The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1873-06-12
shonA AA94A be mAds . Penal
ColonYf z

In place Of baiidine rec prisons.
Why should we not try sxils-pspal
transportationfs We havs. IN Alaska
An immense territory. In almost every
respect well suited 10 bs the scene Of :
penal colony. It b isolated, and e.
capes would b easiiy prsvsntsd: It h
almost uninhabited II has . chain Of
islands suitable for separate colonies;
its climate on the eoases h sufficiently
mild. and Jet not tropical. but brscinR
and healthful; Il ofIen few or no
temptations TO vasrancy and yet 10 Il
country In which convicts who had
served out their time. or earned their
discharge. could i've comfortably, and
build up . new and prosperous society.
At present Alaska IL . useless and
expensive possession. Two Federal
artillery companies hold possession;
but 1t lies too far out Of the way to
tempt settlers. Used - . penal colo
ny, to which the most hardened Of
our convicts might at dnt be sent, IL
would offer clear field for interestina
and valuable experiments In the man
agemeDt and reformation OF crimi mails.
It Is not sickly, like the French penal
settlement OF Cayenne; nor has Il,
like Australia, climate 30 mild a 70
enable runaway convicts to live .
vagrant life In the bush. It is coun-
try in which industry and foresight
are necessary to enable . white man
to exist and thus the natural condi-
tions Of life would help in disciplining
the criminals sent thither.
Being controlled by the Federal
government, it 10 probable that, II
Alaska became penal colony, West
Point officers would be its rulers and
guardians; and these, who are, above
all, strict disciplinsrians, are admira-
bly, calculated to manage rightly .
convict population. which needs,
above oil other things. to learn obedi-
ence to authority, and to be subjected
to rigid discipline Of mind aud body.
Moreover, the graduate of West Point
is, as a rule, . man Of honor and .
gentleman. He knows nothing about
contracts; he performs his duty he is
honest and respectable; and under
his rule. at least, the convict would
not commonly have before him . per.
nicious example of greed, and other
low forms OF vice. a
There would be no lack Of work In
Alaska for penal colony, however
numerous. The country has no roads;
it has no public buildings; 1t has no
mechanic arts it would need, ifit
had population, artisans of all kinds;
and FOR half q century to come penal
colony in Alaska rightly managed
ought to be seIf-supporting. with
abundance Of useful labor for every
convict.
The question Of penal transportation
has not come very prominently before
the public in recent years. 1t was not
even discussed at the recent Prison
Congress in London, though report
was read upon 1t by Count di Foresta,
Procureur- General Of Ancona, who
said: Transportation with compul-
sorry labor In . colony I approve as the
best punishment for great criminals.
It seems to me to answer perfectly the
double object Of oil punish ment-the
protection of society. within tho limits
of justice, and the reformation Of the
convict. It fulflls the nrst Of these
objects--the protection Of society-tor
the most dangerous criminals are thus
cast out from the bosom Of society !;
the grave Inconvenience Of relapse
are avoided, and would-bs criminals
are deferred by the prospect of banish.
ment from their country and family.
The second object IL equally met, that
of lnoralizing these individuals, and
giving them hope and the means Of
becoming again useful to themselves
and society in another country, whore,
after undergoing part Of their punish.
ment. they can send for their families
or found new ones, thus beginning
another existance in an entirely diff
ferent atmosphere, which will not
seduce them into their former errors"
This is the truc point-to SO manage
the criminal that when he has suf-
fered his punishment he may have.
At least, the chance to begin new and
better life, and to make even his per.
iod Of punishment ~ natural and
healthful AZ 10 consistent with his
seclusion from general society. And
this can Re best done by exile or penal
transportation. 1t 10 not done at oil
under the State-prison system.
Two companies of artillery and two
revenue-cutters now hold Alaska.
This force need be but very slightly
increased to be sufficiently strong,
with proper management, to control
and keep under discipline thousand
cOnvicts. The Aleutian Isles, the is
land Of Kodiak, and the long Alaska
peninsula offer themselves for isolated
stations; and do not doubt that our
engineer officers could elaborate plan
Of operations for q convict colony
which would make such . colony
self-supporting and helpful to the re-
formation Of the convicts, bearing in
mind always these words Of that most
successful manager Of . penal colony,
Captain Maconochie, under whose
command that most terrible Of Eng
lish prisons, Norfolk Island, was the
scene Of SO much genuine reform, that
"the true principle is to place the
prisoner In q position of stern adver-
sity, from which he must work his
way out by his own exertions by dili-
gent labor, and constant course Of
voluntary self-command and self
denial. ."-Harper's Magazine.
The grasshoppers are coming. A
note from one Of our subscribers ct
Sioux Point, near Sioux City, dated
May %, says:
The grasshoppers made their ap-
peaFance here on the 9th instant,
about 10 a'ciock, A. NJ. They are
about two inches deep all over in ev-