New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-09-13
THE LAW AND EXCEPTIONS
A Volume of Good Reading for
the Layman.

tidnally readable and informing volume
for the average citizen, TO whom the
| law. both civil and criminal, is always
very nfnch Of a puzzle. and crime a
subject OF enduring interest especially
IN these days of universal amateur So
| GEOLOGY. What is more, these pages
have n strong local timeliness, IN view
Of the chaotic state Of New iorks
police affairs. The author begins By
| demonstrating that the theory OF the
| presumption OF innocence" II en-
! forced. would lead 10 a pandcmonium
OF crime. Legally the burglar walk
! ing away with his swag in the middle
| of the night must be presumed to. be
innoceIa until II has been proved that
| he has stolen the contents Of his
bundle. The policeman has no legal
right To arrest him "on suspicion" but
that is his duty, nevertheless, under
| orders from headquarters. \ man VINO
| is held Tor the grand jury must be
J presumed TO be innocent oven after
/
AGAINST him. "'rhc most presumptuOus
Of all presumptDrs" says Mr.. Train
I "is this presumption Of innocence. IL
really doesn't exist. save "a the mouths
of Judges and In the pages OF law
| books Constitutional rights must
constantly be yiol0tcd In the interes.
! OF law and orJs.r. u is the abuse OF
This power that is the real problem.
| Next Mr.. Train dovot"s a curious
chapter 10 the preparation OF criminal
cases Tor trial in the District AttorneFs
Office ana TO the surprises of the court
room. He holds that New York CITY
iurics are right in their verdicts four
times out OF five. Indeed, he - in
clined 10 hold, In the Nan patterson
Thaw aud Noiineux cases, PECULIARLY
said TO have been Miscarriage or JUS
lice, that In reality "any single Judge
bench of Judges or board Of commits
sioners would have reached tie same
result az did the juries in these IN
I.stances.'
why do men kill?' is the author
next question. For almost any reason,
il appears, and for mono at all. Money
is rarely the cause, though drunken
disputes over small amounts NSure
! largely In the statistics. Mr.. Train Is
more interested III the root OF the evu'
| which Is the readiness To Kill, the
slayers lack OF civilization, brutality
and absence OF self-contrOl." His ref
crence to the percntag. of murderers
who are never caught is uncanny, and
vet, he assures US. murder will out II
only years after the decd, when all
danger of detection has ceased. An
other strange trait Of the criminal is
his horror Of dying under an alias.
This appeal OF the dignity OF iden-
tity." as Mr. Train calls It. should in
terest psychologist.
II is almost impossible 10 write OF
crime without abiding 70 it's detection.
| So there Is here a discriminating chap
ter on detectives The average police
| detective. according 10 our authority,
has rather less intelligence than the
average chauffeur. lie has learned
| certain elemental tricks OF the trade
! and applies them, such as plugging
the lock Of q blackmailcr's postolfice
| box, thereby forcing him to apply at
| the window for his mail. The real
| detective lie the one who brings 70 bear
unusual powers Of observation and de
duction and an exceptional resource
| fulncss in acting upon his conclusions
| Petrosino was Il great detotfye, says
| Mr.. Train, who devotes some space to
his exploits and memory, and so Is
TON" Byrnes. There are some able
| detectives at Headquarters now. AS
! for private detectives and detective
agencies, some Of them are efficient
prorocdteir and the spy OF our indus
trial troubles are not forgotten.
! Throughout the author enlivens his
pages it'll real stories Of tho detec-
ton Of crime. His opinion Of tho fic-
tional ones Is slight.
The book closes with chapters on the
history OF the Camorra and the Viterbo
trial, and with a study Of the criminal
Italian I'm this country, which contains
| some strange revelations OF lawbreak-
| ers who have turned over a new leaf
here--men of standing and substance
among us-but who are men Of
honor" which means that they keep
| their eyes, mouths and ears shut where
| the Mala Vita is concerned. They are
not against II. They might even assist
It passively. Many Of these erstwhile
criminals pay through the nose for rs>
spectability-the Camorrist after his
kind, the Mafius, after his kind" And
can the following be true?
Even Americans have not been slow 20
avail themselves of Camorrist methods.
| There is n sewing machine company
which sells Ats machines on the install
ment plan 20 Italian families. A regu-
! lar agent solicits the orders, places the
machines and collects the initial dollar:
! but the moment q subscriber falls In
arrears his or her name Is placed on a
black list, which Is turned over by this
enterprisiDg house TO collector" who
| is none other than the leading Camorrist,
bad man or Black Handler OF the neiEh.
borhood- Needless to say. he Eats his