Father Creedon (softly): I think in pictures. To me it is as if a mariner lost upon some unknown sea; I sailed my ship astray—bewildered—lost. A sail appears! Answers my signal of distress—heaves to—gives me my bearings and then passes on. Hail and Farewell! That’s all—but what it means to me! (to Gordon): You’ve put me on my course! A new day comes. You were the light illuminating all the East before Dawn! I want to see the splendid noonday when your answer comes. “Interested?” I want to see these men—I want to hear the evidence and the defense—I want to know that they are fairly treated.
Judge Dykeman (going towards door): Reverse your decision; come and sit with me. I want your help.
Father Creedon (crossing himself): I cannot give you help, but there is One who can.
(The Judge and Father Creedon about to exit. Creedon stops and comes back.)
Father Creedon (to Gordon): My son I bless you ere I go. (as if blessing Gordon): Be strong: Let nothing hinder you. I know that He will send His kindly light amid the encircling gloom—to lead you on.
EVENTS IN BRIEF.
[Under this heading will appear each month numerous paragraphs of general interest, relating to the prison field and the treatment of the delinquent.]
Legislation in Maryland.—Prison reform legislation, as a result of the year’s investigation of Maryland State prison and the subsequent discussion of prison conditions in that State, eventuated through a report on February 19th by the Penal Commission to the Governor of Maryland. The report advocated a considerable amount of progressive penal legislation, mainly as follows: One bill provides for an unpaid advisory board of parole, in order that all the essential features of the indeterminate sentence principle may be worked out. Further bills provide for the suspension of sentences, for indeterminate sentences, and for the release of prisoners on parole. A state board of control is established for the management of the State Penitentiary and the Maryland House of Correction, and provision is made for the establishment of a State prison for women. The operation of a penal farm is recommended in connection with the State Penitentiary or the House of Correction. A hospital for tuberculosis prisoners is recommended.
The Lash in Delaware.—The “Umpire,” which is the prison paper of the Eastern Penitentiary of Pennsylvania, reprinted from the Delinquent the article by Governor Miller, of Delaware, defending the whipping post, and published the following editorial as a rejoinder:
“Governor Miller’s argument in defense of the whipping-post would be simply unanswerable if it were applied to any other state in the Union, but Delaware.
“Delaware is an agricultural state wholly, with only one city worthy of the name, and that, Wilmington, which by its close proximity to Philadelphia, is really a suburb of the latter. There are no large number of factories, business houses, or thickly settled residential sections of the wealthy classes offering temptation to the professional burglar of other cities. A few banks are there, but bank robbery has been classed among the lost arts for some years, and rarely attempted anywhere.
“Within the past six months, Wilmington has been termed by the daily press, as a “veritable hot-bed of crime.” Highway robberies, burglaries, and assaults have been so common that citizens formed patrols for mutual protection of themselves and property. The authorities were not only compelled to largely increase its police department, but to enlist the services of a former superintendent of the Philadelphia Police to reorganize it.
“If, as the Governor claims, professional thieves from other cities give his state a wide berth, the inference is that these recent crimes were committed by natives. This being so, why doesn’t fear of the lash act as a deterrent to those who are so fully acquainted with its frequent use?
“The probabilities are that the professional burglar from other cities does not know of the existence of such a penalty, and if he did, it would not enter into his calculations one iota. No man perpetrates a crime with a view to being caught, therefore he rarely weighs the consequences. The professional thief endeavors to provide against detection, not punishment.
“The Delaware whipping post is a relic of the first settlers of the state, and used at that time as a measure of economy instead of jails which were to come later with the increase of crime. The law has been on the statute books for so many years, it has become a matter of state pride to perpetuate it as something reverential, descending from their forefathers. It was not effective 250 years ago, else they would not have built jails. It is no more effective now.”