The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-07-21

makes heroes of train robbers ana muir
derers. and the intellectual debcnelatiois
which makes that community prey u
every fantastic deluslOn, from Chrlsuan
cciarc, TO nat money In spite OF many
Individual instances or hlsh Hltli5eter
and moral vigOr. the community as a
whole lacks the sound fibre Of law-anld,
Ing, crime-repressin orier-IoElns' anu
self respecting communities.
The reason is plain enough Callorhl5
Is under the heredity curse or penal
colony Like Virginia IN the Seventeenth
Louisiana IN the eighteenth. anu Au-
stralia IN the nineteenth century, 1t was
pe0pled with persons OF loose holals
and small respect tOr law, whose cdpac-
ifies and tendencies are inherited ny
their descendants. California, IN inc NJ
ties. was voluntary penal colony
place of welcome refuge and willing exile
for men and women for whom existence
in orderly and moral communities had
become impossible or uncOmfortdlie
Cci.yictS and loose women were snlppei
from England and France 20 virginia
and Louisiana. Criminals were turned
loose i'm Australia after completing theig
terms Of transportation. These tainted
those new countries with corruption thag
generations OF more regular hYins any
wholesome admixture could not cure II
took nearly 20 years 10 purity virgins.
The faint still clings about LOUISIANA III
the shape OF a tendency 20 'aNless out
break and reckless private living; 10 po-
lic8l tumult and ON tstlhale on
human life. Sheridan's banditu are the
linosl descendants Of the French scum
dumped into Louisiana $50 yeas ago,
The destructive social SIN and poltical
folly that run riot in Australia engerdef.
al in the morbid human strata deposited
there i'm penal colony times 70 become the
l8sfr of 4 new civilization.
What selfish and brutal state poilcy
did for these Unfortunate communtl ies
the chance OF gold discoveries In Califor-
MIA did for that state. II was ielti ~.
pastoral country, thinly peopled with IN
feri0r races. The bait OF gold drew 10 IL
sucn a hOrie Of reckless adventures as
J has never fallen upon a region In modern
/ times THE social chaos tnat resuiteu
from this sudden occupation invited othel
hOrdes of men and women who sought
/ wealth less than obscurity. All manner
/ Of social Outcasts jOstled each other IN a
fevered atmosphere that fOstered IN then
/ the germs OF moral decay The Callior'
mia Of the eos contained more unpromis,
| ing human material than ever was found
/ i'm avow.d penal colonies. because II
/ drew not the scum of single state, bu'
| the refuse of the world
These people increased and multiplied
after the manner OF their kind and thei
/ physical and spiritual inheritors fill Cali
| fOrria to-day. There has been a vas
moral gain with substitution OF
settled urban and pastoral population
for the rowing gold hunters OF IN
'rOs. There has been wholesome ad
mixture of blood. too. the evil Otter
mating with the sound instead o
with each other But one generation +
! not enough TO remove the moral faint II
/ will probably be a century from the dat.
/ of its settlement before California vii
! be free I'm public standards and private
! morals from the hereditary corruption
Of its founders The Oreeonlan.