The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-08

punishment, to be effective, should be GER
tain and swift. The laws delay Is as disas-
trous IN criminal as in civil courts The
feeling that justice may he indefinitely
postponed or thwarted is powerful clement
In the mind Of every one who gains n liveli-
hood by culpable means. The rapidity and
certainty of retribution are much more eff
Client than mere severity What men dread
most OF all is the breaking up of present
associations and relation. If the day of
punishment can be delayed, all is we'll. II
not, the full meaning of the penalty of the
law is appreciated. 1t matters little whether
the term be two years. five or ton, the con-
victs career is rudely broken. He knows
that, when he returns, everything will be
different from what it has been. In the
maelstrom OF life the quickest changes oc-
cur In the environment Of the dangerous
classes. Their members come and go; their
haunts change, and their associations dis
appear. A man who has been five years in
Sing Sing is utterly at loss when he comes
back to New York. He is in foreign city.
ms is why all criminals fight for delay,
and leave no stone unturned to put Off the
inevitable. This is also why legislator,
magistrate and public prosecutor should
make the processes OF criminal jurispru-
dence as speedy as possible
There has been a notable Improvement
In the administration Of the criminal law
Within my own recollection, but much still
remains to be done. There is certainly no
reason why wrong-doer should not be
punished with the same promptness and
exactitude as that which marks the re-
covery OF house by a landlord from a
non-paying tenant. One Improvement that
could be readily effected by legislative au-
thorIty lies in restriction of technicalities,
ana larger application of the principles of
modern civil law to criminal Jurisprudence.
The principle to-day of the former is the
granting of justice, no matter what forms,
mistakes or errors intervene. There is no
reason why it should not be the same when
the sole question Is the punishment for the
misdeed. This Improvement is not so
simple as at first sight it seems. Human
language is imperfect and incomplete.
Even when employed by such jurists as
Bentham, Livingstone, and Field, its
shortcomings are such as require
Judicial Interpretation by the tribunals of
last resort. The civil procedure code of
New York, which has been adopted by
most OF our western states, took twenty
years Of litigation and adjudication before
it was thoroughly understood. The same
difficulty awaits every Improvement upon
our present penal Jurisprudence. Never
theless, while realizing the necessity OF
Ausutu bhaibN1, NO bukllb W 1901
with the excellence with which the mechan-
ism OF American criminal law operates
nowadays.
Another innovation which would greatly
accelerate the wheels Of justice is the short
ening of penalty when an accused pleads
guilty. AT present the matter lies in the
discretion of the court, the land over. Most
judges give lighter sentence when GRIM
lnal does not put the county to the expense
and trouble Of trial We're it matter of
right and not of discretion, many more
lawbreakers would plead guilty than at
present, and so save much time and
labor. Much good could be done by TAX ing
the testimony OF the complainant aud his
witnesses Immediately upon the commission
OF an offense, allowing, of course the pris-
oner the right TO have his counsel present
and to cross-examine all the parties who
appear against him. This would put al
end to the present disagreeable practice of
committing people to the house of deten-
ton, in order to insure their appearance in
the trial room.
Contrary to the doctrines so fiercely
preached by the prohibition orators, the
relationship between crime and drunken
ness is very vague and indefinite. There IL
no necessary connection between the two.
Drunkards have neither the energy nor
brain power TO violate the law to any seri-
GUS extent. and, on the other hand, criminals
Of any ability are as temperate as men in
the honest walks of life. 1t may be ques-
toned il the percentage Of drunkenness,
delirium tremens, and alcoholism is any
greater among professional law-breakers
than in society at large. Inspector Byrnes.
than whom no greater authority exists, has
wisely said that the moment criminal be-
comes a slave to alcohol his doom il sealed,
and the opinion will DO borne out by every
one who has given the subject proper
attention. Professional evildoers require
the full use of brain and body. The
confidence operator, the bank thief, the
forger, and the counterfeiter, could never
make a successful stroke If their minds
were clouded with intoxication. When men
of this class appear in court. such, for ex-
ample, as Hungry joe" kid" Miller,
Cigarette" Harry. Brockway. Draper and
Noble, they are pictures Of sobriety and
temperance. In many instances they ap-
pear, indeed, to better advantage than the
unfortunate honest folk whom they
have victimized.
HENRY A. GILDERsLEEvE.