The Sunday globe., 1901-07-28
Equality of Punishment SO Harped
on by the Press.
WHAT, IN REALITY, IT MEANS.
The Case Of Captain Garter Taken as Sample,
The WOlOusness of Following Men Inside
the Walls and Prosecuting Them Because
They Cannot Help Being Gentlemen and
Prominent Before They Fell,
Thirteenth Paper.

TO life Imprisonment in the Ohio Penetentiary
for fighting a street duel in which the deiamer
of his family was killed. Pardoned aiter eight
years Imprisonment, he proposes in the
columns OF the Globe to tell ga plain, unNar
nished tale Of life i'm modern penitentiary.
--EDITOR1
In last weeks paper, we gave space
to Senator Dietrich's views of Federal
control Of penitentiaries, and the util-
ization Of coAvicts to reclaim the bar
ren lands in the Western States and
Territories. The Senator's views are
not original, despite his experience in
the swamps of Arkansas and Missis-
sippi. The English government eX-
psrimented with this idea Of populat-
ing the wastes and arid plains of Aus
trailia with their convicts, but the
English adopted more humane meth
odS than those suggested by Senator
Dietrich. The conyicts were not sur
rounded with a picket of mounted sol
diers to shoot them if they attempted
to escape, but after a probationary Pc
riod were permitted to become actual,
bona fde settlers of the land they were
retaining, and were aided by the gov
ernment, which had expatriated them,
in doing so. They were permitted to
bring their wives anu children from
England, if they had any, or they were
furnished wives from the female con-
vict prison as they might elect BY
this system many a convict who owed
his downfall to the wife of his bosom,
got rid Of her cheaply enough in some
Instances. His new wife put on no
frins and buckled down with him to
the creation Of both home and fam
ily. The consequence may be seen to-
day in the empire of Australia, the
richest and proudest families among
it's population being descendants OF
these convicts The American mind
can apparently conceive of no advance
ment or reform if the dollar isn't seen
sticking right out of the movement,
and hence the haplsss wretches whose
crimes, or in many cases somebody
else's crimes, have been the cause OF
their imprisonment behind stone walls
are to be utilized to reclaim the barren
lands and arid wastes fOr-somebody
else. 1t could never strike the mind OF
a practical American, even though he
is animated by a spirit of humanity
and reform to adopt this British sys'
tenn of providing homes, lands and
wives for the American cOnvicts. And
yet, it was a paying investment FOR
England She buflt up a magnificent
empire in the Antipodes, from which
much gold and many millions OF prof
its on her investments resulted, be-
sides solving the then problem OF her
over-crowded prisons and her sparsely
settled colonies.
The Senator makes ,-e general error
of confounding all first termers under
the one robust manual labor head, nor
does he make any allowance for the
professional and skilled artisan con-
vict. He dumps them all as laborers,
black and white, intellectual and phys
ical, refined and coarse, married and
single. native and foreigner, old and
young. and it only astonishes MS that
he made any distinction of sex, the
Senator's scheme is only one degree re-
moved to what he saw in the sWamps
of Arkansas and Mississippi. 1t is eX-
ceedingly crude, and, if enforced by
law. il would result in scores OF SUI
cides among the more refined and edu'
Gated prisoners and blasting humilia-
ton as well as untold mental suffering
to their relatives. Has the Senator
even a conception of the standing OF
thousands of Northern prisoners and
the influence of their families ana
friends? And does he imagine that in
an attempt to consign to such fright,
full fate as a laborer on arid lands OF
the ex-banker, Official merchant, phys
ician, editor, and other professional
men, besides the skilled artisan and
hitherto respectable heads Of families,
he would meet with no opposition in
the Congress of the United States
When the Philippine islands fell into
the hands Of the United States 1t was
proposed to send our conyicts there,
and a symposium of opinions were pub
lished concerning the scheme from all
the leading prenologists in the United
States.
The concensus of expert opinion was
to the effect that cOnvicts with their
families willing to eXpatriate them
selves and commence life in this new
country should be permitted to emf
crate and that prisoners aid societies
and kindred philanthropic organiza-
tions should address themselves to the
task of aiding and encouraging eX-
convicts ts find homes in these Island
nossessions. where they might begin
the battle of life anew, free from the
handicap which ever clings to them in
this country Of being prison birds, etc,
Il is true that long confinement be-
hind the walls Of a prison enervates
and unmaps the best of men and but
a few choice spirits cut of the thou'
sands subjected to the maddening tor
ture are ever able to shane OF the aW'
full effects, mentally and physically,
which are the concomittants OF llte
behind the walls 1t is equally true
that fewer still have ever or will ever
be reformed, If they needed reforming
when immured, by this species Of as
ciplinary punishment. But, as stated
in these papers, the accidental convict,
as a rule, needs no reforming. His one
crime was his first and Will be his
last irrespective of the period of his
Imprisonment. This fact society rec.
ognizes and its mOuthpiece, the press,
makes a tacit admission of the fact
when it howls. as it persistently does,
against paTdons, combinations or even
humane treatment for the fallen bank
er. merchant. farmer, eX-ofticial or 9th
srs who, up to the commission OF their
one crime were the peers and more or
ten the superiors financially, socially
and intellectually of the Wretched, lg-
noTant paid scTibblers who ghOul-llke
follow them into the interior of the
prison and object to any "fsvors'' be-
ing shown them. No such objections
are filed against the burglar or horse
thief, and professional criminals OF
this class may be parolled monthly by
the dozen-as, in fact, they are-with-
out a protest from the press But, let
an ex-banker or prominent citizen. who
has fallen, have any favors shown by
the officials or be pardoned cummuted
or paroled every miserab.e penny-a.
liner in the press wags his impish tail
4 g,,N,