National Republican., 1880-03-03
THE RECENT OUTRAGE.
A woman's Views on an Important sociu
Question.

Question.
To the Editor of The National Republican,
SIR In this District for the last two or three
years there have been many cases of tho COM
mission of the most outrageous crime on tho
long calendar of crimes. A crime before which
all Others pail, and before which no death Is
so horrible as not to be preferred.
Such being its quality, why should not death
be its penalty? As the more civilized mind
seems to shrink from the execution of the
death penalty, even when adiudged legal and
in return for murder committed. il seems well
that some punishment, or rather some preven-
tion of repetition of otTcnsc and possibly of its
commission, should be considered and acted
upon. Man has assumed unto himself the
right of controlling the animal kingdom, Of
protecting himself in his industries aud their
development from the ruinous consequences
of unbrdled license of the brute instinct, con-
trolling what would be riotous evil into valua-
bic material labor why should ho hesitate to
control in the same manner the brutal in
Stinct existing in these creatures, whose APP
parent possession of human form should not
cntite to freedom to live aud act on n scale
below the animal?
An imprisonment of eight or niue years for
this crime Of crimes, and then enchanting tho
wild beast to again prey upon womanhood,
may bo according to law but certainly not of
Justice, and when we consider the enormous
tax upon town and State for the care and con-
finement of the criminal classes, whose prison
houses and asylumS occupy the finest building
spots in the country, and present TO the eye
the most elaborate architecture, 1t does not
seem amiss to present u much cheaper and
simpler manner of rendering harmless those
who at present are not developed above or
hardly fit to bo classed with ravlng wolves,
aud who require another cycle of evolution
to be allowed to inhnbit what should be the
perfect human form divine.
There is 10 remedy for tho crime of rape of
equal effect with the knife remedy" which
was advocated some years ago by writer in
the Scientific american, and against which no
man can raise his voice unless willing it
should bo supposed that he fears, as an indi-
vdual, he may be called upon to suffer from
its execution.
At recent session of the county superin-
tendents ut Kalamazoo, Mich, paper was
read by Warren b. Dudley, of Milwaukee, on
Dependency and Its Prevention" in which,
after spealtiug of the need of early training in
morality aud education, he said "rhe source
Of crime Is criminal. Men who are discharged
from prison return TO their homes to SOW
brood of vices. Society wIests the weapon
from the murderer and the tiro-braud from
the house burner. Would not the same prin.
ciple require that hardened offenders be de-
prived of opportunity to peTpetuate their
dangerous natureW
A writer in tho journal of Scifn ce believes
"that the criminal legislation of the future,
unless dominated by those who pander to
crime, will do something like this; Tho
lineage and connections of every offender, and
especially of every habltual criminal will be
carefully scrutuiled, aud all surviving mem.
bers subjected tO an unobtrusive but pene-
tratmg scrutiny. The younger members will
be- as far as possible surrounded with such
moral aud religious influences AS will most
efectually check aud CouuteraGt their prob.
able inbred tendency to crime, Courts of JUS
tice will have their criminal geneaogsts,
whose records will she'd u new and most valu'
able light on not fow unsolved problems of
biology aud mental science. As for the man
who has once formally declared war against
society hOiating, so to speak, the black flag,
care will be taken that he shall neither repeat
his oticnso nor after Its commission become
parent"
Let the class Of people whose sensitive ma
lures are shocked at this proposed process of
elimination of tho brute in tho human con-
slider what would be tho effect upon their
minds were this terrible expression Of license
to reach into their own homes, aud to believe
that ia tho sight Of God an outrage upon any
woman, bo she over so lowly, is Us deserving of
retrbution as Preaching into the home Of tho
highest In our Nation.
1t should however, be understood that just
so long rs society, men and women who claim
TO be respectable, moral aud religious, whether
In the pale of marriage or out Of it, believe ia
and accept the condition of tho "physiGal ne
cussityn Of sensual indulgence, without regard
to the condition OF quality Of the offspring