Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-01-28
REV. ZEO HETZEL COPP
On Social Aliens


THE root of social delinquency and crime
l. is in the home and its result is seen IN
penal and correctional institutions. accordlnE
to the Rev Zcdd Hetzel Copp, chaplain or
the Eastern pcnitentinry, discussing the SUD-
ject of Social Aliens"
Crime is n disease, in the opinion Of MT.
Copp and as such is open to cure, while the
criminal. as the product of the social order,
is owed an opportunity for recovery by
society. Mr. Corp says;
'Crime is a disease that can De curea'
II, therefore, should not be endured. .oo
III you knew that an army OF l,WOooo
alien enemies. we'll organized and equipped
ready for instant action against your nome,
was hidden in American society wnulo Tou
be unconCcrncd about it? If in addition you
felt an invisible hand in your pocket taking
first toll Of your income. and knew that this
hand took moro annually from the poCKetS
Of Americans in various ways than the hugG
cost Of the United States Government. would
you become intcrcstcdt II YOU could be
shown how 10 capture that alien army ana
demobilizc It, and how to keep that invisible
hand out Of your pocket and make IT
wealth producer, would you enlist IN the
army Of thp common good and go over the
top? II so, then you will be interested IN
this article.
"Thrse outlines are the results Of years Of
careful study in sociology. CrminOl0gy and
pcnology Along original lines. The range of
investigation was from the alley to the ave
nue.. from the tramp to the globe trotter,
from the huckstPr to the captain Of industry,
from III" crossing officer to the gallows from
street preaching to the cathedral, and from
the cradle to the grave. am fascinated by
the unique stratitcalion of American So
ciety which is the result of European po.
litical. social, racial and religious volcanic
eruptioDs. the historic periods OF which can
be as accurately traced as the geological
ages. As an approach to this study the
following table shows the prismatic elements
that should be considered.
Four Elements to BE Considered
''Thr four clements to be considered in
this social ANALYSIS are ms follows Social
immigration, social banditry, social dehCienCy
and social delinquency.
"TnGcr the head Of the first there are the
following factors The tramp. the labor
turnover, the tourist home. seeker and the
business Ndvcnturcr. All OF these are more
or less self explanatory. Next, in taking up
the question Of social banditry we have pro
fesSonal mendicants strikes and lockouts,
political influence and social oStracism.
"C"ming next to the more serious phase
Of social deficiency, we are to consider the
dcfcrmrd. the diseased, the feeble minded
and the iIlteratc; Will" the final class, 80
Cial delinquency, contains separate set Of
problems which must be faced. and which
can roughly be divided as follows: The
Juvenile" IL" female, the incidental and the
habtual Only. the subject Of social de-
lnQucncy will be touched here.
1.-THE root Of social delinquency is in the
home, Child boIsh"vism threatens the very
man mother the old woman home is
house Of detention. Tn" street Is broad
way Of adventure which supposedly leads to
freedom, coInpanOnship and knowledge, but
really leads 10 truAnCy, idl"n"SS and crime.
"Crimr is rarely the result Of an impulse
| II Is usually the slow development Of care
fully considered but mistaken thoughts which
grow with the individual until, under impcl-
10,