THE INSANE POOR IN OHIO.

Surely, we have here one reason and a cogent one it is for the existence and work of Boards of State Charities, viz., to seek out and bring to the light the crying abuses that exist in prisons and other classes of institutions that are sustained, in whole or in part, by public charity. Yes, other institutions; for abuses are by no means confined to those of a penal type. This very report contains abundant evidence that the county poor-houses of Ohio-called there "infirmaries "-are in even a worse condition than the county prisons; and that more particularly as regards the insane poor. Indeed, some of the revelations here are too shocking for transcription, and we cannot soil our paper, or offend the sensibilities of our readers, by a recital of them. We, however, make room for two or three extracts, which certainly reveal a state of things sufficiently deplorable. Of the infirmary of Jefferson county, the secretary remarks:

There appeared to be no system whatever, and a prevalent discomfort characterized the entire institution. We found seven insane inmates confined in small cells, the floors of which were wet and cold. All the insane were entirely naked, and their only protection from the damp, chilly air pervading the apartment was to crouch down closely in a corner of the dismal cell, bringing the parts of the body together as compactly as possible, and then draw over them the blankets, or pieces of blankets, which were furnished them, and which constituted their only protection, by day or night, from the cold, damp, cheerless cells in which they were placed.

Of the poor-house of Trumbull county, Mr. Byers says:

The buildings are dilapidated; there is no apparent separation of inmates, but a rather heterogeneous intermingling of all classes; confusion prevails, and there is the utmost disregard of even the ordinary and more essential domestic, social and sanitary regulations. There was an absolute absence of system in the management, and such evidently prevalent disorder characterizing the place as to preclude the idea of comfort. While this is true, as relating to the general condition of this infirmary, there are incidental horrors which it is most painful to record. Among the insane we found one who had been an inmate for many years, and who had traced, in these years of his wild and peculiar frenzy, the marks of his insanity over almost every part of the building in which he was confined. He was locked in a close room, the door of which was stoutly battened. No direct ray of light could enter it from any direction, nor a breath of pure air, while there was a constant current of foul air entering the room from the privy-vault beneath. Nor were there any indications that water, for purifying either the apartment or the person, had been used there at any recent date. This man, with matted hair, countenance befouled, with body and limbs besmeared, was lying on the filthy shreds of what had been his apparel and his bed, and was said to be asleep, but which proved to be rather the stolid stupor where there was no sign of life, save the glare kindling in the eye from the smoldering fire of his maddened brain. His room, from floor to ceiling, over every foot of its cheerless walls was painted (such was his fancy) thick,. and in fantastic figures, with his own excrement. To say that the stench was sickening, is to convey but a feeble idea of the wretchedness of that apartment. We were told that that man had been confined there for more than a year. How this

could be; how a man-how any creature to whom light and air and water are essential elements of life-could live thus, is beyond human comprehension; God only knows.

Are the populations of these two counties civilized communities, or have they not yet emerged from the wild and debasing cruelties of savage life?

THE PAUPER-CHILDREN.

The condition of the pauper-children, of whom there were 670 under twelve years of age, in 57 infirmaries, is wretched in the extreme. They appear to be shockingly neglected, and present an appearance of filth and misery positively revolting. Their education is almost totally neglected. Schools are provided in a few of the infirmaries, but they are mostly taught by paupers, to save expense. Some of the older children are sent to the public schoolsapparently, however, to little profit, as they are jeered and derided by their schoolmates as "paupers.' The question, "How shall we eradicate the pauper taint from our poor-house children, so as to give them an equal chance with others in the battle of life?" is one of the gravest and most difficult with which social science has to grapple in our day. Much earnest thought is given to this subject; and we are permitted to hope that a satisfactory solution will be reached.

But we must hasten to a conclusion. Upon the whole, it is evident that the Ohio Board of State Charities has a great work to do; and it is no less evident that, if the necessary means are not denied, 'they have the intelligence, zeal and energy to do it, usefully to the State and honorably to themselves.

