The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-03
SHOULD PUNISH THE PRIN-
 ClPALS.

In several papers of late we have seen mention of a recent occurrence in New York which reveals some of the wicked ness of that great city as well as the pitiful side of life for some of its in- habitants. Tho Hartford Coursnt thus briefly sets out tho first part of the story:
 Certain boys were up for stealing copper telephone wire. It appeared. however. that the boys had been hired by a man. for 6 cents apiece, to pull the wire through . hole in the wall near the ware house of the New York Telephone Com pany, and to take this wire to a junk dealer. Then Detective Sergeant Burns of the central office arrested the boys, but did not arrest the man Schneider who hired them, and who was with them.
 So far the story is not essentially diff ferent from many others fin the larger cities of this and other counties. There are boys who will steal. more the pity, and they are not infreouently arrested and punished for 1t. Whether the fault lies primarily with the parents. or with society at large. or whatever may be the causes leading to it. all cities have | as part of their population children of | both sexes whose main aim and busi- ness seems to be to violate the laws and generally to suffer for 1t. The larger
 the city the more opportunity there is for
 this kind of law-breaking. and by the same token there are always older heads | who use the children as instruments in | their nefarious work. In the case in | question, however. there was another | agency at work of which The Courant says:
 Back of this commonplace little drama stand other facts. The telephone com pany's agent pays $50 to precinct detec- | tives for the conviction of anyone steal ing wire from the company. and S2OO for
 the conviction of any one receiving the
 stolen property; and it is conjectured that in this instance the boys were paid to
 carry the wire to a junk dealer so that
 both rewards might be obtained at one | stroke. In other words a sort of reward l industry seems to be in operation; and
 when the natural recklessness of street
 boys is not sufficient for the success of
 the scheme, these boys are hired in order
 to keep the business going.
 I @Sn SaAAS o buoincSS9 ana 1 isn't 1t sad commentary on the system
 of municipal government which makes
 such things possible? The practice
 judging from what we have seen stated
 in other papers. had been going on for a
 considerable while before any arrests
 were made. and before the details came
 out. 1t is not to be wondered at that
 the Justice before whom the boys were
 brought, and who chanced to be a mar
 worthy of his position. denounced the act
 of the men who engineered the dirty bust
 ness as "a vicious and damnable con
 spiracy." It deserved his description ant
 1t is to his credit that he discharged tn ] boys as soon as all the facts were mad , plain to him.. Whether there can b
 found any method by which the principa
 offenders can receive the punishmen they so richly merit does not yet ap pear. but all right-thinking people mus agree that the penitcntiary would be tn proper place for men who would thu lead boys to become thieves and out laws.