Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1863-03-19
CRiMK.-Ors IoIlcr Coukr.-It


may seem prssumptuous In young men like
ourselves 10 treat Of suLiec; on which have
been engaged the spscuiaiions Of great phi
lcsophers and learned theologians since the
time whereof the memory Of man runne,h not
to the contrary. But slncc the establishment
Of a Police Court in his city We have. in our
editorial capacity. been daily visitor upon
the gentleman WHO have occupied the bench.
and we have carefully watched tho va,iou.
criminals and offend ers brought before them
and have endeavorsd TO study the causes, the
orisin prov OF crime. We have day
after day confronted tho miserable epectscies
whose doom on earth sesms TO be the isil and
the penitentiary. arraigned for violating the
eountrys laws Crime. hardened crime. has
.tared hideously or with conismptuous bya-
vado in our iacs. Tale after ta!s OF woe aud
suffering. that tho hardest heart could not
steel itself against has been retailsd 10 our
presence 10 q city situated like our oSn. with
a large floating populaties. with people Of
almost every nation under the sum constantly
pouring IN upen Va from oil sdss. with the
Missis.irpi rolling by us.resor.ed TO by thieves
blacklrgs and Wilkins OF every die and des-
cription, it 10 y ondertui that the docket OF our
Police Court is so small. For the past year.
We are pleased to ely, crime has been upusu.
ally ligh. in our city. May II decrease IL the
aame ratio for all succeeding years.
Matters are brought to light in q Police
Court. scenes are enacted there which gsnteel.
re6oed life knows only through The pages Of
romance. or catches glimpse OF in the daily
journals Human nature is shown there IN .
tight that the moral ply losorher or the clergy
ia their studies have probably never seeu.-
There are men brought there daily who have
never bees taught morality or entered the
house Of God. who. from their very earliest
days have been brought up amidst crime who
have probably never known . rarent's care.
whose associations hay. always been question.
abe and perhape criminal, and whose hahia.
tions have not .svosed OF over much sancti,y.
There one will see ths wretohe1, fiendless
sons Of want. upon whom loo often tins laws
punishment falls 100 m.reiessly y--tha painted
conrtezin, with heart harder than the lli.t.
lest rock, reek lees Of this " ofl1 and the here.
sher-the hardened villain. who lives II crime
and whose daik deeds have b.louled cur west.
etn rraities-ths young beginner. whose frs,
act Of sin, whose first violation OF The low
crushes him with with shame and dc.rsi,-
all Of these sish,s We have watched with no
inattsntive eye. Often have we thought when
the poor culprt was arreigred and the es,-
dencs Of his guilt were brought forth. what
We might have been had We been similarly
circumstancsd with him, with no one In our
early days to guide or instruct US and teach
f,rcibly than At such ,imes the significance Of
th,t htsutifui pas'age in the prayer. Lord,
save us from temptation -
Fsom the observation we have had. land is
is q close one } wssre led 10 believe that hu-
ma n nature IL not innate'y bsd-that man.
kind are uvt naturally corrupt and wicked
Take the history Of almost any Of the fallen
ang Is who prostitute their p'rsops for their
daily bread and you will find that some un-
natural act tf friend. relatives las driver
the world to fall victims TO the fret artlui se.
Queer who may cross their path. The hearts
OF these women have been temporarily ksld-
ened by the sss ocia tiops thrown rouud them
but speak TO them OF the "loved ones at
home" OF the good old times when they were
in the he y day OF their lie. pure and unsul-
lied ss tLs winters snow. and yon will melt
them to tears In An instant. They are not
naturally wicked-to be good 10 natural
crime is forced. Conscience and instinct must
he overcome ere crime is committed. The
good in humanity predomins,es largely ors.
evil. To tell the truth is ever the patNssl
prompting Of the human bs,rt-to tall q Tie
requires an eyfrtion. And our csDcluson, not
formed hastily, 10, that the original cause. the
provocation OF crime, 10 ether iSignrkrANcE.
WAIT, or unnat4rn treatment from those me
foyt.
GLAD TO SEE 1--WE are glad TO no.
tice that there is a strong indication OF a sor
ghum fever hereabouts. Our merchants and
farmers ore beginning to look into the matter
pretty thoroughly. The question ss TO the
feasibility Of ysisiag the cane was long since
settled. Oar coil will pro luce il in quantities
TO suit. The question Of crssbing. rendering
.be juice into syrsP. aud finding market. ID
COW well settled. What reDains TO be dcne
is to 60 ahead and cultivate the staple gener.
ally. Careful men, who have Investigated
the matter. feel perfectly confident. When go
csutious and go proverbially successful mer.
chant ss c. G. A'vord Is willing TO iosest his
caIfal in any ep'orprise. IL may be pretty
surely calculated upon as worthy Of corf-