The Anaconda standard., 1889-11-30
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT.


The sentence of Harry ID. Schall. the
ahsconding assistant cashier of the
Chicago N Northwestern railroad COM
pany. to two years imprisonment for
stealing SIl.OOD. reopens the question
as to the justice and propriety of the
custom of infiicting punishment for
theft i'm an indirect ratio to the mag
nitude of the swag. While the crimi-
nal code does not prescribe a schedule
diminishing the sentence as the amount
of Doodle increases, that there is an un-
written law to that effect. recognized
and upheld by all learned judges. no
reader of cOntemporaneOus American
history can dispute. If an Office boy
of the Chicago & Northwestern rail
road, for instance. had made Oft with
400. five years would have been little
enough for him. Going still lower in
the scale. the world would contemplate
with relish and sincere satisfaction the
imposition of seven years sen-
tence upon the janitOr who
should abstract the railroad presidents
Overcoat: and the hardened wretch
who steals the cOmpany's coal deserves
to be removed from society and locked
up indefinitely. There Is grave doubt,
indeed. whether for the reduction of
these dangerous elements to a mini
English law of 100 years ago which
hanged all maiefactOrs convicted of
petit larceny, should not be revived.
The vanishing point at which the ap
preparation of some other person $
money ceases to be stealing and he
comes piece of financiering, may be
roughly stated at S25.OOO. 1t varies
upon occasions. according to the crimi-
nails standing i'm society. but SECOND.
Judging from well-established prece-
dents i'm the courts. seems To be fair
and honest average. occasionally. il is
true. as i'm the case of Ferdinand Ward.
a combination of prejudices and other
unfortunate circumstances arise which
place the defendent beyond the pale of
judicial interpOsition, and the law is
then blindly permitted to take it's
rough and brutal course. But in gen
eral the court il allowed full sway i'm
interpreting and enforcing the unwrit-
ten law to which allusiOn has been
made.
Mr.. Schall appears to have been
very imprudent and altogether unsuc-
cessful cashier: and the conduct of his
defense must have been very damaging
to him tn say the least. His standing
in society was all that could be asked
the court could take no exceptions to
was fond of society and moved i'm the
best circles of Austin, where he lived,
being u member of the Oaks. the most
exclusive club in that suburb. lie was
popular with both men and women, and
his efforts to keep up the role of "a socie-
ty lion Oh n comparatively small salary
led him into debt" So far so good
His appearance in the court room,
moreover. was entirely in his favor
"Young Schall was well dressed and i'm
the height of London fashion. but his
handsome face. adorned since his flight
with "a blonde. silky beard, looked sad
and downcast. All of which would
lead one to suppose that he was
superior thief. so trained as to be in
capable of committing any indiscretions
But, nevertheless. he permitted and en-
couraged his friends To make n vital
and withal very vulgar mistake.
They stepped up and pleaded for Gem
ency in the young mans behalf because
"he had not taken nearly So much as he
might have DONE
If this be true, il Mr.. Sclall had il i'm
his power tn steal S25.0D or $4,000 and
thus in all probability escape any pun
isment whatsoever. Mr.. Schall is "a
prima facie ass and richly deserves his
two years imprisonment. III he and
his friends had been wise they would
have apOlOgized to the court for the
paltry appropriation of sl4.OOO. They
would have made il appear thatwhil the
defendant was really an able financier
and capable of much greater things.
his opportunities were limited, and he
had to sit mp nights and work hard to
get as much as Slt,OOO together. Then
his sentence might have been only one
year. AS il is, good citizens can have
very little sympathy for Mr.. Schall.
He is disgrace to his profession.