Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1897-02-10
THE HERBART CLUB.
Prof J. B. Cunningham Reads An Able
Paper on Mentality In Relation
to Crlminality."

the Herbart club was an exceedingly in
teresting one. The feature of the even
ing was paper by Prof. ]. B. Cunning
ham on
MENTALITY IN RELATION TO
CRIMINALITY."
The subject was discussed from two
chief divisions.
l. Prenatal influences to crime.
2. Post-natal influences to crime.
The fearful influence that heredity ex-
erts was Illustrated in the life history of
Ada Jurxe and her descendants. Prof
Pellman, of Brown university, has traced
the German records of this family his
tory and offers to the world the following
results:
"Fraw Ada Jurke was 60 years old
drunkard, thief, tramp. Her descea dants
number S34, of whom 709 have been traced
in local records from birth to death.
One hundred and six were born out of
| wedloek; 142 were beggars; sixty-four
| lived on charity. OF the women, ISL lived
disreputably; seventy-six of the family
| were eonvicts--seven for murder. The
remaining were tipplers. All told Ada
Jurke and her progeny cost the state
| $125 900 for maintenance, arrest, con-
| Yictien, etc."
Proso-shaped skulls, as the result of
accident to mother, is another prenatal
| trouble, rendering the child criminal in
/ its tendencies.
Inherited syphilis is a powerful factor
in the general results of crime.
Paranoia, or that conformity of skull
| which is said to turn the bias of the
mind to mono-mania, has much crime
chargeable to it, Guiteau. who killed
| President Garfield was paranoiac.
The celebrated Lombroso claims that
prenatal eruditions are so marked that
| there is a distinctly observable criminal
| class.
Under post-natal dispositions among
| other factors was noted the large part OF
criminal tendencies which originate with
| puberty. Out of one million offenses, g.
| 696 are for incest, 2,271 are for crime
| against nature, 1910 are for bigamy, A.
| 1877 are for adultry, 1876 are for forni-
| cation, 1853 are for indecency, 169O8 are
|. for rape; total, 47,941, or per cent OF
| all crime.
Women are more criminal in their ten
| denotes before 20 years and after 90 years
of age: man between 20 years and 80
years Though it must be kept in mind
that man commits 90 per cent. of all crime
! and woman only per cent.
The influence of environment was
shown by the following:
Native population, Sd per cent; foreign
population, 16 per cent; native prisoners.
37.6 per cent; foreign prisoners, 6l.4 per
cent: chances for crime. natives. 46, or 10
per cent; foreigners, 1888 %, or W per
cent.
Marriage was shown to vastly influence
against crime by the following:
Population: Single, 1928 per cent;
married 81. sc per cent; widowed, Ala per
cent. divorced. 0.20 per cent.
Prisoners: Single, 6S,6S per cent: mar
red, 1904 per cent; widowed 5,2l per
cent divorced, LOT per cent.
Chances for crime: Single. 1.074, or ~
per cent; married, s42, or SO per cent;
widowed 1910, or IA per cent; divorced,
$3.50, or 63 per cent.
The influence of employment or idle
ness was shown thus: Population, en-
ployed 70 per cent; idle. 80 per cent.
Prisoners (before arrest) employed, 67.63
per cent: Idle, 32.37 per cent.
Chances for crime, employed, 966; idle,
1079.
crime was found by the same United
States census statistics to be education:
Population: Those who can neither read
nor write. $50 per cent; those who can
read only. 3.9S per cent; those who can
read and write beth, $3.50 per cent.
Prisoners: Those who can neither read
nor write are, 1884 per cent; those who
can read only 3.eS per cent; those VINO
can read and write both. 72.1S per cent.
Chances for crime: Neither read nor
write, 1.765: read only. l,000; read anu
write both, S76.
The illiterate are thus shown to be over
twice as criminal III tendency as the
literate This holds true when the sexes
are separated. the advantage being with
males, thus:
Population: Males who neither read
nor write. 1910 per cent; females who
neither read nor write, 144O per cent.
Prisoners: Males, who neither read nor
write 29.4O per cent; females who neither
read nor write, 29.07 per cent.
Chances for crime: Illiterate males,
1887. to STA literate males; il,iterate fe-
mules 2,01S, to S1S literate females.
The same results were shown to hold
true by comparing the statistics for FOR
eigners also for negroes. Education In
many cases lessened the total liability to
crime by from so per cent. to 70 per cent:
Not only does education lessen the total
of crimes, but it changes the character
of crimes themselves. Below is a table
showing this result.
Crimes against government by those
who neither read nor write 11.5S per
cent; those who can read only, l.s6 per
cent; those who can read and write both,
Sc &c per cont; crimes against society by
those who can neither read nor write,
Is. Sc per cent; those who can read only,
A. 40 per cent: these who can both read
and write. 77.04 per cent; crimes against
persons by those who neither read nor
write 81 AT per cent. those who read only.
4SS per cent; those who car both read
and write. 63.67 per cent. crimes against
property by those who neither read nor
write 2267 per cent; those who can read
only. S.4i per cent; those who can both
read and write. 1888 per cent
Here 1t will be noted that the highest
is against the person; crimes such as
rape, assault, murder, etc. 1t will also
be noted that the highest percentage for
the literate is in crimes against the gov
eminent such as coinage. pension cleo
ton, postoffice and other frauds. Educa-
ton thus tends to make crime, If such
language be permissible, of a more noble
character.
Intoxieation, insanity, epilepsy and
syphilis were duly analysed and shown
by percentages and diagramatic i1lustra-
lions to work largely upon the tendency
to crime and to further it in all particu-
lars
The insane are ten times more likely to
commit crime than are the sane. The
syphiltic tend to become insane and thus
enter into the production of crime.
1t was shown that hereditery environ
ment. education and disease affect d.
rect1y the criminal tendency.
1t was shown that those agencies
which elevate the individual elevate the
race. and that those agencies which de-
generate the individual degenerate the
race.
1t was shown that while physical char