XIX. PRISONS AND PRISONERS: A CONFERENCE IN BOSTON.

BY THE CORRESPONDING SECRETARY.

An informal conference, called by the ladies in charge of the Temporary Asylum for Discharged Female Prisoners at Dedham, was held November 27, 1869, in the chapel of St. Paul's Church, Boston, to consider the question, bow our prisons can be made more reformatory; and particntar y what can be done to secure a more rational and successful treatment of female prisoners? Some fifty or more persons the majority ladies- were present at the meeting, among whom were to be seen Senator Wilson, Governor Claflin, George B. Emerson, Judge Bacon, Mr. F. B. Sanborn, the venerable Drs. Kirk and Chickering, and other citizens of distinction.

The conference was called to order by Mr. Emerson, who nominated Governor Claflin as chairman, who, on taking the chair, returned thanks for the honor done him, and called upon Dr. Kirk to offer prayer. At the conclusion of the prayer, Miss H. B. Chickering was appointed secretary.

Governor Claflin said:

The meeting is intended to be an informal one, the object being for the friends of prison reform to consult together as to the best means of reformation. There is a great work to be done. The system of sentences needs to be corrected. At present, the length of every sentence is determined by a single judge, from whose dictum there is no appeal. This is a very serious matter to the convicted criminal a long or a short sentence depending much upon the condition in which the judge's mind happens to be at the time. I brought this matter to the notice of the Legislature at its last session, and urged the importance of some modification of the law in reference to it. It seems to me that it would be an important reform if the judge trying the case should, on conviction, send the criminal to the State prison, and afterward several judges, on mutual consultation, determine the term of his imprisonment. Again, the whole system of imprisoninent in the houses of correction seems to be wrong. We have fourteen houses of correction, all under different administrations. Νο secular and little religious instruction is given in any of them. The State prison also needs great improvements. Some of the cells are uncomfortable, poorly lighted and ill-ventilated. Until this year no secular instruction has been given, except the little imparted in the prison Sunday school. Last winter the Legislature appropriated $1,000 to employ an instructor in the State prison. To effect the needed prison reform in behalf of women will require all the energy, persistent effort and practical wisdom that can be brought to bear upon the problem. Yet there is much to encourage us. The prisons are in better condition and the prisoners better cared for than formerly. Though the State prison, owing to some special circumstances, is more crowded than ever before- the present number of inmates being within a fraction

of six hundred-the number in the jails and houses of correction is considerably less. The visiting agency established for the reformatories by the last Legislature promises excellent results. Every child sent out by them will be visited in his or her new home; and their circumstances, treatment, opportunities, conduct and prospects fully ascertained and reported to the proper authorities.

In behalf of the ladies who had invited the conference, Miss Chickering read a paper, in which she said that this meeting of the friends of prisons had been called by those engaged in the reform of this degraded and much neglected class, as they found their work seriously hindered by the present prison system of the State. The question pressed itself upon us, What can be done in this matter?. Our prison system is not reformatory; how can it be made so? In reply, Miss Chickering insisted:

1. That all who have the care of prisoners should be selected on the ground of fitness alone. 2. That the prisoners be classified so that the young and comparatively innocent should not be exposed to the corrupting influence of old offenders. 3. That more care be taken not to let loose on society the more hardened and dangerous criminals. She feared that Massachusetts looked at prisoners too much from a pecuniary stand point to act with true wisdom in this matter; but if the State would try the experiment, it would soon find that the true economy is to reform, and not simply to punish. The ladies desire to call attention to the necessity of a separate prison for women; of a separate reformatory or workhouse for confirmed inebriates; and of the State taking charge of young girls who have no legal guardians. The career of most of these poor girls was soon arrested by death, but not before they had sown seeds of destruction broadcast in the community. Reformation was the prime object, and to this end instruction, secular and religious, was essential. The improvement of prison discipline for females was their special work, but she would, also, in conclusion, call attention to the imprisonment of boys, the readjustment of sentences, and the subject of pardons.

