to the patrolmen, and the 
 thing would be done. If there were failure any- 
 where, one would be put there with the manly power 
 to do. It is because the executive will not execute, 
 that society suffers. Dr. Parkhurst is right in charg- 
 ing the shameful atrocities of the corrupters of 
 society upon the high officials of the public. There 
 can be no reasonable doubt that they are either in- 
 capable or corrupt. It is not for the executive to 
 wink at or be blind to violation of law, to modify, 
 interpret, or take counsel of his hopes or fears, but 
 to execute and enforce the laws as he finds them. 
 If he cannot do this, let the people who placed him 
 in power take him in hand and discipline him, com- 
 pel him to act, or to give place to some one who 
 will act. 
 
 It is for the leaders and makers of public opinion, 
 the pulpit and the press, to stir up the people to 
 move in this matter. The people are the source of 
 power, and no stream will rise higher than its source. 
 They have made the laws, let them demand their 
 execution with a voice that is certain. The laxity 
 of our officials has become insupportable, the evils 
 
258 P/i/S<>J\^££S AND PA VpMRS. 
 
 which they permit to afflict us, and which threaten 
 to overwhelm all we hold dear, and all our hopes of 
 the future, demand instant action. While we listen 
 to the delusive enchantments of physical prosperity 
 and national growth, millions of remorseless teredos 
 from the lower depths are honey-combing the hull 
 of our ship of state ; the pleasant breezes which 
 belly the sails of her proud progress towards a higher 
 civilization, and the haven of perfected humanity, 
 are smoky with malaria and miasma from thousands 
 of social hell-holes, neglected . sinks of iniquity, 
 centres of corruption, and pools of pollution. Their 
 subtle and insidious poison is rapidly debasing our 
 politics, enervating our national vitality, weakening 
 our moral fibre, and rendering us incapable of that 
 decision and exertion which the exigencies of our 
 condition require. 
 
 We need wise laws, but our greater need is strong, 
 courageous, incorruptible executors of the laws we 
 have made, and an inexorable enforcement of dis- 
 cipline by the people upon their chosen officials, 
 and by the public servant in turn, upon the people. 
 It is not enough to elect an agent to do the people's 
 will, and leave him free to do his own will, without 
 other compulsion than comes from a little news- 
 paper criticism and badinage. He must be com- 
 pelled to do his duty. The power and force of the 
 popular will must not be relaxed short of actual con- 
 summation ; it must press on with a vigor which will 
 not be resisted. If a mistake is made in the selection 
 of the official, the mistake must be corrected ; and 
 that repeatedly until the object is attained. 
 
THE POUCn AS A HESTJitCTIVE AGENCY. 259 
 
 The public officer who accepts the suffrages of his 
 fellow-citizens does so under an honorable agreement 
 with them to honestly execute their will, and when 
 elected he solemnizes this compact by an oath to 
 faithfully enforce the laws. If he fails to do these 
 things, he is faithless, dishonest, and perjured, and 
 should be ostracised as unworthy of confidence and 
 respect, and unfit for the association of reputable 
 people. No man capable of properly discharging 
 the duties of high office would or could face such a 
 social ostracism. It is the just and sure method of 
 enforcing popular discipline. 
 
 The lack of personal discipline and self denial is 
 the cause of most of the individual failure and ruin 
 in society ; the lack of family discipline is the great 
 source and cause of social depravity ; and the lack 
 of political discipline accounts for most of the 
 flagrant evils which torment society. Discipline re- 
 quires effort, it is incompatible with ease and indul- 
 gence. It is easier and more agreeable to drift, but 
 Niagara is below. The condition politically is 
 desperate, but not hopeless. A slight revival of the 
 patriotism and heroism of war times, a little Napo- 
 loenic will in office, a few popular assertions of 
 the majesty and might of the majority at the polls, 
 and the political atmosphere will become as clear and 
 invigorating as a June morning after a thunderstorm. 
 
 If the American people can be made to discipline 
 its officials, they will be obliged to discipline their 
 police among others, and so the main desideratum 
 of efficiency will be secured. If they will not or 
 cannot do this there is small need of any reform, for 
 
26o PSISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 the end is nigh, and degrees of evil or good are im- 
 material. But with proper discipline, a police force, 
 such as we have endeavored to describe, may be 
 made an all-sufficient agency in the reduction of 
 criminality and pauperism to a minimum. It might 
 be extended beyond the limits of incorporated cities 
 and towns and made advantageously to cover the 
 whole country. One of the principal benefits of 
 such an extension of police supervision would be, 
 that the evils resulting from the practice of the 
 country justice and constable with their fees could 
 be abolished. This would be another long step in 
 advance in penological reform. The " fee system," 
 from the nature of things, ranges those who profit 
 from it in the very ranks of transgression, and tends 
 to encourage lawlessness and crime, upon which it 
 depends for business, instead of repressing and re- 
 ducing them. 
 
 Upon a carefully selected, wisely organized, and 
 firmly disciplined State police force extended over 
 the whole country and in hearty and faithful co- 
 operation with its own different members, we may 
 confidently depend for the most efficient service in 
 the reduction and control of the dangerous classes, 
 the suppression of riots and disorders without the 
 expense and inconvenience of assembling the militia, 
 which we have endeavored to show are so burden- 
 some and threatening to our peace and prosperity. 
 We have explained how such a force may be made 
 the handmaid of benevolence and the minister of 
 philanthropy, as well as the guardian of our prop- 
 erty and our persons. 
 
THE POLICE AS A RESTRICTIVE AGENCY. 261 
 
 But if the force is to be maintained in a condition 
 of excellence, society itself has important duties to 
 perform to it. From the very nature of the case, 
 and the exigencies of his occupation, the policeman 
 is very largely separated from the common, elevating, 
 and religious influences and intercourse of society. 
 It is his duty to become familiar with vice and crime, 
 to know the corrupt, debased, and criminal members 
 of the body politic. The evil disposed court his 
 favor in all ways, they strive to be friendly with 
 him. His power and disposition to resist the in- 
 fluences of " evil communications " are therefore 
 being constantly weakened, while the attacks upon 
 his moral character are continually multiplied. 
 Extraordinary effort is consequently necessary by 
 the better portion of the people to keep him up to 
 the plane of his original selection and entry into the 
 service. Society has apparently largely ignored its 
 responsibilities in this respect hitherto. It has sent 
 its messengers down into the pitch and mire of its 
 slums without the provision of any special means 
 for preventing their defilement, or preserving their 
 moral cleanliness and health. It compels them to 
 treat and handle its corruption without supplying 
 them with the disinfectants and antiseptics necessary 
 to their own safety. It is manifestly impossible that 
 the best selected police force can continue to be 
 long reliable anywhere under circumstances of such 
 neglect. 
 
 Humanity, philanthropy, and religion must follow 
 the policeman on his mission with an untiring and 
 increasing care, both for his own sake and the 
 
262 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 success of his effort. Counter attractions must be 
 opposed against the special allurements to which he 
 is exposed. Pleasant resorts must be provided for 
 his off duty hours, where the better things of life 
 may be contrasted with the debasing pleasures with 
 which his duties make him familiar, and intellectual 
 and moral influences may be brought to bear upon 
 his character. Particular effort must be made to 
 keep up his connections with all the higher influences 
 of social life, with the educational and religious 
 enterprises of the people. He must be kept in 
 touch with good society, in sympathy with the best 
 social movements, and in connection with the 
 Christian church. He needs the support, strength, 
 and inspiration of the church and the Divine Spirit 
 more than ordinary men. His church should look 
 out for him with unusual solicitude and zeal, to 
 counteract the evil of his daily environment. It is 
 quite as essential to preserve as to select and train 
 our police. 
 
 We commend the police force to the thoughtful 
 consideration of the people as an agency capable 
 of the largest and most beneficient development in 
 the amelioration of the evils of society in America, 
 worthy of the utmost care and attention in organiza- 
 tion and maintenance. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 DEGENERATION AND REGENERATION. 
 
 Summary of the Results of Investigation into Causes — Universal 
 Abnormality of Criminals and Paupers — A Condition, Not a 
 Disposition, Confronts Us — Fostered, Rather than Ameliorated, 
 by Present Methods — Remedy Proposed, Advantages and Ob- 
 jections — Failure of Regenerative Methods in Humanity for 
 Three Thousand Years-r-Supreme Vital Function of Marriage : 
 Evils of Social Neglect of Its Regulation iu General and in De- 
 tail — Dr. Strahan's Evidence — Threatening the Republic — 
 Principles Which Should Govern the Regulation of Reproduc- 
 tion — Grandeur of the Results to be Expected — The First Step 
 of Decided Progress in the Regeneration of the Race. 
 
 We are impelled in conclusion of this general con- 
 sideration of these grave and growing factors of the 
 problem of public prosperity in America, to add a 
 few observations concerning the actual and natural 
 cause, common to both, of criminality and pauper- 
 ism, which are universal and inevitable in civilized 
 society governed by its prevailing sentiments. We 
 have been convinced by our study that most of 
 those characteristics which have hitherto been treated 
 as causes, such as ignorance, intemperance, poverty, 
 disease and defects, are symptoms indicating a social 
 state or condition of crime and pauperism, rather 
 than causes of them. It was not our original inten- 
 tion to go below surface indications, or to attempt 
 
 263 
 
264 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 to treat of anything besides the dangers of the pub- 
 lic, and the methods of protection proposed for the 
 social organization. But so many writers have of late 
 years been threshing out the wheat of valuable knowl- 
 edge without winnowing it, that we are constrained 
 to attempt to concentrate into a concise and intelli- 
 gible summary, the results of the exhaustive and 
 diversified investigations of learned men and philan- 
 thropists into the causes of the great increase of 
 crime and pauperism, and the failure of the wonder- 
 ful modern advance of civilization and growth of 
 Christianity to check this. 
 
 The wide range of these investigations, and the 
 interesting and useful results obtained, are very 
 fully and impressively epitomized in Havelock Ellis' 
 book entitled The Criminal, published in 1892. 
 Those who desire more of the details than we 
 can offer here may refer to it with profit. The 
 patient and laborious researches of distinguished 
 penologists and professors into the physical and psy- 
 chical symptoms and characteristics of criminality in 
 all ages and among all peoples, are there carefully and 
 thoughtfully presented for consideration. The size, 
 shape, convolutions, and weight of the brain, the 
 size and shape of the cranium, the physiognomy as 
 a whole, the features in detail, the form entire and 
 the members separately, the hair and hairy sur- 
 faces, the organs ; the senses of feeling, taste, smell, 
 sight, and hearing ; speech, language, appetite, diges- 
 tion, circulation of blood, temperature, nervous 
 sensitiveness, mental disposition, capacity, educa- 
 tion, habits, customs, peculiarities, family history; 
 
DEGENERA TION AND KEGENERA TION. 265 
 
 religious convictions or belief ; — the hereditary and 
 heteronomic influences of a large number of crimi- 
 nals have been examined, and compared with what 
 may be termed the. normal type. 
 
 But with all this care and research no general rule 
 has been discovered by which the criminal can be 
 positively identified before the crime. Indeed, the 
 most universal as well as the most surprising and 
 anomalous peculiarity of criminals recorded is one 
 which unites them with, rather than differentiates 
 them from, the better members of society, namely, 
 a strong religious sentiment.' They even implore 
 the help of God in the execution of their crimes. 
 This sentiment, in conjunction with their dominant 
 characteristics, seems to constitute the most general 
 abnormality of the class, but of course is without 
 value as a distinctive definition. The variations 
 among criminals are apparently as wide and nu- 
 merous as in the human race in general. 
 
 While, however, no single peculiarity has been 
 identified as a universal characteristic, these exami- 
 nations have demonstrated beyond question the 
 abnormality of all incorrigible criminals. Every 
 member of the actual criminal class diverges in 
 some essential respects from the normal type of 
 mankind. His physical constitution is a serious 
 variation from, if not an actual deformity or mal- 
 formation of the complete, healthy, human being, 
 aptly illustrating the truth of the reversed Latin 
 adage, " insana meris insano corpore " / so that ab- 
 normality becomes in itself an indicative character- 
 ' The Criminal, p. 156. 
 
266 PRISOffERS AtfD PAUPERS. 
 
 istic of the class. Conversely, there is never found 
 in the criminal or pauper class, except by accident, 
 a normal, well developed, healthy adult. At least 
 not in America, where the will of the majority is 
 recognized as rational law by all rational beings, and 
 the opportunities of self-support are ample for the 
 healthy and strong. 
 
 We believe it is established beyond controversy 
 that criminals and paupers, both, are degenerate ; 
 the imperfect, knotty, knurly, worm-eaten, half-rot- 
 ten fruit of the race. In short, both criminality and 
 pauperism are conditions and not dispositions. The 
 mind, the intellectual faculties, and the soul, the 
 moral faculties, — ^which are the motive powers of 
 character, which constitute the man, — ^have their 
 home in his body, to which they are conformed, 
 which they represent, and by which they are lim- 
 ited and controlled in their operations, as well as in 
 their conditions. A normal character is not to be 
 expected in an abnormal physique, nor a sound and 
 healthy character in a diseased constitution. This 
 is one grain of intellectual wheat that needs to have 
 the chaff blown away from it, until it may show 
 clear and distinct to the public eye. Whatever the 
 cause of the condition, heredity or heteronomy, the 
 sins of former generations, or of this, the result and 
 fact is what confronts us, and demands attention. 
 
 Omitting then from our present consideration the 
 subject of secondary causes, let us limit ourselves to 
 an effort to change the condition, for the condition 
 requires distinct and different treatment from its 
 causes. Vaccination will avert small-pox, but it is 
 
DEGENERATION AND REGENERATION. 267 
 
 folly and wickedness to vaccinate a patient and let 
 him go free, after he has broken out with the dis- 
 ease. We are to prescribe for the case already in- 
 fected. Here is a gangrened member of the body 
 politic : the question is not how it came to be so, 
 but what shall be done to stop the spread of the 
 poison, and save the life of the patient. There ap- 
 pears to be a remarkable confusion in the minds and 
 practice of many penologists and philanthropists, 
 of the methods of prevention, with remedial meas- 
 ures — a persistence of reliance upon vaccination 
 after small-pox has developed. By thus confining 
 ourselves to the treatment of the diseased member 
 we shall greatly simplify our study, and limit it 
 within comparatively narrow bounds. For while 
 the causes of degeneracy are many and diverse, the 
 rational treatment of a common, well-known case, is 
 simple and plain. The gangrened member must be 
 cut off from the body politic, or physical, and the 
 system toned up to health. We do not propose to 
 turn the criminal and pauper over to the execution- 
 er, as is done in some nations, but we do propose, in 
 the utmost kindness of heart toward them, as well 
 as toward society, to show how they may cut them- 
 selves off naturally by the processes of exhaustion. 
 
 The laws of biology, that " like begets like," that 
 imperfect seed in parentage cannot produce perfect 
 offspring, that " breeding in " intensifies and magni- 
 fies parental peculiarities, that certain inherited 
 defects or deficiencies induce criminality, and result 
 in pauperism, are well known, and generally accepted 
 to be as invariable and immutable as the law of 
 
268 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 gravitation. It is as absurd to expect healthy, nor- 
 mal children from abnormal parents, as to look for 
 figs from thistles, perfect fruit on a blasted tree, 
 sound and full-eared grain from imperfect seed, a 
 " two-ten " trotter from a pair of plow-horses. The 
 offspring of degenerate, degraded, defective, or dis- 
 eased parents are of the necessity of nature below 
 the normal standard, physically, mentally, or morally, 
 at birth — even if not malformed or tainted with a 
 diseased diathesis, neurotic, tuberculous, scrofulous, 
 intemperate, or other. Some may be rescued from 
 their inherited tendency by intelligent and favorable 
 care and cultivation ; but without extraordinary at- 
 tention nature will reproduce in them — it cannot do 
 otherwise — an aggravation of parental defects. From 
 criminals and paupers can only come more criminals 
 and paupers. Another grain of wheat worthy of 
 recognition. 
 
