The Globe-republican., 1903-02-12
VV1 IDEsPREAD attention
N/ will be attracted to the
Wv report made to Congress
by DR.. Arthur MacDon-

UStlcS 0I cfllne, suiclue, Insanity anu
: other abnormal conditions, rs a result
pf. which the contention Is made that
crime Is on the increase through the
world relatively to population and not
withstanding the great strides which
have been made by education, the arts
and sciences and philanthropy. IA VA
The report Is made in support Of
bill to provide for laboratory for the
study Of the criminal, pauper and de-
fective classes. In the United States
six hundred million dollars is spent
every year because Of the existence Of
criminal classes. Nothing is spent by
the Government to investigate the
causes of crime or to. mitigate in a
scientific way the influences which pro-
mote abnormal conditions leading to
crime.
The whole question should be treated
on the principle that the Government
Is solidarity, For instance, the Qres-
ton Of the mining Of coal Is at first
blush no business of the Government.
Yet when the coal strike threatened toy
stop all the wheels Of industry 1t be-,
came the question Of the highest in
terest, Il Z
tf COULD STOP GOVERNMENT. .,
50, too with this question Of GRIM
inology. 1t is not d matter OF concern
to the Government, yet if no study be
made of 1t 1t is possible for 1t to stop
all government. A crank could do it
4 with single shot, as was the case at
Buffalo. To study the causes and get
at the root Of the evil, this is the object
of DR.. Macdonald,
The statistics which have been pre-
scented in the report are Irresistible,
They show that through thirty years
crime in various phases has been OIL
the increase. So have mental disor-
ders and nervous diseases. During
the same period life has been swinging
along, becoming easy, the education Of
the mind has Increased at tremen-
dous rate and influences have been pre-
yaling which one at first thought
would suppose ought to tend to eradi-
cate human savagery and bring us
nearer to an altruistic condition.
This is true the world over. Accord
ing to the statistics 1t is true as to
murder and suicide, as to insanity and
nervous diseases, just as 1t is true as
to an increase in population and as to
the betterment of social and domestic
conditions Of working and living.
The scientist who has collected the
statistics on which he bases these con-
illusions would not have it reasoned
that the world Is steadily degenerating
and Is bound to 80 on growing worse
and worse.
TURN ALWAYS COMES.
There have been cycles during which
mankind distinctively retrogaded, only
to start anew and follow an upward
tendency for long time, going higher
than before. Thus it is pointed out
that when the Roman Empire began
to decay those students of the sciences
of the times would unquestionably
have held that the world was growing
worse and was bound to continue to
grow worse. The conclusions drawn
are not to be taken as evidence that
permanent retrogade movement has set
In, but rather that the human race has
not yet settled down and adapted it.
self to the tremendous changes in man
ners Of living and employment that
have come, when compared with other
eras, with q rapldlty almost lightning
like.
The Congressional report which has
just been printed calls attention to
the fact that objection is frequently
made that this relative increase in
crime, ETC., is due to more stringent
methods Of gathering the data. While,
doubtless, this has weight, yet how
much 1t has had to do with the in
crease is matter of opinion. In the
Judgment Of those who have spent
their lives in dealing first hand with
these forms Of abnormality better
methods Of inquiry will not account
for the increase.
DUE TO RAPID DEVELOPMENT.
1t would seem that 1t is due more to
the rapid development of the world In
general than to any specific cause.
Thus, there has not only been rapid
increase in social abnormalities, but in
many other things, such as education,
intelligence, wealth and in comforts
of living for the poor.
II we take in our country the groups
Of States that show the greatest edu-
cation and intelligence we find that
they also exceed in patho-soclal evils,
as insanity, suicide, nervous diseases,
juvenile criminals and almshouse pau
perS. But to assume, for instance, as
Is something done, that education and
Intelligence tend to increase social
evils Is common mistake Of confound-
ing cOncomltants with causes.
The North Atlantic States show that
the average number Of years schooling
Of the inhabitants ID Cos; that the
number Of people per library Is 5S97,
and one out of every ia goes through
college. As against that, in the South
Atlantic States the average number Of
years schooling is 2.73; the percentage