CHARITIES THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE CHARITY ORGANIZATION SOCIETY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ENTERED AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER AT THE NEW YORK, N. Y., POST-OFFICE. Issued every Saturday. Five cents a copy. Subscription price, one dollar a year, in advance. Three dollars a hundred. ADVERTISING RATES. Classified advertisements, 5 cents a line, eight words to the line, agate measure. Display, 5 cents a line, 14 lines to the inch. Full page, 200 agate lines, $10. Half page, 100 agate lines, $5. Quarter page, 50 agate lines, $2.50. Special position, twenty-five per cent additional. EDWARD T. DEVINE, Editor. PUBLICATION OFFICE: 105 East 22d Street. NEW YORK, JUNE 2, 1900. The report of the inspection committee of the Prison Association of New York upon the condition of the state prisons may be called a serious document. Perhaps never in the history of this country has a severer indictment of any public institution been made. The conditions revealed are hardly less dreadful than those of the prisons of England, which stirred the soul of John Howard. The Evening Post rightly says that the report describes conditions which would have aroused public indignation if they had been declared to prevail in the prisons of Cuba under Spanish rule. Perhaps the indictment is the more serious because it is not an indictment of a particular body of officials, but is a revelation of conditions for which everybody being responsible, nobody is especially responsible. It is only fair in considering the report of the committee to mention the fact that the Superintendent of State Prisons and the State Prison Commission have both called attention to the condition of the prisons of the state, have pointed out the existing evils, and have suggested virtually the same remedies. Commissioner Collins, in his report in 1899, said: "One of the grave questions which the state ought to take up and deal with in a comprehensive and thorough way is the reconstruction of prison buildings, especially at Sing Sing and Auburn. In these prisons the main buildings are very old, were built on bad plans, and are now the antiquated monuments of outworn ideas, loaded with the crusts of tens of years of use and the accumulation of human occupancy which is not completely removable by reason of the original bad construction." The It is just that condition of the buildings to which the commissioner called attention in his report, which is one of the main, if not the main criticism of the committee. Sing Sing prison, according to the report, is a disgrace to the state. There is almost no sanitary. arrangement; the light is bad, the cells being dark in the daytime and overlighted at night, so that the men's eyes suffer; ventilation is almost nil, and the condition, with reference to the possibility of fire, is such that the warden and keeper both say that in case of serious fire the prisoners could not be gotten out. The conditions at Auburn are in some respects better, but in other respects they also are scandalous; the same peril from fire exists, the fate of the inmates being practically sealed in case of a sudden conflagration. At Dannemora the building is better, the corridors are roomier, and the light is better than at Sing Sing or Auburn; but even there the ventilation is extremely imperfect, the sanitary arrangements unsatisfactory, and the fire protection in adequate. We have put the report of the committee as to these particulars mildly, but the actual conditions described are simply sickening, especially in Sing Sing. Beside the material conditions of the prisons the committee reports particularly on prison labor in relation to discipline and classification, and on the condemned and punishment cells. The labor conditions at Sing Sing and Dannemora are worse than at Auburn. At Sing Sing, except in the stone shop, the men do not work on the average more than four hours out of the eight, and during that four hours do not accomplish more work than could be accomplished outside in three hours. Even to establish that average many of the prisoners are entirely idle. In Auburn about six hours' labor are done daily, and with the exception of 160 idle men in three idle companies all the men were working. The system of instruction of prisoners at Auburn, which is the work of Mr. Hall, the superintendent of industries, is commended, the committee saying that he alone of all the men employed in this most difficult undertaking has successfully coped with the problem of prison labor and its relation to the character of the men and the discipline of the prison. There is at Sing Sing and Dannemora practically no scientific classification of the prisoners, the classification being based chiefly on the number of convictions and not upon the character of the prisoners. The committee offers its contribution to the vexed subject of prison labor in relation to the markets, and quotes a number of verdicts of buyers of prison-made goods, the most of which express dissatisfaction with the quality of those goods. In brief, the conclusion of the committee is that the prison buildings are bad in almost every respect, highly unsanitary, badly ventilated, and badly lighted; the discipline of Sing Sing is decidedly lax, at Dannemora somewhat better, at Auburn still better. In the matter of classification almost no regard is paid to the character of the convict, and the discipline is calculated rather to crush out hope and ambition than to reform and inspire the prisoners to better living. The law requiring political division of the states to purchase the products of the prisons is evaded, and at present the system of prison labor does not furnish a sufficient amount of work to keep one-third of the prisoners employed sufficient time to accustom them to habits of industry. If the report of the committee could be summed up in a sentence it might fairly be said that the prisons of the state are engaged in the work of poisoning the bodies of the convicts, and making them mentally and morally more criminal than when they enter. The committee suggests as elements in legislation necessary to reform the conditions: Bringing the inspection of prison buildings under the general state and local laws for building inspection, and forbidding the proximity of engine-rooms, kitchens, and other dangerous buildings to parts of the prison occupied by prisoners. Bringing the cells up to the requirements of breathing space demanded for all other institutions, and forbidding the occupancy of cells by more than one prisoner; also requiring a light for every prison cell during the hours of daylight and certain hours