The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-06-04
SHALL NOT A THIEF REFORM?

The case of Abraham Ruef Of San
Francisco brings strongly into the glare
Of publicity and the contention Of de.
bate, the ethics of reformed rascality.
been robber, rascal, CRATER, munich
pal thief, boss and buccaneer generally,
must continue in his career TO the end
or whether in spite of all his crimes
and villalnics it is yet proper for him
to abandon his career of crime and ras-
cality and TO atone so much as he may
to the public for the offenses of the
past. In considering the Ruef case, The
Tribune took the latter view, and held
that Ruef was doing good service in
abandoning his crime and was doing his
duty TO the law by exposing his con-
federates and telling the story in the
court of justice precisely as it was,
That is TO say, we held that it was COM
mendable for thief TO stop his steal
ing, and to make such public amends
as he might for his crimes.
1t seems, however, that this view is
not universally taken. We find an cdi-
torIal paragraph in a recent number of
Collier s Weekly which is fierce in its
denunciation of Ruef. II says that as he
'|turned craven, he Is the more disgust
as he could weep And further, that
Croker and other distinguished munich
pal robbers ''wore never guilty of tears,
and Will scarcely welcome such a COW
ard TO their brotherhood. - Leaving
out the proposition as TO desirable
brotherhoods among thieves, this seems
TO be plea for thief TO remain
thief, to continue hardened in villainy;
and if he has amassed plumber in rob
bing, that it is his duty to hold on TO
it and say nothing This is undoubted-
ly the approved ethics of robbery. In
accordance with ii, We have the old
maxim that there is "honor among
thieves which points to the view that
thieves should be true so each other,
and should always be against public or
der and law.
We hold, however, that this is an
utterly perverse view of the situation.
No matter how villainous = thief may
have been, it is his duty to reform. 1t
is his duty to make such amends rs
he can to the public. And If il is his
duty TO do this, it is certainly the duty
of the public TO welcome his disclosures,
amendments, and separations. and not
TO turn him from his better course by
deuuEciation and scorn. II it is true
that thief must always remain thief,
that he owes no duty TO society, that
having become an outlaw he must so
remain. and must profit by his villainy,
keeping his mouth closed not only as to
his own mIsdecds but as to tho vilainy
of his fellow-rascals, then indeed we
variance with the law, with the theory
of the organization of society. and with
the duty of one human being TO another.
We are utterly opposed to any such
view of duty to society, and to any such
ideas of the obligations of thief Af
ter all, the duty of thief is not to
his confederates, but TO society. Ii is
his duty to submit 10 the law, and not
resist. II is his duty TO make such rep
aration as he can by confession, by aid.
ing the officers Of the law to overcome.
the gang with which he has been as
sociated, and 10 restore the supremacy
Of honest administration and decent
government,
If this is not so. then why should
there be any effort to have criminal
reform! Why should there be any
preaching of morality TO those who have
violated the moral code? Kick them
down, and do not try to lift them up,
tell them they belong with thieves, out.
laws, and outcasts, and must remain with
them. If they try To get back on the
plane of decent society they should be
clubbed off that plane and thrown down
the precipice Of hopeless despair. Re-
formation must be retarded and pre-
vented in every possible way. And So
ciety should visit obloquy, contumely,
and punishment even, on those who wish
20 forsake Inc errors of their way and
gen into right paths.
Unless this is so, then there is no
virtue, no propriety in the denuuciaton
of Ruef for abandoning his career of
crime and betraying his associates. We
hold it was his duty to abandon that
career Of crime; his duty 10 Tighten up
the dark corners Of rascality that he
had knowledge of in the corrupt admin
istration of San Francisco. And we be-