Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1922-12-06
CRIME: BEFORE AND
SINCE PROHIBITION.

The Bureau of the Census has
recently completed an enumera-
ton Of prisoners in the penal in
situations of the United States as
of July l, 1922, and 1917. This
enumeration covers a period be-
fore and after the United States
went into the war and the period
before and after the establishment
of national prohibition.
The facts show sharp de-
crease in the number Of prison
ers in states that formerly licensed
the saloon.
There is shown an increase in
the number of prisoners in prac-
ticalIy ali CT the states that were
under prohibition prior to 1T.
1t is cleasly indicated that the
war released powerful criminal i'm
pulses and that the crime ten
dency, independent of the restrain
ing influence of prohibition would
have enormously increased the
prison population.
The good effect of the prohibi-
ton in states that were formerly
dry has been modified not only by
the effects of the war, but by anti
law propaganda, emanating from
states that were formerly wet and
having the practical effect of in
citing the population to crime in
communities which, prior to 1917,
had accepted and stabilized prohi-
bition.
Hastings S. Hart, president of
the American Prison Congress for
1922, and director of the De-
partment of Child Helping of the
Russell Sage Foundation, has
commented upon the advance
sheets of the summary Of this
enumeration in state, with which
we find ourselves in entire agree
ment. 1t follows:
''The summary shows (omitting
a small number of prisoners for
whom the returns are uncertain)
for 1922, 150,131 prisoners and
Tor 1917, 140,186 prisoners, an in
crease Of II per cent: The fore
going includes United States pris-
oners; emitting these, we have
total of IA ,591 for 1922 and 1885,,
1863 for 1917, an increase of 5.4
per cent,
''Two opposite forces have oper-
ated to increase and decrease the
prison populationn. War always
breeds crime by ioosening moral
restraints, by disturbing social re-
lations and by cheapening human
life. 1t is difficult to measure this
influence in the present case be-
cause it is obscured by the oppos-
ing influence. but as we shall see,
its influence is plainly apparent in
the case of certain states of the
union. Prohibition has manifest
" operated to diminish petty
crimes and misdemeanors, but
here is no evidence in the returns
that it has diminished the number
Of felons sentenced for high
crimes to state prisons.
Fifteen out of as states show
? decrease in the population of the
states prisons, but ony six as dis
tinguished from jails and work
5ouses of these show a decrease OF
more than 17.F per cen, and on
lie whole there is an increase of
101 per cent. Some people have
imagined that IN some mysterious
way prohibition would change the
character of criminals so that he
. who STEELE would steal no more. Or
he contrary, sobriety Increases the
efficiency of a burglar, q forger or
and automobile thief But prohi-
hilton does diminish nightly such
petty crimes as vagrancy, assault
and battery, drunkenness and dis
orderly conduct, with a cores
ponding diminution of the popu-
lation of warehouses, county jails
and the police stations.
The effect of the war in in
creasing crime is seen in 20 states
which adopted state prohibition be-
fore July /, 1917. These states
are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas,
Colorado, Georgia., Idaho, Iowa,
Kansas, Maine, Mississippi Ne
braska, North Carolina, North Da-
kota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia,
Washington and West Virginia.
They had already reaped the adj
vantage of prohibition in diminish
ing the number of petty criminals
before national prohibition was
adopted. Every one Of these 20