Heimskringla - 17.07.1929, Page 7

WINNIPEG, 17. JÚLÍ, 1929
HEIMSKRINCLA
7. BLAÐSÍÐA
Frá Gimli
(Frh. frá 3. bls.)
þaö var heima hjá þeim, eöa annars-
staðar, hvít og vel hrein trog, úti
til þurks, eða inni til notkunar—datt
þeim einlægt i hug: góö, hreinlát og
elskurík móðir, og vitur, góölátur og
kær faöir. Og þaö löngu eftir að
þau voru sjálf orðin fitllorðin, og fað
'r og móðir fyrir löngu frá þeim
skilin.—
Þannig er þessi litla saga um hina
umhyggjusömu, góðu og ástríku móð
ur, sem að eyddi óyndi barna sinna,
0g gladdi þau á svo gamansamlegan
hátt, er varð um leið orsök í þvi, að
faðir barnanna minnti þau svo alvar-
lega á hina fögru dyggð,—hreinlætið,
og hreinleikann í öllum hlutum, sem
að við svo mörg tækifæri á fullorð-
insárum þeirra minntu þau á þeirra
elskuríku móður og kæra föður. —
Slíka endurtekningu gera hin góð-
gjörnu, og að öllu lofsverðu, sístarf-
andi kvenfélög. Þau koma hingað
hvert um si|g — einu sinni á ári
hverju, og bera sólskin inn til okkar
á Betel. Ekki einasta í kaffiboll-
um, heldur í trogum. Og að skilnaði
þegar þessi góði gestur (kvenfélagið)
fer á brott frá okkur, erum við jafn-
an eins og börnin konunnar góðu,
sem að litla sagan getum um:—glöð,
þakklát og ánægð. —
Hina síðustu heimsókn hingað til
Betel igerði kvenfélag hins fyrsta lút-
erska safnaðar í Winnipeg þann 10.
þ- m., eins og það hefir gert öll þessi
ar síðan heimili þetta var stofnað.
Þegar ég fór að telja fjöldann, eft-
lr að þær allar, kvenfélagskonurnar,
neð fleirum og fleirum, voru komn-
ar> þótti mér • hver annari fallegri,
hafði nóg að gjöra, að hugsa um það,
Og tapaði þá í svipinn alveg reikn-
ingsgáfunni. Eg hugsaði mér að
ég skyldi heldur fara á fætur ein-
hverja nóttina, draga upp glugga-
tjaldið og reyna að telja stjörnurnar.
—Nóg var, eins og vant er, á borð
borið af öllu góðgæti, við slík tæki-
færi, og er óþarft það allt upp að
telja. Og sama gildir með andlega
góðgætið og alla skemtun: hljóðfæra-
spil, ættjarðarsöngvar og ræðuhöld.
—'AIstaðar var sólskinið. Haldnar
tölur, sagðar sögur, lesin upp kvæði
og klappað fyrir þeim sem töluðu;
burtfararsnið á öllum gestum og
kærar kveðjur.
10. júlí, 1929.
J. Briem.
----------x----------
Þjóðræknisþingið 1929.
(Framh. frá 5. siðuj.
and have it established beyond a ques-
tion of a doubt that he was mentally
unsound. I was advised that not
much good would be derived from
such a procedure as in this case doubt
was expressed whether such an ex-
amination would really have him
placed in a mental hospital. If he
were placed in a mental hospital it
would act as against his per^onal or
physical welfare as his opportunity of
eventually obtaining a parole would be
thereby lessened.
It was brought to my attention by
the authorities that the only gdvantage
m having this done and obtaining a
certificate of insanity would be to
satisfy the vanity of the Icelanders
in America and the Icelandic National
Patriotic League in having it definite-
ly proved that Ingolfur Ingolfsson was
insane and therefore legally not re-
sponsible for his actions in commit-
ting the alleged murder of which he
was convicted by a duly constituted
court of law.
