PRISON DISCIPLINE. 



253 



last the greatest advance in prison reform, which had 

 yet been made in the world was obtained by the crea- 

 tion and completion of the Eastern Penitentiary at 

 Philadelphia, which was opened on Oct. 25, 1829. 

 This prison soon became fatuous, and attracted atten- 

 tion in all civilized countries, and imitation in many ; 

 and even now, alter a lapse of sixty years, it ranks as 

 one of the best managed prisons in the world. 



The system of cellular separation, or, as it is more 

 generally called, solitary confinement of prisoners, was 

 here for the first time put into operation as an entirety, 

 and has since been known in penological science as the 

 " Pennsylvania System. " The entire and permanent 

 separation of prisoners under sentence, as required by 

 the Pennsylvania system, is not now generally ap- 

 proved by penolpsists, and has been abandoned in all 

 other convict-prisons in the United States, and largely 

 in other countries, but for prisoners awaiting trial, and 

 for brief periods after sentence as an initiatory stage 

 of prison discipline, it is almost universally considered 

 desirable by penologists. 



At Philadelphia the system is no longer enforced in 

 its original strictness, and prisoners are brought into 

 such frequent contact with prison officials, and with 

 in lividua! prisoners, as to obviate largely the evils of 

 entire isolation. In Belgium, also, where the system 

 was adopted in all convict-prisons, the severity of con- 

 tinued separation has been largely relaxed, and such 

 improvements have been introduced as to recall the 

 favorable attention of penologists, and to a certain 

 extent to cause a reaction of opinion in its favor, at 

 least in a modified form. 



The first prison in America to follow the example of 

 Philadelphia was that at Auburn, N. Y., which 

 adopted the Pennsylvania system in 1830, but, unlike 

 the prison at Philadelphia, no employment was pro- 

 vided and in fact the cells were not of a size to per- 

 mit such employment, and the result was the early 

 abandonment of the system. In its place labor in asso- 

 ciation, by day, was provided for the prisoners, and 

 solitary cellular confinement at night. This soon be- 

 came known as the Auburn or congregate system, and 

 is still so recognized. 



The Pennsylvania system was also adopted at Sing 

 Sing, N. Y. ; at Thornaston, Me. at Providence, R. 

 I. ; at Trenton, N. J., and the Western Penitentiary 

 of Pennsylvania at Allegheny, but it was soon aban- 

 doned for the Auburn system in all of them, and since 

 then the Auburn system, with various modifications, 

 has prevailed, almost universally, in American peni- 

 tentiaries. 



Aside from these two systems only one other has 

 been operated to any large extent in the United States. 

 and that is known as the lease system, which was 

 adopted from necessity rather than choice in nearly 

 all of the Southern States, immediately after the war 

 of the rebellion, but which does not exist in any 

 Northern State except Nebraska. Upon the libera- 

 tion of 4,000, (XX) slaves there came such a sudden and 

 Urge increase of prisoners, convicted of felonies, that 

 sufficient room for their confinement could not be found 

 in existing prisons, and therefore, as an available and 

 economical expedient for getting rid of them, they 

 were leased out to the highest bidders for the term of 

 their sentences. The lessees were to have the entire 

 control of the prisoners under certain restrictions as 

 to care and management, and for the privileges thus 

 secured they were to maintain the prisoners, and pay 

 the State a stipulated price per capita. 



This system, in reality, is a modified form of slavery, 

 but of necessity is far more dangerous and cruel than 

 unlimited slavery, with that personal ownership in the 

 master which makes him interested in the preserva- 

 tion of his property. In the nature of things it can- 

 not last long in any civilized country, and is now rap- 

 jdly passing nway. In Cart, the only Southern States 

 in which no legislative action has yet been taken for 

 the extinction of the lease system are (J eorgia, Florida, 



j Tennessee. Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana, but 

 | in these there is a powerful and growing public senti- 

 I ment which promises its entire and speedy termina- 

 tion. 



Next to Pennsylvania, in point of time, the State 

 I of Massachusetts became actively interested in the re- 

 form of prisons through the organization of "Tlie 

 Society for the Improvement of Prison Discipline, and 

 for the Reformation of Juvenile Offenders," at Bos- 

 ton, in 1815. This was the second great prison society 

 of the world. The third was "The Royal Prison So- 

 ciety of France," organized in 1819; and the fourth, 

 "The Boston Prison Discipline Society," established 

 in 1824. 



These two Massachusetts societies did an active 

 work for many years in the education of public senti- 

 ment, and, through their influence largely, the State 

 has kept abreast of the best experiences of the world 

 in its methods of dealing with the criminal classes, 

 and taken as a whole its prison and reformatory 

 methods are not surpassed by any State in the Union, 

 and in some respects they are in advance of all others. 

 The prison for women at Sherborn, atid the reforma- 

 tory tor men at Concord, are especially noteworthy, 

 and the Suffolk county jail in Boston for many years 

 has been a model for the nation in its enforcement 

 of the absolute separation of all prisoners awaiting 

 trial. The probation system for misdemeanants in 

 force in the city of Boston has also attracted large at- 

 tention among penologists, and its centralized control 

 of prisons is worthv of imitation everywhere. 



The State of New York, in its efforts for better 

 met hods of prison management, followed Pennsylvania 

 and Massachusetts very closely, and in one respect 

 was in advance of both of them. "The House of 

 Refuge," opened in 1825, and still in operation at 

 Black well's Island, was the first institution for juven- 

 ile delinquents in the United States, and was the out- 

 growth of the work of "The Society for the Preven- 

 tion of Pauperism," established in 1818, and reorgan- 

 ized in 1823 as "The Society for the Reformation of 

 Juvenile Delinquents." Since then New York has 

 always maintained an advanced position in all matters 

 pertaining to prisons and prison management. 



The prison at Auburn, established in 1816, as we 

 have already seen, created and gave its name to the 

 congregate system, now almost universally adopted in 

 the United States, and the reformatory prison at El- 

 mira, established in 1877, marks a new era in prison 

 management, and is now the model prison of the world 

 in its methods of dealing with felons under 30 years 

 of age convicted of their first offence. The indeter- 

 minate sentences in force at Elmira are no longer ex- 

 perimental, and for this class of criminals are now al- 

 most universally approved by penologists. So, also, 

 the Elmira plan of segregating the prisoners into three 

 classes under the mark system, together with indus- 

 trial training and conditional discharges, are features of 

 the highest value, which are being rapidly adopted 

 elsewhere. New York was also the first State in the 

 Union to establish a hospital, separate from its prisons, 

 for the custody of insane criminals, which has been in 

 operation at Auburn since 1 858. 



The organization of the New York Prison Associa- 

 tion in 1844. and its continued activity since, has also 

 exerted a wide influence in all matters pertaining to 

 prisons, not only in the United States but in foreign 

 countries. By the efforts of this association and its ac- 

 complished secretary. Rev. E. C. Wines, the organi- 

 zation of the National Prison Association was effected 

 in 1870, and of the International Prison Congress in 

 1872, both of which have contributed very largely to the 

 advancement of prison reforms, and still remain in 

 active operation. 



The State of Ohio also has taken an advanced posi- 

 tion in prison improvements, and has in process of 

 completion a general system of prisons upon a compre- 

 hensive plan of progressive classification, which pro- 



