The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-09-01
BERNARD SHAW
H|TSFL0GG|NG
LEGISLATION
Compared to MARKHAM Plan to
Support Government in
Revolutionary Time.
BY DANIEL O'CONNELL,
TTRkApsnm kfn0aI No. GAw~ykmA

.OOOGAI1 ANS' 4E"-A1 40 NV
often that his native land hears
from George Bernard Shaw, but
the sage evidently was unable to
restrain himself from commenting
on the flogging bill presented by
Preside ntCosgrave to the Dali
before its adjournment.
The intent Of the measure was
TO make robbery under arms and
similar offenses punishable by
flogging as well as by impfison-
ment, presumably on the theory
that imprisonment was inadequate
as "a deterrent for this type Of
crime.
Called Marian Theory.
'"The BILL" writes Shaw. sis a
temporary measure Of precisely the
same character as the various
MARKHAM enactments which have
been resorted to during revolution
airy changes in Europe to provide
for the emergency phase called by
Marx the dictation Of the prole-
tariat'-meaning really the absolute
| dictatorship Of the government.
When such Dictatorship Ia en-.
forced by circumstances 1t Is far
better that It should be laid down,
and, therefore. to some extent lin.
tied, by a deliberate statute than
it should be left to the spontaneous
operation OF martial law, which. as
our illuStrious fellow countryman,
the Iron Duke, explained, 10 no law
at all.
1T is like all such laws; extreme.
Iy severe and utterly arbitrary. It
reverses the ordinary obligation OF
the prosecutor to prove the offense
and calls on the accused to prove
the negative. Unless the powers
1t gives to the military captains,
police superintendents and execu.
tive ministers are exercised very
conscientiously, and with good
sense enough to know that they
must not be pushed to their logical
extreme in ordinary cases, 1t will
prove a reaction at the polls. How
| ever, it may be accepted for six
months on the ground that If the
government is not given these pow.
ers the army will take them, and
the condition Of the citizens win he
worse without them than with
them.
Ono Angle IndefensibIe.
! But there is one section Of the
bin for which there II no possible
excuse. 1t introduces the abo1nip-
i able practice Of judicial flogging,
] which 10 simply vicious mania--1
4 suppose 1t Is now called hbido-
| abhorrent to all civilized peoples,
and steadily resisted bit by bit in
England lin spite Of some panic
stricken and vulgar relapses) by a
little phalanx Of champions Of civil
txa ton aponpO uhnv1o thu Tvfah lad.
efs are always conspicuous.
Are we-now that we are left 10
make our own laws at last-to
plunge into this barbarian and to
ask Irish warderS, for half a crown.
to degrade themselves and their
fellow countrymen In one Of these
prison scenes which sicken every.
body who witnesses them or reads
a description Of them? It Is con.
fessed in the bill itself that the
flogging 10 mere gratuitous saw.
agery, because 1t Is to be inflicted,
not as a mere effective substitute
for imprisonment, but in addition
to the stipulated minimum SEN
fences, which are fierce enough In
all conscience to satisfy everyone
whose object is the suppression OF
crime.
1
years hard labor two years used
to be the limit of human endurance
iare not considered deterrent enough
without physical torture, why is this
particular form of torture resorted
to? There are ways Of tornenting
men to which flogging is a joke.
And when its advocates are sc
ashamed of their fancy that they
tell us a thousand times that fog
ging is the only punishment that
really deters, and are told thou
sand and one times that the most
exhaustive experiments with ii have
proved that the same men came
back to prison to be logged again
and again-this being the real rea.
son why no judge will dispense
} with the additional Imprisonment
? which would be Superfluous If fog
: ging were a sovereign remedy
: how can sane Legislators allow
themselves to be humbugged by
, these exploded excuses for judicial
! Sadism?
t Called a Disgrace"
"Or is the South to disgrace Itself
merely because Ulster disgracet
! itself? II so, it will do 1t with TAI
, less excuse because when Ulster lei
|
/. the cat matters were so bad thai
] desperate measures were called for
but in the South. where the gov
ernment has now the upper hand o.
? disorder without 'barbarous legisla
D ton, there is no reason to doubt
that it can complete its work OF
civilized, If not strictly democratic
. lines. II it persists what will hap
! pen is what happened in the garot
! ting scare years ago in London.
: bill to flog garotters was passed
] after garotting had ceased under
the operation Of the ordinary law
and the flagellomaniacs have beer
shrieking ever since that floggine
. put down garotting. Flogg1ng never
put down anything but the credit
, Of the countries which let them
selves be frightened into STOPPING
to it,
, PENNSY AGENT So YEARS
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