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NVPL RESEARCH UBHARIES
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ISE^ATIOXAL :
HELD AT
" S, BELiOIUiN
EEPORT BY
AMI EL J. BARKOWS
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67th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPEESENTATIVES. J Document
2d' Session. j | No. 374.
TBE SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRBS
HELD AT
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, AUGUST, 1900.
REPORT OP ITS PROCEEDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS.
BY
SAMUEL J. BARRO^?VS,
Commissioner for the United States on the International Prison Commission.
February 10, 1903. — Referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary and ordered to be printed.
WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1903.
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LiBRAKY
PI485G1
A8TOR, LENOX AND
TIL»EN FOUNDATIONS.
1904
TABLE OF OOISTTENTS.
Page.
Letters of transmittal 5
Introduction 7
Addresses by Minister Van der Heuvel, honorary president; by Mr. C. Goes,
minister of justice, Denmark; by Mr. F. De Latour, president 11-18
OflScers of the Congress.
First Section:
Penal legislation:
The indemnity due to victims of crime 19
The extradition of subjects 26
Offenses committed abroad 33
The indeterminate sentence 36
The repression of blackmail 39
Second Section:
Prison administration:
Medical service in prisons , 42
Reformatories in the United States 45
Cellular imprisonment 50
Treatment of recidivists 54
Third Section:
Preventive means:
Emigration for young delinquents 59'
Alcoholism and crime 62
Employment bureau for discharged prisoners 75
Fourth Section:
Children and minors:
Recidivism in relation to minors 78
Guardian societies and young delinquents 79
Technical education in institutions for children 81
The treatment of young delinquents 84
Receptions and excursions 86
3
LETTERS OF TRAIsTSMITTAL.
Department of State,
Washington^ F^ynmry 10^ 1903,
Sir: I have the honor to inclose herewith a communication from
Mr. Samuel J. Barrows, commissioner for the United States on the
International Prison Commission, transmitting a condensed report of
the proceedings of the Sixth International Prison Congress, held at
Brussels in August, 1900.
1 have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
John Hay.
Hon. David B. Henderson,
Spedker House of Representatives,
LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
Washington, D. C. , Felruary 5, 1903.
Sir: I have the honor to present herewith a condensed report of the
proceedings of the Sixth International Prison Congress, held at Brus-
sels, August, 1900.
I am, your obedient servant,
Samuel J. Barrows,
Comviissionei' for the United States on
the International Prison Commission.
«
Hon. John Hay, Secretary of State.
THE SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
INTRODUCTION.
The Sixth International Prison Congress held its sessions in the city
of Brussels under the patronage of His Majesty the King of Belgium.
It was formally opened Monday, August 6, and closed August 13,
1900.
Though the Congress meets but once in five years, the perpetuity of
its work and influence is maintained through the International Prison
Commission, which is the permanent executive committee of the Con-
gress. This commission is composed of a representative from each of
the adhering nations. The commission meets annually or biennially,
prepares programmes, and drafts schemes and questions for investiga-
tion and report in the various countries represented. The programme
of questions for the general Congress is determined some two years in
advance by the commission and submitted to members and experts in
all the adhering countries. The reports thus furnished are published
some months before the Congress meets and furnish the basis for its
discussions. In addition, the commission maintains a bulletin which
serv^es as a medium of communication between the different countries
represented.
The International Prison Commission was composed of the follow-
ing members:
President: F. C. De Latour, secretary-general of the minister of
justice.
Secretary: Dr. Guillaume, director of the federal bureau of statistics,
Berne, Switzerland.
Treasurer: Mr. Fredrik Woxen, chief of the administration of
prisons, Christiania, Norway.
Dr. Simon Van der Aa, inspector-general of prisons. The Hague,
Holland.
Commander Joseph Canevelli, director-general of prisons, Rome.
Mr. Ferdinand Duflos, director-general of prisons, Paris, France.
Dr. C. Goos, minister of justice, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Mr. Hubsch, superior councilor to the minister of justice, Carls-
ruhe, Germany.
Mr. Rickl de Bell3^e, councilor to the Royal Hungarian ministry of
justice, Budapest.
8 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
Mr. Samuel J. Barrows, ex -member of Congress of the United
States and corresponding secretar}^ of the Prison Association of New
York.
Dr. D. Minkoff, secretary-general of the minister of justice of
Bulgaria, Sofia.
Mr. H. Theleman, superior councilor to the ministry of justice,
Munich, Bavaria.
Mr. Typaldo-Bassia, doctor of law, member of the Parliament of
Greece.
Mr. E. Ruggles-Brise, president of the board of prison commis-
sioners. Home office London, England.
Mr. Salomon, director-general of prisons, St. Petersburg, Russia.
PREVIOUS CONGRESSES.
The First International Congress was held at Frankf ort-on-the-Main
in 1846. It was formed under the inspiration and initiative of eminent
penologists, such as Aubanel, Ducp^tiaux, Jebb, Mittermaier, Moreau-
Christophe, Suringar. Another meeting was held at Brussels in 1847
and in Frankfort-on-the-Main in 1857. But these congresses had no
official relation to any government, and no steps were taken to form a
permanent organization.
The Government of the United States took the first step in this
direction in the year 1871. It sent abroad Dr. E. C. Wines to present
personally to the governments of Europe, to criminologists, and to the
heads of penal institutions the invitation of the Government of the
United States to organize an international prison congress, " to collect
reliable prison statistics, to gather information and to compare expe-
rience as to the working of different prison systems, and the effect of
various systems of penal legislation, to compare the different effects of
different forms of punishment and treatment, and the methods adopted
both for the repression and the prevention of crime."
Dr. Wines received a warm welcome abroad, and secured the hearty
cooperation of official and nonofficial penologists. As a result of this
united endeavor the following congresses have been held :
Congress of London, held July 3-13, 1872, under the presidency of
Dr. Wines. Twenty governments were represented. Before separat-
ing the Congress appointed a committee to organize a second Congress.
This committee met at Brussels in 1874, and again in Bruchsal in 1875,
and decided that it was desirable that the various governments should
be officially represented by commissioned delegates. A subcommittee
was appointed to draw up a constitution and by-laws. An invitation
was received from the Government of Sweden to hold the next Con
gress at Stockholm, in 1878.
II. Congress, Stockholm, August 15-19, 1878. Twenty-three gov-
ernments were officially represented. The International Prison Com-
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. ^
mission was formally and permanently constituted and Monsieur
Almquist, of Sweden, was made the president for the Congress of
Stockholm. The action of the Congress was communicated officially
to the different governments represented and their cooperation was
asked in making the commission a permanent body. Articles of
organization were submitted to the different countries for ratification.
An invitation was received from the Italian Government to hold the
next Congress at Rome, and Mr. Beltrani-Scalia, of Rome, was made
the president of the commission.
III. Congress, Rome, November 13-25, 1885. Twenty-five govern-
ments were officially represented. At its close, Monsieur Galkine-
Wraskoy, of Russia, was made the president of the commission, and
the invitation of the Russian Government to hold the next Congress at
St. Petersburg was accepted.
IV. Congress, St. Petersburg, June 3-11, 1890. Twenty-six gov-
ernments were officially represented. The commission was reconsti-
tuted with Mr. Herbette, of France, as its President, subsequently
succeeded b}^ Mr. Duflos, who was likewise his successor as director of
the administration of prisons in France.
V. Congress, Paris, June 30-July 9, 1895. Twenty-four govern-
ments were officially represented. The commission accepted the invi-
tation of the Government of Belgium for the next Congress and Mr.
de Latour, secretary -general of the ministry of justice of Belgium,
was made the president of the commission.
A report of the Congress of Paris was prepared by the American
delegates and published by the Fifty-fourth Congress, and distributed
by the Department of State.
VI. The Congress of Brussels was therefore the sixth in the series.
It is the object of this report to furnish a resume of its proceedings.
UNITED STATES DELEGATES TO BRUSSELS CONGRESS.
At a meeting of the National Prison Association of America, held
at Hartford, Conn., September 23-27, 1899, the following persons
were elected to represent the association at the International Prison
Congress: Mr. Z. R. Brockway, Maj. R. W. McClaughry, Rev. J. L.
• Milligan, Prof. Chas. R. Henderson, Hon. Henry Wolfer, Warden
E. S. Wright, Gen. Roeliff Brinkerhoff, and Hon. Samuel J. Barrows.
Some of these gentlemen not being able to attend, their places were
filled by the executive committee. The delegation as finally commis-
sioned b}^ the Secretary of State was as follows:
Judge M. D. Follett, of Ohio; Hon. Samuel J. Barrows, represent-
ing the United States on the International Prison Commission; Charles
P. Kellogg, of Connecticut, secretary of the Connecticut State Board
of Charities; Hon. Thomas E. Ellison, of Indiana; Mr. Michael Hey-
man, of Louisiana, president of the Prison Conimission of the city of
New Orleans; Judge Simeon E. Baldwiu^ oi Co\\\\'^^'C\'tL\i.V\^^N,^'^«s^
10
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
L. Milligan, of Pennsylvania, secretar}^ of the National Prison Asso-
ciation; Charlton T. Lewis, of New York, president of the New York
Prison Association.
Those who were able to be present at the Congress were Messrs.
Baldwin, Barrows, Follett, Heyman, Kellogg, and Miss Mary Hall, of
the State Board of Charities, Connecticut.
STATISTICS OF INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESSES.
London
(1872).
Stockholm
(1878).
Rome
(1885).
234
93
25
48
St. Peters-
burg (1890).
Paris
(1895).
Brussels
(1900).
Total number of members
341
149
24
76
297
142
25
45
740
177
26
69
817
287
24
88
396
Members from abroad
234
States represented
29
Officfal delegates
85
Questions on programme:
First section: Penal legislation..
Second section: Penitentiary in-
stitutions
10
13
5
4
6
4
6
8
8
8
11
6
8
9
5
8
5
4
Third section: Preventive insti-
tutions
3
Fourth section: Questions rela-
tive to children and minors . . .
4
Total
28
14
^a
25
30
16
Preliminary reports on questions of
the programme:
First section
9
3
4
11
21
17
25
24
18
46
57
36
61
64
31
78
52
Second section
49
Third section
19
Fourth section
53
Total
16
49
67
139
234
175
Average number of reports per ques-
tion
0.6
3.5
3.0
5.6
7.8
10.8
REPORTS FROM THE UNITED STATES.
The following preliniinar}" reports were prepared in the United
States and submitted to the Congress in advance of the meeting through
the United States commissioner:
Reports.
Writers.
Pages.
The Criminal Insane in the United States and in Foreign Countries, Fifty-fifth
Congress, second session, Senate Document No. 273
Indeterminate Sentence and Parole Law, Fifty-fifth Congress, third session, Sen-
ate Document No. 159
Penological Questions, Fifty-fifth Congress, third session, Senate Document No. 158.
New Legislation Concerning Crimes, Misdemeanors, and Penalties
The Refc>rmatory System in the United States, Fifty-sixth Congress, House Docu-
ment No. 459
Prison Systems of the United States, Fifty-sixth Congress, first session. House
Document No. 566
80
63
64
480
240
157
Total
Contributions to bulletins and to 8oci^t«J du Patronage, about.
Total
54
1,114
100
1,214
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 11
OPENING OF THE CONGRESS.
At 10 o'clock a. m. Monday, August 6, 1900, the formal opening of
the Congress took place in the large hall of the Palais des Academies.
Mr. van der Heuvel, minister of justice of Belgium and honorary
president of the Congress, formall}^ called the assembly to order and
delivered the opening address. On each side of the honorary president
were such members of the International Prison Commission as were
present in Brussels, namely, Messrs. F. de Latour, secretary-general
of the minister of justice of Belgium, president of the International
Prison Commission; Goos, minister of justice of Denmark; Duflos,
director of the prison administration of France, and honorary presi-
dent; Salomon, chief of the general bureau of administration of
Russia; Skouses, former minister of foreign affairs of Greece; Woxen,
chief of the general administration of prisons of Norway; Barrows,
commissioner for the United States; Simon van der Aa, inspector-
general of the prisons of Holland; Rickle de Bellye, councilor to the
royal Hungarian minister of justice; Ruggles-Brise, director of prisons
of England; Dr. Guillaume, director of the federal bureau of statistics
of Switzerland; T3^paldo-Bassia, professor of the University of Athens.
On the platform behind the members of the commission were the
following: Mr. Gerard, minister of France to Brussels; (^aratheodory
Effendi, minister of Turke}^; Mr. da Cunha, minister of Brazil; Mr.
de Pestel, minister of the Netherlands; Mr. Mitilineu, charge d'affaires
of Roumania; Count Marchant d'Ansembourg, charg^ d'affaires of the
Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg; Mr. De Sadeleer, president of the
chamber of representatives; Baron Lambermont, minister of state,
general secretar}^ of the ministry of foreign affairs; Mr. Motte, first
president of the court of appeals of Brussels; Mr. Graux, minister of
state, former president of the bar association of Brussels, former
minister of finance; Mr. Willemaers, attorney-general of the court of
appeals of Brussels; Rev. Mr. Van Aertselaer, dean of Sainte-Gudule,
at Brussels; Monsieur Bloch, chief rabbi of Belgium; Lieutenant-
General Chevalier F. Marchal; General Lutens, commander of the
province; Dr. Masoin, permanent professor of the university of
Louvain, secretary of the Ro3^al Academ}^ of Medicine.
The addresses which follow were given in French.
ADDRESS OF WELCOME OF MINISTER VAN DEN HEUVEL, HONORARY
PRESIDENT.
In deciding to hold your session this j^ear in the capital of Belgium
you have paid us an honor of which the country and the Government are
very appreciative. Some of you come from neighboring lands, others
from countries far away, but all are heartily welcome. You have
come together to exchange the fruits of your experience, to give a
new impulse to the moral progress of societ3\ Accept our f ratevw^V
12 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
sympathy and believe that along with our greeting we are proud that
you have assembled in such numbers.
I thank the representatives of different Governments and the other
eminent men who by their presence here testify to their interest in
the work undertaken by this Congress.
The science of penology, gentlemen, is not a thing of yesterday,
not a thing of the past. Never did it advance with more rapid strides
than in the nineteenth century. With justice on its right and humanity
on its left it goes on its conquering way through the world. It has
gained the attention of philosophers an^ philanthropists, enlisted the
sympathies of political writers and of public opinion, and has made itself
felt m legislation. Prison reform has been inscribed as the watch-
word for the centur3^ All countries have taken hold of this work,
some promptly, some a little tardily, but no countr}" that wishes to
keep step in the upward march of civilization has been willing to stay
behind its neighbors in the path of prison reform. Belgium, inspired
and guided by two men whose names are dear to us, ViTian XIV. and
Ducpetiaux, have striven to keep its place in this forward march of
the nations.
You will visit our prisons, gentlemen. It i^ not for me to boast of
them. You will see them for yourselves, and form a just estimate of
them by your own wisdom.
The establishment of the cellular system will be accomplished
shortly. I do not say that it will be the final system, nor that it
marks the advent of a permanent method. That would be to say that
we have attained our ideal, to deny the imperfection of things here
below, and to overlook the need of keeping institutions always in
harmony with the ceaseless changes in social affairs. But it seems as
though after supreme efforts a moment of repose had come; as though
after having rapidly ascended the steps of the new order, Belgium had
reached a landing where she might await the practical results of
experience.
There are two dangers to be feared, one almost as formidable as the
other — fixed indifference in routine, and feverish restlessness in
reform. It is only the superficial who believe that the science of penol-
ogy is permeated with exaggerated sentimentality. You, gentlemen,
know very well that firmness is indispensable in guiding men and in
directing society, and that in troubled times especially its influence
must be felt in order to master the situation. Do not seek therefore
to blunt the defensive arms of society, but strive to have them used
more wisely that their efficacy may be more real.
The penitentiary (allow me the comparison) is a great filter. The
streams which pass through it must be clarified, the morbid germs
killed, and all apparently irreducible matter withdrawn from further
circulation. But just as it is necessary to perfect this great social fil-
ter, to improve its workings, and to increase the desired results, so it
is also wise to see to it that the streams which flow into it are less
charged with impurity, and that the currents which leave it flow
limpid and clear.
In the name of His Majesty, the King of Belgium, who has at heart
all humanitarian work, I declare the Sixth International Prison Con-
gress opened. I hope that it may be as fruitful as its predecessors in
renewing the ties which give grace and strength to the relations
between men devoted to the science, and that it may be fertile in devel-
oping- ideas and practical undertakings. [Applause.]
SIXTH INTERN ATIOJS^AL PRISON CONGRESS. 13
RESPONSE OF DR. C. GOOS, MINISTER OF JUSTICE, DENMARK.
Mr. President, Ladies, and Gentlemen: In the name of the Inter-
national Prison Commission, of which for many years and until recently
I have had the honor of being a member, I thank your excellenc}^ for
the eloquent terms in which, in the name of His Majesty the King of
Belgium, you have welcomed the Sixth International Prison Congress
that has just opened its session in the capital of Belgium. The sym-
pathv with our work manifested b}^ the King of Belgium, the distin-
guished patron of the Congress, as voiced by so competent a man as
the minister of justice, rests upon the knowledge of our w^ork nowhere
more complete than in a country that has put itself at the head of the
nations of Europe through the prison reforms which it has carried out
during the century just closing.
It can not be repeated too often that prison reform is not a vague
SQntiment whose aim is to weaken the means with w hich society
combats crime in the name of justice and public interest. That combat
society must maintain and exert all its strength therein. It can cease
only when its enemy, that is crime, shall disappear from society. But
while human nature remains unchanged, serious thinkers do not dream
of such a Utopia. Kindness to criminals based on any such dream
w^ould be continually disappointed by the reality of things. No one
who is responsible for the welfare of society would promote or even
countenance any such ridiculous idea. If efforts at penal reform since
the time of John Howard had rested on any such supposition they
would have been paral3"zed in the start, or would have been wrecked
long since on the hard realities of life.
Iso, penal reforms introduced into different countries rest on entirely
different notions. The aim has not been to relax the energy with which
crime must be met, nor to weaken the weapons of society in resisting
it. On the contrary, the watchword of prison reform has always been.
Give to society better arms than the barbarous weapons of tne past,
that it may carrv on the conflict with some hope of winning the victor3^
Sad experience lias shown that the weapons of the past have not been
used to great advantage. The army of criminals has not been de-
creased, except by death. On the other hand, the number of criminals
has increased out of proportion to the increase of population. That is
why the question is raised, whether the old punitive system was not
based on a false foundation and whether it is not possible to find some
punitive method adapted to reclaim the members of this army of
criminals and make them obedient to law\ Another and even greater
question is whether it is not possible to find the way to arrest the too
rapid increase of first delinquents, a task that the menace of penal law
alone has not yet been able to accomplish. More stringent repression
and more thorough preventive measures, these are the tasks that prison
reform proposes. It is by that compass it has been steering. It is
from this point of view, then, that we must judge the results already
obtained and those which are hoped for in the future.
In the meanwhile every endeavor for reform resting on a moral
conception must necessarily be humane in the true and just sense of
the word. There is nothing surprising in the thought that prison
refonn working along the lines which I have indicated should be at the
same time the champion of humanit}'. Nothing, indeed, would be more
singular than that repressive justice should be inhuman. True justice
can not be incompatible, irreconcilable, with trw^ Vvxxma.xc^^ , ^V5o\^*<5^^
14 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
freat merit of prison reform that it has tried to reconcile justice with
umanit}^ and that end should be the ideal of which we should never
lose sight.
These international prison congresses are attempting to bring about
universal prison reform. They are held every five years for the pur-
pose of exchanging the experiences that have been gained in different
countries during that interval of time, and to discuss new questions
that may arise, as well as to talk over the old ones that come up again.
But the meeting now to be held in Brussels at the close of the century
has the special task of tr^'ing to report what has been done in the last
hundred years. How far has reform been carried in the past? Have
the punitive measures which have been initiated taken deep root?
Have they produced the desired results? How far have preventive
measures, which now rank of first importance, been carried ?
The commission recognized that it would be the dut}" of the Con-
gress to present such reports and it inserted in the programme as one
subject for discussion a report on the progress of the cellular S3^stem
and the results obtained, not only in the United States, the first to
adopt this system, but also in the European States which have fol-
lowed it to a greater or less extent, and especially here in Belgium,
where the lead has been taken.
It may be replied in the Congress that no definite judgment can yet
be pronounced and that statistics for forming such a judgment are
still lacking. It is true that prison statistics are greatly to be desired,
as this Congress has energetically asserted over and over again. But
perhaps the Congress may be obliged to vote, with this reservation, in
regara to the separate system. On the one hand, experience will
hardly allow us to consider that as the only efficient method of imprison-
ment for crime. Other reformatory methods have been tried. I may
remind you of the congregate system, which originated in Ireland. I
may remind you of the system of out-of-door work which has been
tried in several countries. On the other hand, those countries which
have adopted the cellular system need scarcely fear unfavorable criti-
cism. Certainly they are witnesses of the fact that this system,
though not the only method of wise administration, is of inestimable
value. It may perhaps be employed only within certain limits, but
there can be no thougnt of, giving it up.
Recent prison congresses liave called special attention to preventive
measures as being of even greater importance than repressive meas-
ures. Of course the prevention of crime does not belong strictly
within the domain of prison reform, but prison reform is so much
interested in preventing crime that it can not fail to unite its efforts
with those striving to strike at the roots of the evils which give such
a large percentage of criminals. The commission has long recognized
the importance of preventive measures in accomplisning prison
reform.
One of the sections of the Congress is to discuss the Questions aris-
ing as to the relation of juveniles to criminal law. The opinion is
increasing that it is especially here that preventive work has its great-
est field. Facts show that repression is as difficult a task as that of
the Danaides so long as we can not stop the increase of juvenile crim-
inals who become such through neglected education and who, in their
tender yearsj have been subjected S^ influences of doubtful morality,
or those which are positively immoral.
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 15
The commission thought, also, that this plan of making reports
should include the conflict with another evil which brings numerous
recruits into the criminal ranks, the conflict with the scourge of alco-
holism. Reports will show, probably, that up to this time we have
made too little progress in that direction. That bad showing should
be a warning to the growing century to exert all its efforts to dry up
the sources of crime whence spring the moral maladies which ravage
society.
I have referred to some of the questions which will occupy the
Congress, not because they are the most important, but because they
seem to me particularly distinctive of a Congress which is to meet at
the close of the century and which will give it its characteristic mark.
It is needless to say that we owe the honor of this carefully prepared
programme, together with many reports, first of all, to the president
of the commission, the head of the prison administration of Belgium,
and, conjoined with him, to the man who for more than a generation
has acted as general secretary of this Congress, Dr. Guillaume, and
who has contributed more than I can tell in these few words to their
success and their permanent results. [Applause.]
In the presence of these two men I dare not enlarge further on the
merits of the Congress just opened, but I can not refrain from express-
ing the feelings of gratitude, which we all share, to these two men
first of all. It is true their efl'orts would not have been successful had
they not had aid from many sides. If I refer here to the many valu-
able reports which have been submitted to us, it is to express my
delight in these contributions which mark the international character
of the congress. The bond which unites prison-reform work among
the nations grows stronger. It is no vain pretense if we venture to
take a place among those international unions which help to confed-
erate the nations and contribute to the progress of civilization.
