The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-09-30

punishment OF lazy muhneers who refused Alb.
solutely 10 work and were kept standing during
work hours 90 that they could not lie ebed.
From none Of these punishments did uncon-
sciousness or any injufy ever supervene, ana the
operation Of every one Of them was Immediately
suspended when the convict chose 10 20 TO work
and 10 obey the rules. The blows upon the
head. which were less in violence than the Guns
administered to q stubborn schoolboy, were
found TO be light ones with the strap. which Mr..
B~rockway struck when = convict turned his
head in undergoing punishment, It being q
forcible part OF the discipline Of the punishment
that the convict should control his natural de-
sire 10 witness the blow about TO fall. Much
was made, too, Of a story Of q youth who refused
TO tell his real name and his past history on en-
tcrlng the Reformatory. and II was argued that
in placing him in solitary confinement for q
time and in whipping him and in finally trans
ferring him TO State prison, Mr.. Brockway acted
~unjustly TO a young man of really noble instincts.
Yet II was found that the man had never been
subjected to corporal punishment in any form;
and inasmuch rs a knowledge Of his antecedents
was indispensable to his proper treatment In the
Reformatory, and II withheld In one case would
be withheld In others, Mr.. Brockway merely
obeycd the fundamental requirements Of the
situation in sending him away. In like man
ner. every one OF the allegations OF cruelty
wns completely and instantly disproved; and
II was Individually shown, moreover, by testi-
mony which no attempt was made TO impeach,
that the sentiment toward Mr.. Brockway OF
nearly all the inmates Of the ~Reformatory, Of
all except the mostdepraved, was thatof respect
and affection.
Foul as the perjury of the Worlds witnesses
has been, there was disclosed q greater crime.
Signs were abundant that the World had not
conanad itsolf co ,nora royilapnanN Of Mr. proCE.
way in its printed columns and In books Of
abuse, which It prepared and circulated, but
that It had deliberately conspired to rig
a manufactured case against him. and had
sent its mOuchdrds, unclcan monkeys, pre-
cocious youths who had contrived It's rascally
schemes In the past and were accustomed TO
handle merrily every species Of moral disease
and pollution. from one prison to another
through the State, to procure these convict
tales and Jockey them in court. And a motive
for the perjury was instilled in the awakened
hunger for revenge. keener than It's own lust, of
exposed and chastised sodomy. 1t was
shown absolutely that reporters OF the
World had entered the prisons and had held
conferences there with the incorrigible
convicts and sexual perverts transferred
from the Reformatory. Copies Of the World
containing accounts of the testimony at previous
hearing s were found in the possession OF these
convicts and perverts. The ~convicts testified
volubly, one after the other. each using certain
similar set phrases and each making certain
peculiar and absurd errors. And one convict
confessed that the word had been passed around
to "do" B~rockway. To those familiar with the
utterly uncomfortable and depraved tactics OF
the World in the past, and to any honest and
discerning man, the newspapers whole case be-
fore the Commission is one of shameless sub
orned falsehood. Is It possible that on such evil
dence, filtered through such sources and SO dis
proved, that the great R~eformatory which has
been our pride for years and which has stood the
test, In careful times, of examination ami re-ex-
animation by critical experts and by committees
of every description, Is now In danger of de-
struction for a blackguard newspapers holiday?
We cannot believe 1t. Upon testimony like this
II would be wrong to kill n dog. grossly unjust to
even frame n criminal indictment. shameful TO
convict of petty larceny n man known TO be q
thief; and utterly absurd to destroy 40 great q
reputation and such a career of public useful
ness as that of Mr.. Brockway.
1t is not an easy task to clearly explain to the
general public the psychological theories of the
treatment of prisoners which have been so care
fully worked out ut Elmira, and have done there
the successful work of the reformation of crimi-
mails. IL would be much easier TO make q sheer
at "penology,'' to call names and 10 avoid
the facts, as the Worlds lawyer. Mr.. Cou-
dert, will have to do when he comes to sum
up his clients procured case. But while the
latter course might be effective in a cheap and
ignorant company, such as Is the bulk Of the
Worlds readers, it can hardly avail before the
wise, calm, studious men who are to render the
verdict here. II Mr.. Brockway and the Elmira
Reformatory-for Mr.. Brocxway Is the Reform
atory-fnll, 1t will be an international calamity,
and every professional felon in the world will