Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1903-01-11
CHARACTER STUDIES AND LIFE
STORIES FROM THE RICHMOND JAIL,
utten for the Dispatch BY Evangelist Stun Works

A contrast to the drunkard Is furnished
by thu case of a young white man. a
chronic and professional thief at 20,
now serving term in thu same jail. Like
many thieves, ne has good face, Wnicn
seems to contradict the theories Of the
phys1ognomists He Is bright and quick
and strong and healthy. and. apparently.
has many years of life before him; but
he has served several terms for petty
larceny He is full Of fun. this fellow,
but when he consented to talk ser1-
ousIy, he told me ca,,didly that he be-
iieved he had been made q criminal by
reading cheap novels. He was always
good deal of a young devil. from his
own account-the Tad boy Of the village
and school, always foremost III mischief
and engaged in some prank. but not at
flrst thinking of any serious consequences
or intending any real crime. He. too.
Is a Virginian, from a small town, and
a public school and grammar school boy
He told with boyisn pride Of seme of his
fits and freaks OF mischief, and laughed
gleefully of the recollection of them-of
how he once smuggled q puppy into his
desk at school, and at another time
covered a slippery place on !. sidewalk
with snow and watched foot passengers
fall. He was Sunday. school scholar.
attended church regularly, and can yet
school lessons. Asked how he first began
to steal at Is or II years. his answer
was:
well, guess the first cause was read
ing novels. The other boys used to read
them and got me to doing it. and spent
a good deal Of my time studying detec-
tive stories. ] reckon the first thing I
really thought I would like to be was q
detective, for was fool enough to be-
4, +t,o N-;,I.E bas
tive was real person, and that could
be as smart as the books said he vas
and do the same kind of things.
'rBut the Wild West stories were the
ones that caught me most All we boys
read them and wanted to go out West and
be cowboys. We started once and ran
away from home, but it didn't take US
long to get enough of that and We came
back. Then I felt sort Of 'shamed- Most
OF the other boys who had got into the
same kind OF foolishness learned some
sense and went TO college or to work and
behaved themselves. but I got to going
with another kind OF boys, fellows who
laughed at Sunday schools and churches,
and said my old crowd was slow. It
didn't take long for them to get me to
help them to steal. first little things
, and then more. I reckon I went into it
first more for the excitement and prank
of 1t, than anything else. and to show
that couldn't be backed down by the
rest Of the crowd. Then I got caught
! and after that it seemed to me like
there was nothing else for me to do but
to leave home and keep on stealing. I
have no character; couldn't refer to
any body, or get any recommendation;
and even if could buckle down to work.
how would go about getting it? Suppose
went away from here and asked for
work, and when they asked me where l
came from told them I was just out of
| Richmond jail"
And that is the position of boy of
20, who certainly. so far as body and
trains 50, has all the makings Of a man
in him.