The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1909-07-10
CRIME IS TO
BRING REFORM
siGEL TRAGEDY MEANS CHANGE
IN RELATION BETWEEN CHIN
EsE AND WOMEN MIS-
sIoNARIEs.


New York, July 1O.-Far- reaching re-
suits may be expected from the recent
murder here OF white girl missionary
by ChinamRn, which has been at
tracing the attention of the whole
country. the most surprising feature Of
which is the entire lack Of race feeling
over the matter.
While the punishment Of the crtrni-
Is naturally the chief factor al
~ ssent, students OF the Chinese prob
lem assert that its secondary results
will be even more important. Cur
iously enough the burden of many az
the expected reforms In the relations
In this country between the Americans
and the Chinese will fall largely IN
the former, even extending into com
mercial fields.
To Change Teaching System.
Already the present system OF pro-
viding one woman missionary for
teaching each Chinaman in the SIM
day schools maintained by the different
churches has received so much crtti-
cism that 1t is likely to be abandoned,
Likewise the practice of amateur
Summing parties visiting Chinatown
at night TO inspect the dens OF the
yellow men has received a severe
blow, since experience has shown that
many an innocent taste of the opium
pipe taken on such trip, has resulted
In ruinous consequences
The police have cleaned out manv of
the immoral resorts of Chinatown and
their verdict is that If the white race
wants protection, 1t must leave the
yellow race alone, since the habits of
the latter are peculiarly degenerating
when taken up by the Caucasians. For
this reason a large number of auto
mobile rubber neck wagons which
have heretofore been crowded by cur
ious visitors in thee nightly trips
through the slums of Chinatown are
suffering a period of innocuous des-
uetude. The unhealthy curiousity for
scenes Of crime and depravity say the
police, must be curbed, and for this
reason 1t is likely that the Sigel
murder may yet result in some good
not only in this particular field but in
other directions.
Extends to Moving Pictures. ..
For instance, the remarkable feat of
abolishing drunkenness, crime and
vice all at once, was accomplished
here this week by the New York
board of censors in deciding to make
it's activities natioRal in extent. To
be sure the abolition applies only to
those vicious and criminal acts which
take place on the screens of moving
picture displays, but as picture exhi-
bitions are witnessed by some 1000, 600
persons daily, this action is likely to
have important results.
Criminologists agree that to display
scenes Of drunken bestiality, crime
and vice before an audience made up
of all classes and ages of epople is
to arouse morbid curiosity, and to en-
courage imitation on the part Of the
immature or weak willed. Another OBJ
lection, as pointed out by the censors
is that these views are hardly ever
true to life Instead of being made
with as near approach as possible to
actual existing conditions, as is done
with other classes of views, these
scenes are exaggerated for the pur-
pose of producing an effect of horror.
They belong in the same category
with the penny dreadful" stories
which exercise an unhealthy fascina-
ton for some readers through their
elaborate descriptions of horrible ex-
periences. All the leading manufac-
turers of films for moving picture ex-
hibitions have indicated their desire
to cooperate with the censors by
stopping the production Of scenes Of
this sort and retiring those already in
use.
Story of Priceless Pearl.
| Sounding like one of the tales of Sim
bad the Sailor, the history of sky
| blue pearl, said to be the only one Of
it's kind in the world, and valued at
$140, 900, is now exciting much interest
here, and at the same time is causing
many legal complications. AS result
of an action brought by no less per-
son than the representative of an East
Indian Maharajah against a local
pawnbroker, with whom the stone was
pledged, the history of this unique
jewel, reputed to lure men to death,
has been pieced together
| From this 1t appears that the blue
pearl was stolen from a monastery