The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-01-19


have been regarded as an innUdent
Of humcr.
y ct, see how swift is the r.A~p ponse
OF even the ragged remnant OF d bet
ter nature to the spirit Of confidence
Fer one of the chiei requests made ~
The prisoners was that the beds IN the
dOrmltory-tne former chapel, where
the overflow from the cells Is accom-
oodated. and the most comfortable
IN the prison TO sleep-bc =
e2e first to those inmates who are
> - ms from heart trouble or opilp-
sy who are crippled.
Needless to say this was granted.
Indeed, all bat two of the brother
hoods suggestions were agreed % b.
the warden. and these two were taken
under consideration and probably viii
be granted
Hereafter, as a result Of that one
hours straight talk between warden
and prisoners, Sing Sing inmates may
see visitors on any Sunday Of holi
day. They may write and receive
many letters as they choose, and ac-
cept small sums Of money for tobacco
and like "luxuries." They may accept
shoes and sweaters from friends or
the outside-'thoush since gray !.
the fashionable color here added tn
new warden, you win please stipulate
| gray sWeaters,'
In a word, sixty minutes Of that
| Sunday afternoon served TO set IN
| motion in the most famous prison III
this country changes which may have
q lasting effect upon. crime and Grim
inalS everywhere. That brief inter
val marked the passing Of a prison
dedicated to the barbaric system Of
punishment by retribution and its re
dedication as "a hospital for diseases
of the SOUL
This rich man who is investing his
years of success in larger service to
humanity believes the present system
is wrong in proceeding upon tho the
Ory of revenge. Recently he said
GA very few moments Of serious
consideration will show US that in do
ing this the law undertakes an i'm
possibility, and an impossibility which
tends to bring the whole system into
disfavor, if not contempt.
1T is absolutely impossible for any
human being-for any number of hu-
man beings-to weigh and determine
the guilt of each criminal by the mere
ia cts of his crime. 1t is still more i'm :
possible to gauge the amount Of Grim
inality in this one as compared with
that one; these are things which
transcend the powers Of humanity
they rest with God alone.
''WhO can determine the exact
amount of responsibility which each
one of us carries? Who can estimate
; the inheritance, the early training
the effect of environment, the in
: f1uence of others, the results of infore
seen circumstances. in order to find
the exact amount of real blame de
served by the perpetrators of each
and every crime and the relative
t amount OF punishment it would be
fair to give to each?? SO, as this Is
lmanifestly impossible, the law prac.
tically ignores the whole psycholoS
] ical problem, and confines itself al.
t most entirely to the crudest possible
E set of facts in each case. But it Is
= happens that the crude facts are the
= least important and the psychological
facts are the most important in de
= termining the real guilt of the crimi
t nall
: To illustrate this, Mr.. Osborne
e points to two Of the noted criminals
S Of fiction-Bil Sykes in Dickens
: "OGver Twist and Don Jose in Meri
e mees ''Carmen'-the one a hardened
ruffian who, after numbering his mis-
O treSS in cold blood, would continue
criminal if set free the other a weak
h Willed fellow who, if released aftel
d stabbing Carmen in an outburst o
e passion, would return to his first Low.
f and settle down to a laW-abiding life.
! Each is a murderer; yet. as Warder
e Osborne says, ito place two such mef
4 in one and the sd me category, TO deem
i them guilty of the same crime, is t.
shut our eyes to all the facts Of hu
n man nature, while to mete out TO then
e the same punishment is to be ridicu
e lous as we'll as inhuman. Yet under
+ Continued on Page Sixteen