Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1867-04-30
Live Fences Plundering Orchards.

or shrub best adapted for such
ought to be more generally discussed
because in the prairie parts of GRAM
county we shall be out of timber un.
less something is done to lessen The
consumption or else increase the tim
Der product.
Another subject | do not remem
Der seeing discussed in the Herald al
all, though have taken it ever since
twas born, is that of wholesale plum
dtring Of orchards at the fruit ripen-
ing season.
This evil practice is growing to ar
alarming extent in our county; al
least it is so in the western part o.
the county. Last fall hundreds o.
bushels were stolen from single or
chards from some of my old neigh
bors, ard some having but few
trees just beginning to bear lost near,
ly all their first crop, after watching
for years in hopes of some day reap
ing a reward for their labors.
/ wish some tangible remedy coulC
be devised, for unless something il
done it appears to me but folly for &
man to think Of raising fruit.
Woodman, April 8, 1861. J.B COOLEY.
REMARKs.-We guess there is nc
salutary remedy but most rigid en-.
forcement of the laws, which provide
very severe penalties for this stealing
or robbery. Boys may be imprison'
ed if found guilty of plundering or
chards, and heavy fines levied which
they or their parents must pay or
their sons lie in jail.
The trouble is. boys are often made
thieves by their parents wnu ~
them examples by stealing in small
way, and afterwards conceal the
thefts of their sons, thus actually en-
couraging such wickedness as almost
prepares them for thieves; burglars
and the like and ultimate graduation
in the penitentiary. Parents very Of
ten make thieves Of their sons with
out exactly intending it. Tommy
borrows book; he promises to re-
turn it, but never does SO; the father
and mother know the book was bor>
rowed and that Tommy bad no right
to keep it, and to longer retain 1t is
ste ling. Tommy properly under>
stands that father and mother, by
their acquiesence in ais keeping the
book, assent to his stealing it-tho'
possibly the act might be called some
thing else than stealing, still. it is
stealing, and Tommy sees and knows
it. He has now taken the first les
son in stealing, his parents consent
ing and even conceaing the stolen
goods. Next he will steal apples,
then some money or other valuable
finally robbery, all on account OF the
schooling received under his parents.
At twenty ~fve, Tommy, who was at
first good little boy, but taught to
steal by his parents, now finds him>
self prison convict And he ac-
counts for it all in this way: Gath.
er and mother failed to rebuke my
first thefts; they even concealed them,
and went so far as to lie for my ben
eft when | was suspected. They re-
ceived and ate the apples | took
home, knowing them to be stolen
Cursed am l. but even more to be
cursed arc those who sent me into the
world and then schooled me for ru-
med man"
SO if there be rude boys who steal,
nine cases in ten you will find their
parents responsible in the manner de
scribed. And, in majority of cases
were the parents punished for their
sons transgressions, the punishment
would oftener tall upon the right
heads than the wrong. We believe
in Adams fall, and thus an entail
ment of sin and death upon world
of people. And we believe the guilt
of parents is often visited on future
generations. or that posterity IS held
under bonds and made to bite the
dust for the transgressions of ances-
try. And we hardly see how such
penalties can be evaded-there being
no merit in the actors, except it be
by an atonement made by some holy
being or savior-the merits ofsuch
atouement only applicable upon to
tai, full and free grant of pardon, and
this only after o deep conviction OF
sinfulness.
We have taken more latitude than
was designed in discussing this sub.
ject Of robbing orchards, and have
gone to the very root of the evil, and
to the parent cause. The remedy APP
pears a hard one-though there is
nothing in it contrary to secret hu-
man nature. When the boy steals,
the guilt is upon the parent-.just as
our first parents by their fail entailed
sin and guilt upon all their pcsterity.
And so is it that none may sniff the
responsibility OF sinfulness, but every
tub stand on its own bottom. SO
that Notwithstanding the guilt of pa
rents, the sons are guilty and must
be punished for their actual crimes.
The design ofour remarks is, ifpos-
sible, to remind the parent of their
duty to so bring their sons as to be
honest and not thievish. We should
treat this matter of lying in children
the same way-charging the cause
to parents through their bad example.