St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1875-03-19
Punishment of Crime.

Hundreds of people who feel. and
long have felt, personally friendly to
ex-collector A. J. Crane, who was SEN
fenced a few days ago by United
States Judge. at Burlington, to eighteen
months imprisonment and the payment
of IA fine of two thousand dollars, for
cmbezzling funds and making false
entries in his official accounts. cannot
but think the punishment was well de-
served. if. indeed, it ought not to have
been more severe. Crane was clever
fellow he made friends he became an
ambitious and influential local pOliti-
elan he was not one of the kind who
gained prominence by eSpouSing some
cause and fighting for some great prlnci-
plc-not he. for his business was to
make friends he became Il State Sena
tor; he carried Il pass over the Vermont
Central railroad he knew the inside
of things he went fishing with Senator
E.dmunds he became Il collector of
internal revenue; he allowed and prob
ably counSclled his deputy to confuse
the accounts-in short. he tcll-fcll he
fore temptation. fell under the influence
of colrupting example. fell from il lack
of that exalted principle of life which
always places honor above gain and
character above success. In passing
sentence upon him, Judge Shipman as
good as intimated that it might have
been expected he would fall, for he
knew nothing of the business of his
Office and treated the position, just as
thousands of others are doing, as Il mere
Sinecure, to reward him for political
services or to enable him to live and he
more influential hereafter.
But Crane was not altogether to
blame. We have said that he fell, I'M
der the influence of corrupt example.
\ man of stronger character might not
have so fallen, but as the world goes
we do not always get men of StrOn"
character to ill our public stations. As
Mr.. jefferson well said, 1--WE cannot eX
pect angels, i'll the forms of kings. to
come and rule over us" The law.
therefore. should take heed of tenlpta
ton and vicious influences and crush
them beneath its iron heel. The col
lector's office was one which. i'll Il pecul-
lar SENSE. made Il man familiar with the
cupidty. the lying, the deplavity nf
men in high positions i'll life and with
the dishonesty of their tools i'll office.
Now. when Mr.. Crane WIS collector,
and before his dctalcatiom commenced.
he discovered that Il certain deputy as
>,>>oT in this district, (Whn shall he
namrlcSS AZ presently hul who made tan
greater pIetrntion> To character and
standing than he did. WAS allnwiu" the
wcaithic>l man in his town. aud one al
the wcalthic>t in Vermont. To return an
income of only five Thousand dollars Il
wear. when it MAS we'll known and has
since been proven to have been not
less than fifty Thousand: also another
wealthy man of The same town to avoid
paving amy income tan ut all. when 1t
was we'll known and has since been
proven that his income from Il single
source alone (dnd not his main one
rlthrr)waS ut least five thousand dollars
every wear during the existence of the
law. He SAW. too. that this same ;I>-
SCISSOR was in the habit of returning his
account before each month expired.
certifying that he had worked dW the
month. which. OF course. included the
uncXprcd portion. and that hr WIS also
in the habit III rcturnIu" statements
which required to lac verified ~ the
oath of the party. with Il certificate that
such oath had been nridc. when III
reality il never had hrrt;. l. i, /" hr
wondered that Il man at y. j. Cranes
cast of mind should have been >u>ccp-
tiblr /" the evil influence of such an
example in the co-oldinatc branch of
the revenue service! How natural il
WAS for him To reason that if men Wl"
stood high in church and state tar
higher than he did oI ever expected To
fb,I,rbt il manner for them ia, al Al SiI,.I