Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1874-01-22
WHOLE NO. 1911.

impulses OF our people. The sun
disbursed for these purposes during
The past year. including IN item OF
S45 $50 ~ for the State Prison ex.
ceededlhalf million dollars, or near
Iy one half the total receipts into the
general fund, and a considerable
balance of past appropriations yet
remains unexpended. A material
modification of the amount of these
expenditures hereafter, probably
will be found consistent with a
bountiful charity. The adaptation OF
means to ends ia this department de.
mauds more than ordinary prudence
and caution. The good accomplish.
e ia TO be measured by the actual
blessings conferred, rather than by
the size of the buildings erected, or
by the magnitude of The appropria-
tons paid from the treasury. Any
dereliction of duty in this depart
ment is not merely an otfense against
the public, but robbery of the poor
and helpless, for which there can b.
no justification. A general supervis-
ION OF the management of these lnsti
tutions, is now mainly exercised by
State Board of Charities. While
am constrained to say that thisagen
cy has not wholly met, thus far, the
expectation OF tae people, am MOI
quite prepared to recommend It's dis
continuance. The amount already
invested in our charitable insLitu-
tiohs, and the heavy annual appro,
priatIons actually necessary for
their maintenance, warrant the Leg
stature in creating or retaining any
agencies which are calculated TO Sc.
cure the greatest wisdom and econ
omy in the use of these disbursements
My own observation has led me TO
believe that the want of power to
act, to investigate and correct abus
es, and f q more definite respon l.
bility, is the chief cause Of the met
icency of this Board as now organ
Ized. ! respectfully submit this ub-
ject for your careful consideration.
THE STATE PRISON.
The management of the State Pris-
on, especially demands your scruti-
ny. Contrary to the experience OF
many of the most enlightened States
of the Union, the punishment of our
criminals is source OF continued de-
plelion of the public treasury. The
criminals confined in this institution
are mostly able bodied males, in the
prime Of life, capable of earning
much more than the average of men,
and the fact is lncomprehensible that
they should prove e perpetual bur-
den upon the taxpayers. l can see
90 good reason why this Institution,
under proper management, should
not be made nearly or On to selt.sus-
tanning, when the PenItenliaries OF
so many States in the Union are a
source Of revenue to the ublic treas
ury. 1t is claimed by those who
have made a careful comparison OF
the statistics that the inmates of our
sta tie prison cost US more per capita,
than do the inmates OF any OF the
charitable institutions of the State.
For this condition of things there
seems to be neither justification nor
excuse. The continuance OF an en-
ightend policy toward the prisoners,
looking TO the protection OF society
rather than to malicious punishment
Of the guilty, Will not tend to retard
that reform in this direction which
is now 50 imperatively demanded.
TEMPERANCE LAW.
Our government was wisely insti-
tuted for the protection OF society,
and is not an appropriate instru'
mentality tor the dissemination OF re-
Ii glous doctrine or tor the definition
aud enforcement of private morality.
Our State constitution clearly rec
ognizas personal liberty as among
toe inherent rights Of man, and the
obligation imposed upon us in this
regard characterize all free govern
ment wherever instituted. The pre-
else line of division between the
freedom of the individual and the
rights OF society may sometimes be
difficult of definition. But the gen
eral restrictions upon the exercise OF
/, gislative power in this direc ion,
are not the less positive and obliga-
tory. The natural inclination Of oil
classes OF people, - TO invoke the
power OF tue government as a rene
dy for all evils, real or imaginary,
and the greatest danger lies in the
direction Of 100 liberal concessions to
these demands. There is, in fact, no
aggregation Of popular evils more
to be unprecedented, than q govern
ment loaded with superabundance
OF arbitrary powers, burdened with
he selflmposed possibility of
righting all the wrongs Of which SO
cletY complains Inordinate eXpend
iture AID taxatioo, popular dlscor-
tents and dlsrespect of all the obli-
cations Of law, are the natural and
direct fruits of these arbitrary inter-
ference with the social habits, pri-
vate enterprises or religious beliefs
of the people.
Some of the provisions of the ex-
listing temperance law, manifestIy
conflict with these views, and are be-
lieved to be inefficient for the &C.
plishment of the laudabe purposes
{, ntemplated. Think as we may
and say what we will upon the alb
stract question of temperance legis-
lation, there is little doubt that a
majority of the people of this state
are opposed to the present form OF
the so-called Graham Law" /
therefore, recommend such a modi-
fcation of existing legislation on This
subject as shall dispense with these
obnoxious provisions, without IN any
degree impairing the appropriate
power of the state to regulate and
restrain the traffic in Intoxicating
liquors, or to punish offienses against