The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-04-19
BEGETTING CRIMINALS.

a short time ago, this community was
shocked by the marriage in the county
| jail of convicted thief. one Herbert
Williams. and murderous-m minded
| prostitute, Minerva Reeves, who had
| shot at with intent TO Kill, her sister
| The aflliction which such marriages as
this, with the resulting criminal pro-
geny. inflictS upon the community. is
so thoroughly comprehended by intelli-
gent persons, that this wretched affair
here was universally denounced and
when Sheriff Emery with stupid
bravado. took upon himself the whole
responsibility for it, the people set him
away down in their estimation, as an
unfit person 10 be entrusted with off,
clal position: some even went SO far as
10 demand his impeachment. And In
truth his offense was OF the utmost
gravity, justly censurable by every
citizen.
1t is only in comparatively recent
years that there has been any syste
matte study Of hereditary criminology.
The most famous (or infamous, II you
prefer the term case in American re-
ports from such studies is that Of the
Jukes family, OF Massachusetts,, when
from one criminal mother there de-
scended almost two hundred disrepu
table and criminal characters. Another
case almost Identical with it is re-
ported in the Berlin Gegenwart, by
Hans Leusz, and translated for Public
Opinion, as follows:
A gloomy picture has just been given
us by DR.. Jorger of Prag, picture which
shows n family tree that In five genera
tions produced more than two hundred
vagabonds, thieves idiots imbcciles beg
gars and murdcrcrs. For the past TWEEN
" years DR. Jorger has been investlgat-
ing this family. looking up the records OF
criminal courts and other documents. DIR.
Jorger calls the ancestor Paul Alexis
Zero. The wife OF Paul Alexis was an
Italian woman and the couple had six
sons and daughter. The daughter mar
ricd drunken husband, who eventually
died I'm his cups, while his wife died as a
vagabond. The son OF the latter pair.
Paul jos Zero. was Yagabond and a
drunkard and he married Il disreputable
woman who was also a drunkard. Jos
Zero and his wife died in 1880 after pro-
ducIng eight degenerate children. or
these children five girls were prostitutes.
and the three brothers were respectively
q thief an idiot and a drunkard These
children all left offspring deficient men
tally and morally.
or the six sons OF Paul Alexis the arst
had three wives and three children OF
whom two were imbeciles. One OF these
lmbeclles married n hystcrical woman,
and had eight children, OF whom son
was an epileptic. another an idiot and a
thief, third abnormal and a yagabond,
a fourth n counterfcitcr, and n daughter
was imbecie The second son OF the
original ancestor had by a Swabian wo-
man four sons and three daughters The
eldest son was eplleptlc, the second had
several normal children but also two de-
generates. the third son had normal chill
dren. the fourth was a drunkard and
childlees. and OF the daughters one was
childless, one prostitute, the third mar
rled a lunatic and bore an abormal son
and weak-minded daughter. The third
son of Alexis had by an Italian woman
four sons, one OF whom wac weak mind
cd. another had fve children, OF whom
three were thieves and the fourth a vag-
abond; third son died without children.
and the fourth had four daughters who
were weak minded. The fourth son OF
the original ancestor had two sons, ono
OF whom had consumption. and the Sec
ond sons children were vagabonds and
deGenerates, The fifth son OF Alexis had
by two wives four children, OF whom the
eldest was weak minded. the second a
paralytic. the other two weak minded
The last son was u drunkurd and died in
his cups"
1t is a frightful record At what a
tremendous cost TO itself did society
permit that disastrous marriagel This
cost comes first In the injection of SO
much deterioration of moral fiber, such
mass of criminality and costly i'm
becility into the community, and sec
ond. In the actual money cost of caring
for the degeneratcs and dealing with
the criminals.
And yet. in spite of the warnings of
the Jukes case, in spite of the fact that
the utmost efforts of good citizens
everywhere are earnestly directed to-
ward the repression OF criminality and
degeneracy by shutting off the supply
of criminals and degenerates, a public
official OF this county In a responsible
position. who should above almost any
other officer be alive 10 the Importance