 These are moreover compelled, by the equally 
 inexorable laws of " selection " and " association," to 
 " breed in " with their own classes ; wherefore their 
 progeny progressively deteriorates and degenerates. 
 In a state of nature, or freedom from artificial 
 restrictions or influences, this degeneration rapidly 
 results in extinction, by the inability to survive of 
 the weak, and the sterility of survivors. This is 
 nature's way of protecting its types, and of evolving, 
 by the " survival of the fittest " and the destruction 
 of the unfit, improvement and perfection in vegeta- 
 ble, animal, and human life. There is no such thing 
 as a criminal or pauper class among what are called 
 savages or uncivilized men. 
 
l>EGEtfERA TIOM AND REGENERA TtON. 269 
 
 The civilized man is the product of the survival 
 through all the ages, of the strongest, most stalwart 
 and capable savages. In the progress of his civiliza- 
 tion, the development of the sentiment of human 
 brotherhood and the principles of Christianity teach- 
 ing him to love his fellow as himself, has caused an 
 interference with the natural law provided for the 
 extinction of the unfit by impelling the strong and 
 independent to maintain and care for the weak 
 and defective. At the same time advances in the 
 sciences of hygiene, medicine, and surgery enable 
 many of the unfit to survive the tests of childhood 
 and disease, the rigors of which they ameliorate, and 
 which in a state of nature woiild be fatal. It is 
 necessary when humanity thus restrains and limits 
 the operation of the laws of nature that it should 
 supply a correlative supplement to prevent disas- 
 trous consequences. If civilization and philanthropy 
 cannot permit nature to accomplish its inexorable 
 decrees in its own way, they must provide some 
 other way for its irresistable pent-up force to expend 
 itself or finally be overwhelmed. 
 
 By carefully providing for its degenerates and 
 abnormals in comfortable prisons, asylums, and alms- 
 houses, giving them the advantages of the highest 
 knowledge and science of living, society unwittingly 
 aggravates the evil it seeks to alleviate. It main- 
 tains alive those who would perish without its aid. 
 It permits their reproduction and multiplication. 
 It fosters, with more attention than it gives its 
 better types, the establishment and increase of an 
 abnormal and defective class. It not only perpetu- 
 
270 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 ates by care but encourages by permitting unre- 
 stricted " breeding in " among them the unnatural 
 spread and growth of a social gangrene of fatal 
 tendencies. It is assuming oppressive and alarming 
 proportions which begins to be felt in the whole 
 social organization. In terror our advancing civili- 
 zation begins to inquire if there be no way of coun- 
 teraction consistent with its highest benevolence, by 
 which this abnormality of abnormalism may be 
 avoided, criminality and pauperism restored to 
 natural proportions, or to that ratio of increase 
 which may be the inevitable result of ignorance and 
 excess of living. 
 
 We believe that the progress of medical and 
 surgical science has opened up such a way entirely 
 practicable, humanitarian in the highest sense, unob- 
 jectionable except upon grounds of an absurd and 
 irrational sentiment. The discoveries in the use of 
 anaesthetics and antiseptics have rendered it possible 
 to remove or sterilize the organs of reproduction of 
 both sexes without pain or danger. This is the sim- 
 plest, easiest, and most effectual solution of the whole 
 difficulty. It promptly and completely stops the 
 horrid breed where it begins and obviates the neces- 
 sity of permanent seclusion other^vise imperative. 
 This is another grain of wisdom to be separated for 
 a profitable use. 
 
 The sentimental objections to this remedy when 
 examined in the calm judgment of reason appear to 
 have no sound foundation. These organs have no 
 function in the human organism except the creation 
 and gratification of desire and the reproduction of 
 
DEGENERATION AND REGENERATION. 2^1 
 
 the species. Their loss has no effect upon the 
 health, longevity or abilities of the individual of 
 adult years. The removal of them, therefore, by 
 destroying desire would actually dimish the wants 
 of nature and increase the enjoyments of life for 
 paupers. A want removed is equivalent to a want 
 supplied. In other words, such a removal would be a 
 positive benefit to the abnormal rather than a depri- 
 vation, rather a kindness than an injury. This opera- 
 tion bestowed upon the abnormal inmates of our 
 prisons, reformatories, jails, asylums and public in- 
 stitutions, would entirely eradicate those unspeakable 
 evil practices which are so terribly prevalent, debas- 
 ing, destructive, and uncontrollable in them. It 
 would confer upon the inmates health and strength 
 for weakness and impotence, satisfaction and comfort 
 for discontent and insatiable desire. 
 
 Neither should the purpose of this operation, the 
 prevention of reproduction, be objectionable to the 
 subject. The abnormal does not want children, has 
 no affection for them, and gets rid of them as soon 
 as possible if they come. If this were not so their 
 offspring, being abnormal, weak, sickly, diseased, 
 deformed, idiotic, insane, or criminal, doomed to 
 a burdensome and suffering existence or an early 
 death, are a curse rather than a comfort to their 
 parents ; so that in no sense could the deprivation of 
 these organs inflict injury or damage to criminal or 
 pauper. On the contrary they would be enabled 
 thereby to enjoy many comforts and privileges, and 
 be relieved from many restraints at present neces- 
 sarily imposed upon them. The range of their en- 
 
272 PXISONESS AND PA UPERS. 
 
 joyments would in fact be greatly enlarged, both in 
 confinement and at liberty. Many indeed might be 
 allowed freedom who are now closely confined. The 
 adoption of this proposition then would seem to be 
 an unmixed blessing and benefit. 
 
 But even if this were not the case, society would 
 seem to have, justly, the right to secure to itself re- 
 lief from the undue burdens of crime and pauperism 
 by thus preventing its multiplication, as a fair price 
 for its care and expense in preserving the unfit from 
 suffering and destruction. Such a limitation of the 
 unnatural increase of these classes would certainly 
 reduce, in a short time, their public burden and cost 
 more than one half, by mere reduction of their num- 
 bers. This would be a social economy in the neigh- 
 borhood of sixty millions of dollars a year in the 
 United States, equivalent to an annual addition to 
 the wealth of the people of a dollar a head. 
 
 Besides, this would remove the necessity for a sep- 
 aration of the sexes in public institutions for perma- 
 nent seclusion, permitting a single instead of a 
 double plan of construction and management, thus 
 greatly diminishing the costs of installation and 
 administration of them. Such a regulation would 
 almost completely eliminate from the catalogue of 
 crimes the long and numerous list of crimes and 
 vices of lust. It would arrest the most prolific cause 
 of progressive debasement and degradation in the 
 crimmal and pauper classes, both at liberty and in 
 confinement, and remove an almost insurmountable 
 obstacle from the course of their reformation. For 
 all who have had the charge of them are shockingly 
 
DEGENERATION AND REGENERATION. 2^3 
 
 impressed with the knowledge that excessive and 
 unnatural pandering to the sexual passion is their 
 most universal, uncontrollable, and debasing vice. 
 They yield to this like senseless brutes, into which 
 they soon transform themselves by indulgence. 
 
 These considerations alone seem to devolve upon 
 society, upon the sovereign people, the law-makers, 
 not only the right, but the duty, to complete and 
 perfect its supervision and support of criminals and 
 paupers, by effecting that sterility among them 
 which, by its care, it prevents nature from producing. 
 Such surgery is as wise, beneficient, and merciful as 
 any that is performed. It should be recognized and 
 esteemed by all intelligent persons, to be as neces- 
 sary, safe, and unobjectionable as vaccination or the 
 extraction of an aching tooth. The incorporation of 
 regulations for such treatment of confirmed criminals 
 and paupers into the legal code would certainly be- 
 come a greater blessing and benefit to mankind 
 than any other hygienic or surgical discovery has 
 ever been, however beneficent vaccination and the 
 use of anaesthetics may have been to the human 
 race. 
 
 As a deterrent, this treatment would surely be 
 more effective than all the other penalties of the code 
 together. For it must be acknowledged that how- 
 ever much the individual and society might be thus 
 benefited, that common sentiment which amounts 
 to an instinct almost, under which the abnormal has 
 found protection hitherto, is one of the strongest and 
 most influential of nature. But it was divinely im- 
 planted to secure the progress and advance of human- 
 
 i8 
 
274 PRISONEXS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 ity in numbers and development, not its degeneration 
 and destruction. Ignorance, error, and inattention 
 have permitted the perversion of a divinely-bestowed 
 instinct to a. controversion and opposition of its 
 purpose. Humanity actually thus sins against the 
 Creator and nature, in its contributory negligence of 
 such perversion. 
 
 The remedy we suggest would certainly be effect- 
 ual, an immeasurable benefit to the human race, 
 the exercise of an inherent right which really injures 
 none, and moreover it appears to have become an 
 imperative duty which society owes to its own 
 preservation, which may not be neglected without 
 actual sin. 
 
 Society arrests and confines the leper, the victim 
 of smallpox, yellow-fever, cholera, or typhoid, and 
 treats them according to its own will, with or against 
 their consent. It does not hesitate to remove a gan- 
 grened limb, a diseased organ from the person, if it 
 is necessary ; it shuts up the insane, the imbecile, 
 the criminal, for the public protection ; it inflicts 
 punishments of various degrees; compels men to 
 labor without pay, for its good, in durance, even 
 deprives them of life if it pleases ; assumes arbitrary 
 control of the life, liberty, and happiness of an indi- 
 vidual, if it considers it necessary for the public 
 welfare ; and no reasonable being questions its right 
 or duty to do these things. At the same time it 
 allows its deformed and diseased in mind, body, 
 and soul, to disseminate social leprosy and cancer 
 with impunity, while the skill of its surgeons could 
 prevent the infection by an operation almost as 
 
DEGEltERA TlOtf AND R^GBNERA TION. 27$ 
 
 simple as vaccination. It seems inexplicable that 
 the remedy should have been so long delayed. 
 
 The charitable institutions, insane asylums, jails, 
 and penitentiaries, are all full to overflowing. They 
 cannot be built fast enough to meet the multiplying 
 requirements of social neglect. The demand is con- 
 stant and urgent for more and larger ones. The 
 most generous plan is found inadequate before it 
 has been fairly completed, and the pressure of neces- 
 sity greater than when it was begun. Society is 
 working at the wrong end of the subject. It might 
 as well try to sweep back the rising floods of the 
 Mississippi after they have spread over the plain, in- 
 stead of stopping the broken levee. It is a Sisy- 
 phean attempt to bail out the Ship of State with 
 sieves. The leak outruns the capacity of her pumps ; 
 the deeper she settles the more the yawning seams 
 pour in their flood. 
 
 The more we discover concerning the condition 
 and customs of the earlier civilizations of the race, 
 the Assyrians of Nineveh and Babylon, the Egyp- 
 tians of thousands of years ago, the more probable it 
 appears that there has been no material increase, in 
 our present boasted civilization, in the proportion of 
 humanity having ability to exist satisfactorily with- 
 out manual labor. This proportion in America does 
 not exceed ten per cent, of the population. It is 
 probable that royalty, nobility, officers of the army 
 and government, priests, learned and professional 
 men, artists, manufacturers, merchants, and other 
 members of the " upper class " of society numbered 
 as many as ten per cent, of the people of Nineveh, 
 
276 PRiSONEkS AND PAVPERS. 
 
 Babylon, and Thebes. If this was the case, there 
 has been no change in the relative proportions of 
 these two classes of humanity in the last three thou- 
 sand years. It is reasonably certain that the number 
 of those who now have that superior ability which 
 elevates them to the level of the " upper tenth " is 
 not very much larger now than then. The whole 
 mass of humanity has moved upward greatly; there 
 have been constant accessions to the " upper tenth " 
 from below,. and a constant waste there by exhaus- 
 tion, but the ratio of those who are endowed with 
 that perfection and excellence of capacity which 
 enables them to rank at the top, remains about the 
 same as it was in the beginning. This is a fact of 
 tremendous significance in sociology, in many direc- 
 tions outside of the purview of our discussion, in 
 which it is very suggestive. For we believe the true 
 objective of philanthropy to be the individual rather 
 than the mass. The first interest of every one is 
 himself ; the highest enjoyment of his own existence 
 here and hereafter. If one finds himself or herself 
 incapable of attaining his desires, then his interest 
 centres next upon his children who shall come after 
 him. No general progress is so satisfactory as per- 
 sonal or family success and advance in the social 
 scale. Besides, as the number of individual advance- 
 ments increases, the general average is moved 
 upward. So we say the true objective of philan- 
 thropy is the increase of the " upper tenth " to a 
 fifth or a half, which modern mechanical inventions 
 would seem even now to make possible. It is the 
 insignificance of the number of the " upper tenth " 
 
URGENEkATiON AND HEGEtfERATlON. i^J 
 
 and its constancy that galls and irritates the ninety 
 per cent, of workers below. " We are better off than 
 we were," say they, " but the distance between us 
 and them is just as, wide as ever it was. The way is 
 open, it is said, but some unknown force holds us 
 back ; we cannot walk where we would ; we hate it, 
 and those who can go where we cannot." Hence 
 riot and bombs and dynamite. 
 
 We have referred to that other extreme of human- 
 ity which is just becoming recognizable as the " sub- 
 merged tenth," composed of the criminal, the pauper, 
 and the children of despair, as the product of degen- 
 eracy. It is equally significant that ancient civiliza- 
 tions knew no such class. There were beggars and 
 cripples, but not sufficiently numerous to require or 
 receive public care. While the " upper tenth " con- 
 tinues stationary, the " submerged tenth " grows, 
 and its weight drags with accumulating irksomeness 
 upon humanity. Philanthropy has been hitherto 
 almost engrossed with its care, to the neglect of its 
 cause. We believe that there is a common cause 
 and a single remedy for both these social complaints : 
 the lack of growth at the top, the rottenness at the 
 root of the tree of humanity. 
 
 It is an astonishing and incomprehensible fact to 
 the student that society, among all the plans and 
 projects it is continually devising for the benefit 
 and elevation of humanity, has in our modem civili- 
 zation utterly overlooked and ignored the one vital 
 social function upon which improvement of the race 
 depends. Marriage, which constitutes the social 
 unit, which creates the family, whence the genera- 
 
278 PXISON^JIS Atft> PAUPERS. 
 
 tions succeed one another in upward or downward 
 progress, has been left by philanthropy, by church 
 and State, except by the recog;nition and solemniza- 
 tion of the fact itself, almost as entirely unregulated as 
 it was in the days of savage life, as it is among wild 
 animals. The union of the pair upon whose fitness 
 will depend the physique and character of the next 
 generation is submitted by society to " natural selec- 
 tion," and " chance." If otherwise influenced at all, it 
 is solely by material considerations of selfish, tem- 
 porary importance rather than those affecting the 
 real object and purpose of the union, the children 
 who are to come of the union; It is doubtful if one 
 in a thousand of those who marry ever take this 
 subject into consideration in their selections. If 
 they were to do so indeed, there would be no proper 
 method available to determine the questions needing 
 settlement. So this seriously vital function is set- 
 tled by caprice and " chance." The chances remain- 
 ing about the same, the results have been about the 
 same for thousands of years, save for the multiplica- 
 tion of the unfit. 
 
 That is, the same as far as this one result is evi- 
 dent. There are signs of a general degeneracy 
 attracting public attention, which are worthy of 
 more serious consideration than they receive. Be- 
 sides the increase of the " lower tenth," idiocy, imbe- 
 cility, suicides, drunkenness, insanity, and all forms 
 of mental, moral, and physical " constitutional " 
 defects are coming to be common in all ranks of 
 society. 
 
 Stature is decreasing, the proportion of normal 
 
DEGENEJiATION AND REGENERATION. 279 
 
 perfectly healthy people diminishing, the general 
 average of physical endurance and vitality becoming 
 lowered, the number of children reared growing 
 notably smaller; hair, the common indication ofi 
 vigor, is disappearing, and bald heads becoming 
 numerous early in life ; weak nerves, weak stomachs, 
 weak hearts, weak heads are ordinary ailments. All 
 these are indicative of a general deterioration, which 
 must be due to faulty breeding, to the supreme 
 folly of chance marriage, ignored and unregulated by 
 the social organization. 
 
 The law that "like begets like" is by no means 
 confined to criminals and paupers, but operates 
 inexorably in all classes and conditions of people. A 
 taint of hereditary drunkenness, insanity, suicide, 
 epilepsy, idiocy, deaf-mutism, cancer, syphilis, gout, 
 rheumatism, tuberculous or scrofulous diathesis in 
 the blood is a symptom of degeneration, likely to be 
 intensified by propagation in succeeding generations 
 until the tainted family becomes extinct. Inter- 
 marriage with those tainted diffuses weakness, 
 deformity, and abi'^rmality through the social 
 structure, deteriorates and contaminates all who 
 issue from such unions. These things are well 
 known and completely established. We have not 
 space for the argument here. It may be found con- 
 clusively stated in Dr. Strahan's valuable treatise on 
 Marriage and Disease, which ought to be read by 
 every young person contemplating marriage before 
 the affections have become engaged.' The law of 
 
 • Marriage and Disease. A study of hereditary and the more 
 important family degenerations. S. A. R. Strahan, 1892. 
 
