New-York tribune., 1912-02-08

ers, there were forty-seyen murders dur
ing the year ended August l last, and not
a single execution. ,r
The third fact shown by various papers
throughout the whole country is that
these murders show a decided increase in
wantonness, brutality and cruelty. One Of
! these recently attracted the attention or
the public on this account for a few mo-
ments. young gardener going from MS
home to his work, near Chicago, at an
early hour of the morning was beset by
half a dozen rufians armed with guns
and clubs and looking for victim lie
begged them TO take his property but to
spare his life for the sake Of his wife ana
his child two months old. He was their
only bread winner and protector. The only
answer was q more fendish assault. The
murderers broke their victims Jaw
knocked out his teeth, drove stick down
his throat, and then, having left him
i dying In a ditch, went on TO make war on
other industrious people.
Justice Brought to Nausht
Two of these criminals confessed and
four of them were sentenced TO be hanged;
but an appeal was made to the Governor,
not only by the attorneys In the case ana
the relatives of the murderers, but by sew
eral of the most influential people Of CHI
cago, among whom THE Advance names
the Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones, MISS Jane
! Adams, Rabbi Hirsch, Professor .Charles
r. Henderson, and others, and justice was
brought TO naught.
! I need hardly remind your readers that
no other civilized country shows any ap-
! proach to the figures above given. Great
| Britain and the British-Amerlean domlh-
ions upon our borders, which are supposed
10 live under laws substantially ike our
own, have relatively only about one-tenth
of the yearly percentage Of murders shown
! nv the statistics in the United States
! BY perssting in a we'll regulated admin
| istration of Justice Great Britain has cult'-
waited and enforced throughout her do
minions a law-abiding habit. BY the very
opposite course our own country has cui-
tiyated the habit Of setting the law AT
| defiance
Supplementary to the above facts are
some given out from official sources re-
! Sarding the number of murders in New
York during recent years as compareo WIN
those In London. London has population
|
| OF not quite five millions. During the years
1906 10 the average annual numoer or
| murders in London was twenty, ana o.
| those guilty of these murders an average
of fifteen were convicted, or committed SUI
eide before trial. In New York, during the
| same years, the average annual number ol
murders was H. and the average number
of convictions only twenty-five. The last
year-l9ll-was even worse for US. NM!e
| London, with it's seven millions OF popula-
| ton, kept the number OF its murders down
10 about twenty-three, with seven convic-
tions, in New York, with its population OF
two millions less than London, the number
Of murders rose to las, and for these there
were only thirteen convictions In London
each trial for murder was speedy, dignined
and vigorous, and each conviction was fol-
! lowed by punishment speedy and severe
| In New York the trials were, as rule,
| long delayed and long drawn out; only
about 10 per cent OF the murderers were
! convicted and OF those convicted very
considerable proportion are still lingering
along, under various preteXts, unpunished
II any one wishes TO understand why the
two cities present such enormous olITer-
ences in the administration of justice, they
have but to compare the Thaw trial with
the Crippen trial.
Unpublished Murders in America.
A similar difference greatly to our disad-
vantage, exists between Continental Euro
pean nations and our own. About twelve
wears of my life have been passed in
France. Germany. Italy and Russia, and In
each OF these countries careful study OF
their criminal statistics has shown me that,
except in the last named country during it's
recent revolutionary period, and possibly at
times in lower Italy and Sicily, there has
been nothing 10 compare in numbers and
immunity with the American records OF
murder, and especially of unpublished MUIR
der
The evident reason for this condition OF
things is that a person charged with the
highest crimes in either OF those foreign
countries has usually speedy, common
sense trial, with a prompt and just verdict,
followed by speedy punishment. II tho
punishment be death, II Is not delayed until
IL has lost its deterrent effect on the pub
lie mind; II II be life imprisonment. II
does not mean a seclusion just long enough
for public Indignation TO blow over In our
country, as a rule, the main purpose ot
a murder trial seems to be to amuse the
general public and to glorify the persons
taking direct part in 1t. The American
ideal murder trial seems TO be spec
tacular game in which justice is really the
last thing thought of.
As regards this spectacular business the
one encouraging thing during the last year
was the Beattie trial, in Virginia There
was of course, the usual heralding o. noted
criminal lawyers, who were bound to
clear" the accused. and OF the wealthy rel
atiyes and friends, who were bound to
back up the criminal lawyers. But what
was especially suggestive OF thought was
the plain. kindly. but common-sense rulings
of the Judge and the sane and sober con-
duct OF the jury. Virginia won the respect
of the whole nation when those twelve
men, before considering their verdict, fell
upon their knees and prayed that they
might do justice. not only to the prisoner
al the bar, but to the State OF Virginia We
New Workers may we'll compare that with
the scenes at the Thaw and sundry other
recent trials.
Let me remind the liberal" philosophers
who assert that capital punishment has no
effect in diminishing crims that We have
not yet tried capital punishment. The ex-
ecution OF one In one hundred Is certainly
no trial of 1t. The figures simply prove
that murder Is safer pastime than hunt
ing.
Let me remind the sham philanthroplsts
who say that as punishment for murder
they psefer life Imprisonment that life i'm
prisonment we cannot have. That r. proved
by our experience for many long years.