Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-10-04
Barbaric Punishments.

A singular anomaly offers itself for
consideration just at this time, when the
most eminent students of penolosy in the
world are assembled in Washington to
discuss the question of humanizing and
perfecting systems of punishment and
crime prevention, in the spectacle al
forded at Wilmington, Del, where sun
day morning five men convicted of high
way robbery, burglary and larceny were
whipped at the post in addition to the
infliction Of prison terms.
Della ware has retained the whipping
post despite the almost universal aban-
donment of that ancient form Of punish
ment. Its prison records do not indicate
that it has been an effective agency for
the prevention Of crime. On the con-
trary. its jails are as we'll filled in pro-
portion to the population as those of any
other commonwealth. The average OF
crime is as heavy in the Diamond state
as elsewhere. Apparently the lash has
no terrors for law breakers.
Some years ago it was proposed to
adopt the whipping post in the District Of
Columbia as an appropriate punishment
for wife beaters, the President Of the
United States advancing this idea in a
message to Congress. with the result OF
the introduction of bill and serious
effort to secure its passage. Fortunately
for Washington, Congress refused to lapse
into barbarism by inflicting, even upon SO
despicable a class of offenders. the in
human, unwise and possibly murder-pro-
voking penalty of public chastisement
In the discussion OF this subject at that
time the experience Of Delaware with the
whipping post was frequently cited. and
1t was proved TO the satisfaction of the
Districts Legislators that rather than
stimulating a respect for the law, the
whipping post served to incite resent
ment.
It has been recently suggested in Penn
sylvania that instead of sending wife
beaters to Jail. there to languish in idle
ness, with a total loss of income bringing
their families to the point of acute suf-
fering. they be put at work on the pub
lie roads and credited with daily wage
to- be given to their families for support
during the terms of imprisonment This
is precisely what The Star frequently
offered as a desirable substitute for the
existing form of punishment in this Dis
trict for this contemplate offense, which,
however, Congress did not see fit to
adopt, not having at that time realized
the necessity of amending the punitive
processes in vogue at the capital Since
then movement has been made in this
direction. Appropriations have been
voted for new penal institutions, to be
conducted on more advanced lines than
in the past, designed to give the law
breaker an opportunity and an incen-
tive to reform. coupled with a system
OF probation and parole calculated to
save to good citizenship men who un-
der the old practices are hardened into
chronic discomfort and disobedience.
Possibly the retention of the whip
ping post in Delaware serves a good
purpose in affording a continuous ex-
ample Of what not to do in the treat
ment Of law breakers. Those who
believe in the drastic methods Of an
cient times, in the theory of revenge
for of1enses committed. in punishment
rather than in correction, may approve
the application of the lash as adding
terror to Imprisonment. But as long as
capital punishment itself does not pre-
vent murder it is obvious that possibly
along another line lies the way to
greater social safety