Let us hope that this Congress will show itself worthy of its prede-
cessors in London, Stockholm, Rome, St. Petersburg, and Paris, and
thus it will do honor to the country which has opened its doors to us
with such hospitality. That will be the best way of thanking the
State, whose King, the distin fished patron of the Congress, and
whose Government, through his excellency the Belgian minister of
justice, have just given us so cordial a welcome. [Applause.]
ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT, MR. FRANCOIS DE LATOUR.
Gentlemen: I thank you from the bottom of mj^ heart for the mark
of distin^ished good will which you have just shown me. If in taking
the presidential chair to which you have called me I experience deep
emotion it is not only the weight of the burden which vour confidence
has imposed upon me, it is much more on account oi the great and
commanding associations which sweep over and overcome me at this
moment.
A little more than a hundred years ago the mild, the ^reat philan-
thropist John Howard was traveling through Europe, visitmg the places
whicn hid the greatest misery and suffering — hospitals, jails, and pris-
ons. In the description of his journeyings left to us by that wonderful
pilgrim of charity he tells us of the grievous horrors of every kind,
unworthy of humanity, which almost everywhere greeted hini. But.
when he reached the land where we are gathered to-day he found soma.-
16 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
thing to console him for the horrors which had so stirred his heart. He
saw in the full bloom of its youth the imposing institution which had
just been founded by Vilain Al V, the county jail of Ghent, then known
as the Rasphuj's. He saw^ instituted there a new^ method of repression
which corresponded to a new aim. the reformation of the criminal along
with his punishment, a system which consisted in preserving prisoners
from mutual contamination, notably by separation at night, and in
seeking to reform them through labor as well as by moral instruction.
All that I mean to sa}^ with reference to this first great memor}^ is
that, thanks to the bold and fortunate initiative of Vilian XIV, that
abominable era, if I may so describe it, was closed for the poor pris-
oners, and the w^orld saluted the dawn — how brilliant a dawn — of a new
era, when in spite of their downfall their manhood was restored, and
as the sun penetrated their fonnerly dark cells with floods of light, so
the radiant hope of reformation could penetrate the gloom. A majes-
tic voice had said to all, hencefoi*ward you may, if you will, raise
your foreheads, which have been prone in the dust, but which are still
the foreheads of men, and which were created b}" God to look toward
the skies.
But, gentlemen, this brilliant aurora did not last long. The insti-
tution of Vilain XIV, imitated and improved upon elsewhere, was
jeoparded where it was born, and strangely that which led to its tem-
porary decline was a cause which even j^et makes prison administra-
tion difficult. The reform work undertaken by Vilain XIV being
based on labor, at once provoked the opposition of free labor. These
objections w^ere listened to, alas, and soon after one could have seen
in our provinces a state of things analogous to those whose disappear-
ance had b^en hailed by John Howard with such joy. But the good
work prospered abroad and has been further developed and perfected.
The separation of prisoners instead of being only at night, as at Ghent,
was adopted for both day and night, and the cellular system was thus
born in its turn.
I pass rapidly over this interesting part of the history of prisons to
recall to your minds another memory, grave and imposing, the vast good
achieved by another man of large heart and noble intelligence, I was
about to say another man of genius, Ducp^tiaux. But this work is too
near our own time for me to need to recall it to you. Besides, dear
foreign members of our Congress, you are going to visit our prisons,
and it is there that his glory and his imperishable work may be found.
He left behind him, it is true, something more precious and glorious
still, the methods of administering Belgian prisons. He put his whole
soul into that work, and what a soul it was. All tne treasures
which more than half a century ago Ducpetiaux began to collect are
still intact. I say it with pride, I who, though unworthy, have had
them in charge. The improvements which have been made in our
penal sj^stem in recent vears are but the realization, too long post-
poned, of those ideas which he conceived.
In bringing back your thought reverently to these two good men,
Vilain XIV, and Ducpetiaux, I have no thought but to place our
assembly under the aegis of their pure and beautiful fame. Ma}'^ their
memory hover about us as we work.
And now, gentlemen, in carrying out our programme, if I could utter
all that m}' heart and mind suggest, I should say to all those engaged
in prisons, scientifically and philosophicalh^ and in the management
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 17
of prisons and in the care and reformation of prisoners, do j^ou not
believe that if we so determined all the advantages to be had in the
prison world might be realized everywhere? Will the great secret
escape us if we ardently seek it, or rather do we not already have it,
and what is needed but that we should apply it? Can we not hence-
forth direct our study and solicitude less toward the management of
prisons — humanity demanding not much more in that direction? We
know well enough how to build prisons; how to administer them; but,
perchance, not well enough how to keep prisoners out of prison. Ah,
gentlemen, if m}^ voice were strong enough to be heard in every corner
of the world by those who make up the holy fraternity of compassion,
of pity, and of charity for the worst human evils, I would cry to them:
Let us fly to childhood, poor and abandoned physically and morally.
Let us fl}^ to it; not because it suflTers and it is cruel to let innocent
and defenseless beings suffer; not because it is sad to see that which
God has made so beautiful fading away; let us fly to it to prevent crime
from making its recruits there and to save society by preserving
childhood free from corruption and suffering.
Let all our mental energy, all the compassion and tenderness of our
hearts, all the refinement, the skill, and the ingenuity of our charity,
all these God-given gifts, be lavished henceforth on poor and forsaken
childhood.
I have not the presumption to believe that charity has awaited my
appeal to choose that path. We have too man}^ charitable institutions
for childhood already flourishing under our eyes. But what I do say,
with the deepest conviction, is that the protection of childhood should
be the sovereign charity in the century to come.
Gentlemen, in following so noble an end as that, we shall really be
following after the ideal foreseen by that venerable magistrate who
presided over the Brussels Congress in 1847: The last prison emptied
of the last prisoner and turned into an asylum for old men and
orphans.
At one of the sessions of the International Prison Commission held
with reference to this congress, the commission felt it to be its duty
to express a feeling of indignation at the horrible crime of which His
Majesty King Humbert, ot Italy, was the victim. At the same time
it expressed sentiments of deep and respectful sympathy with the royal
family of Italy so suddenlv deprived of its august head. It likewise
expressed its horror at the attempt, happily thwarted, against the
Shah of Persia and also the attempt in Belgium against His Royal
Highness, the Prince of Wales. 1 move, gentlemen, that 3"ou unite in
these sentiments as a Congress. [Unanimous applause.]
We are now about to complete our organization. Permit me first
to propose to 3'ou, in conformit}' with a tradition of our Congress,
those members of the commission who have rendered our Congress
the most signal service. I nominate as honorary presidents ot the
Congress Messrs. Beltrani-Scalia and Galkine-Wrasko}^ who presided
respectively^ at the congresses of Rome and St. Petersburg; M. Goos,
minister of justice for Denmark, who has been so invaluable to the
commission; and, finall}^, M. Duflos, who presided with such great
distinction at the Paris congress. [Applause.]
We have now to choose our vice-presidents. I propose that the offi
cial delegates of the United States, England, Baden, Denmark, France
"Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden
H. Doc. 374 2
18 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL ±>RI80N CONGRESS.
should serve us in this edacity: Messrs. Barrows, Ruggles-Brise,
Holzknecht de Hort, von Engefberg, C. Goos, fils, Picot, Skouses,
Rickl de Bellye, Nocito, Simon Van der Aa, Woxen, Salomon, Wiesel-
gren. [Applause.]
1 propose as general secretary, M. Dr. Guillaume, the faithful
guardian of our traditions, the stimulator of our zeal when sometimes
it has waned. Let us once more confirm him as the perpetual secre-
tary of the Congress. [Hearty applause.]
As assistant-general secretaries I propose Messrs, Didion, Typaldo-
Bassia, and de Westmann; as secretaries Messrs. Polander, Haus, and
Albert Willems. [Applause.]
Gentlemen, the head of the King's cabinet has done us the honor to
address to us the following letter:
The Palace, Brussels, Aitgmt ^, 1900.
Mr. President:
In accordance with my letter of July 6, I have the honor to inform
you that the King will find it impossible to be present at the opening
of the Sixth International Prison Congress on the 6th of August owing
to his absence from Brussels.
His Majesty has charged me to assure you of his interest in the
work of this assembly, and to express to you his sincere regret at his
inability to accept the invitation which you have sent to him.
Accept, Mr. President, the a^^surance of my esteem.
(Signed) Cie P. de Borchgrave d'Altena.
OFFICERS OF THE CONGRESS.
President: Mr. F. De Latour, secretaire g^n^ral du d^partement de
la justice, directeur general des prisons et de la surete publique.
Honorary presidents: Messrs. Van den Heuvel, ministre de la justice,
Belgium; Beltrani-Scalia, conseiller d'etat, Rome, ItaW; Galkine-
Wraskoy,*administrateur general des prisons de Kussie, St. Petersburg,
Russia; Carl Goos, ministre de la justice, Danemark; Duflos, directeur
de Padministration p^nitentiaire au ministere de I'interieur, Paris,
France.
Vice-presidents: Messrs. Barrows, United States of America;
Ruggles-Brise, England; Holzknecht de Hort, Austria; von Engel-
berg, Baden; Goos, fils, Danemark; Georges Picot, France; Skouses,
Greece; Rickl de Bellye, Hungary; Nocito, Italy; Woxen, Norway;
Simon Van der Aa, Holland; Salomon, Russia; Wieselgren, Sweden.
General secretary: Dr. Guillaume, Berne, Switzerland.
Associate general secretaris: Messrs. Charles Didion, Belgium;
Typaldo-Bassia, Greece: W. de Westmann, Russia.
Secretaries: Messrs. Pollender, Haus, and Albert Willems of
Belgium.
FIRST SECTION.
PENAL LEGISLATION.
President: Felix Voisin, conseiller a la Cour de Cassation, Paris,
France.
Vice-presidents: Simeon Baldwin, New Haven, Connecticut, United
States; Cedrun de la Pedraja, Spain; Robert Cossy, Lausanne, Switz-
erland; Dr. D. O. Engelen, of Holland; Senator Foinitzki, of Russia;
Granier, Paris, France; Richard Junghanns, of Freiburg, Germany;
Miss Lydia Po6t, of Italy; J^sus Zenil of Mexico.
Secretary: Isidore M«ius, Brussels, Belgium.
Associate secretaries: Messrs. Meyers and Kinon of Brussels,
Belgium.
The Indemnity Due to Victims of Crime.
First question:
What wmild he^ follovjing the (rrder of ideas indicated hy the Con-
gress of Par Is ^ the most practical meaii-s of securing for the victim
of a criminal offense the indemnity due him from the delinquent?
The question submitted above was derived from a resolution of the
Congress of Paris of 1895, to the following effect:
''The Congress believes that there is reason to take into ver}' serious
consideration the propositions which have been submitted to it, to the
end that a portion of the earnings of the prisoner in the course of his
detention should be assigned to the party injured by his offense, or
proposing to establish a special fund derived from fines from which
aid should be granted to the victims of penal offenses; but as the
Congress does not think it is in possession of the necesary elements
for the solution of this question it decides to refer it to the more
profound study of the next Prison Congress."
It was in response to this reference of the Congress of Paris that
the question was newly inscribed on the programme of the Congress
of Brussels. The result of the appeal to experts in diff.erent countries
was the preparation of some interesting and valuable reports on this
question. The reports were 13 in nmnber, and cover some 147 pages
of the proceedings of the Congress.
Mr. F. Ancel, president of the Soci^t^ de Patronage des Lib^r^s de
PAube, briefly stated the importance of the question and the justice
19
20 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
of reparation for the victims of crime, and suggested that some
deduction might be made from the earnings of prisoners for this
purpose.
Mr. J. Bailly, director of the Central Prison of Ghent, examined
in detail the question of reimbursing the victim from the earnings of
the 'prisoner from the standpoint of Belgian experience. It is con-
ceded that prisoners are for the most part insolvent. It is of no use
to levy upon their effects. How about their earnings in prison?
The State seeks to secure from the product of the prisoner the cost of
maintaining him. The State is therefore the first creditor. Faithful
also to the principle that the rehabilitation of the prisoner should fol-
low his punishment, the State reserves a portion of the sum earned
by the prisoner until the day of his release, in order to aid him on
discharge to begin anew the conflict outside with some hope of suc-
cess. Hence a second creditor. The prisoner's earnings being lim-
ited, there is little left to -satisfy the demands of a third creditor.
In Belgium the expenditures of the minister of justice are nearly
23,000,000 francs, of which 2,700,000 are for penal establishments.
Of the latter sum 1,500,000 francs are appropriated for salaries and
the care and furnishing of buildings; 1,200,000 to the support of con-
victs and gratuities for work — 1,000,000 for the former and 200,000
for the latter. The last-named sum represents the amount paid to
convicts for work, supposing the State to receive something for the
gross product of that work. The difference between that gross prod-
uct and the sum of 200,000 francs — let us say 400,000 as a maximum —
is that which the State collects; that which serves as compensation
for the expense of keeping the State's prisoners. This 400,000 francs
represents the thousandth part of the general annual budget of the
State. If this amount were given up, each taxpayer would have to
pay 1 centime additional for every 10 francs of tax actually paid.
Ought this trifling addition to be rejected before even studying the
subject?
But Mr. Bailly raises the question whether the State has the right to
reimburse itself for a part of the expense of the keeping of convicts
through their own labor. The judiciary system costs Belgium annuall}^
8,000,000 francs. By its arrests and sentences it creates convicts, but
who would dare to say that the work of convicts ought to defray the
expenses incurred by the judiciary system ? No one, for the reason that
the judiciary is a social necessity. Mr. Baill}^ argues that the portion of
the convict's earnings reserved by the State for his expenses might be
applied to the payment of damages caused to the victims of crime. In
Belgian prisons a hand weaver condenmed to imprisonment can earn I7i
francs a month, which represents a total labor value of 50 francs. The
difference, 32.50 francs, might go to the injured part}^, which would
constitute a yearly indemnity of about 400 francs. But the greater
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 21
number of convicts would be incapable of doing so much for various
reasons, depending upon the length of their term, thfe kind of work, and
various other reasons. Suppose a man to have stolen 100 francs. If
the convict could earn as much as the weaver referred to, he could earn
enough to make good the loss to his victim in about three months.
The balance of the sentence would then be the penalty due to society.
And we might ask if the portion of the product of the prisoner reserved
till then for the victim might not be turned into an indemnity fund to
balance the possible insufficiency of the earnings of some other convict
in proportion to the injury he had caused the victim. Mr. Bailly
does not deem the solution of the question impossible. Of course
there would be exceptions to its operation. What compensation^ for
instance, can be given to a family whose head has been murdered?
In Belgium a convict with a trade by which he earns 2 francs a day
would assure to the family of the victim an annual income of 500
francs, and his perpetual imprisonment would have at least one good
result.
The report presented by Judge Simeon Baldwin, LL.D., of New
Haven, Conn., has been published in full in the reports prepared for
the Congress by the commissioner for the United States. (See Peno-
logical Questions, Senate Document No. 158, Fifty-fifth Congress,
third session.) Judge Baldwin gave an interesting review of the his-
toric aspects of the question, quoting freely Roman, English, and
continental theories, with an exposition of American precedents. Judge
Baldwin would agree to the indemnification of the injured party fur-
nished by a reasonable fine, after having deducted a sum sufficient to
indenmify the State, or to apply some of the earnings of the prisoner
after having deducted the costs of the prosecution.
Mr. Benielli, director of the penitentiary of Besanyon, regards the
creation of a special fund of fines for the reparation of the damages
caused by infractions of the penal code as unnecessary and dangerous.
It is not to be admitted that the State is responsible for damages caused
by a malefactor. If the convict is solvent the rules of common law are
sufficient to insure the indemnification of the victim. The insolvent
delinquent should be imprisoned and the product of his labor applied
to the indemnification of his victim withput any reduction being made
for other motives. While the creation of an indemnity fund would
be arbitrary and unjust, the establishment of an aid fund for victims
in distress is desirable. This aid fund could be maintained from fines
obtained when a pecuniary penalty is pronounced.
Mr. A. Berlet, procureur of the Republic at Baug^, France,
favored various legal formalities and precautions to be taken by the
prosecution to establish a lien upon the property of the delinquent to
the advantage of the victim. He would not accord conditional liber-
ation till after the complete indemnification of the victim*^ thavv.^
22 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
liberation might be made conditional to secure from the delinquent the
indemnity needed. When the author of a crime has only been placed
under suspension of sentence and does not fulfill his pledges toward
the victim of his oflFense before the expiration of his probation, he
should undergo the penalty pronounced. The earnings of a prisoner
should in part be assigned to the victim of his crime, and the wages of
an offender under suspension of sentence should be assigned likewise.
Mr. Ren^ Demogue, advocate of the court of appeal and member
of the Faculty of Law of Paris, presented views similar to those of
Mr. Berlet, differing somewhat in detail, but favoring the assignment
of a portion of the earnings of the prisoner to the victim and the
establishment of an aid fund.
Mr. Du Mouceau, procureur of the R^publique, Beaune, France,
proposed the establishment of an indemnity fund sustained by fines
proportional to the revenue of the violator of the law. The end of
prosecution is repression. That ought to be equally burdensome for
each delinquent. This principle is advocated by Montesquieu: ''A
gradation should be established between different penalties correspond-
ing to the resources of the offender." Bentham held the same idea.
This is not observed in practice. The millionaire and the day laborer
are sentenced to the same fine if they have committed the same offense.
If the workman is condemned to a fine of 6 francs it represents the
product of four days of labor. It constitutes for him a veritable
penalty. For the rich it is a trifle. Certain States, notably England,
Prussia, Saxony, Ital}", and some cantons of Switzerland, to relieve less
fortunate taxpayers and to secure an equal sacrifice among its citizens,
have established a tax on incomes, and other States would have adopted
it if the diflBculties of its application had not prevented. We may
aflBrm, then, says Mr. Du Mouceau, that when a workman pays for a
violation of law four times his daily wage that it would only be just
that a person more fortunate should pa}^ for the same offense four
times the amount of his daily income. The income from fines would
thus be augmented in a manner to permit the indemnification of the
victims of insolvable offenders. The amount thus derived from fines
for police infractions and minor offenses would go to pay the damages
caused by thefts, fraud, and more serious offenses. He calculates that
the damage caused by crimes and misdemeanors in France is less than
20,000,000 francs, and that if proportionate fines or penalties were
imposed based on income that at least 16,000,000 francs could be
obtained. In further support of his idea, Mr. Du Mouceau noted that
the draft of the Norwegian code of 1887 adopted by the legislative com-
mittee contained the idea of a fine proportioned to the income of the
offender, a maximum, however, being fixed.
Mr. R. Garofalo, substitut du procureur g^n^ral of the court of
cassation of Rome, regarded the question as one of the most import-
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 23
ant in penal legislation. His opinions on the subject were communi-
cated to the Congress of Rome in 1885, to that of Brussels in 1889,
and to that of Paris in 1895, and are published in the proceedings of
those congresses and in those of other bodies. The eminent Italian
criminologist has thus been for twenty j^ears one of the most promi-
nent advocates of indemnity for the victim of crime. In his report to
the Congress of 1900 he does not attempt to go over the whole ground
of the question covered in previous reports, but advances some perti-
nent considerations. Viewed from the point of prevention, Mr.
Garofalo regards the obligation to pay damages which might be
imposed on a prisoner as a far more serious menace or constraint than
the common imposition of a short term of imprisonment. The male-
factor, after the expiration of his term, has the money which he stole,
and which during his imprisonment was concealed or confided to safe
hands. He has no notion of returning it. In spite of repeated con-
demnations, such rogues are frequently enriched. There can be no
doubt that there would not be so many competitors in the trade if the
security of the delinquents in concealing their property were replaced
by the certainty that they would be obliged to return it or indemnify
the victim.
But there is a second point of view of still greater importance. The
great difficult}^ in relieving the cost of prison administration and in
improving the condition of the prisoners arises from the great num-
ber of those committed to penal institutions. It is formed principally
from a floating population committed under short sentences from eight
to ten days or two to three months. In France of 120,000 committed
to prison for a year or less, 50,000 are in prison but for five dsLjs, In
Italy an average of nearly 100,000 are condemned to prison for three
months or less. The total number sentenced to imprisonment for
three months and for detention g^id reclusion for ^ix months reached,
in 1896, 174,902. The expense is enormous for lodging and feeding
the great army of delinquents who remain in prison for but a few
days. It is evident that such short penalties are without the slightest
power of intimidation, and that as to their corrective effect it is not
worth while to speak of it.
Mr. Garafola would correct this by restricting the use of imprison-
ment and admitting only penalties of a certain duration for dangerous
criminals and for recidivists, and in substituting for short penalties a
strong form of coercion to oblige delinquents to make reparation to
their victims.
In the case of prisoners having property, steps should be taken to
secure it, and to prevent illegal transfers. As to insolvent offenders,
other methods of constraint must be sought. Short penalties should
be abolished. The minimum term of imprisonment being sufficiently
high, its execution should be suspended in the case of offenders
24 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
who beyond the costs of the process have paid a sum fixed by the
judge as a reparation for the injured party, exception being made
in the case of professional criminals and recidivists. The State treas-
ury would gain, since it would not only be spared the expense of
supporting the prisoner, but would be reimbursed for all other
expenses. The delinquent would be punished more seriously than if
he had to spend but a few weeks in prison, and the injured party
would be happ3" to be reimbursed, which happens so rarely to-day.
In the case of serious offenses in which imprisonment is deemed
necessary, Mr. Garofalo would make parole after a certain time of
imprisonment depend upon the willingness of the prisoner to reim-
burse his victim from his earnings saved in prison.
Finally, Mr. Garofalo favors a public fund, a caisse d'Etat, to assure
reparation, at least partial, for those who can not obtain it in any
other manner. We shall have made a great step of progress, he holds,
when the State shall regard it as a public function to indemnify for
crime.
Mr. Henri i Pascaud, conseiller a la cour d'appel de Chambery,
France, likewise supported the proposition to assign a portion of the
earnings of the prisoner to the victim and also the establishment of a
special indemnity fund by the State.
Mr. J. A. Roux, professeur agr%e of the faculty of law of the
University of Dijon, presented in the name of La Soci^te G^.n^rale
des Prisons a report viewing the subject from a different angle and
reaching different conclusions from the more ardent advocates of rep-
aration. Mr. Roux shows the difficulty of applying the earnings of
the prisoner while in prison or after his release to the indemnification
of the victim, and the inadvisability of throwing upon the State the
responsibility of indemnifying the victim. The conclusions of the
report succinctly summarized are:
The indemnity due to the injured party is not to be sought from the
earnings of the offender, either within prison or without, but an
assignment of the earnings of the prisoner to the injured party might
be permitted after they had reached 100 francs (f 20). The establish-
ment of an indemnity fund is not advisable, for it would require the
State to repair the damage which ought to be repaired by the offender.
But the chances of indemnity for the injured party would be seriously
increased if the idea that the offender is civilly responsible to the
victim received all the extension of which it is capable; and if, in
addition, corporations whose services are obligatory were held civilly
responsible for the offences committed by their members, and if an
indemnity fund were formed from damages unclaimed by those entitled
to them.
Mr. William Tallack, secretary of the Howard Association of Lon-
don, who has been for many years an advocate of the need of secur-
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 25
ing reparation for the victims of crime, rendered a report which
described ancient and modern attempts to solve this question, giving a
summary of the provisions in the English civil law and of tendencies
in English legislation as seen in the " Malicious injuries to property
act " of 1861, and the more recent employer's liability act, but show-
ing also how far England is yet from providing for any indemnity for
penal offenses. Mr. Tallack proposed the adoption of an alternative
between imprisonment and indemnity for the victim in the case of
offenders capable of paying, and for insolvent delinquents imprison-
ment with limited compensation offered to the victim by the State.
