The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-04-25
Education and Crime.

In the Conservative Review for
May there is an article on Education
in Respect TO Crime" by Frances A
Kellar, which is by all odds the most
sensible thing recently written on the
subject The author points out the fact,
which should have been obvious to
many other people who have dealt with
this topic, that meT,c ability TO read
and write. or the f.Ct of having been
through the grammar school, cannot be
considered education She also takes
the ground that while education does
not prevent crime, it certainly does not
conduce to an increase Of viciouSness,
and that the fact that in certain COM
munities education and crime have in
creased in about the same proportion
during the last fifty years is not a
proof of anything in particular except
that two developments have occurred
during the same period
There has been great outcry during
the last ten or fifteen years, to the ef-
feet that popular education IS failure
because the jaIIs are still full The peo-
pie who are making this disturbance
overlook TWO or three things which are
of vital Importance, In the first place.
as the author Of the Review article
points out, the part of a chiId's educa-
ton which affects its morals is generally
that gained at home: and it is not fair
to compare the normal child. with all
the advantages of a careful home train
ing in what is right and what is wrong,
with the child of vicious or ignorant
parents, all of whose training. mental
and moral, must be gained in the school
room. Statistics are unreliable things
unless carefully handled, but mani
testify the fair way Of making an ar
gument on this subject would be to
take one hundred college graduates, one
hundred high school graduates. one
hundred persons with only a grammar
school education. an equal number Of
persons with only the rudiments OF
learning, and finally, a hundred abso-
lutely illiterate subjects. and compare
the ratio Of crime. Or. it would be just
10 select a hundred children Of the same
general antecedents, a certain percent
age Of whom had been educated, while
others had not, and see how the num-
Der of criminals IN the educated and
uneducated classes compares But this
has not been done It goes without say
ing that an educated thief. other things
being equal. viii be a smarter thief
than one who cannot read and write;
but, on the other hand, it is probable
that If one hundred boys be educated. a
very small percentage Of them viii be
thieves at all, because they VII be able
/ to get a better living honestly. and so
viii have less temptation; while if left
uneducated and exposed to all the
/ temptations of poverty there IS likely
to be q greater percentage of some sort
/ of immortality or dishonesty than If they
were enlightened and intelligent The
exceptions 20 this rule are to be found
In those ns-astabIished communities
in which tradition and custom instiI1 a
moral training similar TO that in the
WeII-reguIated home But in the aver
age American city OF village the aver
age mans idea Of morality Is likely TO
be higher in proportion to his inteIIi-
gence- Wien he has nothing 10 lose he
IS less likely To be strict in his be
havior than when he has a reputation.
a respect for enlightened public senti-
ment. and a position as respectable
and intelligent man. which he desires
to maintain for his own sake and that
Of his family