28o PRISONEHS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 heredity in respect to these more distinct forms of 
 degeneration are now so well established, and the 
 frightful consequences of their neglect so apparent, as 
 to demand . legislation for social self preservation. 
 There can no longer be any doubt that the degener- 
 ation of the race is due to the continual reproduction 
 of humanity tainted to a greater or less degree with 
 these common diseases and defects. Not only that 
 all, absolutely all of the crime and pauperism, but 
 most of the suffering and unnatural afflictions, sick- 
 nesses, loss of children, untimely deaths, and social 
 loss and waste due to these, are to be attributed to 
 misalliances of, or with, tainted stock. The evils and 
 necessities of divorce, with the insoluble problems 
 concerning its regulations which perplex legislators, 
 are made imminent and pressing by the continual 
 linking together of the unfit. If only those were 
 united who ought to be, there would be no need of 
 divorce, no demand for its regulation. Let any one 
 of mature years reflect upon the history of the fami- 
 lies of his acquaintance, in the light of the knowl- 
 edge he has of the habits and fortunes of their 
 parentage, and he will be able to assign a probable 
 cause for most of the troubles and afflictions that 
 have befallen them, as well as of the failures and 
 unhappiness, to inherited taint or peculiarities. 
 
 The diagramic history of eight families given 
 below are taken from Dr. Strahan's book, to which 
 we have referred, and illustrate the evil we de- 
 nounce more impressively than argument. They 
 are fair samples of what is constantly occurring all 
 about us. 
 
DEGENERA TIOAT AMD REGENEHA TION. 2%\ 
 
 
 
 CASE No. I., p. 49. 
 
 
 
 
 
 J. E 's Family. 
 
 
 
 M 
 A suicide, .^t. 56. 
 
 M 
 
 F 
 
 t. 
 
 
 Died of cancer of 
 
 Died in a fi 
 
 
 Married. No issue. 
 
 stomach, ^t. 66. 
 
 ^t. 54. 
 
 
 I 
 
 I \ 
 
 i \ 
 
 1 
 
 M 
 
 
 of can- 
 
 Died of con- Died of con- 
 
 Died of con- Died of con 
 
 - Healthy. Has 
 
 
 f stom- 
 
 vulsions, sumption. 
 
 sumption. sumption. 
 
 seven chil- 
 
 
 /Et. 58. 
 
 Xx. 13 weeks. | 
 
 1 ^t. 16. 
 
 dren. 
 
 
 1 
 
 Married several 
 
 Married several 
 
 M 
 
 five chil- 
 
 years. No issue. 
 
 years. No issue. 
 
 Epileptic. Twice 
 
 Iren. 
 
 
 
 insane. Testes in 
 abdomen. Mar- 
 ried. No chil- 
 
 
 
 
 dren. 
 
 
 
 No. II., p. 108. 
 
 
 
 
 K. S 's Family. 
 
 
 
 M , 
 
 
 F 
 
 
 Epileptic. 
 
 1 Had sister insane. 
 
 
 I t 
 
 1 1 
 M F F 
 
 Epileptic. Dead. Epileptic. 
 
 Dead Idiot. Sane as yet. Insane. Suicidal. 
 
 No issue. and insane 
 
 . No Impotent. 
 
 Incurable. No 
 
 
 issue 
 
 Nine children. 
 
 issue. 
 
 Some imbecile. 
 No. III., p. 125. 
 Father, a drunkard. 
 
 Son, 
 A drunkard, disgustingly drunk on his wedding day. 
 
 I 
 of con- 
 
 Died of con- 
 vulsions. 
 
 Idiot at 22 years 
 of age. 
 
 Suicidal, 
 dement. 
 
 A Peculiar and Repeatedly 
 irritable. insane. 
 
 Nervous and 
 depressed. 
 
 
 
 No. IV., p. 
 M 
 Died mad 
 1 
 
 137- 
 
 
 Imbecile. 
 
 Irritable 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 1 
 M M 
 
 Died of brain disease. 
 
 1 
 
 F 
 Imbecile. 
 
 Epileptic. 
 
 Epileptic. 
 
 1 
 All 
 
 1 1 1 1 1 
 234567^ 
 
 seven died in convulsions. 
 
282 
 
 I>IiISO^\-ERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 No. v., 
 
 P- 
 
 137- 
 
 No. VI., p. i66. 
 
 F 
 
 
 M 
 
 F 
 
 A suicide. ■" 
 
 
 Mute. 
 
 1 Normal. 
 
 1 F 
 
 
 F 1 
 
 1 
 
 M 1 Insane. 
 
 
 Epileptic. li 
 
 ^ N 
 
 M 
 Insane. 
 
 
 Mute. No issue. 
 
 Normal. | Norn 
 
 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 \ 
 
 F M 
 
 Excitable. Dull. 
 
 
 \ Mute. 
 Epileptic. 
 Imbecile. 
 
 Mute. Normal. 1 Nc 
 M 1 
 Mute. 
 
 
 
 No. VII., p. 
 
 231. 
 
 First Generation. 
 
 Second Generation. 
 
 • J. G. A- 
 
 Pattrnal side. 
 Grandfather. A drunkard. 
 Grandmother. Normal. 
 ' Uncle. A drunkard. 
 Uncle. A drunkard. 
 
 Uncle. An epileptic. 
 
 -s Family History. 
 
 Father. 
 I 
 
 Ezdtable and irritable. 
 
 Maternal side. 
 Grandmother. "Odd." 
 Grandfather. Normal. 
 Uncle. Epileptic. 
 Uncle. Rheumatic, totally 
 
 cripple, and his daughter al: 
 Uncle. Rheumatic. 
 Aunt. Rheumatic. 
 Mother. Died in asylum. 
 
 Third Generation. - 
 
 ' Daughter. Has had rheumatism and has heart disease. 
 
 Son. Now insane. 
 
 Son. Died a few days old of convulsions. 
 
 Son. Now a chronic maniac in an asylum. 
 
 , Daughter. Suicidal melancholiac ; died in an asylum ; no issue. 
 Family extinct. 
 
 No. VIII., p. 303. 
 S. H. 's Family. 
 
 M 
 
 Asthmatic. 
 
 1 55omewhat weak-minded. 
 
 
 \ 1 1 t 1 1 
 I ^23456, 
 
 Healthy. Died in infancy 
 
 1 1 III 
 7 8 g 10 II 
 
 Drowned. Epilep- Healthy. Idiot. 
 
 
 in convulsions. 
 
 tic. 1 
 
 1 
 
 12 13 14 
 
 Died in Healthy. Scrofu- 
 
 infancy in lous. 
 convulsions. 
 
DEGENERATION AND REGENERATION. 283 
 
 It is not alone the dictate of wisdom and prudence, 
 but the supreme instinct of self-preservation which 
 impels society to a more careful and effective super- 
 vision of the institution of marriage. It has been 
 left too long already to " chance the usual way." 
 
 This unique act of human existence, equal in 
 solemn supremacy to birth and death, between 
 which it has been committed by the Creator, sole 
 link of this holy trinity, between the two eternities, 
 alone of them to human control ; humanity's only 
 exclusive property of the three, its object of the 
 first, its refuge from the last ; with blind and inex- 
 plicable heedlessness is left by a self-satisfied civiliza- 
 tion to " chance," or to a settlement by those 
 whose judgment or decision would not be trusted, 
 even in the ordinary affairs of life, to inexperienced 
 youth. 
 
 " Natural selection " is a bewitching theory, like 
 the theory of Free Trade, which requires impossible 
 circumstances for its satisfactory operation. The 
 choice and mutual attraction which ordinarily in- 
 duces marriage in our present social conditions is 
 generally the result of the close and frequent associa- 
 tion of two individuals in a small society. Each 
 selects the most desirable of the present acquaint- 
 ance without thought, beyond the present gratifica- 
 tion, of fitness or the future. If a large portion 
 even of mankind could be offered to each individual 
 under similar circumstances for marriage, it is possi- 
 ble that natural selection might be successful ; as 
 this cannot be done, the theory becomes impracti- 
 cable, false, and fatal. 
 
284 PSTSON^EltS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 This pernicious principle of social free trade not 
 only permits the unrestricted dissemination of cor- 
 ruption and imperfection in the race, but it allows, if 
 it does not ■ actually encourage, the propagation of 
 immature and exhausted offspring. The degeneracy 
 due to the former is probably exceeded by that 
 which results from the latter. The marriage of im- 
 mature children, and those whose vitality is weak- 
 ened by age or excess, cannot possibly produce 
 healthy and strong offspring. Stock breeders are 
 familiar with this fact in respect to animals, and it 
 is quite as certain in the human race. 
 
 Dr. Strahan says : " The distinctive characteristics 
 of the two classes might be roughly summed up as 
 follows: The children of immature parentage are 
 specially liable to death during infancy from wast- 
 ing, scrofulous, and convulsive affections. They are 
 liable in a remarkable degree to idiocy and imbecil- 
 ity of a low type, and to physical deformities and 
 imperfections. Large numbers of them succumb to 
 tubercular disease about the ages of puberty and 
 adolescence, and few of them attain even advanced 
 middle age. The genital organs are ill-developed 
 and often deformed, and a great number of them 
 are sterile. They are also notorious for their lack of 
 energy and courage. Hence, the class of criminals 
 to which they give the greatest number of recruits 
 is that of thieves and other petty offenders. 
 
 " The children of the senile are as a class ugly, small 
 of stature, and stooping, which, together with the 
 absence of subcutaneous fat, gives them the look of 
 old age while still young. Idiocy is less common 
 
DEGENERA TION AND REGENERA TJON. 28$ 
 
 among them than weak-mindedness, amounting to 
 imbecility, which is often accompanied with more or 
 less perversion of moral feeling, and a plentiful sup- 
 ply of low cunning. Many of them die between the 
 ages of, puberty and adolescence of tubercular dis- 
 ease, few of them live past middle age, and great 
 numbers of them ultimately become insane and crim- 
 inal. They are nervous, irritable, passionate, and 
 horribly cruel, and are the perpetrators of most of 
 those fiendish barbarities, the recital of which from 
 time to time shock the civilized world." 
 
 This conclusion is based upon a wide and long 
 personal experience, and the investigations of many 
 distinguished sociologists of Europe. It commends 
 itself as true to any intelligent observer. The mag- 
 nitude and extent of this evil, however, may not be 
 as generally appreciated. It is a serious fault of our 
 legislation that no statistics of the age of marriage 
 are available in this country. We may fairly assume, 
 however, that they would be similar to those of 
 England in this respect. According to- the Annual 
 Report of the English Registrar-General, there were 
 married there during the year 1889 94,040 males of 
 21 years of age and less, and 42,170 females of 20 
 years and less. Of these, 33,526 lads of from 21 to 
 1 5 years married girls from 20 to i S years old. There 
 were 11,525 men from 45 to upwards of 85 married, 
 and TJojd women between 40 and 50 years of age. 
 
 It is probable that the disposition towards unfit 
 marriage is excessive in America, because less legal 
 formality is required here, and because of the large 
 
 ' Marriage and Diseasi, p. 259. 
 
286 PJUSONESS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 element of negro and foreign races in our population, 
 ignorant and without care for results. It is certain 
 that the evidences of faulty generation are multiply- 
 ing everywhere about us. The holocaust of infants 
 reported in the mortality records of our cities, the 
 weak and puny children in our public schools, the 
 stunted and crippled youths we see on the streets, 
 our overcrowded asylums, the growing burden of 
 pauperism and crime, the alarming increase of 
 divorces, — all are to be attributed to the lack of the 
 necessary public supervision of marriage, the most 
 important of all social relations. Grave as these 
 evils are, they do not constitute of themselves the 
 most serious aspect of this neglect. 
 
 The decay of republics has always, and must always 
 be due to the degeneracy of the people. The great 
 and strong and rugged race which wrests itself from 
 the domination of its rulers, assumes self-control, 
 organizes its own government, formulates constitu- 
 tions, enacts laws, is fit and able for these achieve- 
 ments. Consequently the inspiration of its action, 
 as well as its first care, is to secure the greatest free- 
 dom of the individual from governmental inter- 
 ference. Fostered by this original impulse, it grows, 
 as we have, in numbers, wealth, and power, until its 
 organization has become a mighty element of the 
 existing humanity. Then the luxuriant fruit begins 
 to bend and strain the branches which have borne 
 it. The people outgrows the early institutions of its 
 childhood. New limitations and restraints upon the 
 individual become necessary for the protection of all 
 in the changed conditions of its society. Contempo- 
 
DEGENERATION AND REGENERATION. 287 
 
 raneously the general consciousness of invincibility 
 weakens patriotism, the inheritance of liberty culti- 
 vates license, the original freedom changes to neglect 
 of the social unit and encourages debasement, until 
 the whole people to whom the government was com- 
 mitted become incapable of its exercise. The initial 
 and chief condition of good government is purity at 
 the fountain-head. When the people of a republic 
 have become degenerate, it is in articulo mortis. It 
 must either crumble into ruin, because the bond of its 
 union is incapable of sustaining its own weight, or 
 some strong hand snatches the reins from a heedless 
 people and assumes control. Our question, then, is 
 one of life or death to the republic. How is this 
 government " of the people, for the people " to be 
 perpetuated " by the people," this spreading infec- 
 tion of degeneracy to be checked ? 
 
 Society has willingly expended, and continues each 
 year to expend, vast sums of money and great labor 
 in the support of religious institutions, preachers, 
 and churches for the moral elevation of the people. 
 It submits cheerfully to pay the largest share of the 
 public tax, and contributes immense amounts in 
 addition, benevolently, to promote their intellectual 
 progress. It founds and supports medical colleges, 
 stimulates physical culture by encouraging athletic 
 games and sports, and advocates the improvement 
 of the physique in every imaginable direction. 
 Religion and philanthropy join their forces in cease- 
 less and exhausting effort to stem the resistless tide 
 which appears to be sweeping the race over the 
 cataract of extinction, sustained by faith in the eter- 
 
288 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 nal promise of a millenium rather than encouraged 
 by any palpable success. They contend valiantly 
 against overwhelming results, ignorant or oblivious 
 of the easily controlled causes. 
 
 Let it once assume the regulation of the propaga- 
 tion of the race with wisdom and faithful efficacy, 
 and all the other burdens and labors will become 
 light and full of promise, hope, and fruit. It must 
 control this vital function of marriage for the public 
 welfare, as well as for the private good of the indi- 
 vidual. This control is sanctioned and required by 
 the divine right of self-preservation, and has become 
 an imperative duty to the race and to God — a duty 
 supreme in impulse and in consequence. 
 
 Nor is its performance impeded by great difficul- 
 ties. The tentative measures which have been 
 enacted, the previous license, the consent of parents 
 or guardians for minors, the prohibited marriage of 
 the idiot and raving maniac, have secured unanimous 
 approval. So, eventually, the common-sense of 
 mankind will endorse the enactment of whatever 
 provisions are essential to the common welfare. 
 
 We recommend, as the next step, the enactment 
 of a code regulating marriage fully in these respects, 
 and by some such methods, as follows : 
 
 First. It should be required that a license must 
 in all cases be obtained from a county official before 
 a legal marriage can be made. 
 
 Second. Severe penalties should be imposed 
 upon any who perform the marriage ceremony with- 
 out the presence of the prescribed license, which 
 should have a blank upon it for the marriage 
 
DEGENERATION AND REGENERATION. 289 
 
 certificate, with the ages, residence, parentage, 
 nativity, and race of the parties ; the signature of 
 witnesses, and the certificates of one or more 
 reputable physicians, under oath, testifying to a 
 knowledge of the following facts, derived from 
 personal acquaintance with the persons and fam- 
 ilies of the parties, or from other satisfactory 
 evidence : 
 
 That they are both of proper marriageable age, 
 in good health, sound and complete physically, 
 neither intemperate, criminals, nor paupers ; whether 
 either parents or grandparents were lunatics, drunk- 
 ards, idiotic, epileptic, congenitally blind, deaf, or 
 deformed, or of syphilitic, cancerous, scrofulous, or 
 tuberculous constitution. 
 
 The license papers should be issued in duplicate, 
 and one copy with all blanks filled should be filed 
 and recorded in the county clerk's office. A false 
 certificate by a physician should prevent the further 
 practice of his profession. The law should strictly 
 prohibit the marriage of females under twenty, and 
 males under twenty-five ; of males over forty-five 
 with females over forty who have not passed the 
 period of child-bearing (for outside of these limita- 
 tions of age it is generally understood healthy 
 children are exceedingly improbable, if not impos- 
 sible) ; of habitual criminals, paupers, tramps, and 
 vagrants ; of the insane, idiotic, epileptic, paralytic, 
 syphilitic, intemperate, cancerous, scrofulous, and 
 tuberculous ; the congenitally blind, deaf, defective, 
 or deformed ; the children or grandchildren of 
 parents possessed of these taints, or of suicides, 
 
290 PRISONEHS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 which is of itself presumptive evidence of de- 
 generacy. 
 
