Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-01-11
United States Has Unenviable
Position in Respect of Law
lessness.
Public Needs TO Sec More Clearly
Where sport Stops md Crime He
gins-Youth Learn TO Disre-
Rard Justice.
(From Case and Comment

to speak OF criminal sport. But a list
Of the crimes committed in fun, or in
the name OF sport, every year, would
bc astonishing. not only for its length,
but for the wide variety of criminal Of
lenses included in it, ranging from
petty larcenies and needless mischief
UP to serious, and even heinous felonics,
like mayhem and homicide. The surpris-
ing and almost incredible tolerance of
the American public for crime of every
sort, committed in sport or in the guise
of sport, shows that the public needs
TO see more clearly where sport stops
and crime begins. and to feel far more
kecnly the dishonor to the nation from
any liberation of injustice, especially
when it is in the form of wanton ag-
gressions on person or property. The I'M
enviabic position of the United States
in respect OF lawlessness has hitherto
been exhibited at the worst in an annual
record of violence and murder that
shocks the civilized world. The essence
and spirit of all crime is a disregard Of
tho rights of others. The first and
greatest characteristic of a gentleman
or good citizen Is u scrupulous regard
for the rights Of other people; yet among
the boys and young men who come
from homes of responsibility and refine
mcnt there are multtudes who, in u
variety of ways, habitually wanton!y,
| and crininally wrong other people; and.
| although they usually do it sneakinslv.
| showing n consciousness of wrongdoing.
| they seem to have. nevertheless. n half
! formed notion that they are eXercis
! ing a privilege of which no one ought
| to complain. Moreover. there Is an easy
going tolerance of their crimes by the
community at large. or. at least, by the
officers of justice. BY these practices
and their federation these future citizens
are encouraged to dcspsc and trample
upon tho fundamental principal Of
citizenship and social order Some OF
these criminal acts are comparatively
trivial. Others are more serious. But all
of them breed In those who practise
them a disregard of Justice and of law
The instances Of crime committed in the
guiso of sport, or of fun, are familiar to
| everybody. II is a rare city or town in
which a home with garden or fruit is at
all secure in its enjoyment Boys. often
| from respcctabe families. not only steal
all tho fruit. but wantonly damage, and
very likely ruin, the trees. For boniires
on the Fourth OF July, election day or
some other holiday. the same class OF
''respcctdblc' hoodiums steal every
barrel box. or wooden article of any
natnr" that is portable. with no care to
discriminate between what is valuable
and what is not. Halloween partjes 90
ing in' fun to litter and bespattcr porches
ana entrances Of dwellings with dirty
and decaycd vegeta bles sometimes broa,,
windows and mutliate woodwork. SUI
dents or various grades think Il a lark
to carry of and sometimes to DESTROY.
front gates. to burn down fences or old
buildings that do not please them; to
smash windows and doors Of a school
house. academy cor college building: to
hedaub offcnsively such buildings or
even private residences. with paint: to
mutliate statues or other art treasures ::
or in any one of a thousand similar ways
demonstrate their superior culture by
running or :njuring property which docs
not belong to them. 1t is in these ways
! that the education Of our BOYS and
Young men is extended to include face
tious crimes of various kinds, such as
theft. malicious mischief. and arson The
seeds are planted and the sprouts water
Cd from which in later days comes "A
goodly crop Of those crimes by which
men of education. good family, and bust
ness or political prominence surprise tho
public.
AEGressons upon persons. also. arc ire.
ouently carried To criminal point IN
the name Of sport In hazing for ez-
ample, when. without any agreed contest
or consent of the party attacked. a gang
of fellows lie in ambush or otherwise
secretly catch their victim at Il disad-
vantage and maltreat him. sometime $
seriously, they are guilty of criminal as.
saut as well as Of contomptible cowar-
dice and meaness They have a pleas
ant theory that it is done because the
freshman needs it. But even if that were
true and If he We're benefited by it. it is
more than offset by the cultivation in
themselves of an insolent disregard OF
the personal rights of a felowman as
well as of n spirit of lawlcssness and a
tendency to take mean and cowardly
advantage of an opponent In the view
of the Law, the attack not only consti-
tutes a criminal assault but in those ex-
treme cases in which tho death of the
victim results the offenders are guilty
OF homicide, varying in degree according
to the circumstances of the killing. Even
without any intent to kill. ii may he
come murder in the first degree. Vet il
Is all sport in the complacent view OF
those who pcrpetrate the crime. Causing
the death of a person by reckless treat
ment OF him in the course Of initiation
into n fraternity. which has happened IN
a considerable number of cases in this
country, is. of course, usually free from
any malicious purpose. but if reckless
or grossly negligent, it is undeniabll
criminal. and constitutes man-GlaughtcI
under nearly all the authorities. \ fan
more infamous crime is committed IN
the course of games, such rs football
when one or more players secretly, bu,
; deliberately disable an opposing player
The mere suggestion that such a thing
as this could be done in game among
the gentlemen who constitute the oppos.
ing college teams seems incredible. Yet
that it has been done repeatedly, unit
it has become almost customary. Will
some teams at least, is wcll-nigh uni
vcrsally admitted. even by the most en-
thusiastic supporters of the game, except
when they are put on its defense. Some
thing very like an admission also appears
i'm the announcement recently made by
the arrangements OF several teams, thai
foul play will not be tolerated hereaf'
ter. Only tremendous pressure of pub
lie condemnation has been able to force
these young gentlemen and scholars Il
forego the practices of thugs. When a