Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1880-01-16
COMPARATIVE RAsCALITY.


COMPARATIVE RASCALITY.
In the good old days of our fathers, when
manners and morals were in primatiye
state Of perfection and purity, when society.
was rarely startled by the preparation of
crime, or official dishonesty, when all mis-
demeanors and offenses against society were
on an insignificant and limited scale, there
were lacking the opportunity and material
necessary to constitute the professional gam
bier of the present day. The "ringster,"
"stock gambler" lobbyist" and political
jobber" were strange, unfamiliar sounds in
the ears of our ancestors. They pied their
wicked, unscrupulous advocations in such
places and under such circumstances where
they could escape the obloquy and contempt
that were sure to follow detection. They
dared not show their faces in the light OF
day. Alas how the times have changed.
We see the high places in the land, par
excellence filled with men everyway I'M
fit and unworthy the confidence and
esteem of the people, against whose wishes
they were foisted in position and power
through the manipulations of rings con-
trolled by the unprincipled emissaries of
fraud and corruption, whose devotion and
fidelity to the interests of their masters are
duly recognized and rewarded. These rings,
which are daily widening and expna ling the
circle of political decentralization and de-
bauchery are established to promote the ends
and ambition Of a few at the expense and in
jury of the masses. The only thing which
holds together and perpetuates these corrupt,
rotten organizations is the hope FLAVOR or re-
ward. The" cohesive power of public plum
der is the rule of conduct and controlling
principle of action. In old times il was
considered only necessary to describe crimes
and vices, now in order to indicate their true
relations and bearing upon the welfare and
moral tone of society it is all important to
compare them with each other. Compare
tive anatomy is an acknowledged science
whose touch has shed light on the dark,
hidden intricacies of the human body and
guides the hand of the skilful surgeons in
the most delicate operations. Comparative
rascality is science not fully recognized
and understoo cd by moraists The rapid
development of modern society is beginning
70 excite the interes. of moral philosophers
in the solution Of this new problem in eth
les. They should invoke the aid Of the
legislator, in so amending our penal code
as to make it effectus in restraining crime
in the high places where the money kings
sit enthroned, devising schemes TO swell
their overfowering Golfers from the hard
earned wages Of honest industry. He may
cheat, lie and steal and still roll in luxury
retire to his wine and walnuts, in the pala.
tial mansion he has erected out of the
"swag" Of some colossal knavery He es
capes the just penalty Of his crime and goes
unwhipped OF justice. Against guilt plated
in gold the strong arm Of justice hurtes:
breaks, clothe it in rags and a pigamy straw
doth pierce it," The poor wretch in Balti
more City the other day, who took pair o
hat-irons 10 save his children from starva
ton is touching illustration of this crue
inequality which exists in the administra
ton of even-handed Justice. The man VIII
defrauds his creditors or embezzles publ
funds placed in his trust should not be ex
onerated on account of his respectable an
tecedents or associations while salznpeN
devil aTh~ took the fst-irons lsr !
a felons cell because he tried ID save 81
little ones from cruel death. Whic
offence merits the highest punishment OF tn
lawi The former, in the midst of plenty
surrounded by every comfort, with no in
ducement to do wrong or the latter, witt
the piteous cries Of his starving children
ringing in his ears, with the instructive Low
of offspring within him, His moral sense i
perverted by the cruelty and selishness 0
the world in witnessing the inequality G
the laws, which accord perfect immunity ;
the big thief and sends to prison the ma
who cheats a trife to put bread in the moutl
Of his starving family. The science of com
parative rascality would be very simpl
confined merely TO the consideration of sue
extremes. The criminal imprisoned G
hanged is so palpably less guilty than sue
a criminal rolling in affluence that there
hardly ground for scientific comparison
We know that the professional gambler
watched and logged by the police; III
"cornerers Of stocks are the richest, tn
most respectable, most influential, and er
terprising men in the country The scienc
Of comparative rascality would be very va
liable if inexorably applied to such cas-
as this. Robbery in the eye Of the law is
serious offence; the prisoner is UNIVERSAL
sbhorred, but still the practice of adultcr
ZION in what we eat and drink Ia a va
scheme Of systematic poisoning and lynn
Alexander the Sixth, Cesar Borgia, an
Brinvilliers only poisoned particular ind
yiduals who obstructed their ambition
They had no desire to poison slowly who
community In order to make money. Coul
they be raised from the dead they would
no-doubt startled to find that such practic'
are regarded as legitimate branches of bu
iness. This fact alone should prove that tn
science Of comparative rascality Is still
its infancy