The Paducah sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1898-1906, 1901-09-20
PUNISH LESS AND

4
subject of public Indifference, says
Charles NJ. skinner in the Sat
urday Evening Post. SO that
he is caught and punished. the
majority Of people care little what
becomes Of him after, nor do they
often question whether or not his
punishment is proportioned to his
offense But slowly tho public atti.
tude on this matter is changing. The
worth of reformatories in curing Grim
inals when mere punishment had
only made them bitter, and the reluct-
ance of juries to find just verdicts,
lest the men on trial receive unjust
sentences, have shown society TO be
wrong in its theories. Men who sin
in igorance are better lifted from their
sins than forced to expiate them when
il is partly the fault Of society that
they are ignorant and sinful A
most significant change in the treat
ment Of the criminal has been made
in recent years by the introduction Of
the indeterminate sentence sytem in
several Of the states. This puts It into
the power Of men who may have been
harshly judged in the fr Z place, aud
whose mere conviction was enough,
to earn their freedom.
The hope OF liberty is in itself a
stimulus to effort in the re:ormatory
schools and training classes, and the
man reproved OF the law goes back
into the world stronger than when
he left IT,
In addition to the parole, or indie
terminate sentence, a few Of the states
Massachusetts,, notably, have adop.
ted probation system which goes into
operation before sentence. Certain
men and women attend trials in the
lower courts and act as intercessors in
cases that promise reform. The pro.
baton officer is the opposite Of the
prosecuting attorney, in that the latter
brings up everything bad about the
prisoner, while the probation officer
finds everything that is good. Il ID
no longer necessary to conhne a mar
even IL he is guilty he can be placed
on parole instead. These probation
officers can, with a parol,d mans
consent, collect his wages and Civ,
them to his family. He then hAi
no power to buy drink and squan
der his means, and IL he misbehavei
in any likewise, his liberty is forfeit
and he can be sent to prison.
That the warning Of an initia
arrest sufiices in a majority Of case
is proved by the records, for few. o.
the paroled ever imperil their lib
erty again, and something like 1000
persons are oonditionhlly released IN
the state Of Massachusetts, ever
year It will not be alleged il
consequence Of these mercies thai
Massachusetts, makes a bad showing
in respect to criminal records
People who misunderstood th,
nature Of these reforms cry out thai
the prisons are made too comfort
able. that sin is encouraged by oleanli
ness, air, light, sufficient food. and
the use of books and papers; thai
prisons ought to be made places Of
terror, so that the hesitAting might
be frightened from them. II me r,
punishment is the aim, then II wer,
wise are to return to old methods and
to whip and rack the offenders
put thcm into stocks and pillories
crop their ears, take away their prop
erty, divorce them from their families
deny their civil rights, even take
their lives. But did those punish.
ment prevent crime, or save society
No. The severer the laws, the worse
the behavior. When stealing was a
capital offense, thieves abounded in
every city, they were in every street,
they picked pockets in the church
property was not safe either in the
home or on the the person; highway
men infested every road.
As laws modify and the sacred.
ness of life is better appreciated, the
causes Of ofense diminish. And de-
priyation Of liberty is punishment
enough.
A prison should not be an inferno,
but a purgatory. The criminal IL
almost invariably weak OF will and
mind and body; he does not under
stand himself or his relation to society
his ideals are wrong, mis- passions
have never known check. In this
state of barbarism he is dangerous,
and society in its own defense send
him into the exile OF a prison. II
il does no more, he returns at the
end of his sentence, worse than
when he went in. When it opens
his cell door, IT must open the way
to a new life. The prison must be a
school, a shop, a church, rather than
a place Of penitence, for, till the mind
and conscience are awakened, there
will be no penitence; only anger and
nursing Of revenge. Mere punish.
ment consigns its victim TO darkness
and hopelessless, but the probation
officer and the reformatory bring him
to the light.
FULTON BOY DROWNED.