The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1921-12-30
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The war, undoubtedly, has
brought about a wave of crime
but it has brought with it
revulsion of feeling regarding
punishment of crime. We are
getting to feel that our offend
ers were more sinned against
than SHINING, and we were try
ing all sorts of prison reforms
until convicts were getting to be
pampered. While some of the
reforms were needed and sens
ible, we carried the matter too
far. Now there is a feeling that
the old fashioned idea that the
way of the transgressor is hard
is true and should be true. 1t
should be easy to do right and
hard to do wrong and just as do
ing right brings reward, doing
wrong should bring punishment.
We believe that the feeling that
a prison is a place of punish
ment is a healthy reaction from
our pre-war thinking and if the
reaction stops at making the
punishment fit the crime with
out going over the line into
brutality real progress has been
made,
The New York Evening Post
quotes the following passage
from Sesame and Lilies pub
Ished in 1865 and asks if Ruskln
anticipated the founding of the
Boys Scouts and Girls Scouts IN
this quotation: II wish there
were a true order of chivalry in
stituted for our English youth OF
certain ranks in which both boy
and girl should receive, at a
given age their knighthood and
ladyhood by true title; attain
able only by certain probation
and trial, both of character and
accomplishment; and to be for
feited, on conviction by their
peers of any fashionable act" 1t
is difficult to think of anything
which has not been thought of
before us, but we go right on
thinking just the same.
A man in Illinois has been
sentenced to serve fourteen
years for killing a man. The
case has interesting points. The
man in the case is wealthy and
was serving as a deputy sheriff
and his offence was killing a
passing automobilist who refused
to stop when ordered to do SO by
the deputy sheriff. While all
citizens should obey the law and
are liable to punishment if they
refused obedience to officers OF
the law, we would say that the
death sentence, without due
trial, is too drastic a punishment
for any offence. This incident
may convince the officers that
they have no right to kill be-
. cause their word is not, obeyed.
We are beginning to get figures
on the coming wedding of Prin-
cess Mary of England. To make
the story short, the wedding is to
cost S150,000, which has been
itemized for the curious. OF
course, it can't be so for Princess
Mary belongs to one of the old
families of Europe; but, if OF
when our new-rich in America
let it be known that things come
high but they must have them
we call it rather vulgar, don't
we?
Frank Knox of Manchester, N
H. is out for Col Theodore
Roosevelt, for governor of New
York. OF course this is a New
York matter but the Roosevelt
family sort of belongs to the
nation. There are many who
would be glad to see this sor
follow further in his father
footsteps for he is said to be &
chip of the old block. The young
Colonel Roosevelt has his first
step on his fathers ladder a:
assistant secretary of the navy.
The astrologers tell us that the
year 1926 is to be a disastrou:
year as there is something doing
omong the heavenly planets al
that time. In 1882, the period Of
trouble is to end in universal
peace, but from the forecast the
world will be too tired to fight
and there won't be many left
after the war. famine and disease
r1ariod IF civ wars