Mr. Veillier, director of the prison at Fresnes, France, called atten-
tion to the fact that according to the reports made to the congress in
1895, the earnings of prisoners were higher in France than in any
other country; but that the sums earned there, owing to the shortness
of the sentences of prisoners, were insuflScient even to clothe them
decently. Statistics showed that in 1895 those committed for long
terms had on an average about 135 francs ($27) at the time of their
discharge. But this amount is suflSciently small to clothe the pris-
oner, transport him to his home, and sustain him while he is awaiting
work. Indemnity could, therefore, only be obtained by civil suits for
damages or by special appropriations from the treasury of the State.
Mr. Zucker, professor of criminal law in the University of Prague,
thinks on the other hand that the most practical way of assuring
indemnity to a victim of crime would be to assign to him a portion of
the earnings of the offender in the course of his detention.
DISCUSSION.
Mr. Prins, professor of the University of Brussels, summarized the
conclusions of the 13 reports presented. He noted entire agreement
as to the desirability of securing or facilitating indemnit}" for the injured
party, but the difficulty is in securing this when the offender is insol-
vent. As to a fund composed of fines levied, he called attention to
the relative totals of fines imposed in Belgium and the relation they
would bear to a pecuniary indemnity. The statistics of Belgium show
that in 1897 there- were about 200,000 infractions, and about 100,000
of these had caused some damage. ' Estimating the damages inflicted
as about' 100 francs ($20) as the average, we should have 10,000,000
francs ($2,000,000) as the sum of damages, and to repair this we should
have 500,000 francs ($100,000), which would mean $1 for each sufferer.
Mr. Prins opposed an indemnity fund, the cost of which would fall
upon taxpayers. He showed likewise the insufficiency of the earn-
ings of prisoners and their great variability. He proposed, however,
to introduce as much as possible the economical element into repara-
tion by providing that as much account as possible should be taken of
the reparation due to the victim of the offense as a motive of condi-
26 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
tion of suspension of sentence or of conditional liberation after impris-
onment.
Senator Be renger agreed with Mr. Prins concerning the insuflSciency
of the prisoner's earnings for purposes of reparation, and as to the
inadvisability of having a public fund or bank for the purpose, but dis-
agreed with him in regard to making such reparation a condition of
probation.
In the animated discussion that followed, and which it is not nec-
essar}' to give in detail, nearly all the propositions presented in
the preliminary reports were considered in the section. When it came
to a vote the proposition to create a public fund was rejected, likewise
the suggestion to apply the earnings of the prisoner to this object.
The proposition of Mr. Prins that in certain cases conditional con-
demnation and conditional liberation should be made dependent upon
a pecuniary reparation by the delinquent for the damage he has caused,
was rejected by a close vote of 19 to 16.
The section contented itself with adopting again the resolution of
the Congress of Paris to increase by reforms of procedure the powers
of the victim of crime in a civil action.
Senator B^renger was charged with the duty of reporting the con-
clusion of the section to the general assembly. The discussion
brought out new speakers, but not new points. It was evident that
the delegates were rather closely divided on the proposition of Mr.
Prins that more account should be taken of reparation in according
probation or parole to the oflfender. The danger, however, of inter-
fering with the successful operation of the law for suspending sen-
tence, which is now effectivel}" administered in France and Belgium,
and the influential appeals on this point of Senator B^renger, the
author of the law in France, and also by Judge Felix Voisin, of the
court of cassation, led to the adoption of the resolution of the section
reaflSrming the conclusion of the Congress of Paris:
The Congress adopts again the resolution of the Congress of
Paris to facilitate hy reforms in^'ocedure the legal position of the
party seeking relief hy civil action.
The Extradition of Subjects.
Second Question:
Should the extradition of suhjects he admitted?
The science of penology is far-reaching in its relations. The domain
of criminal law lies adjacent to various other realms of authoritv and
public welfare. It is impossible to bound it by purely- geographical
lines. The interests of modern nations and communities in their rela-
tion to crime are identical. It was natural, then, that the Con-
gress a1? Brussels should embark in a discussion which led it far into
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 27
the fields of international law. The question, ''Shall citizens or sub-
jects of nations be extradited when charged with crime?" furnished
the basis of able and interesting reports from 15 reporters, some of
whom also treated the third question in the same papers. As many of
the same arguments were presented in diflferent reports, it is unneces-
sary to give each of them in detail; it seems better to gather
together and condense the arguments and illustrations of different
reporters.
The argument for the extradition of subjects may thus be summarized:
Extradition is a matter of competency. The fundamental principle
in matters of corapetenc}^ is that the delinquent should be judged and
punished in the place where he has committed the crime. It is there
that he gives satisfaction to social order by his punishment and to the
injured party by reparation of damages. It is only where the crime
has been committed that it is easy to collect the proof, and that the
accused can easily find means of defense, and that the civil obligations
of the author of the crime toward the injured party can be more exactly
defined.
It is in the interest of the person to be tried that citizens should
be judged by the tribunals of the country where the crime has been
committed. In every penal process there .is not only the accusation,
but the defense. And in what country can be found more easily the
proofs to clear the accused than in the place where the charge has been
brought? It is there that witnesses, experts, and the necessary docu
ments may be found. How can this be done in his own countr}^, far
from the place where the facts occurred? It is possible, of course, by
letters of inquiry to procure these means of proof, but everyone knows
the difference there is between the reading of a written deposition and
the personal evidence of witnesses. Very often it is necessary to eon-
front witnesses with each other to see where the truth lies, or it is
often necessary to bring some one who did not figure among the wit-
nesses to explain an unforseen circumstance which arose in the course
of the trial. All of these things would be impossible in a process
conducted at a distance from the place where the crime has been
perpetrated.
And what do we say in a case where there have been several delin-
quents implicated in the same trial, some of whom may be citizens and
some foreigners, and where the process is by its nature indivisible?
Is it to be supposed in this case that we should send accused for-
eigners before the court of their own country only because these
accused persons have there taken refuge? Who, asks Senator
Canonico, of Italy, would sustain such an absurdity ?
Professor Garyon, of Paris, in a report made in the name of La
Society (j^nerale des Prisons, furnished examples wliich show the
inconvenience and expense of trying offenders away from the place
28 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
where the offense was committed. A Frenchman had committed
assassination in the Argentine Republic. France has a treaty of
extradition with that country, but, like those o*f most nations, it does
not apply to its own subjects. The culprit fled to France. He could
not be delivered up to the authorities of the Argentine Republic
because he was a Frenchman. He was arrested, however, and the
case was brought before the court of assizes of Douai. The docu-
mentary proofs, which were fortunately complete, were received from
South America. But the judges found themselves much embarrassed
on receiving documents written in a language of which they were
ignorant. An official translation was made. This, however, would
not suffice, for depositions before the court of assizes must be made
orally. The French Government then asked the Argentine Govern-
ment to cite the principal witnesses. Some important witnesses
declined the long voyage to Europe. Others eagerly accepted the
excursion, with their expenses defrayed by the French Republic.
But at Douai, a small provincial city, the witnesses could not be
understood by anyone. It was necessary to send to Paris for an
interpreter. In spite of all these difficulties the accused was finally
convicted of his crime. Unfortunately, however, the finding was
annulled by the court of cassation owing to an error in form relatively
insignificant. All had to be done over. The witnesses were asked to
remain in France at the expense of the Republic until a new process
was completed, which resulted in a second condemnation.
Why these delays, asks Professor Gar<?on — these obstacles opposed
to the good administration of justice? Why this useless procedure in
France, where nobody knew anything of the crime, and why these
enormous expenses, which exceeded a hundred thousand francs?
Simply because the steamship had left before the discovery of the
crime, taking the accused far from his natural judges. A few hours'
delay in embarkation and the assassin would have been legally con-
demned by the Argentine tribunals, and nobody would have doubted
the justice of their courts.
The same reporter furnished a second example. Two manufacturers
had committed a crime together and taken refuge in France. One was
a foreigner; the other a Frenchman. The first was delivered to the
country where the crime had been committed; the extradition of the
Frenchman was refused. Without doubt there is no absolute obstacle
to a division of a process directed against the principal author and
against his accomplice, though it might happen that one might be
condemned and the other acquitted; but such results are not desirable,
and it is well to avoid them. For a criminal process to have its true
form and character it ought to bring before the same judge, and at the
same time, all those who have cooperated in the criminal action, that
their relative responsibility may be fixed. In that case the extradi-
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 29
tion of subjects would lead to the simplification of procedure and to a
more effective justice.
A central point in the controversy is to determine the natural judge
of the delinquent. This is an old dispute based on the rivalry between
the judge of the place where the crime is committed, and the judge
of the person presumed to have committed it. The result of the
long contest as to competency is in favor of the judge of the place.
It is to-day an uncontested principle, both in domestic and in inter-
national law, that an offender must submit to the police laws of the
country where he is and become amenable to its courts. This is an
attribute of sovereignty, and under it it is agreed that the courts of
the country may judge according to their laws a foreign criminal as
well as a subject. The judge of the place is so naturall}^ and ordinarily
the judge that if a conflict arises between a State upon whose territory
the crime has been committed and the State to which the accused
belongs by virtue of his nationality, and both States make requisition
for extradition upon a third State, the preference is given to the country
where the offense has been committed.
The historic aspects of the subjects were brought out by several
reporters, notably by Professor Gar^on and by Messrs. Ivanowsky,
Challandes, and Pascaud. In general, international practice has inter-
dicted the extradition of subjects. It is forbidden by the legislation of
various countries, notably Germany, Austria, Belgium, Hungary,
Italy, and the Netherlands. In those countries the Government could
not conclude a treaty in which the extradition of subjects should be
recognized. In France the question has had an interesting history.
There is no special legislation upon this point. However, Napoleon,
by a decree of October 23, 1811, expressly permitted the surrender of
a French subject accused of crime, and there are examples in 1812,
1813, and 1820 of the rendition of certain French criminals. Author-
ities in France have disputed the question as to whether this decree
could yet be invoked. At any rate it is not observed, and according
to some authorities was abrogated by the law of June 27, 1866. Anglo-
Saxon legislation stands in striking contrast with that of other coun-
tries in this respect. Treaties between England and the United States
permit the extradition of subjects. In these countries penal laws
have above all a territorial character. In various treaties England
has made the question of the non-extradition of the subjects to depend
upon the demand of the contracting States, but England has taken a
more decisive step and has even proposed to abandon this rule of
reciprocity. In its more recent treaties, notably in its treaty with
Spain of the 8th of June, 1878, it has agreed to deliver all malefactors
without distinction of nationality, and consequently English subjects,
although the Spanish Government has refused to deliver its own
subjects.
30 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
Although the doctrine of the non-extradition of subjects is sustained
by many writers, the more pronounced tendency to-day is in favor of
extradition. The new tendency is felt not only among writers on
international law, but in the sphere of government. The circle of
international relations is enlarged. While each nation should give aid
and protection to its subjects, this protection should not extend to a
criminal who is the common enemy of civilization. Society needs to
be established upon a solid basis for the repression of all criminal and
dishonest enterprises. In a former state of society, when each State
lived in isolation, the conditions were diflferent; but to-day, thanks to
the benefit of a progressive civilization and to the extension of diplo-
matic and commercial intercourse, a new basis of harmony between
diflferent States is established. But at the same time, if the circle of
international relations is enlarged, crimes and misdemeanors, theft and
fraud are reproduced under many forms. The extradition of subjects
is one practicable defense against such criminals. No criminal should
be allowed to shelter himself from the penalty of his crime, whatever
ma}'^ be the country in which he takes refuge.
It has been objected that the national dignity of a nation does not
permit a government to deliver its citizens to a strange government,
to which Senator Canonico replies that the true dignity of a nation
consists in being just and impartial toward all. How can there be any
loss of dignity in delivering a culprit to the same tribunals which
would have judged him if he had not fled from them to his native land ?
A second objection advanced is that each government must safe-
guard the interest of its subjects; that they have not before foreign
tribunals the same guaranties as before the tribunals of their own
country. Often he is ignorant of the language of the country; per-
haps he does not find there the impartial justice that he may lind at
home. Will he not have to encounter certain prejudices as a stranger?
The criminal has no right to impunity, but he may demand at least to
be judged under the laws of his own country by tribunals which give
a complete guaranty to his defense; but this argument, says Mr. Gar-
9on, is not irrefutable. The English commission in 1878 said substan-
tially: " When we invite other nations to organize in concert with^us
a s^'stem of extradition, it is illogical to admit every restriction imply-
ing a doubt upon the competence or the justice of their tribunals.
Extradition supposes a mutual confidence in the manner in which jus-
tice is rendered by the courts of the two countries. If that confidence
should not exist, no one should be extradited, a foreigner no more
than a subject." On this subject Senator Canonico says: "As to the
fear that in our day magistrates in civilized countries are wont to judge
foreigners with greater severity than natives, I do not believe it is
well founded. The contrary tendency is evident. There is frequently
a tendency on the part of judges to favor a man who is far from his
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 31
country, without resources and surrounded by temptations which draw
him easily into crime. These considerations, if they do not lead into
indulgence, lead to equity on the part of his judges. The want of
confidence which was justified in barbarous times, and which was
natural to a state of war, is not natural now."
Dr. Harburger, of Munich, observed that to consent to extraditiou
it is necessary to establish the indispensable hypothesis that the penal
law and the penal procedure of the States interested rest in general
upon the same principles. It will prevent consequences which might
be feared without, however, excluding at the same time the advan-
tages of extradition, if legislation provides that the extradition of
citizens may be denied in certain cases.
DISCUSSION.
Monsieur De Rode, director-general of the ministry of justice of
Belgium, presented as reporter a general review of the arguments of
the thirteen papers on this section, oifering for action his conclusion
expressed in the following proposition:
A State satisfies the demands of universal justice when it prosecutes
its citizens or subjects charged with crime or offenses committed beyond
its territor}' and who may be liable to extradition. It can not then
be obliged to deliver its subjects to a State upon the territory of which
the infraction has been perpetrated.
This conclusion was supported by Monsieur Gonzalo Cedrun de la
Pedraja, a member of the high commission of prisons of Madrid. He
pointed out the diflSculties in the way of the extradition of subjects
and supported the proposition of Monsieur De Rode.
Commander Nocito, professor and member of the Italian Parliament,
observed that there are priciples of international law as well as of
penal law which do not recognize the extradition of citizens. Penal
justice is not only territorial, applying to offenses committed on the
territory of a State, but it is also personal in its relation to the sub-
jects of the State when the}^ commit an offense abroad. It is for this
reason that the codes of several nations punish the citizen who has
committed offenses outside of his country, whether committed against
citizens of his own country or against foreigners. It is just that the citi-
zen as well as the foreigner should be obliged to observe the laws of his
country, of the country which has assured to him civil and political rights
when he dwells abroad, which has established consulates and embassies
to defend him, and which is sometimes involved in international conflict
for his protection. Thus the citizen is amenable to two penal codes when
he commits an offense abroad — to the law of the country in which he
resides, and the law of the country of which' he is a citizen. There
is no reason why the delinquent should not pay both of his debts.
For the State which has a criminal in its hands the essential thing is
32 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
that the criminal should settle his account. This is the practice in
international law; it is practiced also in civil law. Why then, when it
concerns a criminal under the penal law of his own country, should the
citizen be extradited, leaving the offense which he has committed
against the laws of his own country unsatisfied ? It is true that the
debt is the same and that it concerns the same offense, but why this
disrespect for the laws of his own country where he is better able to be
heard by its judges? It may be said that the penalty will not produce
its salutar}^ effect on public tranquillity except in the place where the
crime has been committed; but to-day public surety concerns the com-
mon well-being of nations, and a report of the crime, like that of the
sentence, is carried far and wide by the press and the telegraph. Eng-
land does not punish the offenses of its subjects when committed
abroad. Under these circumstances it is eas}^ to understand why it
does not oppose extradition. But in a country like Italy, where there
is a penal code which punishes citizens for offenses committed abroad,
we can not by extradition abandon the exercise of penal justice to
commit it to foreign tribunals. Penal justice is not only a right of
the State; it is a duty. Very often the delinquent who has committed
a crime abroad brings with him the proof of his offense, as in the case
of stolen articles; but in other cases foreign countries never refuse the
aid of the magistrates and their police to a State which asks it.
Mr. Prins, professor of the University of Brussels and inspector-
general of prisons, supported the observations of Mr. De Rode. He
remarked that the adoption of the system favored by Mr. Gar^on
would compel Belgium to abandon the neutrality which it ought to
observe from a judicial as well as from a political standpoint. Before
abandoning the system in actual operation its practical inconvenience
should be pointed out in an average number of cases, and not in excep-
tional cases as cited by Mr. Garyon. Belgium has for centuries
adhered to the principle of the non-extradition of its subjects; but it
punishes its subjects when delinquent, if they have not been punished
abroad. The practical end to be sought, the repression of crime, is
thus attained, and as long as it is not proved that in general the non-
extradition of citizens favors the impunity of criminals there is no
need of abandoning the principle.
Senator B^renger proposed the following: There is no ground for
refusing the extradition of citizens when there is between the coun-
tries an equality in the guaranties accorded to the offender and similar
legislation, and when the States concerned are not at war with each
other.
Mr. Typaldo-Bassia, professor of the University of Athens, sup-
ported the theories advanced by Mr. Gar^on.
Mr. Thiery, professor of the University of Liege, remarked that in
delivering citizens to a foreign government a State might experience a
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 33
feeling of disquietude with reference to the protection to which they
might be entitled; but it is to be noted that the extradition of citizens
would never be effected except by virtue of a special treaty concluded
between two countries, and such a treaty would not be made except when
the laws of the two countries furnished the necessary guaranties. He
approved of the extradition of citizens based upoh special treaties,
because he considered the judge of the place where the crime was com-
mitted as the natural judge of the delinquent and that no fear need be
felt as to the individual protection of the extradited person.
The proposition of Mr. Garyon was then adopted, Mr. B^renger and
Mr. Typaldo-Bassia having withdrawn amendments which they had
offered.
In the general session Mr. Gar^on made the report, which was sup-
ported by Mr. Brusa, professor of the University of Turin and mem-
ber of the Institute of International Law. The resolution proposed
by the section was unanimously adopted as follows:
Between countries whose criminal laws rest upon similar founda-
tions^ and which may have confidence in their respective judicial
institutions^ the extradition of citizens would he a means of assur-
i/ng the good administration of penal justice^ since it is a desidera-
tum of penal science that territorial jurisdiction should he appealed
to as much as possible for judicial decisions.
Offenses Committed Abroad. .
Third Question:
What principle should hefollaived m determining the limits of
the competency of criminal justice as to the prosecution of offenses
committed abroad or in cooperation loith individuals^ whether citi-
zens m' foi^eigners^ residing ahroad?
The third question, it will be seen, was closely related to that of the
•second, involving as it did the question of extra-territorial jurisdiction,
and several of the reports treated the two questions together. M. De
Rode, director-general of the ministry of justice of Belgium, presented
an analysis of the reports. From some of the interrogatories brought
forth in the reports it had been assumed that it was the intention of
the commission, in proposing this question, to confine it to the extra-
territorial jurisdiction of a State with reference to its own citizens.
Some of the reporters, however, did not so understand this, and they
considered the question whether a State might repress infractions com-
mitted abroad by foreigners. There is a particular category of infrac-
tions, said Mr. De Rode, which in general opinion justifies the exercise
of extra-territorial jurisdiction whatever may be the nationality of their
authors. They are such acts as threaten the surety, the well-being,
or the public credit of the State. Most of the codes recognize the
H. Doc. 374 3
34 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
right of the injured State to prosecute the guilt}^ party, whatever may
be his nationality and whatever may be the place where the crime has
been committed. When attacked directly, the State obeys the interest
of social conservation and security in pursuing the oifender. The
right to punish does not depend upon the presence of the offender
upon its territory!
Senator B^renger asked what authority a State possesses over a
foreigner who is not even upon its territory.
Mr. De Rode quoted codes to show that it is not a new idea to take
action against foreigners when they commit acts against the life of a
State.
Mr. Dubois, judge of the civil tribunal of Bauge, said that the
principle of the competency of the State, with reference to infractions
committed beyond its territory, even by foreigners, should be sanc-
tioned when it concerned the fortunes of the State, its public credit,
or its security. The acts referred to, even if committed abroad, pro-
duce their consequences upon the territory of the country against
which they are directed.
Mr. De Rode then called attention to infractions committed by the
citizens of the State in foreign countries. It is generally admitted, he
argued, that the State is competent to punish, in certain conditions,
infractions committed by its citizens outside of its territory, if these
infractions are of a nature to disturb social order. A citizen does not
losehis citizenship in crossing the frontier; he remains subject to the
laws of his country. Various questions arise, however, such as What
are the infractions which justify the exercise of extra-territorial
jurisdiction? Should these infractions be punished by foreign law at
the same time as by domestic law? Should the prosecution be subject
to the presence of the accused person upon the national territory?
Should the prosecution be invalid by reason of a prosecution previ-
ously exercised abroad?
Conclusions respecting these points were framed by Mr. De Rode,
four of which were adopted and the other two committed to the next
Congress.
Miss Lydia PoSt was named as reporter to the general assembly,
and this accomplished lady gave a complete resume of the arguments
and conclusions of the first section. The resolutions adopted corre-
sponded to those adopted by the section, and were as follows:
Conclusions:
Every State may jninish according to its laws^ crimes and
offenses committed heyond its territory hy citizens or by foreigners^
whether as principals or accomplices^ against the security^ the wdl-
heing^ and the public credit of the State. The prosecution need not
he dependent upon the presence of the accused upon the territory of
the injured State,
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. . 35
II, Every State may punish,, conformably to its laws,, all other
infractions of a certain gravity committed hy its citizens heyond its
territory,, whether as principals or accoinplH^^es^ emn though the
criminal act shoxdd not he punishable in the cCnintry upon the terri-
tory of which itjia^ been committed.
Among these infractions should he included all those which
might give rise 'to extradition. The prosecution may take place
only if the offender is found upon national teiTitory,
When the off'ense has been committed against a foreigner^ the
prosecution may he subject to the complaint of the injured party or
of his family ,, or to an official notice given hy the authorities of the
country upon whose territory the offense has been committed,
* III, The preceding rules are not applicable when the accused has
heeh tried and acquitted in a foreign country for the same offense^
or when,, after having been condemned,, he has served his sentence or
has hem pardoned,
IV. The penal law of a country where an offense ha^s been com-
mitted is applicable^ not only to that offense itself but also to all
acts of participatimi perpetrated in a foreign country ar hy for-
eigners.
The Indeterminate Sentence.
Fourth Question:
Are there classes of delinquents to whom the indeterminate sentence
may be applied,, and how may that measure be realized?
The subject of the indeterminate sentence was not a new one for the
International Prison Congress. At the congresses of Stockholm,
Rome, St. Petersburg, and Paris, it found a place in one form or
another. It has also been the theme of discussion in the International
Union for Penal Law and in the Congress of Criminal Anthropology.