The question now arises, would that
certificate be sufficient to satisfy that
vanity ? As far as I can ascertain
there is no medical examination of
Ingolfur Ingolfsson prior to his trial
as to the question of his sanity. There
was no examination after his convic-
tion, and there has been no examina-
tion by a sanity expert since his in-
carceration in Prince Albert, and fur-
ther, there is no medical history
available prior to his arrest on the
murder charge which would assist a
sanity expert in arriving at a con-
clusion as to whether his condition
was a malignancy or not, therefore,
how can a sanity expert now go back
four years and make a definite de-
claration that he was insane and
mentally unsound at the time of the
crime when he has none of the ma-
terial above stated to guide himself
by. Therefore, it appears to me that
an examination at this late date would
not give the desired result as it would
have done prior to his trial, or im-
mediately subsequent thereto.
I was naturally curious to ascertain
as to if there were any further rea-
sons to substantiate the statement of the
authorities as to the alleged insanity
of the prisoner outside of the ones
already stipulated by me. I would
like to brirtg to your attention that
after a perusal of the available crime
record of the prisoner I have found
that this prisoner was a habitual
drunkard. In fact it appears from
the year 1903 to 1907 that he practi-
cally spent his entire time in one or
other of the gaols of this country,
but that in studying such crime re-
port I find that there has not been
one conviction for a crime of vio-
lence, outside of the conviction for
murder, in some twenty convictions re-
gistered against him. And I ask
you, can any mentally sound person
act in the manner that this one ac-
ted, because you might remember that
crime reports were not available prior
to the year 1903, and then the police
could not possibly have apprehended
the prisoner on each occasion that he
was engaged in a drinking bout, and
it is my opinion that this is a very
strong sign of mental incapacity and
it appears to me thát if Ingolfur Ing-
olfsson committed this last crime, that
such crime was undoubtedly com-
mitted in the midst of a drinking bout,
and when persons of his > mental ca-
pacity are so engaged they commit
actions which they would not other-
wise commit or do while not under
the influence of liquor.
There is one more point that I desire
to bring to your attention under this
heading of mentality, and that is that
the authorities at Prince Albert peni-
tentiary consider Ingolfur Ingolfsson
to have the mentality of a child of
eight to twelve years of age and that
his brain has naturally not fully de-
veloped. He is harmless, that he
has shown no sign of being danger-
ous towards his fellow men and that
it would do him no good to be con-
fined in a mental hospital. I have an
analogous situation to bring to your
attention and which seems to state
the facts as they are applicable to
Ingolfur Ingolfsson. There was a
case at Melfort, Sask. just recently
where a man by the name of Olson
was charged with killing a man and
his housekeeper, and after commit-
ting the deed he placed the bodies in
the farmhouse and poured kerosene
over them as well as liberally sprink-
led the house and then put the house
on fire. The house was destroyed
but what remained of the bodies was
found in the embers and he was tried
before a competent court of jurisdic-
tion, found guilty and condemned to
hang. An appeal was taken to the
Court of Appeal in Saskatchewan in
relation of the charge of the judge to
the jury but the appeal was dismissed.
Olson was examined as to his mental-
ity by a high medical authority, Dr.
McNeil, superintendent of Battleford
Mental Hospital at Battleford, and a
jury was empanelled prior to his
arraignment and trial to go into the
question of his sanity but their verdict
was that he was sane. However, the
Court of Appeal of Saskatchewan
took the matter into consideration and
niade a recommendation to the Minis-
ter of Justice as to his apparent in-
sanity which has now been acted
upon.
I am now advised that this Olson
is now in the keeping of the peniten-
tiary at Prince Allært, sentence hav-
ing been commuted to life imprison-
ment and that it is the opinion of high
medical authorities that he has the
mentality of a child of eight to twelve
years of age, that he is harmless and
that he will remain in the penitentiary
until such a time as he shows any
signs of becoming violent, which is be-
lieved to l>e remote, and I am advised
that the situation of Ingolfur Ingolfs-
son is similar to that of Olson. Even
though an examination were to be
made of Ingolfur Ingolfsson I doubt
very much whether he could be sent
to a mental hospital, that is, if the
same conclusions were reached of him
as with the case of Olson.
In my investigations I ascertained
that Ingolfur Ingolfsson would not
desire to be placed in a mental hospi-
tal unless he thought that he would
obtain a parole sooner than he would
do if he remained at the penitentiarv.
