Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-01-14
Friday, January "A, 1921.
Patch Proposed for Leaky Roof

IAN Act Relating tor, Punishment
for Certain Crimes" is proposed for
the consideration of the Legislature.
Among the changes suggested are
minimums to certain penalties. 1t
appears that under the present law
there is no provision as to the mini
mum Imprisonment for robbery and
this act would fix that at five years.
Now the opinion of a iayman in
such technical matters and in the alb
sence of exact information may not
be worth much. He is, however, well
aware from information handed down
that heavy penalties in the past have
not proved deterrent of crime. On
the other hand the certainty of PEN
atty has been. The layman also
knows that wherever there is laxity,
perversion of law, corruption in the
matter of enforcement, collision with
or condoning Of lawbreaking in high
places, the resulting influence cor
rupts the people. Furthermore .our
juries hesitate to convict a fellow hui
man being to heavy punishment pre-
ferring that the judge shall have the
responsibility of fixing that. We
have faith that the judges in Maine
are competent in this respect and
cannot be swayed by. because not
subject TO. popular endorsement
Nevertheless we presume they might
prefer that the minimum should be
fixed. In a sense that would Tighten
their burden of responsibility, and it
is too much to expect that even the
honorable court is not in some degree
subject to the prevailing epidemic
commonly termed passing the buck. u
The Statement of facts" accom-
panying this bill has it that "A crime
wave has evidently started in New
York and is spreading to other and
more remote states. The offences
have been chiefly in the way of hold
ups" etc. Perhaps here the layman
may properly be permitted to object
AS we understand it the "crime
wave" offences have not been chiefly
crimes of larceny, burglary or as
sault with a dangerous weapon. The
crime waves head and front. the
greatest holdup ever conceived, ap-
pears to have been deliberately en-
ployed by both capital and labor for
purposes of robbing, not at the guns
muzzle but none the less effectively
and none the less criminally. the peo-
pie Of the greatest city in the new
world. Men in high places as well as
low places appear to have been i'm
plicated. People have been robbed
and distressed. denied proper and
sanitary housing, sickness and crime
have been encouraged in the city of
New York. To be sure there have
been individual holdups, numerous
robberies and general activity among
the small criminal fry--and what else
could be expected. Think of the
murders committed in that city with
out the guilty parties even being ap-
pretended. Think of the cases
pigeon holed. think of the criminals
getting off lightly through pull" and
all that. What has either the mini
mum or the maximum of penalty got
to do with that?
What has to do with it is the
alarming prevalency Of letting
down." weakening of the moral back
bone. liberation of incompetents or
> worse in high places, permitting the
law-enforcing intelligence to become
inadequate to cope with the criminal
intelligence. Fixing minimum penal
ties much resembles the Single used
10 patch a roof which needs to be re-
shingled all over. To be sure a patch
has its usefulness but it shouldn't be
allowed to divert attention from the
fact that thorough repairs are needed.