The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-09-20

Tho Sunk and the sHike' are, except
In rare instances. most unwilling witnesses.
Even although Q man may have been done
to death before their very eyes, they know
nothing and have seen nothing when ques-
toned by the officers of the law. and that,
too, when they have no personal or secret
society motive for shielding the criminal.
Antipathy to being held as witnesses, and,
above all. dread Of vengeance at the hands
of the murderer's friends or secret society
comrades seal the lips of witnesses Of many
a cold -blooded deed Of blood. That 40
many murderers escape arrest liz. under the
conditions which prevail, not so surprising
as 1t Ia that there are 80 many arrests and
convictions.
It is only by employing men Of their own
race as detectives that evidence in the great
majority OF casee can be obtained. and even
then 1t Is after matter Of months. and only
through the exercise Of the utmost patience.
that those who know the details Of the crime
In question can be induced to talk.
PREVALENCE OF CRIME GENERAL.
As to the general prevalence Of crimes
Of violence In the coal regions the records
Of the different county courts are SUI
flclent evidence. For the September court
In Northumberland county the largest GRIM
inal docket in the history Of tho county
was presented. There were 800 cases on
tho trial list.
Among them are three indictments for
murder. all involving members Of tho
foreign mine working element. The vast
majority however, are for all the varying
classifications of assault, from assault to
commit murder and atrooious assault to
plain assault and battery.
In Columbia county there are so many
prisoners in the county jail that the County
Commissioners recently doubled the Jail
guard.
THE AFTERMATH OF THE sTR1KEs.
In the face Of such facts as these it is
Idle to deny that there Is an abnormal
amount OF crime in the coal country. 1t is,
moreover. a perfectly natural inference
that this excess Of crime Ia to certain
degree the aftermath Of tho criminal ex-
oesses which marked the coal strikes OF
1900 and 1902.
The deprecatory and apparently timid
attitude OF high public officials lntrusted
with the duty Of maintaining the dignity
and authority Of the State. and the readi-
ness OF men with political ambitions to
adopt a conciliatory attitude toward the
representatives OF red handed anarchy have
had their natural result. The ignorant
foreigners who make up the majority OF
the mining population have no respect
for governmental authority that does not
support the edicts OF the law with force.
With them a policy Of compromising
conciliatory kind on the part Of those In
authority has no other Interpretation than
pusillanimo,s weakness. For such au-
thorities and for the laws they represent
they readily conceive sheer contempt
That crime should increase is the logical
consequence.
1t would be unfair, however. to the great
mass Of the ignorant foreign miners to
dwell upon their misdeeds in the way OF
violence without some reference to the
cause which lies at the bottom Of 90 per
cent. Of all the crime among them-drink
Freed from drink and the evil influence OF
pestiferous labor agitators the Hunk
or the Hike miner Is far from being bad
or dangerous fellow.
He has within him qualities OF good
citizenship. From the ranks Of the Polish
Hungarian and Lithuanian miners have
come men In every way creditable and
valuable to the communities in which they
live--industrious, thrifty. good American
citizens.
DRINK ONE CAUSE OF THE pEv1ITRY.
That there should be any such to emerge
from the sea Of beer and forty rod whskey
with which the coal region Is deluged is ir
itself marvellous, to say nothing Of the
pernicious activity Of agitators who thrive
upon industrial disturbance and OF the
other parasites who make their living out
OF the miners ignorance and passions.
The drink consumption alone in the an
thracite counties Is sufficient to accoun,
for large percentage OF the deviltry thai
is done. Schuylkin county is fair sam
pie in this respect.
There are ten breweries In Schuylkil
county, and from the first Of January t.
the first OF September this year they turned
out 233 900 barrels Of beer. counting thirty
three gallons to the barrel, an averag,
| OF %, 12S barrels. or s7l ,125 gallons, month
nearly Hi Oh WHICH rs COtISuiIieu by tHt
| 1855 900 persons who make up the popu
laton of the county. At this rat,
through the twelve months the annua
beer consumption from the local brewerie,
alone ia. making allowance for beer sen
| out of the county, not far from 800, OO
| barrels, or close to 10 1000 900 gallons.
| Besides the ten breweries there are in tn,
county thirty agencies for outside beer
which il Ia estimated sell $4,000 gallon
more. And all this, Of course. ia sayin,
nothing Of the vast quantities Of whiskey
rum. gin and wines Of all kinds that ar
sold in the county.
The result ia quite az might be expected
A vast majority Of the crimes of violenc
are directly traceable to this alcohol
source The weddings, christenings ant
even the funerals are often the scenes o
wild baccha nalian revels and at least wit
the Hunk and every foreign mine
who is not an italian is "FIunk"a fes
tivity Of any alcoholic sort Is not complet
without savage fight, in which knives
pistols and bludgeons generally play
part.
'If you want to get at the real cause G
crime in the anthracite region" said
lawyer here in Pottsville. "hunt out tn
statistics of alcoholic beverage consump
ton. That will tell the story
WAGGLE YOUR TOES AND SHORE
A Cheap but Highly Recommended Remed
| for Insomnia.