PRINCIPLES OF REFORM IN PENAL LAW 261 



finement . The probation laws of Massachusetts and of several 

 other states have made an important bc^inninj!; in this direc- 

 tion. It has been found that multitudes of the young, who 

 have seemingly set out on the way to a criminal life, can be 

 diverted from it and made decent citizens, if instead of the 

 contamination and weakening influence of imprisonment, they 

 are subjected to proper moral and social supervision under the 

 intelligent du-ection of the court. There can be no doul^t that 

 the future progress of reform in penal law lies very largely in 

 the direction of extending the scope of probation laws. In- 

 deed, supervision and guidance by wise agencies wherever they 

 have been applied to those who are discharged after a term of 

 imprisonment, have been found at least as valualjle in their 

 reformatory influence as the best systems of discipline and 

 education within the walls of institutions. The more efficient- 

 ly such supervision can be exercised, the more successful will 

 be our campaign against crime ; and it is not too much to hope 

 that in the progress of civilization the community at large will 

 take, not only a deeper interest, but a progressively more 

 active and useful part in this supervision. 



