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Show SEDUCTION LAW IS TOO WEAK Larson Says Callister's Bill Must Provide for Greater Punishment for Offense or It Will Fall Through. Aecirdins to a sftemen' made by M. '. Larsen of I'roy.,, Senator 'a II i is ter should provide a greater penalty for violation under the (-eduction law, than providing a greater opportunity to con vict. The present law calls for six nrtnths: and a fire not to exceed $li". Kor the theft of $"1 prisoner gets not less than one year in the peniten-t peniten-t ia ry. "'In looking over the statement made bv Senator allister in explanation of his reason for introducing a bill to do awsy with the necessity of corrobora tivr evidence in seduction rases, savi M. ('. Larson of Provo, "it might be well enough to remember that there is no law on the statute books of the State agaiDSt seduction, snd it is therefore there-fore assumed, unless Mr. t'allister's purpose is to introduce a bill for sn h a law, that he means the least sexual offense of which the statutes now take cognizance, and which is denominated a misdemeanor. There is no need of changing the rule o evidence in these cases, nor would it be right, but the punishment tinder the present law is a disgrsceful farce. And the law anil its enforcement, instead of acting as a deterrent, positively tends to increase the offense, bv reason of the contempt-breeding contempt-breeding familiarity which frequent prosecutions and the trivia! punishment on conviction, impress- on the minds of the young. ''Agreeing fullv with Senator t allis ter in his othorrence of the offense for which he proposes to make conviction easier, and with the expressed sentiment senti-ment of the community against the evil, there is room for doubt that past Legislatures Legis-latures have entertained this sentimeut. aud even that the community entertains to the extent it professes, so long as the punishment remains uu it is. "But the great evil of the present law, and the inadequate penaltv is that evet? triMl increases the impression in the minds of the immature, the weak and the virions, that the offense does not amount to anything, and if tho worst comes, a few dollars' fine will nettle net-tle the matter. And as a matter of public policy, the law ought ti be re- pealed, or the punishment made commensurate com-mensurate with the offense. 'Vrtainlv the latter, but repeal of the law would be far preferable to leaving the punishment punish-ment as it now is. |