Though European as well as American jurists have been slow to accept
it as a principle, the importance of the subject in the field of debate has
received constantly wider recognition, and brought out an increased
number of disputants. Perhaps no advocate of the indeterminate sen-
tence supposed that it would receive unqualified acceptance by a body
so justly and cautiously conservative as the International Prison Con-
gress, whose deliverances have been remarkably free from immaturity
and rashness. The traditional theory of a definite penalty for every
offense against the criminal code is so strongly intrenched in statute
and practice that to dislodge it is something like the task of removing
Gibraltar. The indefinite sentence will not find fuU'Scope p,nd accept-
ance until every vestige of the idea of retaliation or social vengeance
disappears from our criminal codes and judicial administration. This
is far from realization at present, either in Europe or the United
States^
36 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRI80N C0NGRE8S.
The Congress, however, generously recognized the fact that in the
United States, the indefinite sentence has had, if not a wider discus-
sion, at least a wider application than in Europe. In submitting the
question for a report and debate, it was expressly stated that "the
commission wished to offer to the penologists of the United States an
opportunity to present the origin of the system, the legal measures
which have been adopted, the manner of executing the sentence, and
in short, to communicate to the Congress the result of the experience
with this law in their country." Mr. Maus, chief of the bureau of
the ministry of justice of Belgium, who as "corapporteur" had the
diflScult task of digesting the voluminous reports, said, "Our Ameri-
can colleagues have responded to the request of the commission with
an eagerness which merits our gratitude. Their reports throw great
light upon the question and give considerable importance to the
discussion."
In addition to the American reports nine other reports on the subject
were received from the following writers, namely: Messrs. Ugo
Conti and De Sanctis, of Italy; Professor Gauckler, of the University
of Nancy, France; Professor Van Hamel, of Holland; Mr. Junghanns,
of Freiburg, Germany; Dr. Penta, of the University of Naples; Mr.
Ruggles-Brise, of England; Prof. R. Saleilles, of France; Professor
Thiry, of Liege, Belgium.
Though distinctly announcing himself as an opponent of the indeter-
minate sentence, Mr. Maus presented the arguments made for it with
precision and fairness, and showed much skill in analysis and in the
classification of views.
Briefly stated, the argument for the indeterminate sentence is
founded on the insufficiency of the definite sentence, either as a
repressive or reformatory measure. It does not protect society,
neither does it contribute to the reformation of the prisoner, objects
which ought always to be held in view in dealing with offenders.
Further, it is impossible to proportion penalties with reference to the
gravity of the offense. It is more rational to adjust them with refer-
ence to the character and condition of the offender and the needs of
society. The advocates of the indefinite sentence propose that the
duration of the imprisonment should not be fixed by the judge any
more than the judge or the physician who commits a patient to an
insane asylum should fix in advance the duration of his confinement, a
procedure which would not protect society, nor would it restore the
insane to health. It is quite as irrational to release criminals upon a
day arbitrarily fixed by the judge wholly without reference to their
fitness to resume their social duties. It is therefore important that
the prisoner should be submitted to treatment which is reformatory
in its character, and equally important that he should not be discharged
from such a reformatory^ until he has demonstrated by his positive
SIXTH INTERNATTONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 37
attainments in prison that it is wise to release him. Even then his
release should be conditional, and dependent upon his behavior under
proper surveillance in society. He may be returned to the reformatory
if he fails to fulfill the prescribed conditions. Of those who advocate
the indeterminate sentence some place the emphasis upon the impor-
tance of the protection of society. Others place greater emphasis upoiji
its relation to the reformation of the prisoner. Both recognize that
these two ends may be combined, and that society is best protected
through the reformation of the prisoner. The value of the indeter-
minate sentence in connection with a true reformatory system is
shown in the incentive which it brings to bear upon the prisoner to
work out by industry, application to study, and correct deportment
his own release.
These familiar arguments for the indefinite sentence were met by
familiar objections. Its opponents refuse to consider an indefinite
sentence as in any strict sense a penalty. They adhere to the tradi-
tional notion that a definite penalty must be attached to every offense;
but they fail to show how it is possible to construct any such scale of
penalties exactly in proportion to the enormity of the offense. They
insist on punishment as an instrument of justice without showing how
justice can be executed through punishment, for nothing is more appar-
ent than that, under the prevailing system, the contradictions and
inequalities of so-called justice are innumerable. In saying, there-
fore, that the penalty should be proportioned to the gravity of the
offense and the guilt of the offender, because that is the demand of
justice, the advocates of the definite sentence have failed to show how
any such ideal justice can be realized.
Another objection offered was the familiar one that the powers which
have hitherto belonged to the judge of determining when an individual
should be released would have to be confided to the administrative
authorities. It is hard to see what loss there would be in this change.
Certainly prison authorities and boards of administration are much
more capable of telling when a prisoner may wisely be offered condi-
tional liberation than is the judge who knows little of the prisoner
and judges him only by the single act or the series of circumstances
which entered into the crime. Another objection which- has been
advanced in the United States, as it has been in Europe, is that the
abuse of the indeterminate sentence might lead to prolonged and unjust
confinement. When combined with the previous objection, that the
power to fix a limit should not be taken from the judge, this has led
to the adoption in the United States of a form of the indefinite sen-
tence under which the judge fixes a minimum and maximum period to
the sentence; but to those who believe in the logic as well as in the
practical value of the indeterminate sentence it is evident that with a
proper reformatory regime the true function of the judge and the
38 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
jury is to decide simpl}^ whether the prisoner is guilty of the charge
preferred against hira. If so, he is to be submitted to a regime which
is probationar}" and corrective and that can be so adjusted as to compel
the prisoner to earn his release and restoration to society.
It was unfortunate that in the discussions of the Congress the theo-
retical aspect of the indeterminate sentence was separated from the
practical. While the indeterminate sentence was discussed in the first
section simply as a judicial measure, the question of the reformatory
system was discussed in the second session as a question of prison
administration. The two subjects inevitably belong together. The
tendency in a body of jurists is to treat the indefinite sentence as an
abstract question and to cloud the discussion with purely theoretical
objections. There was even a tendency in one report to object to the
word indeterminate as having a certain philosophical value, as if it
could be in any way complicated with the question of determinism
and free willl The question could have been better considered in its
integrity when joined to the discussion of the reformatory system, of
which the indeterminate sentence is an essential element.
Apart from the detailed presentation and resume of the reports by
Monsieur Maus, there was insuflScient time in the section to aflford
debate, and the student who wishes a full exposition of the principle
and eflfect of the indeterminate sentence must be referred to the series
of able reports by diflferent writers which furnished the basis of
discussion.
In the deb'ate which occurred in the first section remarks were made
by Professor Thiry, of the University of Liege; Prof. Ugo Conti, of
Bologna; Judge Martin Dewe}^ Follett, of Mansfield, Ohio; Michel
Heymann, president of the board of prison commissioners. New
Orleans, La. ; Mr. Engelen, president of the tribunal of Zutphen, Neth-
erlands; Mr. Typaldo-Bassia, professor of the University of Athens,
Greece; Judge Simeon E. Baldwin, of New Haven, Conn.; Senator
Berenger, of France; Mr. S. J. Barrows, corresponding secretary of the
Prison Association of New York; Monsieur Prins, professor of the
University of Brussels; Dr. A. Bezerra da Kocha Moraes, tribunal of
justice. Para, Brazil; Mr. de Borowitinoff, of the Imperial University
of St. Petersburg, Russia.
The following conclusions drawn by Mr. Maus were adopted in the
section and also in the general assembl}^ without debate.
Conclusions:
With reference to the application of indeterminate sentences thei^e
is ground for distinguishing penalties properly cmisidered^ edu-
cative measures^ measures of protection and public safety^ and the
pathological treatment of delinquents.
(a) As to penalties^ the system of the indeterminate sentences is
SIXTH INTEKNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 39
inadmissible. It may he advantageously replaced hy conditional
liberation combined with a jyt^ogressive cumulative sentence for
recidivists.
(5) As to measures of education.^ protection., or of safety., the system,
of indeterminate sentences is only admissible through restrictions
which involve the abandonment of the principle itself. It will be
more logical^ more simple., and more practical to preserve the system
of prolonged imprisonment as modified by conditional liberation.
(c) In case of irresponsible delinquents and those affected with
mental disease., the duration, of restraint must necessarily be inde-
terminate; but measures taken with reference to this class h/ive no
penal character.
The principle of the system, being rejected., it seems unnecessary
to examine the second part of the question., which concerns the
organization of indetermiiiate sentences.
THE REPRESSION OF BLACKMAIL.
Fifth Question:
What measures should be recommended with a vieio to repress
offenses generally known under ths name of blackmail?
Should a special procedure be established for the prosecution of
this class of offenses?
Eight reports were presented upon this question, and Mr. Typaldo-
Bassia, who originally proposed this question for the programme and
was the author of one of the reports, was made co-rapporteur. Under
his hand the eight reports were faithfully summarized, and a draft of
conclusions was drawn by him and submitted to the section. This sum-
mary showed the great diversity of forms under which blackmail may
exist and the necessity of protecting its victims. Mr. Tarde, profes-
sor of the College of France, dwelt upon the gravity and frequency of
blackmail perpetrated by the press against public men, not in the
extortion of money, but in the defamation of character in case they do
not vote or abstain from voting as they are bidden by these journals.
Mr. Typaldo-Bassia agreed with Professor Tarde as to the pressure
which is often exerted on legislative members, and which, though
denominated corruption, is but another form of blackmail and emi-
nently criminal. Mr. Evangoulow, attache to the chancery of the
imperial council of St. Petersburg, favored a law which shall punish
more rigorously blackmail exerted through the press. He favored
also the trial of those offenses by closed doors, a power which is only
conceded in the majority of countries when publicity would be dan-
gerous to public order or to public morals. He urged that the trial
should be secret when publicity would be prejudicial to the reputation
of the victim.
40 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
Mr. Charles Felton (whose report was published in Penological
Questions, Fifty-fifth Congress, Senate document 158) showed that
legislation in the United States is not uniform and calls attention to the
diversity of the definitions and of penalties in the diflferent States with
referense to this oflfense. He cited many interesting examples of
blackmail. He did not think, however, that there was any reason for
applying a special legal procedure to the treatment of blackmail,
regarding the common law as suflScient for this class of oflfenses. He
placed confidence, not in the eflBciency of new laws for its repression,
but rather in moral education, the gradual progress of civilization, and
the ethical influence exerted by society.
Mr. Ludwig Fuld, of Mayence, Germany, showed that in Germany,
as in ancient Rome, resort was frequently had to charges for pretended
crimes of lese-majest^ for the purpose of obtaining sums of money from
persons thus denounced. He remarked that to prov^e and repress such
acts is almost impossible. Supporting himself by the maxim of Mon-
tesquieu that ''human laws enacted against imaginary crimes often
in reality provoke them," he showed that legislators have made the mis-
take of introducing into their criminal codes repressive provisions con-
cerning certain infractions of morality which stimulate the practice of
blackmail. He thought that the prosecution of such oflfenses by the
State should be given up. But with reference to blackmail itself he
would enact severer penalties.
Mr. A. Berlet, procureur of the Republic, of Boug^, France, urged
that the definition of blackmail should be more comprehensive, so as to
cover all forms of its operation. He called attention, as did the co-rap-
porteur, to that form of extortion which consists in threatening a person
with an action at law if he does not advance a certain amount of money.
Mr. Ch. Thuriet, president of the civil tribunal of St. Claude F
(Jura), France, gave an account of the state of legislation in France,
Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Hungarj^, and in Italy, in
relation to the subject. He showed that repressive measures had been
ineflfective. He did not share, however, the view of those who would
transfer blackmail from the category of misdemeanors (d^lits) as it is
in France to that of felony (crimes). The French law now permits an
imprisonment of five years for this oflfense, which he considers a suflS-
cient penalty. He proposed more rigor, however, in dealing with
oflfenses of the press, which he characterized with severity.
Mr. G. Aub^ry, of Puy-de-D6me, France, declared that the press as
an instrument of blackmail is more dangerous to society because its
authors disguise themselves under the mask of judges invested with a
high social mission, but he observed that the diminution of crime and
oflfenses did not depend upon the severity of the laws. He concluded
that it is through the feebleness and impotence of judicial investiga-
tion owing to limited judicial power that the greater part of these
acts of bJackmail remain unpunished. He did not believe in the crea-
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 41
tion of new laws nor in enlarging the definition of blackmail, but in
the better execution of existing laws.
The discussion which followed turned on various points enumerated
in the preceding analysis.
Hon. Simeon E. BaMwin, of New Haven, Conn., delegate of the
United States urged that the Congress should avoid, as far as possible,
the expression of conclusions which are not of universal application.
In the United States, constitutional protection is accorded to the lib-
erty of the press and to the principle of the publicity of judicial trials*
In consequence, as a representative of the United States, he was not
able to favor the conclusions advanced bearing on these points.
Mr. Bertrou, advocate of the court of appeals of Paris, also indi-
cated the dangers which might arise from suppressing that primordial
guaranty of justice, the publicity of trials.
Senator B^renger, of Paris, said that blackmail through the press
is becoming intolerable. It is a crying abuse against which the whole
world is rising. He favored the inclusion in the criminal code of this
form of blackmail.
The discussion in the section was carried into the general assembly,
and with slight modifications the conclusions formulated by Mr.
Typaldo-Bassia were adopted.
Conclusions:
Under the designation of hlackinail criminal codes should specify
extortion or attempts at extortion^ especially through the press or
through a purely annoying judicial process^ either to obtain sums
of money or to secure some advantage,
(2.) Blackmail should he considered as a misdemeanor {delit)^
and as such referred to tribunals having jurisdiction of such
offenses {tribunals correctionels)^ which may pronounce a penalty
of imprisonment and a fine,
(S,) Judges should have the liberty of holding court with closed
doors upon the demand of the injured party when the trial might
injure his reputation,
(^.) Publication of the proceedings of a secret trial is forbidden.
SECOND SECTION.
PRISON ADMINISTRATION.
President: J. Simon Van der Aa, LL.D. , general inspector of prisons
at The Hague, Holland.
Vice-presidents: Mr. D. Drill, conseiller d'Etat, St. Petersburg,
Russia; Mme. Dupuy, Paris, France; Friedrich von Engelberg, Baden,
Germany; Ange-Valdemar Severin From, Denmark; J. B. Gibbons,
president of the Prison Commission of Ireland, Dublin; J. V. Hurbin,
director of the penitentiary at Lenzburg, Switzerland; Dr. Dobri
Minkoff, Sofia, Bulgaria; Shigerijo Ogawa, Japan, director of the penal
service of Japan; Maj. Carl L. Palm, of Stockholm, Sweden.
Secretary: Ernest Bertrand, LL.D., Brussels, Belgium.
Associate secretaries: Messrs Belym and BorgerhoflF, of Brussels,
Belgium.
Medical Service in Prisons.
First Question:
(a) Upon what principles should the sanitm^y and medical serv-
ice of penal establishments he ha^edf
(J) How may the regular medical direction of the physical and
mental health of prisoners he assured?
(c) JBbiv far may the authority of the physician extend to the
solution of questions relating to the diet^ clothing^ and labor of
prisoners and to the punishments which inay he inflicted upon
them?
Mr. Victor Delmarcel, physician of the prisons of Louvain, Belgium,
the co-rapporteur, had sixteen reports to digest and to summarize,
showing that prison physicians responded with interest and willingness
to the appeal for professional opinions. It was evident, too, that
doctors could agree upon the essential elements of professional service
in penal establishments. It is not diflScult to imagine how the phy-
sician of a penal institution, with an extensive array of medicines at his
command, might add in no small degree to the physical punishment of
the prisoners under his charge were he so disposed. It is interesting
and reassuring to note that with great unanimity prison physicians
regard their work as curative and regenemtive. The penal system
has for its basis only the deprivation of liberty. It is the mission of
the physician, says Mr. Delmarcel, to secure to the prisoner all the
42
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 43
therapeutic means necessary to cure him if he is sick, and to prevent
by rigorous means his exposure to contagious diseases. The phj^sician
should have but one end in view, and that is to return to society
stronger and purer the body which has been debased by debauchery
and the soul soiled by vice. Under the inspiration of this idea the
sanitary service will secure from the hj^gienic point of view better
conditions for the construction of prisons, their ventilation, aeration,
warmth and lighting, and disinfection. All measures dictated by
scientific and practical hygiene would be employed to avoid the
dangers of infection to which those in prison are particularly exposed.
Against contagious maladies isolation and disinfection musit be
practiced.
Attention was called in the reports and also in the discussion to the
dangers of tuberculosis, which is acknowledged to be a great scourge
of prison life.
Professor Penta, of Niaples, urged that prison physicians should not
only devote themselves to the prevention and cure of sickness, but
also to criminal anthropology in order to study and classify the ten-
dencies of criminals. Likewise, Dr. Chapin, of Philadelphia, said that
the prison physician should be familiar with criminology and recognize
the distinction between incorrigible and occasional criminals.
Emphasis was also laid by some of the reporters upon the necessity
of the prison physician being an alienist, or at least capable, of diag-
nosing the most common mental maladies of prisoners, or of making
a distinction between sanity and insanity. For the more diflScult cases
recourse must be had to experienced alienists accepted by the Govern-
ment.
More variation of opinion appeared in regard to the domain of
authority of the physician in the prison, but it was generally agreed
that in addition to the independent authority of the physician in all
cases of sickness, he should be consulted by the director in matters
aflFecting the health of prisoners, since, as Dr. Chapin, of Philadel-
phia, has pointed out, it is easier and more economical to prevent moral
or phj^sical evils than to cure them.
Dr. Dausse, physician of the prisons at Bordeaux, spoke of the fear-
ful battle undertaken in the whole civilized world against that terrible
disease, tuberculosis. Prison doctors know what ravages it wreaks,
not only upon prisoners, but also upon oflScers and attendants. He
was of the opinion that the attention of public authority should be
directed anew to this disease and that penitentiary^, hygiene should be
especially organized to combat it.
Professor Thiry, professor of the University of Liege, thought that
tuberculous cases should be treated in special asylums, because it is
not possible to give them adequate treatment in prisons.
Mr. Albert Riviere, the co-rapporteur, supported the president in
44 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS
his observation that the treatment of a special malady would carry the
discussion beyond the limits defined by the programme, and thought it
better to reserve the discussion of this subject for the larger opportu-
nity which might be furnished by the next Congress. Meanwhile,
tuberculosis cases in prisons should be sent to infirmaries and should
be the subject of special care.
A question which, owing to the large standing armies existing in
Europe, had significance in the Congress was whether military phy-
sicians, either active or retired, should be engaged in prison service.
Since in the United States the regular army is extremely small, this
question has little importance for American readers.
The whole spirit and final result of the prolonged and animated dis-
cussion on this important question were well conserved by Mr. Riviere
in his draft of conclusions, which were adopted in the section, and with
slight amendment in the general assembly.
Conclusions:
I. The medical and sanitary sei^mce of penal institutiryns is
secured in conformity to the special regulations of each country hy
doctors of medicine^ eithet* civil or military^ in active service or
retired, possessing special knowledge of psychiatry, TJtey should
in d/mhtful ca^es. consult with medical alienists acceptable to the
admin istration,
Tfte appointiaent of a medical interne exclusively attached to the
establishment presents advantages for large penal establishments in
certain countries, hut the application of this meamire need not he
general,
A special regime may he instituted for the sick and incapable.
Aged o^r infirm, prisoners, incapable of labor, may he assigned to
special quarters, where they may he sxdytaitted to a special regime,
II. For long sentence prisoners individual directions, covering
all informatio7i relative to physical and mental health, should he
prepared. To this end periodic visits should he made to all pris-
oners, having in mind at the same time their moral elevation
{through lectures, tracts, anti-alcoholic tables, etc).
The doctm's sivould direct his attention to the prevention of con-
tagio\LS and epidemic diseases, and notably of tuhereidosis.
It 'is desirable tlmt he should he present at the meeting of the
officers,
III. The physician is independent in everything relating to the
medical care of tJte sick and to the regime established for that
treatment. By way of consultation, a^ice should be asked in
matters relating to the construction of buildings as in matters of
hygiene {food, clothing, labor, punishments, etc).
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 45
Reformatories in the United States.
Second Question:
With relation to delinquents still young ^ is there gromid for
recommending a system of refonnatories such as ha^s hem organized
in the United States of America?
Six reports were presented on this question, namely, by Mr. Bailly,
director of the Ecole de Bienfaisance de I'fitat at Moll, Belgium; Mr.
Michel Kazarine, attach^ of the ministry of Russia; Professor Mitter-
maier, of Heidelberg, now of the University of Bern, Switzerland;
Mr. Passez, advocate of the court of cassation of France; Mr. Rug-
gles-Brise, chairman of the English prison commission; and, under
the editorship of Samuel J. Barrows, a full report on the reformatory
system in the United States, in which fourteen writers described the
general and special characteristics of the system as developed in
different States (Fifty-sixth Congress, first session. House Doc. No.
459). In view of this full exposition, it seems unnecessary to pre-
sent to American readers any further details from an American
standpoiiit. *
Mr. Bailly was made co-rapporteur. He objected to the large pop-
ulation of the Elmira Reformatory, believing that it was impossible
for the director to exert his personal influence effectively in a popula-
tion of 1,500. He also criticised the fact that the average duration of
the imprisonment of the inmates did not admit of satisfactory and
thorough instruction in the trades to which they were assigned. A
third point of criticism was that in the military organization of the
reformatory inmates are chosen as officers, and thus exercise authority
over their fellow-prisoners. Mr. Bailly prefers to have all prisonei's
placed upon an equality, and the only favor or preference he would
grant would be to accord to the meritorious an earlier liberation.
Mr. Bailly, the co-rapporteur, concluded his brief analysis of reports
by proposing as the conclusion of the congress that the second section,
while taking into very serious consideration the organization of reform-
atories of United States of America, holds that the results as known
at the present day after an experience of hardly twenty years, do not
sufficiently justify, without more profound study, the adoption of that
system in the countries of Europe. It expresses the hope that the
Government of the United States will communicate to the International
Prison Commission all the documents capable of putting a succeeding
congress in a position to pass a more positive vote.
Mr. Michel Heyman, of Louisiana, urged that the principle of
reformatories is only a rational step in advance which had been made
in the United States, and he believed that after full reflection they
would join in recommending such institutions foi all the countries of
the world. ''We are not groping in the dark on this subject in the
46 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
United States. We know that the reformatories are a success for
young men who commit their first crime. Such young men should be
considered as moralh^ sick and should be treated accordingly-. They
should be committed not so much for punishment as for correction.
It is no protection to society to discharge a man from prison worse
than when he went in; that only tends to make him a recidivist." He
referred to the fact that the indeterminate sentence is an essential
element in the reformatory system, and that no intelligent physician
would accept the responsibility of curing an invalid in a definite
number of days.
Mr. Veillier, director of the prison at Fresnes, supported the con-
clusions of the co-rapporteur, for he considered it impossible to propose
to the congress the immediate introduction in Europe of a system cer-
tainly very ingenious, but whose results, if he had been well informed,
had not been suflSciently verified. He asked the representative of the
United States, after having described a system remarkable in all
respects, to place before them its results with reference to recidivism.
He declared that he was not hostile to the principle of reformatories,
but before generalising upon them we must permit time to demon-
strate their utility and eflicacy. The States of Europe during many
years have developed the separate system (le regime cellulaire) with
satisf actor}- results. They should not renounce it without grave
reasons, and only after their error had been demonstrated.
