And the chill blast beating upon my head;
Oh, why does the wind blow upon me so wild,
Is it because I am nobody’s child?”
CHAPTER XV
THE ROD AS A REFORMATIVE AGENT IN THE EDUCATION OF YOUTHFUL LAW BREAKERS
A recent ruling of one of our city judges, after reprimanding two lads brought before him for a trivial offence, decided that they should be birched in “the good old way” prescribed by King Solomon, and he further declared that children brought before him in future may be punished by public school teachers just the same as they would be by their own parents, and he bases his ruling on Section 713 of the Penal Code, which reads as follows:
“When a person under the age of sixteen years is convicted of a crime, he may, in the discretion of the court, instead of being sentenced to a fine or imprisonment, be placed in charge of any suitable person or institution willing to receive him, and may be kept there until reaching his majority, or for a shorter term, subjected to such discipline and control of the person or institution receiving him as a parent or guardian may lawfully exercise over a minor.”
For several years some of our best American prison reformers have been in favor of the restoration of a mild infliction of corporal punishment in reformatories and other institutions where juvenile delinquents are kept. Indeed, after ten years of experience as Chaplain, I am satisfied that a sound birching would be a godsend to many a New York boy in the early stages of crime, and in a large number of cases might possibly cure him of his foolish delusions.
As many persons consider the phrase “corporal punishment” offensive, I am willing to accept ex-Superintendent Brockway’s suggestion, and call it “corporal treatment.” And I am inclined to believe that the word “treatment” would not militate against it as much as “punishment.”
“The object of punishment,” says Horace Mann, “is the prevention of evil.” If corporal punishment does not inspire our youth to do good works, it certainly in many cases deters them from doing evil ones.