 The infraction of this law, or the cohabitation with 
 prohibited persons should be punished by the per- 
 manent seclusion of both parties in the penitentiaries 
 provided for life confinements. 
 
 This is neither a complicated nor impracticable 
 scheme. Consider what the results would be. In 
 the brief course of one generation all the inherited 
 rottenness and corruption of the ages would be 
 purged out of the people. The criminal and pauper 
 class, as a class, would become extinct. Peniten- 
 tiaries, jails, almshouses, insane asylums, idiot, deaf 
 and dumb and blind asylums would be largely 
 depopulated. Intemperance, the fruitful mother of 
 all evil, sin, and suffering, would become a rare vice ; 
 suicide, the refuge of conscious incompetence, which 
 has increased at the rate of thirty-three per cent, in 
 twenty-five years in England,' and quite as much 
 here, would be an almost unknown crime ; the 
 growing burden of inordinate taxation and benevo- 
 lence for the dependent would be lifted from 
 societ)?; the evils of divorce would cease, chronic 
 diseases would disappear almost entirely, and 
 temporary ailments be robbed of more than half 
 their terrors ; more than half of the poignant 
 grief and affliction over the untimely death of 
 children would be avoided ; health and strength 
 and ruddy cheeks would delight the eyes and hearts 
 that now grieve over puny forms and wan faces; 
 doctors' bills would no longer drain the family 
 
 ' Marriage and Disease, p. 88. 
 
DEGENERATION AND REGENERATION. 29 1 
 
 resources ; the earning power of the next generation 
 would be magnified, its capacity for intellectual 
 improvement and education increased, its suscep- 
 tibility to moral and religious influence and govern- 
 ment intensified, and the whole race rebound from 
 the depression of its past with a buoyancy and 
 power equal to the full development of its age of 
 steam and electricity. 
 
 More than this even, the wisdom of these regula- 
 tions and these notable results would so improve the 
 public consciousness as to powerfully influence its 
 " natural selection " with a desire for the improve- 
 ment of the species. The most favorable combina- 
 tions would become a subject of general study and 
 knowledge ; the propagation of higher grades would 
 be a universal motive; the union of the fittest 
 would produce great and noble characters in abun- 
 dance, capable of leading the race to higher and 
 grander planes of operation ; not only would the 
 " submerged tenth " cease to fetter the feet of 
 progress, but the intermediate " eightieth " would 
 surge upward with a power as natural and irresistible 
 as the tide of the ocean. 
 
 Let society, under the compulsion of the necessity 
 which is upon it, cut the Gordianknot of its bondage 
 with this sword of justice ; take the control of its 
 destiny into its own hand, regulate its reproduction 
 with the wisdom of its experience, and the "ills 
 which flesh is heir to " will vanish with the mists of 
 its night of suffering and sorrow, dissatisfaction and 
 jealous rage, before the glorious dawn of its millen- 
 ial day of comfort, hope, peace, and promise. 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 Let the people, the people who make the laws, who 
 choose their legislators, consider the facts we have 
 thus endeavored to make apparent and impressive, 
 the enormous burden and drag upon our public 
 prosperity of pauperism and crime, as shocking in 
 its magnitude as it is appalling in its needless growth 
 in our land, and vigorously undertake the solution of 
 the problem of reduction and elimination with their 
 characteristic shrewdness and energy. We believe 
 the task is full of promise rather than hopeless in 
 America, where all the conditions of nature and 
 government are favorable and propitious. We have 
 endeavored to indicate concisely the direction to be 
 given public efforts in order, most assuredly and 
 quickl}', to secure the largest results. Neither 
 patriot, philanthropist. Christian, pagan, capitalist, 
 nor wage-worker can afford to ignore the subject 
 any longer. 
 
 The problem is resolved into three elementary 
 phases, those of prevention, of reformation, and of 
 extinction, — the last the most important of all. 
 
 The efforts to be made in these different directions 
 are of equal importance, necessity, and promise, but 
 of wide variation in their character, magnitude, and 
 results. As they concentrate in purpose, they 
 
 292 
 
CONCLUSION. 293 
 
 must increase in intensity and vigor. Preventive 
 measures are like a net which must be dragged 
 through the entire social stream. Reformatory 
 treatment is confined to those only who are en- 
 veloped in it. The " unfit," the abnormals, the 
 sharks, the devil-fish, and other monsters, ought not 
 to be liberated to destroy, and multiply, but must 
 be confined and secluded until they are 
 exterminated. 
 
 The marriage of the criminal and defective must 
 be prevented ; and, indeed, marriage of all those 
 afflicted with constitutional defects should be pro- 
 hibited. Society must take cognizance of the re- 
 production of the race and correct the tendencies to 
 degradation, as a measure of self-preservation. It is 
 idle and foolish to waste energy, sympathy, and 
 money in the hopeless effort to cure and restrain 
 what should never have been permitted to exist. 
 Physical degeneration must be corrected to promote 
 regeneration. 
 
APPENDIX I. 
 
 Comparative statement from the eleventh census, showing the 
 quantities of distilled spirits, wine, and malt liquors consumed ; the 
 average annual consumption per capita of population in the United 
 States during the years 1840, 1880, and i8go ; the increase in fifty 
 and in ten years ; and the product of a tax of $3 per gallon of the 
 pure alcohol contained in the specified liquors ; together with the 
 addition this tax would make upon the gallon of liquor sold. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total Consumption 
 
 
 ■0 
 
 ,^ 
 
 
 
 per Capita of Popu- 
 lation. 
 
 
 
 
 i . 
 JJ 
 11 
 
 = 
 
 s 
 
 U 
 
 E 
 
 1 
 
 OS 
 
 e 
 .S • 
 
 E . 
 
 Year 
 
 
 1 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 Ending June 30. 
 
 in 8 
 
 23 
 
 = 
 
 8 
 
 C4 
 
 ■5 
 
 S=3 
 
 6^ 
 
 s 
 
 13 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 
 5 
 
 V 
 
 5 
 
 •3 
 
 2 
 
 < 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 ? 
 
 .2 
 
 a 
 
 1840 
 
 43,060,884^ 
 
 4,873.096 
 
 23,310,843 
 
 71,244,817 
 
 4-57 
 
 1-36 
 
 0.39 
 
 2.52a 
 
 1880 
 
 63,326,694 
 
 28,320,541 
 
 414.220,165 
 
 506,076,400 
 
 10.09 
 
 8.26 
 
 0.56 
 
 1.27 
 
 1890 
 
 87,829,562 
 
 28,936,981 
 
 855.792,33s 
 
 972,578,878 
 
 15-53 
 
 13.67 
 
 0.46 
 
 1.40 
 
 1 ncrease in ten y rs. 
 
 24,302,868 
 
 636,440 
 
 441,573,170 
 
 466,502,478 
 
 5-44 
 
 S-41 
 
 D.io 
 
 0.13 
 
 Percentage of in- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 crease in ten yrs. 
 
 36.9 
 
 2.24 
 
 109. 
 
 92.2 
 
 53-9 
 
 6S-S 
 
 D. 
 
 9.2 
 
 Afisumed percent- 
 age of alcohol.. 
 Gallons of alcohol 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 ZO 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 consumed in 1890 
 
 43,9i4,78i 
 
 2,895,698 
 
 42,789,616 
 
 89,600,095 
 
 
 
 
 
 Prod'tof taxof S3 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 p. gal. of alcohol 
 
 5131.744,343 
 
 88,687,094 
 
 $128,368,848 
 
 j268,8oo,285 
 
 
 
 
 
 Tax per gal. liquor 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 consumed 
 
 $1.50 
 
 $0.30 
 
 $0.15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 a. Includes use as burning fluids. 
 295 
 
29^ 
 
 PJiISON£liS AND pAUPEkS. 
 
 A comparative summary of the consumption per capita of popula- 
 tion in the United States, United Kingdom of Great Britain, France, 
 Germany, and Canada, of distilled spirits, wines, and malt liquors 
 during the years 1881 and 1887. Report of the Treasury Depart- 
 ment of the United States. 
 
 Countries. 
 
 Distilled 
 Spirits. 
 
 Wines. 
 
 Malt 
 Liquors. 
 
 
 1881. 
 Gal. 
 
 1887. 
 Gal. 
 
 i88i. 
 Gal. 
 
 1887. 
 Gal. 
 
 18S1. 
 Gal. 
 
 1887. 
 Gal. 
 
 United States 
 
 United Kingdom . . 
 
 France 
 
 1-37 
 
 I.OO 
 
 1.22 
 
 1. 14 
 
 .91 
 
 .1.18 
 .98 
 
 1.09 
 
 .84 
 
 ■47 
 .43 
 
 30.7s 
 
 ■ 54 
 .38 
 
 1886. 
 
 26.74 
 
 8.63 
 33^90 
 
 II. 96 
 32.88 
 
 
 22.35 
 2.33 
 
 24.99 
 3.50 
 
 
 .11 
 
 .10 
 
 
 APPENDIX II. 
 
 A table from the United States Census of 1880, showing the num- 
 ber of persons, and males, engaged in useful occupations, in the United 
 States, above the distinctively daily-wage workers ; the number of 
 fanners ; and the percentage of the total of each class to the popu- 
 lation, to the total population over sixteen years old, and to the 
 male population over sixteen years old. 
 
 Males. All. 
 
 Farm and Plantation Owners . . 2,gi2 3, lo6 
 
 Florists 4,248 4,545 
 
 Stock Raisers 16,406 16,528 
 
 Actors 2,974 4,812 
 
 Architects 3.358 3.375 
 
 Aitists and Teachers of Art . . . 7,014 9,104 
 
 Auctioneers 2,328 2,331 
 
 .Authors and Literary Persons . . 8li 1,131 
 
 Boarding and Lodging-House Keepers 6,745 19.058 
 
 Chemists and Metallurgists . . . 1,919 ^1969 
 
 Civil Engineers 8,259 8,261 
 
 Clergymea 64,533 64,698 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 297 
 
 Clerks 
 
 Collectors and Agents . 
 
 Dentists ... 
 
 Designers and Draughtsmen 
 
 Employes of Government 
 
 Hotel Keepers 
 
 Journalists . 
 
 Lawyers 
 
 Musicians . 
 
 Officials of Government 
 
 Physicians and Surgeons 
 
 Restaurant Keepers 
 
 Teachers and Scientific Persons 
 
 Veterinary Surgeons 
 
 Agricultural Implement Makers 
 
 Bridge Builders and Contractors 
 
 Builders and Contractors 
 
 Clerks and Brokers in Manufacturing . 
 
 Gold and Silver Workers and Jewellers 
 
 Manufacturers 
 
 Millers 
 
 Officials of Manfg. and Mining Companies 
 Photographers ..... 
 
 Publishers 
 
 Railroad Builders and Contractors 
 
 Others in Manfg., Min., andMech. Industries 
 
 Others in Professional Services 
 
 Agents 
 
 Bankers and Brokers . 
 
 Book-keepers 
 
 Brokers 
 
 Clerks in Stores. . 
 
 Clerks and Commercial Travellers 
 
 Officials of Telegraph Companies 
 
 Officials of Banks and Insurance Companies 
 
 Officials of Railroad Companies . 
 
 Salesmen 
 
 Traders 
 
 Total 
 
 Farmers and Planters 
 The Total Population was ... 
 The Total Population over 16 Years old was 
 The Total of Males over 16 Years old was . 
 
 Males. 
 48,493 
 
 4,163 
 12,253 
 
 2,757 
 28,254 
 
 30,317 
 12,020 
 64,062 
 17,184 
 64,909 
 83,239 
 12,228 
 
 73,243 
 2,130 
 4.776 
 2,582 
 
 10,787 
 9,801 
 
 25,975 
 43,612 
 53,069 
 
 8,179 
 
 9,481 
 
 2,742 
 
 1,206 
 
 10,243 
 
 3,822 
 
 18,073 
 
 15,112 
 
 57,278 
 
 315,126 
 
 54,767 
 
 20,228 
 
 16,811 
 
 2,069 
 
 24,402 
 
 • 475,372 
 
 1,762,272 
 4,169,136 
 
 All. 
 53.232 
 
 4,213 
 12,314 
 
 2,820 
 31,612 
 
 32,453 
 12,308 
 
 64.137 
 
 30,477 
 
 67,081 
 
 85,671 
 
 13.074 
 
 227,710 
 
 2,130 
 
 4,891 
 
 2,587 
 10,804 
 10,114 
 28,404 
 44.019 
 53,440 
 
 8,198 
 
 9,990 
 
 2,781 
 
 1,206 
 
 13,542 
 
 4.570 
 
 18,523 
 
 15,180 
 
 59.790 
 
 4,193 
 
 353.444 
 55,442 
 22,810 
 
 2,069 
 
 32,279 
 
 491.045 
 
 2.033,671 
 4,225,945 
 
 50,155.783 
 30,112,124 
 15,359,866 
 
 The 2,033,671 Persons Engaged in Useful Occupations 
 above Daily- Wage Workers were therefore of Total 
 Population 
 
 4 per cent. 
 
298 
 
 Prisoners and pauper^. 
 
 Of the Population over 16 Years old 
 
 6.75 per cent. 
 
 The Farmers and Planters were of the Total 
 
 Population 8.4 per cent. 
 
 Of the Population over 16 Years old . . 14 per cent. 
 
 The 1,762,272 Males Engaged in Useful Occupations 
 Specified above was of the Male Population over 
 16 Years of age ..... 1 1.4 per cent. 
 
 Male Farmers and Planters were of Males over 16 
 
 Years old 27.7 per cent. 
 
 APPENDIX III. 
 
 Table showing occupation previous to arrest of convicts received 
 into or serving in several penitentiaries specified, and the percentage 
 of the total admissions or inmates which they constitute. From the 
 published reports of the several penitentiaries. 
 
 
 .J, 
 
 ■i 
 
 i 
 
 S 
 
 > 
 
 > 
 
 s-' 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 »< 
 
 0< 
 
 "%. 
 
 EA 
 
 z 
 
 z 
 
 2 
 
 !>" 
 
 
 
 
 i; 
 
 
 ■i 
 
 i 
 
 c 
 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 -S . 
 
 
 
 
 ^ - 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 it 
 
 
 
 8.1 
 
 to ^ 
 
 .2 .J 
 
 m 
 
 S 4J 
 
 ^1 
 
 
 J. 2 
 
 1^ 
 
 J2 
 1 
 
 
 ■M S 
 
 " s 
 
 ** 
 
 u 
 
 a a 
 
 = n, 
 
 = p. 
 
 " « 
 
 
 
 -£ 
 
 , U 
 
 
 K'^ 
 
 KtS 
 
 <M 
 
 Vw 
 
 
 
 
 ES 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 "ffi 
 
 C 
 
 
 i 
 -a 
 
 J. 
 5 
 
 
 .11 
 
 is 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 "6 
 
 "e 
 
 e 
 
 
 > 
 
 > 
 e 
 
 E- 
 
 
 
 -3 
 
 •0 
 
 •xa 
 
 ■V 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 •0 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 < 
 
 ■< 
 
 < 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 
 Accountants . 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 Actors . 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 Advertisers 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 Agents . 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 Alderman 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Artists . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 Astrologers 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 Auctioneers 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Baking Powder (Clerk) 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Bankers 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 Base-Ball Players . 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Book-keepers 
 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 19 
 
 37 
 
 26 
 
 9 
 
 I 
 
 106 
 
 Boot and Shoe Dealers 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Brewers 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 3 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 299 
 
 
 1 
 
 ■g 
 
 c 
 
 V 
 
 
 >-■ 
 
 > 
 
 > 
 
 E 
 
 
 
 Pi 
 
 0. 
 
 •E 
 
 wa 
 
 z 
 
 a 
 
 2 
 
 ¥><■ 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 % 
 
 .2 
 
 'a 
 
 
 6 
 
 .2 
 
 g 
 0.5- 
 
 •So- 
 
 li 
 
 B 0' 
 
 § . 
 
