The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-02-09
LHiiINAL TRIALS
FARCE, SAYS WHITE
Ex-Ambassador Says They're
Games Between, and Result
in Spread of Crime
TIE WORST IN THIS COUNTRY
hurder Forty-three Times More Com
mon, Proportionately. Than in Cana
da, Where Law Prevails, He Says
A Remedy Suggested.

Ithaca. N. While optimistic
over the future Of this country Or.
Andrew d. White. ex-President Of Cor
nell University and ex-Ambassador to
Germany and Russia. sees grave dan
ger in the growth of crime, especially
murder. Several years ago he called
attention TO this. and in lecture
here he made another statement along
the same lines. He said that the num-
Der of criminal homicides in the
United States in proportion to popu-
lation was forty-three times greater
than in Canada and seven times great
er than in Belgium, which he consid-
cred the worst country in Europe in
that regard. The average criminal
sentenced to life Imprisonment, he
said, served but seven years
The number of felonious homicides
per year per million population for
various countries" Dr. White said is
Canada, 8; Germany. to 3; England
and Wales, 10 to IL; France IL to Is;
Belgium, 16, and the United States
over 129. These figures are based on
IN average for eight years.
you will say these statements are
the statements OF an old. worn, and
weary pessimst Worn and weary
may be. but a pessimist ! am not. If
there is in this country a man who is
an optimist, ] am that man believe
that the world is better to-day than it
ever was before. I believe that in the
future II will be better than il is to
day. that this country is The best coun-
try on earth to live In. believe that
altogether the United States of Amerl-
ca is the happiest country in the whole
world. l believe that the Christian
Church has never been SO pure, so
good, so promising as it is this day.
1T seems impossible that on one
Side OF boundary line homicide could
be so much more prevalent than on
the other. as in the case Of Canada and
the United States But the reason is
that on one side law prevails, and not
shicanery and that on the other side
there has taken place a breakup in
the administration OF criminal law. By
far the greatest OF all causes is the
fact that the administration of crimi-
nal law has become simply game.
A trial is . game between two or three
lawyers, and the whole thing has be-
come very much farce"
In answer to the argument that pun
ishment OF crime does not stop the
crime he gave instances of socalled
"epidemics" OF murder which we're
stopped by the hanging of several per
sons found guilty. He spoke Of the
banditd OF Italy and Of the steps
which England took to obtain justice
for the murder OF citizen by the
bandits
The hanging OF eighteen Of the
bandits stopped the crime forever"
he said.
DR.. White had little sympathy for
what he called the pseudo-scientific
theory that crime is a disease.
The truth Of the matter is that
crime is crime and disease is dis
ease" he said.
He described the difference between
administration Of criminal justice in
Great Britain and the United States.
'In a short time jury there can be
got together" he said. There is no
bother about finding twelve men that
are sufficiently idiotic to satisfy both
lawyers. The result OF all this is that
Great Britain, a country vastly more
brutal than this, has 10 or IL murders
to our 129."