The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1920-11-12
Rip The EARTH OF CRIMINALS

RID TRE EARTH OF CRIMINALS
Niiopet Leader: We hope we
won't have 10 print news Of any
daring robberies committed in our
town. /bat such news is the very
seems that the criminals make a
~cleau get away whether the town
Is vigilant or not. The individual
has become so much a unit that the
town has little to no hold on him.
How do they do it?" the tirnid ones
shudder It's easy enough. Any
horse could run away If he but knew
t. It's up to the owner to keep his
spirits down ~, exercise, aad break
him, II he Is too Wild We need to
study the causes and the remedies
lose no time in hitting any criminal
square IN the head with punishment.
Crime begets crime. As a result We
have the wild spread OF bolshevism
"a mob conscious OF its power.
To what end they should use this
power they know not. 30 they con-
tent themselves with an endless
succession Of purposeless crimes.
One of the best cures for crimeIs
to hang the hatitual criminal. He
should either be treated to dose Of
rope or given prison sentence that
will mean q lifetime behind the
bars. Crime is made Easy from the
fact that those who violate the law
are treated too leniently by juries and
courts. The robber. holdup and
highwaymen should not be shown
any consideration They are not
sparing of their victims and why
should the world be spnring Of them?
The best and safest course to pursue
is to rid the earth Of their presence.
Interesting as well as startling are
the facts contained IN q report just
made public by the bureau OF social
hygiene In New York. An exhaustive
study Of police conditions In the
United States 10 referred to In the
book penned by Raymond B. Eos
dick, formerly under secretary gen
eral Of the League Of Nations. and
during the war chairman OF the COM
mission on training camp activities
OF the war and navy department. In
discussing the failure OF the. admin
isttation OF Justice in the United
States, Mr.. Fosdick says: AS many
prosecuting officers have pointed
out, the criminal law In America
is q game in which the defendant is
given every chance 70 escape. fair
and unfair while every possible OBJ
etacle is placed in the way OF the
prosecution. To snch on extent has
this; situation developed that under
present conditions 1t would soem to
be the community that stands In need
OF protection rather than the. Grim
inal.
"'The wonder now is not thot so
many guilty men escape said pro-
minent member OF the Philadelphia
bar, but that under our present sys-
tenn any guilty men are ever con-
victed. Where they have money
enough to employ the mos: able
counsel and to take advantage Of
every delay and technically avail
sbls they practically never are con.
victed.' In single yenr in Oregon
Ito use an illustration that could
be duplicated everyYhere--there &C.
cured hftv.six homicides. Forty.
six OF the offenders wore arrested.
OF these the committed suicide and
thirty six were held for trial. OF
the thirty six, only three were con-
victed at all, and Of these ony one for
murder in the first degree.
"In 913~in the city OF New York
there were 823- homicides. 1876 ar
rests and only eighty convictions.
or the. eighty convictions ten re-
ceived death sentences. In 1914 in
the sane city there we're 292 homi-
cides. 1875 arrests and sixty six
convictions. OF the stxty-six con-
victions six received death senten-
ces. In 1917 in New York there
were 23s homicides, $50 arrests and
sixty seven convictions. Of which nine
received death sentences. In 1918 in
the same city there were 221 homi.
cides. 256 arrests and seventy seven
convictions, of which six received
death sentences.
I'm Detroit In 1917 there were
eighty nine murders. 104 arrests and
fourteen convictions; In 1918 there
were seventy -one murders. lat ar
rests and twenty-five convictions.
In England the situation is for DIFF
ferent. Any volume of judicial sta
tistics or any report of the police
commissioner Of London bears out
the contrast. In 1904 for example,
il London-to pick UP a random re-
port-there were twenty cases Of
preme6itated murder. In six the
perpetrators committed suicide: one
man was sont to an asylum, and
one escaped to Italy. OF the twelve
persons arrested and brought to
trial, one was acquitted five we're
adjudged insane and confined In an,
akylum and six were sentenced tn
tfeath.
"In 1917 In the same CITY there
were nineteen premeditated murders.
Three cases remained unsolved;
FIVE perpetrators committed suicide