 It 
 
 >• 
 
 
 
 
 "1 
 
 M 
 
 1.= 
 "1 
 
 UJ in 
 
 h ft 
 
 It 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 cn ** 
 
 >w 
 
 !«" 
 
 £^ 
 
 "m 
 
 f" 
 
 Oot 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 c 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 e w 
 
 
 
 .s 
 
 3, 
 
 ^0 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 J, 
 
 ID 
 
 B 
 
 
 
 ■n 
 
 
 
 'm 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (H 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 .s 
 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 s 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 '> 
 
 *> 
 
 s 
 
 ■§•2 
 
 
 
 •a 
 
 •0 
 
 ■? 
 
 •a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 T3 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 < 
 
 < 
 
 < 
 
 U 
 3 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 <! 
 
 
 Brokers 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 Bridge and Boat-builders 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Candy Merchants . 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Canvassers . 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 Cashiers 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Clergymen 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Clerks . 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 20 
 
 31 
 
 64 
 
 32 
 
 26 
 
 2 
 
 185 
 
 Collectors 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Commercial Travellers 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 Confectioners 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 Contractors . 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 Contractors and Builder 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Copyists 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Civil Engineers 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 Dairymen 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Dentists 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 Deputy Sheriffs 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Designers 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 X 
 
 Detectives 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Dock Builders 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Draughtsmen 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 Druggists 
 
 2 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 lO 
 
 Drug Clerks . 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Drummers . 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Editors . 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Electricians . 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 Engineers 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Engravers 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 3 
 
 Express Agents 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 Expressmen . 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 3 
 
 Florists 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 Gold Beaters 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Grocers 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Horse Dealers 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Hotel Keepers 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 House-Keepers 
 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 17 
 
300 
 
 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 
 .i 
 
 e 
 
 'a 
 
 g 
 
 2 
 
 > 
 
 S-" 
 
 > 
 
 E 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 B< 
 
 th 
 
 'b 
 
 Ul 
 
 i5 
 
 S5 
 
 z 
 
 i>; 
 
 
 
 E 
 
 I 
 
 o 
 
 ■| 
 
 f 
 .s - 
 
 o . 
 
 cT 
 
 >: 
 
 
 
 S« 
 
 %i 
 
 
 = >• 
 
 ft! S\ 
 
 ■eS. 
 
 'C o» 
 
 Sj 
 
 
 
 ^B. 
 
 Ul^ 
 
 O 
 
 '"' A 
 
 ho" 
 
 a." 
 
 a.'S 
 
 «• 
 
 . 
 
 
 4 
 
 if 
 
 
 II 
 
 .So 
 
 ■5 a 
 
 Is. 
 
 o 
 
 "5 
 
 
 
 
 «'- 
 
 «-- 
 
 <£ 
 
 .-0- 
 
 ■<?<» 
 
 <& 
 
 V" 
 
 .§ 
 
 
 
 B 
 
 
 R 
 
 e 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 c « 
 
 
 
 O 
 
 _o 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 J. 
 
 A 
 
 J> 
 
 o c 
 
 
 
 's 
 
 "m 
 
 1 
 
 'k 
 
 s 
 
 .H 
 
 H 
 
 Is 
 
 
 
 § 
 
 'g 
 
 E 
 
 'e 
 
 i 
 
 > 
 
 '> 
 
 i^ 
 
 
 
 -a 
 
 
 •a 
 
 TJ 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 •o 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 <! 
 
 < 
 
 < 
 
 O 
 
 CJ 
 
 O 
 
 < 
 
 
 Hucksters 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 Ice Dealers . 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Idle bef. Arrest, well 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Educated . 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 Inspectors 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Insurance Broker . 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Interpreters . 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 ■ 'ewellers 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 Journalists 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 ■ :.aborer (Clerk) . 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Lawyers 
 
 
 I 
 
 7 
 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 17 
 
 Letter Carriers 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 Lightning-Rod Agents 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Liverymen . 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 Mail Carriers 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Manufacturers 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Merchants 
 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 
 26 
 
 Messengers . 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 Millets . 
 
 I 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 Ministers 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Minstrels 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Musicians 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 5 
 
 Music Teachers . 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 News Agents 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 News Dealers 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Nurses . 
 
 I 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 Operators 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 Organists 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Paper Makers 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Pawnbrokers . 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Peddlers 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 21 
 
 i6 
 
 7 
 
 I 
 
 54 
 
 Phila. C. P. (Florist) 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Photographers 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
 Physicians 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 
 13 
 
 Piano Tuners 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Policemen 
 
 
 
 
 
 ID 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 12 
 

 APPENDIX. 
 
 
 
 
 
 301 
 
 
 '£ 
 
 
 J 
 
 \ 
 
 >>■ 
 
 >■ 
 
 >■ 
 
 E 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 E 
 
 
 CO 
 
 a 
 o 
 
 
 » 
 
 fi 
 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 .2 • 
 
 o . 
 
 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 it 
 
 Is 
 
 2 
 
 o 
 
 if 
 
 it 
 
 .3 
 8.1 
 
 
 If 
 
 M 
 
 ^1 
 
 1 
 
 
 " s 
 
 -g 
 
 ■5- 
 
 ■S-E 
 
 g'S. 
 
 Is. 
 
 la. 
 
 a 
 
 H 
 
 
 „-2 
 
 »— 
 
 w 
 
 sS. 
 
 «ia 
 
 
 9" 
 
 
 
 
 B 
 
 B 
 
 
 B 
 
 f 
 
 
 
 B S 
 
 
 
 O 
 
 .2 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 
 ^ 
 
 J, 
 
 J, 
 
 O B 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 S 
 
 's 
 
 1 
 
 o 
 
 tj 
 
 tj 
 
 ■ffi" 
 
 
 
 'i 
 
 'i 
 
 'e 
 
 1 
 
 ■l 
 
 ■> 
 
 'g 
 
 i£ 
 
 
 
 •a 
 
 T3 
 
 •a 
 
 •o 
 
 
 
 
 T3 
 
 
 
 ■< 
 
 < 
 
 < 
 2 
 
 < 
 
 I 
 
 -^^ 
 
 -^^ 
 
 •^^ 
 
 < 
 
 
 Police Officers 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 Police Sergeants . 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 Preacheis 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 Prefect . 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Press Office . 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Railroad Agents . 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Railroad Conductors 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 Railroad Presidents 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Real- Estate Agents 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 Real-Estate Brokers 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Real- Estate Dealers 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Reporters 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 4 
 
 Restaurant Keepers 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Salesmen 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 12 
 
 i6 
 
 lO 
 
 
 I 
 
 40 
 
 Saloon Keepers 
 
 3 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 School 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 School Teachers . 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 Sea Captains . 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Seamstresses . 
 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 Sewing-Machine Agents 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Sextons 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Shoe Dealers 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 Shoemaker (Dru^ist) 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Showmen 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Show Operators 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 Song and Dance Artists 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Speculators . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Stenographers 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Stock Dealers 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Storekeepers . 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Street Car Conductors 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Supt. Paper Box Factory 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Surveyors 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Teachers 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 
 5 
 
 Telegraphers 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 Telegraph Operators 
 
 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
302 
 
 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 
 ■i 
 
 "S 
 
 e: 
 
 V 
 
 a 
 
 >>■ 
 
 ><■ 
 
 >> 
 
 E 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 S 
 
 *M 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 |i< 
 
 0. 
 
 s 
 
 <n 
 
 z 
 
 Z 
 
 '^ 
 
 i>.- 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 s. 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 .S5 . 
 
 a" 
 . 
 
 c" 
 
 . 
 
 :^ 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 14 
 
 1 
 
 
 a:" 
 
 II 
 
 II 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 .fr 
 
 >t 
 
 .6 
 
 -; c 
 
 lo- 
 
 CO 
 
 = 0- 
 
 s 
 
 "n 
 
 
 S| 
 
 H 
 
 I'S 
 
 II 
 
 in " 
 
 tCu 
 
 J- 
 
 '^ 
 C •J 
 
 l5 
 
 
 
 
 " s 
 
 " s 
 
 H 
 
 u 
 
 = a 
 
 = ft 
 
 ™ a 
 
 « u 
 
 
 
 •r- 
 
 «'•' 
 
 bT 
 
 «a- 
 
 ^^ 
 
 <& 
 
 Vw 
 
 "1 
 
 
 
 c 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 s S 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 k 
 
 
 0^ 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 "s 
 
 'ffi 
 
 i 
 
 _o 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 *is 
 
 
 
 '1 
 
 g 
 
 e 
 
 c 
 
 e 
 
 1 
 
 
 i- 
 
 
 
 ■a 
 
 •0 
 
 •0 
 
 •B 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 -a 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 < 
 
 <: 
 
 < 
 
 C 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■* 
 
 
 Theatrical Managers 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Thief (Gentleman) 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Ticket Agents 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Timekeepers . 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Travelling Agents 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Type Setters . 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Typewriters . 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Undertakers . 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Venders 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 lO 
 
 Veterinary Surgeons 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Writers . 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 Totals 
 
 31 
 
 56 
 
 126 
 
 99 
 
 275 
 
 144 
 
 58 
 
 13 
 
 802 
 
 Total Admissions, or In- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 mates 
 
 274 
 
 526 
 
 giS 
 
 791 
 
 1592 
 
 1263 
 
 759 
 
 69 
 
 6192 
 
 Percentage of Totals 
 
 to.5 
 
 10.6 
 
 13-7 
 
 12.5 
 
 17-5 
 
 11.4 
 
 7.6 
 
 13- 
 
 12.9 
 
 Total of Farmers . 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 151 
 
 85 
 
 17 
 
 67 
 
 41 
 
 4- 
 
 
 Percentage of Admis- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 sions 
 
 2.9 
 
 1-5 
 
 16.4 
 
 10.7 
 
 I. 
 
 5.3 
 
 5-4 
 
 5.6 
 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 303 
 
 APPENDIX IV. 
 A Suitable Dietary for County Jails. 
 
 Days. 
 
 Breakfast, 
 
 Dinner. 
 
 SOPPER. 
 
 Monday, 
 
 Bread, cof- 
 
 Beef-soup, with vegetables, rice. 
 
 Bread, tea. 
 
 
 fee. 
 
 or barley ; I pound boiled 
 beef, potatoes, bread. 
 
 
 Tuesday, 
 
 Bread, cof- 
 
 \ pound Bologna sausage, short- 
 
 Baked po- 
 
 
 fee. 
 
 cake. 
 
 tatoes, 
 
 tea, 
 
 bread. 
 
 Wednesday, 
 
 Bread, cof- 
 
 Bean-soup, roast-beef, potatoes. 
 
 Stewed 
 
 
 fee. 
 
 bread. 
 
 dried 
 fruit, 
 bread, 
 tea. 
 
 Thursday, 
 
 Bread, cof- 
 
 1 pound pork, sauer-kiaut, 
 
 Bread, tea. 
 
 
 fee. 
 
 bread. 
 
 
 Friday, 
 
 Bread, cof- 
 
 Fish-chowder, with potatoes. 
 
 Bread, tea. 
 
 
 fee. 
 
 onions, and crackers. 
 
 
 Saturday, 
 
 Bread, cof- 
 
 Mutton-soup, with vegetables. 
 
 Bread, tea. 
 
 
 fee. 
 
 bread. 
 
 
 Sunday, 
 
 Fried pota- 
 
 Meat-pie, made with vegetables. 
 
 Stewed 
 
 
 toes. 
 
 
 dried 
 
 
 bread, 
 
 
 fruit. 
 
 
 coffee. 
 
 
 bread, 
 tea. 
 
 These dinners may be varied by substituting baked pork and 
 beans, corned beef and cabbage, or corned-beef hash, on occasion, 
 or salted fish and baked potatoes for fish chowder. 
 
304 PRISONERS AND PA UPERS. 
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 WHITECHAPEL UNION, LONDON, ENGLAND." 
 Dietary for Able-Bodied Paupers — No. i. 
 
 
 
 i . 
 
 DniNER 
 
 SurPBR. 
 
 
 
 &t 
 
 
 
 
 ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 rt 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Days. 
 
 Adults. 
 
 
 •D 
 
 'C 
 
 ft 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 o 
 
 
 bn 
 
 B 
 
 
 
 j3 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 a. 
 
 
 S 
 
 s 
 
 D. 
 
 73 
 
 » 
 
 
 R 
 
 fu 
 
 
 
 , 
 
 
 
 •X3 
 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 
 
 c 
 
 
 .2< 
 
 rt 
 
 
 
 X 
 
 
 
 E 
 
 
 
 E 
 
 G9 
 
 I 
 
 E 
 pa 
 
 6 
 
 o 
 
 
 3) 
 
 3 
 CO 
 
 ~ 
 
 
 S 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 •a 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 o. 
 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 Men 
 
 Women 
 
 5 
 
 S 
 
 I 
 
 
 5 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 •■ 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 :t 
 
 
 
 
 Monday 
 
 Men 
 
 Women 
 
 5 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 I^ 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 li 
 
 
 I 
 
 Tuesday 
 
 . Men 
 
 Women 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 T 
 
 
 
 ■• 
 
 
 
 24 
 20 
 
 5 
 
 
 li 
 
 
 T 
 
 Wednesday 
 
 Men 
 
 \Vomen 
 
 S 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 •• 
 
 
 i6 
 i6 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 I 
 
 Thursday 
 
 Men 
 
 Women 
 
 S 
 
 s 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 
 5 
 4 
 
 12 
 12 
 
 
 •• 
 
 
 5 
 
 I-g- 
 
 •■ 
 
 Friday 
 
 Men 
 
 Women 
 
 5 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 S 
 
 
 i4 
 
 
 I 
 
 Saturday 
 
 . Men 
 
 Women 
 
 5 
 5 
 
 I 
 
 
 •• 
 
 
 
 i6 
 i6 
 
 •• 
 
 5 
 5 
 
 • ■ 
 
 4 
 I 
 
 Children between 9 and 16 years of age to be allowed the same 
 diet as women. 
 
 Approved by the Local Government Board, January 21, 1882. 
 
 ' By permission from Prof. Jno. J. McCook's report on out-door 
 alms of the town of Hartford, 1891. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 30s 
 
 CiEtARY FOR Aged and Infirm and Imbecile Paupers — No. 2. 
 
 Days. 
 
 Sunday 
 
 Monday . . . 
 Tuesday . . . 
 Wednesday 
 Thursday. . 
 
 Friday 
 
 Saturday . . . 
 
 Adults. 
 
 Men. . . 
 Women 
 Men. .. 
 Women 
 Men. . . 
 ' Women 
 
 i Men 
 
 [ Women 
 \ Men.. . 
 \ Women 
 i Men . . . 
 \ Women 
 ■ Men.. . 
 Women 
 
 Dinner. 
 
 Supper. 
 
 The foods in the foregoing Table are to be prepared in accordance 
 w-iih the forms hereunto annexed. The sick and infants under two 
 years of age to be dieted under the direction of the medical officer. 
 (Signed) John Outhwaite, Presiding Chairman. 
 I consider the allowances in the above Dietary Table to be suffi- 
 cient. 
 
 (Signed) Herbert Larder, Medical Officer. 
 
 The Local Government Board sanction the above Dietary Table. 
 
 (Signed) Edmo.vd H. Wodehouse, Assistant Secretary, 
 Acting under the authority of the General Order of May 26,1877. 
 I^cal Government Board, December 3, 1888. 
 
 This Dietary came into force December 30, 1SS8. 
 
306 PRISONEJiS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 Forms for the Preparation of Foods. 
 
 PEA 
 
 Name and 
 
 Description of 
 
 Ingredient. 
 
 30UP. 
 
 Quantity 
 
 of each 
 
 Ingredient 
 
 to a. Gallon. 
 
 SUET 
 {Baked or 
 
 Name and 
 
 Description of 
 
 Ingredient. 
 
 PUDDING. 
 
 Boikd.) 
 
 Quantity 
 
 of eacli 
 
 Ine^redient 
 
 to a Pound 
 
 IRISH 
 
 Name and 
 
 Description of 
 
 Ingredient. 
 
 STEW. 
 
 Quantity 
 
 of each 
 
 Ingredient 
 
 to 34 ozs. 
 
 Raw Meat. 
 
 Bones 
 
 [or Austra- 
 lian Meat].. 
 
 Split Peas 
 
 or Scotch 
 
 Barley. . . 
 
 Fresh 
 Vegetables. 
 
 ozs. 
 8 
 32 
 
 6 
 
 pints. 
 
 Flour 
 
 Suet 
 
 ozs. 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 lbs. 
 
 To make 240ZS 
 Raw Meat. 
 
 Potatoes 
 (peeled)... 
 
 Carrots . . ] 
 
 Onions. . 1 
 
 Turnips.. ' 
 
 etc J 
 
 (To he 
 slightly 
 
 thickened 
 with Barley 
 
 or Flour.) 
 
 ozs. 
 3 
 
 10 
 2 
 
 pints 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 367 
 
 APPENDIX VI. 
 
