The Washington herald., 1912-10-20
49,
Poverty and Environment Are the Prinss
cipal Causes for Crime, and Climinx IS
atthsP Present Time Change 0peratons
as Conditions Change.

as Con nditions Ch
.pv asAk. AscllAnp sxLvnssxn,
sp.aA.1A : q. Mse ~ -
TAeS = : AspastDeaf e sbsaal seasael
kasvn = saninsaaGy. vhieh inautrsi
INTO tAs s1fistiss e cgims anA ths canssa
vfth ssvisw - ~ avp,Seasiea ef treat.
msu4 ssa IN The puEsuit az sueA knevi-
sAga. tAs various ausstieag ars oposid.
srsd from . physaplogical .psype,ua1eai
sna sociological staadpoink
Antiquity AFFORDS no wsJl-asansA history
Of crime beyond what we ls6xn of tribal
in5urtsA and TIE rules oe 1v0use vhich
were followed. ,Ths weight q infogmar
tion - that right va. originally and n
wayt; that what was wrong subsequently,
wss yightsd. although there - . difIsr.
snes among authoritiss on this propoGf-
tioa. II b . fAet that customs arst wes
followed by laws aftsrWand iu ths -
deavor - F4Ont cenAitions that psEsonal
vengoance ives followed By retnlistoey
justica. ana penalties changed svsntually
% - to b aisUesed Of bstwssn the ip-
y
HsassaAs CAief Ca.ss.
Homicids was TIE principle crime Of the
earlier ss1s anA was confined In the main
to psrpefsef3oas b. man, while infanticids
and similar comm1ssions. the outgrowth
Of religious o. Other beliefs. were perps-
trations by vcnen.
The tribes campsd upon the soil ana
latsr erected hats and improved the
grounds thereto and accumulated cattle,
and ~ the things desirable increased,
greater regard tor human. life followed.
Az property features multiplied. popu-
lattou increased. and intelligence "a.
vancsd. crimes began to vary and have
stnce kept pace with the population M.
merically II 10 said there were 80 Of
lenses In the time Of Blackstone, for
which the penalty was death. these
penalties being later greatly reduced In
order to relieve the weaker from op-
preston by the stronger. but. In the
present period. penalties have been large
" reduced By alternatives. % that where
improper innuencss prevail, the changes
seem to have followed in the interest Of
the criminal and against the State.
Poverty and environment are the prin-
cipal causes for crime and criminals and
the latter pursue their modes Of opera
tion. a. may be justified from their View
point by conditions n they change: the
evidence to-day ~ against the green
goods man and highwayman Of yester-
day.
inferred from the character Of the
invitation received from you that It was
expected Of men that I would In limit
ed discussion present some Of the char
acteristics Possessed by modern crimi-
nalA who have. IN enc way or another,
come under the observation Of the po-
lice. In no sense do appear before 20
distinguished . body protesting to af-
ford you enlightenment from . scien- |
tinc standpoint. and you, no doubt. have |
In mind the requirement Of the police |
rs to whether or not In their opinion. |
those who come under the law, possess |
Characteristics whereby they might be |
readily typified In 2, manner whereby |
the study Of crimes, their causes and the |
treatment of the Offenders might be un- |
dertaken and criminals be readily ap-
pretended by their general appearance |
No solution KNOWN.
would It were in my power to bring |
to your attention some one thing new
which might aid in the solution of this
problem. which has received the atten-
ton Of 30 many noted crtminologists dur
Ing the present and past periods Of in
vestigation. but feel that when I have
finished You will have been. in Q meas
ure. entertained. perhaps, but that the
differences which have prevailed among
noted students of the questions involved |
will still maintain. Such must be true,
not only because Of the differing in con-
illusions Of authorities on the subject of
criminal man. but because Of the pre-
yailing omission to learn what constitutes
q normal man.
Endeavor has been made through thet
International Police Aesociation-of which
nV~ et>~ 49,, =
president for the past twelve years-toI
have the general government sustain At
Washington q national bureau Of crimi-
nal Identification. which might operate rs
clearing house for the police forces of
the world. not only In the matter of iden-
tincation Of criminals and In the Afford
ing Of criminal information. but that
there might incidentally be afforded Q
means for the scientific study Of the
criminal Congress, in its wisdom. how
ever. has failed to afford that encourage
ment which was expected Of II, and at
the present time the bureau il being
maintained through subscriptions made
by the various heads Of police depart
ments OF the United States and Canada.
Passing on from this digression, the [
question presents itself: How are we to |
make comparison with the so-called
normal unless We know beyond doubt,
that we have In the unit for comparison,
q subject free from all imperfectious!l
The family history Of an individual miSht
be obtained, yet It would be regarded
with . degree Of uncertainty. Minutia Z
pertaining to career might be accumu.
lated. criminal propensities noted uponi
the chart anthropometrical notationsl I
made, sensoilities siSnined. motility az.
aminsd into. circulation. digestion, secre- {
tionk respiration and other like features I
be procured. psychical combinations had. | /
Ind the normal creature proclaimed as q "
result but might not fraction Of timsl 4
.rae.1gs The CUB