Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1907-11-14
BUT ISN'T 1T ?

A Brandon clergyman, visiting In Bos-
ton recently. was caught in the very act
of stealing a valuable book at book
store. When his apartments were
searched. other volumes similarly taken
were discovered. We understand he
made no excuse, but confessed his peculs-
lions. He was arrested and spent the
night in jail. Brandon, where he had
been located as pastor of one OF the lead
ing churches. and " here no breath of sus-
picion had ever been raised against him
before, was profoundly stirred. 1t was
thought that he must be insane, or the
victim of some strange and overmastering
impulse. that made him for the time be-
ing quite irresponsible.
When this clergyman's case came up
later, in Boston, nobody appeared to
make complaint against him. The mat
ter was dropped and it is reported that
the minister has gone away for com
plete rest.
There has been considerable criticism
of this disposition of the case. 1t looks
as if the affair were fixed up" in a way
to excuse the preacher from the ordinary
punishment melted out to thieves. 1t is
safe to assume that a poor, friendless
scamp, without station or reputation,
would have been promptly shunted off to
serve a sentence tor his populations. Let
ting the minister off because he is min
lister has the appearance of favoritism and
causes expressions of resentment.
The law draws no distinctions between
the persons of offenders, but provides the
same penalty for the same offence, wheth-
err the culprit be bishop or beggar.
That's the law, yet it is seldom carried
out to the letter. The man of promi-
hence and wealth, caught in wrong-do-
ing, almost invariably ESCAPES with
lighter sentence than the man destitute of
station. money or friends. And this in
spite of the fact that nine times out of ten
there is less excuse for the one than for
the other. This Brandon preacher, for
instance, didn't need those books half SO
badly as some half-starving wretch needs
bread His whole training and environ
ment had been such "a to lead him to
wave Satan behind him, while the com
mon thief has no such uplifting infiu-
ence. On this score, it would seem that
his punishment, instead OF being less,
should be heavier.
M
quite removed from the cold letter Of the
law, which cannot draw such distinc-
tons Isn't the punishment endured by
this clergyman far greater than that OF
the common thief who serves time? The
former had everything to lose in life
worth having-and has lost it; the latter
could not lose what he had not. This
clergyman. respected, beloved, rever-
enced, by the commission of one act, for
feits his whole career, which is blasted
for life. What penalty could be worse
than that? What so bad? Would the
addition Of a few weeks or months in
prison cell count the more?
There are things in life far more prized
than liberty, and to normal minds char
acter and reputation are among them.
This man has earned a convict's stripes.
1t will follow him always, wherever he
goes. 1t is not necessary that he should
wear them. Indeed, as compared with
the characterless vagahond who commits
the same act, it would almost seem like
over-punishment to the preacher to ada
the felon's cell to mis- lot. He fell from
far greater height, and the spectacle not
only serves as fearful penalty to him,
but as an exemplary punishment to 9TH
ers.