Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1874-04-03
Whisky Drinking and Crime.

| Mr.. BURR, Warden of the Ohio Peni
tertiary, asserted in speech at Columbus
| few nights ago that "of the 945 prison.
ers who were that night confined in the
| Penitentiary, not less than 900 were there
| because of intemperance, or through the
! influence of intoxicating liquors" This
drew out a card from State Senator Marx
in which he claimed to show discrep
ancy between the statement quoted above
and those contained in Mr.. Burr's annual
| reports. The latter gentleman published
the following reply in the State Journal
This, Mr.. Editor, was no uncautious
statement" but one made in deliberate,
sober earnest, and as the result of forty
years of observation and nearly five years
| experience as Warden of the Penitentiary
| Nor is it by any means an" exaggeration'
of the facts in the case.
The discrepancies which the honorable
Senator finds between my statement and
my official reports are deduced from the
table designating the crimes of convicts
received during the year," and are based
upon the assumption that though crimes
| against person may be sometimes the re-
suit of intoxication, yet it is not to be Sup
posed that this is the case as regards
crimes against property, but that, on the
contrary, the very idea that such could be
the case is precluded. And inasmuch as
crimes against property largely exceed in
number those against person, and by a
still further series of presumptions and
deductions, the honorable Senator comes
to the grave conclusion that in but COM
paratively few instances has liquor any
thing to do with the commission of crime.
If this were true, it would certainly
present the question in a very different
light. But what are the facts? A
drunken hummer whom the liquor-seller
knows is out of money, and therefore can
get no more drinks, gets terribly "dry."
At night, after the shop is closed, he
breaks through back window and steals
jug of whisky; goes into the nearest
stable or shed gets drunk, and lies down ;
is found there the next morning asleep ;
is arrested, convicted of burglary, and sent
to the Penitentiary. 1t was crime against
property. Had liquor nothing to do with
it? Again, fellow in similar condition
cannot find whisky shop that he can
get into and get the thing that he wants !;
but he does get into some other establish
ment, and takes the change from the
money drawer, or some other article of
property that he can pawn for little
money, and thus procure the means of
gratifying his appetite; and similar re-
suits follow. Or one of your jovial fell.
lows, that takes his "sprees," but has
not as yet got quite so low down as the
others, meets an old comrade that he has
not seen for long time, and must needs
"show him around" He goes to livery
stable, hires horse and buggy to take a
ride; starts out, gets On "tear," over
stays his time, is pursued, found the next
day at some crossroads or country viii
lage, drunk, and it may be offering to sell
the horse and buggy; is arrested, con-
victed Of horse. stealing, and sent to the
Penitentiary. Another is on "spree,"
has spent all of his money, must have
more, FORCES the name of his employer to
an order for ten dollars, in order to raise
means to continue his revel; is arrested
and sent to the Penitentiary These are
all crimes against property. Had liquor
nothing to do with them?
These, Mr.. Editor, are not Imaginary
cases, but each is substantially the history
of men now in the Penitentiary. And I
am safe in saying that similar cases may
be numbered at least by the score.
An examination of our records as to
the personal habits of those who come to
the Penitentiary shows the following as
the result: Out of 1 ,495 men women not
included) who have been received into the
prison since it has been under my charge,
946 were Incorporate, 11S moderate drink
ers and so beer drinkers, leaving 3S1 who
claimed to be temperate. And here per-
nit me to say that the idea that "crim-
inals as class are inclined to excuse
themselves for offenses by throwing tie
blame on whisky" is decidedly a novel
one. Just the opposite is the truth Of
the matter. Human nature is the same in
crimes that it was before. And about
the last thing that man is willing to adj
NIT ever is the fact that he is a drunk
ard. This disposition is sometimes
amusingly illustrated: In examining
a man as to his previous history
and habits, when asked whether he
promptly, ooh, no." "Did you ever
but was not Incorporate at ALL" By and
by the question comes: "What led you
into the commission of the crime for
which you are sent here?" "Well "-he
stammers and hesitates INTELLECTUALLY
out comes the answer, II was drunk"
The records of this and every other prison
in the land show conclusively that large
majority of the inmates are those who
have grown up without any proper moral
training. They were educated in saloons
and dram shops; followed the example of
the frequenters of such places; it was
there they contracted those habits that
made them thieves, burglars, robbers,
and pickpockets. The fact that they
are such is the legitimate fruit of the
training they recei7ed in these schools
of vice.
If you, Mr.. Editor, have occasion to
seek an interview with any gentleman of
character, standing and repute in your
community, do you think of going to a
saloon to look for him? Is that the place
where you expect to find any pure, up
right, honest man? But if the police of
your city are on the lookout for thief,
blackleg or a criminal of any sort, are not
these the first places where they set their
watch, and where, in all probability, they
will find their MANI. Are not such char
acters naturally as much at home in such
places as a duck is in the water?
Is there no significance in these facts
And in view of them, is the assertion that
crime is largely the result of these causes
all "incautious statement? .
Destroy the liquor traffic in the land,
and will give bonds that the number of
the inmates of your Penitentiary shall be
diminished by more than 600, as soon as
the sentences of those now here shall have
expired, and the inmates of your poor
houses of an equal proportion.
r. BURR.
"A stingy husband accounted for all
the blame of the lawlessness of his chill