The Goodland republic., 1907-03-01
ESQ CONES T0AH0TED JUDGE
s JOIN ". WoFFORD or KANSAS
CITY, DEAD.
Perhaps knew As Much About CrIm-
nals As a2y Man In America
a PhEosopher.

E-A1 LaSE service vas January %
when ne was forced to leave the bench
Fl the middle OF q trial Since that
tine he has had periods OF strength
and hopefulness that were followed
b. reIapses that left him weakened
ne began last week to fail rapidly, but
azain recovered and was thought by
his family to be gaining Another re-
lapse came yesterday and he sank
quickly until the end
Judge WoRord was the father Of
eleven children, all living. His wife
died a few years ago.
His Long Service.
Fifteen years a criminal court
Judge. That IS the record OF John
W Woncrd- In those years thousands
Of evil men with evil faces murder
ers. highEaymen, burglars, thieves.
wife beaters, criminals Of every type
and degree passed, a motley process
sion, before him Thousands he sent
to fail or penitentiary. Many he sen
fenced "to be hanged by the neck IN
til dead" and to each man, murder
er,~ highWayman, petty thief, he said
some word OF philosophy, sometimes
harsh, but more often softened by the
kindness OF heartfelt sympathy. He
found thousands just starting on the
down grade towards degradation who.
at the comfort IN his bidding, turned
back to plOd again towards the bet
ter ife. To thousands, found guilty,
he gave a parole, the one great chance
that made honest men Of them
In fifteen years Judge Wofford saw
many proud families dragged down to
shame and disgrace He saw the
breaking Of many a woman's heart
ri a. ~ E-1
heart-rending despair in the walls OF
wives and mothers He has seen
mothers drop upon their knees and
pray to God for mercy for a loved
one. become a criminal He saw the
innocent, bright faces Of many boys
come before him for their first crime,
and saw those same boys awhile later
with faces hardened by crime, and
again these same young men came
before him confirmed criminals. But
these hardened the heart Of the judge
not a whit nor shook his faith in his
fellow men.
Judge Woford drew sharp distinc-
tons between the criminal intent Of
the weak and the hOpeIessly harden
ed. The nose Of one man, the eyes Of
another called for judicial comment,
which only those in the court room
heard.
'Do penitentiaries and jails reform
criminals?'' he was asked one day.
NO he answered. 'Penitentiarfes
90 not reform men that is, as a rule.
There are exceptions to all rules, Of
course, and there are exceptions to
this The fear Of the penitentiary has
a repressive effect upon people who
would be criminals II it were not for
fear Of punishment If there was no
law, no courts, no convictions and no
Renitentiaries we would have a reign
cf terror. We must recognize the fact
that in all our cities there is a large
lawless element, and repression is nee
essaTy to keep this class within
bounds.
Reform Ends at 25.
"a criminal who is 25 years old
never reforms. A man or woman who
at the age Of 25 deliberately commits
q crime is past hope Of reform. That
person may cease committing crimes,
but not because Of a change OF heart,
but through fear. The refOrmatory
period is up to 16 TO p years OF age
All officers Of the law should be ex-
tremely careful how they deal with
youthful criminals. It would be bet
ter II all the effort not spent in at
would be applied to youthful offend
ers. That field OF reform is white
for the harvest There is where good
can be done. There ought to be moth
ing neglected that can help reclaim
the children who have gone astray."
Heredity in Crime a Humbug.
DO you believe in hereditary Grim
inaIs2" he was asked another time.
Not much I doubt If a criminal
nature IS born except in the rarest
cases There IS a good deal Of hum
bug about this thing Of heredity. OF
course, some men are weaker than
others and are more likely to be led
away from the path Of virtue than
others, but that there are hereditary
criminals I doubt I have known the
children OF confirmed criminals to be-
come the best citizens and it IS a fact,
proved by experience, that the ma
5ority OF criminals have good parents" ="
What IS the greatest cause OF
crime?''
want Of money and the greatest
cause of want is the immoderate use
OF intoxicating liquor. A favorite hid
ing place OF the devil is in a whisky
barrel I say that the primary cause
most GTlLdl6 IS WHISKY QAllhAAl5- 4
ind this to De true, though, that
young fellows Of from II TO % are
committing a great many crimes. 1t
may have been aways 50, but have
noticed 1t particularly in recent years
they are young men Of respectable
parents, and they give me more trou-
bic than any other class OF criminals.
A young man OF that age IS q boy. he
lacks sense. foresight, discretion and
everything he ought TO have Two
or three OF these young fellows get
together, they are without money,
they want to play pool-these pool
rooms ruin many a boy-they want
to 70 TO the theater or to carry their
girl ont and they conclude TO get it
BY burglary or BY theft They do Il
every day. And when they get caught
their families poster the lire out Of
ne Every Gather and mother be
ueves his or her child IS not natural
y bad and they want him given an