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Show ik . j How .Kansas Mas Revived This ' : : Ancient Punishment to Cmh the Epidemic of WifeBeatifig and Mow the F. inures - vShed ' -a New ' Light' on- . the Strange' Psychology of Woman ; Thrashing AH Over the World igiires ., . ' ;" - -sShed ' a New c.-fil iL7 Light ofl l v VSY me .. v ; v . Strange . IlipPSfpl Psychology . MMi of Woman ' MmSWwB. if w Thrashing .41! Over lifStllPIP?; the IKl-JWil World :illltllftp: t . A ; : 5 li 'i - ..'A. I V-.-"'' V0 I?. ! ' j ..- .Cj.fv&iJ ' '';--'i'v ''' i'-Sr'';.: .' I! c. j pitS lf ? y r;V ' --- ' : - -"V-v.-'-.l '--"j A wire-beater from Judge Brady's court, chained to the first form of the plHory. A larger post has sir.ce been substituted for this iron rod and weight. yVVAXSAS CITY, Kan., is U drastic and unusual K fcsx. v s,eI's t0 curb the nation-jfi nation-jfi wic,e spread of wife- 9 lh eat'nS. and the proeed- jSCg) ure It has taken is sensational sen-sational in the extreme, l'olice .Judge Joseph II. Brady has reproduced repro-duced in spirit the old public pillory only slightly modified from the models used by our Puritanic ancestors. The ancient English custom of punishing pun-ishing offenders by fastening them in con-c-picuous chains upon some traveled thoroughfare thor-oughfare or iopular'siuare, previous to Its re-creation by Judge Brady, had not been seen in America since 1S37, the year when the last one was discarded on the grounds that It was too barbarous for civilized people peo-ple to behold. The pillory and stocks were employed very little after 1S17, when they were : finally decreed to be unfit for the Imprisonment Imprison-ment of women. Revived for Wife-Beaters. This revival of an old principle of punishment pun-ishment is not to be used In chastising any offenders except wife-beaters. In fact, Judge Brady decided to revive it only when wife-beating became so prevalent as to assume almost the proportions of an epidemic. The Puritans and other organi zations of a like severity of opinions threw not only wife-beaters, but all kinds of petty criminals Into the pillory and stocks. Daniel Defoe, the celebrated author, was put upon a platform in London once, with his head and hands fastened in the yoke, because of debt. The system was very fashionable throughout the England and America of colonial days. It "had been used extensively in the British Isles for centuries previous to the time of George III., and had been Instituted into the country coun-try by the Normans in the time of William the Conqueror. Every town and city had in Its public square a tall unroofed platform with the pillory and stocks upon it. In some instances in-stances the head and hands were clamped fast, in others only the legs, but In either event the public was permitted to cast all manner of refuse and even stones at the imprisoned wretch. ' Mob Often Stoned Them. Often the mob would become so excited with the sport of bombarding a helpless person that they would work severe injury and occasional death upon the prisoner. i The new pillory In Kansas City is not I so pretentious, although Its principle is exactly the same. It consists of a two-inch , gas pipe, six feet In height, set in a scv- i enty-five-pound hitching weight. About a foot from the base is an Iron ring to which a six-foot chain and ankle irons are at- tached. It has been set up In Huron Park, near the foot of a tall Hag pole and directly beside a traffic officer, who Is stationed in . 1 . - , .1 .'j' :;. '; ' ' ; ' J. ! A ;.?s.-!:::;;:: v-.-.;';.; ss- ' i ,? . 1 5 V ' '' ;'4 j.." ' "! .! rr S :' " '- 1 : rJ-r.fv-rf.-;" . y-ivt H : -J- .J ..:vl-r.J ;.vHvir;::;:M'?'?fef "ii::i-. " ' -''.r-r.-;.',-ff- i ' . El p"-" - i S3 At the foot of this flagpole in Huron Park, Kansas City, Kan., the most crowded square in ihe city, the pillory has been set up. mis, the busiest corner of the town. Thousands Thou-sands of people pass this spot daily. Judge Brady says: "I want these pass-;rs-by and those who will congregate there :o draw their own conclusions of a man ivho will strike a woman. "For m ire than twelve years I have jcen connected with local conns, and havo lad my ears shocked with tales of brutally brutal-ly by husbands who think a wife should h: kept in a state of terrorized subjection,. I am going to stop it now. "Daniel Defoe in the Pillory," a painting which shows the once-prevalent form of punishment and the excitement it caused among the populace. In this case, however, the author of "Robinson Crusoe" was praised and honored by the public square mob instead of stoned and abused, as was the custom in other instances. "Maudlin sentiment about excessive punishment is the cause for much of this kind of crime. It has been the habit of certain brands of reformers to work for the liberation of men Justly sent to prison with the result that they are .encouraged to repeat their offense. "For my part I ask no greater pleasure than to add a drop of bitterness to the cup of any brute who would assault his wife. "I have listened to the bragging statements state-ments of men coming out of workhouses where they have taken nothing more strenuous than a rest cure. They boast that the only way to rule a home is through fear. I am tired of hearing this. I have come to the conclusion that the chronic wlfe-beater arid myself never will understand under-stand each other. My lectures on the duties of a husband fall on deaf ears. Their contentions that I am unsophisticated in the ways of women are obnoxious to my views of human conduct. When I send .hem to the workhouse a bunch of sentimental senti-mental women