The Legal World major in the United States Army, finds after a tour of inspection that all the prisons and asylums are filled with blondes, who vastly outnumber the brunettes. The sunshine of the American climate, he thinks, tends to break down the nervous system and lower the morale of the light-complexioned person. In Clinton Prison, where the worst class of crimi nals are confined, instead of "black-beards" he found an astonishing large number of blondes, and in Elmira Reformatory there were only 1406 out of 5000 men with black hair. Mrs. Carrie Brunham Kilgore, the first of her sex to be admitted to the practice of law in Pennsylvania, died June 30 at Swarthmore, Pa. She was a familiar figure in all the courts in Philadelphia and enjoyed a large practice. Mrs. Kilgore was admitted to the law school of the University of Pennsylvania in 1881. After being graduated she was ad mitted to the local, state and federal courts and in due time was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States. A few years ago Mrs. Kilgore became interested in ballooning and made an ascension, remain ing in the air several hours. The National Probation Officers Associa tion at its annual meeting in Buffalo in June elected Homer Folks, president of the New York State Probation Commission, president, judge William De Lacey of the Washington uvenile Court, vice-president, and Chief Pro bation Officer Roger N. Baldwin of the St. Louis Juvenile Court, secretary and treasurer. The association meets next year in St. Louis. Its membership includes judges and proba tion workers from all parts of the country. The dominant note of the meetings was that in order to secure the best results, probation officers must use friendly means to win the confidence of those under their care. The question of the law's delays is to be investigated in Massachusetts by a commis sion of three appointed by the Governor in pursuance of a resolve (c. 115) of this year's Legislature. This commission, which is to serve without pay and to report before Jan. 10, 1910, "shall investigate the causes of delay in the administration of justice in civil actions in the courts of the commonwealth, the advisability of constituting new courts and of enlarging or otherwise altering the jurisdiction and powers of existing courts, the expediency of permitting the examination of parties and witnesses at an early stage of judicial proceed ings, and any other matters relevant to secur ing a more speedy administration of justice in civil actions. A bill for the improvement of the admin istration of justice in police courts, aimed particularly at New York City, has been drawn by Mr. Justice Charles F. MacLean and introduced in the New York Legislature. It provides for the immediate hearing of the cases of all prisoners arrested, the abolition
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of all police court records of pfersons dis charged, the enforcement of city ordinances, and a general economy and simplification in the administration of police court functions. It is predicted that it will work wonders in checking the "system" of the professional bondsmen and police court sharks. The Com mittee of One Hundred has announced that it would make the conditions of the city magistrates' courts an issue in the mayoralty campaign this fall in New York City. The Prevention of Crimes Act, regarded in England as marking a new era in the treat ment of habitual criminals, went into effect August 1. If an offender already convicted three times in his life is convicted a fourth time, the court may, in addition to ordinary punishment, pass upon him an indeterminate sentence limited to between five and ten years. Every case of indeterminate sentence is to be brought before the Home Secretary at least once every twelve months. Power is also given to the Home Secretary to release a man on license while serving an indeter minate sentence. Mrs. Harriette Johnston- Wood, who is asso ciated with her husband in law practice in New York, and is the first woman member of the New York State Bar Association, declared at a meeting at Toronto recently that "mar ried women are under cruel bondage by reason of man-made marriage laws." In the laws of New York state she finds systematic discrimination against women. "Perhaps one of the biggest and most apparent acts of in justice," she says, "lies in the fact that woman has absolutely no legal right to compensation for any services connected with the home. Anything she may earn in the discharge of her domestic duties belongs entirely to her husband." A propos of the intermittent discussion of abuses of the rogues' gallery system, the following resolution reported at the conven tion of the International Association of Chiefs of Police held at Buffalo June 18, is of inter est: "That it is indispensable and should have the support of all good citizens that any person who has been arrested by an officer of the law for a criminal offense, or any person under indictment by a grand jury, or any person who is under strong suspicion of crime sufficient to place him in the class of 'suspi cious persons,' may be photographed, meas ured and finger-printed by officers of the law, due regard being taken to consider the serious ness of the suspected crime, and also to the humane, careful and proper treatment of the person. If acquitted said photographs and measurements should be returned or de stroyed." Of 560 candidates 369 were admitted to the New York state bar, as the result of the examinations held last June, and seven of the successful ones were women, the largest number of women ever admitted in the state
