The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-09-02
SPEEDY TRIALS HAVE REDUCED
 CRIME VOLUME

Cincinnati, O., Sept. 2-The history of organized government demonstrates that the speedy trial of criminal cases and the swift and certain punishment of criminals effect reduction in the volume of crime, Edwin w. Sims, president of the Chicago Crime Com mission told the American Bar As? sociation at its meeting her last night.
 "On the other hand.'' MT. Sims con- tinued, Increased crime follows close ly on the heels of delayed trials and deferred punishment. In short, crime increases or decreases in the propor- tion that punishment is swift and cer- tain. The speed with which crime is punished has a great deal more to do with the preservation of law and order than the severity of punish ment.
 Criminal laws bear close analogy in the fire but once. One experience is sufficient. It is not necessary that the injury be severe.
 Existing criminal laws in America are the evolution of centuries of prac- tical experience. As they have been developed they are invaluable. There are those, however, who attack the theory of punishment and who con- tending that crime is a disease, rec ommend and urge that punishment be | abolished and some other form of treatment substituted. It is a grave | mistake to in any way interfere with | | of existing laws which have been cen turies in development, at least until ! the experiment has been thoroughly tested and found to be practical. l Three years ago the Chicago As sociation of Commerce appointed and financed Crime Commission. Ii does not of itself undertake the ap- prehension nor the prosecution ot criminals. The commission limits its activity to an investigation of crimes of violence, murder, burglary and robbery. It early reached the con- clusion that crime f1ourished because that the principal avenue of escape was the delay in the trial of crimina cases.
 ''The commission was organized ir the year 1919. Data collected for tha1 year showed there were no murder: to one million population in Chicago as against nine to the million in Grea1 Britain and thirteen to the million il Canada. This meant that during the year 1919, there were more murder. in Chicago, with a population O.
 3,000,000 than in the British Isle! with a population of 40,000,0G0.
 For years in Great Britain ant Canada, murder cases have been gen
 erally disposed of within 60 or 9t
 days. In American cities there ar.
 practically no murder cases bein.
 ''on April 1. 1920, 1s5 person
 previously indicted for murder wer
 awaiting trial in Chicago. In 10 ; cases the accused were at liberty ol bond. The situation was brought t
 the attention of the Courts and official
 by the Crime Commission with tn 1 result -a'at four judges then in tn Civil CEurts volunteered to sit in tn Criminal Court and try cases unt the murder docket was cleared. Tn
 trial of these cases resulted in tn
 sentencing of twelve to hang an twelve to the penitentiary for fror
 one year to life.
 ''The effect on the number of mu1 derS in Chicago was electrical I'm
 mediately the murder rate ther dropped 51Gc, where it has since re r mained. The record for the first seve :. months of each of the last three year l. is, as follows:
 = 1919 1920 1921