Sacramento daily record-union., 1881-11-12

found ont and condemned it has no mercy
upon him. This shows that its condemns
tion of the convict is not the effect of
moral repulsion. There ia no moral SEN
timent connected with it, in fact, since for
crime per Sc society manifests nodetestation.
Il welcomes with open arms the cow
ardly and brutal seducer, the scoundrel
who has secured wealth by the most
fagitious methods, the swindler of widows
and orphans, the cold -blooaed villain who
has betrayed all his friends to secure his
ends, the greedy and infamous wretch who
has forced scores of better men to ruin !;
it opens wide its doors to all of these un-
convicted criminals. But for the poor man
who makes one false step it has no bowels
of compassion, and as DR.. Platt says, it
acts upon the cruel maxim, "Once a
convict, always convict"
So far then We cannot dispute the truth
of the Doctors positions. It is undeniable
that society does not if it can help it allow
the convict to reform, and that by it's
blind and unrelenting severity it does all
it can to force him back into evil ways.
But when all this is admitted it does not
follow that reform is impossible. Indeed
when anyone takes that position we are
free to point to the ascertained facts of the
situation as conclusive refutation of it.
For as sober matter of fact the reforma.
tion of convicts is being constantly
achieved, and as an equally sober matter
of fact convicts are constantly going back
into the world, regaining positions of inde-
pendence and honest industry, and creating
ultimate success out of careers which
seemed to have been utterly ruined. To
say that it is impossible to reform convicts
is therefore thing less than preposterous !;
and for this reason we cannot believe
that DR.. Platt really went to
such length. It is no doubt kind
of work which is made very diff.
cult by the prejudice and cruel cowardice
of Society, but it is not for all that i'm
practicable, and it is quite certain that it
may be made very much easier by the ap-
plication of easier methods. And indeed
if we should admit DR.. Platt to be right as
to the impossibility Of reform under exist
ing circumstances, we should merely claim
that this was an evidence of the need of
radical reform in the existing conditions.
For 1t is certain that the. inhiction of an
infinite punishment for finite offense is
opposed to reason, and that however theo.
logians may delude themselves with word
jugglery, human affairs have to be con-
Quoted by the light of reason alone. If,
therefore, it were capable of demonstra-
tion that the convict has no hope, all that
this could prove would be the necessity. of
revolution in penal administration and
social theories.
If state of things is discouraging we
are not called upon to submit to it. On
the contrary, it is our duty to improve it.
But DR.. Platt's alleged theory is opposed
to all experience as well as to all reason.
He appears to assume the absolute i'm
practicability of changing the inclinations
and dispositions of men in one direction,
though his own doctrine requires the
practicability of changing them in another
direction According to him, in fact, men
may change for the worse, yet they cannot
be changed for the better. The convict
who has only committed one offense may
easily degenerate into an habitual criminal;
but he cannot abandon crime altogether.
Such proposition as this contains its own
refutation. 1t is not logical any more than
it is in accordance with experience. 1t is
simply fantastic. In truth convicts are
capable of various changes according to
their training and disposition. No doubt
some are quite irreclaimable, having in
herited the criminal diathesis, and hav-
ing also been bred in criminal habits
and practices. But, as we have shown in
another article, this class constitutes but
small percentage of the whole convict
element. The average convict is amenable
to the same influences inside prison walls
that the average man is amenable to under
all circumstances. The commission of
crime does not take away the criminals
humanity, nor make of him monster.
He remains, save in exceptional cases. an
impressionable creature, and if his char
acter is strengthened by wise discipline in
self.reliance, and he is not spoiled by be-
ing taught that he has nothing to do to
reform himself but believe number of
fanciful statements about incomprehensible
subjects, he may be reformed, and he may
take his place in the world again as an
honest man, and keep that place for the
remainder of his life.
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