The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-11-19

tain amount of that. But we can never judge 1.-the power of the will or the strength of the temptation. All we can do is to act for the greatest good to both society and the indtvfd- ua1.
 There are certain strong arguments in favor of imprisonment instead of killing a punishment for murder. One is that som etimes a man found guilty later proves to be innocent. If we have simply confined man we can set him at liberty when his innocence ed him we cannot restore life.
 Another is that a murderer may still be put to good use in the world if allowed to live, while if killed his possible usefulness is, of course, cut off
 Here is case that Illustrates this point: Some years ago, in Western state man was found guilty of mur- dering another. He was apparently f'No good-'' He was the degenerate son of a wealthy family who had been sent West on an allowance to get him out of the way. He poisoned and rob- bed a man with whom he had been travelling.
 He was confined instead of being executed. Later he developed tuber- culosis and as the prison fare was not suited to consumpttves, he was
  sell them that he might have money to buy milk and other nourishing ar tic1es of food. Soon he taught others to make useful things. Later he was allowed to write letters to merchants to induce them to buy the articles they not only brought returns, but led to his being hired by a big firm to write advertisements.
 As a result of his work he has or ganized an industry in the prison, and a great deal of money is made which is used to give proper treatment to sick prisoners, to educate others, and to prepare still others to go back into the world useful citizens after their terms have expired. He earns consid- erabIe money himself, but he does not keep it, for he is a t'lffer'' He turns it over to the others, where it can do the most good. In short, he has been an immense factor in the reform of hundreds of men.
 Shall we say that after all this rnur- derer has not been an asset to the State which convicted him. What use, would his dead body have been?
 But to return to Bessie Wakefield. What have we to say about her exc cution? Remember, it will not only be a murder, but the murder of a wo- man. Why, even savage races do not murder their women. They under stand the great biological law which decrees that destruction of women means destruction of the race. If three-quarters of the men in the world were killed tomorrow, the race would be rep1enished in a generation or two But if that proportion of women were killed the race would probably die.
 Recognizing this, practically all ra- ces have cared for their women and in every way protected their lives. From this knowledge, unconsciousIy has grown our whole system of chiv- airy toward wonen. Everywhere in jury to a woman is looked upon with abhorrance.
 But civilized law courts decree that women shall be judfcia1ly murdered.
 The question as to whether or not the State of Connecticut shall be dis graced by the legal murder of a wo- man will now be largely up to Gov ernor Baldwin the most influential member of the Board of Pardons.
 If he is what his enemies call him 8 fossiIized remnant of a past century, a man whose head has become wood en and his heart stone by the study of law made by past and uncivi1ized ern scientific and human feeling then he will refuse to act.
 If he is the broad minded, inte1H- gent and enlightened statesman his friends believe him to be, he will use his prerogative and save to this mis- erab1e woman what little of life re- nza&nsaGbE- heEzAnd .essv ee eazsoa Eoksetle