Year: 1865

The Philosophy Of Crime,


Crime is a kind of epidemic 1t seems
to depend upon conditions OF atmosphere
and location as much rs cholera or yellow
jack. There are times and places when
and where the very air is full of it. Men
take to it as naturally as they take the
mumps or The smallpox A whole COM
munity becomes tainted with it.


Nor is this the most curious feature that
distinguishes it. Certain kinds of crime
atf1ict certain localities ut certain speci-
tic times. few years ago arson became
suddenly fashionable among certain
class of young men in Utica The sons
of the most respectable citizens were con
cerued in what seemed to be deliberate
purpose to destroy the city. Fires occur
ed at certain hours of the night ana ON
nights of the week with a uniformity that
showed the horrid work had been reduced
to a system. One young mana son
of ore of the wealthiest men in the town
was proved to have deliberately applied
the torch Of the incendiary to his fathers
premises And the only apparent n7o6re
that could be discovered-indeed the only
excuse given by those brought to justice
was that seeing peoples houses and
barns burn was fun The city was clear
ed under the influence of an epidemic.


Some years since the new crime of gar
roting suddenly made its appearance. In
a short time it became all the rage sup
planted the bludgeon and the dagger, and
was the fashionable crime of the hour
The professions of thieves and cut throats
hailed it as new discovery in the realm
of criminal science Breaking out in
London, it crossed the ocean, spread over
this country, and established itself with
the arrogant confidence of n dcspot, in
our large cities. Raging with fearful
violence for season, it ran its course.
lost its epidemic character, and gradually
disappeared. Not long since vitriol throw
ing came into sudden vogue. Men and
women made it their business to attack
people in the crowded thoroughfares, and
destroy their clothing and mutiiate their
persons. In some cases the motive was
doubtless private vengeance; but in the
great majority of instances there was no
motive at all Vicious minded people did
it because others d id. The crime had at
tained the viru'ence of an epidemic Some
forty years ago the crime of "hurking,
which broke out in Glasgow, Scotland
spread oyer England, and ragged with the
violence of M epidemic in London and
other cities But IKE other epidemics it
ran its course and disappeared.


Man is an initiative creature. He has
n morbid love of doing wicked things
simply from seeing others do them: 1t is
notorious that capital crimes greatly in
crease in number and atrociousness after
a public execution in England. Many
years ago n man took it into his head to
Jump down from the London Monument
So many people initiated him by going and
doing likewise, that the authorities had to
inclose the platform on the top of the
structure with a an iron railing. People
have been known to become so fascinated
with the spectacle of tie dead suicides
exposed at the Morgue, in Paris, that they
walked out and straightwav threw them
selves into the Seine while Mrs. Troligre,
in her entertaining book on Life in the
French Capital" state, it as n fact, abund-
antly verified, that young boys and maid
ems have been known to commit suicide
from reading account. of felo de Sc in the
papers, aud with sole view to get into
print, and be talked aboutl