Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 September 1908 — Leading to Crime. [ARTICLE]

Leading to Crime.

“Some years ago in Hartford.” said Mark Twain, “we all went to church one hot sweltering night to hear the annual report of Mr. Hawley, a city missionary who went around finding people who needed help and didn’t want to ask for It He told of the life In cellars, where poverty resided; he gave instances of the heroism and devotion of the poor. When a man with millions gives, he said, we make a great deal of noise. It's a noise in the wrong place, for it’s the widow’s mite that counts. Well, Hawley worked me up to a great pitch. I could hardly wait for him to get through. I had S4OO in my pocket. I wanted to give that and borrow more to give. You conld see greenbacks in every eye. But Instead of passing the plate then he kept on talking and talking ancrtfalking, and as he talked it grew notter\ and hotter and hotter, and we grew sleepier and sleepier and sleepier. My enthusiasm went down, down, down, down~|loo at a cllp-unti! finally, when the plate • did come around, I stole 10 cents out of it It alj goes to show how a little thing like this can lead to crime.”

That fish will soon be caught that nibbles at every bait.—ltalian Proverb.