A CONVERSATION PIECE

Can our prison system
ever eradicate crime?

By R. G. O'NEILL

EWS of the pending closure
of the notorious St. Vin-
cent de Paul penitentiary
in Montreal reminds us that our
‘methods of rehabilitating crim-
inals is little better than it was
‘at the beginning of this century.

Now, after a great public
outcry, something at last is to
be done about it. But is it real-
ly? They'll transfer the prison-
ers and perhaps even tear the
prison down, but will anything
be done to halt the tide of
crime?

And what can be done in a

system where the main purpose
in life is the Almighty Dollar
rather than the dignity of man?

Jails seem to be as much a
-part of our way of life as the
banks and the insurance com-
panies. It is assumed that if
you’re smart you may make it
to the top and live in a pent-
house in idle luxury; if you’re
not so smart, you'll probably
end up in jail at some time or
other. Most of us are some-
where in between the two ex-
tremes, hoping for the former
and fearing the latter.

Is it really: possible to do
away with ‘crime altogether?
Can we get rid of all jails or
will we always have the wrong-
doer with us? What is wrong?
What is right? It depends a lot
on what the law says, although
one thing is sure: we have very
little to do with either making
the laws or administrating
them. This will always be so
with the system the way it is—
until the ordinary people have
a say as to what constitutes
law and order.

And what should our attitude
be to the wrong-doers? Are we
not all, in a certain sense, res-
ponsible for them?

Kahlil Gibran, a “Lebanese
philosopher, in his work titled
“Prophet,” wrote:

!

Is it really possible to do
away with crime altogether?
asks writer R. G. O'Neill. Can
we get rid of all jails or will
we always have the wrong- |
doer with us in a system where
the main purpose in life is
the Almighty dollar rather than
the dignity of man?

Often times that I heard you
speak of one who commits a
wrong as if he were not one of
you, but a stranger unto you and
an intruder upon your world.”

And again the same work:
And this also, though the word
lie heavy upon your hearts:

The murdered is not account-
able for his own murder,

And the robbed is not blame-
less in being robbed.

The righteous is not innocent
of the deeds of the wicked,

And the white-handed is not
clean in the doings of the felon;

Yea, the guilty is often times
the victim of the injured, and

Why all the fuss about not having a job? | haven't worked a day in all my

life!”

still more often the condemned
is the burden bearer for the guilt-
less and the unblamed.. .”

Is not this true? The convict,

the robber are doing time for
us who know what is the basic
cause of crime in our present’
society yet do nothing to
change it, or who pay lip ser-
vice to the need for a change
and that is all.

In this age of automation,
cybernetics, rockets to the
moon and all the advantages of
modern living, is it not a shame
that we still have-a criminal |
class, that there is not a dis-
tribution of these advantages so
that we all may share in the
modern-day wonders?

Yet man still robs man to
make more for himself, slums
still exist, poverty and luxury
stand side by side, greed and
corruption seem to be the rule,
and the honest man is consi-
dered a fool.

In the kind of society we live
in there will always be those
who think they can make it the
easy way, get back the mdx-
imum benefit by a minimum of
effort. Crime is basically the
fault of society, not that of the
individual person, for each per-
son is influenced largely by the
values set up by the society,
and of course his own environ-
ment.

Communists believe human
nature can be changed, that by
altering the type of society we
can also alter the people in it;
not to dehumanize them, as
some of the promoters of the
Cold War will tell you, but to
bring out the best in them.

The prisoners of today do
not reform the criminal; they
only hide him from society.
When a prisoner re-enters the
world outside, he is even more
confused, and only sees re-
venge upon the society that
put him in jail.

When we read of the condi-
tions in the Vincent St. Paul
prison, is it any wonder there
are not more criminals among
us? The fact that the majority
of our citizens are law-abiding
is due not to our laws, but to
the people’s inherent pride and
dignity. Our aim should be to
cater to this quality, improve
society, not dehumanize it.

“AS A REWARD FoR 35 YEARS OF
ATHFUL SERVICE, THE COMPANY:
WILL ore es Fuluré

eco.

Fred Wright in U. E. News (U.S.A.)

side

and the speaker was being

lington North. . .”

“Wellington South,” mumbled the boozy one.

_ “Jn answer to my friend from Wellington souse . - A
the speaker went on. That didn’t get into the papers: the
Senate is not the only Gentleman’s Club in Ottawa.

2 el ae
Now that my memory has started clicking like a com-

puter:

trite to this generation:

Two ditch diggers were always feuding over politics:
one a Republican, the other a Democrat.

| The day after the election Pat saluted his partnef
triumphantly: “Ah, Ike, I see that the Republicans are still

in power.”

“Yes” answered Ike who had prepared himself for 4
and I are still in the ditch.”
* 2

Sobering after-thoughts on the American elections:
(1) In spite of the obvious danger to peace,
and social security he represented, 25 million
voted for Goldwater. (2) The
that Johnson has been able to move away right of cen
without as yet raising enough of an outcry.

|
H
| ribbing. “And I see that you
| Mee

J. $. Wallace

This Pearson is an up-and-comer
And Diefenbaker quite a hummer
Said Tweedledum and Tweedledumber.

Wee South deserves laurels for electing at
NDP candidate. Which takes me back to the time
I was listening in on a House of Commons debate
interrupted by the member for
Wellington South who was clearly half seas over... t0
revive a metaphor from the day of sail.

_ The speaker said: “In answer to my friend from Wel- —

Once I ran as a labor candidate (once!). My brother
Tom said to me on the eve of polling day when the resul
was a foregone conclusion: “Joe, don’t be self-conscious
about appearing on the street the day after the election
if the voters don’t remember you on election day, they
certainly won’t the day after.” e

* *

Then there is a Pat and Mike story that may not be

latter was so far reactio

*

*

*«

civil libertie
American

High prices of medicine)

no bitter pill for monopo!

For the top companies, there’s
no business like drug business.
Aside from fantasies of promo-
tion that rival show business,
the profits are truly remarkable.

What a copyright is to a play-
wright, a patent is to the drug
manufacturer. Hugging this to
his bosom, the drug executive
may set his price without re-
gard to potential or actual com-
petition.

Some 47 percent of all ethical
sales are covered by five broad
drug classifications: hormones,
tranquilizers, sulfas, vitamins,
and antibiotics.

There are nine classifications
of hormones. In three of these,
there is only one producer; in
two, there are two producers;
in each of the remaining four
classifications there are three
producers. With tranquilizers,
the situation is worse. There
are two producers of Resperine
and only one producer in each
of the remaining six areas —
Hydroxyzine, Chloropromazine,
Prochlorperazine, Perphenazine,

December 11, 1964—PACIFIC TRIBUNE

Promazine and Meproba
Concentration is equally i”
fas, and not much better 1?
remaining two classificati?

The 25 largest companies ”
count for almost 55 perce™
all prescriptions written in”
nation. These leading in!
among the most profitable ©
industry by any standards:

—Pills, Prescriptio™
Profits, AFL-CIO.
pe nee

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