Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1873-04-10
From the United Presbyterian
Education and Crime.

In the report of the Commissioner of
Education for 1871, is paper by Prof.
Fiske on "The relation of Education to
Crime in New England" Believing
that the attention of many has not been
called to the facts there i'm set forth and
that these facts are emiDently worthy
the thoughtful consideration of all who
desire the moral and intellectual eleva-
ton of mankind, and, in special de-
gree, worth the attention of those who
are engaged in the work of education,
we have undertaken to give the conclu-
sion at which the Professor arrives, to-
gether with such thoughts as may occur
to us. G. 20 tH H3t -'E
1t is to be regretted that the subject
of criminal statistics has been so much
neglected. Here opens wide field of
usefulness to all those who are placed
in charge of prisons. Let all the facts
possibly in regard to the antecedents of
the prisoner-his early education, hab-
its of life &c.,-be ascertained and the
result, given to the world. Something
is being done in this direction, but much
yet remains to be done. As the subject
of Temperance is now before the people
of this state( Penna), we make no apollo
gy for presenting in our first paper.
the Prof.'s fourth conclusion, viz, "That
from so to 80 per cent, of bar criminals
connect their course of crime with in
Temperance.
Large as this proportion seems to be
it will not seem too large to those ma
turely rejecting on the subject. Sta
tistics, figures (which cannot lie."-
prove it to be true. Under this head the
Prof. presents the following statements
'sOf the 1875 inmates of the Massachn-
setts prisons II, ,406 are reported to have
been intemperate, or 81 per cent. At
the Deer Island House of Industry, (Bos-
ton, ,)of 1914 committals 3,O96, or ss per
cent. were from drunkenness, and of
remainder, l79 were committed for
crimes connected with intcmperance,
making 9s per cent. of the inmates OF
of this prison whose confinement is con-
nected with the use of drink. Reports
from every, State, county, and muni-
cipal prison of Connecticut showed that
more than 90 per cent. of the inmates
had, by their own admission, been in
habits of drink. The warden of the
Rhode Island State Prison and county
Jail estimates 80 per cent. of the resi-
dents of cells as drinkers" The state
ment being thus proved, does not the
inference plainly follow that more than
half of the crime In the land would be
Immediately banished could the use Of
alcoholic drinks be stopped? And is
not this 4" a consummation devoutly to
be wished ? a- "ii =. tiAlf f'-' ''
BY the aid of the Professors conclu-
sion, we may speedily demolish the ar
gument so often used and not always
answered, that " the manufacture and
sale of spirits is a fruitful source of rev.
enue to the government" A few fig
ures ON this subject may be useful. The
Commissioner of Internal Revenue gives
the receipts for the same year, ,lSGl from
tax on spirits as s3l Isl, ,314 10. A low
estimate gives 100000 as the number of
criminals annually sent to prison by IN
temperance. The cost of maintaining
these at Sc per week is s2l, 100000. In
addition to this, we may estimate the
number annually supported by charity,
the destitution Of whom is owing to the
same cause, Mt 100000, and the cost of
maintaining these at $3pcr week is $3l-
100000, Thus these two classes
cost annually $62 100000. The entire
receipts in 1871, from all classes. of tax
on spirits and fermented liquors, inclu-
ding distillers' and venders' tax, Is $53-
441.5s 20, or $s,OO9,0OO less than the
cost of the two above mentioned classes
Tito this we could add eightenths of the
cost of our criminal court, including
lawyers ieels--of our whole eonstabu-
larry force of our jails, prisons and
poor-houses, and of the amount bestow-
ed in private charity, we would still be