The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-11-25
WILL COMPILE DATA
ON AMERICAN CRIME
Homicides and Suicides Are to
Be Counted
LYNCHING is TO BE FACTOR
Report On This Subject VIII Be Made
BY A. n. Stone Of Greenviiie,
Miss, Who Has Studied
the Question Deeply.

washington, November 24.-(SpeciaL)-
The census bureau has undertaken a
special statistical investigation of deaths
resulting from homicide and suicide IN
the United States. Criminal offenses dealt
with by the different classes of criminal
courts during the period of one year, will
also be investigated.
The fact that statistics on lynchlngs
will also be included lends additional in
terest to the proposed investigation. Here
tofore census statistics of crime have been
based on enumeratons of prisoners incar
cerated in the various prisons through
out the country on given day. This
method while developing much informa-
tion of great interest and value concern
ing the individual criminal threw no light
on the character and extent of criminal
judicial proceedings or on the quantity
of crime committed in the country dur
ing a fixed period of time. This method
was useless as an index for determining
the quantity of criminality, and 1T was
impossible therefore, to compute crime
rate with which to make international
comparisons with other civilized countries
or with which to determine in our own
country, the increase or decrease OF crime
Authority Given BY Congress.
Congress during its last session amended
section 7 of the permanent census act SO
as to give the director authority to col
lee. statistics of crime from the records Of
criminal courts and special agents will
be sent to all parts of the United States
for the purpose of canvassing the records
of the courts which try felonies and the
higher grades of misdemeanors. At the
same time other official records will be
examined for the statistics of deaths by
homicide and suicide and the statistics
of such phenomena will subsequently be
verified by the published accounts con-
tanned in the files of newspapers through
out the country. The word "homicide"
as used in the investigation, includes mur-
ders and manslaughters, deaths from
brawls and riots and death inflicted BY
organized groups under leadership Qynch-
ing).
viii Cover Present Year.
The time to be covered by the lnvesti-
CATION is the calendar year 1896, and the
resulting statistics will probably be pub
| lished within two years. Their appear
! ance will mark the beginning of a new
| line of sociological statistics at the CEN
sus bureau, which will doubtless prove Of
great value for international comparisons
as well as for determining how far crime
| in the United States Is on the increase or
| decrease and to what extent all the
| phenomena considered NAV be due TO
| social and economic conditions
| The report on lyncn."s, though that
| term does not appear in the directions
for the agents. will be prepared by Mr..
| Alfred Holy Stone OF Greenvllle, Miss, a
| well known student of social and racial
questions.
| The report on suicide as well as chap
| ter on criminal laws and criminal pro-
! cedure in the several states will be writ
| ten by Mr.. John H. CARRIER of the CEN
| sus bureau here Mr. John Koren of Bos-
| ton will write the report on felonies and
| misdemeanors, murders and manslaugh-
| ters Il
| The census bureau agents are not only
| directed to give a personal description of
| the deceased in cases where the homicide
| was through an organized group. as for
| example, age. sex, race, conjugal condi-
| tion, etc, but also the relative time of
| homicide by organized groups dynching)
| under the subjoined subdivisions:
| !. Before legal arrest.
| 2. After arrest, but before incarcera-
| ton.
3. After incarceration, but before trial.
4. After trial, but pending an appeal.
] 8. After aequittal.