Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 11.djvu/286

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270 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

manhood that he finds the American ideas of reformatory treatment clash with the ancient legal notions of Europe, and we can easily imagine that the conservative jurists of his own land will give him uneasy hours, if he is very sensitive to criticism. First of all he tells them roundly that they are in the habit of misrepresenting the American idea ; that they falsely picture our reformatories as luxuri- ous abodes of criminals made attractive by sentimentalism and blind philanthropy. In clear, vivid outline Baemreither sets forth the pioneer conceptions of Edward Livingstone, Z. R. Brockway, and the leaders of reform in Massachusetts and elsewhere, as E. C. Wines, Dwight, and Sanborn. Selecting Concord and Elmira reformatories as typical institutions, the author describes, praises, and critically estimates the procedure employed in the practical working of the " indeterminate sentence."

A valuable chapter is devoted to the meaning and method of " probation " under friendly supervision, which is rightly regarded as an essential factor in the successful administration of the educa- tional principle in dealing with offenders. Young men cannot be trained for liberty while confined in prison and constrained by mili- tary drill ; and yet they cannot be trusted to live in society without some degree of direction and counsel, supported by the authority of the court.

Another chapter is devoted to the juvenile court, its law, pro- cedure, administration, and results. On this last point a note of general criticism is gently introduced : " The Americans are fond of showing off statistics, especially if the figures are lajge, and they repeat them very many times ; but they take less pains to test them and sift the results. All this belongs to the American optimism, but it renders it difficult to secure unbiased conclusions." The work con- cludes with discussions of the union of science and practice, and an analysis of the law of domestic relations. " Science, public adminis- tration, and private enterprise are united in spirit and practice, work together, learn from each other, and so increase the store of experi- ence and knowledge. The teachers of science in colleges and uni- versities draw from the experiments of practical men, but they in return enrich the ideas of the workers and keep the members of boards, the directors of institutions, and the laborers in fields of pri- vate philanthropy from the danger of falling into routine." Very interesting observations are made on the practical applications of psy- chology in the study of motives which influence juvenile offenders