The Peril of the Republic of the United States of America - Percy T. Magan

intelligent as this to find some mean between the
exasperating crushing of personal liberty and the
terrifying domination of criminals and semicriminals?”[4]
Even “natural affection” seems to have
deserted the mother’s breast. A little child, five
years old, and very puny, is kept day after day in a
foul air-shaft, with nothing but an old ragged quilt
to lie upon, and a little shirt to cover his nakedness.
The floor was uneven, and always wet, yet day
after day the little life was left, for no reason at all
except cruelty, to pine away in this awful place.
Crime appears to be discovering all kinds of
ingenious methods. Poisoned candy or cake is sent
through the mails to persons whom it is desired to
destroy. The victims of this class of wickedness are
becoming more and more frequent.
Moreover, crime is getting to be as common in
high life as it is among the middle and lower
classes, to say nothing of the criminal classes. An
eastern millionaire secures a divorce from his wife,
259