The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1914-07-09
THE VALUE OF A REPUTATION.
Law Breakers Find q Bad One the
Worst Asset They Can Have.

Worst Asset They Can Have.
When the New York gunmen
found there was no hope for a pro-
longed 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 poular forum.
People who never had chance to
make speeches anywhere else were
granted the precious boon when they
appeared upon the scaffold, and nine
ty-one such speeches out of a hun
dred were devoted to moral issues
and wise counsel.
Il happened many a time that
murderers, Of whose guilt there was
absolutely no question, would pro-
claim their innocence to the last,
and at the same time urge thier
hearers to be good and truthful and
law-abiding.
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 be-
cause he had bad reputation. 1t
would be unkind and useless now to
dispute his claim of innocence, but it
certainly is a dangerous thing for a
criminal to have. Every 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 a 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 violent
and quarrelsome temper. This made
him unpopular, and his neighbors
all hoped that he would get into
serious trouble before long.
In the year mentioned he was ar
rested for some trifing 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 court
room 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:
stI'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 q pistol
bullet in his body. He was too far
gone to talk, and, If he knew who his
murderer was, carried his 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 flimsy.
It Is true that his boots fitted into
tracks found where the constable
was shot, but those tracks were not
necessarily made by the murdererer.
It was also true that he had bought
cartridges at a 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 evil
dence was his evil reputation. That
was his Nemesis. He was quarrel
some and revengeful, so Of course,
he must have killed the constable.
He protested that he knew nothing
Of the crime, but they all do that. It
is probable that the jury had some
lingering doubt as to his guilt, for
his punishment was assessed at penal
servitude for life, although the crime
was one that called for gallows treat
ment. So William went to loath-
some prison to 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 a merry old gentleman who illus
trates the theory that one may be a