St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1905-02-01
Should rlrs. Rogers Eiang?-A Moral
, Estimate.

A large congregation gathered at thu
Church of the Messiah to hear what Rev
A. Francis Walch would say upon very
important question, prominently befor,
the public at this time-the coming exc
cution of Mrs. Rogers.
Mr.. Walch began by describing he ole
Jewish law with its penalty of death fol-
those who had caused death, and con
trasted it with Christ's law OF love. He
then said-Tbe law requiring the dealt
penalty dates back to times OF barbarism
and to time when war was we'll nigh
universal. Christ came to bring in the
reign of better spirit, that of love,
which points to peace rather than war,
TO fraternity rather than discord, and
most of all to areverence for the sanctity
OF human life as created in the image OF
God. The old law depended upon re-
venge, retaliation. Christ would correct
the criminal, reform the law. breaker,
and remove the very cause of crime alto.
gether.
Incidentally in this matter of the pre-
vention OF crime, it was pointed out that
many distressing conditions exist in our
county jails, that call for the severest
condemnation. No blame attaches to
the officers in charge of them, but to the
plan which allows OF persons arrested TOR
all sorts OF offences, persons OF all ages,
from the lad in his first violation to the
professional criminal, being herded to.
gether IN a common assembly room
Our own Caledonia county jail is open to
the same charge. Here one may often
see men of all ages, and of all grades of
character, left in entire ideness and to
the dreadful influences that are bred in
such surroundings.
The first demand of the Gospel OF
Christ would seem TO be that even the
blacklist criminal be treated as a human
being Tor whom God has a yearning love,
and tor whom Christ would die, to save
him, and much more must this be true of
those who are unfor tunate enough to be
brought into crime by circumstances not
OF their own creation.
The whole matter then resolves itself
into this: How shall we treat the
criminal class and in what spirit shall
we mete out punishment. The especial
thought of this hour suggested by the
approaching execution OF Mrs. Rogers
tor murder calls to mind the moral issue
OF penal discipline. No attempt is to
be made to appeal to sentiment. 1t is
no worse to hang a woman than a man.
The question OF sex does not enter into
the matter at all. And then the crime OF
Mrs. Rogers deserves the death penalty.
1t ever any crime did. But the whole
issue is a moral one. In this 2Oth
century, after Christ has lived and died
has this high minded commonwealth
sovereign state in this union OF states
nothing better to off>r as its contribu.
ton to the betterment OF human condi. |
tons, than the old law of revenge voiced |
IN time OF war and strife? Are we to |
live in the dispensation of the belief that
Whose sheddeth mans blood, bv man
shall bis blood be shed?" Are we
Must we become legal
nurderers because a poor unfortunate
creature, who deserves more pity than
blame, is an illegal murderer Such
thoughts should give us pause and m AXE
us stop to question it we too may not
be among those who cry out OF our
ignorance and stupidity, "Crucify him!
cruci'y him!" A careful and considerable
study of the gospel of Christ would help
us to see that the blood of this woman
$ to rest on us and on our children. The
aim OF every high minded citizen should
De to create public sentiment that
would demand laws that are in accord
with the spirit of the Master whose
1ame we take upon our lips, and profess
% follow in our lives, that this dreadful
and distressing spectacle should never be
epeated within our Borders.