The Greeley tribune., 1910-09-29
"SATlRlCUS" ON
EVOLUTION
OF Time
To the Tribune:

mftted in our midst; thefts of mel
ens; small burglaries: petty lar
comics of many varieties, not con-
ADed by any means to our general
scape goat. the hobo. Everything in
fact goes to corroborate the census
report of our standing: we are In
Decd a growing city and community,
and must expect to pay the penalty.
/ can remember the time when, in
striking contact, a few hundred en-
thusiastic people assembled here to
found n moral progressive society
and began to build on the present
town site where there wasn't so
much as a bush that jack rabbit
could hide under between the top OF
Normal hill and the fringe of willows
and cottonwoods OF the river margin
On the north.
recall the fact that carpenters
went to their dinners leaving their
tools on their benches by the street
side and no one thought OF putting
his shovel or hoe in hiding for fear
of their being stolen. Houses were
generally left unlocked and the
clothes from the wash line remained
over night If necessary wiho--t.
thought of loss.
Now all is changed. Something is
due to the fact. l presume, that OF
late our predatory instincts have
been getting the start of us for the
time being. in town and city, in
state and nation. but | can not es-
cape the conviction that large
share OF this local lawlessness Is
caused by our recent growth as
city, and it's resultant population
with different standards of morality.
have noted the symptoms for
some time in the past, and this con-
clusion. to an old timer like myself,
b well nigh irresistible.
Let me specify. Not so long since
/ had occasion to lay cement side
walk l borrowed one lantern from
my neighbor on my right and an
other from my neighbor on my left
and put my own in the middle In or
der that people might not stumble
over it or tread into it at night. The
next morning one was missing, and
OF course the thief exercised due dis
examination and took the one new
enc, belonging to my neighbor. The
narshal and street commissioner
told me that had become a nightly
or at least q common occurrence in
any part of the city where public
work was being done.
One day, in moving my parking,
for the time being left new pock-
q knife on a stool by the walk as
paased back and forth at the work.
Three or four promising youths hap
pened to pass on the way from school
- I went down the line. and when
I returned the knife was gone. On
another occasion I left my oil can.
worth about ten cents. setting just
inside the walk as passed up the
parking and rounded the corner;
on my return it was missing. On
still another occasion while at the
same employment picked up a
1nely embroidered handkerchief
which some woman had evidently
Dropped on her way down town.
Thinking it more than probable that
IL owner, on missing 1t, would look
for 1t on her return. I hung in con-
spicuously on my gate In less than
I've minutes afterwards another
lady (O. evidently only recently ar
rived from Oklahoma or the Indian
Territory. seeing 1t there as she
passed cut into the suburbs, snatched
IT furtively and tucked it in her
pocket
I had a row Of fine fiowerin e
shrubbery just inside my fence. and
! had 20 take up each shrub and set
h further back. all on account of
these same predatory instincts which
will crop out occasionally. even
among people supposed to be
higher up. But in time these
shrubs outgrew their second environ
ment and be reaching with long arms
and standing on tip toe people will
break off branches of these, when in
full bloom, from eighteen inches to
two feet in length. Passing tenn
porarily vacant house one day where
there was fine snow ball in full
bloom in the yard, I beheld with
aome Indignation two or three wom-
en-. also of the Indian Territory va
riety. literally stripping it of every
limb and leaf and flower. l mildly
suggested that this was hardly the
proper procedure, when the least at
tractive of the trio came back at me
with the reply, well it don't belong
to you does it?" That settled it,
passed on.
But l made a notation of much
more recent date: another dwelling
not far from my own on the corner
of Gee Whiz and Hike became vacant
for period of less than twenty-four
hours. One family moved out one
morning and another took possession
the next. Now it happened that the
real owner OF the premises had