What Shall We Do with Our Anarchisls? [sic]
The anarchist (not the socialist) is a perverted being, supremely
egotistic, whose hand is against all the world except his few fellow
cranks and criminals. “Beer and blood” are his motto, and when the
moon is wrong he is apt to develop a sort of hydrophobia, directed
specially against those individuals whom accident or merit has placed
in high station.
Since the days of the Inquisition,
the kingdom of thought is free, and men cannot be punished for the
most bizarre and outlandish views, so long as these opinions do
not lead to overt acts or actual conspiracy. Yet it would seem that
something should be done by way of prophylaxis to discourage the
peculiar doctrines of the anarchists.
Next to the love of life is the strength
of the sexual instinct, and many men would rather die than lose
that function around which their desires chiefly center. The [194][195]
process of emasculation is the only certain method of preventing
the propagation of criminal breeds. The deterrent effect of castration
as regards the commission of crimes would extend through fear of
a like punishment to the bad and lawless generally. Let, therefore,
all men who are convicted without question of a design to commit
murder if necessary to accomplish their ends, but who on account
of failure to kill or other reason are not subject to the death
penalty—let all such be castrated secundum artem, and the world
will soon be better. In this class would come in general burglars
and housebreakers, hold-ups, rape-fiends and last but not least,
the anarchists who attempt to put their views into practice.
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