The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1878-04-06

state to visit Waco on the occasion.
Compromising with Crime.
Baltimore American: The increase |
Of crime throughout the country is |
alarming to give the stu |
dent of human nature cause to con
slider to what 1t may be attributed, and |
wherein consists the remedy. Every |
evil passion of the heart seems to have
been reused into action. Breaches of |
public and private trust, robbery, en-
excitement, social scandal, marital in- |
fidelity, outrage and murder, each |
help to swell the calendar, and spring
up in places and on plane where we
would naturally look for nothing but
peace, affection and order. Optimists
have often longed for time when the
whole social system would move as
obedientiy uuder the reign OF law H.
do stars and suns, and yet il seems
sometimes To day US if all their hopes
were 10 be oissted, aud the earth
would only become pure by the pro
cess of oxhausting its own corruption.
SO io2g a. men know that wealth, like
charity, covers "a multitude of sine, and
that their offences, however fragrant,
will be condoned in proportion To their
social standing and position, so long
will we hear Of dishonest tsuk presi-
deuts, emeezZiers of trust funds and
fraudulent directors of corporations.
Ii Is as true a saying to-day, as IL was
when Shakespeare wrote ii:
" Plate sin with gold,
Aud the strony lance of Jastico hurtless
Arm. it with rags, pismss straw doth
pierce IT,
White the burglar or the high way
man are punished both socially aud
legally, the man who has laid his
plaus carefully, who has for years sys-
Dramatically defraud.d those who trust
ed in him and has ruined the poor, is
the very man whom society readily
forgives, looking upon him as one
more stunned against than SHINING
| The speculations In which he engaged,
| it is argued, have turned out untortu-
| nately, else he would have been able
TO refund the money which he sppro-
| priated. He WAS the prince of good
| Fellows, genial, benevolent aud chari-
table, and has suffered enough without
| intiicting any severer punishment.
! And SO II goes on until At last he al
most begins TO fancy himself martyr
and think that the estimation in
which he is held by society justifies
him ia the course which he has
| taken snd relieves him from any
| i'm putation which fastidious Judge
or jury have passed upon him. "Tell
me candidly," said q lawyer to client
for whom he had succeeded in securing
a verdict of aequittal on serious
| charge, 'tare you iDnocnnt or guilty ?''
"Well,n replied the man, "when |
came into court thought was guilty,
tut after hearing you speak in my be-
| half believe l am Innocent" There
are always men ready fer considera
ton to prostitute their talents towards
enabling criminals to again be let loose
| upon society. The very men who tall
| the loudest as to the necessity of ma
tionai integrity, aud who pour out the
Walls of their Indignation upon those
whom they claim are undermining our
constitution, aud bringing the republic
into disgrace, are the ones who would
at once defend a-rnurderer or ravish
er, and take their fees as con.
scientifically as II it had been earned
in the cause of virtue and morality,
Independent of these causes the sys
tenn of compromising with criminals
has also had an effect in adding TO the
calendar of crime. There ID hardly 9
1 aay HoSsSS AZ W htth W w hos tiuu AL
vertisements in some journal offering
a reward fer the recovery of stolen
stolen property, and adding mo ques.
tions asked" We cannot blame PEG
pie II they some times adept this plan.
when We consider that II they inform
= detective of their loss he will, In the
majority Of cases, tell them that this ID
the only way by which they can re.
cover their property. He knows the
thieves, he admits, but the plumber is
securely hidden, aud the best plan Il
to offer reward. The citizen storms
and argues, but the preternaturaliy
overlooking official retains his imper.
turbability, aud the victim is compelled
TO come to terms. Ia the be.
ginning of 1876, u bank in North.
hampton, Massachusetts, was robbed
of money and securities to the value
of three-Quarters of = million of dol
lars. The thieves attempted to uego-
tiate with the directors for return OF
part OF that SUN, but without effect
Some of the depoeitors, however, con,
eiuded il would be worth trying, and
several meetings were held with q
third party To effect settlement The
detectives then ''shadowedn the com
positors, aud the result was that In
February, 1877, three OF the robbers
we're arrested. One Of the larties Ell
gagged In the robbery of the Dexter
Maine, savings bank in 1876, and s'sc
10 the recent attempt n the same
bank, which cost the brave cashier hi,
life, was few days ago arrested ane
identified. Ii appears that he also .iac
hand in the breaking OF the Win
throp, Maine, savings bank. In the
latter case few weeks after the rob
berry the thieves offered to maze q
compromise. The asente of the bsni
went to New YORK and met the rep
reseutatives OF the plupderers, VIII
returned about one-hslf of ths money
retainiDg the balance as comma
sion." Since that time regular gsnt
of thieves seems to have operated Ia
the villages OF New England, evident
| y. believing from former experiene,
that they could commit tn ir crimes
with IMMUNITY. The Boston Journa,
in comment upon this, says that the
"fact that the same men, aud few In
number, continue these depredstioBs
leads to the conclusion that they aft
compelled to pay large portion OF tn,
booty to the detectives. or In the
wor6s, class of men who make 4
business of Watching grest criminals
either to deliver them over to the Off
csrs of Justice or to become accessoriea
to the crime by protecting them
Now, IL surely IL not consist
eut with what ought to be ex.
pected from men who are appointed
to bring offenders 20 Justice that they
should 80 act ~ ego betweens L
may be necessary that detectives
should be acquainted with criminals
THAT they should know their haunt.
and habits, bot II does not follow thai
4 they should concert with them In bar.
rooms, drink with them, receive theii
i plumber and then hand 1t over, less
$ commission,n to the men who have
been victimized. Nor 10 II right thai
bank managers should compound {
felony simply because In their belief II
Is better 10 make sowe sacrifice than r.
flase I'll. II ID safe to say that bank
robbers have increased thrpugh the
immunity from punishment thus Of
fered to burglars. We cannot make
men honest, but We can 81 least BY
every means teach them that they are
liable 10 b punished II they comrstt
wrong, whether they a1s bank Peeei-
dsnts q sa56 hloResss - clethsd n
plSple 81 y f1q