Birmingham age-herald., 1895-01-04
THE WHIPPING POST.
WHAT IT WAS IN DELAWARE IN THE
 OlDEN TIME.

 utation-Rcspestabie Offenders couid Not Escape It. Instances Related by an Old Time Native.
 Ut is really too bad, the discrcdit that has fallen on the whipping post said m old time native of Delaware There was a time when it had n record and a roputa tion; when people of quality were rccog- nizcd by it, and it stood not only as the stern and unbending dispenser of justice by tho aid of the man who handled the lash. but gave distinction to that man as tho puryeyoF of punishment to many of his fellow citizens who otherwise, owing to wido difference in station, ho never could have hoped to meet without taking off his hat and standing aside until they had passed by. IT , may seem strange to any one who ncs lived in Delaware in the good old days and when folks were folks, but remember when some of the Blue Hen s most respectable chickens were put in the pen known us the pillory and madc to cxpiatc their offenses against law and morality by a forced embrace of the whipping post. These offcnsos were worth while. They were, if not the outcome of genius, at least tho result of talont that tho common mold of transgressors could not bc capable of. Then the whipping post was an adjunct of justice that it was pleasant to contemplate.
 'See what tho whipping post used to be- 1 remember having seen mon who, after being whipped, were by law com pellcd to wear the letter | (fclon) over the backs of their coats as long as they re- mained within the boundaries of tie statc.
 'In tho old timo when Delaware was more rigid in her righteousness than she is today, it was held by those who mado and thoso who administered the laws that dishonesty was much more heinoUs when engaged in by those placed by social position above want and amid respectable surroundings than when indulged in by those tempted by necessity and ovil com panionship. Consequently when prom inept citizen was caught stealing or forg ing his punishment was made heavier and moro severe than that meted out to rogues of either of the classes contemptuously known as poor whites or free niggers.
 Howard tho close of tho last century an eminent and well beloved gentleman of Kent county, public benefactor dis tinguishcd for piety, fell from his high es- tate. He was magistrate and noted for wisdom and excellence of judgment. On one occasion there wero brought before him in his official capacity some counter feters who had been arrested for passing bad money large amount of which was found on their persons The magistrate, as was his duty, took possession of tho counterfeit stuff to destroy it, as was the law. The rogucs were committed for trial and were subsequently, pilloried and whip ped Years aftcrward the neighborhood was flooded with bogus money Where it came from was lohg puzzle to the au- thorities who had undertaken to trace is origin, but when it's source was at last discovered the discovery fell like a thun- derbolt on the community. The responsi- bility fer tho prevalence of the counterfeit money was traced to tho very magistrate who had committed the culprits for coun- terfeiting some years before. The dis covery was made that, instead of destroy ing tho largo amount of spurious money he had confiscated for that ostensiblc pur- pose, he had kept it, and biding his time had himself put it in circulation in tho county for his financial benefit But ho was so popular and well beloved by his fellow citizens that every effort was made to deliver him from the consequences of his offense, but without avail: He was whipped most severely in the jailyard at Dover, and the officer who inflicted tho punishment was so apprchensivo that he might be accused by some one of partiali ty for a rich and respected criminal that ho cut so deeply into this mans flesh with his lash that the blood ran off tho end of it and down over his own hands, while the back of the offender was sight that filled every onlooker with horror.
 Ut is almost within this generation that conspicuous and very able politi- cian a citizen of Wilmington, ran for congress in his district and came within less than half a dozen votes of being elect cd. He spent in his canvass moro money than he could afford. In order to tide over tho temporary embarrassment to which this expenditure had brought him he forged tho indorsement of near rela- tive of his, who was a leading Whining ton doctor, to note and had the note discounted at one of tho local banks in- tending to take it up before 1t came to maturity and thus escape the consequences of his net. Unfortunately for him, tho teller of the bank knew that this man and the relative whose name was on the note as its indorsur had not been on speaking terms for long time. and ho wondered much at the reconciliation this indorse- mcnt indicated had taken place between the two mon. and meeting tho doctor one day his curiosity got the better of him, and he accosted him..
 Doctor, said he I am glad to sec that you and John have made up your quarrel. Your indorsement of his note will help him out
 My indorsementl' said the doctor. I have not indorsed for him nor made up with him.
 "Tho ba...l teller reported this at the bank, and the maker of the note was charged with forgery. His relative, the doctor, eagerly and willingly came for ward and assured the bank that he would mako the indorsement good, so that the unfortunate forger might not be exposed and prosecuted, but political enemies of the man were among the directors of the bank, and they insisted that the law should take its course. The culpirt was arrested, tried and convicted and sentenc- ed 10 be publicly whipped. The sentence would havo been carried out Gut for the fact that the wife of the citizen had been schoolmate and an intimate friend of the wife of the then governor of Delaware She went to her and appealed to her to use her influence with the governor to pardon her husband, and the wife's appeal