New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1874-01-22
Relati"ms Of Crlme and Ignorance.

uOu DeepS vi mercy showing
Gods Love that never dies.
Rel ati. ms OGCrlme and IgnOranco.
1t is undoubtedly true that serious or alb
normal crimes are committed by persons Of
all degrees of education, and that culture ia
not necessarily preventive Of such acts.
But to judge properly of the relation Of edu-
cation to criminality one must look through
large classes OF the community, and find how
lar Ofenses against property and person arc
accompanied by ignorance, and whether the
criminal class, as a whole, have even enjoyed
ordinary advantages Of education.
Turning to the most recent reports of
criminal statistics at hand, those of the city
prisons and Blackwells Island, for 1871, we
find The following proposition between edu-
cation and criminality Out of 81 ACC pris-
educated; 81 ,0SS could read and write, and
10, 1GO were almost entirely ignorant. 1t
should be remarked that of this whole num-
Der of prisoners, 81, BIG were of foreign birth,
and a largo proportion of the remainder,
children of foreign parents. When it is
stated that 81 ,OSS Of the prisoners could read
and write, it must be borne in mind that this
degree of education is Of the most primitive
kind, and includes such reading and writing
as even many children of the street attain.
1t does not include anything like thorough
primary education. Now it appears that
there were in New York city during that
year G2, 23S persons who could not read or
write, the population being about one mil
lion (942 ,242.) 1t seems, then. that Of the
illiteratc class of this city, about one in
three committed crime during that year,
while Of those who could read and write,
about 3 in q were guilty of criminal Offenses,
| showing that among the ignorant in this
city the chances for crime are about nine
times as great as among those with only the
| advantages of primary education. II We
regard particular wards in Now York, we
shall find the greatest illiteracy in those
where the most crimes are committed. Thus,
in the Sixth Ward, embracing the Five Points
and the most notorious dens of crime in the
city, one-tifth of the total pOpulatiOn-4,6 92
is given in the census as illiterate that is,
unable to read or write. In the Fourth
Ward, including such streets as Water and
Cherry streets, the illiterates number about
one tenth, or 1889. In the First Ward, in
Guiding the quarter behind Trinity Church
and near the Battery, the proportion is about
One-siXth, or 1852. In the Seventh Ward
the proportion is more than one-ninth, or
4,8G2.
In turning to reports of arrests, we find
the lagest number made in the city in the
Fourth Ward, or 6,975; the next largest is in
the Sixth Ward, or 5,573; IN the Seventh
Ward, there were 4,l7S arrests, and in the
First Ward, LAO. In the State of New
York about 81 per cent. of adult criminals
cannot read or write, while of the adult
population at large about six per cent, (6.O8)
are illiterate, or nearly One-third of the crime
is committed by 6-lOO Of the population. In
| the ref0rmatOries Of the county, out of the
average number Of the inmates, 1908 for
1868, q per cent. were wholly llliterate.
| Turning now to the criminal statistics of
| the State of Massachusetts,, the proportion
criminals in jails who could not read or write
was, for number Of years, about 80 per
cent, falling, however, in 1868, 1869, and
1871 to % per cent. In Houses Of Correc-
ton, the proportion, in 1864, of illiterates
and in 1871 to 81 per cent. In the State
prison, however, the proportion of ilterates
in 1864 was 81 per cent, but in 1871, out OF
l49 prisoners in the State prison, So were
totally illiterate, or about % per cent.-the
explanation of this low proportion being
probably that the cases of extreme crimes
land crimes Of fraud and ENLIGHTENMENT are
found in this prison more than in the minor
prisons, and such crimes are not usually
committed by the ignorant. There were, in
the State Of Massachusetts, 4,79l criminals
during the year 1911 WHO COutu uOC T0hu vi
write, and there were during that year rs, 7O2
illiterates in the State; that Is, among
the ignorant population about one in twenty
committed crimes, while in the State at large,
among those who had only a primary educa-
ton, about one in 1864 committed criminal
tOffenses.
} The influence of education, even in the
! simplest primary schools, upon child of the
lowest class is to cultivate habits of order,
punctuality, and selfcontrOl. A child is
withdrawn from idleness by other interests
being offered to its mind than those which
surround it in the life on the streets. The
mere occupying the time and thoughts Of
' children with subjects of general interest
tends to keep them from crime. Even
: small acquaintance with geography and the
, reading Of q book Of travels will sometimes
enable or stimulate q poor person to change
!. his locality where he is under temptation, or
a for some region where he can be placed IN
better circumstances. There is, too, run
: ming through nearly all school lessons re-
= coenition, more or less strong, OF the grea
= truth of morality. The result OF all these
!. and other influences is that wherever edu
q cuation is diffused abroad there the ratio o.
q crimo to population dimlnlshes, and in al
!. countries the criminal class is mainly fed b.
4 the ignorant class.-Neso York Times.