The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1886-11-20

Portland Oregonian.

i
nal is not the ignorant, demoralized
social pirate, but your intelligent,
immoral man; that is, the man who
was never "demoralized," because
he had an original moral vacancy;
a fellow who is well born, well bred,
well educated, but has a natural
bias toward crime from youth. He
is always liar, a petty thief
at school; he seems to discredit
the popular notion that there is any
connection between good morals
and good opportunities in the shape
of sound schooling, good parents,
and happy, friendly early surround
ings. TIE poet Bryant used to de-
nounce Edgar A. Poe as an Immoral
man; a man who seemed from his
earliest boyhood to have been des-
titute of moral sense, social honor,
manhood of any sort. In Austria
liza there died year ago, as a con-
vict, man who had been a lifelong
criminal. From early youth he
had been a great student and u
reader of sterling books. He was
an excellent linguist, a good nat
uralist, an expert engineer and a
very fair lawyer. He was fond Of
science, especially comparative an
atomy. His favorite authors were
Humboldt, Darwin, Huxley, Spen-
Ger and Mill. His knowledge of
history was remarkable, and while
in prison, as he was several times,
he spent most of his time writing
biographies, which he sold for more
money than the author could make
by engaging in any kind of labor.
Bernstein, one of the inmates of
the Albany penitentiary, is of no.
bic blood, a graduate of Heidelburg
university, speaks six languages,
served in our civil war as a surgeon,
and later on the staff of Bellevue
hospital; he was once the New
York Heralds correspondent in
China, an interpreter in San Fran
cisco, a politician and coroner in
Chicago, and finally a gambler, q
forger and a Jail bird. Adolph Pleu,
a notorious Chicago thief, is finely
educated man; anexcellent scholar
in all modern languages and also
wrote Sancrit and Hebrew, and
although a German, could write
clear, concise, pure English. Ross
Raymod, a New York forger, biga-
mist and swindler, is a finely edu-
Gated man and very bright and
rapid writer for the press. He can
make a fine income with his pen
and has no earthly reason, except
innate depravity, to be a rascal.
The play of "Jim the Penman
celebrates the career of an English
criminal, James Townshend Saw
ard. He was man of good family,
received a university education,
studied law, was called to the bar
and exhibited great capacity in his
profession. A man of splendid at
tainments and unusual intellect, he
deliberately without any financial
pressure adopted the career of a
professional forger. He was so able
and cunning that he escaped arrest
until he was 5S years old, and then
only fell into the hands of the law
through the stupidity of a confed-
crate. Michael Davitt, who was a
political prisoner for nearly ten
years in the various English jails,
gives an interesting description Of
this tribe of intellectual, irreclaim-
able, convicts in his 'Leaves from
a Prison Diary" One of these
educated thieves defended his ca
reer to Davitt as follows: "The
laws of society are framed for
the purpose of securing the wealth
of the world to power and calcu-
lation. Why should they punish
me for taking by somewhat SIM
liar means from those who have
taken more than they had right
to? l deny your contention that
there is any such thing as hon.
esty in the world at ALL" This
man delighted in literary discus
sion, could quote from Iliad,
had read Pascal and Lafontaine in
the original. Well behaved in pris-
on, these intelligent scoundrels
never reform. Their ranks are re-
cruited from ex-schoolmasters, bro
ken-down tutors, spoiled ministers
and dissipated lawyers. Among
the criminals described by Davitt
was the son of a distinguished Rus
sian, who had been to Oxford; had
been a surgeon in the English navy;
he had a marvellous command of
languages; spoke English with
faultless pronunciation, conversed
with equal facility in French, Ger
man and Italian, and had a good
knowledge of the Danish, Swedish
and Polish tongues. He was well
read in English literature and as
we'll bred as the ordinary college
educated ,Englishman, and he was
q robber who had spent twenty
seven years for crime in the various
English prisons. He was a man Of
such unusual talents and learning
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