Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-01-06
Is CRIME ON TIE INCREASE

| is insisted that as civilization advances crime
increases. ii such be the fact civilization is
curse instead of blessing. But tine fact Is
the world is growing better instead of retro
| grading. There has always been crime and
criminals, and there always will be, but
surely the world is made better in the
same proportion that the people are
enlightened. The reverse proposition would
be a sad commentary on Christianity and
| give respectability TO heathenism. But the
truth is, there is no increase in crime. Forty
FIVE years ago an effort was made to assas
sinate President Jackson, and there was just
| az much robbery 1nuEeA--.---l-vrtme as now.
| II must be confessed that there seems TO be
more crime than formerly. But this is at
tributed to the argus eyes of the press. In
| former years the press was wanting in enter
prise, and it never hunted up and
exposed crime. 1t failed to emblazen before
the world the most hienous murder, theft
and burglary But now it furnishes every
morning an account of the crimes committed
the previous day. In discussing this sub
ject the Charleston NeUs and Courier says:
'The long roll Of crimes Of one sort and an
other published in the newspapers from day
TO day naturally induces the belief that law
lessness is on the increase. Yet this does not
follow. More pains is taken now than was
ever taken before in CO lectipg news, and
/ there is more freedom in its publication.
ARRAYS that could be hushed up and kept out
of sight few years ago are now promptly
described by the correspondents of the press
This alone will account for an apparent in
crease in the number of offenses. There is
another element in the calculation. In
the North, in particular, the public are
supposed to prefer dishes of horror to any
other food the newspapers give. and the va
rious news associations are, for that reason,
urgent in their demands that every crime
shall be reported by their agents. Our belief
is that there is less violence, less bloodshed,
less crime of every kind excepting perhaps
pecuniary delinquencies by officers of corpo-
rations) than there was at any previous pc
riod Of the worlds history. The thought
that the human race is going backward
while art, science and education are stridiDg
forward would be uncomfortable" Men en-
gagged in the business avocations of life are |
not more dishonest than in former days !
The increase in population, in business avo- |
cations, of course increases crime But this |
increase would not be known if the press of |
the present day was as wanting in enterprise |
as were the newspapers forty years |
ago. This discussion about the increase of |
crime and the general degeneracy of the age
has been inspired by the epidemic of fraud |
which seems TO pervade the Northern section
of the Union. For weeks the telegraph was
burdened with the peculations, defalcations
and entertainments OF men in responsible po-
.itions, and one of the most unfavorable
symptoms of this is, that it creates SO little
alarm among honest men. Lately it has
come to be a.matter of course that some man
trusted with the money of others should be-
come defaulter. We see it stated that be-
tween July, 1873, and December 81, 1877
the names of more than three hundred
firms in this country were published
ne embfzzleTs and defaulters in sums
over $1,000. These thefts amount to
millions of dollars They were not
humble and uneducated men who did these
things To read the antecedents of most of
those who figure in this black list might well
make those persons despair who have sup
posed education to be the great preventive
of crime. Let us take, hap hazard, few
eases. Charles T. Carlton, secretary Union
Trust Company, New York, 100000 dead;
Charles II. Phelps, cashier State treasury de-
partment, Albany, 100000; J. G. Duncan,
bank president, San Francisco, $4,000; Ste
phen Wardwell, cashier Comml rcial Ma
tional Bank, Providence Rhode Island,
S20,0 900; David Gage, city treasurer, Chicago
Illinois, 100000; Theodore Wick, treasurer,
Ohio, 100000; water commissioner, Pitts
burg, Pennsylvania, 100000; Henry Nicoll, 4
executive committee of the Bar I
Association, New York, 100000; Abraham
JacksoD, lawyer and president, Boston, Mas i
'achusetts, $500 900; John r. Morton, Phila- |
lelphia, 81 100000; E. j. Winslow, Boston, $
Massachusetts,, 100000; G. Van Hollern,
,ity collector, Chicago, Sl30,000; John G. {
Tracy, bank president Hartford, Connecti- ;
100000; Hildreth & Tighe, lawyers
and agents, New York, over $780,
300. 1t will be seen that this :
list of names does not include the defaulters
,or the past three years. Notably among
hese may be mentioned Generals Howgate,
md Baldwin who recently robbed a New t
Jersey bank in the face of the stockholders. I
It is a consolation to know that this epidemic
If fraud has not made its way to the South.
While there IL not an increase in crime il is +
o be deplored that such men as Howgate, t
Baldwin, Gilman, Lambert, Case, Morton /
Ind hundreds of others have fallen. Such
men were not of the common herd of short
lighted criminals who have no denial for 7
my appetite which may clamor for gratifca- =
community; men who moved in the best
circles; men who were educated in business, c
md men not short-sighted; men fully 2
lcqsainted with the fatal results of dishon-. Il
st practices. 1t is simply incomprehensible
low such men could allow themselves to fol- v
ow these dishonesties in such an unthink- b
lble way. There was nothing to drive any y
# these men TO criminal acts, no such things e
IS drive the lower order of men into such
Ways, and everything to keep them pure in f
mind and heart. OF course the crime of v
UGH men is all the more heinous, more de- Y
,lorable than the same crime from the crime b
lass, and it is so because it is an example
hat will insidiously work its way into Y
he circle where all this class of men move,
md If not checked will sap the very founda- 9
ion structures of society. When we look !.
bout US and see that great mechanical and \
commercial improvement are calculated to
ring men more together, it is humiliating
o see that the emphatic and undisguised O
endency of these fraudulent practices is to c.
Tiden the breach between men, to break the a
nifty of humanity, to SOW the seeds of dis n
rust and suspicion everywhere broadcast in a
he land. And worst of all is, that most of
hese men who are doing this evil work are
ding it on a capital of spiritual power. As h
lese doings are heralded abroad one seems Il
} hear again the snap of the whip in the d
ample, and ii builds in the air about US lc
ne of protest against those who would lay W
1fltr ha, bol- e.; / Z