The Wichita daily eagle., 1901-01-18
FOR AND AGAINST IT
Shall Hanging Be Restored in
State of KanSaS2
OPINIONS IN WICHITA
Great Diversity Is Shown in
the Citizen interviewed,

no unanlTn1ty so Tar as the restoration
of capital punishment is concerned. II
anything. those opposed to the restora-
of the death peuaIy ounumber the others,
for those who favor capital punishment
disagree on minor details while the oppo-
sition TO Kansas return TO the scanold
and the moose is unqualified. and the
people who are opposed to it are up in
arms at any proposition looking to its
Redistribution.
Interviews obtained with many show
that those devoting thought to the ques-
tiOn, and that yesterday included pracu-
cauy every body in the city, can be di-
vided as follows:
J. Those who are unaIterabIy opposed
TO capital punishment
Q Those favoring it only in case Of
rape
Those favoriug it only in case Of
murder
4 Those favoring It. with circumstantial
evidence barred.
The initial murder in the first degree /
In this world, said KOS Harris last even !
ing. was Gains killing OF Abel Man /
did not run the world then. The judge /
was God. He did not slay or cause to he .
slain cain. But He putla, brand upon him /.
I an opposed to capital punishment Tt
is no greater deterrent Of crime than life
Imprisonment If st is, answer me this: /
why has it never happened that man (
across the line in Missouri, contemplat- .
ing murder, and knowing that the pun-
ishment In Missouri Is death. i'm Kansas /
life imprisonment. lured his victim over .
to Kansas to kin him? The fact is that
the death penalty is not a greater deter
rent than life imprisonment Tn England +
once, when money was scarce, they
hanged men for s@aling twenty shilings.
The stealing continued. soon they be-
gan hanging men for counterfeiting. The
counterfeitng continued. Later they be-
gan hanging men for clipping coin. Men
continued IT, Statistics viii show that in
those states having capital punishment
murder Is not less frequent than in
those states without it. Death. TO my
mind. can not be legal Punishment
should be, when you come to think of it
corrective. The way 20 punish the forrer
is to cut Off his thumbs While we are
on the subject Of laws. 7 should Ike to
suggest this; there ought to be Tn Sadg-
wick county, and Reno county and SUR
ner county and in all Kansas counties
a uniform sentence for crimes-say FIVE
years for horse stealing-no maximum or
minimum for the idiosyancracy OF the
court TO choose but determinate term.
Then have your board or your commits
sion 70 decide, from his conduct and from
the man. and the possibilities in him.
what that term shall he c}Irtauedf
fFfna -
could not be broached yesterday without
forming e group at once and here Otto
Eckstein put IN; IT am ia favor Of can
ital punishment It IS the only thing in
Instances like the Leavenworth crime.
The death penalty is legal. it does deter
where life Imprisonment does not Why
isn't the death penalty legal
"Can the state on the moral plane.
XIII and forbid the Individual to du?" he
was asked
yes The state can. You surrender 70
the state the function OF protecting YOU.
You give it this for the community. You
are the state, you are a part Of It, When
an execution takes place, you through
your representative are executing the
man. And st does halt men who are bent
on murder. the realization that the state
IS stern and rigorous"
President Stanley, Of the Friends Uni
versity said: ''I was glad to see the
Eagle warn Kansas Of the mistake of
restoring capital punishment Kansas
must not Go that. IT would be step
backward. Kansas has her ideals. and
she must try 10 live up to them not re-
treat because Of temporary defeats
cannot believe that the Kansas legislature
believe that killing may he legal Life
imprisonment serves. CapitaI punishment
would not have deferred the mob at T.sav-
snworth. it did not deter the mob at
Port Linen Colorado. for colorado has
capital punishment law. Surely Kansas
win not do this thing"
Frank S, Burt said; ct am iu favor Of
capital punishment e0r wiIful and deTb-
crate murder 7 believe that the death
punishment should he Imposed whan muir
der has been proved. But I would not
went it. if it meant that men convicted
by circumstantial evidence. were 20 be
hanged The evidence should he direct
and certain"
Judge p. r Jewett said: 'I am or
posed to capital punishment Kansas win
not take that step II Is retrosrs-sIan
and Kansas does not go Backward Sta
tistics do not show that capital punish
ment prevents crime more than does Hfe
Imprisonment. The states which have q
are mo more free of crime than those
which do not. IL as free Kansas win
not restore capital punishment"
Oscar smith said. ''I am in favor OF
capital punishment em0hltcaUy Il Wiz
prevent men from the commission ~