The prison question. A theoretical and philosophical review of some matters relating to crime, punishment, prisons, and reformation of convicts ..

Front matter

CAPTAIN

THE PRISON QUESTION.

A THEORETICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL REVIEW OF SOME MATTERS RELATING TO CRIME, PUNISHMENT, PRIS- ONS, AND REFORMATION OF CONVICTS. WITH A GLANCE AT MENTAL, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS; AND SOME SUGGESTIONS ABOUT CAUSES, AND THE PRE- VENTION OF CRIME AND THE PRODUCTION OF CRIMINALS.

Chapter XV. Conclusion, . . 190-194

INTRODUCTORY.

OOME noted man — perhaps the Rev. Sidney Smith — was ^ asked to review a book, and this was his review : " Most of it is old. What is old has been better said before. What is new had better not been said." Some who read this little book may be disposed to take such a view of it ; but new or old, well or ill said, the truths stated in it cannot be found elsewhere associated together in application to the prison question, nor addressed to the common comprehension which it is desirable to reach. Discussions on the subject here treated, have been mostly before learned bodies and in scientific language. The common readers, to whom this is addressed, have given but little attention to the subject-matter, and it is important that they should give more. Reformers and prison officials may find things in it they can use to advantage. It is not expected that its contents will meet with general approval and acceptance, nor that it will escape criticism and perhaps some ridicule. It would be commonplace if it should. It contains statements of fact, which, if seriously considered in the connection they are here placed and sought to be applied, must be of value ; and when so considered they will be likely to modify some prevailing opinions, to the betterment of the unbalanced classes as well as of the general community, whatever may provoke that consideration.

The fundamental propositions laid down in this book were outlined by me in a public lecture twelve years ago, and were urged with some emphasis. They were briefly urged in

6 INTRODUCTORY.

papers read by me before the National Prison Congress at Detroit in October, 1885, on "The True Theory of Reform," at Boston in July, 1888, on "Dependent Children" and at Nashville in November, 1889, on "Arousing the Public." My aim in this little book has been, to group some important, well-established facts and apply them to the subjects of prisons and reforms, in such order as will interest the general public so far as I can reach it ; and so aid in creating a public opinion that can intelligently and practically deal with and dispose of the defective classes and the causes that produce them.

THE PRISON QUESTION.

Chapter I. The Prison Question

IN 1878, I read a paper before the Philosophical Society of Chicago on the "Rationale of Punishment" for public offences. The views then briefly presented are elaborated in this work. They were in advance of the times then, but experience and concurrence of thought have shown them to be generally correct, and they are being tried in practice in some respects to a limited extent, in some localities. The time is not distant when the public opinion will fully endorse them, and become more radical in its efforts to suppress vice than is herein suggested. The ideas advanced have passed beyond the mere force of propositions, and sooner or later, to careful observers, they will be regarded as real theories, because they are in harmony with their environment, and will continue to be so as the field of inquiry and development grows larger.

The rapid and alarming increase in the numbers of criminals and in the extension of the planes on which they act, as well as of increase of the demented, and the professional paupers, — being out of proportion to increase of population, — present problems for solution in social, political and mental science, that call for the continued and diligent efforts of the ablest minds in the land. An impractical theology on one hand, and a blind agnosticism on the other, when applied to the subject, the one misdirecting practical energy and true humanity by a dogmatic view of Special Providence, and the other breeding a disposition to construe liberty to mean license, and hence, a misappropriation and misuse of privileges, have brought about and are maintaining conditions that operate to prevent a true solution of these problems ; while they alsc beget and force into practice, propositions and efforts in the name of reforms, that are false in conception and failures in practice.

That from a false position no step can be taken in advance without plunging into more falsities, is a fact so self-evident that it precludes argument. The only practical steps are such as lead to a true position. That attained, practical forward movement can be made ; keeping a wary eye for tempting but impractical by-ways, and moving no faster than demonstration shows to be warranted. There can be no solution of problems in mathematics unless the local and relative value of figures and symbols be maintained. So in other cases. The conditions and operative forces must be studied, and all efforts must be adapted to them if they are to be made practical. In the discussions that have attended the efforts of reformers, and that have finally grown into what is called the. prison question, many elements and opinions exist that should be eliminated at this time, and others be brought forward, in order to an understanding of what that question presents. In order to answer it correctly the whole subject, matter should be relieved of many garments that have been put upon it, giving it a false appearance.

