OiV THE CAUSES OF CRIME. 593 



affairs even the refinements and accomplishments of life are used by- 

 offenders against law. Knowledge fights on both sides in the battle 

 between right and wrong. At this age it lays siege to banks. It 

 forces open vaults stronger than old castles. It forges and counter- 

 feits. The most dangerous criminal is the educated, intellectual vio- 

 lator of the law, for he has all the resources of art at his command 

 the forces of mechanics, the subtlety of chemistry, the knowledge of 

 men's ways and passions. Learning by itself only changes the aspect 

 of immorality. Virtue is frequently found with the simple and unedu- 

 cated, and vice with the educated. Surrounded by glittering objects 

 within their reach, our servant-girls resist more temptations than any 

 other class in society. We must look beyond the accidents of knowl- 

 edge or ignorance if we wish to learn the springs of action. To check 

 vice, there must be high moral standards in the public mind. The 

 American mind must move upon a higher plane. To reform convicts, 

 their hopes must be aroused and their better instincts worked upon. 

 I never yet found a man so untamable that there was not something 

 of good upon which to build a hope. I never yet found a man so good 

 that he need not fear a fall. Through the warp and woof of the worst 

 man's character there run some threads of gold. In the best there are 

 base materials. It is this web of entwined good and evil in men's 

 character which marks the problems and perplexities of the Legisla- 

 ture and judge, while there is no honest dealing with this subject unless 

 the American people are charged with their share of guilt ; and, while 

 Christian charity leads us to take the kindest view we can of every 

 man, it does not follow that crime should be dealt with in a feeble 

 way. Let the laws be swift, stem, and certain in their action. "What 

 they say let them do, for certainty more than severity carries a dread 

 of punishment. Let the way of bringing offenders to justice be direct, 

 clear, and untrammelled. The technicalities of pleading, proof, and 

 proceedings, in many of our States, are painfully absurd. To the minds 

 of most men a criminal trial is a mysterious jumble. The public have 

 no confidence that the worst criminal will be punished. The worst 

 criminal cherishes at all times a hope of escape. In every part of our 

 country there is a vague idea that certain men of legal skill can extri- 

 cate offenders without regard to the merits of their case. This is a 

 fruitful cause of crime. There is not in the minds of the American 

 people a clear, distinct conception of our penal laws, their actions, and 

 their results. Not less hurtful to justice are those fluctuations of the 

 public mind, which shakes off spasmodically its customary indifference 

 and fiercely demands a conviction of those who happen at such times 

 to be charged with crime, and thus make popular clamor take the 

 place of judicial calmness and impartiality. No one feels that there is 

 in this country a clear, strong, even flow of administration of criminal 

 law. The mood of the popular mind has too much to do with judicial 

 proceedings. The evils connected with the administration of justice in. 

 vol. 11. 38 



