Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1879-07-02
A CRIMINAL NOT A HERO.

Carlysle, among other weaknesses
which flesh is heir to, never lost an
opportunity to strike with his
heavy stroke Of ridicule that senti-
mentality which of late has become
so popular. Since he wrote of the
English prisons and pricked the
bubble of would>be philanthropical
reform this dwelling nonsense of
which we speak has assumed an i'm
portance which we would never
have dreamed of. Extremely bar
barous treatment of convicted
felons should always be met with a
very pronounced feeling of dis
gust and displeasure, but at the
same time there is no place for
ideas some people have that a
prisoner Of the law should be fed
with silver spoons, sleep upon beds
of down and otherwise enjoy the fat
of the land.
There can be no doubt but that
this making a hero of an offender
has a great deal to do with the
increase of crime. A man commits
a base murder is arrested, tried,
convicted, and sentenced to hang.
His trial is attended by immense
crowds, his every action is heralded
through the columns Of the newspa-
pers and he is the subject uf Uou-
versation in the Office, in the parlor.
in the kitchen, in the workshop
everywhere. Tender-hearted ladie:
send him beautiful flowers, an(
toothsome dainties. He profcsseI
religion and is hanged. His execu
ton is attended by thousands o
men, women and children. Can any
one imagine for an instant that thi
has good effect? In every gath
ering there are some weak minded
persons upon which the scene ha
an indelible impression. By doinI
likewise they think they can get tn
same notoriety which they mistak
for fame.
As an illustration of this W
need not go out of our own section
A few years ago hellish crime wa
committed in Cooke County upon
little girl of tender years. Th
brute was convicted to hang
Among all the vast crowd that a
tended the trial was one silly youn
man. He was of O nervous excita
BILE disposition, and standing Their
in that heated court room, listenin
to all the horrid details and witnes
the feverish excitement Of the spec
tators, he was so influenced that i
a short time afterwards he commit
ted the same awful ofense. Thel
can be no doubt that this was th
cause, for every detail coincide
with the former case, even to tn
minutest.
A few days since a company
men in New York advanced tt
idea, that hereafter the police
dealing with the outcasts of s
ciety should content themsely,
with moral suasion that the bill,
and the pistol should be discarded
that the policeman guilty of carry
ing these should be considered {
ordinary offenders against the la
and punished accordingly. Nov
we have the highest respect for tn:
same moral suasion, but we take
that burglar, OF a murderer,
an escaped convict, or any one wi
has committed a grave offense wou
care little for an unarmed office
We take it that not much attentic
would be paid to his, Please, 81
let me arrest you" 1t is hardly
human nature for an officer, whe
he receives blow upon the he,
with avillain's bludgeon, or is tappt
In the face with the same burly ge
t'eman's fist, or is given a dig in tt
side with his knife, to polite
request him to repeat the Ii
tie performance. No, sir VIII,