Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-07-13
CAN CRIMINALS BE REFORMED.

Missouri, we believe, and which hal
since been adopted by the chief execu
| tives of several western states, of grant
ing pardons to one or more convicts il
states prison under life or long time sen
tence, making such action anniversary
Observation-Disclosures and the Fourth Of
July, the object being to improve the
morals of the prison population and al
the same time offer an incentive to re-
formation on the part of those who are
cut off from hope for the future Of this
life, has given rise to discussion OF
the question "Can Criminals be Re-
formed? The New York Independent
a short time ago opened its columns and
invited discussion Of the subject, A
number of prominent persons, principal
" judicial and executive officers having
more or less intimate connection, in an
official capacity, with the subject,
responded and contributed articles there
on. The writer's included Inspector
Byrnes, Judges Gildersleeve and Duffy,
Carlton Lewis, of the prison
association of New York,
Charles Stewart. superintendent of
the house of industry of the same
city, and others. Ali of these writers
are perfectly familiar with their subjects,
and write from years of experience. 1t
is singular, however. that their opinions
differ most radically in the MAN princi-
pal, the preponderence of opinion, how
ever, being that the reformation of a
| IL e.. al
most a matter of impossibility.
1t is noticed that the writers who take
the strongest position against this con-
| ciusion are those who have charge Of
missions and institutions of reform, and
whose positions are Salaried ones, while
the opinion of those whose duties are
more clearly to take care of criminals
and protect society from them, is mainly
to the effect that "once a criminal, al
ways criminal" Inspector Byrnes,
whose experience and sagaclty
makes him an authoritys seems
quite emphatic in his belief on
| this point. and while he believes
that through matter of policy, Grim
inal may by experience become more
careful and avoid crime because of its
! consequences. he is still at heart Grim
inal and must be watched as such. If
such testimony as this be true, it would
seem as if much Of our sympathy and
efforts toward the reformation Of Grim
inals was wasted, and that it behooved
society to ask the continuous protection
/ &c ii l., 1, har
formatory efforts.
1t is Goubtless true that there is too
much maudlin sentiment expended upon
prison inmates nowadays. The mis-
taken sentiment which leads women to
visit prisoners, sing to them, carry them
flowers and otherwise make their pun
ishment comfortable, and even agreea
BILE, might have a better application
among poverty stricken people, and
would not then make the ways of the
criminal pleasant, or the penalty of
crime less irksome. If prisoner finds
the inside of Jail agreeable
to him, his averseness to re-
turning may not be great; this
might be especially true Of lazy man,
whose only responsibility is his own ex-
istence, and he might even prefer an
occasional term of prison comforts to
the labors Of earning his bread and
! butter.
| If the inside of prisons were made as
unattractive as possible-consistent with
humane treatment, there might be fewer
criminals to occupy them, as men natur-
ally estimate the results of crime ere it
is attempted, and measure these results
with the advantages accruing from the
proposed criminal act. In the articles
alluded to, there is one point, however,
upon which there is a unanimity of
opinion, and that is, that the attitude of
society toward man once convicted of
crime, discourages any desire he may
have TO become once more a good citizen,
by repelling him and driving him to
| those associations where he can be
received on at least an equal footing.
The question is profoundly philo-
| sophie one and it has engaged the ear
nest attention of philanthropiSts and hui
manitarians at least through modern
times, and the policy first above referred
to of restoring to liberty on stated oc-
casions such life convicts as shall have
given evidence during their prison life
of an earnest desire for better life, is
out the revival of practice, if not in
form and letter at least in principle, that
has been acted upon among the civilized
and enlightened peoples of the earth at
different periods of the worlds history
Through all this and despite all this,
and all the moralizing and theorizing
that can be given to the subject, we can
not relinquish the general idea that the
bad must be taught to be good, as well as
the good to be saved, and in view of the
fact that it is yet matter of experiment,
the best manner of accomplishing the de-
sired end will probably be a problem
whose solution will require long time
yet TO attain.
TEXAS CATTLE IN OKLAHOMA,
Our farmers who were among the ear
ly settlers of this valley and state have