The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-01-19

breaking of the eervieal vertebrate as q
means of producing euthanasia. Their
other states wondered why such a pro
ducing force as electricity was daily
demonstrating itself to be, should be
put to such non-producing purpose as
killing humanswho perhaps were the
victims of circumstances for which the
state itself would have a difficult task
in showing it was III no degree respon-
siblea and these states put capital pun
ishment beyond the need of further re-
finement by abolishing it.
These, then, are the various stages
Of capital punishment in English-speak-
ing societies during the 100 years just
gene. If hanging be of virtue as a pow
er of example, then these Englishspeak-
ing peoples have shown a logic which
falls far short of being praiseworthy
The volatile Frenchman has been far
more logical He, believing in the eff
cheney of capital punishment to fright
en- woud-be criminals, takes pains to
present such persons with opportunities
of seeing the guilotine at its unpleas-
ant work. And the spectacle is meant
TO be unpleasant as an object lesson.
But what was the RESULT A noted in
vestigator dedueed broad inference that
for a given population, the number of
murders committed by that population
for given period could correspond with
a certain exactness with the number of
such vicious crimes for the preceding
period of time of the same length. Even
farther than this did be 90. He found
that in the case of murders it was pos
sible for one to foretell with almost GER
tainty the number of murders that would
be committed with this or that weap
on And this investigator took as his
unit of area the city of Paris, the
home of the public execution by that
most horrible OF methods, the guillotine.
The power of example was lost in a
maze of human nature responding to va
rious external influences. So it might
seem that the logic of the Frenchman
III such affairs did not accomplish any
more after all than the lack of logic of
the Englishman
1t is not without some interest to con-
slider what the progress" Of refining"
the methods of doing justice really
means. The movement has ever been
from the more horrible to that form of
execution which is the less horrible?
But for whom is the horror lessened
For the victim Probably that unfor-
tunate has never been consulted in the
matter at all; at least there are no rec
ords to show that such was the case.
The changes were for the people. 1t
was decided that society's best interests
called for the shutting up of such spec
taeles within prison walls. They were
degrading and it We're better that men
be spared degrading sights? Is that the
Perhaps it would be nearer the
truth to say that hangings or electro
cutions as examples are useless. They
fail to get results Of the kind desired
But if Vermont is to continue in her
course Of taking the lives of those who
have taken life, il were better that the
state get into the refining business.
The Elroy Kent hanging should be the
last in Vermont The element of chance
in executions where the rope is used
is too great. The margin of safety"
is too small. The name of the state
is too often in the balance. The electric
chair will furnish death and example;
death far surer than example. and the
liability of mishap will be lessened
But not TO execute is best of all
st. Adams Messenger.