 Showing cost of pauperism to the tax-payer. Copied by permission 
 from Prof. Jno. J. McCook's report on out-door alms of the town of 
 Hartford, 1891. 
 
 HARTFORD COMPARED WITH THIRTY-EIGHT AMERICAN 
 CITIES.' 
 
 A.D. 1885. 
 
 
 
 Gross Ex- 
 
 
 Tax per 
 
 Tax per 
 
 Crrv. 
 
 Popula- 
 
 pense for out- 
 
 Net Expense for 
 
 Capita for 
 allllelief. 
 
 Capita for 
 
 
 tion. 
 
 door Relief. 
 
 all Relief. 
 
 out-door 
 Relief. 
 
 Hartford . 
 
 45,000 
 
 $40,372.84 
 
 $93,344.73 
 
 $2.07 
 
 $0.90 
 
 New Hav'n 
 
 76,000 
 
 38,906.75 
 
 98,935.64 
 
 1.30 
 
 .51 
 
 Bridgeport 
 
 36,000 
 
 26,362.62 
 
 37,278.04 
 
 1.03 
 
 .73 
 
 Waterbuiy 
 
 28,000 
 
 12,919.58 
 
 22,664.30 
 
 .81 
 
 .46 
 
 Norwich . 
 
 25,000 
 
 23,593.75 
 
 38,694.68 
 
 1-54 
 
 ■94 
 
 Meriden . 
 
 25,000 
 
 12,094.53 
 
 18,680.24 
 
 •74 
 
 .48 
 
 NewBrit'in 
 
 17,000 
 
 15,072.09 
 
 23,651.64 
 
 1.39 
 
 .89 
 
 Norwalk . 
 
 16,000 
 
 3,723-81 
 
 9,939.20 
 
 .62 
 
 .23 
 
 Danbury . 
 
 15,000 
 
 4,807.51 
 
 10,977.35 
 
 .73 
 
 •32 
 
 Derby . . 
 
 15,000 
 
 6,959.16 
 
 12,262.63 
 
 .82 
 
 .46 
 
 NewL'nd'n 
 
 12,000 
 
 5,750.77 
 
 »3,384-39 
 
 I. II 
 
 .48 
 
 Stamford . 
 
 14,000 
 
 8,398.08 
 
 s _ 
 
 
 .60 
 
 Coni^t, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12 cities. • 
 
 324,000 
 
 $198,961.49 
 
 $379,812.84 
 
 Av.$1.22 
 
 Av. $ .61 
 
 Total, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Boston . . 
 
 390,406 
 
 $95,804.06 
 
 $547,595-35 
 
 $1.40 
 
 $0.25 
 
 Worcester . 
 
 68,383 
 
 16,578.96 
 
 40,285.40 
 
 .59 
 
 .24 
 
 Lowell . . 
 
 64,051 
 
 17,981.0c 
 
 66,311.96 
 
 1.03 
 
 .28 
 
 Springfield 
 
 37,577 
 
 5,268.08 
 
 25,103.74 
 
 .66 
 
 -14 
 
 Fall River 
 
 56,863 
 
 
 53,000.00 
 
 ■93 
 
 
 Mass Its, 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 cities. • 
 
 617,280 
 
 $135,632.10 
 
 $732,296.45 
 
 Av.$i.i6 
 
 Av. $ .24 
 
 Total, ) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' Condensed from Henry C. White's Report to the Executive Com- 
 mittee of the Taxpayers' Association, New Haven, 1886, with one 
 column added. 
 
 ' Not ascertained. 
 
3o8 
 
 PRISONERS AND PAUPERS. 
 
 
 
 Gross Ex- 
 
 
 Tax per 
 
 Tax per 
 
 City. 
 
 Popula- 
 
 pense for out- 
 
 Net Expense fot 
 
 Capita for 
 
 out-door 
 Relief. 
 
 
 tion. 
 
 <lnor Relief. 
 
 all Relief. 
 
 all Relief. 
 
 Providence 
 
 120,000 
 
 $6,022.70 
 
 $18,606.51 
 
 $0.16 
 
 $.05 
 
 Bangor 
 
 iS.OOO 
 
 4,945.00 
 
 11,836.03 
 
 .66 
 
 •27 
 
 Rutland . 
 
 12,500 
 
 6,319.52 
 
 9.935.59 
 
 ■79 
 
 .51 
 
 Pawtucket 
 
 22,000 
 
 
 9,997.26 
 
 .45 
 
 
 
 Concord . 
 
 14,000 
 
 
 10,894.75 
 
 .77 
 
 .... 
 
 Other N. , 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 E. cttus, f 
 5 cities, f 
 
 186,500 
 
 $17,287.22 
 
 $61,270.14 
 
 Av.$ .33 
 
 Av. $ .12 
 
 Total. > 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 New York 
 
 1,325,000 
 
 $32,051.52 
 
 $981,356.20 
 
 $0.74 
 
 $0.24 
 
 Kings Co., 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 N. v., of 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 which 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Brookljm 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 consti- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 tutes ^1 
 
 700,000 
 
 
 286,760.11 
 
 ■41 
 
 . . . - 
 
 Buffalo 
 
 225.000 
 
 52.452.85 
 
 162,148.92 
 
 • 72 
 
 .23 
 
 Albany 
 
 100,000 
 
 17,092.94 
 
 53.957-49 
 
 .54 
 
 .17 
 
 N. York, ) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4 cities. ' ■ 
 
 2,350,000 
 
 $101,597.31 
 
 $1,484,222.72 
 
 Av.$ .63 Av. $ .43 
 
 Total, ) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Philadel'ia 
 
 928,000 
 
 $20,000.00 
 
 $336,346.20 
 
 $0.36 
 
 $0,022 
 
 Pittsburgh 
 
 200,000 
 
 32,528.23 
 
 88,066.86 
 
 ■44 
 
 .16 
 
 Allegheny 
 
 90,000 
 
 10,377.74 
 
 35,028.59 
 
 •39 
 
 .12 
 
 Scranton 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 anddistr. 
 
 77,000 
 
 8,942.14 
 
 36,346.74 
 
 .47 
 
 .12 
 
 Baltimore . 
 
 425,000 
 
 
 154,400.00 
 
 .36! 
 
 iSgo.Scr'n- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ton « . . 
 
 83,450 
 
 9,149.14 
 
 74,738.47 
 
 8.95 
 
 10.9 
 
 PeniiMnd 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 MaryFd, 
 5 cities. 
 
 1,720,000 
 
 $71,848.11 
 
 $650,188.39 
 
 Av.S .38 Av. $ .04 
 
 Total, J 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' Not ascertained. 
 
 ' Scranton added by the author. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 309 
 
 
 
 Gross Ex- 
 
 
 Tax per 
 
 Tax per 
 
 City. 
 
 Popula- 
 
 pense for out- 
 
 Net Expense for 
 
 Capita for 
 
 Capita for 
 
 
 tion. 
 
 door Relief. 
 
 all Relief. 
 
 all Relief. 
 
 out-door 
 Relief. 
 
 Chicago . 
 
 700,000 
 
 I117.376.49 
 
 $554,397-26 
 
 $0.79 
 
 $ 0.17 
 
 Cleveland . 
 
 185,000 
 
 23,491.56 
 
 54,204.64 
 
 -29 
 
 -13 
 
 Detroit . 
 
 160,000 
 
 37.495-55 
 
 90.513.42 
 
 -56 
 
 -23 
 
 Milwaukee 
 
 158,500 
 
 28,172.40 
 
 59.076.69 
 
 •37 
 
 .18 
 
 Toledo. . 
 
 75.000 
 
 I 
 
 21,767.46 
 
 .29 
 
 .... 
 
 Charleston 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (figuiesfor 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1882). . 
 
 49.984 
 
 
 36,248.34 
 
 -72 
 
 
 Norfolk . 
 
 26,188 
 
 
 16,822.50 
 
 .64 
 
 
 JVesi.amf\ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 SouilCrn^ 
 7 cities. 
 
 1,354.672 
 
 $206,536.00 
 
 $833,030.31 
 
 Av.$ .62 
 
 Av. $ .17 
 
 Total. J 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
 
 
 *. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ;5 
 
 
 
 
 
 State. 
 
 Population 
 of tne cities 
 
 Gross expense 
 
 "o 
 
 ss 
 
 
 
 *o 
 
 «_« 
 
 
 for out-door 
 
 ti 
 
 3"° 
 
 all relief 
 
 % 
 
 
 
 included. 
 
 relief. 
 
 .Q 
 
 h"? 
 
 
 .a 
 
 E"^ 
 
 
 
 
 E 
 
 vt; 
 
 
 E 
 
 s« 
 
 
 
 
 •a 
 
 <% 
 
 
 15 
 
 <i 
 
 Connecti- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cutcities 
 
 324.000 
 
 $198,961.49 
 
 12 
 
 % .61 
 
 $379,812.84 
 
 II 
 
 $1.22 
 
 Massa'tts 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cities . 
 
 617,280 
 
 $135,632.10 
 
 4 
 
 • 24 
 
 732,296.45 
 
 s 
 
 1.16 
 
 Other N. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 E. cities 
 
 186,500 
 
 17,287.22 
 
 3 
 
 .oq 
 
 61,270.14 5 
 
 •33 
 
 N'wYork 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cities . 
 
 2,350,000 
 
 101,597.31 
 
 3 
 
 .04 
 
 1,484.222.72 
 
 4 
 
 • 63 
 
 Penn.and 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Maryl'd 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cities . 
 
 1,720,000 
 
 71,848.11 
 
 4 
 
 •05 
 
 650,188.39 
 
 S 
 
 • 38 
 
 West, and 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 South'rn 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 cities . 
 
 1.354.672 
 
 206,536.00 
 
 4 
 
 ■17 
 
 833,030.31 
 
 7 
 
 .62 
 
 Totals 
 
 6,228,452 
 
 $532,900.74 
 
 18 
 
 $.XI 
 
 $3,761,008.01 
 
 26 
 
 $ .60 
 
 ' Not ascertained. 
 
APPENDIX VII— POLICE. 
 
 Statement showing the police statistics for each of fifty-one of the latgest cities 
 in the United States that have made complete returns, including the number of each 
 force divided as to grade, number of arrests annually, average annual cost of force, 
 with percentE^es and ratios. — From Census Bulletin No. lOO, Eleventh United States 
 Census, with Scranton added. 
 
 CITIES. 
 
 Force. 
 
 tl 
 
 o a 
 
 °0, 
 
 ■2^ 
 
 u . 
 
 Si "' 
 
 e e 
 
 II 
 o ^ ex 
 
 it 
 
 -So 
 
 B» 
 
 
 "8 
 
 V 
 
 X 
 
 I? 
 
 Si 
 
 New York, N.Y..., 
 
 Chicago, 111 
 
 Philadelphia, Pa.., 
 
 Brooklyn, N.Y 
 
 St. Louis,- Missouri. 
 
 Boston, Mass 
 
 Baltimore, Md 
 
 San Francisco, Cal. 
 Cincinnati, Ohio. . . 
 Cleveland, Ohio... 
 
 Buffalo, N. Y 
 
 New Orleans, La. . 
 Milwaukee, AVis. .. 
 
 Detroit, Mich 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Newark, N.J 
 
 Minneapolis. Minn 
 
 Omaha, Neb 
 
 Rochester, N. Y... 
 
 St. Paul, Minn 
 
 Denver, Col 
 
 Indianapolis, Ind.. 
 Worcester, Mass. . . 
 
 Toledo, Ohio 
 
 New Haven, Conn. 
 
 Lowell, Mass. .' 
 
 Nashville, Tcnn 
 
 Scranton, Pa 
 
 Fall River, Mass... 
 Cambridge, Mass.. 
 
 Camden, N. J 
 
 Trenton, N.J 
 
 Lynn, Mass 
 
 Hartford, Conn 
 
 Evansviile, Ind 
 
 Los Angeles, Cal. . . 
 Lawrence, Mass..., 
 
 Hoboken. N. J 
 
 Dallas, Texas 
 
 Sioux City, Iowa. . , 
 
 Portland, Me 
 
 Holyoke, Mass 
 
 Binghamton, N. Y. 
 
 Duluth, Minn 
 
 Elmira. N. Y 
 
 Davenport, Iowa. . . 
 
 Canton, Ohio 
 
 Taunton, Mass 
 
 Lacrosse, Wis 
 
 Newport, Ky 
 
 Rookford, III 
 
 t.SlS.30i 
 
 1,099,850 
 
 1,046.964 
 
 806,343 
 
 451.770 
 
 •448,477 
 
 434,439 
 
 298,997 
 
 296,908 
 
 261.353 
 
 2SS<6*4 
 
 242,039 
 
 204,468 
 
 205.876 
 
 202,998 
 
 181,83a 
 
 164,738 
 
 140,452 
 
 133,896 
 
 133,156 
 
 106,713 
 
 105-436 
 
 84,655 
 
 81,434 
 
 81,298 
 
 77.696 
 
 76,16s 
 
 75,620 
 
 74.308 
 
 70,028 
 
 58,313 
 
 57.458 
 
 55,7'7 
 
 53,230 
 
 50,756 
 
 50.395 
 
 44.654 
 
 43,648 
 
 38,067 
 
 37,8o6 
 
 36,425 
 
 35.637 
 
 33.00 
 
 33."5 
 
 29,708 
 
 26,872 
 
 26,189 
 
 23.448 
 
 25.090 
 
 24,9'8 
 
 23,584 
 
 575 
 2.048 
 1.15 
 
 653 
 
 408 
 780 
 342 
 486 
 462 
 372 
 625 
 
 4'9 
 400 
 
 235 
 186 
 800 
 508 
 240 
 970 
 756 
 400 
 195 
 438 
 140 
 105 
 251 
 80.7s 
 106 
 
 !f9 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 
 125 
 
 130 
 
 136 
 
 800 
 
 82 
 
 30 
 
 529 
 
 340 
 
 S6 
 
 50 
 
 80 
 
 224 
 
 90 
 
 Hr, 
 
 ISO 
 
 200 
 
 125 
 
 30 
 
 120 
 
 3.421 
 1,625 
 I.7I7 
 
 I.IS7 
 613 
 916 
 782 
 406 
 433 
 319 
 
 342 
 266 
 196 
 368 
 408 
 214 
 199 
 95 
 123 
 170 
 100 
 101 
 94 
 85 
 
 112 
 
 76 
 76 
 37 
 
 95 
 79 
 43 
 64 
 47 
 S3 
 52 
 78 
 43 
 60 
 47 
 15 
 40 
 29 
 17 
 38 
 32 
 19 
 19 
 
 32 
 
 19 
 16 
 
 499 
 
 2,922 
 
 $4,391,766 
 
 .67 
 
 1.458 
 
 979.894 
 
 292 
 
 1,42'i 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 2.57 
 
 9=0 
 
 859.184 
 
 78 
 
 535 
 
 47S.408 
 
 237 
 
 679 
 
 963.355 
 
 16, 
 
 6., 
 
 677,914 
 
 70 
 
 3,36 
 
 545,500 
 
 33 
 
 400 
 
 330,000 
 
 67 
 
 252 
 
 250,000 
 
 70 
 
 272 
 
 297,994 
 
 93 
 
 173 
 
 "'"'"S? 
 
 24 
 
 172 
 
 122,488 
 
 *! 
 
 305 
 
 222,509 
 
 43 
 
 ■'S' 
 
 399,060 
 
 .33 
 
 i8i 
 
 170,000 
 
 33 
 
 166 
 
 151,337 
 
 IS 
 
 80 
 
 65,000 
 
 25 
 
 98 
 
 99,307 
 
 45 
 
 125 
 
 98,708 
 
 25 
 
 75 
 
 50,000 
 
 22 
 
 79 
 
 55.079 
 
 10 
 
 84 
 
 73.332 
 
 1,5 
 
 70 
 
 73.000 
 
 27 
 
 8,s 
 
 102.481 
 
 10 
 
 66 
 
 70,552 
 
 11 
 
 65 
 
 46,000 
 
 .3 
 
 34 
 
 38,195 
 
 18 
 
 77 
 
 70,407 
 
 14 
 
 65 
 
 71,756 
 
 I 
 
 42 
 
 30,000 
 
 14 
 
 50 
 
 SS,ooo 
 
 3 
 
 44 
 
 40,000 
 
 3 
 
 .50 
 
 55,000 
 
 9 
 
 43 
 
 28,098 
 
 S 
 
 73 
 
 28,800 
 
 8 
 
 33 
 
 32,717 
 
 10 
 
 50 
 
 42,000 
 
 IS 
 
 32 
 
 40,000 
 
 1 
 
 14 
 
 12,000 
 
 3 
 
 37 
 
 33,906 
 
 2 
 
 27 
 
 20,000 
 
 3 
 
 14 
 
 8,340 
 
 7 
 
 3> 
 
 ••"S"? 
 
