Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1904-01-16

pHlh thdt puilISIiileht cun HOW uo Ho
good"
Is that so? We don't believe word
of IL notwithstanding the oracular
Mr.. barrow has said it. 1t Is not
plain that punishment will now do no
good" but we hold. on the contrary.
and we believe that nincty-ninc out of
every hundred sane citizens of Chi
cago will agree with us that punish.
mcnt will do much good 1t will bring
home to the guilty ones II full sense
of the enormity of their offcnsc. and to
make Il fitting example of them will act
rs the strongest deterrent to others
from following In their footsteps and
repeating that ofcnse. bc it of commits
sion or omission.
II Is all very we'll to whine about
mercy and the foiblcs of humanity.
but there was no mercy for the poor
women and the innocent children who
persisted in the inferno of the lroquois
fire horror.
And while in this connection some
may pratc about mercy they should
not forget that there is also such Il
thing ns justice.
Mr.. barrow 10y Inference admits that
| the city officials are responsible for this
fearful disaster. and amcnablc to the
| law. Now Mr.. barrow Is Il lawyer
and the Eagle would like to ask him
Ms lawyer what he thinks the law is
for?
| Mr. barrow Is Legislator. and the
Eagle would therefore respectfully ask
him what lie thinks the statutes were
enacted fory Was 1t for the purpose
of committing IN reference to them that
Ollcnse which he dcplorcs In the city
officials conduct In regard to the city
ordnanccs--to ignore and fail to en-.
force them?
Further on Mr.. Darrow says: "To
send anyone to prison for this dire dis.
uster could not bring back one of the
dead"
This Is probably one of the most OK.
traor,iinary pronouncements in this OK.
traOrdinary article.
Does Mr.. barrow believe In punish.
nirnt of crime at allI One would think
not. Judging from the above quotation
from his essay.
Let us take u case of murder. When
the murderer pays the penalty of his
deed, his punishment does not bring
back the dead. but will Mr.. DarrOw ur.
que that this II any reason why ne
should not be punished.
/. Take the case of an embezzlcr: he
may have robbed his employees. de-
frIu,led the widow and the orphan and
squanhered the money he pilfcred. II
he he sent TO prison that punishment,
will not operate to return to those who
have been dcfrau,lrd the money they
have lost. but will II he held that he
cause of this the offender should not
be punished?
Mr.. barrow talks about the live.
lost In railroad accidents. and the fac,
that raiirOhd officials invariably esc,,p,
punishment In such eases.
, No doubt Mr.. DarrOw. IL s,i,ldcnl,
asked while penning this pXtraor,li
nary production of his. whether n
such eases the railroad officials shout,
he punished. he would have promptly
, replied In the affirmative. Does til,
fact. then, that these culprits escip,
the law, constitute. In Mr.. barrow,
I opinion. any reason why other offend
ers should also escape. We would liz,
to know by what process of rhtiocil,n
ton he can arrive at any such cOnclu
4, sion.
The same may be said In regard {,
the threadbnrc discussion about til,
great stores, the factories. the pale
. faced shop girls, etc.
Most of 1t IL either entirely beside
, the question. or constitutes the strong
/, est kind of an argument for Il cOnclu
sion directly the opposite arrived ut b..
Mr.. barrow.
The question in this particular cas-,
I Is simply this: Nearly six hun,lre,
, human lives were, on Dec. 10. 1901
snuffed out In few minutes by
. death the most appalling that tn
/, mind of man can imagine. These PEG
pie were innocent of wrong-dOing. the,
were law-abiding citizens and cntitle,
= to the protection of the laws.
!, The destruction of these people con
stititcs Il crime. Somebody II rrspOil
!, sible for II. Shall those who are re-
spOnsible he punished for 1t, or shat
they be allowed to go free?
That Is the question.
With regard to the good taste of III,
, dertnking to map out u line of cOn,luc
y for the relatives of the victims or tn
survivors of the fire. we will dismis
that matter with the quotation:
"FOols rush in where angels fear {
| trpn1v