HARDSHIP IN PUNISHMENT.
A report that a Jersey City, N. J., fireman pleaded guilty to being drunk while on duty at his engine house and that the board of commissioners decided that instead of dismissing him from the force or fining him, he would best be punished by being kept on duty for a year, going home only for his meals, would seem to indicate that the plan of depriving a fireman of vacations and time off rather than imposing a fine can be carried to an extreme. While the man does not lose his position and he and his family do not suffer In a money way, still it certainly appears as though there is an element of unnecessary hardship in the punishment. The idea of doing away with fines was to prevent avoidable hardship to the man and his family and the principle is being applied with success not only in Jersey City, but in New York City, but the length to which it has been applied in this particular case appears to constitute a serious detraction from the policy of broad mercy that lead to dropping the fining system.