The question is much like an issue made up in court to be tried. As the allegations are, so must the evidence be ; and parties and advocates must confine themselves to the record, for justice is inflexible. The issue is the skeleton. The proofs are the garments to clothe it, and the court and jury, directed by the law, are to see that they are put on in the right way and place, and send it forth as the work of justice ; an evidence of the power of the law through the court to enforce what is right and prohibit what is wrong. Sentimentalisms are wholly out of place in it. Mercy comes after justice. " Mercy seasons justice." There can be no mercy until there is first justice. Justice is born of necessity and must be measured by it. In the prison question the criminal and his mentality is the issue, the environments — the social, political, and statutory conditions — are the evidence, and the natural forces operate as the law. Justice regards not simply the welfare of the criminal, but of the public and of individuals as well, in all relations.

If we take the position of the theologian, that a Special Providence is necessary and it must be invoked or all efforts will fail, we must bear in mind that the great law of equilibration is coeval with that Providence and is a part of it ; and that Providence itself will not interfere with its operations, lest it destroy the equilibrium of the universe. It is operative in every atom, and in every force inherent in matter. Whatever Providence does He will do through the natural and material agencies of the plane on which action is taken. When the bully went to a clergyman's house to whip him for interfering on behalf of one of his parishioners and breaking up a proposed marriage, he said to the clergyman, " I suppose you expect Providence to protect you?" "Yes," said the clergyman, quickly pushing up his sleeves and letting his fist go, " and this is the instrument he will use ; " and he knocked the ruffian clear down the steps onto the sidewalk, putting him hors du combat. We must adopt that theologian's view. " Providence helps those who help themselves ; " that is, by natural laws He has placed within our reach every needed element and tells us to help ourselves. In this way and this only will there be any interference in our behalf — by adapting ourselves to our environments, and making the best use we can of the opportunities within our reach.

If we take the view of the materialist — that there is no Providence, and that annihilation follows the end of conscious existence — we must bear in mind that the universal desire to escape that annihilation has created and maintains a widespread belief in a Providence ; and whatever creates and sustains a hope of a higher and better life hereafter, carries with it a fear of not attaining it ; and that hope and fear combined, will hold millions who so believe to a moral life, who would be lawless without it. Both the theologian and materialist should recognize the fact that, to work together for a common end in efforts to solve what is called the prison question, they must get onto the mental and moral le^el of the crime class in order to comprehend the people there, and be comprehended by them ; for unless there is mutual comprehension the higher cannot raise the lower, and there can be no permanent reform of prisons, prisoners, or those from among whom prisoners come. If there is mutual comprehension of the theological plane, and mutual belief in any case, and reform so comes, well and good ; that case was a right use of opportunities. But if there be no such comprehension the theologian will fail as a reformer in every such case. If on the other hand, there be a mutual comprehension on the plane of the materialist, and the moral perception is so enlarged that observance of order and justice follows, the materialist will succeed ; otherwise, he will fail as a reformer. If both fail, then physical force alone remains for both.

But there is a plane for action common to both, and united effort on that plane will accomplish all that is possible to be done, and the object of this work is, to so deal with the facts as to disclose it and so make the way clear to an answer to the prison question. It would be futile to preach Christianity to a Jew or a Mohammedan. His moral perceptions, or fears, or hopes must be reached through channels^ where he can see the way. It would be a waste of labor to try to beat the Christian theology into the mind of an ignorant, brutal boor, full of superstitions. In a word, reformers must bridge the chasm • between orthodoxy and heterodoxy, spiritualism and materialism, and cross and re-cross as may be necessary to get to the level of the individual who is to be taught to recognize and live in a moral atmosphere. With convicts, the aim i?, to induce them to observe civil order. Any influence which will accomplish that, should be used.

Up to this time the knowledge and opinions on the subject have been more of accidental growth than the result of specific designs and practical efforts from philosophical deductions. During the time when convicts were denied all means for protection when under charge and on trial, and all means for relief under conviction, when they were regarded as outlaws and subjected to severe penalties, with fixed terms, denied every comfort, herded together without distinction as to previous or present conditions, and generally treated worse than brutes, philanthropy, based on emotional pity, sought entrance to the prisons in two forms: one, that of John Howard, to amel-

THE PRISON QUESTION. I I

iorate the prisoner's hard lot ; the other, that of church consolation. The prison authorities generally regarded both with disfavor; but the knowledge of facts about prisons thus gained, was carried out, and in time came before the public. An opinion grew that forced improvements. Charitable societies formed and aid was given to discharged prisoners, and discipline became more humane. Legislation was invoked and criminal laws were modified. Mentality, society and politics were classed among subjects for scientific investigation and study, but while what now is called the prison question involved them all more than did any other subject, it was not so regarded in the general perception, or even in that of a majority of the reformers.

