The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-11-05
GIRTH AND GOODNESS.
Not One Per Cent OF the state Prison Cen.
viets Really Corpulsnt PsrssAs.

Not One Per Cent. OF the state rrisoa Cen.
vsets Really CorDulsnt Persons.
ut Is by no means certain, Sir" the old
observer said. settling himself comfortably
back in his easy chair and Just managing to
lock his fingers over his ample vest. that. In
an improved state Of society. when great truths
now but guessed at shall be fully known. the
scales will not play very important part In tho
administration OF justice. I do not mean the
emblematic things that the blind goddess for
ever bangles aloft-signflcant OF question
whether plaintiff or defendant will pay most
for decision. I mean plain matter Of fact
Fairbanks. Howe's or some other scales TO tell
exactly what person weighs. The time will
come when people will recognize that lack OF
adtpose tissue and paucity OF moral principle
go together. while girth and goodness are in
separable. OF course. as all rules proverbially
have their exceptions 1t is not impossible that
lean man may. under peculiarly favorable
conditions DO a tolerable member Of society
and, by good luck, keep out Of Jail all his
life long On the other hand. fat man may
not be tolerable member OF society and may
get into jail0as Tweed did. for instanco-but
statistics show that a hundred lean men are
imprisoned for offences against person or
property where one fat man falls from grace
Admitting tho existence Of exceptions. us
SAID before we will be justified in affirming the
the Sc Sa e S 70 by
ana the latter man is the better he IL, morally
and socially, Do you see now, where the scales
will como in The nearer ,fell lows avoirdupois
grovels downward toward the contemplate
mark of 100 pounds the more likely it is
whatever me Hydencs may b., be,hat he de-
against him or something tho court has not
yet heard Of while the higher a man ascends
the greater Is the Just presumption that he is
kindly. honest. innocent. or. even " in some
the victim of circumstances. The dny is coming
sir when our courts will weigh not simply tho
eyid ,,,h but the accused and give the fat
every time Look on the books Of any prison
in tho land and see If the record OF convicted
in proof Of what say to light the world to a
higher appreciation OF the moral beauty of adj
Warden Fox. at the penitcntiary on Black
for yerillcation OF what his fat friend had said
ton to it. / must say that the infrcuucncy Of
lat men being sent here Is really very remark
able. We average about 300 prisoners here
constantly. and not two per cent OF them. in
all the, years have had charge OF this insttn
ton, have been, mon weighing 200 pounds
Even those who did attain that weight. or near
To it. were generally big framed. raw. boned
men. moi. what could properly be called fat
res Not one Per cent r bes sHSnd sy
pounds, rather under than over. The heaviest
criminal we ever had here was Tweed who is
est is one we have here now. james Williams
Who was sent up for LARCENY few days ago
he wsSiGns r az az pounai. IL would take long
ing near that figure. Fat men seem to be too
Yood-natured to like TO injure other, people
goodness or goodness develops fat. but they
seem 70 GO tosether. Anybody can see for
disproportionate minority OF lat men as one
per ccnt:-thc proportion Of them that we have
here. Consequently. the inference il unavoid-
ttnt flf hn inltD ifltr l..S1
their share in popping penal institutions
And when they do eos they are the best
bic with large men than small ones. cannot
think of any other popularity of person that is
So marked among criminals rs general rule.
and black heads. and white faces and brown
faces. low brows and high ones. bull nenks aud
tons that you will meet them about town any
day day But when YOU come TO lean and fat. there
the old detective. at Sing Sing prison was even
more emphatic in recognition of tho superior
Know. If anybody should. He has dealt with
criminals for sixteen years. Every one who
goes into Sing Sing prison as a convicted felon
By h And he V sad f Citizen
l.5Oo convicts now here. We have only one or
TIVE lat men: and in the past ten years We have
Was Fatty Dolan. pickpeeket.w who died here
n few months ago Of heart disease. His stature
was but five feet one, inch and he weighed 200
Another was Robert White alias Whitley hob
also pickpocket. who was five feet eight and a
third was William Weston. alias Bill Conoly,
hotel thief five feet nine inches in height and
25O pounds weight. And canno, recall any
of being called fat. And you must re-
Rsrs that ,nn Ts hays had 100 or 800
rawboncd men. but no really. corpulent men.
II would hardly be fair to go entirely BY weight.
the case Of Fatty Dolan suppose the av-
craze weight of convctS will be about $50
heavier here than in the penitentiary. as down
there they get younger ones and OF IA somewhat
different class. In height they ,neary all ure
not many either shorter or taller. Indeed
aside from the one matter Of fairness. there is
wonderful similarity among convicts. Light
light or brown to dark brown hair and blue or
gray eyes-and our most desperate oonyicts are
Eed-hared men. really red. are rather scarce.
Not more than twenty five are in our present
way OF their proportion to society ut large.
Our best prisoners are always the fatt.- ones.
hut we have so few to make up Judgment on
than they deserve. / should moi say that the
percentage Of fat criminals would 30 higher
than one in l,0oO-not really fat ones"
Mr.. Stephen Cutter, general agent Of the Prison
Association of New York, said: Your inquiry
opens new vel OF thought. As reflect on the
matter. don't know that heavy weights arc on
tirely exempt from criminal fife. Tweed was
fairly fat. But there are not many such men
young criminals, say from Is to % years Of age
that are now and have been thronging our
courts for eight or ton years. were not quite mp
10 the average size OF men, and should say
that | think thrce-quartcrs OF our criminals
are foreigners or from foreign parents and are
not NJ 10 the standard of the native American"
Thoro." commented the old observer. when
The result OF the inquiry, was communicated to
him. you see how right was Jackson was
the only one. who viewed the question properly
and drew the line between large men and fat
men. and even he. out of his knowledge Of Grim
inns could only recall three really tat ones. /
tell you. God loves u fat man. and makes IL easy
for him u pursue the way to II deserved heaven
Mt last. Did any painter ever imagine n lean
cherub' Never. But is the devil ever pictured
with decent abdomen? Never. And the in
SEPARATION OF art is right"