Idaho semi-weekly world. (Idaho City, Boise County, Idaho Territory) 1867-1868, 1867-08-28
SRnli. NetkIv Mptld.
: sTARTLINtG DEVRhoPMENT.

The New York Tribune, in commenting upon
the startling fact that the increase of crime all
over the country has been frightfuIly augment
ed since the close of the late war, and that the
soldiers furnish the greatest number of crimi.
nails, thus remarks: 1 saas ia9s41 Lsaial..s aas
Our attention has been more particularly
called to this subject at the present time. be-
cause of some, recent facts disclosed in reports
on our prisons and prison discipline The war
of the Rebellion, which has done so much to
Tegenerate our country, has given us some re-
markable figures in the statistics OF CRIME.
Even during the war with Mexico. it had been
observed that the number of convicted GRIM
inals diminished while it lasted and increased
after its close. The same results nave followed
the late contest, but in much more marked
manner. ~ ~ g ~ - g. ~ -
The average number of males confined in
Sing Sing we're In the year 1861, / ,280; in
the wear 1862, 1,147; inthe year 1863, 800; in
the wear 1864, 1896; in the year 1865, $780, In
five years the numbers had diminished nearly
one-haIf But what was the resultswhen the
war ceased We have an item in regard to
it in the Report OF the New York Prison Assoc
citation for 1866: q On the closing of the war
the number of prisoners began to increase, and
increased 50 rapidly that i'm six months the
number of commitments was three times as
great as the number had been during the same
months of the previous yeaT.91e3a 81 - -
But this is partial clue only to the entire
truth. A recent report of the Inspector of the
Eastern Penitentiary of Pennsylvania informs
US that out of 1884 cenvicts committed in 1866,
no less than 246, or serenity per cent, had served
in the army. From the report fer 1866 OF the
Massachusetts, State Prison, we have similar
result, the whole number of commitments for
the year having been 247, OF whom HI--Or
very nearly seventy per cent had beensoldiers.
What startling fact is this? Seven out of
every ten Of the cOnvicts in these two large es-
adjustments were among the defenders of their
country when her very existence was imper-
lied. The New York Report above referred
to gives us hint as to how this has occurred.
1t says: "The convictions in the City of New
York for crimes of UiOleRce were 624 In 1864
and 995 inS 1885, This was an increase Of
about sixty per cent.
There is subject for deep reflection in all
this Tt affords evidence, in the first place, of
the demoralzing effects of war The vast good
the late war has done has been purchased at
expense of much evil. The men who risked
their lives that the national existence might
be preserved were exposed, in SO doing, to-
temptations which some Of them were unable
to resist. If the records of the two prisons
referred to afford fair average Of the general
results, two thirds of those men whose fate
will be influenced by our legislation on prison
discipline are persons to whom, be their errors
and crimes what they will, the nation owes a.
debt of gratitude still Some Of them, doubt
less, were lawless characters before they enter
ed the army. Others may have owed their
Iawlessness to the daily scenes of violence
which war presents. N .TAg 81