Mr, Engelen, president of the tribunal at Zutphen, Holland, thought
that the great diflBculty in generalizing concerning the reformatory
system is that the system is in some sort associated with the person-
ality of Mr. Brockway, the director of Elmira, N. Y. On one side the
complaint had been made that these reformatories were not sufficiently
severe; on the other hand it had been asserted that man}- prisoners
prefer to go to a prison under the old system than to be committed to
Elmira, because under the old system they knew when they would be
placed at liberty.
Mr. Heyman, in response, said that a prisoner's satisfaction with
Elmira depended much upon his conduct. Those who do not observe
the rules are treated with rigor and do not wish to return to that
prison. Power of liberation is not confided to the director, but to the
board of managers of the institution, and the prisoner is put to liberty
only on certain conditions.
Mr. S. J. Barrows, of the United States, said there are some who
admit that the reformatory system in America has obtained a success
which deserves attention and perhaps imitation, but they ask if that
system can be applied in Europe. In answer he would invoke the
experience of Italy. A few jears before he had visited the institution
for boys at Tivoli, and he had found there a veritable reformatory,
conducted with undoubted success by a wise and noble man. The
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 47
previous j- ear he visited the institution for paternal correction at Pisa,
of which Mr. De Sanctis is the director. He received a profound
impression of the value of that institution. Everywhere one felt the
influence of a good system and of a man of mind and heart. The
instruction is well organized. Mr. De Sanctis has himself written
books to instruct his boys in the principles of morality and in social
duties. The regime of the establishment is sound and healthful.
There is also at Milan an institution which resembles reformatories
for boys in the United States. Neither the severity of the discipline
of Elmira nor the indeterminate sentence is to be found there; but
after having seen the institution at Pisa the speaker had said to him-
self that if it is possible to have such a reformatory for boys of from
15 to 21 years, it would be equally possible in Italy to conduct with
success institutions for boys of from 20 to 30 years — for it is necessary
to recognize the fact that legal minority is absolutely arbitrary,. and
that there are individuals of 30 years who are truly minors in all which
concerns moral and intellectual development. At Elmira the average
age of prisoners is about 22 years. Mr. De Sanctis has presented a
report in favor of the indeterminate sentence. If the Italian Govern-
ment would adopt the indeterminate sentence and increase the age
limit it would have at Pisa an institution corresponding in its essential
features to American establishments, but with a character completely
Italian.
Mr. von Engelberg, director of the penitentiary of Mannheim, said
that according to reports those placed on conditional liberation were
under surveillance for six months or a year. That was not sufficient,
according to his opinion, to show that an individual had become a law-
abiding citizen and was able to resist temptation. He wished to know
if there were any statistics in regard to recidivism of the inmates of
reformatories.
Mr. Barrows said there were no general statistics of recidivism in
the United States, but that the director of the Elmira Reformatory,
Mr. Brockway, had made a special inquiry covering a period of some
ten years with reference to the inmates of that institution who had
received an absolute discharge. He had concluded that about 80 per
cent of them had become good citizens.^
Mr. Albert Riviere, secretary -general of the Societe Gen^rale des
Prisons of France, said that Europe has for ninetv years been study-
«In my remarks on the next question treating of the cellular system (p. 52), I
have called attention to the fact that the advocates of that system freely acknowledge
that they can not rely upon official statistics to demonstrate the value of penal insti-
tutions of that character. While Mr. Cassidy, representing the cellular system in
the United States, truly declares that American statistics are of no value as bearing
on the question of either the reformatory or the cellular system, Mr. Bertrand, the
co-rapporteur, regrets the lack of comparative statistics in Europe. — S. J. B.
48 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGJIESS.
ing prison problems, that they had developed a system of correctional
education, which they were trying to perfect every day. They could
not be expected to disregard all this history and search^for something
absolutely new. What they wished to know was if there were any
good principles in the American system which might easily be applied
in Europe. Mr. Passez had called attention to three advantages in the
reformatory system, namely, the avoidance of mutual corruption, the
marking system, and a better personnel, and urged their adoption in
Europe. But the cellular system also prevents corruption if it is
intelligently applied, and a system of marks is imposed in France by
the law of 1885, and they also demanded a select personnel. He
thought the American system was less interesting in its principle than
in its details, and especially in the remarkable care with which trade
instruction is organized for young men.
The president of the section, Mr. Simon van der Aa, said that the
organization of technical instruction was one of the marked character-
istics of the American system. In Europe there was trade instruction
for juvenile delinquents in most countries, but a neglect to provide it
for adults. It is diflferent in America, where the reformatory receives
those up to 30 years of age and submits them to an apprenticeship the
same as for younger inmates.
Mr. Riviere said that on the contrary professional instruction was
organized in the French and Belgian prisons for adults as well as for
young delinquents. Perhaps they did not always succeed, but this
instruction was certainly one of the objects in view. He believed
that this instruction should be more and more improved, and in doing
so they would find themselves in accord with the resolutions of the
recent international Congress of Prisoners' Aid Societies at Paris.
' The president remarked that he was influenced mainly, but not
entirely, by the state of things existing in Holland. According to his
impressions adult prisoners were made to work in European prisons,
and attempts are made in some countries more than in others to render
this labor as instructive as possible, but it is not a distinct and special
aim to teach such prisoners different trades, theoretically and prac-
tically by trade schools and other means, such as in the American
reformatories, where such instruction is an essential feature of the
system.
Mr. Barrows said that the American delegates did not ask them to
abandon that which they had created in Europe. The}^ simply asked
that the system of European correctional and charitable schools might
be developed and applied to adults, while giving to each organization
its own national character. They had been inspired in the United
States by the Irish system and by the organization of European houses
of reform, which have so often produced good results. It was not
necessary to efface them, but to develop them.
8IXT9 INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 49
Mr. Engelen, of Holland, thought that Elmira had a great advantage
in respect to work. According to the reports there were in 1895 some
thirty-four trades which individuals might learn, so that on leaving
prison each one might gain his bread, and thus avoid falling again into
crime.
Mr. Maurice, president of the tribunal at Tours, was impressed with
the system which teaches prisoners a trade in reformatories, and if it
can be aflSrmed tnat the prisoners learn easily and find occupation on
release and are reformed, the system is excellent, but it is impossible
to secure definite results without statistics.
Mr. Skouses, formerly minister of foreign affairs of Greece, refer-
ring to the remarks of Mr. Barrows, that the principles of American
reformatories might be applied to European correctional institutions by
extending the age from 20 to 30 years and adopting the indeterminate
sentence, said that would mean a complete transformation of the system
which governs nearly all the prisons of Europe, because in Europe
when they speak of maison de reform, maison de correction, reforma-
tories, they understand institutions which receive youths from 15 or
16 years to 21. If that age should be extended to 30 years, or even to
35, which has happened in the United States, then attempts would be
made to extend that limit to 40 or 45 years. It would be necessary to
take into account climatic, physiological, social, tmd other differences;
for men do not develop in the north and in the south in the same
manner and in the same time. Mr. Barrows had informed them of
the investigations made by Mr. Brockway, showing that from 75 to
80 per cent of those liberated live as good citizens. That is certainly
a very satisfactory result. But Mr. Barrows himself had added that
it was not based upon oflScial statistics, and if discharged prisoners
from Elmira, on leaving the refonnatory, choose to go to one of the
forty -four other States of the Union, beyond the jurisdiction of the
director of that institution, how does the director know of their con-
duct in their new residence? He thought there was a misunderstand-
ing as to the extent in which trade instruction is carried on in the
prisons of Europe. In all the prisons he had visited, from Sweden to
Italy, and from England to Russia, prisoners are made to work, in the
hope of teaching them a trade which will insure them support.
Madame Dupuy, general inspector of the female prisoners' estab-
lishments of France, said that in that country the reform schools do
not receive children abov^e 12 years of age. They are pupils; they
are treated according to their intelligence and ability, their tastes and
the situation of their families. If they are of city origin they are
submitted to an apprenticeship. In Besan9on, for instance, there is a
branch of the reform school of Frasnes-le-Chateau, and every day
forty or fifty young boys are sent out to work under different patrons,
returning to the institution for their meals and lodging. When the
H. Doc. 374 i
50 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
apprenticeship is finished they are placed among the patrons as young
workmen, or return to their families if the latter are worthy. Chil-
dren of rural origin are placed in the country where they do not lose
the protection of the school. Others marry in the vicinity and also
at Paris and succeed well.
M. Albert Riviere said that the principal information which may be
derived from the American sj^stem relates to technical instruction.
In Europe that aim is certainl}" not placed in the front rank. It is a
mistake. Paying a tribute to the work of their American colleagues,
he proposed to modify the conclusions so as to recognize this fact.
Mr. Bailly accepted this proposition, but the president remarked
that there were other points interesting to note and it might be prefer-
able not to make an exception of any.
The section adopted the conclusions proposed by the co- rapporteur,
and in the general assembl}'^ these conclusions were accepted without
further debate.
Conclusions:
This section^ while taking into very serious consideration the
organization of the reformatories of the United States of America^
considers that the results known up to the present time can not he
regarded a^ sufficient to justify^ without more profound study ^ the
adoption of that organizatian in the countries of Europe.
It expresses the hope that the Government of the United States
of America may communicate to ths International Prison Com-
mission all documents capable of enabling a succeeding Congress to
express a more conclusive opinion.
Cellular Imprisonment.
Third Question:
Has experience^ up to the present time^ with the system of cellular
confinement {whether as the sole method of executing all sentences oj
imprisonment or of certain sentences only^ whether imposed during
the entire course or during a certain period of the sentence)^ yielded
results which pei^mit us to determine the value of that regime^ and
of each one of its different modes of application., especially from
the point of view — ,
{a) Of its influence on the state of criminality and of a relapse
into crime in the countHes where it is wholly or partially applied.
(J) With reference to its consequences upon the mo7*al and phys-
ical health of pet^sons v)ho are subjected to it during a term more
or less prolonged.
The sj^stem of cellular confinement, called also the "solitary sys-
tem," has been in vogue in Europe for many years, and has been
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 51
developed to a high degree in Belgium. It was fitting, therefore, in
the country where the Congress was held that an inquiry should be made
as to the general eflBciency and results of that system. The question,
however, was not limited territorially, for some of the best illustra-
tions of the cellular system are found in France, Holland, Switzerland,
and Sweden. Twelve reports covering the countries named were sub-
mitted. As there is but one example of the cellular system in the
United States, but one report was presented from this country, and
that bore the name of the venerable and ardent advocate of that sys-
tem, the late Michael J. Cassidy, for many years warden of the Eastern
Penitentiary at Philadelphia. Nearly all of the reporters were like-
wise directors of penitentiaries established either wholly or in part on
the cellular system.
The essential feature of the cellular system is that it provides a sep-
arate cell for each prisoner in which he is to sleep, eat, and work during
the entire term of his imprisonment. He has daily communication
with the oflScers of the prison, moral and religious instruction; his
cell is large and comfortably furnished, and he has his yard out of
doors in which to take his daily exercise, but he has no association
with other prisoners. As the question above suggests, the cellular sys-
tem is sometimes used for the entire period of the sentence, but in
some countries the practice is to limit the length of cellular confine-
ment and to follow it by a period in a congregate prison. The reports
presented were not descriptions of the system, with which the members
of the Congress were supposed to be reasonably familiar, but rather
arguments in its favor and a discussion of results.
Mr. Ernest Bertrand, assistant director of the prison at St. Gilles,
Brussels, was made co-rapporteur. Before reading his report he paid
a graceful tribute to the memory of Mr. Cassidy, warden of the Eastern
Penitentiary, who passed away before the opening of the Congress.
Though he was not familiar with the details of his life, he had atten-
tively read his works and was convinced that Mr. Cassidy was pro-
foundly devoted to penological science.
Mr. Bertrand began by frankly acknowledging that the statistics on
this subject are still very imperfect and very divergent in diflFerent
countries in spite of the propositions which have been made to system-
atize them, especially at the Congress of St. Petersburg. Besides,
prison work is of too short duration to be summed up in an arithmetical
table. Its impalpable results are dispersed in innumerable individual
lives. Further, as was observed in the report of the general direction
of prisons in Belgium, the movement of crimnality and of relapses
into crime is effected by multiple causes, and the influence of a prison
regime upon the development of criminality and the prevention of
relapses must not be exaggerated. In fact, said Mr. Bertrand, to
seek in the statistics of crime an absolute criterion of the value of a
52 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS,
prison system would be to confer a warrant of perfection upon penal
legislation, and to disown criminal sociology and anthropology.
This just recognition of the insuflSciency of statistics to demonstrate
the value of the cellular or any other prison system was in marked
contrast with the insistent demand in the same section for statistics as
a demonstration of the value of, the reformatory system. It will be a
long time before any statistics concerning reformations or relapses can
be secured in the United States which are uniform and reliable; and
the want of confidence which the partisans of the cellular system in
Europe show in the value of statistics as a demonstration of cellular
imprisonment is not encouraging to those who ask us chiefly to rely
upon oflBcial statistics. Mr. Wieselgren, director-general of the prisons
of Sweden, iustly said in his report that to determine in what measure
resolutions formed in prison have been kept outside it would be neces-
sary to follow the life of each prisoner, which is almost impossible. It
was this method which was adopted by Mr. Brockwa}^ in arriving at
his conclusion as to the probable number of those who became good
citizens after discharge from the Elmira Reformatory. (See discus-
sion of preceding question, p. 49.) Americans, we believe, would cer-
tainly make a mistake if they made their judgment of the value of the
cellular system to depend mainly upon shifting and uncertain columns
of penal statistics.
So far as the statistics of relapses are concerned, the best showing
in the reports offered is made by Sweden. Before the establishment
of the cellular system in that country in 1840-1842 the proportion of
relapses was from 62 to 79 per cent. In the last decennial period it
has fallen to 31.4 in the establishments organized almost entirely on
the principle of separation by day and by night, while it remains 77
per cent in the houses of correction, serving for the confinement of
vagabonds which are on the congregate plan. The point left uncer-
tain by the figures, however, is whether taking the class of tramps in
our workhouses, in which the most persistent repeaters are found, and
comparing their recommitments with those of the inmates of the best
congregate prisons or reformatories, as great a disparity in number of
repeaters may not be found.
On the other hand, Mr. Darrouy, of Toulouse, regards cellular
imprisonment as ineflicacious against criminality and criminal relapses.
He regards the real cause of this, however, to be short sentences. In
two cellular prisons under his control the average sentence is but
twenty-three days.
A question not sufliciently treated by the reporters was whether cel-
lular imprisonment should be limited to sentences of one, two, three,
or four years, or whether it could safely be prolonged to ten years or
even longer periods. While most of them speak with confidence and
even with enthusiasm of the cellular system to the degree that they
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 53
have seen it applied, we are left somewhat in doubt whether it should
be applied during the whole period of a sentence or combined with the
congregate system as in some countries.
The only discordant note among the reporters is given in the report
of Mr. L^on Barthes, instructor of the house of education of La
Petite-Roquette at Paris, who holds that individual incarceration
rarely produces salutary eflFects. His observation has been limited to
young prisoners, and Mr. Bertrand remarks that there are few who
advocate the cellular system for delinquents of that age.
In Belgium crime is said to be on the increase, but this is a fact which
is to be noted not only in countries where the cellular system is exclu-
sively operative, but in other countries where it has not been firmly
established. Figures, too, in relation to the increase of crime, depend
so much upon police vigilance and the influence of new laws and the
operation of short sentences, through which the same individual is
included many times in the same enumeration, that it would be haz-
ardous to impeach an}^ prison system upon such statistical evidence.
While it was therefore diflScult to secure evidence as to the eflfect of
the cellular system upon crime as a whole, the testimony of the
reporters concerning its eflfects upon the physical and mental health of
prisoners was more precise and positive. Diseases of the respiratory
organs consigned 25 per cent of the inmates to the hospital, but, on
the other hand, the great advantage of cellular imprisonment in epi-
demic and contagious diseases is recognized. It has been assumed
that cellular imprisonment would lead rapidly to insanity and suicide.
Doubtless it depends somewhat on what kind of cellular imprison-
ment it is. But the facts presented by the physicians dispel the idea
that either disease is a f recyient consequence of such imprisonment.
Of 436 prisoners condemned to life sentences in the last twenty-five
years in the cellular prison of Louvain, 6 per cent only have needed
to be sent to insane asylums, and in some of these incipient mental
disease was doubtless present at the time of or before the commission
of their crimes. It was recognized, however, by some reporters that
cellular imprisonment is not compatible with certain exceptional con-
stitutions and with certain pathological states, and that it is desirable
to have some prison or quarters organized on the congregate sj^stem
for the confinement of these exceptional prisoners eliminated by the
cellular system.
Mr. Verhaegen, chaplain of the Central Prison at Louvain, gave
strong personal testimon}^ as to the moral influence of cellular impris-
onment.
Conclusions:
The Ccytigress holds that the results of the cellular system as to
mminality and relapses into crime ^ so far as they have been vet^i-
54 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
jied hy experiment^ respond to the exjjeetationj^ of the promoters of
t ft IS form of imprisonment to the degree that is possible in prison
adm in ist ration .
The result of the experience in Belgiwn shows that cellidar
imprisonment even prolonged ten years or heyond^ assuming the
preiHom suhseque^it elimination of certain elements^ has no more
unfavourable effect upon the physical or mental health of prisoners
than any other mode of imprisonment.
The Treatment of Recidivists.
Fourth Question:
Should recidivists he subjected to a disciplinary regime mm^e
severe than that applied to prisoners sentenced for the first tinie^
and what should he the nature of this regime?
Fourteen reports were presented upon this question, and Mr.
Cornez, director of the prison at Verviers, Belgium, was made
co-rapporteur.
The term "recidivist-' is so commonly used among penologists as a
technical term for the "repeater" or "rounder," the more familiar
designation in American prisons, that it scarcely needs translation. It
is a general term whose meaning is without dispute when applied to
the unfortunately large number of those who are committed to prison
again and again for the same or for different offenses. There is some
difference of opinion as to whether the term should be applied to a
second offender. But the Congress used the word in its broader sense
as applicable to all those who having served a sentence in prison subse-
quently return to it, and the object of the question was to determine
whether such recidivists should receive a different course of treatment
and essentially a more severe one than that to which first offenders
are subjected. The reports on this question were written by some
of the most experienced of the prison directors of Europe.
The subject was not wholly a new one to the Congress. It had
been treated under different aspects at previous meetings. Complete
unanimity was not attained. A majority of the writers, however,
seemed to favor a difference in the regime for the first offender and in
that for the recidivist. On the other hand, it was urged by a few
that the more logical and more practical way was to make the r^.gime
in prison for the first offender so severe within the limits of common
humanity that it would indeed deter the prisoner from committing
another offense and thus becoming a recidivist.
Mr. Bertrand, assistant director of the prison at St. Gilles, pre-
sented considerations which show that the actual regime is for the
most part incapable of increased severity without becoming exces-
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 55
sively rigorous. He would admit increased severity where it could
be applied without cruelty, provided that it could also be extended to
first oflfenders. Prof. Joseph Orano, of the University of Rome, was
absolutely opposed to any increase in the severity. He departed suf-
ficiently from the question to advocate preventive rather than repres-
sive measures in the treatment of crime.
Most of the writers recognized a diflference among persistent offend-
ers as to their degree of perversity and responsibility, and many con-
cluded that the regime should be suflSciently elastic to recognize these
differences. '
Mr. Atthalin, writing in the name of La Soci^te G^n^rale des
Prisons of France, expressed this view in arguing that no increase
of penalty should be imposed upon recidivists in a purely automatic
and impersonal manner. A fixed rule was less fortunate than a rec-
ognition of the character of the individual and the causes which had
determined his relapse into crime.
The question was also raised to whom should belong the right to
order that a sentence in any particular case should be served under a
more severe regime — should it be determined by judicial authority or
by the prison administration? Mr. Atthalin argued in favor of rest-
ing authority in the judge.
As to practical suggestions, some advocated cellular imprisonment;
others the creation of special quarters in congregate prisons. Others
argued against the congregate system as tending to produce the
condition of recidivism it was supposed to correct.
As to the details of a more severe prison treatment, some of the
writers would absolutely interdict all visits to recidi visits; others would
diminish the frequency of visits. Mr. Veillier, director of the prisons
at Fresnes, was opposed to any restriction whatever. The same diver-
sity of opinion was shown in regard to the correspondence of prison-
ers, and even with reference to the use of the library, which in some
prisons seems to be regarded as a means of amusing prisoners rather
than of inspiring and instructing them.
While the deprivation of special favors and privileges was advocated
for recidivists, nearly all the writers disapproved of any further
restriction as to diet, believing that the ordinary dietary is suffi-
ciently strict, and incapable of further diminution without cruelty-
Certain countries have what is known as the canteen, at which prison-
ers may apply a part of their earnings to add variety and pleasure to
their dietary. Some writers would deprive recidivists of this oppor-
tunity. There were those who favored the complete repression of the
canteen. In Italy the canteen may be said to be almost a necessity to
supplement the ordinary bill of fare, which was adopted with the
canteen distinctly in view.
56 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON OONGBESS.
The same view prevailed with reference to the bedding of prisoners,
the controlling opinion being that it should be of a kind to insure the
prisoner's repose, and that only superfluous luxury should be eliminated.
The reporters favored generally the subjecting of recidivists to
fatiguing labors with a minimum daily or weekl}" task, taking away
from them the choice of occupations. Some would permit the prison-
ers to retain their own trades. The labor, however, whatever it be,
should be suflBiciently severe and arduous to produce a deterrent efl'ect,
and failure to complete the task, it was urged, should be followed by
disciplinary treatment.
In Europe the custom generally prevails of according to prisoners
a portion of their earnings during imprisonment. A part of this
allowance is available to the inmate during imprisonment; a part
is retained until his discharge. Certain writers favored withdrawing
from recidivists that portion of the allowance which the}^ are now
allowed to spend during their confinement. One writer would with-
draw the whole allowance. This was opposed by other writers, for the
reason that it would deprive the prisoner on his discharge of the sup-
port which his prison earnings furnish while he is seeking to reestab-
lish himself in society. One writer proposed that earnings be withheld
and only paid to the released prisoner gradually after his discharge,
and conditioned on his good behavior. The practical diflSculties of
applying such a suggestion were evident.
The discussion on this question was animated, and revealed decided
differences of opinion.
Mr. Cornez, the co-rapporteur, presented an extended draft of con-
clusions, of which the following is an abridgment:
The Congress is of the opinion that recidivists should be submitted
to a disciplinary regime more severe than that for first offenders, but
that individual circumstances and conditions should be considered in
applying it, and that the right to impose this sentence should be
devolved upon judicial authority.
The form under which this severer discipline should be imposed
should be both moral and material. The moral elements should
include the following:
1. Whenever possible, cellular imprisonment. When this is impos-
sible, recidivists should form special divisions in congregate prisons.
2. The visits they are permitted to receive should, as a general rule,
be restricted to their nearest relatives, but this rule should be relaxed
for humane considerations toward them and their relatives.
3. The correspondence of recidivists should conform to rules as to
visits.
4. The use of the library should be limited to religious books and
those of a moral aiid scientific character.
5. In the application of discipline for infraction of prison rules the
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 57
penalties prescribed by the regulations should alone be applied, but
with appropriate rigor.
6. The prisoners submitted to this regime should be excluded as far
as possible f rona the privileged and easier employments.
The material elements should include:
1. Dietary should be so regulated as to repair the daily physical
waste, and the canteen may be used simply as a means of supplement-
ing the insuflBiciency of the dietary.
2. Beds and bedding should be strictly limited to what is necessary
to insure repose.
