The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-04-22
ONE MORE GREAT PLAGUE.
DIR. TALMAeE's SERIES CONTINUED.
Professional Criminals and Their Work
Evils OF the Present System of Confine-
ment-Uatrustworthy Oficials-Ths
IdIers and the Oppressed Poor.

DR.. Talmage. in continuance of the
course of sermons on "The Ter Plaques of
the Cities" last Sunday preached to
large audiences in tho Brooklyn Academy
of Music in the forenoon, and at the Chris
tiGn Herald service at the New York
Academy of Music in the evening, on
"The Plague of Crime" He took for his
text Exodus vii, 20: "All the waters that
were in the river were turned to blood"
Among all the Egyptian plaques none
could have been worse than this. The
Nile is the wealth of Egypt. It's fish the
food, its waters the irrigation OF garden
and fields. Its condition decides the pros
perity or the doom OF the empire. What
happens 10 the Nile happens to all Egypt.
And now in the text that great river is in
carnadined. 1t is a red cash across an
empire. In poetic license we speak of
wars which turn the rivers into blood.
But my text is not a poetic license. 1t
was fact, great crimson, appalling con-
dition, described. The Nile rolling deep
of blood. Can you imagine a more awful
plague?
The modern plague which nearest cor
responds with that is the plague of crime
in all our cities. 1t halts not for blood
shed. 1t shrinks from no carnage. 1t
bruises and cuts and strikes down and
DESTROYS. Itrevels in the blood of body
and soul, this plague of crime, rampant
for ages and never holder or more ram
pant than now.
The annual police reports Of these cities,
as 1 examine them, are to me moro sug-
80 1T y Ill
christian people, as we'll as reformers,
need TO waken to present and tremen-
dous duty. If you want this plague of
crime" to stop there are several kinds of
persons you need TO consider. ~ The
public criminals. You ought not to be
surprised that these people make up q
large portion in many communities. The
vast majority of the criminals who take
ship from Europe come into our own port.
In 1869, OF the $4,000 people who were in
generated In the prisons of the country,
$1,000 were OF foreign birth. Many of
them were the very desperadOes OF cities,
ooZing into the slums OF our society, wait
ing for an opportunity to riot and steal,
and debauch, joining the large gang of
American thugs and cut-throats. There
are in this cluster of cities-New York,
Jersey City and Brooklyn-4,000 people
whose entire business in life is to commit
crime. That is as much their business as
Jurisprudence or medicine or merchandise
is your business. TO it they bring all their
energies of body, mind and soul. and they
look upon the intervals which they spend
in prison as so much unfortunate less of
time, Just as you look upon an attack OF
influenza or rheumatism which fastens
you in the house for few days.
1t is their lifetime business to
pick pockets, and blow up safes,
and shopliit, and ply the panel game,
and they have so much pride in their
business as you have in yours when you
upset the argument of an opposing coun
sci, or cure gunshot fracture which other
surgeons have given up, or foresee a turn
in the market as you buy goods just before
they 90 up 70 per cent. 1t is their bust
ness to commit crime, and l do not sup
pose that once in a year the thought OF
the immortality strikes them. Added to
these professional criminals, American
and foreign, there is a large class of men
who are more or less industrious in crime.
In one year the police in this cluster of
cities arrested 10000 people for theft, and
10000 for assault and battery, and $4,000
for intoxicatiOn. Drunkenness is respon-
sible for much of the theft, since it con-
fuses a mans ideas Of property, and he
long to him. Rum is responsible for much
of the assault and battery, inspiring men
TO sudden bravery, which they must
demonstrate, though it be on the face of
the next gentleman.
Ten million dollars worth of property
stolen in this cluster OF cities in one year.
You can not, as good citizens, be indepen-
dent of that fact. IL will touch your peck
ct, since l have to give you the fact that
these three cities pay about 100000
worth of taxes year to arraign, try and
support the criminal population. You
help to pay the board of every criminal,
from the sneak thief that snatches q spool
of cotton, up to some man who swamps
bank. More than that, it touches your
heart in the moral depression of the COM
munity. You might as well think to
stand in q closely confined room where
there are fifty people and yet not breathe
the vltlated air, az to stand In a cOmmuni-
" where there is such great multitude
of the depraved without somewhat being
contaminated. What Is the fire that burns
your store down compared with the con-
hagration which consumes your morals
What is the theft of the gold and silver
from your money safe compared with the
theft of your children's virtue?
We are all ready to arraign criminals.
thief" and when the po ice get on the
track we come out, hatless and in our
slippers, and assist in the arrest. We
come around the bawling ruffian and hus-
tie him of to justice, and when he gets in
prison, what do we do for him? With
great gusio we put on the handouts and
the topples; but what preparation are
we making for the day when the hand
cuffs and the hopples come off? Society
seems to say to these criminals, "Villain,
60 in there and rot" when it ought say,
"You are an offender against the law, but
we mean to give you an opportunity to
repent; we mean to help you. Here are
bibles and tracts and Christian influence.
Chris died for you. Look and live"
Vast improvements have been made by
introducing industries into the prison;
but we want something more than ham,
mers and shoe lasts to reclaim these peo-
pie. Aye, We want more than sermons on
Sabbath day. Society must impress these
men with the fact that it does not enjoy
their suffering, and that it is attempting
to reform and elevate them. The majority
of criminals suppose that society has a
grudge against them, and they in turn
have a grudge against society.
They are harder in heart and more in
furiate when they come out OF Jail than
when they went in. Many of the people
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