Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 38, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 March 1906 — BUTLER WOULD ABOLISH JAILS. [ARTICLE]

BUTLER WOULD ABOLISH JAILS.

Asserting that the jail system of the state is “a lelic of the olden time’,” and “not creditable to the state,” Amo? W. Butler secretary of the board of state charities, in the annual report of the board proposes the plan of providing for the punishment of offenders of state laws by the establishment of workhouses to whatever extent is found to be necessary. With reference to the system of -county jails, the report says: “Th? result of its operations is injurious. Our jails as they are conducted do more harm than good. In a rational prison system the jails should be simply places of detention. Convicted prisoners should be confined elsewhere. Provision should be made by law for the official condemnation of the county Jails. This condemnation should be provided for when the jail is badly out of repair, when it is unsanitary; when the moral conditions rare bad. In any event the authorities should be notified and given a reasonable time to remedy the wrong. In case of failure to do so, the fact should be properly presented by the boards and it should prohibit the use of the jail until the fault was remedied or a new jail rbuilt.”

Continuing the report in ‘recom. mending the establishment o; the •district workhouses, says: “Mostof the prisoners who are convicted sand sentenced to jails are charged with violating the state laws. It is hard to understand why the state should | not have charge of them. In most of our jails the prisoners are not separated, they are not classified and they lead idle and immoral lives. Why should not the state establish one or more workhouses as the need seems to arise, under state control conducted on the merit system? These could be located upon diversified land, so as to afford as great a variety of employment as possible. To these workhouses all convict ed prisoners could be Sent who now go to the county jails, except the -sentence be an exceedingly short one. There they would be under good discipline and proper trainingand would have regular employment. The prisoners could be more cheaply maintained in such institutions and inasmuch as they would be conducted in accordance the best reformatory methods, results would be secured.”