The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-09-30
THE EI~rRA
A. Appen, 20 r,v,. a.. u...o.

eNhs uheh WntCn We nave printed. we egtNCm IL
matter Of public duty once more 10 direct the
attention Of intelligent people TO the extraordi-
nary trial Of the Elmlra Reformatory upon
charges preferred by tho World Newspaper. The
hw-abiding citizens of the State have interests
here which far transcend the ephcmernl con-
Germs OF Mr.. Brockway or the Board OF Man
ayers, or Of the Reformatory itself. II IL be
possible for an INSCRIPTIONS newspaper whose
revenues are chiefly drawn from the ignorant,
the criminal, and anarchistic portions of the
community to accomplish, by mere dint of re-
l~teratinG exploded falsehoods and reasonless
abuse, by appeals to a shallow and cranky
sentimentallty, and by money freely spent for
perjury and counsel feea, the wanton ruin of so
famous a prison as the Elmirs R~oformatory and
90 eminent a mar rs Mr.. Brockway. then thcre
b no man, no institution, nothing that any one
holds sacred or dear that Is safe.
At the outset let us dismiss briefly the
nonsensical claim that the present trial is UNI
fair and unnecessary In view Of the report al
ready made by the State Board of Charities. In
appointing the present Commission Gov. Flower
not only acted scnsibly, but as the law re-
ouired him 10 do. When the newspaper attacks
upon the Reformatory were fret made. the man.
ayers Of the institution. most ill-advisedly, con-
sented that the State Board Of Charities should
look Into them. That Board is, for this and
most othcr purposes, an unofficial body and can
only act as q trial court upon definite appoint
ment by the Governor, and in this case such an
appointment was not made. The Board dele
gated their self-assumed work TO three OF their
number, one Of whom died, another went abroad,
and the third, despite the protests Of the man.
ayers Of the Reformatory. persisted in going
on with the case. 1t soon developed that this
survivor OF = committee which should have ter
minated long before, was In every way most
untitled for his task. He formulated, as the
report Of the whole Board. probably the most
extraordinary jumbling document ever sub
mitted to the Legislature. 1t sweepingly con-
demncd the Rcformatory. entirely reversing
the equally swecping commendation awarded by
the same Board annually for years back.
No attempt had been made to really sift and In
vestigate the charges, but the absurd inventions
of convlcts and the palpable exaggerations OF
other witnesses had been taken In at n gulp.
Tho simplest axioms which govern human &C
ton, the most ordinary facts of physiology. the
common rules Of evidence had been ignored;
and IL was soon discovered, as had been sur
missed, that the report had been put In type
before II had been submitted to the whole
Board of Charities at all, and that the Board
had given to II, an action which sought the de-
structlon Of the most important penal institu-
ton In the State or the country. oniythc consider
alton Of a single hour. The Legislature wisely
took no steps, and the managers Of the Re-
formatory then, naturally, stood upon their legal
right and demanded from Gov. Flower a formal
trial by regular Commission upon definitely pre-
pared charges. rs In an established court. This
the statutes prescribe as the regular procedure
In q case Of the trial OF public officers by the
Governor. Upon these charges made by en-
ployoes Of the World, the present Commission
was APP pointed.
The charges against Mr.. Brockway are that
his punishments have been excessive in quantity
and brutal in character. Let us take the facts
md raaaOn tn0athar nnp,a,Dtn- hes. Anl
let us remember from the start that the
system OF corporal punishment at the Reforma-
tory has been In vogue there since the
foundation Of the Institution, has never been
concealed. and has been explained by Mr..
B~rockway in all Its details to even casual visit
ors. 1t has received In the past general and un-
qualified praise. Unless corporal punishment Is
suddenly decided TO be cruel intrinsically, the
mere statement by Mr.. B~rockway OF the system
or discipline he has pursued so long with public
approval can only be construed by malice and
ignorance into a confession" of guilt; while
the managers of the Reformatory can hardly
be accused OF "malfeasance" in allowing a
form Of punishment to proceed which the Leg
islaturo expressly permitted and encouraged.
The innate falsity of the Worlds attack upon
Mr.. Brockway can be no more clearly seen than
in this, that II has endeavored to persuade peo-
pie uniformed of the facts that the corporal
punishment at the reformatory was something
which the World had discovered, and that it
was q dark and secret barbarity which Nj.
Brockway and the Board of Managers at first
wholly denied.
It IL undeniable that the latter part Of this
century has witnessed a popular revulsion
against all forms Of physical punishment. The
cat-o'-nine tails has been abolished in the armies
and navies: the rod has been we'll nigh banished
from the homo and the school. But II ia
equally undeniable that the last two or three
years has heard the question asked many
times, here and abroad. whether this senti-
mentality has not travelled much too far,
and whether there are not many offences,
such as wife beating, which might be far bet
ter punished by blows OF q stick than by q
costly and undreaded Imprisonment II must
be said that there are times in the life of the
homo and elsewhere, as much now rs ever. when
the rod IL imperatively needed, and when Il Is
the only species Of appeal to q boys head or
heart that he will hear. After indulgence has
been stretched TO the utmost, and the stubborn
will of a sullen boy In whom perhaps criminal
instincts are dormant, Is still unsubdued, sterner
measures are necessary. The man Is made Of
thin stun, he Is only the Pigment Of a man,
who, In this case, would not infict the necessary
punishment and save his child from ruin. as he
would. on the other hand. be cruel in caus-
ing unwiss and undeserved pain. So II these
~punishments are sometimes needed In the home.
how much greater, beyond all comparison, is
their use required In the prison, where keepers
have to enforce each hour the rules OF discipline
and hard labor over thousands OF murderers
and felons Of every degree, men in whom Grim
inAl wills are already fully developed and on the
lookout for activity And II rigorous and dras-
tic measures are necessary in ordinary prisons,
how much moro severe might we expect 20
ind the punishments in those prisons devoted
entirely 10 the most dangerous class, the youth
full adult felons, men below the age OF thirty,
the period OF . criminals life, as all police and
prison oticials know, when he commits crimes
OF violence. acts upon his nerce impulses, and
hears no voice Of reflection or judgment2
The Elmira R~eformatory Il, of course, a prison
for this savage class OF felons. What are Its means
of disciplineg First, slow and gradual lowering
of rank In three degrees. involving suceessiyede-