Condition of the Gammon Jails. 93 



"The general plan upon whicli jails are constructed is that of corri- 

 dors, with cells opening therefrom. The prisoners are locked in their 

 cells at night, but during the day they congregate in the corridors, with- 

 out employment and without oversight or restriction as to intercourse. 



" There is no separation of the convicts from persons merely accused of 

 crime. Here, often, are gathered those old and hardened in villany, 

 lost to shame, proud and boastful of their crimes ; those who have com- 

 mitted their first crime under the influence of some strong temptation ; 

 those who have committed some venial offense while under the influence 

 of intoxicating liquors or some sudden passion; mere children in the 

 paths of vice ; those who are accused, but are entirely innocent of any 

 crime ; and those who are arrested on civil process and are unable to find 

 bail. 



" If the wisdom of the*State had been exercised to devise a school of 

 crime, it would have been diflicult to devise a more efficient one. Here 

 are the competent teachers, the tractable pupils, the largest opportunities 

 for instruction, with nothing to distract attention from the lessons. Those 

 merely accused and those guilty of a first offense, however venial, are 

 taught that the mere fact of an imprisonment has shut them out from all 

 the avenues of respectable industry ; that there is no hope in that direc- 

 tion ; that society has become their enemy ; and that the only course open 

 to them is to become the enemy of society. They are taught how to do 

 this most effectually, and that the chance of detection and punishment 

 decreases just as one becomes skilful in crime; and all the arts, devices 

 and exploits of the experts are taught in detail to listening and wondering 

 ears, who soon learn to admire the audacity and skill described, and to 

 long to imitate and excel such display of them. 



" Gambling is a common amusement, and the tricks of professional 

 gamblers are learned. The j ails are often so arranged that the male pris- 

 oners can converse with female prisoners, and occasional access to the 

 rooms of the latter has been obtained. * * * 



" As a rule, the prisoners have access to no books, no efforts of any kind 

 are made for their intellectual or moral improvement, and no interest 

 shown in their welfare. * * * 



" Can it be wondered at that the universal experience is that this treat- 

 ment tends |to make men criminals instead of reforming them ? These 

 evils are not peculiar to our own State. They exist elsewhere, and all 

 who have turned their thoughtful attention to the subject, whether as 

 practical men or philanthropists, unite in the opinion that our present 

 county-jail system is an unmitigated evil and ought to be abated." 



Sucli is the testimony as to the condition and influence of 

 the jails in the state of Michigan, as given after personal 



