OF THE

ANNUAL CONGRESS

OF THE

NATIONAL PRISON ASSOCIATION

OF THE

UNITED STATES,

HELD AT

CINCINNATI, SEPTEMBER 25-30, 1890.

PITTSBURGH:

SHAW BROTHERS, PRINTERS, 10 & 12 SIXTH STREET,

1891.

-1' 8987 13.

1579

PREFACE.

THE

HE proceedings of the National Prison Association at the recent Congress held in the city of Cincinnati, are herewith presented to the members of the organization and to all others interested in the study and the solution of the great prison question.

The volume is a larger one than any of the preceding reports. It does not put forth for itself the claim of absolute inerrancy. However, it is believed that no glaring blunders will be found in its pages.

The desire to give a fair, clear and full account of what was said and done has controlled its compilation. The editorial prerogative has been kept in abeyance.

The papers are all valuable contributions to prison science. The discussions will be found to possess the practical character which is so sternly insisted upon by many as the great desideratum of such meetings.

Both the papers and the debates will be, as they heretofore have been, helpful to officers in actual charge of prisons and reformatories, as well as suggestive to the growing number of the students of crime-cause and crime-cure.

Preventive measures as well as curative methods must have place in dealing with the menacing evils which arise from the spirit and results of law-breaking.

Society is best protected when crime is prevented. To gain this much desired end it is necessary to know the birth-place and the lines of development of the evils and apply the remedies at the source. This implies study, discussion and public enlightenment.