The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1889-12-12
Is Crime a Necessary Evfle


and there are others which must be toler-
ated to certain extent for the simple
reason that proper means to crcumvent
them have not as yet been developed.
The ocean continues to blow and buster,
and wreck human property. but, aside from
few precautionary measures, we are I'M
able to stay its fearful havoc. On land
cyclones and billiards. continue to demoIish
human life and property and leave misery
and distress in their track. yet we are help
less to in any way avoid them. The
farmer may SOW with all care and pay the
Strctest attention to all the details of the
work connected with his crops. but if the
weather is not prOpitOuS he has no material
reward for his seasons labor. These, and
many Others of a like nature that will come
to the mind of the reader are necessary
evils at least in the worldly sense by which
we gauge them-because we are unable to
subdue them: so far they are above our
highest abilities to contend with adverse
circumstances. Evils of this sOrt-fOr EVILS
they really are in the worldly sense-are.
practically, of supernatural origin; hence,
having no earthly cause-save a metaphys-
zeal one to the ScienJiSt-we are entirely at
a loss as to what means will ever overcome
them.
In asking us crime necessary eviI?"
the question is put in the sense, is it pos
Sble to do away with crime entirely-iS it
possible to SO revise the moral code that
| ,,i,, . thu
rule Ii the answer is in the negative, then
crime is a necessary evil. But we would
fain believe and hope that the opposite is
the case
Crime and the Liquor question are put on
the same footing by a great many in the
present age. They are both evils, the prm-
cple difference beng that the people as a
whole are interested in seeing crime abol-
ished, while, as regards liquor, it has as
many supporters as opponents. All indica-
tons point to the fact that liquor is consid-
cred as a necessary evil. AS to crime no
one can speak in favor of it and the wish
of all is that it be forever obliterated from
the earth.
In looking back over the history of the
world we find that the first and most impOr-
tant event chrOnlcied after the creation of
man is crime OF the most serious nature,
and from that time down to the present
day we have crime in every form and de-
gree. All sorts of punitive measures have
been adopted to lessen the number of the
followers of Cacus, but to no avail. Like
the poor, crime seems to be always with us.
The question then is, are we to look upon
crime as necessary evil. as something we
may hope TO lessen but never entirely abol-
sh? TO speak more plainly. is the advanced
civilization of the present day to take only
a passive interest in the Thorough regenera-
ton of those who act in direct opposition
to the highest interests of mankind in gen.
eral and their individual self in particular?
1t is certainly no small job to undertake
the entire suppression of crime. more eSpeci-
ally SO when we take into consideration the
immense number of methods and devices
already enforced with that end in view.
But it is in this very fact that we have the
clue to former failures. All the methods
used up to within the last decade were of
punitive nature. and their only tendency
was to cause longing for revenge in those
it was intended to reform. The great cry
of the prison keepers was to punish them,
torture them, break their spirit, take away
their manhood, make imbecleS of Them
anything to cow them. and show the public
who visit the prisons that the men were
entirely changed by their incarceration
Yes they were changed for surety.
They went into prison men. perhaps, but
come out no better than dumb bruteS; they
went i'll with some feelings of shame and
sensitivenesS. but come out utterly depraved
and degraded in body and soul. Under
such circumstances crime would certainly
remain an evil that must be tolerated.
In the present day we may certainly hope
for a different result. The mass of en-
lightened people are gradually beginning to
grasp the fact that the majority of men
who are cast into prison are their equals in
many respects, that is. they have the same
longings. aspirations and natures, and,
mayhaps. the same faults only less under
control.
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