The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1922-12-31
REMEDY FOR LAWLESSNESS

country, as indicated by 8.8 murders to
100000 in poulation in 1911-15, and 9.3
murders to 100000 in population in 1921.
"The murder record of last year, as COM
piled by me In the history Of twenty-eight
cities of which the data are available at the
present time, is appalling" says Dr., Fred
erick L. Hoffman, third vice president and
consulting statistician of the Prudential In
surance Company. at was hoped and ex-
pected," declares the doctor, chat prohibit
tiion would reduce the totals Of homicides
and other crimes for the country. Exactly
the contrary results have been shown by
actual statistics. The year 1919 was the
first test year Of public morals under pro-
hibition, and the public responded badly to
the test. The year presented disgraceful
record. The percentage of murders through
out the country as a whole jumped to 81
per 100000 of population from S.2 in
1909-18 and 8.3 during 1914-1S.
The doctors statistics show that the larg-
est proportion Of murders occurs in the
south, and that the city of Memphis is the
! leader in this respect, more people being
murdered In Memphis last year than in the
whole of England.
Must the fault however, inevitably be
traced to prohibition? It may be true that
4 the greater part of the murders are COM
sumers of blind-tiger liquor; and it is true
that England has no prohibition, no blind
tigers and no bootleg whisky; and also few
murders. But England has also a we'll
ordered system of criminal law and enforce
ment of respect for law. It is more than
probable that the difference in the number
of murders could be accounted for by citing
the way British justice deals with murder
ers. The New York Evening Post comment
ing upon this phase Of the subject, said re-
Gently, that .It is evident that our social
environment, with its violence of temper and
disrespect for law, Is the chief cause of our
high murder rate. Take away the crimes
due to drink and those due to the presence
of the unassmilated foreign-born, and the
total would still be shocking compared with
the best European countries. One reason is
the readiness with which punishment is evad-
ed in this country"
In the United States, especially in the
larger cities, there exist murder feuds and
murder gangs that practically defy the in
adequately supported forces Of law. That
such condition of affairs Is remediable is
proved by what happened two years ago in
Chicago, as is related by the Boston Herald:
Edwin w. Sims, who gained a ma
tional reputation by a three years
study of crime in Chicago, shows that
on April l, 1920, there were 135 per-
sons indicted for murder and awaiting
trial in the city, and that 104 of these
were at liberty on bond. He showed
that in most cases SO much time had
elapsed since the indictments were
found that evidence had been lost, wit
nesses had disappeared, successful pros
ecution had been rendered very diff
cult At once number of judges vol
unteered to try criminal cases in an ef-
fort to clear the murder docket.
Twelve of these indicted persons were
hanged and twelve sent to the peniten-
tiary for varying TERMS some for life.
What was the result? A decrease in
the murder rate Of 81 per cent. instant
ly followed.
This history points directly to the cause
of most of the disorder in the great body
polite and also discovers the remedy-a
remedy which, if vigorously applied would
very soon show whether the country has
surrendered to lawlessness because Of pro-
hibition or not. 1t is admitted that there
=. a new social condition and that it is fla
grant with law violation, but we must still
believe the republic is equal to its necessities
and that if it makes the effort it can COM
mand respect for law.