 12 
 
 20 
 
 17,838 
 
 8 
 
 11 
 
 11,958 
 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 8.400 
 
 3 
 
 19 
 
 18,863 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 10,000 
 
 3 
 
 13 
 
 iD.noo 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 7.5'X> 
 
 0.30 
 1.40 
 
 o.8z 
 
 0-73 
 1.98 
 0.6a 
 1.26 
 1.02 
 
 Z.2Z 
 
 1.83 
 
 3-61 
 2.44 
 I.3I 
 
 0.64 
 
 1.03 
 4.S2 
 
 6.35 
 
 2.45 
 
 7.76 
 
 10.08 
 
 5.0a 
 
 2.32 
 
 6.26 
 
 1.65 
 
 1.59 
 3.86 
 2.4 
 
 1.38 
 
 1.22 
 
 2.38 
 
 2. 00 
 
 2.84 
 
 3.60 
 
 316 
 10.96 
 
 2-34 
 0.60 
 
 16.53 
 
 24-29 
 1-5' 
 183 
 571 
 7-23 
 4-50 
 
 12.73 
 8-82 
 
 10-53 
 9.62 
 231 
 
 '3,33 
 
 72.6s 
 9.08 
 11.01 
 34.01 
 8-72 
 19.25 
 21.81 
 21.73 
 16.00 
 10.13 
 6-97 
 4.66 
 
 10. 1 2 
 14.81 
 35.64 
 10.19 
 3-21 
 
 3-27 
 6.28 
 
 2-43 
 484 
 7-85 
 2-47 
 3-55 
 
 11.24 
 592 
 7-70 
 3-52 
 7.03 
 
 11-15 
 9-68 
 
 12.66 
 4-14 
 3-41 
 9-73 
 2.64 
 S-25 
 
 34-01 
 4-17 
 045 
 
 14-74 
 6-78 
 
 9-60 
 
 4 49 
 2-49 
 2-50 
 0.40 
 1-50 
 10.83 
 r.41 
 
 25-53 
 27-37 
 35-09 
 31-52 
 32-98 
 4841 
 42-96 
 69-68 
 35.00 
 29.76 
 41.00 
 8671 
 20-82 
 23-27 
 48.71 
 31-91 
 28-14 
 
 13- 7S 
 40-82 
 25.60 
 66.67 
 45-35 
 38-99 
 .53-19 
 65-33 
 49-5* 
 «9-23 
 
 29-69 
 23.82 
 59-52 
 50.00 
 
 37-73 
 68.00 
 46-51 
 31-60 
 
 56.43 
 36.00 
 92.69 
 9 71 
 58-84 
 37-04 
 71-43 
 6774 
 73-25 
 72.18 
 5588 
 41-89 
 142.31 
 S3-S5 
 3^.89 
 
 4-92 
 
 0.23 
 
 3-63 
 
 0-15 
 
 4.78 
 
 0.16 
 
 352 
 
 0-14 
 
 391 
 
 0-14 
 
 7-33 
 
 0.20 
 
 6.12 
 
 0-18 
 
 7-83 
 
 0.14 
 
 4-72 
 
 0.15 
 
 2.87 
 
 0.12 
 
 4-36 
 
 0-13 
 
 6.20 
 
 O-II 
 
 1-75 
 
 o-xo 
 
 3-4S 
 
 0.18 
 
 8.76 
 
 0-20 
 
 .ri8 
 
 0.12 
 
 2.84 
 
 0.12 
 
 0.78 
 
 0-C7 
 
 2-99 
 
 0.09 
 
 2.40 
 
 0.13 
 
 4-69 
 
 0-09 
 
 340 
 
 O-IO 
 
 .3.87 
 
 O-II 
 
 4-57 
 
 0.10 
 
 6.83 
 
 0-14 
 
 4-21 
 
 0.10 
 
 591 
 
 0.10 
 
 2-37 
 
 0.049 
 
 3-07 
 
 0.13 
 
 9-21 
 
 O.II 
 
 4.29 
 
 0.07 
 
 4-35 
 
 Q.II 
 
 ..98 
 
 0.08 
 
 6.39 
 
 O.IO 
 
 3-94 
 
 0.10 
 
 4-58 
 
 0.15 
 
 4-42 
 
 0.10 
 
 4-12 
 
 0.14 
 
 7.79 
 
 0.12 
 
 0.36 
 
 0.C4 
 
 ,5-98 
 
 0.1X 
 
 2-8l 
 
 o.c8 
 
 2-86 
 
 0.05 
 
 <>.34 
 
 0,11 
 
 4-93 
 
 o.n 
 
 2-95 
 
 0.07 
 
 3-63 
 
 0.07 
 
 313 
 7-37 
 
 0^ 
 
 S.81 
 
 o.c6 
 
 1.29 
 
 0.05 
 
 $2 .go 
 0-89 
 o 96 
 1-07 
 105 
 2 IS 
 
 1-56 
 
 182 
 
 1-11 
 0-96 
 
 I-I7 
 
 o 70 
 0.60 
 i.c8 
 
 1.97 
 093 
 
 0.92 
 o 46 
 
 074 
 074 
 0-47 
 
 0-S3 / 
 
 0-87 
 
 0.90 
 
 1.26 
 
 0.91 
 
 0.60 
 
 0.505 
 
 0-95 
 
 1.02 
 0.51 
 
 o.g6 
 0.72 
 1.03 
 0.55 
 0.57 
 0.73 
 o 96 
 1.05 
 0.32 
 
 0.93 
 0.56 
 0.24 
 
 1.21 
 0.60 
 0.44 
 0-32 
 0.74 
 0.40 
 0.40 
 0.32 i 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abnormality of criminals and pau- 
 pers, 171, 265 , 
 
 Abnonnals carefully maintained 
 by modern civilization, 269 
 
 Adaptation, the panacea of the 
 present, 131 
 
 Alcohol, a cause of criminality, 
 139 ; to be made to pay as it 
 goes, 155 ; proper taxation of, 
 156 ; trial of, by Common 
 Sense, 139 ; annual damage to 
 the people, 141, 151, 16; ; per- 
 centage of, contained in bever- 
 ages, 143 
 
 Alexander of Russia, 131 
 
 Alien population of Pennsylvania, 
 12 ; of Lacka. Co., 22 ; instruc- 
 tion of, 54 
 
 Allegheny County, of Pennsyl- 
 vania, 22, 30, 91 ; Jail, 24 ; 
 Workhouse, 147, 174 
 
 Almshouses, in Lackawanna 
 County, 20 ; support of paupers 
 in, 222 ; location and construc- 
 tion of, 224; administration of, 
 225 ; discrimination as to ad- 
 missions, 228 ; motives of man- 
 agement, 229 ; Dietaries for. 
 Appendix IV., 304 ; grading of 
 responsibilities, 233 ; duties of 
 directors, 234 ; religious privi- 
 leges, 234 ; misuse of the poor 
 fund, 235 
 
 Americanization of immigrants, 
 necessity of, 60 ; how to accom- 
 plish, 53 
 
 American, Institute of Civics, 58 ; 
 Institutions, National Leagues 
 for Protection of, 58 ; table of 
 mortality, 143 ; institutions, 
 beneficence of, 44 ; immigration, 
 statistics of, 46 ; citizenship, 
 value of, 50 ; price of, 51 ; rights 
 of Congress to prescribe, 52 ; 
 qualifications required, 52 
 
 America, the land of the Bible and 
 the Sabbath, 55 
 
 Anarchists of Paris, escaping to 
 America, 239 
 
 Andrews, W. P., paper quoted, 
 
 174 
 Appropriations of public funds 
 
 non-sectarian, 56 
 Army ration of several articles of 
 
 diet, 202 
 Arrests for trivial oSences, propor- 
 tion of, 185 ; use of patrol 
 
 wagon in, 254 
 Atkinson, Hon. Edward, quoted, 
 
 148 
 Auburn Prison, 298 
 Autonomic government of cities, 
 
 "5 
 
 B 
 
 Babylon, proportion of upper class 
 
 in, 275 
 Beaver, Gov. James A., 40 
 Beer drinking, increase of, 151 
 Ben Ishmael, tribe of, 176 
 Bible, the, America, (he land of, 
 
 55 
 Biddle University, 84 
 
 311 
 
312 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Binghamton, Inebriate Asylum, 
 162 ; police of, 252 
 
 Biological law of reproduction, 267 
 
 Board of Public Charities of Penn- 
 sylvania, 9, i8, 19, 26, 41 
 
 Booth, General of Salvation Army, 
 loi, 179 
 
 " Breeding in," 267 ; faulty, of 
 humanity, 279 
 
 Brush, Warden, 16 
 
 Bryce, Professor James, 113 
 
 Cable, G. W., on the negro, 75, 
 85 ; education, 75 
 
 Campbell, Mr., of Ohio, quoted, 
 120 
 
 Cassidy, M. J., Warden, of East- 
 em Pennsylvania, 192 ; dietary 
 recommended by, 201 
 
 Chain gangs in the South, 70 
 
 Charitable institutions should be 
 Christian, if public, 56 
 
 Charity, indiscriminate, in cities, 
 no ; organization of, no, 220 ; 
 institutional, criticised, no; 
 true in spirit, a public duty, 222 
 
 Chicago, foreign population of, 59 
 
 Children, illegitimate, 211 ; home- 
 less, 214 ; police supervision of, 
 242 ; in cities, 99, 242 ; laws of 
 punishment, 1 87 ; of immature 
 parentage, 284 ; of the senile, 
 284 
 
 Children's Home, Washington 
 County, Ohio, 176 
 
 Child-sa\-ing institutions, 188 
 
 Christian, Home for Inebriates, 
 The, 162 ; Sabbath, 55 ; Bible, 
 55 ; land, America, 55 
 
 Church, and State, 58 ; its duty to 
 immigrants, 60 ; Roman Catho- 
 lic, appeal to, 61 
 
 Cities, density in tenements, loi ; 
 lower classes in, loi ; clubs in, 
 107; ancient, 113 ; government 
 of, in United States, 114 ; auton- 
 omy necessary, 115 ; suffrage in, 
 122 ; immigration to, 123 ; value 
 
 of police to, 123, 253 ; local poli- 
 tics distinct, 125 ; statistics of 
 churches in, 126 ; growth of, 5, 
 93 ; contributions to crime, go ; 
 population of, in Pennsylvania, 
 12, 115 ; density of population, 
 101 
 Citizenship, American, value of, 
 50 ; essential qualifications of, 
 
 52 
 
 City life, reformation of, 94 ; three 
 classes of population in, 96 ; 
 children of, 99 ; political phases, 
 112 
 
 Clinton Prison, 298 
 
 Club life in cities, evils of, 107 ; 
 growth of, 107 
 
 Coffee- and tea-houses recom- 
 mended, 167 
 
 " Collegiate prisons," igo 
 
 Color prejudice absurd, 78, 83 
 
 Compensation for slavery, 83 
 
 Confinements to be avoided when 
 possible, 185 
 
 Congregate system of imprison- 
 ment, 192 
 
 Constabulary to be exchanged for 
 police, 243 
 
 Consumption of intoxicants in 
 United States, 152 
 
 Convict lease system of the South, 
 
 71 
 
 Convicts from rural and urban dis- 
 tricts, 90 
 
 Cooking, good, a preventive of 
 intemperance, 16S ; should be 
 taught in public schools, 168 
 
 Cooper, Peter, 133 
 
 Costs of criminal arrests in U. S., 
 8 ; of crime and pauperism in 
 Pennsylvania, 10, II ; in Lacka- 
 wanna County, 21 
 
 Country-roads, 118 
 
 County House, the, 39 ; prison of 
 Allegheny County, 22 ; visitors 
 recommended, 223 ; duties of, 
 224 ; workhouses needed, 229 ; 
 jails, 193, 194 ; Dietary for, 
 303 ; Eugene Smith on, 194 ; 
 number of, in United States, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 313 
 
 193 ; wardens for, 193, 203 ; 
 management of, 196 
 
 Crime, erratic action induced by 
 intemperance, 139 
 
 Criminal convictions in Great Brit- 
 ain, 2 ; the, by Havelock Ellis, 
 264 ; abnormality of, 265 
 
 Criminality, heredity of, 175 ; a 
 condition, not a disposition, 
 266 ; due to heredity, 280 ; 
 phases of the problem, 292 ; of 
 various classes in society, 302 
 
 Criminals, increase of, in United 
 States, 2 ; percentage from 
 cities, 89 ; abnormality of, 172 ; 
 increase of, 175 ; restriction of 
 reproduction, 177 ; number of, 
 in certain States, 89 ; class num- 
 ber of, in United States, 171 ; in 
 Great Britain, 171 ; reproduc- 
 tion of, 268 ; no criminal class 
 in savage life, 26S ; outgrows 
 ability to confine it, 275 
 
 D 
 Damage of Alcohol to the State, 
 
 151 
 Dauphin County, 24 
 Davis, Noah, Chief - Justice, 
 
 quoted, 145 
 Defective classes, number of, in 
 
 Pennsylvania, 12 
 Degeneracy due to improper mar- 
 riages, 278 ; signs of a general, 
 
 278 ; threatening the Republic, 
 
 286 
 Degeneration of the race, 280 
 Density of population in cities, 
 
 loi, 117 
 Dickinson, Hon. Mahlon H., 
 
 quoted, 146 
 Dietary for jails, 2or 
 Disease, heredity of, 279 
 Divorce, evils of, due to neglect 
 
 of properly regulated marriages, 
 
 280 
 Drexel, Mr., of Philadelphia, 133 
 Drunkards, liars, 138 ; can be 
 
 cured, 161 ; reformatories for, 
 
 161 
 
 Drunkenness, a disease and sin, 
 158 ; right of society to legislate 
 upon, 159 ; necessity for legis- 
 lation, 160 
 
 Dugdale, "Juke," family, 176 
 
 E 
 
 Eastern Penitentiary of Pennsyl- 
 vania, 25, 173,' 183, 192, 298 
 
 Education of the negro, 75 ; com- 
 parative expense for, in various 
 States, 7S ; no restriction upon 
 criminality, 183 
 
 Electrical appliances in the police 
 of cities, 254 
 
 Ellis Havelock, Tkt Criminal, 264 
 
 Elwyn Institution for feeble- 
 minded, 215 
 
 Ely, Prof. R. T., on paupers, 205 
 
 Employment of prisoners, 199 ; 
 for paupers, 232 
 
 English language to be a requisite 
 of citizenship, 55 
 
 Equilibrium of laborers and work, 
 
 135 
 
 Equitable Life Insurance Com- 
 pany, 143 
 
 Expectation of life of persons 
 thirty years old, 143 
 
 Family, the, the social unit, 95 ; 
 interference with, in cities, 96 ; 
 effect of wealth upon, in cities, 
 
 97 
 
 Farm and city values compared, 
 120 
 
 Farmer, the lot of, as affected by 
 roads, 119 
 
 Farmers, number of, in United 
 States, 296 ; per cent, of crimi- 
 nality, 302 
 
 Fisk, Commissioner of Education, 
 on intemperance, 147 
 
 Foods for paupers, forms for 
 preparation, 231, 306 
 
 Foreign contribution to criminal- 
 ity, 4 
 
3U 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 France, imprisonments in, 3 ; 
 
 family life in, 121 ; immigration 
 
 from, 120 ; territory of, 120 ; 
 
 country-roads of, 120 
 Franklin Home for Inebriates, 162 
 " Freedom of Worship " bill in 
 
 New York, 57 
 
 Gambling spirit a source of debase- 
 ment, 105 
 
 Gillespie, Bishop, 3 
 
 Girard, Stephen, 133 
 
 "Girls, unfortunate," legislation 
 concerning, 210 
 
 Government, 13hie purpose of, 27 
 
 Grady, Hon. H. W., 86 
 
 Great Britain, consumption of in- 
 toxicants in, 152 ; reformatories 
 in, 191 
 
 Green, Hon. Sanford M., on in- 
 temperance, 145, 185 
 
 II 
 
 Hadley, Col. W. W., "Rescue 
 One " Mission, 162 
 
 Hampton Institute, 84 
 
 Hand, Hon. Alfred, testimony on 
 intemperance, 146 
 
 Harris, Dr., testimony on intem- 
 perance, 14s 
 
 Harrison, President Benjamin, 53 
 
 Hartford, costs of outdoor alms in, 
 217, 307 
 
 Health Board of New York on 
 tenements, loi 
 
 Heredity, of criminals, 176; num- 
 bers, 182 ; of defects, 279 ; of 
 disease, 280 ; illustrated, 281 
 
 Heteronomic causes of criminality, 
 
 183 
 Hillside Home of Scranton, 211 
 Homeless children, 214 
 Houses of the Good Shepherd, 
 
 212 
 Hoyt, Chas. S., Secretary of the 
 
 Board of Charities, New York, 
 
 on intoxication, 147 
 Huntingdon Reformatory, 215 
 
 Idleness the mother of mischief, 
 129 
 
 Idlers, treatment of, 209 
 
 Illegitimate children, number bom 
 in Pennsylvania, 211 ; in United 
 States, 212 
 
 Illinois Penitentiary, 298 
 
 Immature parentage, evils of, 284 
 
 Immigration to United States, 42, 
 46 ; a tidal wave dangerous to 
 our government, 64 ; Congres- 
 sional regulation of, 49 ; restric- 
 tions proposed, 51 ; how to 
 restrict, 50 ; how to deal with, 
 
 53 
 Imprisonment for life, 178 
 Inadaptation the cause of idle- 
 ness, 130 
 Indeterminate sentences, 190 
 Inebriate asylums, 162 ; establish- 
 ment of, urged, 163 
 " In Plain Black and White" 86 
 Insane, number of, in Pennsylva- 
 nia, 12, 28 
 Instruction of aliens, 54 
 Intemperance a cause of error, 
 138 ; costs of, in the United 
 States, 165 ; proper political 
 action concerning, 155 
 Intoxicants, consumption of, 295 
 
 Jails, schools of crime, 6 ; costs 
 of, in Pennsylvania, 10, 13 ; 
 Sunbuiy, 14 ; county, 193 ; num- 
 ber of, in United States, 193 ; 
 evils of, 195 ; county, sugges- 
 tions to improve the manage- 
 ment, 196 ; rules and r^;ula- 
 tions, 198 ; furniture of, 200 ; 
 work in, 200 ; dietary for in- 
 mates, 201 
 
 "Juke," the family, 176 
 
 K 
 
 Keeley Bichloride of Gold Insti- 
 tute, 162 
 Knights of Labor, 131 
 
INDEX. 
 
