Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-09-04
Defending the whipping Post.

present time. 1t was generally used
through all the colonies. but for half "a
century it has been abolished every
where except in little Delaware
Many good men, for the most part in
other states. have roundly condemned
this Delaware Institution as an anach-
ronism wholly out of keeping with the
humanitarian sentiment of the times
They have called it relic of bar
barrie age and lamerted that the
Christian civilization of the 18th and
10Th centuries should witness the spec
tacle of a man publicly dashed upon his
bare back for an offense against the
law Last winter. the Delaware leSis-
lature made wife beating an offense
punishable at the whipping post. and
several applications of this new law
have attracted wide public attention
to Delaware methods. That the whip
ping post has the hearty approval of
the leading men of Delaware. judges.
editors and clcrgymen, is proved by
their vigorous defense of it against
outside attacks.
The September number of Frank
Leslie's Monthly has an interesting ar
ticle in justification of the whipping
post by Alan Cunningham. The writer
shows that the actual working of this
kind of punishment. that it prevents
crime, frishtens criminals from the
state and is never brutal. Accompany
ing it is always the loss of franchise of
the man whipped. The strong part
of Mr.. Cunningham's article is his quo
tation OF Chief Justice Charles Is. Lore
of Delaware. Justice Lore is enc of the
most humane of men,-a Christian. a
scholar and sound jurist. foremost in
all huma nitarian movements.-He has
ably discussed the subject and is
strongly in favor of the whipping post
as a corrective and preventative of
crime. The great ma jority of the in
telligcnt people of his state are in ac-
cord with him, and the last session of
the legislature, after careful con-
sideration and full debate, extended the
use of the whipping pest to wife beat
ers and raised the maximum number of
the lashes from forty to sixty in the
case of heinous crimes, where premed-
itation. as in attempted poisoning, en-
,,,to h.
has pointed out that the peculiar po-
sition of Delaware, which is a tongue
of land wcdgcd between three states
near large cities and tapped by great
trunk line of railroad, would make the
state Il dumping ground for criminal
deterrents to crime. This is a special
or local reason. but the controlling
reason, which is of general application,
is, he says, based on the test of eX-
perience that the whipping post is the
most efficient deterrent of crime known
to our laws" 1t is the most dreaded
of all punishments, and in applications
for mitigation of scntenc" the prayer
almost invariably is for the remission
of the whipping.
Says Chief Justice Lore:-"EXperi-
ence teaches that the whipping post
has kept criminals out of this State
and has tended materially to keep per-
sons living in the State from the com
mission of crime. Nothing acts upon
the perceptions and motives of bru-
talized man like whipping. l firmly
believe in the reforming influences and
power of love and gentle treatment
rather than of fear and harsh punish
ment but there are certain natures
some. it may be, irreclaimable, whose
consciences and conduct can be bes'
governed by the application of the rod
TO such the biblical doctrine. Spare
the rod and spoil the child still ap.
plies. The whipping post has provok'
ed much hostile criticism. Much of it
however, is founded on sentimentality
As a matter of fact the punishment i:
never accompanied by much physca
suffering. Our sheriffs are human,
men. The sting is in the public dis
grace and ignominy of the whipping
and in this liesits efficiently" The cas'
is instanced of notorious bank burg
lars, including Jimmie Hope. VIII,
were given public whipping in ad
dition to term in prison. The.
offered to pay $4,000 to have the whip
ping RENTED. but it was refused
Later they broke from prison but Their
has not been an attempted bank bur
Slary in Delaware since that time.
In Delaware the whipping post ha
proved efficacious and economic
Criminals are deferred from commit
ting offences. and when they do com
nit them, shorter terms of imprison
ment accompany whippings: the bur
den upon the community is lightene
and the jails. which are public school
of crime are kept reasonably clear c
dangerous, hardened criminals. MUG