As always happens with social and political innovations, reformers dealt with results rather than with causes, while in fact, the answer to the prison question must be found in the causes of the conditions rather than in the conditions ; to which, thus far inquiry has been largely confined. Gradually, a consciousness of this fact dawned upon a few here and there, but it was running counter to the main currents of opinion to attempt to direct attention to the real causes, and few had the courage to attempt it with a hope that attention could be secured. The inquiry into the conditions of prisons and of convicts in them, how to make them more comfortable, and give the convicts better surroundings than many honest laboring people outside had who were taxed to support them, was exhaustive ; and great improvements resulted for the convict. But the real origin of the conditions and operative forces that produced the fast increasing numbers of criminals and convicts, received comparatively little attention.

It must now be conceded that a demand for inquiry into the causes, and means for their removal, enters more largely into the prison question than does any other ; and until that inquiry receives the attention a true reform demands and makes, necessary, the prison question will not be solved nor will any actual advance be made of permanent character in reform ; that is, a reform that aids in removing the cause while ameliorating the resulting conditions. There can be no permanent reform of any evil while the cause of the evil sought to be reformed remains in operative force. If I shall succeed in directing the attention of even a few to the causes that produce and maintain the crime class and that stand in the way of reform, my labor will not have been in vain.

When Jesus Christ began in Judea to preach a radical revolution, one that was at war with the beliefs, prejudices and passions that had been the growth of centuries, he created antagonisms which gave existence to energies that created a religious belief for one-third — and the most intellectual — of the human race, besides causing his own crucifixion. It is so in part with every one who advocates anything that runs counter to the current public opinion ; they create antagonisms. The seeds of truth thus sown will germinate sooner or later; and the generation that recognizes their existence and value will cultivate them. When recognized, there will be a truer and a higher civilization. Error is the mother of mysticism and superstition, and these are the parents of science. Nothing can exist without an opposite. Everything exists in its opposite. There can be no light without darkness, no hope without despair, no truth without error, no ignorance without knowledge, no love without hate, no death without life, no crime without order, no good without evil, and so on of everything in existence. Even the Bible could not create a God to worship without a Devil to antagonize Him, nor a heaven for the righteous without a hell for the wicked.

Everything that comes into existence brings in equilibrium the elements of good and evil, either in itself or in its relation to other things. To derive the most from the good and confine the evil in such channels as will effect the least injury is all that can be attained ; and to this end the intelligence of men should be directed and their energies be exerted.

The correlation and conservation of forces is eternal, and the law of equilibration will be eternally operative. It applies to the conditions of men individually and socially in all relations, as it does to matter in all forms and conditions; and no theory of reform can be made operative for good that does not recognize these facts, and endeavor to shape all efforts in conformity to them. Let us see if an examination of a few fundamental truths, and of some conditions as they exist, will enable us to more clearly comprehend this so-called "Prison Question."

A full consideration of the subject involves directly and collaterally, not simply the convicts, but all of the defective classes.- The incurably diseased, the insane, the weak-minded and idiotic, all who are mentally defective and unbalanced, the vicious, the criminally inclined, and the hereditary pauper and vagabond classes from which they largely come. It demands consideration of the relations that exist between society and government on the one hand and these classes on the other; and the real question is, what duty does the sound, moral, orderly and self-supporting portion of the population owe to themselves in view of these classes? They alone can organize and maintain government and constitute orderly society ; and they alone must carry the burdens. The duty they owe to these classes — which has been largely considered to this time — will be disclosed in fully considering this question.

Chapter II. Mentality

THE first thing that confronts us when we come to the consideration of the criminal class, is the mentality of the individual. That mentality is dependent on the quality of brain and nerve substance, the volume and arrangement of brain ganglia, and the impressions made on body and brain by environment. Science has demonstrated that each particular function of what we call mind has its special location and is centered in some local part of the brain-substance called a ganglion ; which can be removed and that part of the mind will be gone and the function located there be lost. Using the description of another for brevity, I will try to make the idea clear to the common mind.

