The Lincoln County leader. [volume] (White Oaks, Lincoln County, N.M.) 1882-189?, 1885-05-23
IS CRIME INCREASING ?

4 Hc InlC I'liOl SHdClSu 81 l'Oiit
to, in which eight inotfensive men,
women and children were killed
bv Martin Nelson, has led many to
stop, and ponder on the question
whether or not crime is on the in
crease in the werld in general, Eand
the United States in particular, and
brought back to the memory Of
many the lines Of the old song
I've been thinking of late. I've been
thinking,
Ny thoughts can scarcely define,
I've been thinking why people should
wonder
At Americas increase in crime.
Cries old Uncle Sam, " It's poser,
There is something don't understand.
l would give up trif'c to know, sir,
Why crime should increase in our land.
We have plenty of gold, | am told, sir,
Our banks are as full as can hold, sir,
We could feed the whole world, | am told,
sir
And still there's an increase in crime"
Can you wonder at crime, cGn you wonder,
When you see the police on nia beat,
ATresting poor starving boot-black,
For emning his bread in the street
While the thief on the corner stands grin
ming.
In the bright open light Of the day.
-FOUR pockets he ii pick for 4 shilling,
And the law cannot touch BIN. they .ay;
"hile he laughs with contempt ard deri
sion.
Detlcs waole police division
But IT,, boot-black is cast into prison.
Uncle Sam cun you wonder at crimes
We scarcely incline to the belief
that crime is on the increase, save
as the population of the country
increases. When those, now old,
we're young, the avenues through
which information relating to Grim G
were not 80 convenient and swift
to convey, as now. There were
fewer newspapers, and no tels-
graphs. Take, tor instance, the
days of Burk and Hare, a firm
winch took life III Britain, as did
the Benders. later, in Kansas, ad-
ding to the Nervousness Of their
crimes the disposing OF their vic
tins to medical colleges for pelf.--
Yet the suffocating OF Proller, at
St. Louis, by his proffessed friend,
Maxwell, and enclosing his body
in trunk, is sounded as though a
new and unparalleled species of
crime had been committed. We
remember in the SOS, Chicago
barber butchering his wife, cutting
her in quarters, shipping her thus
to New York, the discovery Of Tie
contrsband freight, his arrest, tri-
al, proof of guilt, and his aeQujtaI
No, murder is as old as the sons of
Adam, and will continue while the
world stands.
A late writer in one OF our popu-
lar magazines, presents criminal
statistics for 1884, which are ap-
palling. They show the enormous
number OF 3, ,367 murders, with the
astonishingly small number Of only
103 legal executions, while Judge
Lynch did over twice as well, as
there was over 2l0 illegal exc
cutiOns. 1t would seem from the
figures that only about three per
cent. Of the murderers are hanged,
and ninty-seyen per cent, exclud-
ing the lynchings, escape justice
entirely, or get off with terms in
the penitentlsries, but by far the
largest proportion OF them escape
scot free. 1t would seem, taking
the statistics us a guide, that
the laws were framed with spec
iai view to the protection of mur-
dsrers, and that the masses of
people have no rights which the
nurderers are bound to respect
The laws delay, the criminal law
yer, and the sympathy of the
jurors, many OF whom have con
OcientOus scruples about hanging