PREFACE.

The American Prison Association met in annual congress at Richmond, Va., November 14 to 19, 1908. The president was the Rev. John Lynn Milligan, LL. D., for many years the faithful secretary of the organization. It was a gratification to all the members thus to honor one to whom they owe so much.

The week's stay in Richmond was made delightful by the unceasing personal attentions of the members of the local committee and other citizens and officials, both of the city and the state. The delegates especially enjoyed an all-day excursion on the beautiful James River, a trip to the state farm and the opportunity to visit places of historic interest in and about Richmond. The arrangements for headquarters and for all the sessions of the congress were unusually convenient. The different meetings were well attended, and the interest held to the closing session, which was perhaps one of the largest of the congress.

In connection with this meeting, the committee on arrangements for the International Prison Congress, which will convene in Washington in 1910, met and discussed some preliminary plans.

A number of invitations for the 1909 Prison Congress were pressed upon the Committee on Time and Place, but that of Seattle, Washington, was finally accepted. It was fitting that at this, the first meeting under the new name, the American Prison Association, a Canadian was elected president for the ensuing year—Dr. J. T. Gilmour, warden of the Central Prison, Toronto, Ontario. The general secretary was compelled to de

cline re-election. Mr. Joseph P. Byers, of New York, was chosen for that office, and Mr. H. H. Shirer, secretary of the Ohio Board of State Charities, accepted the position in which Mr. Byers has long and faithfully served the Association, that of financial secretary.

Attention is called to the fact that a large number of volumes of the proceedings of former sessions of the Congress are in the hands of the general secretary. These sell at a uniform price of $1.50 per volume. Under a ruling of the Executive Committee, public and college libraries willing to pay the cost of transportation, may have the volumes for certain years free of charge. Address the general secretary, Joseph P. Byers, Randall's Island, New York, N. Y.

Indianapolis, March 17, 1909.

A. W. B.

PROCEEDINGS.

OPENING SESSION.

Saturday Evening, November 14, 1908.

The Congress was called to order at 8:25 o'clock by Mr. M. E. Marcuse, president of the Board of Directors of the Virginia State Penitentiary, and chairman of the local committee. Dr. Russell Cecil, of Richmond, delivered the invocation.

Mr. Marcuse-On behalf of the prison authorities of Virginia, I thank you for having selected Richmond as your place of meeting. We hope your sojourn may be a happy one and that you may carry away with you pleasant memories of Virginia. In order to express the welcome that Richmond extends to you, the whole people of Richmond have selected a man to come before you tonight. I take great pleasure in introducing to you Hon. D. C. Richardson, the Mayor of Richmond.

Mayor Richardson-I suppose it is the custom for the Mayor of the city which you honor with your presence to present to you, metaphorically or otherwise, the keys of the city. Richmond has no walls, no gates, no locks, no keys. All may enter here. And from whatever section or clime he may come, if worthy, he will always find a hearty welcome. Many conventions have been held in the city of Richmond. Men and women from all parts of the world have assembled here some to advance their pecuniary and commercial interests; some for political purposes; many to advance the cause of religion and morality and philanthropy. To all these we have extended a cordial welcome. But I do not know of any men and women on the face of the earth whom we can welcome with as much cordiality and gratification as we can welcome the members of the American Prison Association. You come here tonight not from

any selfish motive, but with an unselfish desire to help as far as possible mankind in the worst grade of humanity. You are here as philanthropists; you are here as patriots; you are here as the friends of the friendless, the vicious and depraved. We welcome you to our historic city, where there is so much to remind you of the toil and privation, the patriotism, the suffering, the daring, the wisdom of those who achieved our independence and founded our general government. We welcome you to this city upon which for four years were focused the eyes of the civilized world; this city around which mighty armies contended in bitter strife; a city whose homes were hospitals, where the cries of the wounded and the dying were mingled with the prayers of pious women; a city around which brave, true men on both sides performed deeds of daring unsurpassed in the history of the world; where men, patriotic men on both sides, shed their blood and gave their lives in the defense of principles which they deemed essential to the preservation of liberty. This city is sacred to many hearts by reason of the dead patriots who sleep in our midst.

But, my friends, these scenes of carnage have ended. Thank God, peace has been restored and now, as a united country, working together under a common flag, shoulder to shoulder, we are all marching forward. May the blood and tears of those years cement our people together in a union which shall never be broken. We welcome you, my friends, to our city of churches, our city of schools, our city of monuments and of historic buildings, our city of manufactories and the markets of trade. We welcome you to the Gateway of the South. We welcome you to the hearts and homes of our people, a people who are sincere in their attachments, who are modest in their generosity and who are unaffected in their hospitality.

Ladies and gentlemen, the work in which you are engaged is one of great importance. Having been connected for more than thirty years with the administration of the criminal laws in this State, I know its importance; but it is not my province now to dwell upon it. There are difficult problems for you to solve, problems of the human heart. You must discover the inner workings of the human soul, remove temptation from the

weak, encourage those who may desire reformation of life. With experience and wisdom, with sympathy and with kindness as the means to be employed, I have no doubt that you will accomplish much in the great work in which you are engaged, a work which from its importance should enlist the sympathy of every good man wherever he may be found, a work in which I and every person who has the interest of the State at heart must feel an abiding interest.

In conclusion, I welcome you, ladies and gentlemen, to the city of Richmond. I welcome you, cordially, heartily and sincerely.

Mr. Marcuse-You have received the keys of Richmond, but you need more. The local committee in preparing for your entertainment has provided some entertainment which will take you beyond the jurisdiction of Richmond. Therefore, we have one with us who will speak for the State of Virginia, a gentleman whom all delight to honor. I take pleasure in introducing Hon. Claude A. Swanson, Governor of Virginia.

ADDRESS OF WELCOME.

HON. CLAUDE A. SWANSON, GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA.

I am glad to welcome you, as the Governor of Virginia, to this great and glorious commonwealth and to this superb city, beloved capital of the mighty State of Virginia. I am glad to welcome this Association, because included in its members are citizens from every state and territory in the Union. I am glad to welcome you to a State around which cluster such historical associations, deeds of valor which have made Virginia a sacred soil to every section of this Union. A great many people think that we Virginians are boastful and sectional. Now, I am frank to tell you that there is no better land in this world than Virginia. We Virginians feel that way. But seriously, we love every State and every section of the Union. Richmond is one of the famous cities of the world. There are cities larger in wealth, in population, in commerce, but few cities can surpass Richmond in the love and distinction that belong to it. The