Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-04-21
For tho VERMONT FARMER.
Crime and Its Causes.

lnueeu grown Detter. but there seems 10 De
at tho present day certain morbid appetite
that possesses the minds of large class of
people. And that appetite leads them d.
rectly into many dark channels Of vice and
crime.
What il is that could drive human being
to commit such atrocious deeds as the Ball
murder of st. Adams, or the Langmaid
murder Of Pembroke, or the Mabel Young
horror is far beyond human conception to
make out. Yet wo know that intemperanee
is the greatest cause of crime in our land
to.duy-though perhaps not the direct cause
Of the above named tragedies--and the ma
jority Of these dark helish deeds are brought
about through the influence of intemperancc
in some one or all Of its forms. County
jais, state prisons and lock ups furnish abun-
dant proof Of this. And what is to grow
out Of all this black list of heart-sickening
deeds Docs it tell upon communities 2
Does it tell upon the nations 7 In treating
of intempOrancO we must not con6ue our
selves to intoxicating drinks simply, for in
temperance embraces q wider field than adj
dictedness to strong drink. Our indulgences
at the table, extravaganza in dress, the reckless
expenditure of money in the thousand and one
ways that might be named must be thought Of
as well. Admitting this, let US 6rst consider
the effect Of this wholesale intempcrance
upon the community. Such proceedings are
expensive aud soon beget reckless, unstable
way Of doing business the mind becomes
befogged, and mental and physical decay
soon follow.
Next we find the morals sadly corrupted (;
for these habits, so long INDUCED in, must
be kept up, must be fed, and this all requires
money. Where is it to come irom2 The
midnight robberies and murders, the hal
tered cashier aud his pinionod family sur
rounded by gang of rufians masked and
armed-these tell the whole story; Your
money or your lives"
Is it wonder that our leading business firms
as we'll as lesser ones Ego up" throughout
city and country, when this wild reckless
intemperance in the form of extravaganza
is ever going on? Now let us look into its
effect upon the nation. This is quite easy to
arrive at, for what is damaging to individu-
ais that make up communities produces a
like effect upon the nation. 1t is reported
that Mrs Belknap was the queen Of Wash
ington society. Here we plainly and unmis-
takably see the out-workings Of a mind bent
upon this one idea, 81 shall lead no matter
what it costs" And she did. But pass.
ing up to the acme Of social splendors she
fell! May that be fall from which neither
she nor that type of society can ever rise
again. A reckless and extravagant outlay
of money tends only to destruction aud it ap
plies as well to nations as individuals. Nc
nation will prosper whose servants and citi'
zons disregard its laws aud fill their pockets
with ill.gotten gains, The very extrava
gance in which they indulge witnesses against
them, and will sooner or later find them out
1t is only a return to temperate living, liv
ing within ones means, that is to restore I
truthful and healthful order Of things. II
those who are high in authority will stea
from the national treasury and are suffered
to 90 unapprehended by the proper author
tiles, why then those in the lesser walks o
life will commit unlawful deeds also, ever
though the risk OF being detected is much
greater. The same blighting influence
extends in ever widening circles through al
classes and conditions Of men. Though i
may not influence all to cheat aud defraud
vet it bunts all of those finer sensibiitie
, which make individuals and consequently
, nation truly happy and honorable.
Intempcrance in any and every form uu
dermines all of those fundamental principle
which are necessary to gain sure and unre
hitting advancement. Physically it deepl
, concerns individuals, and renders the nobly
, constructed body the recipient Of many sa
aud often fatal ills, unearthing every tru
! physiological principle which nature eve
Q tries to set up aud maintain with all tn
D forces at her command. Aud We soon be
t come las in fact we truly are) "a nation Q
invalids." financially it affects the eutr
; government, for whatever tends to lessen tn
q confidence Of men in whom they choose
:. high and honorable positions of trust, Onl
clogs the wheels of true national progress
= paralyzes every effort to establish the differ
!. ent branches of honorable trade, and fnaI
Q clal ruin and lasting shame and disgrace al
S the results.
And lastly the moral effect is truly degraC
ing, not only for time but for eternity. |
n sends annually its millions to graves unhoI
t ored aud forgotten. Intemperance is bligl
j also upon the literary talent, it cannot occuP
:, those high.souled places OF moral purit
y which ever onoables and exalts a nation
/ We see AAoat among our children and frionC
g at large vile, poisonous sheets and indeceI
IS caricatures. Intcmperance does not cOn6r
: itself TO one branch but affects the whole tire,
root, trunk and branch. Every departmeI
h in society suffers it is foul iIl-condtione
b. canker setting up morbid process whic
~ finally permeatcs every part and unless exc
sion or cauterization be thoroughly an
ID efcctually employed, it will ere long destrc
N the whole plant, 1t is then not q dillicu
ID task in the summing up to arrive at concll
~ ~ sions pointing to the causes of crime in OF
"a land. Aud in individual and party disgra
=, We need the cauterizing effect of publ
s. irowns constantly aud increasingly applied