The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1882-04-11
WEEKLY BAZOO,
S6DALIA. MO.
TUESDAY, APRIL 4. 1882.
THE CRIMINAL AGE.

THE CRIMINAL AGE.
Ten years ago people talked about
the terrible increase of crime as if the
last limit of robbery and murder,
AKRON, rape and other ofenses against
the criminal Law had been reached.
What would these wiscacres say now,
when the country has almost been led
captive into camp by all classes Of
criminals, from high officials of the
govern ment down to the meat-thief or
the Iarcenious marauder who denudes
. elothes-line of its fresh and tapping
ornaments? This is alphabetically
the criminal age and it is difficult to
see how things can become much
worse unless the world turns savage.
Not only is America the hot-bed of
the most cruel and horrible crimes,
bat from all over the world come re-
ports Of artistic breaches Of the law
con tanning novel features and new
lessons to professors in criminal Of
Tense. Events which once appalled, a
whole country are matters of quite
common perusal in the public press of
to-day. An account of q father who
chops of his sons head while in a fit
Of intoxication occasions only passing
remark. If any at all. An unusual
wife-murder may awaken slight inter-
est if the methods employed by the
murderer have anything uncommoniy
sensational in them; otherwise there
is nothing worth while in it. A figh t
between two men with knives in
which one or both of them are killed
elicits only casual remark touching
the bulldog courage with which the
battle WAS carried On. Seduction, under
no matter how cruel circumstances,
brings no particular emotion to the
reader. He knows it is wrong and
would probably do little shooting of
his own if the girl was his sister, but
that is ali he thinks about it. !. Com
pare these times with the days of
Monroe Edwards. This thief was of
gigantic proportions then. but now
would be a mere pigmy. In every
household in the land the colossal
operations of Edwards were the theme
Of excited conversation. Now-a-days
his dolngs would be ordinary indeed.
Swartwout was the prize official thief
Of decade. Where would
he be now alongside of
the gentlemen who have robbed
and are still robbing this devoted gov
eminent? The Dorsey Pelion and
Brady Olympus make poor Swartwout
Ossa like q wart.
Every age, like every malady, has
its remedy. And as trite as the oh.
servation is. it cannot be too often
said that crime is prevented only by
sure and speedy punishment. The
criminal will mend his career after q
term in the penitentiary when he is
sure that he will be punished as often
as he transgresses the law. 1t is
matter Of some pride to us that, in
Missouri, late developments have
shown that crime will be punished
here. The states farther east, whose
newspapers are so fond of calling Mis-
sou ri the Robber State do not mete out
to their criminals as much of the GER
tainty of punishment as We do here.
The most stupendous organization of
narasding train robbers and thieves
in the history of the country has been
broken, man by man. Some of the
methods employed to accomplish this
end may not meet with entire ap
prevail, but the result will cause more
thorough belief in the power and
majesty of the law, and will strengthen
the hope that the criminal age may re
succeeded by something better.