, 1880-11-21

always ptIllt Uut tl1o ltool 10 u AIo fAeA"eAo'
and the dangerous places; they know oy
sight the gamblers. the street-walkors, the
contidence-men. and the suspicious. ROOM
renters. Their knowledge and experience i'll
these matters are Of little avail If they Under
stand that the policy Of the City Government
is to let alone these people and their faVorlt
haunts, and merely to watch them for the
apprehension Of those who rob, slug, or
murder. The function of the policesllould
be to harass the vicious classes. These people
soon learn to know the difference between
strict, rcpressive policy and liberal concession
to the indulgence of their passions: They
are attracted to cities which give them
license to carouse and Haunt their vices be-
fore the public gaze. They avoid those
cities where the police make 1t uncomfort-
able for them. Chicago has. suffered from
the former policy during the past year. The
rough aud dangerous classes have developed
Observation-Disclosures and liDidlnous assocla-
tions recklesness that might have been
largely suppressed, and 4 consequence has
been that crimes of violence have Increased
in their frequency aud atrocity.
There Is another reform which "Murder-
ers' Row. suggests. Public morals and pub
lie safety demand greater promptness In
bringing criminals to trial. The jail alone
has no particular terrors for the hardened
criminal or dissipated wretch. 1t is only a
temporary abiding-place. There Is always
prospect of getting out with theaid of shrewd
attorneys and associate criminals who are at
hand to prove alibls or swear to a fraudulent
defense. 1t is the Penltentiary and the gal-
lows that make the criminal classes quake
Promptness In prosecution and relentless
execution of the spirit OF the law arc
two Of tile most effective agents in
the repression Of crime. The presence
OF nineteen persons In the County Jail await
Ing trial for murder is a scandal to this city
and county. Fortunately, the addition Of
four new Judges to the county judiciary Of
fers solution Of the problem. There may
henceforth be two Criminal Courts instead
of one in this county. There is no danger
that the civil dockets will be overcrowded,
with eleven Judges to dispose of them; two
Judges may sit on the Criminal Bench regu-
larly. 1t may be necessary to authorize the
employment Of additional assistants for the
States Attorney, but the added expense will
probably be smaller in the long run than it
will be to board untyfed criminals at the pub
lie cost But even if the prompt disposition
OF criminal cases were more expensive than
the present dilatory plan, the public money
might be much better employed i'll tlis way
than by useless adornmcnts of public
buildings or the enrichment of public coll
tractors. The protection Of human life is the
first and highest duty Of organized society.
The reforms suggested by "Murderers'
Row" must be accomplished in part by the
City Government and i'll part by the County
Government Mayor Harrison must aban-
don the leniency which has been shown the
dissipated classes under his administration.
The County Board must make the necessary
provision for two regular Criminal Courts,-
one to clean up the accumulated cases, and
the other to dispose OF the current cases re-
ported by tho Grand Jury. When the Jail
shall once be rid of its ovcrcharge of brutal
ity, there will be no further difficulty, with
two Criminal Courts In constant session, in
bringing criminals to speedy punishment;
aud when this practice shall once be i'm
pressed upon the criminal classes it will be
found that crime lit this city can be mate
all 11~n%r