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Show , - . THE SWEAT BOX. A bill Is before the Colorado legislature legis-lature which should receive attention frcm our legislators. It proposes to abolish what Is known as the "sweat box." As a Colorado paper says, the 'sweat box," or, as It Is sometimes called, tho "third degree," Is one ot the most Infamous practices that ever txew up In a civilized community.. Stripped of all fine pretenses, it consists con-sists In taking a prisoner chargou with crime or with guilty knowledge of crime into a private oltice, and there quizzing, beating, threatening end cursing him until he tells the Ltory his Inquisitors wish to hear. The law of the land declares that no man may bo compelled to testily ugainst himself. ' The police depart ments In a hundred cities of America have abrogated that law and rest their opposition to crlrr.o solely on their ability to make men testify against themselves. And it can almo9t always be done Put a man In a room where he knows that his cries for help cannot reacn a frie-ddly oar. Surround him with men who seem to delight and In most enfies do delight In the sight of sut ferlng. Assume his guilt from the outbet. Demand from him Instant accounting ac-counting of every minute of his tlniu during the period under question; a thing which no honest man can give, and which taxes the ability of the most expert liar. Strike him unexpectedly unex-pectedly in the face, knock him down and kick him, choke him till he thinks himself dying, club him and level u pistol at his head and he will teli anything you want to hear. He win almost always "come through," especially es-pecially when your questions are so framed as to make plain the answer you desire. It is the first act in a drama that has sent many a man to prison; and that in at least one instance in Chicago Chi-cago sent a boy to the gallows for a crime which he could not possibly have committed. The sweat box puts a premium on police stupidity and pollco brutality; and Heaven knows neither of these qualities Is so rare or so valuablc as to be worthy of especial encouragement. encourage-ment. What is the use of watchfulness watchful-ness and skill when you can take a helpless vagabond Into a back room and hammer him Into confessing anything any-thing you want? So long as blackjacks black-jacks are esteemed better than brains in the detective service, brains will 1-cep away. The result is that where the sweat box is fokstered such crimes as cannot be brought to light by savagely sav-agely slugging some suspected prisoner prison-er cannot be unearthed at all. |