Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-06-12
,,oyNDING FELONIEs.

II would NC =. |
II wa" .@cers bankers, capitalists and
bans ,o o from the very nature ottheir
neFcua ,. and trusts, would be alive to
ia''l, .oossity of preserving, what may
Tue . nor commercial. morality Much |
Dc ',' ,ronld it be taken for granted that
n0,o a ~ effort would be directed to
inSn ,ovention of defalcations, bank rob-
TIE p forgeries and kindred crimes.
og', r,igbt expect, and we are not dis
N' .inied in the expectation, that the
aPpJ rs Of society, who are tinctured with
A Az Drinciples Of the Commune, and look
'n ,h P enyy and jealousy upon the posses
VIM = wealth, would regard with. len
''' " ,bese pecadillos, and while APP
ieDyl ,;nr the crime endeavor to shield
P'''r .imipal Such course, on their
'D' would be only the natural endorse
~[ oftbose who practically carry out
I'I' theories. Forgeries, detalcation
'p5' ,ohberies, as a general rule, aid in
aD' 5istribution of property, The poor
w., rarely suffer from such crimes
's,y ,he rich are the victims. The
0u9 istakcn from the wealthy and
1 r,riintqd to the poorer classes. Yet
Ia attempt to palliate, excuse or COM
III. .J the felony does not come from
o"I moor The worker and toiler, no
, ,a,,tpr in what walk or profession Of
u D,,' Condemns the crime and seeks the
D' ,.isbmept Of the guilty perpetrator
r~ey gee in the punishment of the Of
t - and the vindication of the law a
.ao,or benefit, even. in the rare cases
saro they are the sufferers, than in the
,.,ro recovery of a portion of the prop
.rtv thus wrested from them. A few
,,iiors or hundreds of dollars, are as
thing to them compared with the due
,.Iroimprded enforcement Of the Grim
s,,lIow. In the one course, they see
.,ferv security and protection. In the
,tber unbridled license, increased crime
and general insecurity. They judge
nf.cIy and well. Would that all classes
rrrId see right and duty in the same
rbt and act accordingly.
The other side of the picture is dis
corraging, and offers a premium for
.,me The first of the many notable
,.csnt cases is thatof Jay Gould and the
Erie railroad company Many of oul
renders know Jay Gould personally, and
fine remainder are familiar with him by
routatiou. HIS reputation is, and. it is
tre tolifc, that of a shrewd, sagacious,
fr.srring. INSCRIPTIONS man. He is I
money making man, too, and when he
refs hold of money, he does not willing
" or without strong inducements, par
with IT, His connection with the Erie
railroad, as its president, enabled him tt
convert to his own use some eight mil
lio2s of dollars. Whether he obtained
it rightly or wrongfully the. seque
showed In the progress of time, there
was a change in the direction OF thu
companv's affaiIs, and other men, will
a reputation for integrity, assumed tn
helm. investigation followed, and, dis
closing the appropriation, criminal anl
civil suits were threatened, A civil sui
to recover the property, or value thereof
and criminal suit to punish the infrac
ton of the law. Here, certainly, wa
case where the value of the property
alleged to have been misappropriated
could have been honorably and legal.
recovered, and the misnppropriator pun
isbed as criminal What do these me-
do? Do they institute measures tolegall
make good their loss ? Jay Gould -ha
property ample to respond to any jude
ment that could be recovered agains
him. So that there was no danger OF loss
Do they undertake to proceed agains
him as a wilfui yiolator of the law, an
abetrayer of the most sacred trusts
The power of Fisk, Gould, Tweed an
company had been overthrown, and j
yhe place of the "ring judges wer
Judges of character, ability and integr
ty. Thehonorable, proper, legal course
and one which, under the changed cor
dition of New York, promised success
was open to them. 1t was not, howeN
cr followed the alleged felony wa
compounded, Il pecuniary consideratio
was accepted, and Jay Gould allowed
90 scot free. What were a few thol
sand dollars, thus saved in legal e&pen'
es. in Importance, compared with til
effect which would have been produce
upon the community by the punishmer
of such man as Jay Gould? The le
son in fact taught, was that the indiyi'
nal whose populations were enormol
could cond0ne his offense, cGmpoun
bis felony, and purchase his immunit
with a 1.-THE of his ill-gotten gains.
The example set by such men, an
seemingly endorsed by the general pu'
lie, was, but too rapidly, followed. l
effect, in almost our own immedia
neighborhood, wasstartling and demora
zing. The story of the Waterford Ban
robbery ID familiar to all and, in It's fir
direct results, tended to the safety al
security Of banks. Locks were exar
med, safes oYerhatled, vaults refitted,
necessary, and every means, which e
perience and science could suggest, we
taken to render deposits of all kinds
secure as possible. To be sure, indivi
uals of small means, whose little all w
invested in one or two bonds, were
formed that, thereafter, banks won
not be responsible for their safe keepin
but this lesser evil was patiently borl
in the view.of probable greater waite
fulness on the part of bank custodian
Detectives, without,number, stimulate
bylarge rewards, were placed upon tra'
Of The robbers, and an arrest final
made The reward was payable on
"a the conviction of the burglar or ht
glars, but whether or not this had an
thing to do with the final result is lie
to inference. How ignoble the ent
The bank abandoned prosecution, 1.