and foolish men go to their rescue, sympathize with the prisoner and finally procure his release on parole. Soon he Is back in court again for the same offense. "The whipping post is now out of data except in London and Delaware, where it Is being operated with success." Despite considerable criticism of the method many clubwomen In Kansas City have declared themselves heartily in favor of Judge Brady's plan. Increase in Wife-Beating. From all quarters comes the report of 'he increase in wife-beating. Chief of Police Po-lice II. W. Hammill of Kansas City, Mo., while doubting the propriety of a public pillory, admitted that physical chastisement chastise-ment vented by husbands upon wives had become so common that something decisive de-cisive was needful in the way of correction. correc-tion. That wife-beating In some sections of the country is increasing is stated by Judge John Newcomer of the Municipal Court of Chicago, who as an authority upon the psychology and theories of correction of wiTe-beating is as well known as for his services in domestic relations courts. "While I doubt whether wife-beating Is on the increase," said Judge Newcomer, "taking the country as a whole, it is certainly cer-tainly true that it is more prevalent in some particular parts. Certain classes of foreign-born inhabitants are prone to wlfe-bcallng, wlfe-bcallng, due more to their lack of education educa-tion than to their essential brutality. Largely Due to Ignorance. "it is with these people largely a matter of ignorance. They have been taught that their wives are their property aud that . iw I i ft - - -a ' H f 7i yy N ft o l i hdi f I i- ! - L M i I , I v --f v i e ' ") 1 ' i ' - v i Ji i V ' ' t. i , t they have every right to bestow licking, upon them whenever it becomes advisable They have been brought up in the wron-atmosphere, wron-atmosphere, and the habit of whipping and cuffing their spouses . becomes habitual, a mere reminder of marital responsibility. "Liquor has been blamed for a great part of the wife-beating, but I have found In cases before me that it was little but a contributing cause and not the main incentive. in-centive. The reason that wife-beaters are so often under the Influence of alcohol at the time of the beating, is not in Itself proof that strong drink is responsible. "Even a small amount of liquor intensifies intensi-fies the emotions and feelings, and in this condition an upbraiding wife will provoke the assault which has been the back of her husband's brain in the form of a half formulated determination. "There is no doubt but that there Is an-other an-other psychological side to wife-beatin-hich in '.he more idle and sensation-nmgry sensation-nmgry classes is occasionally seen': But this is nothing more nor less than a survival sur-vival of the caveman ethics of courtship and mastery and the endurance of it bv women of this class Is a subject for inquiry in-quiry into abnormal psychology. Only Expression of Authority. "The common run of wlfe-benters. perform per-form this act of cruelty as little more than an expression of authority. He is quite likely to be surprised and astouuded upon being arrested and brought up before a judge for punishment. However, he usually repeats the offense Beveral times. "I am a very strong advocate of sending send-ing a man who licks his wife to hard labor in some stone quarry and of paying the wife something during the absence of her husband. "If the state or city were to pay her a certain sum during the incarceration of her husband we would not see so many wives begging for the return of their husbands. hus-bands. As the situation now stands many wives are made destitute when their bread-winners are thrown into the bridewell bride-well and they prefer to be beaten to starving. starv-ing. "I wife-beater should be made to work hard and earn mooey for the support of his family during his sentence. Fickleness of Women to Blame. "I very much doubt if the pillory and stocks would not brutalize the spectators more than the prisoner. The public whip-ping whip-ping aud hangings were practically discontinued discon-tinued in America, not so much because Of any barbarism toward the prisoner as because the sight of tie punishment brutalized bru-talized the spectators and officials in the case. "The fickleness of some women ha Ijg'.i.U vy. .... v . .i ' ,"..'!, ).',. t':; ? .fy:: ?. vVr:';-,"',-"',",''1'tfr " " " . " . .1 .'j; ! : '-' Police Judge Joseph Brady of Ka- sas City, Kan., who has revived tie old-tiroe pillory form of pun- :; rnent. ; encouraged the act of wife-beating. : prerogative of changing their mil ts; i; confused the issue in many cases m4 ' life miserable for the justices. ,"! "It is a very coainioa tbiV for. ' f-l woman to prosecute her brutal te- t and in the hatred engendered by 1D ' humiliation Insist that the judge give the maximum penalty, only to return . or three days after the sentence lias M; proclaimed, begging aud sobbing t ; husband's freedom, blie dogs the , steps of the judge everywhere. Her P ; Jin into his ears every day. .. , - "Native-born American women, w exception of that limited class .,), are reared in idleness and luxury, P the licking, do not accept the Prem',s , ' : a husband has a right to do as he l ,;. with his wife. The trouble 1b not so with Americans of the old ft" Americans who have been born I particular parts of Europe. "In very many cases forcipi-w"1 have lived with their husbands for mutely receiving regular entii)g. ,1: uttering a word of protest until t deuly discovered that such bail' -not lawful or proper." .. Copyright, 1916, by 3- Kwl!!'J ; V |