If such were not the case I am cer-
tain that Ingolfur Ingolfsson would
rather be in the penitentiary than in
a mental hospital. I also ascertained
from the authorities that one of the
main reasons why it would not be ad-
visable to have Ingolfur Ingolfsson
examined by mental specialists was
tliat if such specialists would certi-
fy that Ingolfur Ingolfsson was not
sound mentally and should Ire forth-
with confined in a mental hospital,
and the superintendent of that hospi-
tal came to the conclusion that Ing-
olfur Ingolfsson was uncurable, all
hopes of a parole for him would be
shattered and he would remain there
until his death. If such examination
revealed the necessity of sending Ing-
olfur Ingolfsson to a mental hospital
and such examination was rnade at
the investigation of the Icelandic Na-
tional Patriotic League, regulations re-
quire the prisoner to be sent to a men-
tal hospital in the province from which
he comes, in this case Alberta, which
is very ill-equipped wit'h mental hos-
pitals and the maintenance of the
prisoner, which is $1.00 per day, would
have to be paid by the province of
Alberta, or as is the rule when he
has dependents,, and as the Society
would be the investígator of such ac-
tion the government would naturally
infer that they would l>e prepared to
meet the cost of such maintenance,
but if they did not do so and dropped
the matter then and there like a hot
potato, such maintenance would fall
on the government which would tend
to place the Society in a very un-
compromising and uncomfortable po-
sition towards the government.
I consider that it would be more ad-
visable to ascertain from the Minister
of Justice at Ottawa, Ontario, the
grounds upon which the governor
general in council granted the com-
mutation of sentence to life imprison-
ment which information I understand
is not at hand because this núght re-
veal that the commutation was gran-
ted on account of his mental incapa-
city and if such were the case it is
certain that a medical examination of
the prisoner as held prior to the
granting of the commutation which
would be very valuable to pi*ove that
the man was insane at the time that
he committed the deed and which in
my opinion would obviate the ne-
cessity at this stage of examining him
as to his mentality.
If the society desires to have Ing-
olfur Ingolfsson examined as to his
sanity in view of the findings that I
have arrived at I wöuld emphatically
state fchat such procedure would be
taken not for the welfare and well
being of Ingolfur Ingolfsson but to
satisfy beyond a question of doubt the
vanity of the Icelandic people in Am-
erica which I would consider to be
a very improper motive in this case,
and I would not recommend that it
be done.
The reasons for such recommenda-
tion will be discernible to you after
I have gone into the question of the
probabilities of his obtaining parole.
I have ascertained that Ingolfur
Ingolfsson has spent four years in
the Prince Albert penitentiary and
has been a model prisoner and that he
would probably be able to obtain a
parole after he had spent at least ten
years in the institution and that in
the opinion of the authorities no lifer
has obtained a parole in less than ten
years from the date of entry into the
penitentiary. When going into this
aspect of the situation I enquired of
the age of the prisoner and after look-
ing up the records I was advised tihat
he was born in the year 1870, and
since that time I have ascertained
that he was given as 59 years of age
at the time that the application for
commutation to life imprisonment was
made. If a parole were obtained it
would mean that Ingolfur Ingolfs-
son would be at least sixy five years
of age when consideration would be
given the matter and you can readily
ascertain that he would not be in a
position, if freed, of maintaining him-
self, unless he has some dependents to
look after him in his old age. I
would point out that a parole does
not mean an unconditional release. If
Ingolfur Ingolfsson were Iet out on
parole and remained in Canada, he
zvould have to remain in Canada if
'he wcre on parole. It means that
it would be necessary for him to re-
port to the chief of police in the town,
city or district, where he was then
living, once a month, and if it should
happen that he again came into the
toils of the police and was convicted
even of drunkenness that his parole
would be automatically suspended and
he would then have to report to the
penitentiary to complete his sentence,
there to remain until his death, and
if the Icelandic National Patriotic
League were responsible for the ob-
taining of such parole, this happening
would naturally react against the so-
ciety and would be very harmful in-
deed. In view of his crime record
I would not see any possible advantage
in allowing Ingolfur on parole in
Canada as I feel assured that in due
time he would again come into the
hands of the law, then all the efforts
that had been expended on his behalf
would be in vain, and that vanity
would again rise and become blacker
than ever. On the other hand, if it
were so found fchat Ingolfur Ingolfs-
son was mentally unsound, and he
was so found by a high mental au-
thority and the Department of Justice
granted him a parole in view of such
finding the Department would natur-
ally require him to be placed in a
mental hospital at the expence of the
Society as thev would be responsible
for the finding, then he would not be
released until a certificate from fche
surgeon in oharge of such mental
hospital would be obtained, certifying
that he was sane, and at the same
time they would require an under-
taking of the Society that this pro-
cedure woukl be taken, and if he were
then declared to be sane, as above
stated, he would still be on parole, and
if he ever got into the hands of the
law again, back to the penitentiary,
he would go to complete his sentence.
