This is the
third part of a series on crime in the area before 1950. Part one in January covered
counterfeiting, horse and auto theft, and prohibition. Part two in March covered
robberies, drugs, and adultery.
In 2020, this column also featured a
three-part series entitled “Murder Most Vile.” All of these columns can be
found at larrycoffin.blogspot. com or in the archives of the Journal Opinion.
This column
deals with assault, animal cruelty, vandalism, black marketeering, domestic
abuse, and debt imprisonment. It covers area news items from the early 19th
century to 1950.
Assaults
reported in local newspapers during this period ranged from misdemeanors to
felonies and from fisticuffs to murderous assault. Some resulted in fines,
others in imprisonment.
Several
cases of assault and battery occurred at local election meetings. In March
1875, there was an altercation at the Orange town meeting. Three men attacked
Fred Harriman and seriously injured him.
A United Opinion report in 1889 noted that
“some years” before, a “party of ruffians” murderously assaulted the clerk at
the Corinth District 2 school meeting. As more women were permitted to vote in
local meetings, disruptions became less likely.
On July 2, 1901, Ray Perkins of Orford was
seriously injured “as a result of a tussle with a gang of fellows he discovered
loitering about the farm where he was employed.” Perkins was severely wounded. The entire
community was “aroused” and a posse formed. The desperadoes, however, made good
their escape.
A newspaper
search for assault or brawls, resulted in fewer than one might imagine. Drunken
scuffles rarely rose to the level of breach of the peace. If an alcohol-fueled
tussle at a Saturday night dance resulted in a black eye or bloody nose, it was
usually forgotten on Sunday.
Some actions
that are not initially criminal become so as societal attitudes changed.
Cruelty to animals is one of those. Prior to the early 1840s, there were no
laws regulating the treatment of domestic animals. What a man did to his
animals in the privacy of his home was not a legal concern.
Most
households had animals, including horses, dogs, and farm animals. Since horse
and dog-drawn vehicles were in full public view, it was difficult to hide
abuse. There was also organized animal cruelty, such as dog or cock fighting.
New
Hampshire and Vermont passed laws against animal cruelty in response to a
growing humane movement. Laws carried fines and jail sentences. At first,
charges could only be brought against a person for cruelty to animals belonging
to another. These were considered offenses against private property with
punishments of imprisonment and/or fines “at the discretion of the court.”
New
Hampshire’s animal protection law was passed in 1843, and Vermont followed in
1846. Within several decades, these laws were amended to include animals abused
by their owners. The Vermont Humane Society was established in 1898.
In 1871, Newbury’s
Aurora of the Valley carried an
editorial about Keene, NH. “We are almost daily pained at the sight of some
uncalled-for abuse.”
As the animal rights movement gathered
support, cases were heard in municipal courts with punishments dependent on the
judges’ attitudes. The following are some of those cases.
In 1903,
William Morris of Burlington was fined $14.60 for “driving a horse in a
pitiable condition. The court ordered the horse to be shot. In 1926, a Vermont man received a suspended
sentence of six months for leaving “his horse out in the winter cold without a
blanket.”
In 1948, a
Strafford man was fined $25 and given a suspended 60-day sentence for neglect
of his farm animals.
Domestic
violence was another “crime” that often remained hidden until the last third of
the 20th century.
As with animals, a man’s family was his
property, and what he did in the privacy of his own home was outside of the
law.
Liquor often
caused “ruffianly brutality, “a phrase used to describe domestic violence. The Vermont Union newspaper concluded
that “with no liquor, there would be no wife beating and no cruelty to little
children.”
The
following are several cases of spouse abuse reported in local newspapers. There
were undoubtedly many more, as victims often did not come forward. In the 19th
century, child abuse and spousal rape were not considered crimes and,
therefore, not reported.
Courts did
not hand out consistent punishment for those found guilty. In 1876, a Vermont man who “whaled his wife”
for not having his breakfast ready, as reported by The North Star, was fined
$20. In 1885, a New Hampshire man was fined one cent and costs for wife
beating. He went to jail rather than pay
the fine.
In the new
century, punishments intensified. In 1901, an Essex Vt man got a 90-day jail
sentence. A Bethel man was sentenced to 1 to 3 years. Despite local feelings
that this sentence was too lenient, Vermont Governor John McCullous pardoned
the man. .
In 1907, a
Lamoille County court sentenced a man to 15 months in jail, and in 1919, a
Rutland man received a two-year sentence.
Not all
courts were as severe. In 1933. a Rutland court handed down a sentence of 10
days, and in 1939, the same court punished a third-time offender with a 30-day
sentence. In 1947, a man who threw a cup
of hot coffee on his wife and then beat her got a fine of $10 and costs.
It was not
until the 1970s that laws against domestic violence began to take effect.
Debtors
prison sounds like something from a Dicken’s novel. One could be imprisoned in
New Hampshire and Vermont for debts owed.
Essentially, “it inflicted punishment on those men whose misfortune was
made a crime.”
Debtors
could be jailed for debts as low as $1. In 1825, one man was confined in the
Danville debtors’ prison for 14 years.
