Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-07

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''Glorious Old Tom" would talk about. Ant
he did. He said to me:
"Our penal system to-day is rotten. Fol
a great many years have been an advocate
Of the colony plan. In the Pacific Ocean
are number of islands so completely iso
lated that they would serve such purpose
admirably. Suppose a man commits 9
crime-possibly murder. Don't hang him,
and if it is his first ofense, make his pun
ishment lenient. We are all liable to sud-
den passion. When evil is done thereby,
take the man in his soberer moments and
point out to him the great gulf at the edge
of which he stood. It will cure him, and
the probabilities are that he will not commit
murder again. First offenses should always
be dealt kindly with.
"But if he does kill second time then he
should be put away forever where he will
never have the opportunity To- endanger a
law-abiding people Perhaps he may be
rich. If SO let the Court set aside his prop
erty and fortune for the benefit Of his
wife and children, or, better still, divide it
equally between his family and the family
of some dead man. Then take that man, be-
he rich or poor, transport him toeneo of these
isolated islands, apportion him off plot Of
ground, give him set of tools and q pail of
seed, then tell him to scratch and live for
himself or else die, but give him to under
stand that he must stay there.
A Case in Point.
'The notorious Ed Coffee, the Pittsburg
murderer, was type of the class of men I
mean. His outlawry indicated that he was
dissatisfied with the makeup of this world.
Society did not suit him as it existed, and
he rebelled Instead of hanging him T
would have said: You don't like the way
things are run here, therefore we will not
have you stay longer Isolated from gen.
eral society, and among people of his stamp,
the chances are he would have had some
chance to improve his life thereafter. Put
away somewhere where there are no laws
and among lot of desperadoes, many of
whom were more dangerous than himself,
he would have very soon recognized the
necessity of making laws, and preserving
them, too. He would have to do SO for self
protection. This is the history of penal
colonies heretofore tried. Look at Austria
Liza and New Zealand, for example-ciyilized
countries peopled with good citizens, the
outgrowth of penal colonies.
Lncoln's Reconstruction Policy.
"After the War of the Rebellion Thad
Stevens, Henry Winter Davis and others
said that Abe Lincoln was all wrong in his
theory of Reconstruction. Henry Winter
Davis, Thad Stevens and others argued like
this. we will not receive back Virginia
as State, or South Carolina as a State, or
North Carolina as a State, because they are
not States. A State is formed of territory
and loyal citizens. The citizens of Virginia.
South Carolina or North Carolina must first
satisfy us of their loyalty before we can re-
eeive them back as States
"And just in the same way would govern
a penal colony of the United States. Iso-
late these criminals of two or more offenses
as so many disloyal citizens. Say to them
as colony: Whenever you satisfy us of
your loyalty you are welcome to citizenship
and participation in the Government. but
not until then 1t is manifest that with
such Iiberality in policy the penal expert
ment would result in no second Siberia
"ExpensiveP No, it could not approach
the present expensive Judicial system of the
country; just think of what the operations
in yon Court House this single day are cost
ing the county of Allegheny and Mr
paused in the interview. as he
pointed from his Office window to the mass
i've building of granite across Diamond
street. d.
Anew Figures on Courts.
Serving at this very hour in the various
courts over yonder are $50 jurors and wit
1esses," he continued, impressively. each
receives % per day, or $500 for this day
Glone. There is Sheriff getting salary
If 5000 per annum, who is allowed %
deputies at good salaries In short time
here viii be II judges sitting there each
'eceiving 1000, or S66, 900 year for the
Judges. Add to that the rate of interest
IN the y, ,OO0, 600 invested in those big build
ngs and you have some idea of what the
OF the law is costing the
country. Sir, the expense of the judicial |
ystem to-day is sapping at the vitafs of the |
American workingmen.
'A colony system would certainly reduce
hese heavy expenses The benefits to So
,iety would be so great that whatever ex-
,enses would attach to COLONY would he |
heerfully paid, and eventually the prison- |
RS would support themselves.
Mr.. Marshall is also a believer in the |
'ublic whipping post for some of the smaller |
'rades of offenses, as he demonstrated in |
his illustration from his vast experience in |
egally dealing with the darker side of So |
iety, and as told in his characteristic way: |
A Case for the Whipping Post.
Saturday. afternoon Bill spends his
1eager earnings of the week in some low
i've, said Mr. Marshall "He gets drunk
nd quarrelsome, and finally tries to whip
ronie OF the barroom, but he's too tipsy
nd gets whipped himself Full of re-
here he sees Nancy and the children. He
nows he can whip Nancy and not get hurt,