Connecticut western news., 1884-10-08
THE COST OF A CRIMINAL.
A NEW AND PECULIAR VIEW OF THE
 PEST OF SOCIETY.
What a Single Thief Infiicts Upon Society
 AnAppaiIinG Waste.
From the New York Hour.I

From the New York Hour.l
 The actual loss in dollars and cents which single criminal inficts upon so- ciety is sometimes appalling. We groan at the iniquity of politicians, and rejoice when one of them who has stolen a few thousand dollars is driven to jail or out of the country; but such fellow is, as rule, less dangerous than some common criminal who is sentenced for term of years for small burglarly or for steal ing horse. For the criminal classes waste far more than they consume; it is beyond doubt that thief-and most criminals live by theft-a thief, who does nothing whatever for society but prey upon 1t, always takes far more than he would need were his operations honest. Money is worth its face value, no matter in what hands it happens to be; but the pickpocket whose speciality is watches, knows that to earn twenty dollars by his delicate handiwork he must steal at least 8 hundred dollars worth of timepieces The 'junk" thief will tear out of house, in course of erection, all the lead pipe of the plumb ing system, which in material and labor has cost several hundred dollars, and sell 1t by the pound as old lead, being well satisfied if he can get ten dollars for his nights work. The financial results of some great burglaries of dry goods and jewellers shops, silk houses and private residences have been shown, at the trial of the thieves, to be only one-tenth, one twentieth, and even smaller fractions of the value of the goods taken. Even in great bond robbery cases the thieves have obtained but very small propor. ton of the actual value of the securities stolen. Theft, like many other indus tries, is not complete in itself; the booty must be sold, frequently it must go through several hands, to each of which sticks part of the price, and no one of them is the hand of a person who is earning an honest living.
 This would be bad enough, even were every thief persistent in trying to keep down expenses in his personal and do- nestle management. Unfortunately, however, among the virtues which some criminals profess and practice, economy will be sought in vain. No reckless heir of a million was ever more free-handed than the thief is while his money lasts. He wears fine clothes of faultless cut, he smokes the best cigars; and in the dingy back-rooms of grogshops, in the streeta most frequented by thieves, there is more champagne opened than in some famous places on Broadway. Burglars always drive good horses, and their feminine companions are arrayed like Solomon in all his glory. Such luxuries cost 8 great deal of money. So the thief who does not want to change his habits is obliged to be industrious in business, and lose no good chance through carelessness. If he spends five thousand dollars per year, he must steal fifty thousand, in which case he costs society as much as 8 hundred honest day-laborers, and gives society nothing in return but an undeniable sense of ap- prehension.
 "Like breeds hke," and criminals families may always be depended upon to live by crime. Perhaps not all thieves and bad characters in general can repeat the appalling record of the Dukes family, which gave the country several hundred criminals; but they do their utmost, in that direction, multiply. iug rapidly and neglecting to train their offspring to live properly.
 It will thus be seen to reform even a single criminal is to spare society seri- ous and steady infiction. A common thief, who lives by his craft, steals more in his lifetime than any great rogue. who is not 8 bank president, ever gets by single "haul." It is hard for a sentimentalist, or even a missionary, to regard such fellow with tenderness and brotherly love, but any one can af- ford to wish the rascals business meth ods were different. Topersuade and as- sist discharged criminals to lead honest and self-supporting lives is one of the tasks to which the National Prison As- sociation has addressed itself. The work should commend itself to any mans common sense and pocket.