Great Falls tribune., 1922-04-25
THE CRIME WAVE

THE CRIME WAVE
THE daily newspapers in New
l York and Chicago and other
large cities Of the country are all
devoting much space to the discus
sion of the growing wave Of crime
and violence. There are many diff.
ferent theories put forth to accoun,
for it, but there is no denial of the
facts that life and property are nc
longer to be considered safe in
New York or Chicago. IF this
state Of affairs was confined to
these two cities or a few more il
might be concluded that they were
due to local inefficiency on the
part Of the forces Of law and order
Certain large burglary insurance
concerns report that burglaries all
over the country are increasing al
a tremendous rate. The New Yorl
World says:
"Never before has there existec
in this city such situation a:
exists today. Never before has the
average person, in his place of bust
ness, in his home or on the streets
had cause to feel less secure. Neve,
before has a continuous wave o1
crime given rise to so general I
wave Of fear.
New York is becoming a com
munity Of gun-toters because every
body knows that the police admin
isation has completely broken down
and because the record of crime:
of violence is fast growing longer
and murder and robberies are rap
idly increasing.
Instead of being a safe city New
York is now the most unsafe Of al
the great capitals, SO far as tht
protection of life and property i:
concerned. Conditions that the city
administration regards as little les.
than ideal would not have beer
tolerated even in Tweed's time.
There Is less crime in New
York, according to Police Commits
sioner Enright's letter to Mayo,
Hylan, than there was in 1917.
so Mr.. Enright appears befor.
the board Of estimate and obtain.
1892 additional patrolmen.
so Mr.. Enright re-establishe!
the nine-platoon system, which il
equivalent to adding another 70(
men to the force.
$50 Mr.. Enright issues a pamph
let giving 1875 specific directions
for the prevention of crime.
"The World is making no blanke
accusations against the police OF
the commissioner or the mayor
Nevertheless, crime in New Yorl
has become a public scandal and ;
public reproach to the richest city
in the world. 1t is a confession o:
governmental impotence which hal
no parallel among the great munich
palities of the world. All the guar
antics that civilized government il
supposed to provide are suspended
The security of life and the secur
ity Of property are equally
gamble. If the citizen is lucky h,
may not be robbed, if he remains
lucky he may not be murdered, bu
it is all matter of chance"
Several newspapers comment 0,
the fact that many of these Grim
inals are very young, merely boys
and that most Of them are ignoran
and come from bad surroundings
The editor of the Chicago Detec
tive says that there is new crol
Of criminals, 100000 strong, mad
up of youths ranging in age from
10 to Is. It is his opinion that no
only men who became accustome,
to firearms and to killing in tn
World War, and who entered TIL,
army already familiar with fire
arms and crime, are among thes
I three millions, but also the silk
shirt gang" which worked In tn
shipyards and munitions plants, re
ceiving fabulous salaries, and VIII,
now "are not content to do an hon
est days work for an honest day
pay" The National Surety com
pany. which reports a 81 per cen
increase in the number Of claim
field for burglary Insurance owe