The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-28
LASH TO AVENGE WIFE
NATIONAL CAPITAL MAY ADOPT
 WHIPPING POST.
Crusade Due to President-Recomme datfou in Message Has stirred Up Leading Men to De-
 mand Reform.
Washington Special to Chicago Record

Washington Special to Chicago Record Herald.
 In conseouence of a single pa ssage in President Roosevelts annual message to Congress a movement has been sta n ed In the District of Coiumoia which may result in the establisnmens of the whipping post in the nauonai capitaI for wife beaters- In his mes sage. the President said:
 SThere are certain offenders. whose crimfnality takes the shape Of brutai' ity and cruelty toward the weak, wno need a special type of punishment ine wife beater, for example. is inadequate ly punished by Imprisonment, TOT im- prisonment may often mean nolnIns to him, while 1t may cause hunger and want to the wife and children who have been the victims of his brutality. Prop. ably some form of corporal punishment would be the most adequate way o' meeting this kind of crime.
 Whip Held Proper Cure. Interviews with clergymen. police ot- fcials. Judges and others who come in touch with the criminal classes ana un :. derstand the brutalizing influence or
 the man who beats his wife snow twr .naS af setting up the whipping post In the capital of the nation. Right Rev. Hen ry Y. Satterlee. Bishop of Washington, said:
 his wife as thought he were bad boy whip him. By whipping only. I be-.
 lieve. can this contemplate form oI crime be reached effectively. It is
 matter of grave concern. and the ar
 guments raised against the present
 system of punishment that falls far
 more heavily upon the wives and fami-
 lies of the offenders than on the onen- ders themselves are . true rue lac, ,or wife.
 beaters Moreover. I would be In favor of carrying this form of punishment
 further making it apply to other tssrr than !,
 the wife-beating class. I tnink rot It vided that persons attempting assas-
 sination should be whipped, say. once a year, and I believe We should soon see a falling of in a class of crimes which have become far too common.
 Solution Seen in Post.
 The Rev. John M. Schick. pastor of the Presidents church, said:
 T believe the whipping post Is a
 wholesome and easy solution Of the problem presented by the brute wno and love his wife as to strike her in her
 weakness. as he never would dare to do
 if she were strong enough to defend
 herself:
 rarely remedial and that only towards
 are frightened from crime by enforce
 ment of law, I believe that the estao-
 lishment of the whipping post Is per
 maps the pest IltdHS u
 through fear of personal suffering. the
 coward who would beat a wife"
 The Rev. J. D. Stafford of St. Pat
 ricks Roman Catholic Church said: q suppose human justice never can
 be perfect. and that consequently there
 scarcely ever will be proportion be- tween the different crimes and their punishments, but certainly there is
 need of change and reform in many directions. and for a crime SO heinous as that of the brute who beats his de- fenseless wife and children no pun ishment could be too severe.
 Now, experience proves that the or dinary methods of punishment in these cases are not sufficient to check them; and therefore. some other method ought to be devised. The cry. doubt less will be raised that 1t is return to barbarism-the idea of corporal pun ishment-but that is not true. Sentf-- ment in these matters should be put aside and justice considered. Senti- ment for the criminal should be for gotten and the unspeakable sufferings of the defenseless woman should be re- membered."
 Police Chief Praises Plan. For the past seven years I have been whipping post for wife beaters and | thieves" said Major Richard Sylvester superintendent of police. ''The State
 of Delaware is largely immune from professional criminals. due in great measure to the fact that the lash is an institution of the law there.
 Tn my opinion the application of the lash in one or two cases In the District of Columbia, and the holding of the apparatus in readiness for the future
 would tend more to stay the cruel
 treatment of wives and children and prevent the snatching of pocketbooks assaults and robberies than almost anything that could be devised. Put
 up the whipping post. and 1t will act as a scarecrow."
 Others who express themselves in fa-
 vor of the whipping post are the entire Board of District Commissioners, Rev | Wallace Radcliffe of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. Rev Reese Murray of the Union Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. c. J. Nicholson
 of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church
 Rev. A. W. Pitzer of the Central Pres
 byterian Church. Rev. Enoch Schroeder
 of Trinity Lutheran Church. Rev. J. G
 Butler of the Luther Place Memorial Church. Rev. Thomas c. Easton of the Eastern Presbyterian Church and
 Judges Scott and Kimball.