Daily Kennebec journal., 1897-07-01
The Ethics Of Capital Punishment.

Man Is by nature the most cruel creat-
ure in the world. He ceases to be cruel
only when his mind is enlightened by cul-
ture and his heart lsaftened by benevo-
lenee and charity.
The volumes in which the worlds his
tory IS written are records of atrocities
that would put a fend to shame. II is
certainly not r tstslnt. perhaps not profit
able To read q T tins tortures that have
been inflicted upon man by his fellow
creatures. Not only in war when every
moral 0bligatitn n and sentiment has been
cast aside, bu, in times o peace has
man shown himself to be a ~uel being
and written his l1istory in bloo a.
The punishment OF deaths acc. ~s,ings to
Darwin. Humboldt and others, of
heathen origin.
Capital punishment would naturally
suggest itself in the Infancy of sslte.
When anyone had committed an offense
the question would arise: How shat
We prevent such things?' and the answer
most natural to a barbarian would be
"exterminate the offender and you will
have no more trouble with him.
Human feelings and hDman life have
one being outraged and the other taken
on very slight pretexfs, even BY govern
ments that boast of their enlightenment
Without any apology for crime or un-
worthy sympathy for he criminaL 1t can
be said that justice well as mercy
should make great pwance for human
conduct No finite m d is able to decide
how far any man ms be justly IL Id re-
sponsible for his act Every intAvuuai
of the human race IS orn into the world
in utter ignorance. all must start
alike from zero in the eale of knowledge
Every man who has been placed behind
prison walls or who has suffered death
at the hands of his fellows WIS once an
innocent helpless babe. His whole LIE
may have been one continuous struggle
against disease. poverty and trying cir
cumstances and perhaps against his OWL
natural inclina tons to evil, until dlscour-
aged he gave up the contest Influences
entirely beyond the control OF the. chifo,
may direct 1t upward to life OF honor
and usefulness. or downward 70 "a lie
OF crime and shame.
Dr. Despine, a French psychologist. mas
arrived at the conclusion that there IS a
utter a absence of the moral Sc nse in the
criminal classes. He thinks tha free viii.
which In the moral man IS only controHeu
by a sense of duty On the ci iminal has
no such counter baltpce this ense being
wanting. His acts re therefore ne re-
suit of the stronger appetite Q destre
prevailing at the time.
Those with crimliel lnstincr not
apt at drawing fine istinctioi 4 the
wrongs which society seems al.ction,
whether gambling. bribing. ing or
whiskey selling. will meet wit fat little
moral restraint where they a1tem-
plated by the individual who's " In
Nearly everyone's reason fof death
penalty. begins with 'Whoso. BIZ
bic advocate Is willing 70 rest Ise on
man. blood by man 81 all b. cd be
shedg DIR. Cheever. Tor years Great
est leader on that side OF T. ston,
says in substance that his cse overs
ami settles the controversy,
There Is another class of s fa-
voring the example of 7 III 10 be-
Gin their argument wit lf We
abolish the death penalty pa r VIE IN
crease Here we have tn ily argu-
ments that are urged fc G, ining the
punishment by death.
" Most persons are wiillne dmlt that
laws laid down for pr. liar people
SSm remote age might % the best Tor
people in a more adv need state of CIV
uixation. Herbert Sper er rs. that laws
should be fashioned u 70 e> manners
and customs of the peo lie whom they
are Intended That is Sr nables doc
trine. for law that isfV adapted to
one people may be entirely suited to
another.
No matter how great any mans respect
ior the old testament may be, the most
ne can say for the ceremonial and ERIN
inal law Of the Hebrews is that II was
adapted to men in a very crude eondi-
ton who were making their first ad-
vances In TIE rudiments OF moral ana
religious truth: that ii taught them as
.ceive, with promise of something
better In the future.
We are different people en- rely. Our
manners, customs. civilizatio1. all are
as different from those OF Isl ei rs day
Is different from night. We r. not a
wandering tribe just out of ypt. on
our way Yhrough the wilderne md net
there are those who seem TO t. thatSa
code gwen over three thousan, RS ago
to such al people ought to ht 9reeent
condition 81 society.
Those who believe that tcapi lunlsh-
ment IL proper penalty 70 be ted on
persons guilty Of certain cri should
not insist on its enforcement ng as
candidates for the gallows are stried
Dy jury. 1t Is prOyerbial tha, IA the
Almighty can haze any opini q tiers a
case has been tried of what he ert1fct
OF the jury will be- Ia .{8
When lenity might ~ expet al ever
ity may characterl4e the yerd !. ana
1nen acquittal migat n ieas n&bly