The Portland daily press., 1875-06-26
Yesterdays Tragedy.

1t is the painful duty of the PRESS, as
newspaper, to present to its readers this morn
ing an account of the taking of two human
lives by authority of the state at Thomaston
yesterday. The event was the most impor-
tant, from its intrinsic gravity and horror
and its effect upon the community, that has
transpired in the state for many years and we
have felt compelled, distasteful as the task
has been, to publish faithful history of the
awful transaction, carefully prepared by our
special representative. Those of our readers
who approve the execution will have the sat
sfaction of feeling that its effect in frighten-
ing people who are disposed to commit mur-
der will be greatly increased by extensive
publicity; while those who concur with us in
disappIoving can comfort themselves with
fhe assurance that general knowledge of
the event, in its ghastly details, will go far
toward rendering similar enormity impossi-
BILE in the future.
Yesterdays work at Thomaston was a con-
fession of weakness. Two ignorant, degraded
and vicious men, Wagner and Gordon, were,
in effect, proclaimed to be so much stronger
than society that the government was obliged
to protect itself from them by breaking their
necks. All that the world has learned since
the dawn of civilization in regard to the re-
preston of crime and the safe-keeping and
care OF criminals, and all modern progress in
humanizing society andmaking Its penalties
conform to justice and reason, have, so far as
Maine is concerned, resulted in nothing bet
ter for the Encouragement Of homicide, than
double homicide perpetratsd under all the
forms of law by the state Itself! 'The long
results of time" have for their most noticea-
BILE exemplification in the State of Maine, on
the 25th of June, A. D. 1875, two felons hang
ing together by the neck from beam by means
of arope. This is the best the State of Maine
can do in the way of stimulating public mo-
rality, ,lessening crime and reforming criminals
This is all we have to show for our studies
let us say rather our neglect and contempt of
study-in social science.
1t is fair to ask what the future will say of
this deliberately contrived tragedy at the
State Prison. Will the people of Maine
century hence think and speak of the execu-
tion of Wagner and Gordon as an impressive
and necessary exhibition of the majes-
ty Of the law, or will they rather regard
it as strange, unaccountable barbarism
worthy only of unrefecting savages? They
who burned witches by authority of mis-
translation of passage in Exodus, and they
who extorted from persons falsely accused of
crime confession by means of the rack and
boot, were as impatient of reproof in their
day as the advocates of the death penalty are
now. They thought they were doing
good service to God and to the world. 1t
would have been extremely useful to them,
before covering themselves with infamy that
time only deepens, to make that mental refer
ence to the future and posterity which would
have often saved wel-meaning men from
incredible blunders. In the present case no
one can suppose that the future, with its
greater wisdom and more abundant light,
will look with anything but adherence upon
an act which is not only severely condemned
by perhaps majority of the people, but is also
| supported by Its very advocates in words that
are not so much arguments as apologies. 1t
is stupid anachronism and is strikingiy out
of accord with the civilization of the times.
There is this consoling reflection, then, in
connection with the hanging of Gordon and
Wagner-it is probably the last. Popular
feeling would hardly endure repetition of the
scene of yesterday. A public execution is the
best possible remedy for the hanging mania.