The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1940-12-26


tighter and tighter until there
vas no motion within the bun
die. A guard vas maintained
TO prevent release from the tor
ture BY wolves.
The man in the case vas ted
10 a stake in the shade. A few
feet from his body a rattle
snake was tied with a hard dry
leather thong Just short enough
50 that the poisonous fangs
could not reach the intended
victim. Irritsted by the bind
ing thong. the snake would
lash out furiously After two or
three nights the thong. softened
BY the dew. would stretch far
enough 80 that the snake could
reach victim and that was the
end OF the chapter.
Not very nice stories
either the little reminiscence Of
the righteous Puritan DAYS or
the bit Of life in the raw from
Indian lore-but according to
Judge Guerin. we still are
about a. cruel in the treat
ment of many of the victims
of circumstances.
The migratory worker. if he
misses connections between the
wheat harvest in the Inland EN-
pire and the next seasonal Job,
may be unfortunate enough to
walk into a town where the
police are making a drive on
Migrants. A robbery or soms
other crime may have been COM
mitted and every itinerant who
cannot give a good account OF
himself is arrested. finger print
ed and given a jail sentence.
Repeat that experience a few
times and. he becomes a police
character with his finger prints
being on file all over that part
OF the country.
To plead not guilty wouldn't
do any good. He has no funds
to hire an attorney. Even if
he had and did plead not guilty.
the court might set the trial
date 30 days away. Might Just
as well plead guilty, take ten
days and another finger print
ing and have it over with.
He then becomes lust an
other bum" and il thrown in
discriminatory into into the
hopper which discharges into
bull pen a daily grist of I'M
fortunates, professional yags.
dope fiends. degenerates and
criminals of high and low de-
gree. Like begets like. and
The intinerant worker who
might have been saved, he
comes part Of the mob which
Is a greater menace 10 democ-
racy than all the fifth col
umns."
According to Judge Guerin.
we are attempting 10 meet to-
days social problems with meth
DDS that We're out of date
hundred years ago. We don't
have TO go TO Los Angeles for
the proof. In an off -the-record
address before a group of news
paper people recently. Taco
ma magistrate gave a rather
vivid picture of what goes on
In the bull pen at the police
station. Its the only place for
the vag with a record"
He Is probably there at the
end Of this Christmas day.
brOoding over his hard luck
and plotting what he is going
TO do to get even" when he
gets out. He is fertile ground
for the sprouting of the seed
which turned Italy over TO the
Fascists and gave Germany
into the hands of the Nazis.
In the opinion of Judge Guerin.
whose address was a severe jolt
to some of our SNUG Christmas
thinking, the bull pen is never
going TO solve twentieth CEN
fury sociological problems The
answer will be found in hospi-
tails for dope addicts, habitual
drunkards and those suffering
from other diseases. Along with
that should 60 federally con-
trolled itinerant camps where
those whose homes are wherever
the job may be. can find shelter
and be clean. How to do that
is something TO think about as
this 1910 Christmas day draws
10 a close