The Sentinel=record., 1911-10-18
JUSTICE CURE
 IS MOST NEEDED
ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL LAWS IS DISGRACE TO clvlLizA-
 TON, SAYS couRcv.
Talk Before The American Prison Asso- eistlon Recalls Quotation on the Price
 We Pay For Foreign immigration.

 Omaha. Neb.. Oct. l7.-ouoting Presi- dent Taft as saying that The admni- stration Of the criminal law in this country is disgrace to civilization. Judge C. A. De courcy of Lawrence, Massachusetts. before the American Prison Association tonight pointed ou, that the United States was conspicious for the great number of unpunished lmurderers.
 The defense of insanity. the limitation Iof the power of judges and the character of testimony allowed to be introduced in behalf of the defendant were some of the evils which he said, ought to be rectIfied
 "The number of homcides in this country for 1910 were s.e75-an increase { of nearly s00 over the number in 1908 . lyet but one in S6 were capitally punished lin 1910 as against one in 4 during the year preceding said Judge De ccurcy i, Tt is said that In 1896 for each million of the population there were 1is homi- cides in the United States; in Italy less lthan I5; in Canada less than F; In Great Britain jess than 9, in Germany less than 5,
 u Dr. DanIel Phelan, surgeon of the Dominion Penitentiary. Kingston. Ont, :, assaiied the tow class of immigrants as s'ihe culseAi4of this country. in address ling the American Prison Congress today on prevention s crinse and insanity.
 "As all men are fully four -fifths here Iditary" said pr. pnelan. the other fifth will depend upon circumstances as { Associations, education. example. habit, | Imoral training and other external causes. 2 It is. therefore. evident that each in- ' Idividual will live according, with slight ' variations. to the usual habits of think ling, feeling. and acting, as his ancestors
 There may be on the surface suf- Ificient propriety of conduct to conform Ito the general usuages of society his v in born naturs may be concealed oy ~ lyanear hut underneath Is the real man with all his aversons to be employed lin every emergency. Therefore, we desire to lessen crime. insanity and q other forms of degeneracy. we should hesitate to accept the low class of emi- grants from foreign and other nations without due care and consideration
 They are the curse of the country i More than one generation would be re- ouired. despite the most favorable con lditlons. social and religious, to trans form a man other than he Is; it would ! indeed require fully three or four gene ' rations to eliminate the tendencies oi z zIa certain class of immigrants, and make them industrious, peaceful and law abiding citizens.
 "The tide of immigration therefore ' must be checked by careful and
 searching Inspection Into lthe mental and physical condition of all those land. ing in the country, by a competent # physician delegated for the purpose.
 ''Too many Of these foreigners carry in them the germs of criminal tendencies that spring from degeneracy insanity and social diseases. and these are liabl, to sprout up under given circumstances and cast around them their baneful in- fuence.v
 Dr. Phean stated that fully one pel cent of the population Is either insan, or defective from birth and that "thes, conditions are increasing at rate mucr faster than the rate of the increase oi our population"
 'The weakling. the ne'er- -do-well and the tool. rear in the hovel and in the slums. larger families than do the healthier. stronger. and more intelligent class Of citizens in more comfortable ~ homes Mir Pheian continued.
 -Checking, therefore. as far as pos sible these sources of disease and de- generation it would seem ought to be the future lines to work upon. The z Influence exercised by these degraded classes upon their surroundings Is in- l caiculable,"