The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1912-04-30

. | ldFI llldl " lAu lolulatAO' AhCiN f''N'
double what il was then, there i
not half as mach theft in England al
when il was capital offense to stea
a sheep. And it might be .seriousl!
/ disputed, whether England has fewel
criminals than other countries or not
And some people are a little skepti
cal about law and justice meaning
the same thing every time. Some
| times the people that are demanding
| the most severity in dealing with
/ the accused. deserve more punish
ment than those they are pursuing
with the law.
But even for those offenses about
which there is no question. there is
a diversity of opinion as to how
the offender should be handled.
Society must protect itself, and
criminals must be restrained, and
even punished. But what amount
OF punishment, and in what manner
it should be administered, are prob.
lens that ought to be discussed Sc
riously.
II seems to me that crime might
be more profi,ably dealt with by
prevention, than by punishment,
though that alone will not do for
society to depend upon for protec-
ton Our old idea OF having Pro
crutean bed onto which every hui
man being is to be forced and COM
PEELED to fill a certain measure, re.
gardless OF his surroundings, or if
any deviation from the rule is made,
it is against the one who by nature
and environment is not able TO meas
ure up to the standard is being Sc
riously questioned now.
And the methods of punishment
are also being looked into closely
by those whose business it is to ad.
minister the penalties of the law.
In this important matter, Okla
homa is fortunately stated, and will
soon be, or rather is now, leading
the civilized world, in an intelligent
method of dealing with criminals.
those whose duty it is to
punishments demanded
by our laws, are alive to the import
ance of the subject The whole
world honors our commissioner Of
charities and corrections, Kate Ber-
nard. Perhaps no little woman in
America has bigger influence for
good, than she is exerting. And there
is man, and an Ardmore man at
that, who is exertng wide influ-
ence on our criminal population, and
it is an influence for good, too
The writer had business at our
state penitentiary a few days ago,
and had an opportunity OF seeing
for himself, a great many of its
workings. Space will not permit a
detailed statement OF all OF its work
ings, but he saw enough to warrant
him in saying that the Oklahoma
state prison is perhaps the best
managed, most humane, and most
useful institution OF its kind in the
world. 1t had its origin in protest.
against inhumanity. Everyone knows
how Kate raised sLch a row over the
manner our ConVicts We're treated
in the Kansas state prison, that it
hurried up the building OF our own,
and largely determined the policy
under which it should be admins
tered. It was built with i view OF
remedying the very evils that re-
called our prisoners from Kansas.
And her protest also resulted in
reforming the Kansas Institution.
The prison at McAlester, under the
management OF Warden Dick, and
the wise, humane laws, many of them
passed at MS suggestion, is certainly
an object lesson to those who love
our institutions and laws, and at the
same time have concern for those
who violate our laws.
The idea OF revenge never enters
into its adminitration, except in so
far as the tact OF conviction and pun
ishment itself carries the idea Of
retr. button with it. One OF the first
things noticed was the absence of
that bullying, threatening air
among those in authority, which
pewades most prisons. True, the
prisoners are made to work. are lock-
L l. l. Il. 4