The New York Tombs Inside and Out! / Scenes and Reminiscences Coming Down to the Present. A Story Stranger Than Fiction, with an Historic Account of America's Most Famous Prison.

From actual observation as a Prison Chaplain, and a careful study of this subject extending over several years, together with repeated interrogations and conversations with thousands of prison inmates, committed thereto for every crime on the calendar; and, further, from personal inquiry among experienced prison officials in various parts of the country, I say frankly without any hesitation or equivocation that strong drink is the most prolific cause of crime in the United States. I further affirm that after thousands of personal conversations with men and women charged with murder, robbery, assault and every form of larceny, and from interviews with criminal judges and magistrates, I firmly believe that from seventy to eighty per cent. of all the crimes of the day can be traced directly or indirectly to strong drink. I have said more than once in public addresses, in the past twelve years, that if the saloons of this city were outlawed for two years, the prisons of Greater New York would be almost tenantless.

I believe the only way to reduce crime is to stop the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors, which in the end will close the gin-mills that swarm our cities and villages, and which are the real generators of crime.

We deeply regret that many of our well meaning people are poorly informed on this question. They look with longing eyes for help from our State and National political partisans for the overthrow of this traffic, but these fond idols of the people care nothing whatever for moral reforms. They are in politics only for what they can make out of it, and not for the reformation of the people, and are indulgent toward the saloon vote.

Some time ago, a New York paper gave a list of persons who were confined in the City Prison charged with the crime of homicide. In this list the names of thirty men, two women and a boy were given. They were then awaiting trial for murder. All of them have since been tried, with the result that several have been sent to the death house at Sing Sing, a large number to prison for long and short terms, and a few discharged for lack of evidence. In an analysis which we personally made at that time we counted twenty-five persons who admitted that they were under the influence of strong drink when they committed the crime of murder.

At that time, Dr. Robert S. Newton, a New York physician and specialist in mental disorders, presented a carefully prepared paper on the causes that led to murder in each case, but, strange to say, he does not mention strong drink, although that was the principal direct cause of twenty-five out of the thirty-three cases. Dr. Newton never met any of these persons mentioned in this article, charged with the crime of murder, nor had he any conversation with them before or after their imprisonment, but simply from the standpoint of an alienist, he presents a speculative analysis of what he considered the causes that led to their crimes.

I met all of these people face to face, conversed with them, and watched their trials in the Criminal Courts till finally disposed of. Most of them made voluntary statements in relation to their crime, and I was painfully struck with almost the identical words from the lips of each, and all of these men, who closed the narrative by saying: “I was drunk at the time, and did not know what I was doing.” They did not say this for the purpose of securing sympathy, or apologizing for their crime, but simply admitted that strong drink made them half-insane, and in that state they committed the crime of murder.

With only the names of the actors and victims before him, and a brief statement of each crime given by a New York paper, Dr. Newton proceeds to give reasons for the homicides in detail. This is what he says by way of explanation:

“New York is one of the hardest places in the world in which to analyze crime. One of the chief motives of crime is the publicity given to it. It allows every criminal to keep thoroughly posted as to what is done with his own class, what is the character of the punishment, and the number accused who escape punishment. The relations between the criminals and the police are well known. The police certainly have no deterrent effect upon the criminal, for there are numerous cases in which they acted as intermediaries.” And further he says: “I believe that this great wave of crime which has suddenly come upon New York within the last few months is due solely to the opportunities which the evil-disposed, but not yet criminal, have of mixing with this dangerous element. In foreign countries crime is restricted, and the criminal readily found, for the reason that he is compelled to associate with people of his own class, and the only public places he goes to are known as thieves’ dens. In no city in the world but New York are men whose pictures are in the Rogues’ Gallery and known to every police official, allowed to enter reputable hotels, restaurants, theatres, etc. There is not only less crime in the large continental cities than here, but crime is surely punished. When the reputable citizen is robbed or assaulted, he knows or suspects where the criminal came from, but here criminals go everywhere, and the person has really no protection from them.”

In regard to suicides, the Medical News says:

“New York City is not the worst of the cities of the United States in the matter of its suicide statistics. By actual comparison it is only fifth on the list, St. Louis having the unenviable distinction of being first in this regard. It is a curious reflection that St. Louis, with its German population and the reputation the city has acquired for the manufacture, if not the consumption, of a large amount of high-grade beer, should occupy the same place in suicide statistics that was held for a long time by Munich, in Bavaria, which enjoys the distinction of supremacy in the same line of business.”

In General Bingham’s report for 1907, it is recorded that the New York police arrested 204,119 for the year. Out of this number no less than 92,045 persons were arrested for intoxication, disorderly conduct, and the violation of the Liquor Tax Law. As can be readily seen, all of these arrests were the direct result of the licensed saloon. In other words, if there were no saloons or intoxicants in this city, more than 92,000 persons would have been immune from arrest and imprisonment. These facts speak for themselves, and need not the impassioned eloquence of the orator to make them clear.

In his report for 1908, the Commissioner omits all mention of the arrests for intoxication and disorderly conduct, but places these offences under the head of misdemeanors. This was done, no doubt, to ease the consciences of the rum and beer interests, who do not want to see in cold type the number of persons who are daily ruined by this damnable business.

Last year there were 244,000 arrests in Greater New York. Judging from the figures of other years, one half must be laid at the door of the saloon.

The following table, which we received from the State Department of Excise, shows the number of liquor tax certificates in force, and the money received therefor. This table covers what are known as the five boroughs of Greater New York:

From these figures it will be seen that the license tax paid the State for the privilege of selling rum, which damns our fellow men, amounted in 1907 to $12,203,372.40.

In an article of mine which appeared in Harper’s Weekly for March, 1907, I computed the cost of crime in Greater New York, in a tabulated statement, at $35,552,134.34, which is about a third of the entire expense appropriated by the Board of Apportionment for running the city for the year.

It ought to be known that the churches, chapels and mission halls of Greater New York, of all denominations, Protestant, Catholic and Jewish, number 1,200. The number of licensed saloons, on the other hand, in these boroughs, is 12,674. That is to say, the Devil has more than ten saloons in Greater New York for every church. This is a sad reflection on our Christian civilization. But it is true.

The cost of the congregational and charitable work of the 1,200 churches and chapels of Greater New York is not more than $8,000,000 a year—possibly less.

But the gross receipts of the 12,674 New York gin mills are not far from $250,000,000 a year!