The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-03-10
Humanity in Punishments.

A measure looking to the paroling of
convicts by the board Of managers of
penal institutions has been introduced
in the state senate by Mr.. Muehlbron-
ner of Allegheny, one of the few men
in the Legislature who have devoted
time and thought to the prison problem
and shown the ability to take a humane
view of 1t. The bill provides that the
parollng shall be subject to the approx
al of the governor and shall apply to
prisoners under sentence other than for
murder in the first or second degree. or
rape and who have or may serve one
third of the term for which they were
sentenced, and who have not previous
~ been convicted and served a term
for felony. Prisoners violating the
conditions Of the parole are to be treat
cd as escaped prisoners.
This system is not an experiment 1t
has proved its usefulness in many
states end it bears the Endorsement of
many OF the foremost penologists. It's
underlying theory is that it is far bet
ter to lry to reclaim a first offender
by working on his better nature and
by seeking tc put into operation the
hidden springs of ambition and love of
appreciation than 10 treat him as u
public enemy, unworthy of confidence
or sympathy or help. The old-time
conception of justice as primarily
legal scheme for getting even with
criminals produced the result of over
la nj t,fn
but it had no appreciable effect in dim
inishing crime. On the contrary, as
familiar statistics eloquently show, the
criminals multiplied faster than the
population and it seemed only a Ques-
ton of time when civilization itself
would be engulfed in the rising tide of
criminal activity and impulse.
Fortunately there were men who
studied this problem and came to the
| conclusion that the way TO cure crime
| was like the divine way of curing sin
to loathe the crime but to pity and
| to help the criminal as Divinity loathes
| sin but has for the sinner not vindict-
i've anger but Infinite compassion.
! These mcn-an honorable minority
amid an Indifferent and frequently a
| contemptuous majority-took up the
| work of prison reform. laying stress
upon the need of getting the criminal
to rise above crime, and they have per-
| severed in this direction until slowly
| but surely our whole punitive system
| inherited with little change from the
| barbaric ages, is undergoing a recon-
struCtion along the lines of humanity
| and common sense.
We are glad to see the Pennsylva-
mia legislature falling into line
| -
Mrs. Sarah Angel, the alleged wife
| of Jay Gould, whose attempt to secure
| some of his millions has made the heirs
so much trouble, proves to be some
| what Of u myth. Her name is not
| Sarah. She swears she was never mar
| ried to jay Gould and never saw him
in her life. Thus falls to the ground
one of the boldest swindlng schemes
! ever concocted. Mrs. Angel, the tool,
is an ignorant woman who herself ad-
mits that she has wheels in her head"
and who evidently had but a hazy idea
of the gigantic fraud she was assisting
to perpetuate. The chief factor in the
conspiracy is Mrs. Cody, who, 1t is
hoped, will get her just deserts as a
| blaCkmailer of a dangerous tVpp