Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1874-03-12

, ing TO do with il? Again n 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 othe,
, establishment. and takes the chang,
from the money drawer, or som,
article of property that he can pawr
for little money. and thus procur,
the means of gratifying his appe
tite; and similar results follow. o.
one of yonr iovial fellows, tha
takes his "sprees," but not as yel
got so low down as the others. meet,
an old comrade, that he has not seer
for II long time. and must needs
show him around" He goes to 9
livery stable, hires . horse and bug
gy, to take a ride; starts ont, gets
on Il "tear.' over stays his time, is
pursued. found the next day at some
crossroads. or country village,
drunk, and it may be offering to sell
the horse and buggy; is arrested,
convicted of horse stealing, and sent
to the Penitentiary Another is on
a 'spree," has spent all of his
money, must have more, forges the
name OF his employer to an order
for ten dollars, in order to raise
means to continue his revel; is ar
rested and sent to the Pententiary
These are all crimes against proper
ty. Had liquor nothing to do with
them?
These. Mr.. Editor, are not imogin-
arg cases, but each is substantially
the history of men now in the Peui.
tentiary. And l am safe in saying
that similar cases may he 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 1895
men women not included) who have
been received into the prison since it
has been under my charge, 946 were
Incorporate, lis moderate drinkers,
and 90 beer drinkers, leaving 3Sl
who claimed to be temperate And
here permit me to say, that the idea
that criminals as 8 class are in
clined to excuse themselves for
offenses by throwing the blame on
whisky" is decidedly a novel one
Just the opposite is the truth of the
matter Human nature is the same in
a man after he has been convicted of
crimes. that it was before. And
about the last thing that a man is
willing to admit ever, is the fact that
he is a drunkard This disposition
is sometimes amusingly Illustrated:
In examining q man As to his pre-
vious history and habits, when asked
whether he was intemperate, he an
swers very promptly, 'Oh no." Did
you never drink" "Oh yes, | drank
sometimes, hut was not intemperate
at all" BY and 10y the question
comes: What led you into the com
mission of the crime for which yOu
are here?" WELL" he stammers
and hesitates a while-finally ont
comes the answer, II was drunk )"
The records of this and every other
prison in the land. show conclnsively
that large majority of the inmates
are those who have grown up with
ont any proper early moral training
They were educated in saloons and
dram shops; followed the example
of the frequenters of such places; it
was there they contracted such hsb-
its that made them thieves. robbers
and pick pockets. The fact that they
are such, is the legitimate fruit Of
the training they received in these
schools of vice.
If you, Mr.. Editor, have occasion
to seek an interview with any gen
tleman 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, upright,
honest man? But if the police OF
your city are on the lookout for a
thief, a black-leg, or a criminal OF
any sort, are not these the very
places where they set their watch,
and where in all probability, they |
will find their man2 Are not such
characters naturally as much at home
in such places as a duck is in the
water?
Is there no significance in these
facts2 And in view of them, is the
assertion that crime is largely the
result of these causes, an "incautious
statement"
Destroy the liquor traffic in the
land, and | will give bonds that the
number of the inmates OF your Peni
tentiary shall be diminished by more
than sir hundred, as soon as the SEN
tences of those now here shall have
expired, and the inmates of your
poor housesi in an eqnal proportion.