, 1872-11-22
Causes that Predispose to or
Favor the Commission
Of Crime.
King Alcohol at the Bottom
of All Sin.
d Mass of Statistics Presented to
Sustain the Assertion.
Meeting Of the Committee of
Seventy.


Ing held in the Board Of Trade rooms, in Far
well Block, Sept. 26, to report on the causes Of
crime, have concluded their labors, and yester-
day submitted their report to the Committee Of
Fifteen. The document is subjoined:
TIE REPORT.
A clear appreciation Of those causes that
predispose to, or favor the commission of,
crimes, is Of great Importance to the welfare and
prosperity Of any community. Reasonable Sc
curity to life, health, and property is essential
alike to public order and individual happiness.
The frequency with which crimes have been
committed, and especially those involving
personal violence, during the last few years. has
justly awakened the attention of all classes Of the
community. The real causes of crimes are di-
visible into two classes, viz: those that pre-
dispose to or prepare the way, by inducing such
3 mental development or condition as is capable
OF being melted to criminal acts; and those
which, acting on such mental predisposition,
more directly induce the commission of crime.
The first may be termed predispos5ng and the
second exciting causes. To the first belong neg
lect and
ERRORS IN TIE TRAINING
or education Of children; the reading Of an OBJ
scene, immoral, and imaginative literature; neg
-1,o
spect for existing Laws, both in tie family circle
and the community at large; and especially the
tolerance OF open and constant violations Of 1aw
by large classes Of the community. To the sec
ond, or class OF direct exciting causes, belong
all those social customs by which numbers Of
individuals are brought together at late
hours Of the night or On the Sabbath, without
ss 49, 49, .,a.~an ~ ;naroroo
49, a.txa1;n<r ~
a,.a ~ ef ~as.aa naa lIN11, aa.sa;oaoa ~ .1i +ha
e.1s.S.sso - s...o oa;,1 ~, - fano~;r-
~N-''oA''7 - ..z1 rz... .-aS.-1rr,.o
1A1 Aossa6A41se w AEN
at unreasonable hours, and beyond the restrain
ing Influences Of either the family circle or the
church. which has become almost universal. is
4h.+ ~ ,oa,,i,,1 1;onor ea1oons onan LARGE mart
80. - Ho1pe go ri -: r.
3 convenient rendezvous alike for the unwary
laborer after his hours OF toll the idle the VIC
+i,no ~ v;c;opa onnatite +he ;onorant and t,,e
s..:.-es,,, : re- - --a-a oo,oa7a7 +h,+
oesigneos sieaoos IL -. "e1e eoleeoea tl1as
alcohohc drinks are legitimate a1ticles OF trade
and commerce, there can be no good reason why
those who traffic in them should not conform to
+ba aavno cnetoros "a reon]ate all other tr,fics.
..a e1a1o 49,. .,1ooaa of 1,s;,as. ~ .nitah1a
ano c!ose 1nen p'aeea u 0ae'ess "1 :" eui'ao'o
Aou 4A ]A1o ofoAunE's "ao 0SeP tNo4N ~4"Es@% o@A
the day recognized as the Sabbath.
A B1o1p AND CAREFUL EXAMINATION
:,, H. - 41.ao .1o.a. .-a,a ,;.,.,,..
"tu eno" 'ha.' - Ase piae1e "e1e snP's e.o.eo
at the times JUST 1no1eateo' tae1eoy oePr1'1ng
the bad elements OF the community OF con-
7enieut place Of meeting, it alone would dimin-
;.b +ro -,r,,ber ~ cr;7nea IN ,,, ,ire, .ooro.
.4 1e4 10 44e44 M o., e'.eu -. .o,4'~ ~
u1unles neatiy ioo per cens' ooe' u ~ tne
direct existing causes Of crime alcoholic drinks,
by their power to excite the passions and impair
the control of reason and conscience. stand ont
o,,,;,,a,t "a III ;,,,,,;ox,+ ,,,x,aa,
Pielliien' auu 1n4s MI @pp'al
more DISTINCTLY py the presentation OF 3 1e"
Eel-authenticated Statistical facts.
More than twenty-five years since, gentle,
the prisons, jails, and poolhouaes IN the State
of New York, and personally examined tue IN
mates. and, as far IS practicable, ascertalned
the causes OF the crimes committed by the
prisoners: and Of the causes which had led to
the poverty Of the paupers. The results were
published, giving the number Of prisoners and
paupers in each county in the State. To allude
to these figures in detail would be unnecessarily
tedious. 1t is sufficient to say that they showed
four-ffths Of the criminals to have been brought
to the commission Of their criminal acts by
TIE USE OF ALCOHOLIC DRINKS;
and that three-fourths OF the paupers we're made
such directly or indirectly by the same agents.
The results thus obtained in New York quarter
OF B. century ago, nave been lully cOuuIlAeu Dy
every examination Of the jails and prisons, as
well IS of the records Of the Criminal Courts.
made since, either in this OF in other civilized
countries. Thus within the last three years.
DR.. Elisha Harris, than whom d more careful
and reliable observer cannot be found. after an
official inspection Of several Of the prisons in
New York, stated that so per cent Of all the
criminals he found had been made such by the
use of intoxicating drinks. If we pass from the
jails and prisons to the Police Stations, Bride
wells, and Houses Of Correction, We shall find
the results pointing III the same dlrecton.
THUS, IN oCE CITY,
in 1871, the police arrests were 26,4 448, Of which
1s.767 were either for d5unk.enness disorder5y
conduct, or assaults, and, OF course, directly
traceable to the influence Of alcoholic drinks:
and the same ratio holds good for any number
of years, and for all the cities and towns where
the sale Of these drinks is unrestrained
The President Of our Board OF Police Commits
sioners, On the Soth Of September last, eaid,
ss snine-tenths cf the crime is brought about By
Drunkenness" In 1868, the Prohibitory Liquor
LAW having been repealed, Massachusetts passed
the year under the system Of licensing. The
commitments to the State Prison during nine
months of the year 1868 we're 14s, while during
the same part Of the previous year, while tho
Sv,F