Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1924-07-18

AHAAAAAAst HAaAA "a AAAANstfA HAHAAAAH anu
turns his face on a downward road
thai leads to perpetual lamlessness--
anu the state wonders why.
There Is no answer to the problem
on the present, plan Of dealing with
criminals. Where offenders arc
dealt with uniustly and often sub.
ieeted 10 treatment that would not
BE- administered To an unruly animal
for merely humane reasons, II moth
ing more. they become hatefs of the
law and those who administer It's
code.
There Is a sane method in dealing
with criminal cases IN vogue ia a few
courts, but the method which aims a.
the reformation Of the criminal is not
supported by the law, II Is merely
the arbitrary method Of few far
seeing judges and police officers. of
whom there are but very few.
The law Is designed to penalizez-
not 10 reform. II Is taken for granted
by police officers and courts that
there Is no remedy for lawlessness,
but the penalty which the law invnkeS,
The law as applied TO criminals in
the goth century is a pure Roman In.
siitution--nothing more and nothing
better. Ii Is pagan at its foundation.
In other forms of treating disease
civilization has advanced Sanitar-
iums are built for the physically
afflicted; asylums are endowed for
treatment of mental arrangements,
We recognize that cripple Is not
possessed of devil and that maniac
Is not the victim Of demoniac posses
sion. Hence We treat them for a
diseased condition of the mind and
body.
dseased Gas ar + aftiesfi' tfies fashfsu iHfs4he
South African Medicine mans treat
ment Of physical inffmity. lie mutt
lates his patient by meniless whip.
pings, hoping thereby TO cast the
devils out of him. He administers
vile potions with no medicinal value
whatever. He inearcerates In dung
cons or caves hoping 10 appease the
wrath OF the demons who he believes
are responsible for the patients con
dition.
We disgrace our morally diseased
by farcieal trials upon the civilized
assumption that they are possessed
Of demons. We meet them on their
own grounds, administering the law
frequently In an unjust manner. we
treat them by inqulsitions, forcing
confessions from them which are
never used in court. We ostfaelse
them from polite, honorable and pure
society and force them 10 herd with
people Of their own elass--at the
same time demanding that they be
law abiding. We coniine our church
activities to preventing the young
from going estray, which Is laudlple'
and to mission work among foreign
efs in attempts TO establish our re.
ligion upon the assumption that all
other religions are unholy and I'M
pure. WE DO THIS BECAUSE WE
KNOW NOTHING BETTER IN
THE TREATMENT OF CRIMINAL
CLASSES WE ARE NO WISER
THAN THE SOUTH AFRICAN
MEDICINE MEN ARE IN. TREAT
ING MENTAL AND PHYSICAL IN
F1RMITIES.
For this reason there are compara-
lively few cases OF criminal ehafae-
ter cured This Is our boasted eiyili-
cation Of the twentieth century OF
the Christian era. It seems futile to
say that we are not Christian, and
that we habitually avoid applying the
first principle Of Christs teaching ln
treating the morally afflicted.
In all this bigotry and nonsense We
boast Of our twentieth century super
iority. SO long as we ignofantly boast
we shall do no better. The futile
boast Of 50 many criminals arrested
convicted and jailed is empty In the
face of our impotence In stopping the
progress Of criminaIily. What we
need Is eure--not curses and lnear-
ceration. The fault is obviously III
the system, not wholly In the officers
who are appointed 10 enforce II.
The people who suffer more than
any others through this system arc
the laboring classes. They will al.
ways be the sufferers, and there VIII
be no change in the present regime
until the laboring people, who are the
targets Of injustice, arise enmasse
and demand that our boasted ciYillza-
ton reform itself or give place to a
civilization that can.
All this suggests the next long gteT
in civilization. and we shall not take
IT until the facts are recognized. VIC
have advanced splendidly in the treat
ment Of physical and mental infirmI
ties, but in two thousand years wt
have not taken single step in the