Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-12-27
Word Cor ihe Conyicts.

- fNI A~Nst'f " NV
.T,mbie. thou wretch. that gcest unwhiPt
of iustce.
ask short space fOr few words
On the convict question.
4 convict is a person proved guilty
Of crime charged against him. If all
that commit crimes could be caught and
convicted and society cleansed Of the
perilous stuff, it would be easier to de-
itrmine what TO DO with the convicts.
We might put them in a pen and blow
them up, OF take them out to sea and
crown {hem. or tumble them all into
an exhausted coal.mine. or the like
But the great trouble is that
society is in an uncomfortable cond-
ton in respect to criminality. Town
aid country have both their conylcts In
every stage Of development and ma
turity. Courtrymen think they know
commits sion-meTchants who have rem
dered them false returns or squandered
the proceeds Of their crops; and they
think they are almost as bad as the
s niger who was made a convict
for stealing a $50 hog or forging an
order for s. worth Of groceries. And
then the commission-merchant thinks
the same Of the brother who
gets an advance on his crops
and then sells them and spends
The proceeds ana leaves him with his
finger in his mouth. Then there are
some little unsavory practices. a good
deaf too familiar for comfort. such as
branding -four with false brand. pack
irr inferior articles in prime package,
adulteratine vinegar with sulphuric
acid. and every article Of consumption
with deleterious substances-and gene
rally obtaining money under false pre-
tences collecting money and appropria-
ting il. or merely buying goods with
out the hope or intention Of paying
for them-the cOmmonest form Of steal
ing-or the thousand tricks to " delay.
hinder. and defraud creditors" Well,
when We talk Of the treatment Of " con-
vets. " We may as well calculate the
chances. And when in our zeal for
honest men we are INDUCING our indig-
nation against " conyicts. we had best
consider what convict in fact Is. As
| see it. convict is person doubly IN
lucky. He has been so unfortunate as
TO Weld to temptation and he has been
so unlucky as to be caught and have no
rich friends TO cover his crime or Sc
cure his escape.
Who questions II that there are as
many essential felons out Of the peni-
tertiary as in it have heard an inc
briate abuse a drunlard, and fine lady
condemn a weak sister ; but the indig-
nation did not convince me Of innocence.
| have read in sacred history OF
convict" who escaped death because
no sinless one was found to throw the
first stone.
| do not mean to scandalize society.
but merely 10 call to mind truths famll-
lar to every man. and as old as Adam.
1t is unquestionably the States duty
not TO damage any Of her citizens GER
tainlv not to let herself be or appear a
competitor, with all her resources,
wealth, and advantages, against
the poor and hard-wOrking classes.
And her counsellors can't spend
too much time or labor on the
problem how to utilize convict labor.
But "cOnyicts are not brutes nor
devils. If the State treats them as such
she will commit great crime against
humanity; and she will harden and
perfect them as brutes and devils, and
they will punish her for her crime. Her
prisons will not hold the ever.increas-
ing multitudes Of sayages, aud she may
depopulate her territory and bankrupt
her treasury in perfecting criminals.
A convict is a great offender, but he
is still a citizen. The State Furnishes
him to deter him and others from like
offence. Beyond the vindication Of the
Law and the preservation Of order, for