The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-09-13
PROFESSOR LOMBROSO
ON DRINK AND CRIME
The Great Italian Student Reviewed the Evils of the Drink
Curse in Many Lands-Lquors Awful Train of Criminals
Wine Not Remedy for But of Alcoholism.

, butes Al per cent of crime committed
In Germany to the same cause. One
of the sfrangest features in connecfior
with drunkenness Us that there is only
10 per cent difference between the
number of young and old drunkards
OF 100 criminals under twenty year,
of age. 81 per cent were already given
TO Notwithstanding evidence of the
precocity of this vice.
Action.
These results are most natural. be.
cause anything that exeises the brain
.abnormally incites TO crime and sui.
eide. like insanity with which IL Is fre.
quentlv COMPOUNDED.
! have observed this tenfiency ever
among the Medjidubs and Aissaonas
who have TT, narcotics but Induce tn.
| taxicatian- by prolonged oscillation al
their heads. They are most dangeroui
| men, ferocious. and great thieves
Opium smokers are also often attacked
with homicidal mania, and Moreau
states that under the influence al
hashish he felt impelled to steal
The effects of wine are still more
preniclous; while alcohol is ever
worse, being a kind OF concentrated
wine so far as noxious effects GO Such
liquors as absinths and yermuth. all
most pure alcohol, contain drugs that
intoxicate the nerve centers.
Nenmann demonstrated In 1875 hoyl
alcohol affects the hemogIobin Of thj
hfond, diminishing the power to AID
sorb oxygen by one-fourtsl, and causl
ing an active irritation in the MEM
branes and cortical centers. The sci
auence is dilatation of the vessels
paralysis of the muscular fibres and
OF the walls of the vessels and edemia y
and finally the forming Of fatty. del
generation of the irritated nerye-cells1
Under the action of alcohol the superl
excited motor-centers give the drunk
ard iliusory strength. and incite hin}
to the most brutal acts. After it hal
excited and melted its unhappy yicl
tim to such crimes. alcohol fixes tf(
ideas In this direction perma nentlyI
and the habitaai drtnkard finds hid
nohlest sentiments banished forever.
Not only are hahituai drunkard1
immoral. but their children are ha bit !
ual criminals. as is most strikinxIy
illustrated III the infamous Juke4
family.
Alcohol in fine Is cause of delin1
queEcies because some use II to becom&
Intoxicated. and others are led I'd
crime by drunkenness sometimes ras(
Gals seek courage in ii to commil
their crimes. and then try to use x
young men are led to crime through
drunkenness. and still more certaiYI
that the saloon Is the place In which
criminals meet to plan crime, as wei
as the place in which they spend thej1
ill-gotten gains.
Alcohol is directly connected with
crime. or rather with prison, in thu
sense that after the first imprisonment
the discharged convict. having lost ali
connection with his family, all sense
of honor, seeks forgetfulness in drink
Specific Criminality.
1t is well to see now in what crime
alcohoTs influence Is most marked
According to Marambat, of 3,000
convicts examined by him, rs per cent
were drunkards; 70 per cent OF these
were vagabonds and beggars: 50 ped
cent of the assassins and 81 per cen(
OF the incendiaries were drunkards
Mario found that the drunkards should
in the first rank of highway robbers
SO per cent; Vetauit found among n
alcoholic criminals that there were II
homicides. 8 thieves. 5 swindlers.
assaulters Con women). assaulteyJ
(wonndingl, and Migrants.