The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-03-08

Church Federation and Civic Right
eousness," was the topic of a sermon
delivered last night in the new Grace
Evangelical Lutheran church by Rev.
DIR. Isaac j. Lansing, pastor of the
Green Ridge Presbyterian church, who
spoke in q broad and comprehensive
manner on the great question of the
reformation of the criminal element in
society, that society itself may be saved
from ultimate destruction.
DR.. Lansing, in beginning his re-
marks, stated the practical fact that
what Is most wanted of every citizen
in every community is right conduct
and that all Christian churches. no
matter what their doctrine or dogma,
are agreed upon those things that are
right and those things that are wrong.
He declared that q community, too, has
moral existence. just as the indi-
vidual. and may be moral or immoral.
The distribution of taxes and the man
ner of their collection must be moral
or immoral as we'll as the administra-
ton of police departments jails, hos
pitfalls, etc.
"All coincide" said he, "that man
should live right life and society, as
Gladstone said must make it easy for
man to live such a life. If a man is
expected to live morally, he has a right
to demand that those about him also
live morally, so that he can. Society is
largely responsible for what individuals
are. The large majority of us are as
good as the average, and no better. The
thing for us to do is to raise the aver
age.
MEN WHO TAKE BRIBES.
"In enlarging upon this subject, I
might refer to councilmen who sell
their votes for the passage of gas or
other franchises, at the rate of 5000 to
$500 apiece. or I might draw illustra-
tons from the connivance of the police
of some cities with crime and the
notorious infamy of many public Off
cials. I choose, rather, to consider the
essentially criminal population which
peoples our jails and which represents
the extreme of civic unrighteousness.
"The criminals of this country num-
ber two per cent. of the entire pOpu-
lation, but only one in ten of them are
convicts. The majority of them are
young men and young women between
the ages of 16 and 26 There are twenty
times more men than women, and this
fact may be directly traced to the other
fact that twice as many women as men
are regular attendants of the churches
of this country.
"These young men and women cost
the people of this country $500, 200 Il
year to take care of. The public schools
of this country cost us less than $780,
100000 year, and all education but
$500, 100000. All the churches cost far
maintain. Isn't this comparison start
ling?
"It has been stated that $3.50, 600 900 of
this $600,0O0,OOO could be saved every
year in this country if we gave proper
attention to the reformation of criml-
nails. We are doing almost nothing to
stop their manufacture, year by year.
We dread, fear and avoid criminals,
and they keep going on in their crime
without our attention. Their number is
rapidly increasing. according to statis-
tics and increasing in proportion to
the relative population. What are we
doing to stop this increase? Practice
ally nothing. We sent them to prison
and they come out worse than before,
only to be sent back once more. 1t can
be proven by figures that where an in
lelllStll, IdllOlldl ana Sc1enllllc e11Oft
has been made to reform criminals,
eighty-five out of every hundred have
been cured of their criminal habits and
sent out to live decent, respectable
lives.
CAUSE OF CRIMINALITY.
"What is the cause of the crimnality
of this two per cent. of our population?
Some say, 'Oh, they're worse than other
people, and let it go at that. They are
not worse than other people by nature.
I've got over Dragging about how good
l am, because ! know that nine -tenths
of our Christian people would be crimi-
nails themselves if they We're brought
up among the surroundings of the
criminals of this and every land and
faced the conditions they have faced
"One reason for the criminality of a
certain number of our population is
that they were born of criminal par