Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1903-03-29

pressing crime. By way of stating the
proposition. Sir Robert draws an an
| alogy between the suppression of crime
and the prevention of disease. He says:
THE main efforts OF sanitation are di-
rected to dealing, first, with the causes
which produce disease, and, secondly,
with cases of disease when they occur
And here attention is transferred from
disease to the persons who have con-
tracted disease. And in the same way
we should seek to counterfeit the in
| huences which tend to crime. and when
crimes occur attention should be con-
centrated upon the living human be-
! ings who commit them. Most of those
who have practical acquaintance with
the subject and are best fitted to speak
upon it, testify that the great mass OF
ordinary crime could be reduced within
narrow limits by the operation of re-
forms of a reasonable and practical
kind. Reforms. I mean, such as are
calculated to raise the tone of life gen
orally among the masses OF the popula-
ton and to protect them from tempta-
tons and dangers which at present en-
gulf unnumbered Victims
The individual over whom Sir Robert
proposes that society should exercise
the greatest oversight, is the profess
sional criminal. To this end he says:
When verdict of guilty has been
| found against person charged with
crime. the proper question for consid-
Grafton ought to be not what sentence
it would be just to award for the crime.
munity, should be done with the GRIM
| inal. My proposal is that convicted
| felon who is proved to be an associate
of criminals and to have no visible
means of subsistence shall. unless he
can satisfy the court to the contrary,
| be deemed to be living by crime, and
shall be judicially declared to be a pro-
! fessional criminal 1t is fortunately no
| of class of criminals who deliberately
live by crime. 1t is no longer necessary
to prove that such criminals are plain
| ly distinguishable. But I want the
public to grasp the fact, first, that just
as most Of the vulgar crimes of vio-
lence are due to drink. so most of the
slrious crimes against property are the
work of professional criminals; and
secondly that it is perfectly practicable
by dealing with these criminals in a
sensible way, to put an end to the
great bulk of crimes of this character. =
The remedy proposed by Sir Robert
is the simple one of shutting the Grim
inal in Jail for the rest of his life o.
until he shall have reformed. Two OBJ
jections, however, are urged against
this scheme. The first is that no man
is irreclaima BILE. and therefore no man
should be permanently deprived of his
liberty. The second is that the ire
claimables are so numerous that tc
shut them up in this way would be
impracticable. These objections arr
mutually inconsistent. Both are falla-
cious. but the basis on which it rests
is false. If professional criminals would
be expedited by increasing the penalties
claimable, their reclamation would be
expedited by increasing the penaltie:
of impenitence. And to make the pos
sibi!ity of their reclamation a reason
for turning them loose in an impeni
tent condition is but a weak concession
to ignorant sentiment. His answer
to the second objection is the statemen
based, he declares, on good proof tina
habitual criminals are not sufficient!
numerous to seriously embarrass thu
court or the prison officials.