The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-12-06

7 Yet this man Spencer. NH.
recognized by ordinary Law W.
dangerous man, and eo1l5
been identified by scienti.t. lAh
any time after his seventh -.
a potential murderer, was M, -
allowed to run at large, but II ~
ny and propagate the taipi ~, ~
had come down to him tbror. 80 .
generations. Had he not besss - !.
yicted of the murder which - ~
/ his career, he would almost y.
tainly have been set free - S-'
der again and 10 continue -, -
eating his kind. And the ny I'M.
States of America is fuH ~ -
like Spencer. ~
Having demonstrated what r.-
ner of man it is who kills ara -
easy it generally is to identifv - n
murderer before he murders n.
Briggs proceeds to give soms ~ !.
formation as to what our rvy,. u
of leaving detectives at large 80 -.
the taxpayer. He shows tbat /.
Massachusetts. s16,00O,OO0 or 4,
per cent of the state budget In tos.
was spent for the care of adas..
tive, dependent and delinques
classes"
Courts for Madmen,
In addition to this, it INNS, 4.
remembered that the crimi,,'
courts are engaged almost Who'll
in the business of trying defective.
putting them in Jail and mrnir,
them loose again. The trial n
Spencer cost the state Of Mass
chusetts between $4,000 and s3S
900, according to DR.. Briggs.
Remember, too, that our eyus,
sive police forces are engage
chiefly in keeping track Of tbes.
detectives, capturing them only IA
be released again; playing an ens
less and futile game of hide a1l
seek with madmen.
This enormous burden which IN.
taxpayer carries, and which Il
comparable only with the burds
Of international armament, is ia
a sense the least of the evils Of on,
system of handling crime Tts
worst evil of it is that We an
breeding detectives steadily, so thai
the problem grows all the time an
the blood of the nation is vitiats.
by defective strains everywhere, as
the examination of men for ts
draft conVincingly showed
What is needed to remedy this
situation is we'll known to. stu
dents of the situation, and has bee,
carried out to a certain extent ia
some states and its pracdcabiiy
proved. Each state should have an
Institution which would not be
known either as q hospital or as q
prison, but as a school, to which
all detectives would be sent They
would there be studied by the mos,
competent specialists, and every at,
fort would be made to fit each Of
these detectives for a useful ne
in society. Some of them, Of eourse
would never graduate from lha
school, and most of them preum-
ably would not be allowed to prop
agate, but each of them would be
given as large a show in the noT,
NAL life of the world as he was
of bearing.
To this institution would be sent
not only the detectives caught il
the net of the courts, who are nov
either legally killed or else turned
loose to do their worst, but alsl
children identified as detectives ia
the schools. This indeed is tAs
most important part of the plan
For the defective or psyChOpathE
child, taken in hand early and
rescued from unfaEorable environ
mental influences, may be convert
ed into a normal citizen.
One thing which Stands a The
way of establishing such institu-
tions is the lack Of competent spe-
lack which will doubt
less gradually be met by educa-
ton. But the great need Is for q
public opinion that realizes the
need for such institutions.