 3IS 
 
 Labor of insane, 28 ; defectives, 
 29 ; cheap, 48 
 
 Lackawanna County, Pennsylva- 
 nia, 19 ; taxables and valuation, 
 21 
 
 Laws, existing penal, pernicious, 6 
 
 Legislation required concerning 
 the Negro, 74 
 
 Legislative appropriations in 
 Pennsylvania, 26, 30 
 
 License system a failure, 153 
 
 Life sentence for inconigibles, 177 
 
 " Like begets like," 279 
 
 Lincoln, University, 84 ; Presi- 
 dent, 115 
 
 Liquor sales in dubs, 108 
 
 "Log-rolling," 30 
 
 Lower class in cities, loi 
 
 M 
 
 McClaughry, Major, quoted, 182 
 McCook, Prof. J. J., report on 
 alms in Hartford, 217, 304-307 
 McCulloch, Rev. O., on the tribe 
 
 Ben Ishmael, 176 
 Malt liquors, consumption of, 152 
 Management of jails, 196 ; alms- 
 houses, 229 
 Mandsley, Dr. H., quoted, 173 
 Marriage, among the colored peo- 
 ple, 74 ; effect of wealth upon, 
 97 ; neglect of a cause of the 
 social evil, 100 ; influence of 
 club life on, 107 ; the most im- 
 portant social item, 277 ; errone- 
 ously left to "chance," 278; 
 natural selection, 275 ; results 
 of, 278 ; and disease. Dr. Stra- 
 han on, 279 ; the unique act of 
 humanity, 281 ; report of Eng- 
 lish Registrar-General on, 285 ; 
 unfit, in America, number of, 
 285 ; regulations recommended, 
 288 ; results of regulation, 290 
 Martindale, Mr. Chas., quoted, 
 182 
 
 Massachusetts, insane of foreign 
 birth, 43; Board of Charities, 
 145 
 May, J. Wilson, on intemperance, 
 
 145 
 Middle class in cities, 98, 100 
 Milwaukee police force, 247, 251, 
 
 253 
 Mine camps of the South, 70 
 Moritgomeiy County, prisoners, 24 
 Morrison on crime class, 171, 180 
 Morton, Dr. Thos. J., on intem- 
 perance, 147 
 
 N 
 
 National, growth, 49 ; Naticnal 
 Guard, the, at Homestead, 244 
 
 Naturalization, laws, 123 ; of im- 
 migrants, 60 
 
 Natural selection, 278, 291 
 
 N^ro, inmates of Northern insti- 
 tutions, 66 ; pauperization in 
 the South, 67 ; paupers, reasons 
 for their small numbers, 67 ; 
 criminality discussed, 68 ; do 
 not speak a foreign language, 
 68 ; illiteracy of the race, 68 ; 
 children in schools, 68, 69 ; and 
 petty thieving, 69, 70 ; influ- 
 ence of slavery inducing thiev- 
 ery, 70; criminality, causes of, 
 72 ; population in United States, 
 3, 65 ; convicts in, 3, 65, 70, 
 193; paupers, 43, 65; "the 
 Negro Question," 85, 86 
 
 Negroes, convicted to disfranchise 
 them, 73 ; average sentences of, 
 compared with those of whites, 
 70 ; disregard of marriage, 73 ; 
 intemperance of, 74 ; ignorance 
 of, 68, 75 ; need of education, 
 75 ; political position of, 76, 77 ; 
 dependent wards of the nation, 
 76, 77 ; colonization impractica- 
 ble, 77 ; duty of the National 
 Government, 78, 80, 81 ; denial 
 of their equal rights dangerous, 
 79 ; failure of Southern meth- 
 ods, 80, 87 ; the fanners of the 
 
3i6 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 tropics. Si ; compensation due 
 to, for slavery, 83 ; duties of 
 whites concerning, 83 ; the 
 Church toward, 84 ; national 
 value of proposed remedies, 85 
 
 New Alanis, 59 
 
 New York, clubs in, 107 ; density 
 of wards in, 117 ; Juvenile Asy- 
 lum, 215 ; police of, 252 ; State' 
 Asylum for Insane Prisoners, 
 298 ; foreign population of, 59, 
 loi, 106 
 
 Nineveh, proportion of upper class 
 in, 275 
 
 Northumberland County prisoners, 
 24 
 
 O 
 
 Occupation of convicts before ar- 
 rest, 298 
 
 Ohio Penitentiary, 298 
 
 Omaha, Conference of Charities 
 and Correction at, quoted on 
 Police, 247, 250 
 
 Oi^nization of Charities, 220, no 
 
 Out-door relief, 216 ; report of 
 Prof. McCook on, 217 
 
 Parental discipline, 15 
 
 Paris, 131 
 
 Parkhurst, Rev. Dr., quoted on 
 
 the police, 257 
 Park, John C, on intemperance, 
 
 145 
 
 Patrolman, his duties, 255 
 
 Patrol wagon, the, 254 
 
 Pauperism, anomalous in United 
 States, 205 ; quantity and cost 
 of, 206 ; causes of, 206 ; classes 
 of, 206 ; a condition, not a dis- 
 position, 266 ; outgrows the 
 provision of charity, 275 ; due 
 to heredity, 206 ; defined, 67 ; 
 costs of, in various cities, 308 ; 
 in Pennsylvania, 10, gl ; in 
 Lackawanna County, 20 ; to 
 decrease burden of, 38 ; of rural 
 and urban districts in Pennsyl- 
 vania, 91 
 
 Paupers, the different classes of. 
 206 ; treatment of, 207 ; repro- 
 duction of, to be restricted, 207 ; 
 minors, in Pennsylvania, 215 ; 
 care of, by relatives to be en- 
 forced, 221 
 
 Penal legislation, proper objects 
 of. 35 ; reformation of, 189 ; 
 scheme of proper, 190 
 
 Penitentiary, Eastern, of Pennsyl- 
 vania, 25, 173, 183, 192, 298; 
 Western, of Pennsylvania, 192 ; 
 of Ohio, New York, Illinois, 
 183 
 
 Pennsylvania, statistics of crime 
 and pauperism, 9 ; cities in, 12 ; 
 colored people in, 12 ; foreign- 
 ers in, 12, 59 ; penal institutions 
 of, 10 ; costs of crime and pau- 
 perism in, to-26 ; of insane in, 
 215 ; increase of indigents and 
 defectives in, 17 ; poor-directors 
 of, 40 ; expended on paupers, 
 40 ; rural and urban elements 
 of, 90, 91, 116 ; pauper minors 
 in, 215 ; illegitimate children 
 born in, 212 ; requirements to 
 properly care for them, 214 
 
 People's Palaces, 133 
 
 Percentage of convicts of various 
 occupations, 297 
 
 Philadelphia, I, 2, 30, 32, 90 ; 
 criminals of, 90 ; system of im- 
 prisonment, 192 ; paupers of, 
 92 ; House of Correction, 215 ; 
 House of Refuge, 215 ; density 
 of population, 117 
 
 Pittsburg City Farm, 23 ; convicts 
 from, 91 
 
 Police, chief of, 257 ; duties of 
 society to, 261 ; statistics of, in 
 fifty-one cities, 310 ; Matron, 
 252 ; of New York, 252 ; of Mil- 
 waukee, 253 ; of Scranton, 252 ; 
 of Binghamton, N. Y., 252 ; of 
 cities, 123 ; proper number of, 
 252 ; peculiar .'mportance of, in 
 United States, 237 ; agents of 
 prevention, 240; State, 244, 
 260 ; requisites of a good, 244 ; 
 
INDEX. 
 
 31; 
 
 organization, 250 ; waste of 
 present system, 252 ; inter- 
 change of information, 255 ; 
 Commissioners of Milwaukee, 
 rules of, 246 ; discipline of, 256 
 
 Policeman, qualifications of a 
 good, 24s ; appointment of, 
 24s ; dismissal, 245 ; must be 
 independent of politics, 246 ; 
 instruction and drill of, 249 ; 
 life insurance and pension fund, 
 249 ; arrests discouraged, 250 ; 
 duties, 251 ; number, 252 
 
 Political position of the Negro, 
 76 ; phases of city life, 112 
 
 Polytechnics of Quintin Hogg, 
 
 133 
 Poor laws scheme suggested, 39, 40 
 Population, ioreign, in United 
 
 States, 43 ; contributions to 
 
 criminality, 43 
 Porter, Hon. R. P., number of 
 
 paupers and criminals in United 
 
 States, 148 
 Potter, Isaac B , quoted, 120 
 Preparation of Foods, forms for, 
 
 306 
 Preventive measures, and reme- 
 dial, 267 
 "Probation" system in Boston, 
 
 186 ; to be promoted by proper 
 
 police regulations, 256 
 Prohibition unsound in principle, 
 
 154 
 
 Prohibitions existing in many 
 States, 164 
 
 Public opinion concerning Ne- 
 groes, 76 ; schools, 134 
 
 Pughe, Hon. Lewis, 40 
 
 Punishment of criminals, absurd, 
 36 
 
 R 
 
 Real estate, values in cities, 117 
 Reformation, of city life, 94 ; of 
 
 penal legislation, 189 ; to begin 
 
 with the laws, 35 
 Reformatories, State, 188 ; of 
 
 Great Britain, 191 ; number of, 
 
 in United States, 193 
 
 Reform schools, 188 ; reclamations 
 in, 189 
 
 Registrar-General, the English, 
 report on marriages in 1889, 285 
 
 Regulations for jails, 196 
 
 Religious privileges for paupers, 
 234 
 
 Reproduction of criminals and 
 paupers to be limited, 180, 270 
 
 Republics, decay of, due to physi- 
 cal degeneracy, 286 
 
 Restrictions upon immigration, 52, 
 
 53 
 Ries, Col. F. J., Chief of Police, 
 
 report, 247, 250 
 Roman Catholic Church, 212 
 Rural contribution to criminality, 
 
 90 ; and urban population of 
 
 Pennsylvania, go 
 
 Sabbath in cities, 98, 102, 104 
 Saloon, substitutes for, suggested, 
 
 166 
 Salvation Army, 127 
 Saving in taxation, 33 
 Schools, public, should teach cook- 
 ing, 168 
 Schuylkill County prisoners, 24 
 Scranton, 22 ; police of, 252 
 Sectarian appropriations, 56, 235 
 Senile parentage, evils of, 284 
 Sentences indeterminate, 190 ; of 
 penitentiary convicts, white and 
 black compared, 70 ; average 
 length in various States, 70 
 Separate system of imprisonment, 
 
 192 
 Separation of prisoners, 197 
 Shaw, Albert, 133 
 Sheriff management of jails, 194 
 Sichart, Herr, quoted, 1 72 
 Sing Sing Prison, 298 
 Smith, Eugene, on county jails, 
 
 194. 195 , , , . , 
 
 Southern, neglect of penological 
 principles, 72 ; sentiment con- 
 cerning the Negro, 74 
 
318 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 State, incapable of charity, 31 ; 
 confinement of criminals advo- 
 cated, 187 ; police recom- 
 mended, 243 ; police legislation, 
 
 255 
 
 Station, the police, 254 
 
 Sterilization of abnormals, 270 ; 
 objections to proposal consid- 
 ered, 270, 271 ; rights of society 
 in the case, 272 ; social economy 
 of, 272 
 
 Stiles, Hon. Robert, quoted, 191 
 
 Stocker, Court Pastor, on heredi- 
 tary criminals, 176 
 
 St. Paul City, density of popula- 
 tion, 117 
 
 Strahan, Dr. S. A. R., " Marriage 
 and Disease," 279-282, 284 
 
 Strong, Dr. Josiah, Our Country, 
 126 
 
 " Submei^ed tenth," the, 277 
 
 Suffrage, purification of, in cities, 
 122 
 
 Suicide, increase of, in England, 
 290 
 
 Sunbury, visit to jail, 14 
 
 Surgical aid in the solution of the 
 problem, 273, 274 
 
 Tallock, W., quoted, 144 
 Tammany, controls New York, 
 
 106 ; the leaders of, 122 
 Taylor, Prof. Graham, D.D., on 
 
 Prof. McCook's report, 217 
 Thebes, dvilization of, 276 
 Transportation in cities, 118 
 Tramps, disposition of, 209 
 
 U 
 
 Upper tenth, the, 275 ; import- 
 ance of numbers, 276 ; percent- 
 age of criminality, 298 
 
 Urban population and criminals, 
 89 ; in certain States, 89 ; of 
 Pennsylvania, 90 ; and rural 
 contribntions to criminality, 90 ; 
 growth of, 92 ; analysis of, 96 ; 
 tiiree strata, 97 
 
 Useful occupations, numbers en- 
 gaged in, 296 
 
 Vagrant, disposition of, 209 
 Value, of American citizenship, 
 
 50 ; of the life of the average 
 
 criminal to society, 149 
 Vaux, Hon. Richard, quoted, 173, 
 
 192 
 Vergilio, Dr., of Italy, quoted, 173 
 Vice in cities, 98 
 
 W 
 
 Wardens, of jails in Pennsylvania, 
 24 ; of jails should be perma- 
 nent, 194, 203 
 
 Wealth, influence upon the family, 
 97 ; upon criminality, 183 
 
 Wells, Hon. D. A., quoted, 149 
 
 Western Penitentiary of Pennsyl- 
 vania, 192, 298 
 
 Wetherell, Dr. H. M., Secretary 
 of the Lunacy Commission, 
 quoted, 147 
 
 Wey, Dr. H. D., quoted, 174 
 
 Whitechapel Union, London, diet- 
 ary, 304 
 
 White, Judge, on intemperance, 
 X46 ; whites native, illiteracy of, 
 68 
 
 Wife, value of a good, log 
 
 William, Kaiser, 131 
 
 Williamson, Peter, 133 
 
 Wilson, President New York 
 Health Board, loi 
 
 Wines, Rev. F. H., 4 ; Rev. Dr. 
 E. C, 144 
 
 Work for prisoners, 199 ; for pau- 
 pers, 232 
 
 Wright, Dr. J. S., quoted, 174 
 
 Wurtemburg, prisons of, 172 
 
 Y. M. and Y. W. C. Associations, 
 127 
 
 Young Men's Christian Associa- 
 tion, duties towards immigrants, 
 60