Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-10-31

newspapers have given accounts OF
various fights and brawls. which
have taken place In the different
parts Of the city over Saturday and
Sunday in which arrests have been
made and. usually. nnes imposed.
On Monday. October 2, a man was
arrested for ~stabbing. On Monday,
October 9, Eve alleged stabbers
were arraigned before the recorder.
On Monday, October Is, we read of
q battle at Kirkland place in which
various weapons were used. On
Monday, October 20, an accoun was
published of blackjacks at a we'd
ding celebration. Yesterday there
was another account of a fierce bat
tie In which blackjacks figured.
Besides these Saturday night
brawls we have on October IL, an
account of a mar being attacked
by three armed men, and also an
attempt to knife another man. On
October 23 there was an account
of another blackjack affair at a
wedding party. On October "a 1t
was a man cut in a street fight; on
October 26, the papers told of an
other man having three ribs broken
during a fight. This review of the
month closing today. has been TAX
en- from a hasty review of the files
of the EVENING NEWS, There
have been other minor offenses, as
well as robberles and attempted
holdups. All this, of course, Toes
not include the BENZ murder, which
took place September 8, In which
the police did good work In captur-
ing the assailant in good time.
We cite these instances merely to
show that a crime wave Gems to be
sweeping over the city and 1t is time
some severe measures were taken
to suppress it. In this connection
credit must be given to the police
In making arrests In nearly all the
cases, but for some reason this does
net seem to stop the practice.
The fact that the recorder has
adopted a policy OF imposing fines
instead of sending the men to Jail
may have something to do with 1t.
1t seems the average criminal OF
this sort does not mind paying a
few dollars for the privilege of
cutting his opponent when his an
ger is aroused. 1t is a different
matter, however, for him to serve
a year or six months in Jail. pro-
vided, of course, that the author
tiles at New Brunswick viii not find
some excuse for ~lfberating him, in
order to keep down jail expenses.
1t Is alI very we'll to have but a few
prisoners in Jail and to show that
the cost of maintenance Ia the low
est Ia the history OF the county. but
If crime is running rampant, cost
should not be considered Ii by
spending the money necessary to
keep these men confined, q stop
would be put to the lawlessness.
But we might go back further
than the crime itself, and instead OF
providing adequate punishment for
those who commit the deeds, en-
| deavor to find a preventive SO that
not only will the county be saved
the opens of maintaining the
prisoners, but at the same time. the
city will be spared its reputation.
Most of these stabbing matches
occur between foreigners who have
recently arrived In this country
Many of them cannot speak Eng-
fish. The band together accord
ing to nationalities, practically fg-
noring all the ways of American
life. 1t would as II there Is
a great civic duty for the people of
this city In this regard. An effort
should be made to teach these peo
pie the right ways of living and, In
cidentally furnish wholesome places
of amusement, and also provide
means OF instructing those who de-
sire to better themselves. These PEG
pie come to our shores by the thou
sands and many are locating in
Perth Amboy where we pay no more
attention to them than If they We're
Fin the wilds of Africa.