New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-03-20
YOUTHFUL DEPRAVITY.


The great prevalence Of crime among certain
classes of boys and young men in this and neghbor-
ing cities has been such as TO attract wide atten-
ton. 1t has even called forth comment from
judges in the criminal courts and Others who
have become most accustomed by every
day occurrences to tho details Of criminal rec
Ords. Judge Cowing, In the Court of General
Sessions, one morning little more than week ago,
after half dozen or more lads had been arraigned
before him for of the most serious crimes, felt
called upon to speak from the bench in very earnest
terms of the alarming increase of crime among
young men Of this class. His sentiments are borne
out by the testimony of all those who have to
do with the labor of arresting and restrain
ing crime or in seeking to reform those who have
fallen into bad ways The work of Anthony Com
stock the agent Of the Society for the Proven
ton of Crime, has given him the best of
opportunities to learn the facts with
regard to the extent that vice and crime
has spread among the youthful classes. He keeps
record of all the reports Of arrests for offences
Of this character that como under his observation
Newspaper clippings relating to such occurrences
pasted in a scrapbook which he calls the hoy
criminals book" 1t Is not pleasant reading, and
presents an array of data Of youthful crime that
seems almost incredible. Taking the first six
80 BOYS under 20 years for larceny. OF these 21
wereun der 10 and were under II
years of age. For burglary 20 lads were
arrested whose ages varied from 70 II
years. All excepting Of these we're under l6
years, and II were under ~ years. For murder,
were arrested. One was 81 one 20 one 10. one IS,
two were 49, and enc was years OF age. For high
way robbery IL were arrested. all 10 years of age
under. One 10. three were IT, one was 10,
two were H. one was ~. two We're 10, one was .,
and one was 7 years old. Three boys were arrested
g tlar1 and
the third IL. There we're two pickpockets each 10
years old One boy of l3 was arrested for murder
GUS assault. One boy, OF l3 and another OF 10 were
arrested for trainwrecking There were four youth
fal suicides in the list. Two were boys OF Is
l was a girl of II, another a girl OF Ia. FOR
gambling 20 lads were arrested, all under ~ years
for forgery ., each u years old.
Looking through this book after the end OF the
first months of 1881 the most remarkable record
is that of the month of February OF this year In
that single month there were accounts Of 81 arrests
for larceny where the ages OF the culprts ran from
to 10 years 10 for burglary between ID and u
years for highway robbery between the same
ages for murder lad of 8, > girls OF H. boy of
IA and another boy of II; for fel0nious assault 8
were arrested between II and y boy of
counterfeit money and another for picking pockets
There were five suicides of girls between fourteen
and eighteen, and four attempted suicides OF boys
between seventeen and nineteen. There were eight
boys arrested as common drunkards whose ages ran
from eight to nineteen years. The boy Of eight died.
One lad of nineteen was arrested for arson.
II.
great sources and causes of youthful crime. The
chief one was the vile reading matter that was dis
trbuted under harng titles rs boys and girls story
papers and cheap novels. They depraved and often
half crazed the youthful minds that fed
on them until the commission of this
or that crime was the most natural Of re-
suits. A second cause. Mr.. COmstOck SAID,
was the pOol-room and policy shops. The places
where pool for drinks " was advertised were
paronized almost exclusively by boys barely out
of their teens. SO was large proportion OF the
policy-shops. The small earnings OF the boys would
not enable them to spend The money requisite for
this kind of lIle thets from employers wOdld be
the first step to ruin, FASTENED by intemperance
and other forms of vice By which they would be
surrounded In such places. Mr.. COmstOck attrb
uted the third cause to the low theatres The price
of admission was trihing, and these places
gathered in the young fellows who were upe
for mischief, or ready to be led into any form of
wickednesS that attracted them. The representa-
tious upon the stages in these theatres quite
sufficient to DO the work Of dragging these quick
wited and hot bloOded boys into the quagmires of
vice These three evils. Mr.. Comstock thought |
were the ones most to be commended against, and as
they lost their influence the youth of this city would
appear less and less IN its criminal records.
Judge COwing said 70 TRIBUNE reporter re-
Gently that the large proportion OF youthful crlm
nails convicted OF the grayest Oenses was startling
Fully ninety per cent of those arragned and con-
yictcd I'm the General Sessions for burglary and rob-
berry. and other crimes which were punished by
very long sentences, was boys or young men under
the age of twenty-five. Sometimes an offender |
old in years well as III crime, professional crim-
Imal would be brought there, but it was the rare
exception The young criminals seemed to work in |
" gangsD the members OF different gangs coming |
from different localities in the city. There was the
" Cherry-sf gang,' the Vest Side gang" the |
81 RowcTv gang and scores of others. " hen they
started ont the commission Of some crime they
would generally go ID small companies of from |
three 10 SIX.
lyon know" judge Cowing continued, that |
burglary is the breaking into an inhabited building |
i'm the night time with telOni0us intent II Is one OF
the most of crimes, and society caunOt pro-
tect itself except by furnishing, II, with very ex-
ll,. m
to be utrcly regardless of this. They do not seom
tOexpec to get much booty for theywill break into
dwellings frequently where they know that little IS
to be mad aAd sometimes apparently from pure de- |
pTayity When they are arralgned they appear |
10 be as hardened as You might expect the Oldest |
professional criminal to be-"
- DO you discriminate III the length OF the sem
ence- you ,ltict" The reporter asked, y N favor OF
he younger CriminalsW
No." the Judge answered, mot on ac- |
. ?c'.'' has got beyond eyPoHd boyhood. The |
severity Of the punishment rather turns upon the |
question whether IL Is the irst, second or sixth con-
iIctiOu. J always make IN effort to discover the |
of the convict; If 1t IS HI, first offence
o make the punishment comparatively light and
sentences imposed here have been almost invariably
II cases of Incorrigible offenders who had been
convicted frequently. The most Of these even are
comparatively young men. have sometimes
wondered what became of the older criminals
whether they reformed or died, or became too sharp
. be detected There are no evidences that
lie younger tIC II5tu d5 IOOlo "
mes The young burglars are unskilfu, and appear
o be guided only by their own depraved propensl-
les.
"There is a provision in the new Code Of Criminal |
Procedure of an extraordinary character which has
lot yet been invoked in the criminal courts of this
ty nor, 50 far as am aware, in the State IL per-
nits the Judge presiding in Il court where a Grim
nal is convicted for the third time Of felony, or
he fifth time Of u msdemeanOr, to formally declare
lin an habitual criminal. Then description of |
he mans appearance, and statement ot his record
s sent to the District-AttOrney and to the Police
Department of each city in the state: lie can be
rrested at any time by anybody, without |
warrant upon suspicion. Ii ho Is seen |
It night under suspicious circums stances, if lie IS
Ound with any dangerous weapon IN his possession,
II for any similar cause, he can be taken into Gus
Ody by anyone. He is during the rest OF his life
,rnnled mAn. IL womb be terrhe pnnishment 10 |