The Prison
Discipline Society, a reform group, estimated in 1831 that more than 4,000
Vermonters served time each year for debt, in some cases for less than $5.
An
imprisoned debtor would be released if supporters paid the debt or if he took
the poor debtor oath, stating that he did not have sufficient assets. That was
the equivalent of declaring bankruptcy. In practice, debtors’ prison sentences
were an incentive to disclose hidden assets.
The reform
movement to eliminate imprisonment for debts was successful, first for women in
the 1820s, and for men in Vermont in 1838 and in New Hampshire in 1840.
In the years
after, persons could still be jailed for non-payment of a civil award. This
court order, known as a “close jail certificate or execution,” made the news in
three cases in 1949-1950.
The first
involved two veterans who were imprisoned in Rutland for indefinite terms for
non-payment of an award stemming from automobile accidents. One of the two had been held in a German
prison camp. Veteran groups came to their rescue.
In 1950, the
nation’s attention was turned to the case of Hattie Cooke of St. Albans. The mother of six was imprisoned for
non-payment of an auto damage suit of $1,966. She was released after 143 days
when she promised to seek employment and make payments.
“Vandalism is a crime, punishable by fines and
free board in an institution.” That is how The
United Opinion responded to break-ins in Newbury’s public buildings in
1929. In 1944, The Caledonian-Record
added, “Vandalism, hoodlumism, and sloth must be put down by whatever
punishment is required,”
Between 1870
and 1950, there were frequent reports of vandalism, “both hostile and
malicious.” It was often accompanying
Halloween and the Fourth of July celebrations and carried out by older boys.
Public
buildings, cemeteries, signs, and vacant buildings were the targets. In some
cases, extensive damage was reported. If the vandals were apprehended and made
to appear in local municipal court, they were rarely punished by more than a
stiff reprimand and required retribution.
One
exception to this treatment was handed out to two older North Danville men for
their 1931 Halloween prank. They removed the planking from a local bridge,
creating a serious safety issue. They were sentenced to two to five years of
hard labor in the state prison.
In March
1932, the infant child of Charles and Anne Lindbergh was abducted from his
bedroom. It was called “the crime of the century.” The kidnapping and the
search for, capture, trial, and execution of the abductor Bruno Hauptmann made
headline news in all the local newspapers. Many asked, were local children in
danger of being kidnapped?
In July
1931, two children were seized from their front lawn in Strafford by two men.
Word was broadcast around the area. Subsequently, their father turned himself
in. No criminal charges were pressed.
Sixteen-year-old
Charlotte O’Brien of Concord, VT, was held for five days by Kenneth Ingalls, a
lumberjack and farmhand, at a location within yards of her home. He was described as a “jealous suitor.”
Ingalls received a prison sentence. He was later given probation but committed
suicide.
At least one
category of criminal activity was short-lived. Whenever a product is made
illegal, black marketing is inevitable. During World War II, the Office of
Price Administration (OPA) enforced rationing on a number of consumer goods to
control inflation and equalize distribution. These ranged from sugar, coffee,
and meat to tires and gasoline. Americans were issued stamp-filled ration books
to be used when purchasing rationed items.
“A Black
Market,” The United Opinion reported,
“is any violation of price or rationing regulations. Buying above ceiling, deals and purchase of
counterfeit stamps to cover staples sales or get more than their share, sale of
meat without collecting ration stamps, all of these things constitute black marketeering.”
With
shortages and price freezes, violations of the controls were mentioned in local
newspapers. In November, 1942, widespread violations of gasoline rationing were
reported. About that time, OPA inspectors ran an automobile check in Woodsville
and found 15% in violation, especially among out-of-state motorists.
In January
1943, all pleasure driving was banned. There were assurances that the “rumors
of prosecution for use of gasoline in going to and from church are ridiculous.”
There were
stories of “unscrupulous persons selling goods at exorbitant prices regardless
of the law.” As with other prohibitions,
charges were brought against dealers rather than consumers.
Even after
peace, rationing continued, and local sentences were handed down for illegal
tire and gasoline sales as well as “under-the- counter bread sales.”
Several
conclusions can be drawn after reviewing newspaper reports of local actions
that were on the wrong side of the law during the period before 1950.
When
searching for reports of particular felonies, relatively few were found. Crimes
elsewhere, especially in urban areas, were fascinating to readers. It might
also be assumed that actions that could have risen to the level of felonies
were either unknown or underreported. Changes in attitudes changed society’s
perception toward what was considered a crime.
Most locals
were law-abiding and had little tolerance for attacks by outsiders on their
property or residents. In the 19th century, locals were willing to join a posse
to pursue those who broke the law.
Most
felonies were perpetrated by men, and alcohol often played a role. Women were
frequently victims, and violence against them went unreported. The closeness to
neighboring states and Canada which had laws dissimilar to those of New
Hampshire and Vermont created problems for local law enforcement.
With the
exception of those actions covered by federal law, efforts to deal with
criminal actions were mainly in the hands of local law enforcement and local
courts. This began to change with the creation of state police in New Hampshire
in 1937 and Vermont in 1947.
Perhaps, at
some time in the future, I may revisit this topic and focus on the period after
1950 to see if these conclusions continue
