Montgomery County sentinel., 1877-12-21
The Whipping Post.


Mr. Editor The kindly manner in which
you received my article OF last week upon the
important subject OF arriving at wise de-
csion as TO the iufiction Of corporal punish
men for petty offences, induces me 10 ask a
little further space in your columns. Ny only
desire is that we may not act until the matter
has been most carefully considered by the
immunity, and my objections were put in
an interrogative form from desire 10 awake
thought rather than 10 urge my own views
too strongly upon your readers.
! take il for granted that all are equally in
terested in making some change for the better
n the system of trial and punishment for
minor offences, and are actuaied by equflly
humane motives. The question is, whdt IS
the best remedy for existing evis2 To my
| view, il is not a return 20 a relic OF n we'll
meaning but less informed age, which also
considered insanity incurabe, and dungeons
and chains its best treatment. The brutalz-
ing effect of public whipping upon all
concerned actively and npon the whole COM
munity would counterbalance any good effect
ed in the way of diminishing theft. The culprit
is embit,ered against society, and either re-
mains to fnd vengeance in his own good lime,
or leaves to nnict himself upon neighboring
communities. These in turn send their ofcasts
10 US, ard we are still burdened with the idle
and vicious. The lowest appeal that can be
made to n human being is through his skin
| 1t provokes even in the child feeling OF
injury that is rarely forgotten.
! In your friendly criticism upon my former
essay, YOU remark that "chaslisement is as
sociated in the mind even from childhood as
| the fitting and almost necessary punishment
for disobedience. lie is taught from his very
infancy to shun evil because it brings cor
pora punishment" Are you not in error
] nj bn tl,a
child to sbun evil because it is Wr0ng, and not
from the fear Of punishment The rod may
be applied when the child is TOO young to be
reasoned with as it is used upon the brute,
but never after it is old enough to remember
it. 1t cannot look back upon its young life
AS it should, when chasisement has taken the
place of reason and patient, never-failjng love
Moreover, the parent that inficts the whip
ping cannot but feel that his better nature and
finer instincts have been sulied.
The same principle will apply TO the unfor-
tunate outcasts Of society, children in morals
aud all that manhood values As was before
remarked, they may leave US, but they go en-
bittered agains, their race, end their place is
soon supplied by equally hardened fugiIiyeS
from some neighboring section.
If, however, the offenders against the State
are compelled to give an equivalent for their
evil courses and the resulting expenses by
hard labor for Il time commensurate with the
offence, they see the justice of the demand,
have time for better seed to be sown in their
minds, now over-run with the weeds of passion,
and are kept in place of security where they
earn their living honestly, which in itself will
be new and valuable experience 10 many.
The advantages Of having prison work
houses in each Congressional District are, that
there will not be so large a number congre-
gated as in a State peniientiary the petty
thieves can be put TO hard labor instead of
! lying idle; aud there will be an opportunity
of adopting the system that has worked so well
in Ireland. The great Archbishop Whately
said "Jnstead Of sentencing men TO i'm