The Laclede blade. (Laclede, Mo.) 1890-1945, 1907-03-23
LAcLEDE BOYS WIN
Score q Victory Over Lin.
news in High School
Debate.

to standing room on Friday night
last week with those anxious 10 ha,
the question, Resolved, That capit'
punishment should be abolished" d
bated by j. Paul Jones, Paul S. Iona
and Walter s. Gates of the Lacled
high school and like number frol
the Linneus high school. The La
clede team had the affirmative and SC
cured a unanimous verdict in favor Q
abolishing capital punishment. Th
judges were Rev. DIR. Burris an,
Superintendent J. U. White, of Brook
field, and Prof. G. E. Dixon, of Mead
vile. A. W. Baker, county schoo
commissioner, acted as chairman.
The negative side put up a gooc
fight and the boys were vociferously
encouraged by the hundred or more
Linneus people present but they were
not able to tear down or even make a
slight puncture in the able argument
presented by the affirmative.
The discussion was most interest
ing one throughout, as both schools
were represented by strong teams,
each determined to carry off the honor.
The affirmative side, instead of bas-
ing their argument upon sentimental
ism and the "merey to murderers"
plea, as was doubtless expected, con,
-ceded that the murderer deserved se-
we're punishment for his deed. They
then showed by statistics, by the tes-
timony of penalogists and by criminal
history that capital punishment does
not meet the ends for which it exists
that it does not protect society and
does not deter others from oona naitt;nst
like offences. The affirmative's plea
was not for leniency and pity toward
the malefactor, but for justice and the
advancement of civilization.
Some of the points brought out and
developed by the affirmative were:
1. Capital punishment does not
deter men from committing crime.
This was shown by comparing the
number of crimes committed in Fin
land, Holland, Belgium and, in our
own country, in Michigan, Wisconsin,
Name, etc., before and after the abo-
lition of capital punishment. In each
case there was an astonishing decrease
in crime-e. g., in Michigan, crime
showed decrease of 81 per cent. rel
ative to the population.
2. Capital punishment hinders the
carrying out of justice, and thus de-
grades law. Statistics were given,
showing that in the countries where
capital punishment exists, the law is
enforced in but a small per cent. of
cases. In some instances, the per
cent. of executions was less than per
cent. of the number of convictions.
8. 1t has bad reflex on society,
as is evidenced by the private instead
of public executions.
4. It cheapens, instead of magni-
fying, human life. /,
-5. It adds official crime to individ- +;
ual crime, since it takes life without
civilization or protecting /
society.
6. 1t removes all opportunity of
helping in any way the malefactor,
the victim or mankind.
z. Under this system, the poor l
and helpless are executed, while the t
rich and powerful escape with impris- Z
onment or are acquitted. The law is a
not impartial in its enforcement. Ju- I
ries are very averse to imposing the &c
death penalty on men of former worth. o
s. 1t can and has been successful Q
y replaced. Among other countries, .
Italy abolished capital punishment
century ago; Holland in 1924. Many u
,ther countries were cited. el
9. It is opposed to the ideas of c
4