The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-07-30
WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH OUR CRINII-
NAILS?
FrOms the N. Y. Tribune.

1t is a grave question. Forty-six thousand
four hundred and seventy-six commitments in
New York city alone tell dark tale; and how
many in the land beside The twenty fourth
'Report of the Prison Association of New
York" states that some fifteen thousand hu-
man beings are confined in our State prisons
for grave crimes. What are we to do with
these armies of men who war against society
The old fashion was to hang them, kill them,
get them out of the way-and their places
were quickly filed. The natural man was not
only at enmity with God, but he loved to hunt
his fellow-man Twice have we witnessed this
human hunt driving on-men tracking the
criminal as if they were hounds and he a
beast; feroclty was on every face, and the
quiet blood of quiet country folk was hot as
that of the sleuth-hound. This old ferocity
is not quite allayed the hunter instinct is
not altogether suppressed we do not like to
be seen focking to a hanging now as to a
banquet, yet we hate the criminal more than
the crime.
But the world moves; we get what consola-
ton we can out of that 1t moves, and this
"Report" proves it, We find that, in every
State, great, melancholy stone palaces have
been built for our criminals, in which we give
them decent places to sleep, decent food to
eat, and mostly decent clothes to wear, and
we set them to work to support themselves.
In some cases, too, we try to reform them,
and give them desire for an honest life.
We thus begin to recognize that they are
human, not devilish. But we forbid them to
speak, they cannot open their mouths to
make sound from years end to years end,
day or night, summer or winter. Think of
it, you man who are talking creature-try
it for week OF a day One man in the Ohio
Penitentiary has been living SO, or dying so,
for over twenty years. and he is an imbecile,
of course. Better an imbecile than MUIR
derer, you say So do we, if that is the
choice. But is it In the present system of
Tennessee the criminal is allowed Sunday
liberty is, on Sunday he may "talk
sing write letters, read books, or walk about
the yard and, strange to say, it makes him
better it is an laid, not hindrance, to dis
cipline, so his keepers say. VIII it not do
to try this little further? After all, the
criminal may be human.
Again: the lash seems to be given up in all
the State prisons, but in Kentucky and Iowa;
and the best superintendents say it is impera-
tive that ''our system shall not degrade mon
in their own esteem by harsh and rigid dis
! clpline. 1t strikes us that nothing is likely
to be more degrading to a man than to have
ms naked back cut and slashed with whip.
unless 1t be to be forced to cut and slash an.
olner man back with whip. Have pity upon
your aodTdeaS, o, Kentucky! O. Iowa if
not upon your criminals tKind and intelIi.
gent discipline is the only mode which has the
ghost of chance to reform fallen man So
all the great superintendents aereesnch such n, ,oU o
as Brockway of Michigan and Pillsbnr~ lli@,f Of
Connecticut, and Lee of South Carolina ond u
McElwee of Tennessee, and Haines of Mosso
chusetts, and Wardwell of Virginia. TbaSo
are wise, able, thorough men, and years s''oS Of
experience have proved to them that il will Do
to treat criminals as men, not as beasts If
therefore, we must have criminals, let as b6
decent at least.