The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-03
THE YANKEE TOURIsT.

to say of our distinguished New Brit again: "It seems needless to say that failure to bring Walker. the New Brit to bring him to trial for his crimes would be scandal which an outraged only reason for saying this is the re- peated statement that there are people fer that Walker be left to wander in remote parts of the earth, while the | public are frequently reminded of the | predictions made first and last that | Walker would never he brought back l to Connecticut Of indications that the authorities or managers of the New Britain Savings bank are not dealing sincerely with the public there are none whatever; indeed the appearances are manifold that Walker will be ex- tradited in due season, in spite of his resistance and brought finally to judg- ment No other conclusion of the case
 is possible unless the embezzler dies He stole half million dollars and he
 is now acting in anything but con
 trite spirit"
 The only theory upon which resi-
 dents of New Britain can prefer the
 rowing Walker to the imprisoned Walker is that as the former under
 constant fear of exposure and arrest
 he would be more miserable. He does
 not look at t that way just at present,
 but it is fact nevertheless that he
 would have had much better and
 more agreeable life these many
 months had he delivered himself Up
 to the authorities and gone straight to
 prison. It is pretty comfortable place,
 the States prison at Wethersfeld. for
 a man or woman. who having deliber-
 ately slid down the hill of respectahll-
 ty to the bottom has lost that sense
 which is otherwise offended at the
 thought of incarceration. The building
 is warm on cold days and well ven
 tilated on warm days. The food is
 wholesome and plentiful The system
 of work passes the day quickly The
 library contains many excellent books.
 The evening schools while away the
 evenings profitably. The prisoner who l obeys the rules of the institution finds
 himself in possession of certain priv
 ileges which are not to be sneezed at , and which reduce his term of impris- onment To prefer rowing existence d with the fear of capture constantly be- fore ones eyes to that of Judgement n at Wethersield is so i'll iointed in its understanding as to possibly explain what is meant when it is said that r some of the residents of New Britain prefer to let the wandering Walker s alone
 - Our opinion of the Walker theft has T been given before, but with it fresh ii our mind we arc forced to admit that 3 if il were not for the good of society {, . treat its felons with becoming self~re. s spect we should be ready to say tha e the treatment awaiting Walker is alto e gether too good for him. Society wil Q hereafter he better to him than h,
 ever was to il. And while We would no Q have the State of Connecticut chang $ or modify its policy at all in it's treat n ment of its prisoners, we would have a it break the charm of q residence ther : by introducing the indeterminate sen n tence We should be perfectly willin t to introduce Walker to the relativ - ease and joy of the Wethersfeld priso Q if he were deprived of the knowledg, u which is comforting in it's way tha y comes from the definite sentence ] y should be the fate of man like Walk
 ef 10 pe sem to pilSon without know as ing how long his stay there Is to be
 Having sacrificed his rights as a eiti
 zen of the State and having secure , from tho State 2 humane system O s detention he should simply be locke m up for an indefinite period Tha
 would not only teach him what wa
 ID but fl would convey to other
 tempted io abuse the trust reposed i
 them the danger of yielding If he eve e got his liberty again it would not b 70 uutii honest men capable of iudgin 1t were satisfied that he would not abus g it.