I must say here that I did not see
Ingolfur Ingolfsson while at Prince
Albert Penitentiary because I was not
allowed to do so. It is impossible
for a lawyer to interview a prisoner
in the penitentiary without first ob-
taining leave from the superintendent
of penitentiaries at Ottawa, Ontario,
and it is also not open for a prisoner
to communicate with a lawyer at his
own request without first obtaining
leave of the superintendent of peniten
tiaries at Ottawa, and as I felt no need
to gaze upon his countenance I did
not go to fche trouble of obtaining
that leave which might have taken
days.
It has been brought to my attention
by one of the authorities at the peni-
tentiary that if the Society had the
welfare of Ingolfur Ingolfsson at
heart and wished to do him well that
they would not take the chance of
having him declared insane and sent
to a mental hospital, which would re-
act as against his physical welfare
! as he is better cared for in the peni-
tentiary, but that they would allow
the matter to be dormant for the next
five or six years and if at the expira-
tion of that time Ingolfur Ingolfsson
was still in the world that they make
application to the Minister of Justice
for his parole. At the time of such
application an undertaking be given
by the applicants whomsoever they
may be that they will return Ingolfur
Ingolfsson to the country of his birth
and thereby obtain an unconditional
release which would naturally make
him a free man absolutely on the one
condition that he does not return to
Canada. This is not suggested on the
assumption to shoulder the country of
his birth with an undesirable, but is
made solely in the welfare of the
prisoner because if he ever committed
a criminal offence in such country
and there came into the hands of the
police and was convicted, that would
not mean that he would be compelled
to return to Canada and coniplete his
j sentence liere.
Any other suggestion for the parole
of Ingolfur Ingolfsson would be mere
foolhardiness for any society to act
for themselves and make an appli-
cation for the parole of Irtgolfur Ing-
olfsson in view of his crime record
but because it would be almost 100 per
cent. certain that his parole would be
shortlived as he is bound one way or
another to come into the hands of the
police again.
It is therefore niy reconnnendation
that in view of the above stated find-
ings that Ingolfur Ingolfsson is men-
tally incompetent and has a mentality
of a child of eight to twelve years of
age, and seeing his case is similar to
that of Olson’s, who is now in the
penitentiary, that no further steps be
taken to further enlarge upon the
question of the insanity of Ingolfur
Ingolfsson, except that I belive that
it would be advisable for the parties-
in charge of the welfare of this un-
fortunate prisoner to obtain the ruling
of the Minister of Justice as to his
reasons for having the sentence of
death commuted to Iife imprisonment..
My second and last recommendationi
is that nothing further be done in
this case until such a time as action
may or may not be taken in the ob-
taining of a parole for Ingolfur Ing-
olfsson, but no sucli application be
made unless it be made on the under
standing that the parties making tlie
application obtain an unconditional
parole.”
Tillaga frá Sigfúsi Halldórs frá.
Höfnum s'udd af Asg. Blöndahl, að>
þakka Þjóðræknisfélaginu fyrir að
hafa leitað sér þessara upplýsinga og
sömuleiðis að þakka Mr, Eggertsson
fyrir hans ítarlegu skýrslu, var sam-
þykkt.
Fundi frestað til kl. 10 að morgnL
(Framh.)
jlM'toinnuimiiimumniHiii'n in Piti m• 11 ni' M 'MH n i: 11! r iui
Holl fæða fyrir
börn. og fullorðna
OGILVIE
WHEAT
Bezta morgunfæðan
í landinu
?ii|iiiii'iiliiin iliiiiiininliiinn níTTvntujilt IÍillilMiiiiiil||m»tfV
ORKUGJAFINN MIKLI
Þegair þti ert þreyttur eSa taugaslappur
—þá hitaðu þér bolla af
B/ue Ribbon Tea
Enginn betri hressing er til né hollari.

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