The Washington herald., 1906-11-25


ing Of the prison bell, being headed by
the stalWart and heavily bearded exeeu-
toner, shouldering a cleaning ak, as the
insignia OF Office, wearing a scarlet hood
and with bare arms, presenting. in fact
an appearance familiar 10 those who have
seen paintings OF the decapitation OF
great persOnages in mediaeval history
His assistants are likewise bare-aTmed
leather bTeeched, and red-shiTted- The
AK is. however. merely an emblem Of or
tlce. For on a bIack-draped table in the
prison yard lie two or three swords OF
a peculiar make, perfectly straight. with
long and heavy blades, ana black handles
large enough 10 admit of their being
grasped by two sturdy hands. The wood
en- block is draped with red cloth. Against
1t the condemned prisoner is forced 70
kneei, with his neck resting upon it. one
Of the assistants holding his head by the
hair, while the other TWO grasp him by
the arm and leg. Then the executioneT
wields the sword. which whizzes through
the air like lightning flash, and the
head is severed with a single blow.
In France there have been until now
five stated crimes for which the death
lpenalty has been imposed, namely, parri-
eide. murder poisoning, infanticide. and
the incendiarism of buildings occupied by
human beings. During a period Of fifteen
years, the number of convictions for
1cTimes Of this character amounted to 262S.
Yet, owing TO the number Of recommenda-
tions 10 mercy on the part of juries. which
have permitted the court to impose i'm
lPrisonmeat instead Of death. and 10 the
equally large number Of death sentences
lcommuted by the President Of the repub-
lie. there have been throughout that time
only sixty-eight persons consigned to the
igUillOtine. In fact, executions have new
become so few and far between, that the
government. deferTing in the matter 20
popular sentiment in France, has deter
mined TO abolish capital punishment the
sanction of the legislature being already
assured in advance. 1t Is proposed 10
substitute for the death penalty. perpetual
/ Imprisonment, the first six years OF which
are to be spent in solitary confinement
In the event Of one OF these life prison
ers rendering himself guilty while IN
iaH OF some further crime Of a serious
character such as the attack upon a pris-
on official. or the murder Of a fellow
convict, he may be kept in solitary con-
hEement for life, but only after being
/ further sentenced by the courts. Women
/ convicted OF murder. and who are about
| 10 become mothers, are net to be consign-
/ ed to solitary Imprisonment until after
the birth Of their child.
| It remains to be seen what will be the
effect Of this reform inaugurated by the
! French government upon the statistics Of
crime. \ consensus of opinion. based
+ upon the experience Of the principal pO-
/ lice authorities and prison governors Of
/ France. is to the effect that murderers
stand far more in dread of solitary cellu-
lar confinement than of the guillotine.
| People accustomed to so lightly take the
l lives Of others, and to risk their own on
each occasion, are rarely afraid of the
/ scafold. They know that It will be all
over in a minute. and that it is preferable
/ to a slow and lingering death resulting
3 from some injury or disease. But they
dread above everything else solitary con-
! dnement and Imprisonment In cells with
out any one with whom to converse, and,
above all without any occupation. Sooner
+ than this form Of punishment, continued
throughout a term Of SIX long years, they
/ prefer death, and under the circumstances
+ i. IS anticipated that the new law Will act
as a deterrent of hOmicidal crimes
/ Whether this expectation is likely to be
realized is a matter Of pure speculation,
for it is difficult 10 base any argument
( upon comparisons with other countries,
where the entirely different temperament
I II the people has 30 be taken into con-
siderat!on. Thus, crimes Of violence are
always more frequent In southern Climes.
where the blood is hotter and the pas
si0ns UnTulier, than in the more sober
north. It has been pointed out for in
stance. that in Italy the average number
Of murders in a single year are nearly
1000; that is 10 say, II d day, which is
certainly a startling figure, and which
many have been disposed TO ascribe to
the abolition Of capital punishment But
prior TO the latter the number Of deaths
by violence was even still greater, a fact
which the advocates of capital punish
ment find it convenient to forget. More
over, the average is almost as large in
Spain, where executions are more frequent
than in any other country in Europe.
1t may be questioned, indeed, whether
the death penalty is ever really a deter
rent Of crime. especially in those civilized
countries where the dictates of humanity
and popular sentiment require the punish
ment TO be inflicted with the least possible
physical pain and delay. In the Orient,
assuredly, it is without efficacy in that re-
speet- The various creeds of the East
have the effect OF removing from the
minds Of their followers all fear of death
to many OF whom it means the release
from the suneTings and miseries Of life
hnr 1n1u and Hc fr,y-r1 aV,4 p
ures not merely celestial, but material,
such as the paradise OF houris, reserved
for the hereafter of all true Mcslems-
That is why Oriental rulers have always
considered II necessary to devise tortures
Of more or less ingenUOusly cruel chaTaC-
ter as efhcacious punishments. In Persia
for instance, man who would go cheer
fully to the gallows is filed with dread at
the idea Of that particular penalty which
consists in plunging him I'D to the neck
in pit filed with gypsum; and where the
Chinaman is relatively Indifferent to mere
decapitation, he loses his inperturbability
when confronted with that terrible punish
ment which consists in being slowly and
gradually sliced to pieces with a thousand
cuts by the executiOner before the final
death blow is inflicted.
These Dunishments are so abhorrent to
civilized nations that they cannot be used
as a deterrent from crime in European
and American dependencies In the Orient,
and since the natives there have no fear
of ordinary death, nothing remains but
that solitary confinement. which is already
in vogue in Italy, and which France is
now about to adopt for convicted murder
ers. In some respects it is more cruel
than capital punishment. For while it
preserves the body il destroys the mind.
Why Responsibility Is United.