Mrs. Grundy. (Tracy City, Tenn.) 1903-1930, 1904-05-12
CAPITAL Punishment Should be
Abolished.

chester where many the people
demanded public show of the
hanging but were defeated in
their desires by an early eXecu-
tion before the crowd collected
to tear down the enclosure. Why
are criminals hung or electrocut-
ed or punished in any other way
if not to deter others from crime?
If penalties are to deter, then
why should they not be witnessed
by all? The fact is that punish
ments do not lessen crime, and
the consensus of the most civil
lied people is, that to witness
cruel punishments only increases
crime, for like begets like; hence
the executions of death penalties
are in private.
The execution of the ear barn
bandits here in Chicago a few
days ago was witnessed by not
exceeding ten persons. If to
witness cruel or violent punish
ment begets violence, does not
the reading of it and pictures of
it produce the same effect in de-
gree? Why should the State set
the example of violence in cool
blood aud then punish persons
for doing the same in the heat of
passion or for II motive? The
world must learn that evil cannot
be eradicated by evil; that it is
futile to fight the devil with fire;
that likebegets like; love begets
love; hate begets hate violence
begets violence that love, truth,
precept and example alone can
eradicate crime. ;, The world is
gradually evolvi,s ,fo,a consensus
of the fact, and a great fact it is
as enunciated by Herbert Spen-
Ger, that wherever an evil is sup
posedly suppressed by force of
law, another unforeseen evil as
great orgreater invariably springs
up to take it's place. God never
allowed an evil to be suppressed
by evil. 1t is questionable
whether any war ever did as
much good as it does evil.
Less than two hundred years
ago there, were in England over
one hundred crimes punishable
with death, and when Queen
Victoria took her throne the
number had been reduced to
eighteen and now to two as in
this country.
The time is comlng-as SYM
pathy grows pari pasu with civil
ization-when all punishment
will be eliminated. 1t has been
proven that as penalties have
been mitigated, crimes are less
frequent. Indiana has already
converted one Of her peniten.
tiaries into a reformatory, and
all the hanging is done now al
the prison at Michigan city. The
92S inmates of the Reformatory
are schooled two hours each il
fore and afternoon. The stripes
and everything humiliating ar'
discarded aud a good library ant
moral lectures are accessible t.
all the inmates.
The teaching of Christ is be
ginning to be understood. Tha
he did not aim 50 much to tax,
lis to heaven as to bring HEAVIER
to us; not so much to keep us on
of hell as to keep hell out of us
by teaching love, forgiveness an,
, non-resistance of evil by force
Christ did not demonstrate hi
doctrine philosophically an
, scientifically but it is being don
by Spencer, Proudhon, Tolsto
Kropotkin and others of TIL
t greatest men and women living
+ Our own greatest lawyer, Clal
ence S. Darrow, is teaching j
{ He does not prosecute criminal
but defe nds them from the viz
lence of handmade laws.
The only way to eradicate vi,
f lence is for every individual
;, live a non-invasive, a non-violel
; life and teach others to do Il
i same. We have nothing to {
with mems thoughts, or words
J. acts but to put better thought
If better words and better ac
against them and so win in Il
Is great moral and intellectual du
Is that is all the time going on al
on which alone all progress d
Dpnds. j. G., BARNEs