The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-11-22
A STORY OF FIVE YOUNG
T0UGHS IN new YORK
fBy Herbert corev.,

- AAci OcIt SOI0y.)
New York. Nov. 22.-This i. m.
story OF five tough young men. They
are so very tough that the state took
shoes at Sing Sing. .-
1t hsppens that the five young men
came from the same downtown neigh
borhood. Every night they drowned
themselves in half a dollars worth Of
cheap beer at the same saloon. They
belonged Interchangeable to, the same
gangs. They are within a year Of
each other in age. They are Of the
same race. They were tried for the
same crime In the same courts. So
1ar as card record Of their lives
ann history shows they are as alike
as 1--WE slices of Swiss cheese.
They didn't begin to vary from the
perforated pattern until they came un
Tor sentence. One judge holds that q
person who breaks a law-any law
ls a net loss to this world and Will he
a detrinent to the next. So he. an
noyed his pair of rascals by a bitter
speech before he sentenced them to
seven years In prison. The next Judge
Mas an average sort. He likes the
middle OF the road. He sent his pair
OF swarthy little thugs AVA ror four
years. kindly a He let his man
off with n year in prison, and hoped
sincerely from the bench that this
would be a lesson to him.
The point is that so far as the rec
ord goes these five hoodlums were
equally guilty. There were no note
worthy circumstances. They are
merely five young toughs who are be-
Ing properly punished. But they
should be punished alike. Either the
man who escaped with a year I'm pris.
on cheated society because his Judge
had a soft heart-or else others got
the worst Of it. 1t isn't fair that
"a man should serve six years in prison
because a Judges wife was in noto-
rious contempt of court at the break
fast table.
This is one reason why some MEM
hers of the New York bar are advo.
eating the Standardization Of penal
ties. Too much has been left to the
discretion Of the Judge in the past.
There are lawyers who will tel, YOU
of one Judge who dismissed the men
one day with the lightest penalties
possible.
II want TO be kind to these men,
he said. wearing a wide. philanthropic
grin. "This is my first day Of being q
granddad. you know"
And every one thought that this
judge was just too perfectly nice. IT
didn't to to any one that
there. was some failure somewhere in
that particular bit Of the social sys-
tenn. Although a year or so ago there
Judge in New York city was apt to
be q, bit rough with those who came
before him before lunch.
Not that he ever shows up with a
hangover. of course" said those who
knew him. COMFY"
That's why the New York lawyers
referred to think that there should be
a reforms Of our criminal code, by
which each crime should be marked
into precise degrees, and an unelastic
sentence directed for each degree.
And the Judge should not be permitted
to vary that sentence by a day. The
discretion of the bench members Of
discretion Of the bench hasn't COM
mended itself to these members of
the bar.
They become mechanical in i'm
posing sentences" say these men,.
AFTER a few years IN the bench an
extra year or two on a sentence IL
merely n form Of emphasis to the
court. Every Judge should be forced
to visit prison once a year-just to see
what IHe punishment ~ tndt ne ID
dropping men and women into every
day. There would be fewer max
imum sentences then for first term
ers.
Look up the records and you'll find
that more Judges Over-sentence than
under-sentence.. But even that doesn't
matter as does the lack of Uniform
ity. Examine the records at any one
Of New York's state prisons and you
will be shocked by the variation in
sentences for the same crime. One
man gels lever years for carving a
rusty revolver. IN" evidence on the
trial showed that IL wasn't fit to- ham.
mci' tacks with. Another man serves
n year Q M same ofense. Neither
4 had ever offended in any way