Of three persons who steal ten dollars, one may be a deliberate thief who prefers to make his living this way; another may be driven by hunger; and the third may be mentally unbalanced.  It is obvious that the treatment accorded to each should be determined by these facts rather than by the mere amount of the theft.  The first doubtless needs punishment; but he should also have treatment designed to change his attitude toward the community and to fit him to make an honest living.  The second needs to be relieved of his want and to be given an opportunity for self-support.  The third needs hospital treatment.  We are only beginning to see that punishment is only a part of the treatment necessary, and that the treatment should be made to fit the criminal fully as much as to fit the crime.

STATE INSTITUTIONS FOR DELINQUENTS

Proper treatment for all the various classes of cases cannot well be given in the county jail; nor can the local community as a rule afford to maintain separate institutions for them, as the number in each class is very small in a given community.  Hence the necessity for state institutions to which those convicted in the local courts may be sent.  Such institutions exist, although not always adequate to the needs of the state.  They include state penitentiaries, reform and industrial schools, hospitals for the insane, special schools for the feeble-minded, and others.  These institutions have been steadily improving in their efficiency.  The greater difficulty seems to be in the local communities, in securing the assignment of offenders to the proper institutions.

ADMINISTRATION OF STATE PRISONS

Great changes have occurred in recent years in the methods of administering state penitentiaries, especially in some states.  Under old conditions convicts were either confined in isolation and idleness or condemned to hard labor, punishment being the sole idea in both cases.  The most rigid and arbitrary discipline was enforced.  Modern penitentiaries keep prisoners employed in occupations that are of use to the state, that are designed to train the prisoner for useful service, and that yield him some compensation that will help to make him self-supporting when he leaves.  They also maintain schools for the instruction of prisoners in at least the common branches of knowledge and in vocational subjects.  Great care is taken of the health.  In some cases the prisoners are graded according to their conduct and their ability to assume responsibility, certain privileges and freedom and participation in the administration of the prison being bestowed upon them so long as they show a sense of their responsibility.  The period of imprisonment may be shortened as a reward for good conduct.

JUVENILE OFFENDERS