Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1901-03-21

and of the people. There can be no
finer exemplifcation of the merit sys-
tenn in public or quasi-public service
for the study of the people than is pre-
scented in the management of such great
railway systems as the Burlington
and the Northwestern" The new
President of the Burlington" who is
placed at the head of system en-
bracing 1904 miles of line, with 14,0OO
stockholders, is railroad man." Mod
ern conditions in railroading in this coun-
try make it impossible that any other
sort of man could be seriously consid-
cred for such a position. The time is
gone by when unframed or inexperl-
enced relatives or favorites of infiuen-
tial stockholders can be advanced to
responsible managerial positions in the
great railway systems. Promotion IN
all the big systems is now based upon
absolute demonstrated knowledge of
every important detail of the trans
portation business. Mr.. Harris, the
new President, and General Manager
William G. Brown are splendid types Of
'the twentieth century railroad man."
Each worked his way up from the bot
tom. There is no detail in the entire
range of railroad management from
track building TO motive power and
equipment with which they are not ia
miliar. The railway career Of the new
President of the Burlington" began
at the age of 16 as office boy for the
Hannibal and st. Joseph Road, now a
part Of the Burlington" From this
he gradually climbed to the top through
successive promotions embracing near
ly every branch of the operating de-
partment.
|
| Students of social conditions in En-
| gland are tending toward the cOnclu-
sion that the humane sentiment of
modern society is productive of harm
in some Of it's phases. The Spectator
recently showed that the comfortable
housing of paupers in London, with all
it's great benefits, has had bad effect
in increasing pauperism. During the
Boer war and the prosperity of the last
year it was impossible to get enough
men in London to do all the work Of
fered, yet the almshouse population
showed no falling off. There were
| thousands of new occupants. In the
same way the too lenient treatment OF
habitual criminals seems to be having
| a bad effect, as shown by Robert An
| derson, Assistant Commissioner of PO-
| lice in London, in an article in the
| Nineteenth Century. Mr.. Anderson
! shows by official statistics that crimes
| by professional offenders have steadily
| increased in London since the trans
portation of such criminals was abol-
| ished in 1867. While the total number
| of felonies has shown gratifying de-
crease. the number of offenses by pro-
| fessional criminals has grown each
YEAR Within the last half century the
| burglaries in London have increased
fifteen-fold, and professional offenses
of other kinds have shown similar in
| crease. Mr.. Anderson believes this is
| due to the milder punishments which
the general decrease of crime has made
possible Men who deliberately choose
q life of crime are taking advantage of
the humane sentiment which permits
them to escape with short terms. They
should be treated more stringently than
the ordinary law breaker The point
Mr.. Anderson makes is valid. He says
the practice of sentencing habitual
criminal merely for his latest offense
is unjust to the community. Such
criminal, after serving his sentence, at
once returns to his profession" 70 set
such a public enemy at liberty, says
Mr.. Anderson, is as stupid and wicked
as to allow smallpox patient to go at
large in the community. He urges life
| IMPRISONMENT for such cases. When a
man is seen to belong irrevocably to
the class of incorrigibles he should no
longer be released to prey upon the
public. If all the well-known criminals
of this kind were SO treated, says Sir
James Stephen, an eminent English
iurist. "the really bad offenders might
in few years be made 'as rare as
wolves"