Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1911-02-09


 ish them as such. They are simply ignorant and unfortunate. What they heed is education and not coer- cion. Honesty is not natural and instinctive virtue i'll many any more than it is in any other predatory ani- mal. It is purely and wholly mat. ter of education and arises only from the necessities of social conditions Man in a simple state of nature has no more conception of the rights of property than the lion or the eagle Like them he would seize for his own use anything he happens to see and desire if he had the physical ability to do so. The fact that it was al- ready in the possession of another individual would not impress him with the idea that he should respect the prior right of possession if his appetite was equally as good and his muscular power superior to that of the possessor. It is only when he has been educated in the distinction of meum ct tuum that he recognizes that it is wrong to steal or take by force, if necessary, the property of another. By education I, or course do not mean mere book learning; I re- fer to knowledge of a fact acquired in any manner
 Again I say that it is shame to treat children of tender years as criminals. I have had many cases in my court where little fellows in knee pants were brought in to plead to indictments whose appearance at once impressed me with the idea that they ought to be spanked and sent to bed supperless instead of to the county farm or state penitentiary. Tn such cases I usually accept and en- ter the plea of guilty and. suspend sentence during good behavior, in the meantime consigning the child to the care of it's parents or to some per- son who will give the boy home On a farm. But this is all outside of any statutory provision and is stretching the inherent power of the court to it's extreme limit
 We have it is true a state reform
 school but my information if that it's accommodations are limited and that it is always crowded with white children. In actual practice the state does nothing for these little negro boys and girls except to send them to associate with hardened criminals of mature years and take higher degrees in vice and crime. The almost inevitable, and perhaps neces- sary result of this course is to dew elOp a hatred of all restraining laws and convert an immature, foolish, ig- norant child into a desperate crimin- al
 1t is my earnest belief, founded on fifty years of residence in Arkansas and twelve years on the circuit ;, bench, that vast majority of these little misdemeanors-I cannot call them "felons' ''-could be saved from lives of crime and made law abiding, useful citizens if the state would pro- vide a place where they could be ] separated from vicious associates and surrounding given a reasonable amount of education-I mean the three R's"-not Greek, Latin and the sciences-snd taught useful trades and occupations by which they could become self-supporting. The ques- tion of cost need not be considered because it is easily demonstrable that the cost of punishing youthful criminal by law is far greater thar that of educating him not to violate the law. But if it were not, even if it should be necessary to levy small additional tax for the creation and support of such an institution, still it is duty which the state OWES tc it's citizens and every consideration of sound public policy demands it: performance.
 i I submit these views for your off, cial consideration and hope that the suggestion made will meet witt your approval and find its manifes. tation in such recommendations tf the General Assembly as will a least call their attention to the mat ter.
 I have the honor to remain, etc.
 Very respectively yours,
 A. B. GRACE.