Mrs. Leonard, of Springfield, spoke of the incorrigible drunkards among women. She said:

Persons of this character form a large proportion of the women in prison. The present penal treatment of this class appears to be unduly severe. The management of the labor of female prisoners is wasteful and extravagant. In most of the houses of correction not more than five cents a day is paid for the labor of the women, and yet there are women in them who earn nine and ten dollars a week. One woman did this who, because of her slavery to drink, had been in prison forty times. It is generally believed that criminal women can never be reformed. I believe this a great mistake. The laws should be amended, and one or more workhouses should be established for drunken women, of which women should be managers. After a few commitments their sentences should be materially lengthened, so that there might be some chance to effectually break the habit of intemperance.

Mr. Pierce, secretary of the Board of State Charities, spoke earnestly on the subject of instruction in prisons. He said:

Massachusetts boasts of her superiority to all the rest of the world, but it is a vain boast; even Wisconsin, in the far-off West, goes ahead of her in this respect. Boys over eighteen and girls over sixteen must be sent to jail, houses of correction, [Senate No. 21.] 47

or State prison, where no instruction whatever is given by the State, though benevolent persons may do something by their labors in prison Sunday schools. One-third of the criminals in Massachusetts are unable to read, and when incarcerated have a right to have this deficiency made up.

Mr. F. B. Sanborn, late secretary of the Board of State Charities, called attention to the present condition of the statutes in regard to prisons, as far as the special matters brought to the notice of this meeting are concerned:

1. There is no separate prison for women. The principle of such separation is, however, fully recognized, and the only practical difficulty in applying it arises from restricting sentences to the houses of correction by county lines. There is no legal impediment, since the two highest courts are allowed to sentence criminals to prisons outside of the counties in which they are tried. All that is wanted is an act designating some prison for this purpose. 2. The restraint and protection of girls are in part provided for in the Lancaster Industrial School. But none are received there who are over sixteen years. Beyond that age they might be suitably provided for in the proposed separate prison for women. 3. Provision for permanent drunkards is already made in the workhouse at Bridgewater. Some judges, however, find a difficulty in sentencing drunkards under this law, and it would be desirable to pass an act defining permanent or habitual drunkards. 4. The general management of our prisons is regulated by a mass of statutes, most of which are excellent, if only they were wisely and faithfully carried out. Among the best may be cited the conditional pardon act, and the acts forbidding the imprisonment of children under ten years, except on fine, and allowing the establishment of county houses of reformation. New legislation is needed to set in motion the wheels that now stand still. All the statutes relating to penal matters were daily violated. This was true as regarded separation in cells and separation of heinous offenders from the mass of inmates, even in cases where there was no necessity for it. He had seen a murderer in one of the houses of correction, of the worst type, associating freely with the other prisoners, when there was ample opportunity for his isolation. Indeed, the penal code was almost completely set aside in some prisons. He agreed with others that there was imperative need of a prison for women. There were a large number of women in prison. About three thousand five hundred were committed annually, and the daily average was some seven hundred and fifty. They were confined in about twenty prisons. They should be under the charge of women. Massachusetts had never taken that step, as other States had, but gave her female prisoners into the charge of men. The county prisons were, in general, managed by very worthy men, but the number was small (he hardly knew of two or three) who had the least faith in the reformation of woman. What resulted from this skepticism? Simply that no interest was taken in, and no effort made for, their reformation. Nothing was done, absolutely nothing; and in many cases worse than nothing; for the prison keepers produced the impression on the prisoners themselves that their amendment was hopeless. A female prison might be had without any outlay by the State, for the prison at Fitchburg, which was every way suitable, might be taken for that purpose.

The Rev. Mr. Edwards said that, of 2,860 imprisoned females, 440, or nearly one-third, were minors between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one. More than half had been committed more than once, and a considerable proportion six times and over. Now, who were these young girls? Many of them were orphans, many worse