The Opelousas courier., 1883-12-15
youthful Criminals.

If ia sad to see any man become the
slave of hatred, revenge, anger, greed
or other evil passions, and break the
laws of God and man by attempting to
take or taking human life, but it is es-
~pecialiy SO when the offender is Id the
morning of life. Just stepping across
the tresheld of youth into early man
hood. he too often marks, the Intel with
blood, not, like that of the pasehai
lamb, to save from destruction, but
blood that cries aloud to heaven for
vengeance. =,
The daily annals of crime, with
which the columns of the press are
freighted, contain often the criminal
and lawless deeds of youthful ruf1ans.
1t was but yesterday morning that our
dispatches contained two instances o.
this character. In one a boy aged 10
shot a gardiner because he had Or
dered him off the premises on which
he was tresspasing. In the other a
syoung man ''ef bad reputation" en-
tered the house where a party OF Ger
mans were peacably enjoying them
selves, raised a disturbance, and fatally.
stabbed one Of their number. One OF
these tragedies occurred in Maryland,
the other in Pennsylvania. There was
another case of this kind in Unionport,
Westchester county, New York the
other day. Lawrence Veltman, sixteen
years old, waylaid and fatally STABBED
q playmate, twelve years old, to oe re-
venged on the younger boy for having
given him q trashing.
These are instances that have come
under our observation during the past
few DAYS. Of course we could go back
in our files, and find many more. But
these are sufficient to direct attention
to the subject of ~precoci0us criminals
in this country. We read and hear OF
youthful piekpockets, such as Dickens
delineates in Oliver Twist, but these
are educated to their business as to a
trade, and do not take naturally to
crime. Their q is q very different
one from that of the youth who falls a
victim to his own unruly passions, and,
thinking himself a hero, wakes from
his delusion to find himself q felon.
The instances we have mentioned do
not happen TO have occurred IN the
South. but the South has just as many
youthful criminals in proportion to
population as any other portion OF the
country. Crime is of no country, OF no
section. Il is the baleful fruits OF de-
urayad instincts nnrtured into the vi
tiated atmosphere of ignorance, iawless-
ness. and unrestrained passion.
What is the cause of this crime
among the youngf There are mere
causes than one, but chief among all is
want of restraint in early life. Par
ents and guardians comet too much
take to heart the fact that disobedience
ia youth is toe often the precursor OF
crime. Especially is this the case
when the nature Is wild and the tenn
per ungov6rnabie. Government began
with the family ; respect for law and
the rights of others must also begin
there.
Another fruitful source of crime
among the young is the criminal habit
of carrying concealed weapons. 1t is a
practice that is bad enough with any,
but especially detestible In the young
A hot-headed young fool, like the boy
in Maryland, may fancy that his digni-
Gy and hener (heaven ave the mark y
are insulted, and commit murder to
right them, because he happens to
have a pistol swinging to him.
Another u Of youthful criminal.
Is is the style of literature that is toe
often deveured By boys nowadays, Civ
ing them false views of life, its objects
and duties, and poisoning the soul
These papers and books extol outlaws
and murderers, ridicule law-abidine
people and c~onservatnrs Of the peace.
defy brute force, and sneer at what
boyhood has been taught to hold So
cred atsthat most sacred place in life
a mothers knee. What wonder is it
ii, when belief ID religion is shattered,
morality considered the sign of weak.
ness, aud honesty the evidence of folly
that crime, whether Of the kind we
have referred TO, or of ether kinds in.
yolying theft and dishonesty, should
|, be 90 often associated with the names
of the young.
49,