People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1895-03-21
A DUTY OF SOCIETY.
CRIMES AGAINST THE FAMILIES
OF CRIMINALS.


Suffer Greater Punishment Than the
Guilty-Argument for the Reform OF
LOCALIZED Abuses.
There are many wrongs committed
In the name of justice. Among these
none are greater than those committed
against the families of criminals. Take
for instance a man with family of
i've or six children. He commits some
act for which he is sent to prison for
a length Of time. No attention is given
TO his family. They do not seem to be
subjects for consideration at all. The
husband is probably very poor and
when he leaves his family he takes
from them the last vestige of support.
The wife in her heart-broken condi-
ton must now accommodate herself
TO her new surroundings and take upon
herself the task of supporting herself
and her children. AS a result, and one
far too common, the children grow up
In want and as a rule follow the exam
pie set by the unfortunate father. In
many cases the real sufferers are the
wife and children. This unfortunate
condition is augmented greatly by the
TACT that the family feels too keenly
the remorse and disgrace brought upon
them by the acts of their father, and,
being thus handicapped, they fall an
easy prey to the vices that, under more
favorable surroundings, they would
have resisted.
Aside, however, from the pathetic
side comes the fact that it is contrary
to the principle of justice. BY what
authority or under what pretext can we
make one person responsible for the
acts of another. This wife and these
children have violated no law, then
why should they suffer its conse-
Quences?
1t is true that the modification that
the imprisoning of the father and hus-
band entails is unavoidable, but there
is no need Of the laws of the country
putting more upon these unfortunates
than is absolutely unavoidable. In
nearly all the States the prisoner is
put to hard labor. The proceeds of
his labor, in nearly all cases, 90 to the
State. In some cases is worse than
that, 1t goes into the pocket of some
contractor. In that case the State not
only robs the widow and orphans of
what he produces but also turns it
over to the contractor. Now we would
like to ask if it would not be better
that the proceeds of the convict's labor
be turned back to his family? Can
the State afford to make criminals out
OF his children through starvation for
the sake Of keeping his wages? It is
argued by some that most criminals
are burden rather than a support to
their families, while free. That may
be true, and in many cases doubtless
is true, but that argues nothing against
what we are demanding. If a man is
worthless and has family and he is
sent to prison and made to work, the
State is enabled to serve a double pur-
pose, of Kidding society of a bad citi-
zen and making him support his fam
lily, a thing he would not otherwise do.
For the State to ruin a whole family
and then be party to the raising UP
OF lot Of criminals all for the sake
OF meteing out the demands of JUS
tice to one man, is not only wrong in
principle, but destructive in practice.
1t is argued, again, that many of the
criminals in our penitentiaries are
single men. This is true, but the most
OF them have mothers and fathers who
are, or at least should, depend upon
him for support. Granting, however,
that he has no family or other per-
sons depending upon him. Why not
allow him to retain a good portion of
his earnings for his own use after his
term expires? The custom in most
States is to give the discharged con-
Wet ticket home, S. in money and
new suit of clothes. These clothes are
Of the very cheapest kind, bought in
Large quantities and all alike. Every
discharged criminal leaves the prison
looking just like every other prisoner
who has left it. These suits are al
most as well known throughout the
country as would be a suit of stripes.
He has no way of concealing his iden-
tity or his late occupation. He has no
money to go where he is not known.
The result is his surroundings have
a tendency to discourage him in max
ing another start in life, and his good
resolutions, made in captivity, come
to naught. 1t is not unfrequently the
case that these conditions are too
much for him and in the absence of
better opening he seeks refuge again
in tha nanitantiarv