400 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Ohio there are fourteen societies for discharged convicts, and 

 some of these societies are organized with committees in every 

 district of the canton in which they are established. But the 

 most valuable and distinctive feature of the Swiss system is 

 the appointment of a person, called a patron, who makes the 

 acquaintance of a prisoner before he is discharged, and who be- 

 comes his guardian after his liberation. This system of personal 

 and friendly supervision is infinitely better than almsgiving, and 

 its value has been shown in the great reduction of recommit- 

 ments to prison in the districts where it is best established. 

 These foreign societies are supported by government aid as well 

 as by private subscriptions, and a part of their work consists in 

 guarding the earnings which the prisoner has accumulated dur- 

 ing his detention against wasteful expenditure. 



The value of prison libraries was recognized, and the desira- 

 bility of a weekly publication in prisons under the special control 

 of the administration. In this country good examples of such 

 publications are furnished by The Summary, of Elmira, N. Y., 

 and Our Paper, of Concord, Mass. 



Alcoholism was regarded as a growing danger, especially with 

 reference to its influence on criminology. Reports from inebriate 

 asylums in Europe show that habitual drunkenness may be 

 treated with success if the victim can be retained sufiiciently 

 long. With a view of reducing intemperance in Russia, the 

 Government has already begun to acquire the entire monopoly 

 of the liquor traffic. Among preventive measures, the congress 

 commended the regulation and the limitation of saloons, the 

 multiplication of temperance cafes, the establishment of inebriate 

 asylums, and the association of public authority with private 

 agitation in the temperance cause. 



No discussions were more earnest than those which related 

 to juvenile offenders. The presence of women of experience in 

 this and every other section of the congress was warmly encour- 

 aged, and they were gallantly welcomed by M. Pols, vice-presi- 

 dent of the commission, who frankly said that the solution of 

 these questions could not advance without the co-operation of 

 women. The multiplied aspects of vagabondage and mendicity, 

 the subject of prostitution and the measures to be taken to break 

 up the systematic trade carried on between various countries 

 through the decoy of young girls, the establishment and regula- 

 tion of houses of correction, the need of appropriate physical as 

 well as mental education, the relation of parental responsibility 

 and the question of farm school and agricultural colonies, the 

 placing out of children in families, and the supervision of chil- 

 dren thus placed were discussed as important phases of child- 

 saving work. 



