The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-03-22
LAST OF CURRENT EVENTS
Glass Closed It's Season Last
Evening With a Lecture
on Capital Punish
ment at Mrs.
Posts.

There was nothing of very tragic inn
portance, so said Miss Beaston, to be
brought before the Current Events Class
when 1t assembled for the farewell lee
ture last evening, at the residence Of
Mrs. A. J. Post, No. 1856 Magnolia avenue,
on which occasion the class diyerged from
its usual afternoon custom, making this,
the final lecture an evening affair, no
doubt to give the husbands a chance TO
participate in governmental facts and
criticisms from the oman point OF
view.
Miss Beaston first took up the question
of capital punishment, following its his
tory through the past century. There
is no greater change thai has come over
the whole world in the past hundred
years" said she, than in this question
of capital punishment. There were 249
offenses in England one hundred years
ago punishable by DEATH" She then went
on to describe the various trivial offenses.
such as stealing linen from the
bushes, for which death was the penalty.
not alone in England, but in the other
countries. of Europe. But" continued
she, There is one name hat stand out
in letters of goldfish Samuel Romney-
the man who eliminated 27 of those
penalties, leaving the capital offenses
twe-one in time of peace, murder-and
one in time of war, treason.
From here the speaker went on to show
that something must be done to eliminate
criminals because crime is hereditary.
"You know said she. there is some
thing wrong with the brain of a criminal,
which goes back further than the old
Presbyterian doctrine of original sin"
and concluded her remarks on the SUBJ
ject with the question. Has Justice the
right to take away a human life?"
Miss Beaston's next remarks were upon
the investigation now going on at Wash
ington concerning the embalmed beef. She
began by quoting Emerson, when crime
is committed the whole world is made OF
glass" General Eagan. she said, is likely
to again be be summoned, and then what
is TO become of the members of the Presi-
dents cabinet? Miss Beaston seemed to
blame the President when she said, 1T is
better to be a free man and poor than a
pondman and rich, and that may account
for he retention of one member of the
cabinet"
ont SPOhC VI LIZ 4
ton as s'eIastic." because it could be
amended. 1--WE could change the cabinet,
said she. ssby amending the constitution"
She thought the people and not the Presi-
dent should control the cabinet.
The next text of Miss Beaston's lecture
was on the Philippines, which she said
was more than a national question. Ii
was a question of race. The people in
these islands are not as far advanced in
the stage of evolution as the white race
of Europe, and must be led, as in the
scientific kindergarten system, from one
stage to another. They cannot be changed
in a day. Between English rule in India
and American rule in the Philippines. the
lecturer held there was no comparison.
and the change in the Cabinet
there for a more Independent government.
with a description of the German Parlia-
ment, concluded the lecture, AFTER whlen
refreshments were served, and the class
bid Miss Beaston adieu.
Among those present Were;1Mrs. =. =.
Hulshizserr; , Mrs. E; rof linn MIS- mrs. Hen ",
Mrs. 5. 3. Mackey, Mrs. Q; H. Perry,
Mrs. Louise Agar Mrs; Robert Elliott
Mrs. Edwin Bennett Mrs. Lee Condict,
Mrs. George Wilson, Mrs: 6. V. 81 Brink
erhoff, Miss Louise Edge, Miss Leila
Kinds, MIS-. Allan McDeTluOtt, Wis. 1co.
II. White, Mrs. A. Evans Mrs. E. Davis,
Mrs. Joel Brown. Mrs. Livingston Gift
ford. Mrs. w. v. Toffey, Mrs. J. II. Wells,
Mrs. A. J. Post, Mrs. Harold Roorbach,
Mrs. Henry Morgan. Mrs. Lambert. Mrs.
Thomas Kinds, Mrs. David A. Bishop,
Mrs. Martha Dodd. Mrs. James Erwin,
Mrs. Thomas H. Williams. Mrs. S. d.
| Tompkins. Mrs. George Wilkinson. Miss
Adele Edge, Miss K. Spier, Mrs. Horace
q Wait. Messrs. T. H. Gopsill, Horace
g Wait. Thomas Williams, v. r.
Schenck, Lee Condict, George Case and