The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1896-05-02

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Col. Robert Ingersoll spoke be-
fore the Militant Church cenereea-
ton aeChicago Sunday, April 18th,
intelponse 70 m Invitation from
tRe.. pastor Rev. John Rusk, who
said: The Militant Church.which
10 organized for the purpose 81 bet
terihg the condition Of mankind,
regardless Of creed or lack of it, do
sires to extend to you an invitatioa
to preach for US some Sunday morn
ingin the near future on the subject
Of your views as to what the Chris
tian Church should do and how"
In accepting the invitation Mr..
1ngersoll said: II was much pleased
with the spirit Of intellectual hos
pitality of your letter, and what /
say, If anything, to your people,
will be in the same spirit of kind
ness and candor."
The KEYSTONE quotes, in part,
from Col. Ingersoll's address the
subject of which was: "There is no
Darkness but Ignorance"
HOW CAN WE LESSEN CRIME?
In spite of all that has been done
for the reformation Of the world, in
spite of all the inventions, in spite
Of all the forces Of nature that are
now the tireless slaves of man, in
spite Of all improvements in agri-
culture, in mechanics, in every de-
partment of human labor, the world
is still cursed with poverty and with
crime.
The prisons are full, the courts
are crowded, the officers of the law
are busy, and there seems to be no
material decrease in crime.
For many thousands of years man
has endeavored to reform his fellow
men by imprisonment, torture, mu-
tilation and death, and yet the histo-
ny of the world shows that there has
been and is no reforming power in
punishment. It is impossible to
make the penalty great enough, hor-
rible enough, to lessen crime.
Only few years ago, in civilized
countries, larceny and many Of
lenses even below larceny were
punished by death, and yet the
number of thieves and criminals of
all grades increased. Traitors were
hanged and quartered or drawn into
fragments by horses and yet treason
fourished.
Most of these frightful laws have
been repealed, and the repeal GER
tainly did not increase crime. In
our own country we rely upon the
gallows, the penitentiary and the
Jail. When murder is committed,
the man IS hanged, shocked to death
by electricity or lynched, and in
few minutes new murderer is
ready to suffer a like fate. Men
steal. They are sent to the peni-
tertiary for a certain number of
years, treated like wild beasts, fire.
quently tortured. At the end of
the term they are discharged, hav-
ing only enough money to return
to the place from where they were
sent. They are thrown upon the
world without means without
friends-they are convicts. They
are Stunned, suspected and de-
spised. If they obtain place, they
are discharged as soon as it is found
that they were in prison. They do
the best they can to retain the re-
spect of their fellow-men by deny
ing their imprisonment and their
identity. In little while, unable
to gain a living by honest means,
they resort to crime, they again ap-
pear in court, and again are taken
within the dungeon walls. No re-
formation, no chance to reform,
to give them bread while
new friends.
All this is infamous. Men should
not be sent to the penitentiary as a
punishment, because we must re-
member that men do as they must.
Nature does not frequently produce
The perfect. In the human race there
ls large percentage of failures.
Under certain conditions, with GER
tain appetites and passions, and
With certain quality, quantity and
shape OF brain, men will become
thieves, forgers and coun:erfeiters.
The question is whether a change
IAN be produced in the person BY
producing change in the condi-
ions. The criminal is dangerous,
md society has the right to protect
tself. The criminal should be con-
ined, and, if possible, reformed. It
A penitentiary should be school '
he convicts should be educated
50 prisoners should work, and they q
hould be paid reasonable sum for t
heir labor. The best men should
rave charge of prisons. Thew '
houid be philanthropists and phi '
osophers; they should know some 7
hing of human nature. The pris- y
'ner, having been taught, we will 1
ay, for five years-taught the un- !
erlying principles of conduct. oil d
be naturalness and harmony oil I
irtue. of the discord of crime hav-
ng been convinced that society has
% hatred, that nobody wishes to d