by prof. john h. wigmore,

dean of the law school of northwestern university.

mr. train's book, "the prisoner at the bar," as an entertaining and vivid picture of the criminal procedure of to-day, and a repertory of practical experience and serious discussion of present-day problems in the administration of justice, is, in my opinion, both unique and invaluable. i know of no other book which so satisfyingly fills an important but empty place in a modern field. at one extreme stand the scientific psycho-criminologists, usefully investigating and reflecting, but commonly severed from the practical treatment of any branch of the subject until the prison doors are reached. at another extreme are the professional lawyers, skilled in the technique of present procedure, but too much tied by precedent to take anything but a narrow, backward-looking view. off in a third corner are the economists, sociologists, physicians, and serious citizens in general, who notice that some things are going wrong, but have no accurate conception of what is actually seen and done every day in courts of justice; these good people run the risk of favoring impracticable fads or impossible theories.

[pg xviii]

now comes mr. train's book, casting in the centre of the field an illumination useful to all parties. it enlightens the serious citizen as to the actual experiences of our criminal justice, and shows him the inexorable facts that must be reckoned with in any new proposals. the professional lawyer is stimulated to think over the large tendencies involved in his daily work, to realize that all is not necessarily for the best, and to join and help with his skill. the scientific criminologist is warned against trusting too much to the cobwebs of his ideal theories, or adhering too implicitly to the lombrosan school or other foreign propaganda, and is forced to keep in mind a living picture of the practical needs of american justice.

i do not hesitate to say that every thoughtful american citizen ought to know all the things that are told in this book; and if he did, and as soon as he did, we might then begin to work with encouragement to accomplish in a fashion truly practical as well as scientific the needed improvements in our criminal justice. such effort is likely to be hopeless until people come to realize what the facts are. judging by my own case, i feel that most people will never really know and appreciate the facts unless they read mr. train's book.