The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-20
Thoughts of Montgomery TuriSt' on Causes
 of Homicides"
Bring Letter from Distinguished Ameri- can Thinker, Educator and Dip
 lOmak.


 Hon. Andrew D. White. formerly Am. bassador to Germany, ex-president of Cornell University and distinguished student and thinker has written let- ter to Judge. William H. Thomas of the City Court of Montgomery in which he expresses deep interest in the sta- tistics Judge Thomas has compiled on the increase of homicides in this coun-
 For several years Judge Thomas try.
 has taken much interest in this sub ject. He has written numerous learn ed papers and delivered several public addresses on homicides and their cause. Recently he was invited by the editor of The New York Post to contribute an article for that paper on Causes of Homicides." This article was publish ed by the Post in its edition of April IS. It attracted the attention of MT. White who wrote Judge Thomas the following letter:
 Atlantic City. April Is, 1906.
 "The Honorable William H. Thomas,
 Associate Judge, City Court,
 Montgomery, Ala.
 My Dear Sir:
 "As one who has long been interested in The Problem of High Crime in the United States and who has delivered various addresses on the subject before many of our colleges and universities, and. especially. more recently. before Cornell University, with which I was connected for several years as Presi- dent, and still remain a Trustee, I feel deeply interested in your recent article Evening Post
 Nothing can be more timely. The subject which you take up is one of the most important which can be dis cussed by an American citizen. High crimes and. especially, the crime of murder. have apparently got beyond all bounds. Safeguards which were estab- lished in the Middle Ages to protect the burgher against the feudal lord. seem now to be devoted, and, indeed. largely developed, to protect the criminal, and, especially. the murderer. against any thing like a due administration of jus tice. I have made q very large collec- tion of material, but, for my statistics, have mainly used the very remarkable summary published each year on the 3fst of December. by The Chicago Trio une. which bears every mark of careful and conscientious labor.
 My collection of these numbers, running back about fifteen years. shows that. about 1890. the number of mur- ders In the United States was about 5000, and that 1t has now increased out of proportion to the increase or population, and has become about 10000 a year.
 "A recent address of mine, before students or the Law School at Cornell, has been largely quoted by the press. and the number of letters I am receiv- ing regarding 1t seems to show deep and widespread interest in the shp- ject among our foremost legal think CTS. Two judges of the Supreme Court of the United States. and three or four others. of high courts in the various States, are among those who have spoken or written to me on the sub- ject.
 This and various other signs tndi- cate that this is the time for continu- ing efforts looking to better admin istration of justice.
 My own hope has been to give to the press some of the material -hat l have collected. but l have allowed my self, unfortunately. to be tied up with so many engagements or various sorts' and am, at the same time, so emb1r- rassed by the mass of material in iny possession, that have, thus far. shrunk from printing anything. Be- side this. my feeling is that the sub ject must be left to younger men, and I hope that, among these. you will give what time you can to the subject. De- pend upon IL, you "iii iH thtS way WI' the gratitude of a vast number of the most thoughtful men in our country North and South.
 There are one or two questions sug- gested by your article, which I would like to ask you. The comparison you make between the number of homicides per million in the Dominion of Can ada and other nations and the United states, is most impressive. but I would be very glad to know how you have secured statistics of Canada and the other nations referred to.
 AS to the United States, it has been rather difficult thus far to get any trustworthy statistics save those fur nished bv The Chicago Tribune. Those given In the census have appeared to me very inadequate, but I am glad to state that recent letters from MT. North who is at present at the head of the