of the night. The abolition of the bucket system, and the institution of a thorough system of plumbing. A fire department for every prison, with regular drill for officers and employés. Classification based on character and not on number of convictions. A series of trade schools for every prison in which men shall be employed, and those instructed who have not sufficient knowledge of a trade to enable them to get a living at the expiration of their term of imprisonment. The establishment of schools in the prisons at which prisoners shall be required to attend until they can write intelligibly, do ordinary sums in arithmetic, and until they shall have been taught simple principles of citizenship and ethics-commutation to be based partly upon progress in trade and in school. The committee condemn the dark cell punishment, considering that it conduces to disease, and that it has no real reformatory effect; and they 'believe that there are other and more efficacious modes of punishment. We understand Commissioner Collins replies that confinement in the dark cell is the only mode of punishment allowed by law. In the main both the superintendent and the commission of prisons agree with the committee, the superintendent, however, differing with respect to the system of classification of prisoners, and claiming for the system of labor now in vogue that it has not been tried for a sufficiently long time to ascertain fully its ultimate effects. As to the principal evils in the situation, in view of the large measure of agreement of those concerned it seems that remedy ought soon to be found. The chief responsibility lies upon the legislature, and it is most urgently to be desired that public opinion be thoroughly aroused and steadily held to the point until the legislature shall be forced to provide for a thorough renovation of the prison plants, and for the introduction of a system of management for all of the prisons of the state, which shall, at least, not work destruction, but which shall do some little to help the convicts to a better life, and to fit them for self-maintenance when they shall be discharged. * * * The purpose of the Summer School in Philanthropic Work, to be conducted by the Charity Organization Society in New York, June 18 to July 28 (six weeks), is to give an introduction to social conditions in New York city, and to the methods undertaken to improve them. In addition to speakers well known for their long experience here, others from Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Buffalo will take part, to emphasize certain phases of thought and effort, and to show how the problems elsewhere affect and are affected by those in the metropolis. The care and treatment of needy families in their homes will be the leading topic of the course, with an introduction by Prof. Francis G. Peabody, of Harvard University. During the first week the school will be in charge of Dr. Jeffrey R. Brackett, of Baltimore, president of the charities commissioners of that city. Each student will be assigned to special study of some particular portion of the social field, with the remedies available for its bad conditions. Visits will be made to some of the societies and institutions, such as the United Hebrew Charities, the Catholic Protectory, the city institutions on Blackwell's and Randall's islands. The registrations to date include graduate students from Harvard, Brown, Wellesly, Smith, Vassar, Iowa, and Stanford universities, with practical workers from the Associated Charities of Boston, the Charity Organization societies of New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, the Children's Home and Aid So ciety of Chicago, and the George Junior Republic. This It can not be expected that the short period of six weeks during which the school is in session will be sufficient to train new workers to be fitted for charitable work. must come with practice and experience. It is the purpose of the school to serve as a helpful introduction to such work, and persons who expect to enter social and charitable work whether in paid positions or as volunteer members of committees and boards of direction. A registration fee of ten dollars. for the course is received, which may be remitted in certain instances by scholarships. ** * The meeting of the National Conference of Charities and Correction at Topeka last week was significant, more particularly in its social influ ence. As a result indirectly of the presence of the conference, state conferences were organized in both Kansas and Missouri, and promise to exert a helpful influence upon the charitable work of those states. The somewhat remote location of the conference this year doubtless prevented many of those who usually are present from attending. Still, a number came from the eastern seaboard, including nine or ten from the state of New York, and the conference welcomed many new faces from the west and far west. The next meeting will be held at Washington, D. C., with Mr. John M. Glenn, of Baltimore, as president. ** * A legal decision has been handed. down by Judge Gildersleeve of the Supreme Court which is likely to have important consequences in future. The case is that of Miss Helen D. Ward against the St. Vincent's Hospital to recover $30,000 damages for injuries received while the patient was a private paying patient. The operation done on her was completely successful; but before she had recovered from the influence of the ether, the nurse burned her leg with the hot water bag, and did not report the matter for several days, thinking she could take care of it herself. It is alleged in consequence of this injury that Miss Ward was compelled to undergo an operation to save the leg from amputation. In the original trial a verdict was rendered for the defendant on the ground that the hospital being a charitable institution. was not liable for the negligence of its employees. On appeal a new trial was ordered and a verdict of $10,000 damages awarded to the plaintiff. The corner-stone of the new Beth Israel Hospital, at Jefferson and Cherry streets, was laid on Sunday afternoon. The new building is to accommodate about one hundred patients. ** * The Trained Nurses' United Aid Society, which was incorporated by special act of the last legislature, held its first meeting recently at the office of the society, 15 West Fortysecond street. The treasurer reported a large balance on hand and no outstanding obligations. The society's object is the relief of trained nurses who are detained from duty on account of sickness or accident, and the payment of a funeral benefit in case of death. ** * The State Board of Charities has been requested to approve the incor |