The Advance., 1889-10-10
OCTOBER 10.
THE DOWNWARD COURSE.

'
THERE are many young men among us who
are Just entering upon a life OF crime. Ii they
could look forward and see what such course
will bring them to they would turn away from
the picture with a shudder. Advice against
continuing in the way they have started is of
little avail and bitter experience often comes
too late When man has gone so far that his
reputation is gone, and he sees himself an out
cast from respectable circles, he has become too
much a victim to his habits too strongly at
tached to the associations of crime to break
away even if he has the will to do so. Such
men rarely reform, and about the only way they
could be reclaimed would be by isolating them
from old associations and surrounding them
with good influences until they were completely
weaned from evil habits. Few appreciate how
strong a hold evil habits have upon them. We
may fully understand the evil consequences
that will result from pursuing certain habits
and resolve to forego them; we may hate them
and fight against them, but there will be many
ways that we did not count upon when making
our resolutions by which they may be circum-
vented. For instance, we may determine to
stop using profanity, but we get mad and swear.
If we had at the same time resolved to restrain
our temper, we would have had control of the
cause of profanity. Dishonesty is not habit,
but there are habits that lead to dishonesty.
The habits of Incidence, drinking, gambling
and many others lead men to steal that they
may crafty those habits.
It is not an easy matter to steal enough to
keep one in bodily comfort, and few men steal
because of the pleasure they find in 1t, and
ton, it is followed in the hope of eventually
gaining larger income in less time than it
could be acquired by honest labor. But where
one thief succeeds in making more by dishon-
esty than he could by legitimate means, a hum
dred fail. You may cite hundred rich men
throughout the country who made their money
by fraud and sharp practice, but for every one
Of them may be shown hundred men in prison
and out who have nothing to show for their dis
honest work.
That stealing does not pay, would be as good
a business maxim as that honesty is the best
policy. 1t is much easier to plan than it is to
actually steal dollar when in need of it to buy
something to eat But what enjoyment can
thief have beyond indulging his baser passions
it is life of selfishness He must feel that
his existence is detrimental to mankind, that he
is only destroying parasite and that the world
would be better off without him. If he will
make the comparison, he will acknowledge him
self more despicable creature than the wolf, for
the wolf does not prey upon his kind. There
are other crimes more heinous than theft, but
none which there are so many temptations to
commit nor any by which many young men
are disgraced and so far lose the confidence of
the human family. We are not advocating
does not enable them to see how completely
they are falling to fulfill the part of men and
that they are losing their only opportunity of
counting for something in the world We all,
as rational beings, must see that criminal life
is wrong in every respect, both to ourselves and
our fellow-beings If you who are just starting
in criminal course are not willing to believe
that it is downward all the way, look about you
and see the old criminals VINO were once young
criminals and stood just where you are to-
day Some Of them are almost at the end
of the course. Do you wish to be as they
are when you arrive at their age, and what as
surance have you that you will not be? You
Of course do not expect to follow criminal life
always-neither did they, but as they grew old
er they sank deeper and deeper in the nire un-
til now they have no hope of accomplish
ing any good in this world. What have they
are simply suffering out their last days. No
children call them father no one honors their
gray hairs no one cares for them they are
simply old convicts with no solace save their old
tobacco pipes-Minnesotd Prison Mirror.