The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-02-06

Jan. 25, 1885.
THE TOWN TRAMP.
believe 1 have already remarked
once or twice that there are q COCO
many things in this world that art
hard to understand. One of them is
why men commit crimes. Ofcourse it i,
easy enough to see how one man Nigh,
kill another under some great anger OF
excitement, and can see too, how 9
man might be tempted to steal if be
had right good chance, and there was
a big pile of money to be made by it
Almost anybody is liable to commit al
most any crime under certain circum
stances.
But in the ordinary run of things II
seems to me that if people would think
twice they wouldn't break the law
quite SO much as they do. 1t hardly
ever pays. Things have come TO such
pass these days that it's mighty hard
to commit crime and not get caught
at it; and if you do get caught, it al.
ways costs more than it comes to.
mean it costs more in actual money
But If a man takes his feelings into &C
count, if he has got any pride about
him, the disgrace of it hurts him worse
than the success of his crime, fit was
successful, could possibly do him good
Hurts him in way that he would moi
be hurt for any amount of money. And
even if he don't get caught, he is al.
ways afraid he will be and it wears on
him until he almost wishes he would
get found out so that the thing could
be off his mind.
~
1 know what Pm talking about fol-
I've tried it. I stole an overcoat from
a man once. He was rich and was
cold and poor and I argued myself into
the belief that I:somehow had a right
to it. So opened the hall door and
took it one night. 1t was in a town up
in northern Iowa where I had deter
mined to spend the winter. I had been
working pretty steady and was able to
hire room in a cheap clearinghouse.
Well, after I got that overcoat, / tuck
ed it under my arm and went home by
back streets, although it was night,
went into my room the back way and
stuck the coat under my bed. I lay
awake half the night more than half
expecting to hear a policeman knock
on my door and ask me where that
coat was. 1t seemed to me as if every
body must know that had taken it.
1 strained my ears to hear whether
they were not talking about it in the
Office down stairs. And when any one
came up stairs was sure that it had
all been found out, and I almost
stopped breathing until the footsteps
went on past my door or stopped short
of it.
-
The next morning I got up and went
to breakfast early SO I wouldn't have
to meet any one. I was afraid to wear
the coat so didn't put it on as / went
to the shop where I was going to work
that day. On the way I met the man
I stole it from. I knew he couldn't
possibly have any idea I took it, but
for all that was certain he was going
to stop me as I hurried by him, and
turn me over to the police. I was
morally certain that every man I
passed turned to look at me and said
to himself, ~ believe that man stole
Mr.. G-'s overcoat." All day long,
as I worked in the shop 1 was sure
that every policeman that passed the
door was looking for me. When night
came couldn't stand it any longer. I
went to my room and got the coat, put
it under my arm, slipped out like had
slipped in the night before and went
and laid the coat at the door out of
which I had stolen it, and slipped
away and went home.
So, as I said, know what I'm talk
ing about, and that's what makes it
so queer to me that men should COM
NIT little crimes like that and keep on
them. For instance, land
of that was what put me in
10 this strain) when I was in the court
house last Saturday ! saw a young
fellow sentenced to three years in the
pen. at hard labor, for breaking into a
hardware store and stealing three re-
volvers. don't know what the re-
voIvers were worth, but probably not
more than five dollars apiece. And
ret he has got to work q year for esch
" them land he won't get them even !