St. Landry democrat., 1890-10-18
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Education And Crime,
4 ssTRACT FROM A LECTURE DELIVERED
AT THE PIEDMONT CHAUTAUQUA EY
HON, VIM. T. HARRIS, l.. L. D.


ATTuE PIEDMONT CHAUTAUQUA EY
HON VIM. r. HARRIS. l.. L. D.
The relation of education to crime has
been often canvassed. Sometimes it has
been asserted that as education Increases,
crime increases in equal, or greater ratio.
The inference left for US to draw from
this is. that education in the school pro-
duces more intellect, and not sufficlency
of moral restraining force to prevent crime.
A writer in the Popular Science Monthly,
for last February, lays great stress on
this view. 1t looks plausible when he
presents it, An examination OF the
criminals in one of the states shows seventy
per cent who can read and write, and only
thirty per cent who are illlterate. 1t
seems that our schools furnish the major
itv of our criminals 1t is certain from the
facts on the other hand that a mere posses
sion of a knowledge of reading does not
utterly prevent crime But the exact in
tiuence of education on crime is not shown
by the fgues presented for the reason that
nothing is said of the ratio of illiterates to
those who can read and write, in the state
whose criminals have been investigated.
We cannot tell the value OF fraction by
an inspection of it's numerator alone; we
must see also it's denomination. Six is
larger than three, but six-tenths is not 80
much as three -fourths. 10 determine
whether the statistics of iliteracy of crimi
mails tells for or against education we must
compare them with the statistics of litter
acy of the whole population. In other
words, we must add the denominators to
the numerators given by the alarmlst
writer quoted. The state was found to
have, in $780, an illiterate population OF
| less than five per cent. The question OF
education and crime now stated in view OF
the statistics reads differently. Seventy
per cent of the population in jails have
been furnished by the IS per cent who can
write, while 80 per cent have been fur
| nishe,i bv the per cent who are illiterate
this would give US eight times as many
criminals from each thousand of illjterates
as from Thousand not illiterate Ger
tainly, the statistics thus examined are not
unfavorabe to the schools. And this is
the actual showing of the house of correc-
ton in Detroit, Mich, for the first twenty
FIVE years of its existence-forty thousand
committed, and 70 per cent able to write
out of an entire population of 80 per cent
| but there were 30 per cent Of illiterates
sent thither from a population of which
| less than per cent were illiterate.
In 1870 an investigation of the returns
of seventeen states that kept record of
| the educational status of their nals,
showed nearly the same results as these
from one Jail in Michigan, namely, eight
times as many criminals from the iliterate
stratum of the population as from az
equal number of the population who could
read and write. In that investigation
there were 10, 600 prisoners in the aggre
gate, investigated. The statistics OF pen
!tensiaries, that is to say the state prisons
show an average of better educated crini-
nails than the jails or houses of correction
We found recently in an investigation un i
dertaken by the bureau of Education that
there were three and one-fourth times a.
many criminals in the prisons from the IL
literates IS their quota required.
Another interesting question is that con
corning the kinds of crimes which are nov
punished in those states which our alarm
ist cites IS having SO greatly increased il
criminals while the schools have beef
growing in efficacy. Take the state o
Massachusetts, Its criminals in prise n
and iails have increased out of all proper
ton to the increase in population. But i
is important to inquire what is the nature
of the crime punished-are they crimes
against person or property, or only crime
against public decency which were no
formerly punished at all, or less fire.
quently than now? In reply to this peril
nent question we learned that 1t is tn
zeal of the prohibitionists that has mad
this bad showing. Once it was though
to be vice that leaned to virtues side t.
get under the influence of liquor. Opl,
cases of gross intoxication publicly ex
hibited would be thought important enough
to warrant an arrest. Now an enlight
ened public sentiment discovers so mucl
evil emanating from drunkenness that
deals sterply with the vice of intemperance
and in 1885 Massachusetts had over 1S. 90
arrests for intemperance, while in 1872
there were less than 1900. On the othe
hand, in 1860 the cases of arrests TO
crimes against person or property wer
more numerous proportlonally thai
in 1885. In twenty five years the cri he
against person and property had decrease
Al per cent, allowing for increase in tn
popula ton.
A Baby's Adventure With Henry Clay.
One of the brightest of the new Unite
States Senators is Mr. Nathan Fellow
Dixon, of Rhode Island, a bright-eyed
dark faced young Republican of forty
!. three years of age. He comes from lin
of statesmen. His grandfather was in tn
Senate when John Tyler was President
, and his father bro" ght him here as
!, ,hree-year- baby during his first Con
gressional term in 1S49 and so. Senate
Dixon stopped with his father at this tim
at the National Hotel, and young as b
was he is able to remember some of tn
incidents of this part of his life. Henri
Clay was stopping at the same hotel. an
he was very fond of children. Senate
!, Dixon says he distinctly remembers on
> day going down the steps and meetin
Henry Clay coming up. The great Ken
tucklan grssped the Rhode Island baby b
|, the arms and lifted him up to his face
, Little Dixon yelled out:
= LET me GOT
Mr.. Clay, however, putting his arm
around the boy and holding him up to hi
breast. said can't do that, because
want to kiss you, and wonder If 20
> know who am"
+ eyes, l know" said the boy, ''but
> want to 60"
> "Weli, who am II" said Clay.
! "Oh p said young Dixon, you are MI
, Harry Clay. Now let me 60"
With this the great statesman kisse
the boy, gave hearty laugh with his 81
:. mouth and put him down.
From this time on Baby Dixon and Sen
= ator Clay continued their acquaintance
and Baby Dixon often came into Senate
8 CLAWS room and was made much of by th
!, Senator. One day, however, he was pre-
emit when Senator Clay had some impor
tant callers. He had no time to talk I
Baby Dixon, and he took him from b
knee, placed him on his feet, and said
q ssNow, Natey, run down stairs to you