Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 57, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 March 1912 — FEWERUS.S.CONVICTS [ARTICLE]

FEWERUS.S.CONVICTS

British System for Reforming Army Deserters to Be Tried. Criminals to B« Sent to Alcatraz While Men Guilty of Purely Military Offenses Are to Go te Fort Leavenworth Prison. ' i Washington.—A sweeping change in military prison methods was instituted by orders of the War Department All of the short term prisoners of Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, have been ordered transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. All of the long term prisoners in the latter institution, about 270, to be transferred to Alcatraz, which will thus be made the place of confinement for the criminal element, while Leavenworth will be the place or detention of soldiers guilty of purely military offenses. To save transportation expenses, a second criminal jail Is created at Fort Jay, Governor’s Island, N. Y. The effects of these changes is t* carry out the recently developed British system of treating deserters and other soldiers guilty of breaches of discipline as subject to reformatory influences and of segregating them from the absolutely ' criminal and vicious class. In a report, giving the result of a recent inspection by him of the “de--tention barracks” of the British army the Inspector general of the United States army, Gen. E. A, Garlibgton, said: "It took, five or six yearß for the detention system in England to establish itself, but It apparently has saved many men from trouble and from degenerating Into hardened cases. They evidently endeavor in this system to apply humane common sense in the treatment of men in trouble. This gives an opportunity for the men to recover their self-re-spect and respond to any patriotic instinct which, under the stigma of prison life and Its demoralizing environment, cannot be expected to survive.” In his recent report General Wood, chief of staff, recommended that the

British system be given a trial in the United States. Under the present system in the United States, a soldier convicted of desertion becomes a “convict” and loses not only opportunity again to serve in the army but his citizenship aB well. Under the British system the de-

serter when apprehended, or men found guilty of other purely military offenses, are sent to the detention barracks. When they are believed to have reformed * they are restored to « duty with their regiments. If they! are found to be undesirable for fun, ther service they are discharged.