Kleptomania and the Tenth Commandment
By Editor
The wife of a prominent Chicago clergyman and editor of a religious paper was detected recently in the act of shop-lifting, and was arrested. Influential friends succeeded in compromising the case, and now it is explained that the lady is the victim of kleptomania, which is nothing more than violation of the tenth commandment gone to seed, and the legitimate fruit is theft—violation of the eighth commandment. Commenting upon this case, a secular paper says:— "This case shows the prevalence of what is apologetically called kleptomania. It is very doubtful whether one woman in ten caught in this mean species of theft is really insane. The great majority are consumed by a desire to outshine their neighbors in dress, and, not having the means to purchase costly goods, they resort to stealing. It is doubtful whether the compromise of such cases is a good thing, as, despite the hardships to individuals, a few punishments dealt out would do a great deal to check a vice that has become lamentably common."