The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-01-20
The Costumes Of YagFancy 10
the PubIic.--IIereditaFy Paup-
CrN and Criminals,

The COstllness Of Yagrancy 10
the PubIic.-.IIeFellitaFy Paup-
CrS and Criminals,
From tho New York Times Of Monday
Few persons except those who study
criminal science consider how much
each petty criminal costs the community,
and how immensely cheaper prevention
IL than punishment, We haye already
alluded to the very striking facts In re-
gard to the pauper child Margaret, "the
mother OF criminals" which facts and
figures are to be presented in careful
statistical report to the Legislature by
the New York Prison Association. These
figures have already attracted much ut
tention throughout the country. The nm
alagous facts mentioned by u COtempo-
rnry journal in an up-river county are,
in fact, only portions Of the bequcSt of
the unfortunate Margaret to her country.
A genealogical tree Of this pRuper
child's descendants Is IN Precipitation.
One can ieebly imagine it. Where other
family records tell Of here IN ancestor
dcvoling himself to religion or humanity,
tllpre one whose name appears on his
country's roll Of honor, there scholar,
Orsoldier, or statesman; there u woman
In private life, whose name, unknown to
fame, Is blessed by hundreds who have
felt her example; there u mother Of he
roes or saints: this remarkable gGnealOgy
would branch out into lines OF thieves
and yagabonds--hpre u burglar, known
terribly to his ncighborhoOd, there petty
thief, there paupcr, there u murderer,
now and then woman whose name goes
down in almshouse records as tho mother
Of prostitutes and paupers; geilealogy
Of misery and crime; u family tree Whose
branches arc lines Of criminals, ending ~
drunkards, fanatics and idlots-aprogeny
Of curses aud evils. .,.a
The Bible prediction Of visiting the sins
Of the fathers on "the third and fourth
generation Ia true In science, for seldom
does depravel line last beyond the third
generation. Crime destroys or weakenS
Morel, In his celebrated HiSiOire de- De-
genucseeuces, shows that the third or at
most fourth generation Of criminal and
vicious persons ends In extreme Cretinlsm
or idiocy. In this extraordinary family
on the upper Hudson intermarriage with
more vigorous rlilians ind country air
strengthened the corrupt stock, and
brought TIA poisoned line down TO the
present year, as tho Kingston Journal
pointed out. Country life, II should be
remembered, always preserves q criminal
family much longer than city life, A city
breaksup lines Of criminals and Migrants.
The incessant mOvementO Of II city popiIa-
ton separates parents and children.
There arc more preserving md reforming
agencies ut work in u large town. The
best quality Of village life, the personal
Independence OF working people, Keeps Il
bad family from good influences. There
IL, too, In every county u nursery Of crime
aud seminary Of vagabondism--we mean
the county poor.hCtlse, with its old ruf.
fans and young children interlnihgled.
Eighty.hve years ago, tho authorities Of
this county on tho upper Hudson knew Of
little neglected wall floating about
through the villages and towns. Had
some benevolent OVerBeer Of the Poor or
philanthrOpic Supervisor thought II suit:
able, the child could, for few dollars
expense, have boon placed IN some honest
farmers family, provided schooling,
and would have grown up--as thousands
similarly cared for have dOne-and been
mother OF honest men and virtuOus
women. Instead Of this, 4 he was left to
prow up OH The lanes and roads, SOME.
Tines fed by the kinl.hearted, sometimes
sheltered with a wicked gang Of older
yagabonds In the county poor-house. She
ielI. Of course, as by a law Of nature, Into
criminal courSes; and this career, II
should be remembered, in rural com;
munity does. not mean an unrestralncd
life and carly death, rs in tile }city
but a life OF comparative health, as al
outcast, and aprog6nyy more or less vigor'
oils, OF similar characters. These child
rem, aS they greW,up, dtittcd naturally
back to the poOr.hOuse, and reSorted tC
crime or vagranty for living. Some o.
The holder took 10 moro violent crimes
others were petty thieves others tramp%
others prostitutes, and again IA the lin
extended, and criminal qualities we're In
tensihed, many became drunkatds, luna
tics, idiots. The unhappy Margaret
had two sisters like unto her, and equal!
neglected. The descendants, mainly from
Margaret, however, now number Sit hun
dreddnd hccntythree criminals, pauperS, ant
prostitutes. We do not hearof any WRIT
Gus members Of the line, but there ma!
10 such, unknown 10 those engaged In In
yestigating this extraordinary gencalogy
or who have hot been mentioned.
Now an Interesting inquiry would be
whit Margaret and her line have cos
this country. We hear Of one genera
ton In which, out Of seventeen children
nine served MI aggregate term oil fttI
years In the State prisons for hBl
crimes. Tie average annual cost bf thes
ptisoners was probably two hundred dol
lara, This would make n single genera
lion Gdsl tie public ten,tliousAhd dollar
in prison expenses. But all these con
victs destroyed or appropriated, besides
Il considerable amount Of property
Then, their brothers and sisters we're con
stantly in the almshouse or the count.
Jail. II is but an estimate, yet twent,
thousand dollars wnuld seem a small
estimate for the expenses Of that OIL
group to the county. But, besides thcs
seventeen, We ate 10 consider how nlucl
the other ak hundred have cost, Of ar
costing, the public. The Kingston JoNr
nal informs us Of number Oi the lin
who are still chatgeable on the county o
State. To estimate that the descendant
Of the pauper girl have cost the count
100000 would certainly not lie an exag
geration. And, beyond this, what an
noyance have they inflicted on Tie Who'll
neighborhood; what los Of propert,
what temptation have they caused 10 III
children Of the virtuouS2 And yet q j.
dicious expenditure Of ten dollars, eight!
FIVE years ago, would have saved II all
THE WHEELING DAILY ISrELLIdE,