Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1867-05-22


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PUBLIC JUSTICE -EFFoRTs TO PREVENT.
THE PUNISHMENT OF FRAUD AND FORGERY
Fa1sE PRETENcEs. Laws that are: instituted
for the prevention Of crime and for the punish
mept of offenders are sometimes very cruel in
their operation, but their excessive cruelty
never appears so manifest as when twelve coz
scientious Jurors are actually SO hardhearteo as
to see no difference in the quality OF crime
perpetrated by rogue in good social stand
inp and similar crime committed by a rogue
If No social standing at all. The conviction and
imprisonment of Mr.. Edward B. Ketchum
is a case in point. The young fnancier was
really guilty of nothing more venial than the
error of mistaking the property OF other people.
for his own and of condescending to appropri-.
ate it to his own uses Besides the persons he,
so inconsiderately plundered, there were other
acouaintances Of his, in the way of business,
whose names he seems to have imagined that
he had perfect right to nscribe on certain
slins of paper and to obtain the money there
for. lust the same as if they were signed by
the parties themselves. The law, with that
harshness of Interpretation that knows no
difference between u spade and a spade, called
the one act stealing and the other forgery;
but gifted intellects statesmen, politicians,
merchants and medical professors -are shocked
at the idea Of imputing crime to young
gentleman whose conduct was lrreproachabie
in his childhood and whose father was so IN
tenselY loyal to his country in It's ''hour OF
peril that he made quite o large fortune by
helping Mr. Chase to float many millions OF
Government securities at the r; rate OF from iorty
to fifty cents on the dollar That his son Ed
ward B. Ketcbum the second member of
the house of Ketchun, Son Il Go. lis a
thief and forger Is sorroWtuily acknowledged
to be true by Mr. Congressman Hooper, and
also that he s"was justly convicted. But
that eminent fnancier' is quite sure that
this convicted thief and forger 'was one of
the victims Of the remarkable period Of eycit-
ing speculation through which the country has
inst passed, and that no idea of fraud or crime
ever entered into his mind. : sff conEse. says
Mr.. Hooper, drawing down the corners OF his
lips and eleyating his eyebfoWs-of course, II
regret and condemn his acts but l cannot feel
that he is criminal, being fully convinced
that he was not in serene condition OF mind
when he stole the bonds and perpetrated the
forgeries. ....s. ..>.@ I.
To the tender and sympathetic soul OF Sen.
ator Fessenden it also seems "lncontestable
that young Ketchum' was the victim5ot ."cir-
cumstances and really had no desire to In
lure aor defraud the community. !" It's true
s..she has lrespassed and offended" but II he
did steal and if he did forge, the father was so
'ssloyalp that the son could not by auy posi-
5bility have meant to be dishonest, and the very
magnitude of the offence indicates that he has
in him the seed of eminent future useful
ness whilst the reckless audacity with which
he de6ed the laW--or, as Mr.. Fessenden more
softly puts it-''the very circumstances OF the
case show that .'if he is to be considered q
criminal at all, is rather because the law desg-
mates as crime acts like his, than from the
assent Of his mind and heart. Such cogennt
reasons as these ought surely to be satisfactory
to the most exacting OF morallsts and hereat-
ter eminent forgers like Monroe Edwards and
Others Of a similar kidney, may quote Senator
Fessenden's plea in. behalf OF young Ketch-
um.' declare that if their acts were criminal
ther intentions were pure, and thank God and
take courage. e.
s William Cullen Bryant, who on this inter-
sstiug occasion is presented to us as the ven
cradle editor Of the Evening Post, unites
with Congressma Hooper, Senator Fessenden,
aud many Of the best and wisest men Of the
community in petitioning Governor Fenton
complete pardon of the offence of which he
stands charged" Mr.. Bryant bases his re-
Quest upon the moral excellence and purity|of
principle Of the family (Which he''-Ketch
nm-abelongs." But lest this plea should
prove insufficient, Mr. Bryant expresses the
conviction that the unhappy young man who
is now serving out the sentence OF the law In
very easy quarters. Sin the tumult of excite
ment' by which be was surrounded, lost to
great degree the power of judging Of conse-
sQnences, and that his transactions or at
least adds Mr.. Bryant cautiously-'a Ger
tain class Of them, were no longer under che
control of his reasons
;st Next follow suppleneDtaryte testimonials from
Drs. Parker and Buck, who have likewise come
to the conclusiontbat Ketchnm ''was tempo
rarily insane, !" whilst Dr. Lindsey, with. great
ser brevity, fully concurs in the opinion Of Dr.
Buck. = In the rear of the professors marches
Horace Greeley. He, too, cannot see any
thing very criminaIinst The acts OF ketchum;, SO
he stoutly pins his erratic faith tothe medical
certificates, hopes that Governor Fentnn will
spives them the fullest Consideration, and
points out as an indubitable proof of theinsan-
ity of Ketchum that he mls-spelled many of
the names he forged, and went openly about
the streets with some Of the forged but not
issued paper in his pocket at time when;he
knew that the detectives were after him. A
portion of this statement is not true, and rea-
sons ), might very readily be assigned Why the e
detectives, although ostensibly "after him, =
strangely overlooked him. But as it is now
held that ketchum vas laboring. under SO
gieyous delnsion as not to be able to dis
seri1ninate, between what was hisown and what
table 10 stick foo, closely to known facts, s5
Finally. eome ! the signatures of many other
persons consli lituting. the great body of petitinn
ers, most Of them belonging to tie Radical
party All the smemorlalists % respectfully ap-
peaIfo GoYerDor Fentons to believe-or affect
to believe, which sometimes answers to the
same .purpose--that when young Ketchutn'' ].
stole grandly and forged extensively, he was
laboring under a profound hallucination which
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