, 1877-07-28
Under Sentence Of Death.

A boy OF seventeen lies IN the city prs
on under sentence OF death What Il
even more deplorable Is. that no one can
deny that the sentence ia deserved 1t
seventeen years Of age this hoy has con
yineed society that its coed requires that
he should be put out Of the world Ee
commenced early in life to violate It's
laws, and has lived IN almost perpetual
warfare with his race Ia this respeos
Runk is not essentially different from
some other boys IN this city, only he car
ried his war to a more desperate degree,
and in moment Of madness committed
the act which he must expia.e with lns
life. His counsel saws Thar his early tam
ing was not good II seems, however,
that his mother cares enough for her son
10 mortgage her home for money 70 con
duct his defence, even when there WAS
very little hope that defence would be
of any avail IL Is probable, therefore,
that this is not the first sacrifice she has
made in the hope Of doing him good
The presumption Is, that the boy was al
lowed to escape early parental control
Like other boys in this oity, h doubtless
wanted to be man and do as he pleased
while yet a mere lad He remained ont
In the street nights after his hour for bed
time had come, and imbibed the idea that
it was manly 10 set parental authority a.
defiance
The same spirit which prompted hm to
disobey his parents brought hm in con-
tact with the law He has probably been
sustained IN his small and feeble fight
with the lew with the idea that it was
brave and manly to defy constituted an
thority. There are 50 many others who
act in this spirit that Runk case is not
at this point exceptional. The Tougher
element of juvenile society Is noticeable
for this very characteristic. They seem
opposed to obedience even when the COM
mands laid upon them are not obnoxious.
The mere fact Of being required to DO
something seems 10 them reason why
they should not do it. They rebel FIRST
against their parents and guardians, and
finally against the law. If the former ar
not tirm anI resolute enough TO assert
their authority and make 1t respected, the
latter sooner or later viii take them IN
hand B,mk is an example and = victim
of the laws discipline Perhaps not real
" worse than many Of his associat s,
chance made him greater offender than
they But the law can only consider the
offence committed Il has not the elias
ticity to wind il and out all the joints Of
the social machine, and provide that ex-
act justice be done in each case. II pro-
nounees a penalty upon certain offences,
and the more stern it Is in the execution
of its DEGREES the better for all concerned.
We trust that the fate of this boy viii
he warning to his associates, and the
class Nth which he is identified They
should grasp the idea, in the first place,
that it is neither brave or manly 20 defy
constituted authority, nor can they make
themselves formidable except as petty
annoyance. They are not of near So much
Importance rs they think they are when
they gather in crowds late at night and tell
stories of their own exploits. There Is no
large element in the community that sym
pathizes with their lawlessness or conmis-
crates their fate when they come IN for
punishment. The counsel who defended
Runk was rebuked by the court for plead
ing his former offences in mitigation Of
his Just punishment The defence WAS
the worst that could be made rs it rever-
ses the old humane and correct principle
that good record may be pleaded in nit
igahon of a single offence. The theory
that We are all creatures Of circumstances,
good or bad, as our surroundings may de
termine, is somewhat fascinating with
criminal lawyers, who work rather on the
sympathies of jury than on their sense
of Justice but it Is subversive Of the
right of control which is absolutely essen
tial to the preservation Of order and the
safety Of life and property.-,S. f. CdH