Year: 1869




which to show the relation OF crime to lg-
norance-to show that the men and women
who are arrested, tried, confined and pun
ished for crime, all at the cost of the State,
are in large proportion the most Ignorant of
our citizens. 1t twould be we know most de-
sirable to present facts and figures, the result
of our own experience, but they. are not to
be had. To find the best substitute we must
90 abroad to other States. We cannot go
far amiss in so doing for inasmuch as human
nature is pretty much the same in all lucali-
ties under the same condition, we may ex-
pect that the proportion of crime under the
same condition viii very nearly approximate.
OF the S17 convicts incarcerated for various
crimes in the Albany Penitentiary, New
York, during 1867, 2S9 could not read-190
could only read, and 33s could both read
and write. In the county prisons of Massa-
ehusetts there were in 1858, 1859 prison
ers and of them 1854 could neither read nor
write-about 44:7 per cent of the whole
number. Indeed the statistics of crime in
that State prove that the average for years
is over 80 per cent of those who cannot
read or write of all the criminals. In 1867
in the county jails it was 800 per cent, and
the expense of their confinement in jail alone
was nearly $97, 1854 for that year, an ave-
rage weekly cost of nearly $500. In that


L
State however their earnings would be de-
Quoted from the expense, but as nothing is
earned in our jails the whole burden falls on
taxpayers. Does not this afford occasion for
thoughtful investigation on the part of all
our tax -burdened citizens? Could not some
at least of this cause of crime be removed
and thus saving made to tile people,? Of
$500 persons in the prisons of Massachu
sets in 1867 only about 90 persons had
superior education.


We now come to the enunciation of our
proposition to the people who pay taxes
that it is cheaper to educate the people and
thus prevent crime, than slt is to punish
crime in the ignorant and neglected. We
are now only looking at it from dollar and
cent point of view-we say nothing of the
improved state of society-nothing of the
increased sense of security nothing of the
results to industry. We leave out all this
and assert that crime can be prevented
cheaper by educating the masses of the peo-
pie than it can be done by punishment
which we are sorry to say does not, so far as
our observation goes, reduce the crimes or
abate from the growing taxation. As the
Board of Education and the General Assem-.
bly, are about to attempt the reorganization
of public schools and the University. would
it not be well to considr S uch facts and
count the advantages that must grow out of
these educational agencies I? They will cost
money, taxes must be paid, but look at the
results: crime will be diminished, pauperism
decreased, comfort and industry largely Sc
cured at the same cost Is it not worth an
experiment?


In all we have said on this question of ig-
norance it was no part of our intention to
reflect on the thousands of valuable citizens of
our State who cannot read or write, and
whose condition is no fault of their own.
Our only purpose has been to direct atten-
ton to some causes of the burden of taxa
tion-to suggest some remedial legislation
on such matters. There is no necessity for
high taxes although we have public schools





and build railroads. If drunkenness, .igno-
rance and criminal poverty are removed,
with them fall off the onerous burdens and
complaint will give way to rejoicing all over
the State