About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

12 Prison J. 3 (1932)

handle is hein.journals/prsjrnl12 and id is 1 raw text is: 





        ONE  HUNDRED FORTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT
                              OF  THE
ACTING   COMMITTEE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA PRISON SOCIETY
                        FOR  THE  YEAR   1931
    It is difficult to think of the year 1931 except in terms of economic
depression and consequent unemployment  and distress. More human  in-
dividuals have actually faced starvation in this country in the past year
than ever before in our history. Yet it is out of such periods of distress
and travail that great humanitarian movements are born.
    Perhaps the historian will look upon 1931 as the year when we were
awakened  to a new interpretation of the right of the individual to life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness. With agitation for old-age pensions,
unemployment  insurance, state and federal relief of a thousand varieties;
with questions of taxation, finance, international debts, armaments, etc.,
being discussed in terms of their effect upon the humblest individual,
surely the common man   is coming into his own!
    The individual as never before assumes importance, not because of his
vaunted capacity of laisser-faire days, to look out for himself, but because
for the first time he is being evaluated in terms of human relationships.
There is evidence that this new born interest is embracing even the despised
offender, and it may well be that we are entering upon an era of progressive
development in penal affairs.
    We  shall review herewith a few of the developments of the past year
which seem to us to be significant.

                         INTERNATIONAL
    Under  the leadership of the Howard  League  for Penal Reform  of
London, our Society has joined with others in urging the League of Nations
to consider the matter of penal reform. The Council of the League has
finally decided to place the question of the improvement of penal adminis-
tration on the Agenda of the League  Assembly.  At  the request of the
Secretary-General of the League, the groups interested in this matter have
submitted a memorandum   suggesting the adoption of minimum standards
in police methods, corporal punishment, solitary confinement, treatment of
political prisoners, extradition, also the development of criminal statistics,
educational principles in the treatment of delinquents adult and juvenile,
adequate health service, labor and wages in prison, probation and parole.
It is expected that the League Assembly will attempt to carry out this
program through the International Prison Commission and other co-operat-
ing groups.
                             NATIONAL
    The National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement, known
as the Wickersham  Commission, issued its final report during 1931. Its
The  Wickersham  Re-  conclusions and findings are embodied in twenty-
        h rsm R       three recommendations  which will, no doubt, set
        port.         the standard  in the field of penology for many
                                  3

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most