The Lamar register., 1897-05-29

dif1cult to explain
Criminals say many authors, have
found It necessary to adopt technical
language for their own protection. that
they may be able 10 converse in pub
lie without being understood. They
have been forced to do this. and have
made lansuage as sinister and as vile
as themselves~ Thls theory cannot be
admitted Certainly the argot Is sinis-
ter and yilel and Thoroughly represen-
tatIyc o. the elass that uses II, but fur
ther than this We cannot &c. The the
ory that the use of this dialect Is OF
any assistance to the ctimtnal Us mad
rnissible Most policemen and all pris-
on officers knat This slang. sometimes
better than the thieves. To speak II
In the hearing Of dste.tiye Is to In
vfte arrest I'd spealcit m the presence
Of the reuerai pahlic would arouse sus-
plclon aud sttract attentlon-two
things which are especially to be avoid
ed Why. then. docs Il exist2 Dr..
Laurent OF The SAINT. prison, in Paris.
has given an explanation Which has at
least nothing TO edhtrasist II; The
persons euEa sed in, ,Asry Trade form 4
species Of diaisct q dteehnlrL phrase
oIogy which Is spaksa and Understood
only by thenselves crfminals. who
praetscs 4 trade As old rs any, have
gradually ACQUIRED ianguage more
adapted to their@wxnfs. rrorrin keeping
with their ideas and thoughts. Miscra-
bic. heartless, enxagee In a perpetual
struggle against morality. Law and de-
eency. they have acquired language
of debased words and cynical meta
phors. a languaEe of abhreviated eN-
presslons and obscene sYnonyins. The
general tendency Of the eriminai TO re-
duce the abstract 70 the concrete, to de-
note the substantive by one Of its at
tributes. is shown very clearly in his
synecdcehilel phrsseolosy. Thus a
purse is a ''lcather..-a street car is a
short" comparing its length with
railroad car; handkerchief Is
wipe" and pair Of shoes "a pair OF
kicks" Again, some Of the terms ap
pear TO be purely arbitrary and were
II not that the creative power is as
absent in criminals as In women /
should not hesitate to state IL as tact.
But 1t seems wiser 70 conclade merely
that the origin OF these terms has be-
come obscured. To suppose that they
were created would be in too distinct
contradiction to all obtainabie evil
dence. indirect though II may be. Such
expressions are 10 Kip meaning 10
sleep; to spiel" to make speech:
''jerve." waistcoat pocket; ''thimblc.'
a watch. to do a lam.- meaning to
run. Some of the EXPRESSIONS are de-
scriptive To run FROM a police Of
fIcer is to do a hot foot.'s A pcfsor
who is always listening TO othe. peo-
I pies conversation is called at rubber
neck" The word push" meaning
crowd. is occasionally seen Ia the news
papers. To be arrested is to be
-pinched;" to be convicted rs 10 s.fali.H
TO refuse persons appeal is TO give
him the marble heart" Such express
sions require no explanation. This dIa-
lect has mutilated the mother tongae;
it has also borrowed literally from oth-
er languages, but without method or
etymology. Criminals are not gram
marians Neither are they linguists,
and at first sight it would seem strange
that they should import words from
other countries. We will find. however.
that in any prison the percentage of in
mates OF foreign birth win be large;
in America 1t Is about 10 per cerh !
forefgp eNpreSsion which seems a. or