Daily Kennebec journal., 1906-04-02
Monday, April 2, 1906


OF the 81 states of the Union which
were besought a few years ago to anol-
ish the death penalty, only six finally
decided to do so. The other 46 have
been content to watch the experiment
in these six states and to base their
policy on the showing there. Since
the experiment has been fairly tried,
not one Of the 46 has been impressed
by the "reform.' On the contrary,
out of the six states which have tried
the extreme penalty of life imprison-
men;, both Iowa and Colorado have
been SO disguSted by the outbreak of
lawlessncss and the growing contempt
for life, that they have both repealed
toe reform and have gone back to
the death penalty, as the only possible
safeguard OF society against the de-
Iberate assassin = + = No man
accused of murder in Massachusetts
ever died an unjust death on the
ScaffOld, so closely have the rights of
defendants been protected. Compare
that record, with the protests now go
ing up In Maine, over the epidemic of
murders, there; or the more powerful
and cffect,lal protest in Colorado. i'll
1901. after murderers had been burncI
at the stake, for their crimes, by
lynching parties, in revolt against the
immunity which SO many assassinS
had enjoyed. Is it any wonder that
the Intelligent sentiment of this COM
munity-as opposed to the maudlin
and weak minded pathoS of the move
ment for fuckers rardcn-iS 50 strong
~ against repeating the awful mis-
TAX, Colorado and Maine made?
At no time. therefore. have more
than six states out of the 81 abolished
the life penalty. and of the states
which have tried the experiment one
third have already admitted that the
change was terrible mistake. Even
in the other four, which have not yet
gone back to the old penalty of Capitai
punishment, the public sentiment in fa-
yor of the electric chair is steadily
growing.-BOston Advertiser
It is curious to find such a reliable
paper as the Advertiser speaking of
"thc ~ states in the Union, etc" 1t
is more curious, however. to see how
completely the Advertiser misunder-
stanGo the feeling in Maine regari:ng
the death penllty. 1t calls the abolish
ment of the death penalty in Maine an
"awi:,l mistake" Iu. it is certain that
the people of this Stat have never
looked upon it that way ana have
never manifested any desire for Il
restoration Of the death penalty. 1t
is absolutely N & rur wren il intimaJeS
that public sentiment here in favor oi
the electric chair is steadily growing.
1t is true that Maine has had a num-
Der of murders within the past year or
two. and some Of trcrl ~ such Guar
actcr aa to attract wide interest, h!it
the "opidemic" has rot resulted in amy
demand for return ri capital pun
iShmcnt. Such a suggestion has hard
~ been mentioned in the newspapers
here or heard uttered among the pco-
pie. Certainly. if the matter were
put to a vote today, the proposition to
return to tn" death penalty would be
overwhelmingly voted down. For
many years the death penalty prevailed
in Maine, az it does still i'll nearly all
tho states of the Tuoin. but there was
Il popular r"vuIsion against 1t. and tho
expression in favor of abandoning it
was most general ana emphatic.
In spite of the talk regarding an
"cpidcmic'' of murders in Maine of late.
ii has easily demonstrated. as we have
already pointed out in the Journal,
that no state in the Union has fewer
murders in proportion to it's popula-
ton than we have here in Maine and
i'll no state is life safer than it is mere.
both in our cities and in our country
sections. or course it is greatly to be
dcplorcd that our State has any mur-
dcra at all or that there are any muir
dcrs anywhere. but it is a matter of
c"ngratulati"n and cause of just
pride among us that we have far less
than our proportionate part of the
great number OF honicidc; committed
i'll the CouLtry every year. The Ad-
NCrtiscr iS wholly mistaken when il
speaks as above of the sentiment ard
conditions here in Maine