The Great Falls leader. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1888-1890, 1888-08-25
A JUDGES EXPERIENCE:
he THINKS LAZINESs IS THE CHIEF
CAUSE OF CRIME.
The Results Of Judge Duny's Observe
formation Of Criminale-Evils Of Tene-

Csoue - image IN fouc9 Co0ft9-H0.
formation Of Oriminale-Evils Of Tene-
ment Houses-rdlers.
From my experience a. Judge in police
courts. | should say that laziness Il the
chief cause Of crime The young man
who Is Inherently lazy will steal rather
than work. According to the Scriptures
man should earn bis bread by the sweat
OF bis brow but In our large cities there
are thousands Of men who will do neither
mental not manual work and who prefer
to get their living by preying upon the
community in some form or other Young
criminals are born bad You cannot
expect that the sons OF the daughters Of
thief or a burglar will be naturally
good Their whole surroundings are bad,
nears7 every influence that is exerted
upon them from childhood up tends to
make them as bad as their progenitors
Even girls and boys inclined to be good
may by contagton, become bad
REFORMATION OF CR1MiNALs.
We have many instit uttons in this city
for the reformation OF criminals Of both
sexea but think that very few Of the
vicious are reformed In such places Ny
experience with law breakers justifes the
truth OF the saying Once thief
always thief once let a boy get con
tamtnated with the poison Of crime and
he vii. i've and die an outlaw of society
In the court room can tell at glance
children who have been brought up in re-.
formato tortes their manner Is deceitful
and they have hang dog crouching ex
preston Of countenance
In my official career have met great
many criminals, and must confess that
among them | have never known Of a
genuine case Of reform Quite long time
may sometimes eiapse between their terms
In the pen'tentiary or states prison. but
they are sure to return for some new
otfense sooner or later more hardened
who has gone wrong will attempt to re.
form bnt that is exceptional Burglars
vii! die burglars. pickpockets cannot be
reformed, and confidence men would
rathe, get half dollar by practicing their
begutling methods than earn So honestly
In The same length of time It Is indeed
true tha, to them stolen fruit ia always
the sweetest.
Crime however. ts no more prevalent
In New York than 1t is in any country
village In proportion to the population
! have visited every large city in the
United States, and most of the large cities
OF Europe have made Inquiries in re.
gard to crime and have come tc the con
ciusion that New York, not Notwithstanding
that it is a rendezvous for criminals from
al, parts OF the world, is comparatively as
free from crime as any city In the uni.
verse,
CHEAP LODGING HOUSES.
What is called the tenement house sys
tenn causes an immense amount of crime
In tenement houses people are Obliged to
herd together In such way that the
rising generation cannot help witnessing
the meretricious relations that exist be
tween the sexes In these dwellings Free
reading rooms lectures, etc. diminish
crime to q certain extent. but the ten cent
lodging houses more than counterLalance
the good done by all the former Such
lodging houses have caused more destitu-
tion, more beggary and crime than any
other agency ] know Of Mechanics and
lahorers were better off years ago when
they had to pay from $93O to IS q week
for their board In regular boarding houses.
Mechanics nowadays seem to have got
into Bohemian habits, they are like The
gypsies. they are shiftless and love to
wander from place to place. content II
they can supply the absolute needs Of the
passing moment. think that tho cheap
lodging houses ought to be abolished by
the board Of health.
believe, however. that promiscuous
aims giving is wrong The public would
be showing more charity and humanity
by giving nothing to street beggars. be.
cause IT tramp can make dollar or two
day by begging be will not work
would like to see stringent law passed
making It obligatory u pom every able
bodied man, rich or poor, TO perform some
kind Of work Every man in the commu
nifty should be compelled to produce some.
thing In my opinion the saddest sight
to be seen in large city like this is the
number Of idlers young and middle aged
men looking out Of windows on such
thoroughfares a. Broadway and Madison
avenue-cub men, signing for some new
pleasure. men who never did stroke of
real work and who never had dozen
original thoughts in their lives It would
BE- good thing II such men. even II they
are the sous Of rich parents. were COM
PEELED to work.-P q Duffy In The
Epoch.