3. Recidivists should be obliged to work to the limit of their
strength and to complete a daily or weekly task.
4. Their share of their earnings should be reduced to proportions
to be determined by the administration.
5. They should be forbidden to receive aid in money or in kind.
Mr. von Engelberg, of Mannheim, opposed that part of the proposi-
tion of the co-rapporteur which devolved upon the judge the responsi-
bility of deciding whether a prisoner should be submitted to this regime.
The question discussed is not whether another kind of penalty should
be applied to recidivists different in its nature and essence; it is simply
the question of the organization of the disciplinary organization of a
sentence. And this is not the domain of the judge, but of the peniten-
tiary administration. The treatment proposed should depend upon a
profound knowledge of the prisoner, and this is acquired by long
study of character, which the judge does not possess and can not
acquire concerning the prisoner before him.
Mr. Veillier, director of the prisons at Fresnes, explained that in
France recidivists were already subjected to a reduced allowance for
their labor. It is impossible to admit, however, that the privileges of
receiving visits, correspondence, and reading should be reduced. If
they are good, multiply them ; if they are bad, suppress them.
Madame Dupuj^, general inspector of establishments for female
prisoners, of Paris, likewise objected to the deprivation of correspond-
ence and of visits with reference to female prisoners. In imposing
such restrictions they would punish not only the prisoners but also
their relatives.
Mr. Albert Riviere, secretary" -general of La Soci^t^ G^n^rale des
Prisons of France, called attention to the conclusions of previous Con-
gresses as to the ineflScacy of short sentences. Belgian magistrates
have said that from 1879 to 1892 recidivism has augmented 40 per
cent. It is necessary to pronounce longer sentences and to make the
first penalty as severe as possible. As to the moral regime he was
completely in accord with Mr. Veillier. Visits are more necessary
perhaps for the recidivist than for the first offender, and the same as
to correspondence and reading.
58 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
Mr. Skouses, formerly minister of foreign affairs of Greece, sup-
ported in general the conclusions of the co-rapporteur, but as to visits
and reading he agreed with Mr. Veillier.
Mr. Bathardy opposed the conclusions of the co-rapporteur. He
proposed a substitute declaring that recidivists should not be sub-
mitted to a special regime, but found in the duration of the
sentences to which they are submitted the remedy to increase of crim-
inality. His studies at the prison of St. Gilles had brought him to
the conclusion that recidivism is very rare among first offenders
who have been submitted to a sentence of suflScient duration under the
cellular system.
After further discussion the contusions of Mr. Cornez, as modified
on a motion of Mr. Veillier to omit paragraphs 2, 3, and 4, relating
to visits, correspondence, and reading, were adopted.
Discussion in General Assembly.
As a general thing, conclusions voted in the sections of the Congress
are reaflSrmed in the general assembly, where members of all the sec-
tions are reunited; but sometimes a hot debate in the sections is carried
into the general assembly, and occasionally the conclusions, as in this
instance, are reversed.
Mr. Cornez was appointed rapporteur to the general assembly, and
restated there his position, and likewise with fairness that of his
opponents, and read the conclusions adopted by the section.
Mr. Bathardy again presented his amendment, declaring that the
best prison is that which takes away from the first offender any desire
to return to it and become a recidivist. The conclusions proposed by
him were adopted.
Conclusions:
I. The Congress holds that the internal regime of prisons should
he as severe a^ possible during the first committment^ and not admit
of other 'mitigations than those exacted hy moi^al and physical
hygiene^ and that consequently recidivists can not he sitbjected to a
more severe regime*
II. If classification, in countries where cellular imprisonment
and congregate imprisonment both exists the granting to prisoners
of a fixed portion of their earnings and its surrender to them on
their liberation, the choice of icork^ and exchtsion from positions
of favor, are useful elements to recognize in a prison system, then
the duration of sentences, above all in the case of recidivism, must
he considered the only measure which can he effectively preventive.
THIRD SECTION.
PREVENTIVE MEANS.
President: Jules Rickl de Bellye, Budapest, Hungary.
Vice-presidents: Dr. Marcos M. Avellaneda, Argentine Republic;
Dr. Antonio Bezerra da Rocha Moreas, Brazil; J. M. Bing, Copen-
hagen, Denmark; Dr. Ferdinand Curti, director of the penitentiary at
Zurich, Switzerland; Judge M. D. Follett, Columbus, Ohio; Michel
Rahtivan, director of prisons at Bucharest; Axel Smedal, Christiania,
Norway; Oscar Szilagyi, Bosnia; S. P. de Yakowlew, Moscow, Russia.
Secretary: Charles De Lannoy, Brussels, Belgium. ^
Associate secretaries: Messrs. Bracken and Le Brun, Belgium.
Emigration for Young Delinquents.
First question:
Among the tneans of preventing criine should we include^ in cer-
tain cases^ the emigration^ or the estahlishment in a colonial posses-
sion^ of minors who have heen subjected to the educative regime of
reform schools or other similar institutionsf If so^ how can this
he realized?
In contrast to most of the other questions which were treated by
numerous writers, only two reports were presented in answer to this
question. Mr. De Lannoy, chief of the statistical service of the
ministry of justice of Belgium, and co-rapporteur for the section,
explained this indifference by the too general character of the ques-
tion, and by the difficulties of realizing the idea. Emigration and col-
onization are terms of political economy, so vast and comprehensive
in their significance that it is difficult to introduce them in the defini-
tion of a penal provision. Emigration can be made under many dif-
ferent forms, and there are many different species of colonies.
The problem involved is this: Vicious or abandoned children have .
been conmitted to the educative system of public institutions. They
have no family to return to, or only one that is bad or unnatural, or,
inheriting bad tendencies, they have been depraved by the environ-
ment where their infancy has been spent. When the time for their
liberation arrives, should not their return to their original environ-
ment be prevented b}^ seeking another where they will not experience
the same evil influences, or where they may become part of a new
family?
60 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
Evidently, says Mr. De Lannoy, this change of environment offers
perspectives of regeneration very attractive, but how shall it be
realized?
There is no question, continues the co-rapporteur, but that these
youths on discharge may emigrate to a foreign country. But this
emigration should not be erected into a system. Up to the present
time no country has invited it, and supposing that a nation consents
to receive these improved but not always healthful products of a
neighboring nation, who then would dare to pretend that the best
means of re-establishing a young man in society is to make him change
his country and render him a stranger to those sentiments of attach-
ment to his native soil which are among the purest sources of courage
and generosity ?
There remains emigration to some colonial dependency. This limits
its application. We can only consider colonies where the white race
ia easilj^ acclimated. Hardly one-tenth of the European colonies
fulfill this condition.
We can not dream of transporting reform-school pupils en masse as
we transport criminals. They would have nothing to gain from this
mutual intercourse. It would be necessar}^ to send them separately,
or in little groups. But this would be only advantageous when the
child found in the colony a superior environment, from the moral
point of view, to that which he had had in his mother countr3\
But suppose all these conditions united? Suppose a colony with a
good climate where a living may be easily earned, where the popula-
tion is in general quiet and honest, such a colony as Canada, would it
be profitable to send there pupils of charitable or correctional schools?
The experiments made in England have proved that this method is
sometimes effectual, but that its application is a matter of delicacy
and uncertainty. The directors of several reform schools declare that
42 per cent, if not more, oi children sent to Canada return immedi-
ately to their point of departure. They ask to leave England only to
avoid the control under which they are placed and to escape the obli-
gations imposed by the school. As to those who remain in Canada,
what becomes of them? We have not much light on that subject. A
society established b}" Dr. Barnardo claims to have saved 99 per cent
of the 6,000 children which in twenty-eight 3^ears had been sent to
Canada. But on what conditions: By sending to Canada onl}" "Hhe
flower of the flock," children blessed with good health and absolutely
honest and virtuous. Placed in Canadian families, subjected to a
methodical surveillance, these children have become honest citizens
and good workers. But considering their excellent nature it would
seem, says Mr. De Lannoy, that they might have become the same
without leaving England.
In France such experiments have been made upon a limited scale
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 61
and under special circumstances, and do not offer material for con-
clusions. They are not likely to be renewed, because the directors of
reform schools find for their pupils very good places among the French
peasantry.
Mr. Wilhelm, chef du service du contentieux au ministere de la
marine, of Paris, France, supported the conclusions of the reporter
and of Mr. Henri Joly, one of the writers. Transportation is a diflBi-
cult matter. The health of young children might be compromised
by sending them to tropical climates, and the colonial places are not
always favorable to their moral development.
Dr. Guillaume, director of the Federal Bureau of Statistics of Bern,
thought conclusions should not be formulated so as to absolutely for-
bid immigration to a foreign country. The information communicated
in the two reports presented on the question were far from being
complete, and therefore Mr. de Lannoy had drawn pessimistic con-
clusions from them. It might have been otherwise if this question
like others on the programme had been treated by a large number of
reporters, notably of countries like England, which sends every year,
to one or the other of its colonies, pupils of reform schools who
become useful citizens. The question as formulated does not concern
merely pupils of schools in countries which possess colonies, but it also
concerns countries like Switzerland, which have a climate like the
United States. In these cases it is desirable that a pupil who has
passed several years in an institution where he has conducted himself
well should be withdrawn after his discharge from the influence of the
unfavorable environment with which he was surrounded before his
entrance. Emigration is necessary sometimes to continue the bene-
fits of the education given in the institution. The nunjber of pupils
for which emigration is desirable will always be limited, and a choice
should be judiciously made, taking into account the health of the can-
didate, his character, and the degree of instruction he has received.
He spoke of the success of the English system. A committee in
Canada informs the English societies when places are vacant. He
mentioned the director of a reform school in the Canton of Bern who,^
in order to insure a cordial reception to immigrants had bought a farm
in one of the northern States of the United States, where a Swiss
colony was established. The farm was directed and administered by
one of his employees, whose mission it was to receive the young Swiss
emigrants from the establishment and to give them occupation until
they had found work among the farmers of the colony. Experience
proves that in certain cases, very few it is true, emigration gives
good results.
Mr. De Kachkine, chief of the section of the general administration
of prisons at St. Petersburg, opposed the transportation of children
even to different parts of the same country when they were widely
62 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
separated. In Russia, for example, the provinces of the north are a
foreign countr^^ for children raised in the southern provinces, and the
east and west extremes of Russia differ more than Germany and
Austria. f
Mr. Veillier, director of the prisons at Fresnes, did not favor a
conclusion absolutel}^ opposed to emigration. He was in general
opposed to the transportation of children, but it would be a pity in
certain cases not to make use of the means of re-establishing children
which the colonies offer.
M. Barthady took essentiall}" the same position.
The conclusions presented by Mr. Joly in his report and modified
by the amendment of Dr. Guillaume were adopted.
Mr. Wilhelm was made reporter to the general assembly, which
adopted without modification the conclusions voted by the section.
Conclusions:
I. Emigration should not he recommended to foreign countries^
except in individual cases.
II. The placing of children in colonial possessions 7nay he re-
garded as api^eventive means ^ hut on the following conditions:
1. Choice should he made of the most vigorous and the hest mon^al
suhjects; in a word^ of those hest adapted for colonization in the
counti^ adopted.
2. They should not he grouped too much together,
3. They should he placed in a healthy environment,
4. They should he placed where they may he assured ofinore lucra-
tive work thxin that of the metropolis.
5. Friendly relations should he sustained with them for a long
time.
Alcoholism and Crime.
Second Question:
^liat is the recognized relation of alcoholism to criminality in
diferent countries?
To what special means Quay we have recourse in comhating alco-
holisfin among criminals in general?
Nine reports were presented on this subject by the following gentle-
men: Messrs. John Baker, Dalhoff, Fekete de Nagyivany, Paul Garnier,
Malgat, Marambat, Schaffroth, Sullivan, and Wieselgren.
ABSTRACT OF DR. MASOIN'S REPORT.
Dr. Masoin, professor of the University of Louvain, permanent
secretary of the Royal Academy of Medicine, and alienist of the Belgian
prison, was co-rapporteur, and said:
The question submitted is in two parts, which complement each
other. Like a medical question it takes up first the disease, and second
the remedy, or the diagnosis and treatment. The first part concerns
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 63
the extent of the evil of alcoholism in regard to crime. One might
think this might be answered by figures which speak with clearness,
even with brutality, but unfortunately it is not so. Statistics might
show identical things if they .were gathered from the same standpoint.
But sex, age, the civil state, the profession, the nature or the gravity
of the crime, all these and other things have been considered from
different points of view. I will give the opinions gleaned from dif-
ferent reports presented.
Dr. Malgat, physician in chief of the prison at Nice, informs us that
the influence of alcoholism on crime is 59 per cent.
Mr. Marambat, registrar of the prison at Poissy, gives the propor-
tion as 66.4 per cent.
Mr. Sullivan, penitentiary physician on the Isle of Wight, states the
proportion as 60 per cent for crimes of violence in England.
Dr. Baker, physician of the Pentonville, London, prison, thinks it
runs from 55 to 60 per cent.
Mr. Dalhoff*, chaplain of the Home for Deaconesses in Copenhagen,
states that between 1871 and 1880 there were arrested for disturbance
of public order 86,817 persons, of whom 56 per cent were disorderly
on account of intemperance, besides 18 per cent who were intoxicated
when arrested; in all, 74 per cent, or almost three-fourths. These
figures would be increased were they given for men only, while they
would be diminished were women alone under consideration.
Mr. Wieselgren, director-general of the penal institutions of Sweden,
writes that out of 19,445 male convicts, who were found in Swedish
prisons the last day of each of the years from 1887 to 1897, 14,461, or
over 74 per cent, agreed that their crimes were connected with the
abuse of alcoholic liquors, while out of 3,557 women imprisoned dur-
ing the same time, only 202, or 5.6 per cent, were in the same category.
He says further that, out of 24,398 men who from 1887 to 1897 were
imprisoned in the prisons of Sweden either at hard labor or in solitary
confinement, 17,374, or more than 71 per cent, attributed their crimes
to the abuse of alcohol. Of women there were but 360 out of 3,054,
imprisoned during the same period, of whom the same could be said,
11.7 of the whole number. Mr. Wieselgren closes by saying that
the influence of alcoholism on crime in Sweden reaches unheard-of
proportions.
Mr. Schaffroth, inspector of prisons in the Canton of Bern, gives
the condensed statistics of the 35 penitentiaries of Switzerland January
1, 1892. At that date there were 1,816 men in those prisons, of whom
762, or 42 per cent, were drunkards; and of 385 women who were in
prison 118, or 31 per cent, were intemperate; that is, two-fifths of the
men and one-third of the women. Of the men sentenced during the
year one-ninth were guilty of crime on account of drink.
Mr. Jules Fekete, from Budapest, says that an3"one who has observed
these matters closely must know that a third of the cri«v.vaak% ^^^xssss^
64 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
their crimes in a state of inebriety. In 1897 two-thirds of 1,574 cases
of disturbance of the peace, one-half of 13,564 crimes against the per-
son, and the majority of homicides were committed while in a state of
drunkenness.
Such are some of the statistics which have been furnished to this
conference. But there are other statistics, which have been collected
in the archives of penological science and elsewhere, and statistics fur-
nished in Germany and in the United States. Let me give you some
of the statistics of Belgium.
Mr. F. Thiry, professor of criminal law in the University of Liege
was the first, I think, to specially study ih our prisons the influence
of alcoholism upon crime. He thus sums up the results of his investi-
gations at Liege: ''In 1895 I had proved that the general proportion
of convicts influenced bj^ alcohol was about 45 per cent. It was about
50 per cent in 1896. The proportion relative to assault and battery
was about 66 per cent in 1895 and 73 per cent in 1896. Relative to
theft, cheating, and offenses against good morals it has not changed; in
1895 it was about 34 per cent for the former and 61 for the latter."
In 1896, resumed Dr. Masoin, I reported to the Belgian Royal
Academy of Medicine figures referring to the central prison of Louvain,
where our worst criminals are kept in solitary confinement. Allow
me to give a resum^ of those statistics.
In the first table is a list of the convicts of that prison for twenty-
two years, from 1874 to 1895, a total of 2,826, with a minimum of five
years' imprisonment. Of those, 781 made no response to m}'^ question
''Were you drunk at the time of the commission of the crime?" Of
the 2,045 who replied, drunkenness was confessed in 344 cases, or 11.4
per cent.
When it comes to the question of habitual intemperance, 238 were
silent; but of the 2,588 remaining, 1,157, or 44.7 per cent, were habitually
drinking men.
In a second table I included only those condemned to life imprison-
ment at hard labor for the period from 1872 to 1897. Of 235 individ-
uals in this group no information on this subject was obtainable for
105, but of the 130 remaining there were 53 cases of drunkenness, or
40.7 per cent. As to habitual intemperance the records were silent
concerning 19, but of the remaining 216 there were 118, or 54.6 per
cent, habitually intemperate.
Between the years 1872 and 1895 there were condemned to death 216.
Deduct those of whom the records are imperfect, and of 88 criminals
38 were drunk at the fatal moment of committing the murder — i3.1
per cent.
From the second point of view we see that, deducting the 14 of whom
we get no report, of the 202 condemned to death 121 were noted as drunk-
ards — 60 per cent.
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 65
From these figures one is led to the following conclusions:
1. The arm}^ of crime is largelj" recruited from intoxicated persons
and habitual drinkers.
2. The r61e of alcohol as the purveyor of crime is accentuated in the
degree that we reach the graver crimes.
3. It is not so much occasional drunkenness that is dangerous as the
persistent use and abuse of alcoholic liquors. When the brain is con-
stantly impregnated with this dangerous fluid the result is seen in
frightful clearness in the genesis of crime.
In 1897, at the International Congress on the Abuse of Alchoholic
Drinks, I gave some new statistics bearing on minor infractions of the
law by persons sentenced from one to five years' imprisonment. These
showed that 40 per cent of the men and 13 of the women were given
to intemperance and 47 per cent of the men and 24 of the women were
drunkards.
I hasten to come to a third and more comprehensive table of statis-
tics, which shows that from the best information possible to obtain
22.2 per cent of the men were intoxicated at time of the commission
of the crime and 5.6 per cent of the women; 44.6 per cent of the delin-
quent men were drunkards to 23.2 per cent of the women.
It must be confessed that these statistics show but one influence in
the production of crime. It is not supposable that men innocent of
any propensity to crime are led to commit it b^^ intemperance alone.
There are diverse influences leading to it — certain factors in education,
the conditions of life, morbid conditions, like imbecility" and epilepsy,
hereditary influence, etc. In short, it is impossible to separate the
causes or to depend upon any statistics with reference to drink. To
do the latter, each case must be individualized. This laborious but
excellent method has been tried in the Swiss Prison Society. In 1892
this society formulated certain questions which were asked in 33 penal
institutions in the Swiss Confederation. • The attempt was made to
ascertain as exactly as possible the chief supposed cause of the crime
or misdemeanor, and to make a distinction between the chief cause and
supplementar}" causes. A central bureau studied the statistics and
reported as follows:
Out of 1,816 men and 385 women, 2.201 in all, only 168 cases, or
7.65 per cent, were found where drink was indicated as the sole cause
of the crime. Associated with other influences it was considered as
the immediate and chief cause in 304, or 13.8 per cent; and it played
some part in 905 cases, or 41 per cent.
After deep study our distinguished colleague. Dr. Guillaume, has
arrived at the conclusion that 33.7 per cent represents the immediate
and essential influence of alcohol on crime. Although those figures
are less than that given by some of our reporters, yet they are greater
than any of the other recognized causes of crime, misconduct, dissipa-
H. Doc. 374 5
66 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
tion, idleness, poverty, quarrelsomeness, disputes, hatred, anger, etc.
To these must also be added those unhappy men who are not them-
selves intemperate, but are the sons of drunken fathers, who are thus
urged on to crime through the influence of alcohol for which they them-
selves are not responsible, for it must be said in reference to this
serious matter that one often finds ignorant innocence by the side of
abject degradation.
Though there is much obscurity concerning this subject, and though
statistics are inaccurate, yet we can not acquit alcohol, for aside from
all errors it is a great contributor to crime. Is it not at the saloon
that criminals plot their deeds and often divide their spoils? Does not
alcohol often appl}^ the whip to give brutal energy at the moment of
action, just as one uses alcohol in illness to drive the patient out of
a rut? Is it not sometimes to pay for their qrgies that men commit
atrocious deeds? Is it not especially true that under the influence of
alcohol the noblest faculties of the soul are dethroned and brutal pas-
sions enchain it? Is it not, finally, the descendants of the drunkard
who will, above all, fill up the army of criminals?
If all this is so — and there can be no doubt of it — then we must
acknowledge the influence of intemperence in the field of crime. And
it is not enough to find the plague spot of alcoholism, but a remedy
must be applied. That is the object of the second part of this study.
The task is diflBicult and success dubious, but we must not lose
courage any more than the physician does who is unwearied in treat-
ing the most rebellious maladies and whose steadfastness has received
its reward and will receive still greater rewards in the future.
The first step to be taken is to forbid the use of alcoholic drinks in
all penal institutions, except at the prescription of the physician.
May there not exceptions be made in the case of certain convicts
who are accustomed to beer, which is slightly nutritive — as wine is
not — while mildly stimulating to the digestion? I see nothing out of
the way in allowing this, especially as in man^^ localities the water
is not pure. We know only too well that many diseases are provoked
by microbes in the water, and the addition of wine can never purify
such water. It is only when the water is boiled, as it is in making
beer, that the water is rendered innocent. I approve, therefore, in
Belgian prisons, of giving beer to those in charge of the washhouse,
to stokers, bakers, cooks, and their assistants.
The first way to reform an intemperate convict is by work, without
which no life is right or dignified; and while his hands are learning
how to work his mental horizon should be enlarged by instruction.
In this instruction the dangers of intemperance should be set forth
without exaggeration. The captain, the physician, the superintendent,
the guards, should unite in trying to instill the principles of temper-
ance. Besides these face-to-face instructions there should be public
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 67
meetings, where the dangers of intemperance should be set forth bj^
experts.
But in addressing the ears the eyes should not be forgotten, for
nothing should be neglected in dealing with so insidious a foe as alco-
hol. Printed maxims setting forth these dangers should be kept before
the man, and perhaps pictures showing the effect on the human system.
These msLj be hung on the walls of corridors and halls or in the cells.
But there should never be the least trace of exaggeration, which is the
greatest enemy to the truth. I have in mind especially certain colored
charts which, though made with the best intentions, no anatomist can
approve.
Physicans in quest of remedies against alcohol have sought for sub-^
stances which would give a distaste for alcohol or remedy the ravages
wrought b}^ it. The means adopted by Schreiber and Berzelius we
could not dream of adopting in prisons, namely, to give brandy in all
food and drink till a disgust for it is produced and the man calls for cold
water instead. This treatment lasts from fifteen to twenty -eight days.
But he would not be much of a prophet who should foretell that that
sort of experiment, no matter how scientifically managed, would call
out indignant denunciation from press and people. Nor could one, for
fear of calling down the thunders of certain people, try ''la teinture
alcoolique de grenouilles," though Professor Nasse shows favorable
results from this remedy. But the cure has not been always permanent.
The empyreumatic oil which gives brandy made from potatoes a
special taste, administered regularl}^, belongs to this method of treat-
ment, and according to Magnus Huss it demands an important place
in treatment. But other substances have been recommended. The
Russian physicians, Manasseine, Podvissotzsky, N. V. Popoff, Partz-
evsky, and especially Portougaloff, boast of strychnine as a specific for
drunkenness. More recently pilocarpie has been suggested (Neely).
