The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-05-22
THE SCIENCE OF COMPARATIVE RAS-
CALITY.

From Euery Saturday.
Moralists are beginning to find that the de-
velopment ofmodern societyis bringing them
face to face with new problems in ethics.
Formerly it was considered sufficient to de-
scribe vices and crimes; now it is found
necessary to compare them with each other
and indicate their relations. Compare
tive anatomy is an acknowledged science,
which has shed immense light an the myste-
ries of the human body; Comparative Rasca-
lity is an imperfectly recognized science, but
one sure in the end to clear up some of the
mysteries of the human conscience, and esta-
blish Just relations between rogues occupying
palaces and rogues imprisoned in jails.
The great difficulty in the way of practical
morality is the vast space which still sepa-
rates offenses punishable by law from
offenses which law practically overlooks. 1t
is the misfortune of our country that 1t pre-
sents some of the worst examples of this huge
injustice. Take, for example, the city OF New
York. If we may believe the testimony of its
most honest, independent, and intrepid news
papers, such as the Times, Tribune, and Eoer-
ina Post, robbery, on large scale, is per-
fectly respectable occupation in that great
metropolis. The sneak-thief, the wretch who
pliers for a wretched living, is punished
when he is caught, as in other municipalities;
but the trouble is that the ingenious dema-
gogues who manage to get the political con-
troll of the city are allowed to steal millions
on millions without the slightest danger of
exchanging their Fifth-avenue dwellings for
cell IN the Tombs. The small thief who
steals ten, or fifty, or hundred dollars has
the decency to practice his profession in a Sc
cret way, modestly stunning the light; the
big thief does his depredations in the full
blaze of the sun. The small thief is cele-
brated only in the small type of the news
paper. which announces in few lines his dis
missal from the court to the prison; the big
thief is thundered against in loaded editorials,
but he none the less complacently retires to
his wine and walnuts in the big house he has
erected out of the ''swag" of his colossal
knavery. with the Astors and the Taylors
ready to testify that he is a respectable man.
The science of Comparative Rascallty would
be very simple study if confined merely to
the consideration of such extremes. The
criminal imprisoned or hanged is so palpably
less guilty than such criminal rolling II
affluence, that there is hardly ground FOL
scientific comparison. The next comparison
would naturally be between the gambler and
the stock speculator who contrives "cor
ner' in stocks, There is something amusing
TO comprehensive moralist in the rage o.
the law against gambling, and its federation
OF gambling In its worst, its most demoTallz
ing, it's most destructive form. Everybod,
knows that the money lost and gainet
in the gambling hells is a
nothing when compared with tn
money lost and gained every day in Wal
street, the most horrible gambling hell OF
the American continent. Let it be granite,
that the professional gambler cheats; bu
there is nothing SO utterly base. dishonest
and inhuman as the cheating of a stocl
'sring," which runs a particular security NJ
or down, merely to tempt outsiders into thei
trap, and then mercilessly to rob them O
their money. But we know that the profes
sional gambler is person watched by tn
police; the ''corneerrs" Ofstocks are among th
richest, most respected, most powerful, mos
"enterplisipg' men of the country. Th
science of Comparative Raseality would b
very valuable if ineEorably applied to such
case as this.