THE JUKES. 103 



as about 100 offenses are committed each year, this would be equal 

 to one commitment for every 18 months of liberty, equivalent to 66 

 per cent of the total crime career. By adding 34 per cent, the 

 period of imprisonment, we get, as the time between convictions, by 

 this calculation, two years and three months, which again accords 

 with the statement of another convict, who testified that, for " small 

 crimes about ico to 150 offenses to one conviction are committed, and 

 for big jobs, five offenses to one conviction ; but it takes sometimes 

 two years to put up a job on a bank." This computation would, 

 of course, not be correct for the total crimes committed in the 

 community, because this estimate refers only to State prison convicts. 



It has been found impossible to get any reliable information as 

 to the average income of criminals from any calculation based 

 upon the value of the articles stolen as returned by the indictment, 

 for the tendency of the prosecutor is to enormously overestimate 

 the amount of his loss, and, in the second place, it is usually only 

 when a considerable loss has been sustained that the prosecutor is 

 roused sufficiently to give his time to secure the conviction of the 

 offender. For these reasons, $214, the average amount of each 

 theft which the schedules yield, is much above the actual truth as 

 respects the total criminal class, although it may be under the truth 

 for cases that receive State prison punishment, the higher crimes 

 being of course concentrated in this class of prisons. 



To get a reasonable approximation of the net income, such pris- 

 oners as were sufficiently communicative were asked what yearly or 

 weekly income, by labor, they would think sufficient to restrain them 

 from theft. In most cases the question seemed so novel that they 

 were actually nonplussed. The habit of estimating expenditures 

 and of keeping in mind the relation between income and outgo was 

 so absolutely wanting, that they could form no approximate judg- 

 ment on the question. The most consistent answers were : " One 

 thousand a year at shoemaking," providing he could work half the 

 time, " five hundred dollars a year ; " " seventy-five dollars a month," 

 and " ten dollars a week," in most cases without any realization of 

 the value of money. 



Reverting, at this point, to the testimony of a convict quoted 