The brain contains two kinds of matter, one white and the other gray. The medulla oblongata at the base of the brain connects it with the spinal cord. From the spinal cord nerves extend through the bony spinal column in two sets, consisting of gray matter and white. One matter conveys the energy that gives the sense of feeling and the other the energy that gives the power of motion. Others from the medulla and lower brain supply the face, throat, etc. With each thought and each motion a portion of the tissue is consumed and the waste must be supplied by proper nutriment, digested, and carried by the blood, and taken up by the formative vessels adapted to that work.

" Experiments in vivisection (dissection and examination of living animals) demonstrated that the whole brain above the medulla could be removed and the animal functions of the body would go on. The higher brain could be removed and as long as the medulla was uninjured the remaining brain would perform its functions. For instance, the higher parts of the brain were removed from a pigeon, and it showed indifference

MENTALITY. 1 5

when let alone, but under the stimulus of electricity it would live. If laid on its back it would regain its feet. If pinched it would walk away. If thrown in the air it would use its wings and descend in its usual manner. Light would make the the pupils of the eyes contract. If ammonia was held to its nose it would draw back in disgust. It made no effort to feed itself, but would swallow food when put in its mouth, and would die of starvation if not artificially fed. So in frogs and fishes. With the higher portions of the brain removed, a fish will go on swimming until its course is impeded. It will take no food and will die of starvation. A frog will move about in the water until it reaches land and then will sit indifferent. If stroked on the back it will croak.

"So in man, certain subdivisions of his faculties correspond to certain subdivisions of the brain. The medulla, as stated, is the connecting link between the spinal cord and the brain, and its most important function is to regulate the respiratory movements. The paralysis of some nerve centers or blood vessels in the medulla is called sun-stroke or heat-stroke and causes death. The medulla controls the movements of swallowing ; it contains the center for the physiognomical play of the muscles of the face and another for articulated words. All of its functions are mechanical or automatic, and will continue when the higher brain has been removed or is impaired by disease.

"The affections, fear, terror, pleasure, pain, etc., are functionated in the second division of the brain, — the optic lobes or bridge.

" The cerebellum or little brain is the third division. It is the organ of equilibration. The animal from which it has been removed staggers and appears drunk. One part of the cerebellum prevents man from falling forward, another from falling backward, another from turning around in a circle.

" The central ganglia are the fourth division and they enable us to do many complex things in a mechanical way ; to walk while thinking or reading; to play music while thinking of something entirely different ; to sew, knit and talk without paying much attention to it.

" The highest division of the brain, its gray matter, is the fifth division. This is the portion that may be called the seat of the soul. It is not a single organ, but consists of a number of differentiated organs, each one of which is possessed of certain functions, yet is in the closest possible connection with all the others.

"To define all these various organs with accuracy, to define their intimate structure as well as their individual energy, and to trace the physiological and pathological alterations which they undergo during the natural process of development, maturity and decay, and in diseases to which they are subject, is the greatest problem for the anatomy and physiology of the twentieth century ; and when it is solved a complete revolution in psychology must result."

With these facts before us, what a view is presented in this prison question ! What possible solution can there be of any value unless these facts are carefully considered in studying the criminal class and the causes of crime? In that study we are met at the threshold by two things that claim our attention. The first is, the fact that no impression can be made upon the brain ganglions but such as come through the channels of the senses, and the other is, the origin and character of the material that make up the body and brain of the individual. If the origin is vicious and the material coarse the impressions made and retained will be different under the same environment from what they would be with the origin moral and the material fine. So if the origin be fine and the material good, but the environment be coarse or vicious, the impressions made and remaining will be different from either of the others.

Again, the physical development of the body will greatly modify the character of impressions. If digestion and powers of assimilation be good and the environment be coarse the fibre produced to supply waste will not be such as it would be with better fare, nor the impressions be the same. If the physical powers be weak, digestion and assimilation imperfect, the physical and mental results will be materially modified. There is a conscious intelligence in matter which, when left to itself and unobstructed in its processes, makes no mistakes. For instance, take a preparation of corn meal in the form of food and feed it to a sheep and k will make mutton, tallow

