Durango semi-weekly herald., 1905-05-25
CRIME AN DTS CURE.

church in the morning and the Other
at the Baptist in the evening The
evening discourse was mostly devot
ed 10 the work MIR Collett is doing
in his connection with the state pris
on association and help for the needy
and 1t is a subject all should be inter
ested in and also shows what is being
done in this connection. The Herald
gives the address in full, as follows
Il am always grateful to these pas
tors and official members of our
churches, in all parts of the state whn
are so exceedingly kind in affording
us the privilege of telling their peo-
pie, and those of their fellow citizens
who may ne Interested in coming out,
work that is being done in this state
Il am the state superintendent of
Prison association work in this state.
having an office with that of the
state board of pardons.
OF course, We are one of the young
er states. and as such we are start
ing out The attention of the best
people of the older states has been
given to these needs. Everybody
has heard of Maud Ballington Booth
and ner labors, but few have heard
mention of the work begun twenty
hye TO thirty years ago in many of the
eastern states, that has elevated thou
sands out OF a night of hopelessness
into the clear day OF opportunity.
Il want to talk to you tonight
from the third lesson that | read in
your hearing, and the words of the
Master used by Him in His descrip.
ton of the judgment scene, when wei
coming some OF His presence TO abide
with Him forever He gave as His
reason for doing it, what they had
done for the poor. the thirsty, the
hungry, the naked, and those who
We're sick or in prison. He says, Il,
myself was in prison. though you
didn't know it when you went to
that man languishing within stone
walls and behind bars of iron; for !
cnose 10 regard your visit to him as
personal visit made TO myself
After quite number of years
study of social problems in America.
regard the problem of crime and for
many reasons, as the third greatest
problem that confronts US. as a Chris
ton republic; 100000 men-they are
nearly all men-three hundred thou
sand boys | had better said. fill pris-
ons, in this land, or else are com
ing and going, to and fro. a hundred
thousand in our penintentiaries and
refornatories. all the time, and two
hundred thousand estimated, coming
and going
The repression Of this class of
men, by the armed guard stone walls.
iron bars. policemen, maintaining po-
lice courts and the criminal prosecu-
tons before district courts. aggregates
a figure of two hundred millions of
dollars a year; and the depredations
Of this criminal class estimated a.
what the thief gets for his punder,
and not ut what 1t costs the original
rightful oWner-four hundred million
dollars. put the two figures together
= six hundred millions of dollars an
nually. 1t Is costing us to hinder
crime and depredations we suffer
from our criminal class.
When The Hon. Eugene Smitn. OF
New York City, eminent as an attor
ney, as a student of social problems
and as a statistician made this state
ment. before the National Prison con
gress of 1900. in Cleveland, o., though
there were men WHO had spent all
their lives in the study of criminal
problems, they. sat spellbound, at tne
very enormity of he problem they
had before them.
Russia is spending, she tells us.
twenty millions every month to wage
the greatest war Of modern times, ana
vet what the repression of crime and
the depredalious of the criminal class
aggregates, IN any one montn, will
carry on Russias war expenses for
two and one-half months. No wonder
we consider it serious problem.
Then. when we take into considera
tion. my dear friends, that our offend
ers are youths-we call them boys,
as the prisoners use the term among
themselves, but tell you, 1t is prop
erly used. In a city. for instance, like
our capital, Denver. wnere between
nine and ten thousand arrests are
made every year, do you know that
from fifteen and sixteen hundred OF
those are youths between the ages of
ten and twenty, and about sixty-five
hundred OF more than two-thirds OF
them. are only between the ages oil
ten and forty? If you visit the Penn
sylvania penitentiary at Philadelphia,
YOU will learn that OF those imprison-
ed there, four ont OF five are of ages
less than forty. In your own state
penitentiary, five out OF every six are
of forty years of age or under; and
when | stand, as | have frequently,
and see them pouring in through the
doors and fling, taking their places.
pew after pew-tnis audience would
be literally lost among them. So. as
you look them over. you will learn
how few are the men grown old in
crime.
One young man who had spent a