The Washington times., 1914-04-09
Plans a Bureau for Study
II of Crime X

When a patient goes to a physi.
clan, the physician studies the pa.
tient first, not the medical books
When an offender goes to a lawyer,
! the lawyer should use the same
method.
Or to take another illustration
When an automobile breaks dowr
the driver looks for the parts oui
of order. He does not bother abou1
the rest. So, when a community
wishes to lessen crime, it should
weed out the abnormal classes and
put them in order, the rest will take
care of itself.
These are Arthur MacDonalds S
reasons for proposing to establish
q national bureau, under the De-
pdrment of Justice, for the study
of criminal, pduper and defective
classes.
His idea is embodied in the blu
introduced in the House by Con-
gresham O'Leary, of New York,
and in another measure placed be-
fore the Senate by Senator ZONES,
of Washington.
By J. R. HILDEBRAND.
Crime too long has been regarded
as necessity. We have overlooked
its enormity. We have failed to take
ordinary precautions for its lessen
Ing. We regard II much the same
way as disease was regarded before
science taught that much disease
was preventable."
Arthur Macdonald, of washington.
anthropologist, criminoIogist. pnysI-
clan. and author, believes the time
Is coming when man will be studied
as scientifically as the lower animals
He Is pioneer advocate of the prfn-
ciple foreshadowed by Pope, that the
proper scientific study Of mankind is
man.
BY this study he believes Society
not only can appreciably lessen crime
and reduce the number Of criminals,
but that many children can be saved
to the community who otherwise
would grow UP to populate work.
houses. prisons, and penitentiaries.
DR.. Macdonald studied psychology
under Wundt, medicine under Koch,
and crtminology under the foremost
authorities Of Europe. He has spent
much time in American penal and
reformatory institutions.
Prisons As Laboratories.
Prisons form the best sort of lab
oratories for the study of men," he
declared. There you have men un-
der ideal conditions for the collec-
They are subject to similar environ
ment and routine. which Is not the
case outside, and they are main
tanned by the state. therefore ere
available for experiment which does
them no HARM
The primary object oflthe proposed
Federal bureau is the collection of
facts. Before cholera was almost
eliminated. he pointed out, years
were spent in research work as to
its causes.
Criminals are the bacilli OF
modern society. Before We can re-
duce these bacilli to any great ex-
tent We must study them. We al
ready know some facts which make
the outlook hopeful. The so-called
abnormal man generally is nine
tenths normal Many of the crimf-
nails, so-called, are not criminals at
all.
We have been too much concern
ed with outside causes in crime
study. Poverty has been looked
into as a cause of crime. Poverty
may be an incentive to the commits
criminals. Most poor people are
honest.
Need of Moral Education.
Poor health has been studied in
its relations to crime. In a moment
Of weakness a man may commit an
act accurately termed criminal. But
he may be far from being a crimi-
nal.
The man who spends a week in
boring under bank vault has
enough ingenuity to make him a
rich man. He has brains and he
has common sense. He may make
daring escape and outrun his cap
tors. SO you can not b'ame his act
upon poor healt& He is a criminal
OF the type we must wipe out Moral
education only can do it. And such
moral education must be based on
an exact and scientific study of the
criminal
.Dr. Macdonald has made many
such studies of individual criminals.
as well as of individual geniuses. In
the current issue OF the Medical
Times, he has an extended and
thorough ANALYSIS of the physiology