396 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



greater emphasis laid upon preventive work and the establish- 

 ment of a special department for the discussion of all questions 

 relating to children and minors. 



An important feature of these conferences is the large amount 

 of preliminary work that is done in preparation for the quinquen- 

 nial gathering. The permanent international commission, con- 

 sisting of eight of the most prominent penologists of Europe, with 

 Dr. Guillaume, of Switzerland, as its efficient secretary, is the or- 

 ganic bridge which unites one congress with the next and gives 

 continuity,' unity, and development to the work. This commis- 

 sion has to prepare a programme more than a year in advance. 

 Specialists in all parts of the world are invited to write papers on 

 questions chosen for discussion. The reports for the present con- 

 gress represented the opinions and experience of two hundred and 

 forty writers, and amounted to twenty-five hundred pages in print. 

 They were all printed in French three months before the opening 

 of the congress, and were sent in advance to the official delegates. 

 Thus every delegate knew beforehand not only the subjects on 

 the programme, but the line of argument which would be ad- 

 vanced and the evidence for and against certain conclusions. In- 

 stead of being overloaded by a great mass of papers, the decks 

 were kept clear for discussion. This gave warmth and vivacity 

 to debate. In addition to these reports, the commission secured 

 monographs from many different countries giving facts and sta- 

 tistics in regard to their prison systems. The questions carefully 

 prepared by the commission on which these monographs were 

 framed were uniform throughout, so that the penological student 

 has an opportunity for comparative study not easily secured else- 

 where. I am inclined to think that this large amount of prelimi- 

 nary material will prove to be quite as valuable as the proceed- 

 ings of the congress itself. 



Next to the work of the permanent commission, the success of 

 the congress was largely due to the strong official backing and 

 the lavish hospitality of the French Government. The Minister 

 of the Interior, M. Leygues, was the official host. For a year or 

 two in advance M. J. Duflos, the chief director of prison adminis- 

 tration in France, aided by his secretaries, had devoted himself 

 to completing arrangements for the congress. This unremitting 

 labor was cordially recognized in the choice of M. Duflos as presi- 

 dent. Everything possible was done by the Government to give 

 character and interest to the meeting. The President of the Re- 

 public honored the opening occasion by his presence. The Minis- 

 ter of the Interior welcomed it in an admirable address. The 

 College of France was opened for the sessions of 1 the different sec- 

 tions, and the general assembly was held in the amphitheatre of 

 the Sorbonne. Excursions to prison establishments were made, 