Cactus grandijloirm is claimed by the homeopathists as exercising a
powerful influence on the heart and arteries, but here it is the brain
that must be modified. The meat remedy and the vegetarian remedy,
recommended for drunkenness, have failed, as have also the Turkish
bath and other remedies.
A more serious suggestion is hypnotism, which has given favorable
results in the hands of competent men, such as Auguste Voisin, Forel,
Ladame, Bertillon, De Jong, Hubert Neilson, Lloyd-Tuckey.
Finally, in the list of medical remedies appear the serums, but how-
ever odd the remedy suggested, one should not condemn it in advance,
for the unexpected often happens, even in medicine.
Temperance societies should be encouraged to lie in^ wait for the
liberated convict after the manner of what are picturesquely called in
England " Prison-gate missions."
Above all, there should shine before the eyes of the prisoner the
68 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
ray of hope of conditional liberation if he promises to abstain from
alcoliolic liquors, such as has been practiced in Belgium for twelve
years.
After this long list of remedies which may be applied in prisons,
pennit me to offer two ways for lighting this battle against alcohol-
ism. I will call them projects for the future, which governments
and administrators and observers ought to stud}' in order to know
how far they can be fitted into the actual workings of prisons. They
are as follows:
1. Special institutions for the medical treatment of alcoholized
•convicts.
2. Intermediate institutions where alcoholized convicts might spend
some time before regaining entire liberty.
There is much to be said as to these two projects which has to do
with the financial side, which, however, ought to be of secondary
importance, and that relate to questions of principle, like the indeter-
minate sentence, which is enticing, but which I am incompetent to
discuss. All that I would dare say is that this double system has been
tried successfully in some countries. In taking up this question for
study the congress shows once more its solicitude for those unhappy
creatures whom it is necessary to repress, but especiall}^ to reform.
DISCUSSION.
Mr. Thiry, professor in the Universit}^ of Liege, said: The first
remedy which I would cite to combat alcoholism among corivicts is the
severity of the penalty for the crime of which alcoholism was the
cause. I do not speak of the crime of drunkenness, which is punished
as such by certain legislatures, notabl}^ our own, but of the crime which
drunkenness has provoked. It is not necessary to prove that alcohol-
ism is one of the great causes of crime. That truth has been proved
by experience and by statistics. In statistics which I collected in the
prison at Liege in 1896, out of 23 convicts sentenced for assault and
battery (in four cases of which death was the result) 12 were drunk at
the moment of the crime — 52 per cent. Five others, though not actu-
ally dinink at the moment, were in the habit of drinking. Thus there
were 17 out of 23 more or less under the influence of alcohol — a terri-
ble percentage of 73. Out of 18 individuals 3 were convicted for
rape, 10 for unchastity, 5 for outrages upon decency, and of these 18
5 were drunk at the time of the act and 6 were habitual drinkers — that
is, 61 per cent were influenced by alcohol. Of 21 convicts there were 1
for theft, 1 for receiving stolen goods, 3 for abuses of confidence, and
1 for cheating. Among the thieves 4 were drunk at the time of the
crime, another had been drinking before, another owned to having
taken a drop from time to time; the receiver of stolen goods had
drunk 'Mike ever3^body else." As to the swindlers, 1 was drunk at
SIXTH INTERN ATIOTI^AL PRISON CONGRESS. 69
the time, and the other declared that he had committed the act to pay
his drinking score. In short, of the 26 delinquents 9, or 34 per cent,
were habitual drinkers.
The two great causes of crime are the exaggerated excitement of
brutal and immoral instincts and the weakening of the intellectual
and rational faculties. Now, medicine has long shown that these
psychologic conditions are the consequence of alcoholism. In the
face of this fact there should be severe penalties attached to crimes
provoked by drink.
It may be objected that drunkenness should not increase the penalty,
because it will destroy the responsibility of the agent and at least
lessen his guilt. Let me explain: I recognize that alcohol may some-
times completely destroy the discernment, the conscience. In that
case, if the offense is such that discernment, criminal intent, was nec-
essary, then the agent is not punishable. If it is an offense that does
not require intent, such an offense as is improperly called involuntary,
then the guilt remains. It rests not upon fraud, but upon a failing,
and the failing consists in having given way to drunkenness and so
having been led into crime. The best example of this consists in
homicide and assault and battery, committed without criminal intent,
and which are punished under our law as involuntary offenses. It is
for such offenses that I demand more severity.
Penalty constitutes a means of education and reform by the suffer-
ing that it induces, but that suffering is far from being enough to
produce the desired result. There must be moral influence exercised
along with the suffering, and that influence must consist in the instruc-
tion of the prisoner. The convict is an antisocial being. To trans-
form him and fit him to return to society able to understand the laws
and his duties, w^e must reach his reason. Through pain one may
prevent crime, owing to fear, but that does not reform the man; it
leaves him as vicious and corrupt as before. It is for that reason that
the war against alcoholism should be waged with vigor in prison. All
the oflScers, the director, the chaplain, the schoolmaster, the guards
themselves, should use their influence in making prisoners understand
the dangers of intemperance and the stupidity of a vice that can only
bring misfortune.
This antialcoholic instruction on the part of the prison oflScers is not
enough. It should be helped by those from the outside who are capable
of inspiring confidence, a confidence that prison oflScials can not always
inspire. I refer to members of guardian societies. How shall they act?
At first, by conversation with the prisoners in their cells; afterwards,
b}^ two means which I have long tried to have adopted, but in vain —
by lectures in the prison and by publications distributed to the pris-
oners. Authority to have lectures given has been granted to me for
some years, and I have remarked the satisfaction with which they have
70 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
been follo\^ed. The prisoners have found in them an influence which
helped their self-respect and destroyed the bitterness of their hearts.
They have been grateful for this moral aid, and with real delight they
have listened to the principles, the ideas, and the laws which I have
taught to them. I have often proposed in previous Congresses that
there should be a journal established for prisoners in which these
lectures should be printed in brief. The Congresses have always
approved of my ideas, and I regret much that our Govermnent should
have withdrawn an authorization for them which could have produced
only excellent results. One sees how specially valuable such lectures
and publications would be in teaching temperance.
This instruction ought not to cease when the man leaves prison. It
should be continued by guardian societies. The first effort should be
to induce the discharged men to join temperance societies. That, in my
opinion, would bring about absolute temperance, which is the best
means to secure permanent cure. In the face of such a vice as intem-
perance there should be nothing done for the sake of passing away the
time. Every means employed should have for an object the bringing
of the man back to his earl}^ habits. I am talking of temperance on
his being set at liberty; it goes without saying that during his impris
onment he would necessarily be restrained from drinking by authority.
The means that we have discussed would produce very good effects,
yet often they would be insufficient. Intemperance is a vice of tre-
mendous power. The sentence is often too short to tear such a vice
out by the roots. Moral instruction is often deficient in its influence
when combating a vice that has had possession of a man so long
that it has become established in the temperament of the victim.
Outside influence, the aid of guardian societies, is likewise sometimes
insufficient, because men will not accept such aid. Something else, then,
is needful, and that is what gives me the most confidence. That is the
<;ompulsory treatment of drunkenness and alcoholism. Persons given
over to these vices should be put into institutions speciall}^ created to
treat and cure them. Such institutions exist in Switzerland. The
time of treatment should be indeterminate, though a maximum term
might be tixed, thanks to the data which physicians already have as to
the duration of the disease and the time necessary to a cure. Two
years has been proposed and Magnan demands nine months as a
minimum.
This enforced treatment would not be in the nature of a punishment.
Supposing a habitual drunkard had committed no infraction of the law,
he would receive only this treatment. If he were guilty of an infrac-
tion, then he would tirst be imprisoned for that infraction, as a pen-
alty, but it would then be continued for the treatment of his infirmity.
It will be objected that such a measure would violate individual lib-
erty in a scandalous fasliion. Tlie dangers arising from alcoholism
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 71
with reference to crime, misery, pauperism, the physical -and moral
degeneracy of the descendants of drinking parents are so horrible, that
there can be no doubt that societ}^ in self-defense has a legal right to
protect itself from them. Imprisonment being insufficient, self-pres-
ervation can be secured only by the compulsory treatment of those
victims. The Temperance Congress in 1897 did me the honor to accept
this thesis, which was then presented for the first time.
By whom should this compulsory treatment be ordered? In the
case of convicted persons the reply is easy: by the judge who finds the
guilt. We have not spoken of habitual drinkers who are not guilty
of crime; the question here does not concern them.
Compulsory treatment is the true and legitimate social defense
against habitual drunkards. Let us not hesitate to employ it; in the
presence of the peril which threatens society it is a crime to put it off
longer.
Dr. Paul Gamier, physician in chief of the Dep6t, Paris, said: It
is not the question whether alcoholism has an influence on crime.
The question was long since decided as to the influence of alcoholism
upon insanity as well as upon the increase of crime. We have not to
determine facts, but to proportion the social defense to the formida-
ble intensit}^ of the evil. Those who have done me the honor to look
over the report which La Societe Generale des Prisons intrusted me
to make may have noticed that on every page, one mi^ht say, I have
been led to speak of the parallelism existing between the effects of
alcoholism in producing insanity on the one hand and on the effects of
that poison on crime on the other hand. I judge that one could
never learn better the "why" of the influence of alcoholism in
directly or indirectly producing crime than in taking for comparison
the reports of causality existing between alcoholism and cerebral
degeneracy, whether direct, immediate, personal, indirect, mediate, or
hereditar3^ The whole thing belongs together in this somber trilogy
of alcoholism, insanity, and crime. It is evident that in the study of the
results of intemperance on the frequency of insanity we shall find the
most valuable and certain hints in the investigation which we wish to
make. Between these two social phenomena there exists a close bond
and their evolution progresses pari passu.
We must not deceive ourselves as to the effect of the proposed rem-
edies, as they may not have very appreciable results. It is better,
however, to begin the struggle by moral education than to fold our
arms and sa}^ that it is all useless. Absolute pessimism would be still
more disastrous than too great optimism. But, in any case, we must
recognize that we can not accomplish an}" permanent good until we
can modify the moral state of certain social classes and until we can
uproot the workingman's fixed belief that alcohol and fermented drinks
are necessary for the production of energetic work.
72 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
Continuing, Dr. Garnier called attention to the increased danger
which comes from the use of more noxious elements. He disapproved
of giving alcoholic drinks to prisoners by way of recompense. It is
better to entirely prohibit the use of alcoholic and fermented drinks
in prisons,
To an American prison warden it seems strange enough that such a
question should be susceptible of discussion, since all alcoholic liquors
are absolutely excluded from our prison regime unless prescribed for
medical purposes.
Dr. De Boeck, superintendent of the St. John Hospital for the
Insane, Brussels, said: Theoretically there is no doubt that alcohol is
a powerful factor in criminality. Criminality is, in fact, in the last
analysis only a defective adaptation to social requirements, and very
often is the result of some structural imperfection of the brain or
some inferiority of the nervous system. Every cause of decadence
of the brain, whether anatomical or functional, may bring about
criminality either in the subject of this decadency or in his descendants.
Alcohol is a violent poison to the nervous elements. It destroys
them when taken in large doses, or by a slow death when taken in
small, but often repeated quantities. The noble, nervous elements, on
which depend the highest function of the moral sense, of character,
and personalit}^, and those which are most essential to its action, are
precisel}^ the first affected. These elements are affected in the descend-
ant; the vital momentum is insufficient, development is arrested, and
functional value decreased. There are thus close relations between
alcoholism and habitual criminality.
Dr. De Boeck then spoke of different forms of intoxication leading
to passionate and violent crimes, or those of a more passive sort, which
followed the debauch. Judiciall}^ the delinquent is responsible for
these acts, but he would never have committed them had he not
poisoned his brain tlie night before. There is no lack of material with
which to show the influence of alcoholism, whether occasional or
habitual, upon crime. The researches of Baehr, of Marambat, of
Grain, and others are well known. Although dating back twenty-
five years, Baehr's researches have remained the basis of all our knowl-
edge of the connection between alcoholism and crime. They show:
1. The alcoholic origin of a great number of crimes and misde-
meanors. Of 32,000 prisoners, 13,706 — that is, 41.7 per cent, had com-
mitted their crimes under the influence of alcohol. Of 100 criminal
men Baehr found 53.6 per cent occasional drinkers and 46.4 per cent
habitual drinkers.
2. That occasional intoxication plays a preponderant role in certain
sorts of crimes and misdemeanors, particularly in emotional crimes
and misdemeanors and in those against morals and offenses against the
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 73
person. Its role is much less important in offenses which require
preparation, such as theft, swindling, forgery, and embezzlement.^
The relation between alcohol and crime did not escape Ducp^tiaux,
the great penologist of Belgium. In his opinion, four-fifths of the
crimes committed were due to alcohol.
Convictions for drunkenness and lawbreaking, and crimes and mis-
demeanors committed during intoxication, are much rarer among
women than among men.
In Holland 3^ per cent of the whole number of convictions is due
to drunkenness.
Dr. De Boeck cited Lang's investigation as to the proportion of
blows and injuries inflicted on different days of the week, showing
that quarrels were more numerous on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mon-
days — the days when there is the greatest amount of drinking. Dr.
V. Kalylinsky gathered statistics ^t the prison at Dusseldorf in 1894
which recalled Lang's. Of 380 prisoners, 132 committed their crimes
and misdemeanors on Sunday. Eighty-six per cent of the blows and
injuries, 60 per cent of the outrages, and 77 per cent of all the law-
breaking were committed on Sunday, Monday, or Saturday.
We know that women commit fewer crimes than men, but the rate
of crime among women is larger in those countries w^here women
are more given to drinking. According to Sidney Whitmann the
proportion of criminals in England is four men to one woman; in
North America, where women drink less, the proportion is twelve
men to one woman. Attempts hav^e been made to establish in another
way the relation between alcohol and crime; namel}^ by comparing
the figures representing the consumption of alcohol and the number of
saloons with the figures standing for the whole amount of crime com-
mitted or with the number of infractions which seem to be particu-
larly connected with alcohol. But though in certain cases this method
gave curious results, as in the tables of Lombroso and Ferri, it is not,
in the opinion of Dr. De Boeck, to be trusted. The relation observed
in Sweden between the consumption of alcohol and criminalit}" does
not hold at all when one studies criminality in England or Belgium.
In a word, said Dr. De Boeck, in summing up the reports, the doc-
uments which we have on the relation of alcohol and crime are very
important and very interesting, but they are not made consistently
with any system of uniformity and they come from man}" different
sources. It is impossible to measure the extent of the action of alco-
« The student of the relation between alcoholism and crime will find in the pro-
ceedings of the Congress (vol. 1, p. 409, et. seq.) important statistics in relation to
the effect of alcohol on morals and public order. In the special papers furnished by
writers in different countries in other volumes of the reports of the proceedings inter-
esting statistical data may be found.
74 SIXTH INTEENATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
hol. We mu.st not forget, furthermore, that though alcohol encour-
ages crime, criminal habits in their turn encourage the use of alcohol.
Researches should undoubtedly be continued.
As to measures that can be taken against alcohol in prisons, it is to
be feared that exhortations, lectures, mottoes, and temperance placards
would be oi only imaginary effect.
There is only one way of lessening the frequence of crimes and mis-
demeanors engendered by alcohol — that is to forbid the sale of all
alcoholic drinks, or to i*aise the price to such an extent as to place
them beyond the reach of the mass of the people.
Mr. Matter asked whether the Prison Congress ought to recommend
the employment of such medical means as hypnotism. From the infor-
mation he had received from certain doctors it was efficacious at first,
but ephemeral in its results. He asked the opinion of Dr. Garnier.
Dr. Garnier said that there were different opinions as to the thera-
peutic value of hypnotism. They could not actually in a congress
pronounce upon its value. He did not place much confidence himself
in the value of hypnotic suggestion; better results could be reached
by reviving the enfeebled will of the person.
Dr. Masoin recognized that hypnotism might be transitory in its
effects, but it was something to obtain even a momentary result.
Hypnotism as a therapeutic means had already entered science, thanks
to the schools of Nancy and Salpetriere.
Mr. Bailleul, director of the district prison of Marseille, made a
strong argument against the practice existing in France and other
European countries of allowing prisoners to use alcoholic drinks.
Dr. Garnier also advocated the total suppression of alcoholic liquors
in prison.
The prolonged discussion of this question resulted finally in the
adoption of the following
Conclusions:
I. In statistical researches concerning alcoholism and crime^ it is
necessary to individualize each case and to tal'e into account the
"presence of other causes than the influence of alcohol,
H. Alcoholic drinks should he absolutely interdicted in piison^
e^ccept fyr special medical reasons v:hen even strong lupiors may he
utilized.
The tendency to ahuse and even to use alcoholic liquors hy pvi^oix-
ers shoidd he comhated in general hy measures fr/r moral elevatum^
and esjyecially hy appropriate reading matter,, hy personal inter-
views and ])l edges ^ hy lectures to groups or the v^hole hody of pris-
aneo's^ hy jnctures placed in cells or in the assemhly halls, hy certain
special forms of medical treat) nod,, and hy the prudent application
of con dition al liheration .
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 75
The Congress declares itself in favor of
1. The establishment of intermediate institutions to which th-e
prisoner addicted to drink may he sent before being granted his
complete liberty.
2. The establishment of asylums or special quartei's for the medi-
cal treatment of condemned iriebriates.
The Congress further suggests that in different countries^ making
allowance for latitude^ climate^ and temperament^ the maximum
degree of alcohol contained in fermented liquors should be ascer-
tained with a view to establishing a line of demarcation between
alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks^ and to shmv the relation between
alcoholism and crime ^ and to furnish a basis for comparative
statistics.
Employment Bureaus for Discharged Prisoners.
Third Question:
In what measure and under what conditions may the work of aid
societies be imjyroved by offices which undei'take gratuitiously to
furnish infmnnation and pyroeure employment?
Mr. Bathardy, chief of division of the ministry of justice at Brus-
sels, as co-rapporteur confined himself to a brief r^sum^ of the six
reports presented, and proposed positive conclusions answering the
question and suggesting various details.
Mr. Veillier, director of the prisons of Fresnes, furnished interest-
ing information concerning the work of the aid society 6i Melun, which
has established in its shelter house a free employment office. For
some years past this society has combined in its sphere of action dis-
charged prisoners, tramps, mendicants, and vagabonds. Instead of
having two distinct organizations, one for discharged prisoners and
the other for mendicants and vagabonds, which is always more costl}^,
it has united its resources, and b}^ means of a strong organization, it is
able in a little city of 10,000 souls to satisfy at a small cost the most
exigent demands in matters of relief, and in finding places for appli-
cants. It determined that admission should be prompt, easy, devoid
of formalities, and nearly gratuitious. To attain this end it gives
cards of admission to all applying, costing about 1 sou (1 cent). The
society has determined also that discharge from the workhouse should
be free; and under the simple condition of remaining at the shelter at
night it permits its cases under certain rules to work outside, and to
spend several hours a day, if necessary, in seeking a more lucrative
occupation.
From a financial point of view the association is sufficiently powerful
to assure work to applicants, and to give them food at a low price and
in such a manner as to cover, as a general rule, the expenses.
76 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
It is no secret that beggars and vagabonds do not accept work the
greater part of the time unless driven by the stimulant of need. The
aid societ}" places before them prices of food and the tariff of labor,
and leaves them to conclude that their material situation will be in
proportion to their individual effort.
The society has also a kind of free employment bureau. It has daily
a table of the vocations of those who are aided, which is consulted by
those having need of special workmen. The local press has supported
the enterprise.
Mr. Matter, engineer of arts and manufactures, and general agent
of the Protestant Aid Society for Discharged Prisoners, said that it is
for the discharged prisoner to seek work and to reveal his history and
antecedents, as seems to him expedient; but employment committees
of aid societies should not conceal from employers the antecedents of
individuals for whom they seek work; they owe the truth to those who
avail themselves of their service. Now, employment bureaus organ-
ized by municipalities, or by workmen, -or by philanthropic societies
very careful as to the good reputation of their candidates, will not very
willingly take up the work of placing those who can not be recom-
mended. It is the discharged prisoner himself who can most easily
find a place. We ought to provide for him in a provisional asylum,
and give to him all the suggestions possibly while he is seeking work.
Mr. Veillier said that the aid society of Melun, which is also a free
employment bureau, does not inquire concerning the past life of its
prot^g^s. It could not do this without a special organization, and
without becoming inv^olved in much expense. It is content to bring
the emploj^er and the prot^g^ together to discuss the conditions of
engagement. The society assumes no responsibility.
The conclusions, drafted by Mr. Bathardy with modifications pro-
posed by Mr. Matter, were then adopted in the section and reaflSrmed
in the general assembly.
Conclusions:
1. To fulfill effectively tlieir v^ork of charity^ and to secure the
success of their social mission^ the prevention of crime,, aid coin-
mitt ees for discharged priwners shoidd have recourse to employ-
ment officej^^ which undertake gratuitously to furnish information
and to secure employment,
2. The organization of these offices should be determined hy local
conditions,, hut it is indispensahle that the different organizations
should sustain constant and methodical relations with each other,
3. Aid committees should inform entjjloyment bureaus as exactly
as possible with reference to the aptitudes and antecedents of their
proteges, . The questi<m, of divulging these antecedents to the "final
employer is left to the judgment of the office.
SIXTH IIS TEEN ATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 77
4. Aid committees which So not estcibUsh special offices should
conti^ate to the financial support of the independent m^ganizations
to which they have recoxirse and which render sei'vice gratuitously,
5. Those institutions which give aid only through work are^ at
least in the large centers^ the necessary complement of the e^nploy-
ment bureaus. The aid committees have then the greatest interest
in stimulating a/ad f avoiding thAr creation.
FOURTH SECTION.
CHILDREN AND MINORS.
President: Professor Brusa, University of Turin, Italy.
Vice-presidents: Antonio-Ferreira Cabral-Paes do Amaral, Lis-
bon, Portugal; Dr. Fernando Cadalso y Manzano, of Madrid, Spain;
A. Didier, of Geneva, Switzerland; Dr. Jules Fekete de Nagyivany,
Budapest, Hungary; Count de Marchant d'Ansembourg, of Luxem
bourg, Belgium; Nazim Bey, Constantinople, Turkey; William
Tallack, secretary of the Howard Association, London, England;
Prof. Iwan Tarassow, University of Moscow, Russia; Mile. Lydia de
Wolf ring, of Russia.
Secretary: Constant Loix, of Brussels, Belgium.
Associate secretaries: Dr. Am^d^e Lentz and Dr. Maurice Poll, both
of Brussels, Belgium.
Recidivism in Relation to Minors.
First Question:
Und'Cif' what conditions should minors he regarded as recidivists
and what consequences should follow such recidivism?
Five reports were presented on this question. The discussion in the
section was held under the presidency of Mr. Brusa. Mr. Jaspar,
secretary de la Commission Royale des Patronages of Belgium, gave a
resum^ of the reports. The writers agreed in regarding recidivism
as incompatible with the conception of youthful criminality. Recidi-
vism supposes an act committed with discernment and a previous com-
mission of the act which has been followed by the imposition of a
penalty. But under the codes of most civilized countries, children
under 16 years of age are not regarded as acting with discernment;
those who are so regarded must be classed with adults. With minors
below the legal age of responsibility the cause of the offense must be
sought in education. The education they should receive should be
determined by their personal needs and by their surroundings. Some-
times the child should be committed to its parents; sometimes to
another family, or to a charitable institution. The repetition of the
offense after conditional liberation simply shows that the education
has been ineffectual and that a better method must be chosen. For
78
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 79
children the question of a sentence should be excluded; it is simply a
question of education.
