220 OBSERVATIONS OF A RANCHWOMAN 



an honoured name. From this class spring 

 miseries great and small from the petty, 

 nerve-destroying woes laid on the shoulders 

 of the much-enduring American housewife, 

 up to the tragedy of the boy train-wrecker, 

 the hoodlum of the street, the various ills 

 which are the result of uncontrolled, undis- 

 ciplined homes. That freedom of the boy and 

 girl only too easily degenerates into license, 

 every newspaper daily reveals ; nothing short 

 of a wilful optimism can blind the eyes to 

 certain glaring facts. 



Defaulting treasurers and cashiers, dis- 

 honest bank presidents too many of them 

 described as ' having been prominent in 

 church circles ' swell the ranks of the 

 criminals. Worse still, if convicted by a 

 jury of their fellow-citizens, the court will 

 in numerous instances, and on a mere legal 

 technicality, wipe out the indictment ; or 

 should punishment be awarded, its term is 

 cut short by a too lenient Governor, or even 

 by the President himself. In the words of 

 a righteously indignant citizen concerning a 

 particularly flagrant case : ' We have put a 

 premium on crime for a long number of 



