Smyrna times., 1869-08-18
What Makes US Bad?

Original sin, say some; Necessity, say others; |
Opportunity, say a third set. Whatever the |
cause may be, it is certain there are many bad |
folk among us, in prisons as we'll as out OF them.
Let us consult table in the last Prison Report |
Here we find that cf the 13, 496 prisoners re- |
corded for the year 1867, twenty five per cent |
of all could not read, forty seven per cent.were |
Incorporate, and Seventy-Serea per cent. had
not learned trade. Want of book education, |
intemperance and want of occupation are the |
three great causes OF crime, leaving original
sin, &C., out of the question: and of all these
the ignorance of an occupation is by far the
most fertile. We can hardly question that of
these twenty-five out of every hundred crimi
mails who could not read, portion, and we be-
lieve large portion, might have been saved
from vice and crime, if they could have anus
ed and entertained themselves with good books
and newspapers, in those leisure hours when
the grog,shOps held open their doors so invi-
tingy In referring to the Report, we find, as
sustaining US in this belief, that in the Penn
sylvania Penitentiary "the Library as a refor-
matory agent is of incalcuIaJle ualue.'' We
find in Missouri the same; and that in one
year IL ,243 books were taken out-an average
OF thirty-eight per man. Now, whatever will
restore men to virtue must avail TO keep them
virtuous. Therefore, some education men must
be made to have.
Intemperance we have so often preached
against, that nothing new can be said; and in
deed nothing new need be said for all admit
its evils The real question is, how can they
be suppressed?
What of occupation: seventy seven out of
every hundred of these cHminals had never
been put to any trade, had not been taught
!, when young how to work, and so when hun
ger came they begged and when that failed
they stole and when that was found to sup
ply the great craving, they became criminals
and henceforth were not only useless, but evi
positively One cause for this we suggest, We
) urge, we demand attention to- Whenever
, human being comes into the street to beg, it il
proof that he is not where he ought to be
I That is, there is no work to be had there, o
the person is unwilling or unable to doit. W,
\ ask that by all great cities provision be mad
4 for public farms and workshops, so that tn
4 instant man becomes begger he may at one
q be placed where he can work for the benefit o
!. the community as we'll as himself, before h
f becomes a criminal.
= So fully persuaded are we that large shar
il of our criminals are the direct product of beg
n gary, that we cannot too strongly urge upo
# our fellow men that this is one most effectiv
.s way, if not the only one, to put an end to pau
, perlsm and its consequent crime. London
nigh swamped by these two giant evils, an
does nothing but patch the sore. 1t break
AZ out again, and worse and worse. Great a
e. England is, and able as her men are, she doe
a not grasp the evil as if she meant to crush il
= Let her establish somewhere, anywhere, gres
|. farms and workshops, and this vast army
e. paupers and criminals may be made not Onl
& self.supporting, but also proftable.-M
a. Tribune