Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1916-09-07

Declares That New System Seeks the
Reclamation of Humanity-Two Pur-
poses Are, First, the Protection of So
ciety, and, Second, the Reformation
of the Criminal.
In an address on Crime In the Cit
les delivered in Oshkosh Aug. II by
John Cudahy, Democratic candidate
for lieutenant governor Of Wisconsin,
to the Wisconsin League Of Municipal
tiles, Mr.. Cudahy said:
Crime is older than any of the civic
problems that concern our cities, for it
is as old as life itself 1t is as univer-
sal as sin and as widespread. The
treatment Of crime and the handling Of
criminals are peculiarly a municipal
affair because it is especially within
the cities that life is intricate and com
pick, and compliance with the many
laws of these modern times is not al
ways easy.
In Milwaukee, a city known all over
the country for the peace abiding char
acteristics of it's citizens, during the
past year there were 1892 arrests,
and our city pays out annually as it's
crime bill-that is, it expends for the
regulation Of crime and the mainte-
nance of penal institutions = nearly
100000.
The past fifty years have marked an
epoch in material advancement. Life
in the cities has been made more at
tractiye. more easy, more comfortable
and more worth living. The science
of municipal government has improV-
ed We have made our cities more
beautiful, and we have safeguarded
health at every hand, and yet two
problems of life as old as the world
remain with us today as they were at
the beginning Of time.
"The poor you have always with
YOU" and the same might be said or
crime. Crime and the criminal are
present today just as ever before.
Crime is not decreasing. 1t is 1ncreas-
ing. There are nearly three times as
many criminals now as there were M
ty years ago, and every year sees an
increase in offenders of the criminal
law, an increase entirely disprOport1on-
ate to the increase in our population.
Old System Has Failed.
The old system of dealing with GRIM
mails has failed. if we judge by re-
suits. and it mas failed ANONYMOUSLY.
The criminal law goes upon the as
sumption that one convicted ana sen
fenced for crime is a free agent-that
he has deliberately and with premed-
itation chosen the course OF cond"ct
that has placed him before the bar OF
Justice for Judgment. If one is entire
ly bereft Of his senses he is not fespon-
sible before the tribunals Of the Grim
inal law, Insanity is recognized by
the law, but mental sickness is not.
There are every year hundreds OF
broken down. discouraged, hopeless h'l-
man wrecks who are passing through
our criminal courts in Wisconsin ana
who could never be cOnsclentlOusly
pronounced insane, yet these persons
in Justice to themselves and more. IL
Justice to society, should not be treat
ed as criminals. They are incapabl
of meeting the test of the criminal
law. They cannot choose between
right and wrong.
When you find that a convict al
Waupun has served six consecutive
terms for horse thieving and that it is
not uncommon at all for prisoners at
the house of correction in Milwaukee
to have a record which shows twenty.
thirty and forty convictions for drunk
and disordcrly conduct it is time to in
quire into the criminal capacity Of
such prisoners. A great many of them
don't need prison bars. They are
sick. mentally sick. socially
sick. and they need the services Of Il
physician.
Two years ago at Boston there was
installed as an experiment a depart
ment in connection with the criminal
courts there which was called "a med
ical service department." 1t was I'M
der the direction Of DR.. Victor Arder-
a freakish fad. and its utter failure
was freely predicted. but after q year
of trial the criminal judges found that
DR.. Anderson and his department were
absolutely Indispensable. Now the leg
islature of Massachusetts has created
permanently this medical service de-
partment, and the judges say that the
criminal courts of Boston would be
unavoidable without it. During two
years DR.. Anderson has examined 94G
cases, and of this number only ninety
has he pronounced mentally sound.
Based on Wrong Principle.
These mentally defective offenders
whom we now treat as criminals de
mand attention as a distinct class of
unfortunates who find their way into
our courts. To send them to penal
institution for thirty, sixty or ninety
5ovc ic NOT ropotoctipU Nrbox.