MENTALITY. \J

and wool. If given to a hog it will make pork, lard, hair and bristles. If given to a negro it will make black skin, kinky hair, flat nose, thick lips, and an imitative, non-progressive brain energy. If given to a white man it will make a white skin, various colored straight hair, various colored eyes, shapely limbs and features, a higher quality of brain and an original, progressive brain energy. In each of these the brain fibre will be different and the impressions through the senses unlike. In each there will be higher and lower types of both physical and mental construction, and outgrowth consequent. With iron, brass and silver we make progressively, finer castings and polish, and they are progressively subject to oxydation in the same order, the coarsest more, the finer less- So with the body; the coarser the fibre the less susceptible of fine impressions, the less capable of comprehending and acting under moral perception. The finer the fibre the more susceptible to higher impressions. Then comes the arrangement of ganglions and the impressions made, whether coarse or fine, to determine the controlling energy under which the individual will act. In dealing with criminals with a view to reformation we must become advised of the physical construction of the individual, quality of material, existence of brain ganglia, their combinations, and the impressions already made. If what is lacking to a true moral perception can be supplied and what is obstructed can be removed, reformation is possible ; but it is not, otherwise. The character, quality and arrangement of brain ganglia with the impressions made upon them constitute the elements of mentality and source of mental energy of the individual.

Chapter III. Physical And Mental Energy

A SCIENTIST or philosopher must have opinions and form •^l* theories, but he recognizes that a proposition is a theory only when it agrees with its environments ; and he bends his energies to ascertain the exact truth regardless of the fate of his opinions. If the truth makes for or against his opinions his search is directed to the discovery and elucidation of facts as they exist and their bearing on other facts already known ; his opinions or theories being among the elements directing his efforts. He is no scientist who searches alone for facts to sustain a theory and rejects all that are opposed to his theory.

In using the word "education" in connection with this branch of my subject, I mean to include the knowledge acquired from all sources ; the surroundings and associations of the individual as well as that from teaching and books. In using the words "mental organization," or "organism," I mean to include the brain and the whole nerve structure, its sources of supply, growth, progress, waste, deterioration, and the causes; the quantity and quality of brain and nerve matter and the influence that affect each and all in a material way, internal, external, directly and relatively. Mind and its operations, in directing the acts of the rest of the body, depend on all and not on a part, and the act is a result of all and not of a part. Human beings are as unlike in these things as they are in their looks, manners and acts.

The word " mentality " will express the energy that is produced by the mental organization, the capacity to receive impressions, and manifest the impulses they prompt. The word •"mentalism" will include the perceptions, the impulses, the opinions, the beliefs, and general "isms" that are the actual outgrowths of that mentality. I use this order regardless of lexicons and ordinary definitions.

It cannot be denied that great intellect and great passions and appetites go together, in some form, and it is always a question which will dominate. It depends largely on environment and education. I do not use the word passion in the sense usually understood only. Its manifestations are endless. It may be in the direction of wine, women, sporting, penuriousness, senseless extravagance*, inordinate ambition, brainless adventure, love of tyranny, love of notoriety, and other outlets. The intellect may vitiate the passions and appetites, or they may be vicious by inheritance and the intellect may increase or diminish the vicious quality. We may compare the mental organization to a motive power and working machinery.

The vital source of energy in the human structure — whatever and wherever it may be — commonly supposed to center in the base of the brain, may be called the engine, supplied by the functions of the body as a boiler, and in turn enabling the body to supply itself, aided by reciprocal energy. The intellect or higher brain may be called the working machinery. If the machinery is large and either rapid moving and incisive, or ponderous and slow-moving but powerful, the motive power must be capable of moving it properly and be adapted to it. The so-called moral sentiments may be called the regulating machinery ; the feed, exhaust, governors, cut-offs, cams, levers, guides, friction rollers, and other adjustments controlling the motive power on one hand and the movements of the working machinery on the other.

First, that capacity of the regulating machinery to admit of adaptation, and second, the method of adaptation, determines whether the power shall control the working machinery for good or for evil. For want of proper control shall the intellect be used, finally, to feed the motive power — the appetites and passions — or shall the motive power be controlled and used to exert the intellect for great and useful ends? The .brightest intellects never reach full maturity. Dazzled by their own light, no adjustment controls them and they dash wildly to their own destruction. The world is full of instances.

The small but incisive intellect may have great animal brain behind it and the moral brain be wholly overborne. The great intellect may have small animal and small moral powers and be weakly vicious. The great and active intellect and great animal brain may go together and have no sufficient moral governor, and become great in vice. It may have moral balance but be improperly educated ; or be surrounded by evil influences if rightly educated, and so the intellect be dominated by the animal. We may have a fair balance of brain organization educated, and yet, from some idiosyncrasy have a lack of moral perception. Of this we have a striking illustration in the South. Where there used to be an hundred negro convicts in the penitentiary there are now six hundred, and the increase comes mostly from among the educated negroes. The increased intelligence is used to secure the gratification of the impulses of the animal rather than for the elevation of the intellectual man.