The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-08-16
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
Blu RE AU
FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Director.
Washington. d. c.
CRIME AND TAXES.

a Chicago Jail for having committed
murder in a peculiarly revolving way.
His record was looked up in the city
courts and published in the news
papers. 1t showed that two years be-
| fore he had been tried for a petty
crime, had been examined in the
psychopathic laboratory. which Chief
Justice Harry Olson has established
| in connection with his city courts, and
had been identified a case of de-
mentia praecox with Intelligence de-
| feet, technically known as pfropfhebe-
| phrenia.
This is a form of insanity which
renders a man almost certain to COM
init crimes of violence. But the law
would only allow the court to sentence
caused his arrest So after serving a
few months, he was turned loose. a
| potential murderer who soon became
an actual one.
Cases like this have convinced Chi
cago that the prevention of crime is
| a scientific problem. Judge Olson's
| crime laboratory, which was once
ridiculed by public opinion and the
| the police and of lawyers. A colony
| in which insane criminals may be
| placed on fndeterminate sentence and
which is the necessary complement of
the laboratory where they are identi-
| fled, will probably be established be-
| fore long. Chicago has taken the lead
in the solution of the crime problem,
and live cities everywhere are study
ing and initiating the Chicago system.
Already New York, Pittsburgh, Cleve-
! land, Cincinnati, San Francisco and
Los Angeles have established psyche
pathic laboratories similar to the one
in Chicago.
A few years ago a man named Mac
| 1ntyre appeared on the streets of Chi
| cago cad in sheet armor. He ex-
| planned that he had dangerous enc
mics and wanted to be prepared
| figure. and police and public laughed
| at him. He was joke of the moment
| Then one day he drew a gun and be-
gan shooting. After killing several
persons he took refuge in a house
| where he was. besieged by the police.
| Several of them were killed by his ac-
J curate fire. He was finally dislodged
| by dynamiting the house, after he
had killed six men and women.
MacIntyre could have instantly
been identified by any competent
psychiatrist as a case of acute para
noia with decisions of persecution It
| was inevitable that sooner or later
he should become violent. But the
police didn't know that then. If an
other man in armor" were to ap-
hustled to the psychopathic labora-
| tory in short order. For the Chicago
police have learned their lesson of
| science. The chief tells his men to
mind what the doctor says" and one
patrolman has even been heard coun-
selling another to have your gun
ready when you pinch one of these
here 'hebephrenias.' When a GRIM
inal who shows symptoms of insanity
is given short sentence for some
minor crime, because as yet there is
neither an indeterminate sentence
law nor proper place for such con-
| finement, the police often consult the
| doctor as to the nature of the mans
| case. learn when his sentence will ex-
pire, and watch him closely as soon
| as he is at large.
The law, with its vast self-assur-
ance and it's musty theories of punish
| ment, presents the chief obstacle to
the progress of scientific treatment of
crime. In the early days of the>psy-
| chopathic laboratory, some of the
prosecuting attorneys refused to read
the reports which the psychiatrist
made to the judges, showing the &C.
tual physical and mental condition
of the criminals. The lawyers said
that |hese reports weakened their ar
guments. They could not eloquently
plead for the hanging of a man when
they knew that he had only the in
telligence of an eight year old, and
was driven to crime by hereditary
defect of his brain
But this attitude of the bar has
changed. Not only do prosecuting at
torneys mind what the doctor says"
but conscientious lawyers often bring
their clients, and even some of their
witnesses, to- the laboratory for ex-
animation.
/ A judge in Chicago often lacks the
ma jestic assurance which additionally
| belongs to the bench. If man is con-
victed before him of a crime, instead
of Importantly pronouncing sentence
of years of Imprisonment or placing
him on probation as the law provides.
the judge is apt to do some careful
thinking. He may even worry a lit
tie. For the doctor may have pro-
nounced the man a case of pyscho-
pathic constitution, which means that
| he will almost surely commit crime
again when he gets out of prison. Il
| the judge places him on probation, he
is taking the heavy responsibility OF
letting loose a criminal upon society,"
So he will probably consult with the
doctor at some length. and the man
, will perhaps be committed for a mini
mum term, or to an asylum, wh;cn IL
not the right place for him. but is the
best makeShift that the law can de-
wise under present circumstances
So Chicago is learning the lesson
that nearly all criminals are in some
way mentally defective, that a large
} percentage of mental detectives are
| pOl6illldA anu lIlde SSSiS1S
can protect itself against the >damas
and expense of crime only by identify
ing and isolating these detectives. who
make up approximately per cent OF
. the population. The problem will be
solved when these unfortunates are
identified in the public schools, and
taken in charge by the states at once
For example. not long ago. a boy
in Chicago named Peth-ic,> horribly
murdered and rnutilated a woman and
her baby. He was identified in the
psychopathic laboratory as a case OF
, dementia praecox of the most dan
. | gerous sort. At large in the COM
munity he was as sure to kill as q
beast of prey. Judge Olson learned
= that this man boy had been recognized
, in the public schools mental o.
fective, but was considered harmless
and 1,nth.-,rz done ahnlit II Under z