Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1914-06-30
THE VALUE OF A REPUTATION
Law Breakers Find Bad One the
Worst Asset They Can Have.

When the New York gunmen found
there was no hope for prolonged life
they began sending forth messages to
the people, urging them to be virtuous,
in which case they would be happy.
Most criminals act that way when
they have reached the end of their
tether. In the old days the gallows was
popular forum. People who never
had chance to make speeches any
where else were granted the precious
boon when they appeared upon the
scaffold. and ninety-one such speeches
out of a hundred were devoted to NOR
al issues and wise counsel.
1t happened many time that muir
derers, Of whose guilt there was abso-
lutely no question, would proclaim
their innocence to the last, and at the
same time urge their hearers to be
good and truthful and lawabiding.
The New York gunman who was
most eloquent in his appeals to the
people said that he was to die for a
crime he never committed. His death
had been deCreed merely because he
had a bad reputation. 1t would be un-
kind and useless now to dispute his
claim of innocence, but it certainly is
true that a bad reputation is danger
Gus thing for criminal to have. Ev-
cry gunman and murderer should keep
his renown like that Of Caesars wife,
or he is pretty sure to get into trouble.
OF course, that is a hard thing to do,
but it has been done by various mas
ters of crime. Ambitious young men
who intend to make murder their life
work should study their careers.
That bad reputation is serious
handicap was demonstrated to Will
liam Habron, a young man who lived
near Manchester, England in the year
1875. While no serious crime had ever
been charged against him, he had
been arrested several times, and was
known to have a violent and quarrel
some temper. This made him unpopu-
lar and his neighbors all hoped that
he would get into serious trouble be-
fore long.
In the year mentioned he was ar
rested for some tri!lng misdemeanor,
and at his trial Constable Cock was
the chief witness against him. Ha-
bron was acquitted but instead of
singing and dancing and telling him
self to cheer up he left the courtroom
in great rage. AS he went out he
came upon the constable and, in the
presence of several witnesses, shook
his fist under that able officers nose
and exclaimed:
I'll get even with you"
The constable smiled genially and
| advised him to go to some convenient
place and soak his head.
That night Constable Cock was
found dying on his beat with a pistol
bullet in his body. He was too far
gone to talk, and, if he knew who his
murderer was, carried the secret to
his grave Naturally the first thought
Of the police had to do with William
| Habron. They rounded him up and
| were so satisfied with his guilt that
they made no further inquiries. In due
season he was brought To trial and the
case against him was ilimsy 1t is
true that his boots fitted into tracks
| found where the constable was shot,
| but those tracks were not necessarily
made by the murderer. 1t was also
true that he had bought cartridges at
n hardware store several days before,
but that was before his quarrel with
Cock. There wasn't a bit of evidence
| against him that couldn't easily have
been explained away; but stronger
| than any evidence was his evil repu-
tation. That was his Nemesis He
was quarrelsOme and revcngcful, SO of
course. he must have killed the con-
stable
He protested that he knew nothing
of the crime, but they all do that. 1t
is prohabl" that the jury had some
lingering doubt as To his guilt, for his
punishment was assessed at penal ser
vitude for life although the crime was
one that called FOR gallows treatment.
So William went to Il loathsumc prison
10 wear his life away. and life in a
British prison is no joke. Let us leave
him there for three or four years and
pay some attention to merry old
gentleman who illustrates the theory
that one may he a successful robber
and murderer and still preserve Il spot
less reputation.
This merry old gentleman was the
uglieSt man in England. and his name
was Charles Peace. He has been de-