Mr. Michel Heymann, oflScial delegate from the State of Louisiana,
likewise emphasized the fact that no children should be considered as
recidivists. As soon as a child commits an oif ence by reason of family
negligence, or by reason of his environment, the State should come to
the aid of the unfortunate little one and change his environment in
such a manner as to prevent him from falling again into the same
error. But prevention is better than cure. For this reason we make
every effort to take children in charge at a very young age and to place
them in maternal schools established by private benevolence where the
hand and the heart may be formed at the same time as the head.
Mr. Brun, director of the agricultural school of Douaires, France,
said that the stigma of condemnation should be avoided for children.
The discussion drifted somewhat into the question of the legal age
of minority, but was brought back by the president, who called atten-
tion to the fact that that question was not submitted to the section.
Unanimity was rapidly reached in regard to the essential point. Mr.
Michel Heymann was appointed reporter to the general assembly, and
the following conclusions, adopted in the section, were unanimously
voted by the Congress. ^
Conclusions:
TKe idea of reeidiviam., whether Legal or theoretical^ is foreign
to the (yrimiixality of minors.
Conseqiiently^ so long as the individical is in a state of penal
minority he must not he regarded as a recidivist.
But if the child repeats its offence^ or commits a new one^ that is
an indication to the State that the regime adopted with reference
to him should' he modified.
Guardian Societies and Young Delinquents.
Second Question:
Should the intervention of aid or guardian societies^ with refer-
ence to young delinquents placed under a suspended sentence or
upon probation^ he made ohligatmy^ and in what manner should it
he organized?
Mr. Silvercruys, of the ministry of justice, Belgium, as co- rappor-
teur, presented an analysis of the five reports on this question. The
question was not drawn with sufficient precision to avoid the disputes
which result from ambiguity in words. There was manifest the same
objection developed in the discussion of the preceding question, name-
ly, the admission that children should be the subject of any judicial
condenmation. The result of the discussion in the section was well
80 SIXTH INTEENATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
presented by Madame Vloeberghs, president of the women's section
of the Comit^ de Patronage of Brussels, who was made reporter to
the general assembly.
According to Mr. Silvercruys, the question only referred to chil-
dren within the age of penal minority — that is, those who* are not
legally responsible— and as these could not be the subject of a sen-
tence, neither could they be the subject of a suspension of sentence.
Mr. Silvercruys maintained that tlie legislation of each countr}^ deter-
mined the age below which educative were to be substituted for
repressive measures, and that the necessity of submitting a child to
an educative regime was not consistent with conditional liberation or
suspended sentence as the result of a judicial process. He believed
that the surveillance of the State should extend to children placed out
under guardian aid societies.
Mr. Jaspar, of Belgium, thought that the question should have
been framed as follows: Is it possible to impose a conditional or pro-
visional sentence with reference to young delinquents; and if so, is
there ground for the intervention of guardianship?
Mr. Heymann called attention to the fact that in certain States of the
United States probation officers were appointed who were present in
court at the examination of children or minors. If the relatives are
worthy, the child may be placed in their care; if not, it may be placed
in a good family or in a private institution, or, as a last resort, in a
public establishment. In the United States the principle is accepted
that the best place for a child is the family, and that institutions are
but necessary evils. The child is protected there, but he does not
learn to think and act for himself, he can not acquire there the force
of character necessary for the battle of life.
Mr. Thiry spoke in regard to guardian societies and their work, say-
ing that its great characteristic was that it was independent, and
he deprecated an}^ control by the State which should destroy this
independence.
Mr. Felix Voisiri did not see how guardian societies could refuse an
inspection b}' the State which has a right to ask what they were doing
with the children committed to their care, though they might repel a
surveillance which was annoying and vexatious. He knew in France
many committees of aid societies, and it never occurred to their mem-
bers to sa}' to the State, ''It does not concern you what becomes of
the child 3^ou have placed in our care." They are happy, on the con-
trary, to show to the State on every occasion the results obtained by
placing out children. We need not say that the work of guardian
committees or societies should be under the control of the State; let
us say rather under the segis of the State.
This suggestion of Mr. Voisin was accepted as a compromise on the
vexed subject of State control. Without attempting to define its
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 81
limits, the general principle that children placed out b}^ the State or
committed to guardian societies are under the protection of the State
was recognized.
Senator B^renger thought that the question of State control or super
vision ought to be the subject of further study, and proposed that it
be referred to the next Congress. The proposition was accepted.
Conclusion:
The idea of a suspended sentence and conditional condemnation
is foreign to the conception of the criminality of minors. But
administratively the execution of a sentence which commits the child
to the control of the State may he suspended,, and ^;^ that case
guardian societies may intervene under the protection of the State.
In every ca^e of conditional condemnation, of a young delinquent
who has reached the legal a^e of responsibility^ when the family is
incapable of giving him the necessary education,^ it i^ desirable to
"place him under the surveill'ance of a guardian society.
Technical Education in Institutions for Children.
Third Question:
Upon what principles should technical education be on'ganized in
reform schools 07' other similar institutions for children?
The discussion in section was conducted under the presidency of
Mr. Didier. Mr. Campioni, justice of the peace of Schaerbeek, Brus-
sels, was the co-rapporteur, and his analysis of the twelve reports
presented was comprehensive and effective.
The question is a large one, and to bring it within certain limits
Mr. Campioni reduced the opinions of the writers to four heads and
to four conclusions.
First. What can be legitimate^ hoped of professional instruction
in reformatories? We must not indulge in illusions as to what is pos-
sible. To exaggerate the grandeur of results constitutes a danger for
the pupil, his parents, the administration, and for the aid societies.
Some of the reporters seem to dream of the perfect workman; others
hold it to be chimerical to hope to transform the house of correction
into a professional school. Mr. Campioni holds that the truth lies
between the two. The institution can not take the place of the shop
where a true apprenticeship may be had, but by a solid preparation,
theoretical and practical, it may reduce that apprenticeship to a
minimum.
Second. As to the choice of a trade for the pupil. Four considera-
tions ought to be taken into account: (1) The nature of the profession
of the father, and even of the dominant trade in the place of origin.
Without affirming that children may be endowed with hereditary
H. Doc. 374 6
82 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
predispositions, we must recognize the fact that such predilections
exist, and also that from a tender age the child has been familiarized
with many details of the trade exercised by his father, and may have
learned to use his tools. This is an initiation whose influence should
not be neglected. (2) The region in which the future workman is to
reside should be taken into consideration. (3) Intellectual aptitudes
are evidently an important factor. (4) Most important to be empha-
sized is the physical fitness of the pupil. Science has not suflSciently
studied, heretofore, preventive hygiene with reference to different
trades. Just as there is a list of disabilities which exclude from
service in the army, so there should be a similar list of physical dis-
qualifications for various trades requiring special physical endowments.
Third. What trades or professions should be taught in these estab-
lishments? Some reporters seemed to wish to limit the teaching of
trades to those which correspond to the needs of the establishment.
To Mr. Campioni the problem seemed to need to be studied more pro-
foundly with some reference to the economic value of the professions.
The trades have been reduced to three classes: Those in which the
machine has replaced the man; those in which it is auxiliary to the
man; and those in which the man is only auxiliary to the machine. It
is cruel to continue to teach professions without a future, and to neg
lect the introduction of new trades whose future is certain.
Fourth. What methods are to be followed in such professional
instruction ? The reporters were unanimous in insisting on a thorough
theoretical basis for practical instruction, and the latter should not be
for purposes of exhibition but for practical ends, and it should be
organized in such a manner as to approach as far as possible the char
acter of a shop.
Mr. Lloyd-Baker, magistrate of Gloucester, England, thought that
to fit a child to gain an honest living a simple trade is the best. He
favored agricultural education.
Mr. Drill, of Russia, thought it necessary to take into consideration
the origin of the child. If a child comes from the city he will return
ordinarily to the city, and if he has only received an agricultural
education he is without a trade.
Mr. Prjevalsky, of Moscow, remarked that the question is intimately
connected with the economic conditions of each country, and these
conditions influence not only the choice of a trade in the school, but
also the method of instruction.
Mr. Henry Deglin, of France, insisted upon the extreme importance
of taking account of the preferences of children. If a child is sent to
the country against his will he will return to the city after his military
service, and is then without a trade or profession. Physical fitness
must also be considered.
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS*. 83
Mr. Brun, director of the agricultural colony of Douaires, France,
said that the question of the choice of a trade was a very complex
question. Pupils are very inconstant in their ideas, and native idle-
ness must be combated. The principal element in making a good
apprentice is to have personal instruction. The choice of a foreman
is very important, not only with reference to his power to impart
instruction, but with reference to his moral influence. He cited illus
trations to show that it was possible to take city boys and. make of
them good farmers.
In the discussion in the general assembly Mr. Heymann, of the
United States, called attention to the system of manual trainmg in
vogue in certain schools of the United States in which the pupil
received regular and valuable instruction in the use of tools, but with-
out learning a definite trade. At his suggestion the words "manual
training " were introduced in the conclusions which follow.
Conclusions:
I. Instruction given in reform schools or other similar establish'
ments for children should tend to fit them, on their discharge to
gain their living^ or at least to shorten the time of necessary appren-
ticeship after discharge to attain this degree of capacity.
The employment of manual training or of some other analogous
system in the system of education is to he recommended.
II. In a choice of a trade for the pupil, account should he taken^
independently of his personal preferences,^ of his intellectual and
physical fitness; of his origin,, whether rural^ urhan^ or maritime;
of the place i7i ichich he was horn; and of that in which he lives^
and of the vocation of his parents.
A list should he prepared of physiological defects which are
incompatible with the exercise of carious trades^ and to this end one
should consult employers and workmen,, professors of hygiene., phy-
sicians ofhenefit organizations,, surgeons of hospitals., etc.
III. The vocations to he taught should he chosen from, those which
do not require lahor to he too closely divided and should he rather of
the category of necessary tr axles; they should comprise some trades
vn which apprenticeship is easy and rapid. The future of each
trade to he taught shoidd he taken into account., and also other eco-
nomic conditions of the country.
IV. Theoretical instruction should tend to fiimish all the hnowl-
edge necessary for a rational exercise of the trade; the instruction
should above all he of praxitical value and not capable merely of
exploitation; and it should he organized in a manner so that the
course in the school will resemble that of an actual shop.
84 . SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
THE TREATMENT OF YOUNG DELINQUENTS.
Fourth Question:
To secure a ratimial education fm^ y^^^^^^O delinquents^ as well as
for children v)ho are vicioiis or simply morally abandoned^ is it not .
desirable to cornhine the system of committing to an institution with
that of placing in families?
The interest in this question was shown in the 22 reports prepared
in answer to it. Among these reporters, as the Abb^ Bianchi showed
in his excellent r^sum^ for the general assembly, 13 were directors or
presidents or inspectors of institutions for children, 9 were women,
Z were university professors, 2 were presidents of tribunals or pub-
lic prosecutors. Among these writers, 7 were French, 5 Italian, 4
American, 3 Russian, 2 Belgian, 2 Swiss, 1 Danish, and 1 English.
When the large number of institution officials or directors is noted
in the reports, it is not surprising that the institutional system should
have received strong emphasis in their reports, and that there were
a number who favored the institutional system exclusively. There
were others, fewer in number, who favored exclusively the placing of
children in families. A middle ground was taken in other reports,
and the idea accepted that both systems might be advantageously
employed for different classes of children.
Mr. Stroobant, of Belgium, presented a brief resum^ of each report
to the section, and it is safe to sa^^ that nearly every aspect of the
subject was brought out. In the general assembly the Abb6 Bianchi
grouped and classified the arguments as follows:
The advocates of the institution system maintain that it is difficult
to combat in families the influence of children with vicious tendencies,
that it is better that they should not leave the institution until they
are able to gain their own support. The length of detention should
be fixed by the director or the administration. The institution should
have an elementary school, a school of gymnastics, militar}^ exercises,
music, singing, and the power of the director should be almost abso-
lute. It is not possible to meet these conditions in a family. The
institution should of course be well directed, with a severe discipline,
combined with gentleness and kindness. It is urged that the institu-
tion is necessary for certain delinquents who need the discipline, which
can not be furnished in any other way.
On the other hand, it is urged against the institution that it stamps
the child with an unfavorable mark; that the education acquired does
not fit one for the struggle for existence; that it is difficult in the large
institutions to have an intimate relation between the educator and the
child; that the life is artificial; that they are not armed against the
temptations of life; that the child is made an automaton; that the^^ are
SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS. 85
deprived of energy and character and of will; and that they easily
become a prey to vice when they leave these establishments.
Those who favor the placing of children in families require that the
families should be good, and that if a child is not properly placed in a
family he should be changed to a more favorable place, where the right
conditions are secured. They contend that the family furnishes the
ideal system for reforming wayward children; that the good example
which a child receives in a family is worth more than the theoretical
education which he receives in an institution. The family develops
the personality of the child, which the institution represses.
The partisans of the institution respond that it is not easy to place
children in families; that it is not easy to find the families which fur-
nish all the -conditions necessary; that the number of good families
who can be found willing to take such children is verj^^ limited; and
that children who have moral defects are usually rejected— they do not
wish their own children to be contaminated b}'^ such association. Many
children are thus placed in families which are not fitted to receive them.
After having weighed the advantages and disadvantages of both
S3^stems, the proposition has been made to combine them. For certain
children the institution, well organized and conducted, is regarded as
indispensable. In a good institution the child may be changed, not
only in his external appearance but in his character, as a preparation
for returning to family life. For other children it may be better to
place them directly in families where they will be under moral influ-
ences to which they are susceptible.
In various countries the method has been followed, with much suc-
cess, of placing children in institutions for a tentative period and then
transferring them to families. It is possible to combine with institu-
tional life the advantages of private or external education. This is
done, among other instituticftis, in the Casa Benefica, of Turin, Italy,
which unites in a surprising manner the advantages of the institution
and of the family. It was founded by Judge Luigi Martini in 1889.
It has 250 youths. The youngest, about 50 in number, are educated
as a family, in charge of a woman within the institution; they go to
the public primary schools. The larger boys work in shops without
the institution, returning to the institution at noon and at night as to
their home. This is supplemented by a moral, physical, and religious
education in the institution itself. When a young man is assured of
a future by his work and by the habits he has acquired, the director,
in his discretion, may permit him to be a free workman, or place him
among his friends without any change in his occupation.
The Abbe Bianchi concluded by saying that this question had been
treated at the congress of Stockholm and the congress of St. Peters
burg, that its theoretical aspects had been exhausted, and that it was
time now to put into practice the principles deduced. It is toward
86 SIXTH INTERNATIONAL PRISON CONGRESS.
youth that we must turn to find the true solution of our penitentiary
questions. Save the child and it will be easy to solve penological
questions; they will, in fact, solve themselves.
The discussion in the section and in the general assembly covered
much of the same ground presented in the reports, which form a val-
uable collection of papers on this important subject.
Conclusions:
Considering that the individual pJacAng of children in families
arid commitment to Institutions c(/ri'espond to different needs;
that the first of these methods is best as a system of noi^nal educa-
tion^ and that the second is only practicable as a system of moral
Improvement and reformation^ the congress is of opinion that to
secure a rational education of young delinquents^ as of those mor-
ally abandoned oi^ cruelly treated^ it is best to combine both
methods.
It is desirable that a period of p^relhninary observation should
pi'ecede the decision as to the placing or commitment of the child.
RECEPTIONS AND EXCURSIONS.
No account of the congress would be complete without a recogni-
tion of the abundant hospitality of the Belgian Government, extended
through its oflScial representatives and also through resident members
of congress. An invitation to visit the penal institutions of Belgium
was accepted by many foreign delegates, and afforded them an oppor-
tunity to study the cellular S3\stem in the high degree of development
it has attained in Belgium.
An occasion of notable interest was the excursion to Ruysselede-
Beernem, a large and finely equipped institution for children. The
inspection of this establishment was fdllowed by a banquet, and
addresses were made by the minister of justice, Mr. Van der Heuvel,
and the response on behalf of the members of the congress was
made by Mr. Goos, minister of justice of Denmark.
INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
Page.
Abuse of indeterminate sentence 37
Address of welcome 4 11
in response 13
of the president 15
Age of prisoners at Elmira 47
Agricultural colony of Douaires 83
Aid society of Melun 75
Alcohol, a purveyor of crime 65
a jjowerful factor in criminality ., 72
poison to nervous elements 72
Alcoholic drinks to be forbidden in penal institutions 66
Alcoholism and crime 62
remedies for 67
Allowance to prisoners 56
Amount paid to convicts , 20
Anglo-Saxon legislation 29
Antialcoholic instruction 69
Apprenticeship in France 49
Argentine Republic, case from, cited 28
Asylums for tuberculous convicts 43
Average sentence in cellular prison of 23 days 52
Bailly, J 20
Bamkrdo, Dr., claims to have saved 99 per cent 60
Bedding of prisoners 56
Beer in prisons 66
Belgium, number of infractions of laws in 25
statistics on alcohol and crime 64
Blackmail, repression of 39
lonj^ imprisonment for 40
a misdemeanor 41
Boys* reformatory at Tivoli 46
Brockway, Z. R 49
Brussels Congress 11
hospital for insane 72
Budapest, majority of homicides committed in a state of drunkenness 64
Caissed'P:tat 24
Canada, 6,000 children sent to 60
Canteen, The, in Italy • 55
Casa Benefice 85
Cassidy, Michael J 47, 51
Cellular imprisonment 50
Cellular prison at Louvain 53
system in Belgium 12, 47
prevents corruption 48, 50, 52
Children and mmors 78
education for 81
City boys may be made into good farmers 83
Compulsory treatment of drunkards 71
Congregate system and recidivism 55
Congress of criminal anthropology 35
Paris, resolutions paSed by 19
Prisoners' aid societies 48
Contagious maladies in prison 43
Convicts antisocial beings 69
88 INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
Page.
Copenhagen, statistics of arrests in 63
Correspondence of prisoners 57
Cost of short sentences 23
Courts with closed doors 41
Crime and alcoholism 62
Criminal anthropology should be studied by prison doctor 43
Damage caused by crime, amount of 22
Days of the week and crime 73
Del^ates to Brussels Congress 9
Diminution of crime not dependent on severity of laws 40
Dipsomaniac institutions 70
Discharged prisoners, aid for 1 75
Disciplinary regime to be imposed by judicial powers 56
Diseases of respiratory organs in prisons , 53
Drinking women more likely to commit crime 73
Ducp^tiaux 16, 73
Dupuy, Madame 49
Earnings of prisoners 21, 56
Elmira Reformatory 45, 49
Emigration, for young delinquents 59
sometime necessary 61
Employmerft bureau for discharged prisoners 75
Expense of trying offenders away from place of crime 28
Extradition. 26
Family, best place for a child 80, 84, 85
care and institution life 85
Fewer women criminals in United States in proportion to men 73
Fines, to be given to victims of crime 22
First offenders, treatment for 54
Five years' imprisonment in France for blackmail 40
Foreign countries, infractions in 34
Guardian societies and young delinquents 79
Guillaume, Dr 15,61,65
Howard, John 13,15,16
Humbert, King of Italy 17
Hypnotism for alcoholism 67, 74
Indefinite sentence, the 35
Indemnity due to victims of crime 19
fund 22
Indeterminate sentence, the . . : - 35
Institutions for children, or private homes ." 84
Intemperate convicts to be reformed by work 66
International congress on abuse of alcoholic drinks 65
Prison Commission, members of 7
Congress, sessions of 8
statistics of 10
union for penal law 35
Irish system 14
Isle of Wight, statistics of effects of alcohol on crime 63
Judiciary system of Belgium, cost of 20
Juvenile delinquents ,. 45
Liberty of press in United States 41
Library and recidivists 56
Life prisoners and insanity 53
Limitation of sentences 52
Letters of transmittal 5
from King's cabinet officer 18
Mannheim reformatory 47
Manual training to be recommended , 83
Martini, J udge Luigi 85
Medical service in prisons 42
Members of International Commission 7
Mental disease and crime 53
Milan reformatory 47
Military physicians and prison service 44
Montesquieu, quoted 22
INDEX OF SUBJECTS. 89
Page.
Moral regime for recidivists 57
Napoleonic code 29
Nice, per cent of prisoners influenced by alcohol 63
Nonextradition of Belgian subjects 32
Norwegian code, concerning fines 22
Occrasional intoxication and crime 72
Offenses committed abroad 31, 33
Ofl&cers of Brussels Congress 18
Paternal correction, institution for 47
Penal codes, citizens amenable to two 31
legislation 19
Penalties for blackmail 40
Penitentiary at Mannheim 47
hygiene 43
Pentonville, London, statistics of 63
Physician's work curative and regenerative 42
Pisa reformatory 47
Placing of children in colonial possessions 62
Poet, Miss Lydia * 34
Poissy, proportion of prisoners influenced by alcohol 63
Police vigilance and increase of crime .* 53
Power of liberation 46
Preliminary observation of children 86
Press as instrument of blackmail 40
Preventive means 59
Prison administration 42
gate missions 67
officers should inspire confidence 69
physician should r)e an alienist 43
Prisons, medical service in 42
trade instruction in 49
Probation officers in the United States 80
Proportion of criminal men and women in England 73
Protestant Aid Society for Discharged Prisoners 76
Publication of secret trials 41
Publicity of judicial trials in United States 41
Receptions and excursions 86
Recidivism, under cellular system 58
in the United States 47
in relation to minors 78
Recidivists, treatment of 54, 58
Refonnatory methods, Ireland 14
in the United States 45
at Milan 47
Reform school for boys, Turin, Italy 85
schools, instructic n in '. 83
of France 49
Reformatories in the United States 45
Regime of prisons 58
Rehabilitation should follow punishment 20
Reimbursing victims of crime 20
Relapses in crime in Sweilen 52
Remedies for alcoholism 67
Reports from United States 10
Repression of blackmail 39
Sanitary service of penal institutions 44
Serum treatment for alcoholism 67
Severity of penalty for crimes caused by alcoholism 68
Short penalties should be abolished . . .* 23
Short sentences, cost of 23
in France 23
Shah of Persia 17
Solitary system, the 50
Special asylums for tuberculosis 41^
State, The, should control guardian societies "^^
Statistics on aJcoholisni ^^
yO INDEX OB^ SUBJECTS.
Page.
Surveillance of children placed in homes 60
Sweden, convicts in, influenced by alcohol 68
recidivism in 52
Swiss emigrants 61
Swiss Prison Society 65
Switzerland, prison statistics of 63
Tallack , W m 24
Technical education in institutions for children 81
Tivoli institution for boys 46
Trade instruction in prison 48, 49
Trades for children, now to be determined 81
Transportation of children in Russia 61
Treaties permitting extradition 29
Treatment of first offenders and of recidivists 54
Trilogy of alcoholism, insanity, and crime 71
Tuberculosis in prison 43, 53
Turin, Casa Benefica 85
Victims of crime, indemnity due to. . •. 19
VilianXIV....: 12,16
Visits to recidivists to be restricted 56
Watchword of prison reform 13
Weavers, what thev can earn in prison 20
Wines, E. C .' 8
Women prisoners in Sweden 63
Young delinquents, emigration for 59
treatment of 84
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