The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-11-20
AS ACONVICT SEES 1T.
Turner. the FOrger. Makes a Tale Of
Woe


Woe
Ralph B Turner, who has come to To-
pekz to ''live down" his two years in the
penitentiary for forgery, appeared at
Hamilton hall last night IN his lecture on
prison Systems and Why They Do Not
Reform"
He wore evening dress and talked for
two and one half hours. Less than $50
persons were in the hall and several OF
them left before the lecture was over,
II was largely a plea for chance to
do better and il one or two places was
eloquent
He began by saying that he had 10
excuses CT explanations to make. He
denounced the prison rule of Warden
Case and declared that Burdick ~ the
head of the clothing department then
was running q second hand store with
the clothing he had stolen from convIets.
He denounced the food used at the pris-
en- and said that the breakfast
consisted of rotten hash, sour bread
and a cup of chicory coffee; dinner OF
beans. bread and soup; supper OF bread
and watered sorghum.
He said that things were little better
under Chase but not very much and that
Lynch was gentleman aud would make
a splendid warden. The trouble with
Lynch" said Turner, sis that he cannot
make MS own appointments. The subor-
dinate appointments were made bY the
gentleman here who exercises the car
ship over the state of Kansas" At this
| there-was a very little laughter. about
the only applause Turner got during the
evening.
1T seems 10 be the theory of the law"
said Turner, ~to punish q man according
to the magnitude OF his crime. but it is
only the-rheory. You had q case in To-
peke Just last week which showed that
| it is more respectable to steal $4,000
| from the postotfics than to extract 81
| from a letter. These things teach that
| the man who steals bread for his eating
| IS more TO be dispised than the man who
| steals $1,000, 600.
| IF twelve men are competent to jud ge
| of mans guilt, why should the sentence
not be pronounced by them instead OF
| leaving the years of mans confinement
to the uucertni1ty of whether judge
ate something for supper that did not
agree with him.
Suppose something is stolen from
you. Is the first thing you think of the
protection to society? No; you want
your stolen goods back and revenge.
| You notify the police and several per-
sons are arrested on suspicion. Finally
| one is found whose explanation is not
quite satisfactory and he is held The
| police have not found the stolen prop
erty at all, but they tell you it q
necessary to swear out a complaint
against him and you go and do it. often
without even reading the complaint TO
know what you are signing. There is
no trouble about getting the compla int
issued for it means So in the pocket OF
the county attorney and he Is always
ready. He also gets So for filing in
formation in the district court Further
than this, be gets S25 in case of convic-
tioa and there is that incentive to send
the prisoner to the peuitertiary whether
he is guilty or not Men are summoned
on the jury who are too often profession
al Jury sitters who fear 10 give verdict
against the great state for fear they will
not again get chance to sit on the jury,
and the farce of trial begins.
"A cloud of witnesses is summoned,
the more the better, whether they know
anything or not, for the sheriff gets paid
for each subpoena issued, and the court
appoints poor makeshift of 4 lawyer
TO dsfead the poverty tied prisoner. This
makeshift of a lawyer gets his pay by
the law whether he wins his case or not
and without the incentive of loss or gain
in the case of the states attorney he ia
of course careless. The result Il, the
prisoner IS bullied. guyed and tantalized
until he Is glad TO get on the stand and
accept any sentence almost rather than
stand the sneers of the attorney and the
smiles of the spectators. And so he
/ goes to the penitentiary with the life
hone crushed ont of hin, a victim to re-
venge, poverty, and the lust for Money
fame and votes on the part of the off
GERS"
Rua0au. Pa~T.- bead