The evening times., 1899-01-23
ParIOning Criminals. !.

Governor Roosevelt has intmated that
he will hold an extremely tight rein in the
matter of pardoning criminals, and that
there are certain types of criminal whom
he will not pardon al all He thinks that
habitual criminals lose all respect for the
law through the ease with which they can
escape punishment, even if convicted.
This is a good thing to hear, and ii is
to be hoped that the indiscriminste par
doning of criminals by other governors will
be somewhat che"ked in course of time.
There is a class of benevolent persons
TO whom it seems a most romantic and
beautiful task to work for the release OF
cOnvict-especially If he happen to in
terest them personally or has influential
friends. 1t is bad enough to see rascal
of decent family connections comfortably
certain that he will escape the conse-
uuences of his misdeeis on account OF the
shame he has brought on his friends; but
it is perhaps a little worse for the COM
munity when a well-known scoundrel is
released to practice his schemes under an
other name simply because some we'll
meaning but illogical people got interested
in his personality. That is lesson to all
the other rogues of his type-a lesson
which they will not fail to learn and which
will be extremely bad for the public.
Nothing can be said against work for the
good of convicted criminals, when wisely
and calmly done. Many man finds him
self in states prison who is no more gull
ty than the uncaught rascal who roams at
large; and the prisoner knows il. Many
habitual criminals have fallen into evil
WAYS because they never had any induce
ment to better ones To such men the
regular life of the prison, forcing them to
live decently whether they will not,
may be an actual benefit; and the more
| that is done to help on this reformatory
work the better ii will be If the prisoner
| is encouraged to form good resolutions,
| and TO fit himself for decent life when
! his time has expired. he may come out OF
| prison a far better man than he went in,
! and in hundreds of cases such men have
| become useful and respected citizens. But
| if his resolutions are genuine he will not
! beg for a Communication of just punish
ment: and if they are not, the longer he
can be kept under surveillance the better
for all concerned.
These benevolent people who torment the
! executive for pardons for convicted crimi-
mails would be much more useful in another
! line of work. If they would turn their at
| tention 10 keeping people out of prison,
! out OF the police courts, and engaged in
useful employment, they would really be
| doing some good in the world. About half
the men and women who are daily brought
up for trial in the police court could have
| been made decent and respectable mem
| bers of society if somebody had only taken
a little pains with them al the proper
time. When a child is left to run in the
streets instead of going to school. when 1t
along with older persons who are more or
| less vicious and idle the chances are
ninety-nine TO one against that child's be-
| ing any improvement on its parents. If
| the benevolent ladies and gentlemen who
are spending time and money on convicted
criminals would turn their attention to
| free kindergartens, industrial schools, va
cation schools, and the sanitary improve
mept of the slums, for just one genera
ton, they would find that the next crop
| of criminals would be visibly decreased
Prevention is better than cure" is a very
| old proverb, but it is just as true
now as ii ever was. 1t is much easier tC
prevent any evil than TO stop it after il
has got fair start, whether the evil is a
large criminal and pauper population, a
calculating and selfish national spirit OF
1 q hole at the root of a tooth