Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1920-09-27
"CRIME AND ITS
PREVENTION" THEME
DIR. Carpenter Attributes Laxity
of Ethics and Law Enforce
ment to Crime Wave

meetings held in Richmond for
some time was that which crowd
ed the large auditorium of the
First Christian church on Sunday
night to hear DIR. Carpenter talk
on "The Prevalence of Crime in
Our Community and It's Proven
ton" The other churches of the
city adjourned their services to
/ join in this meeting
With remarkable clearness and
frankness the speaker gave a di-
agnosis of the local situation and
declared that the community was
reaping of its own sowing that
not the Kaiser but the community
was to be charged with the in
tdictment. After pointing out the
the causes leading up to the pres
emf tragic conditions, he suggest
ed certain definite remedies which
can be Immediately applied. At
the close of the address, DIR: Tel
ford, who had been asked to pre-
side, requested that every mem
Der of the audience who was will
ing to endorse its content, and to
stand back of it, stand. The en-
| tire audience stood almost to a
man.
Taking the story of the first
homicide, the killing of Abel by
Cain, as the background for the
address, DR.. Carpenter said:
1T is far cry from this first
murder down to now, but human
nature has not changed altogether
since then, and as strange as it
may seem, 1000 years after the
beginning of the Christian era, we
find ourselves in Richmond in the
midst Of a sattrnalia of crime
Murder and arson have welded in
our midst and together have writ
ten one of the blackest chapters
in the criminal history of the
state SO we'll have we thought
of ourselves N this city that it
did not occur to us that such Il
thing could happen and that on
the streets of our neighboring
cities the newsboys would short-
gruesome headlines of the daily
paper, more murders in Rich
mond!" But as we come in humili
alton and in shame for our town,
it is unnecessary for me 70 re
count the morbid story of some
dozen homicides in recent weeks
and all the terrifying things that
go with them.
Everywhere the question is
asked, How is it possible to ex-
plain a situation like this? ? What
is the cause of this prevalence of
crime in our community, until as
men come down town in the
morning they ask, sWho was kill
ed last night?' ?
This question as to cause is of
fundamental Importance. Let us
find, if we can, the diagnosis, and
then we shall be ready to pre-
scribe the remedy. The easiest
thing is to say, it is the result of
the war and | am sure that in this
backwash of the war human life
is far cheaper than it has been be-
fore. 1t is easier to murder now.
But let me. remind you that it is
not enough to lay it on the Kaiser,
let us adjust the glasses until the
focus is on our own community
Is not Richmond reaping a red
harvest from her own sowing? ?"
The speaker then pointed out
the things which have made posi-
bic the present condition. The
first cause which he assigned was
the breaking dawn Of moral rs
straints.
He said, ''Th.e anchor chains of
our moral standards have slipped.
Our ideals have degencrate1. Der
fine sense of etl,:@s and morals
and virtue are not what they have
been in the past We have 1oos-
ened up, AMI ne nand women il
Richmond can do thii'g' today
and remain in good standing
which they would have found diff
hcult to do hitherto. AS IN evi-
dence of the truth IS this fact let
me point you to two or three def
mite things. lake the spirit of
gambling, for instnace -now
spreading like the namcs of a
great forest fire in Richmond If
our city avoids raising up a gen
Grafton of gamblers there must
| be an immediate and r.ld;cal
change in OUR community's atti-
tude to gambling. & has gotten
| to be matter of common knowl-
edge and one might aluiosr say
common consent that practically
every form of gambling IS goiag
on in Richmond .