The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1922-06-20
"REFORM LAW" FIRST;
TOO MANY TO ENFORCE
UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR SEES
REASON FOR PREVALENCE
OF so MUCH CRIME.
CHECK LAW BREAKING

Prof. Rudolph Binder Declares Craze
For Enacting Statutes Is Changing
Psychology of People. Raps the
Volstead Measure.
NEW YORK, n. Y.-"We shall
always have crime waves, your peck
etbook my purse will always be at
the mercy OF the criminal cIass-untll
we reform from top to bottom the
administration OF law which now oper-
ates TO protect the individual criminal
at the expense OF society,
This conclusion has been reached
bv man who has studied Tor a LIE
time the relation between society and
the individual, who is a recognized
authority in his chosen field. He IS
Prof. Rudolph NJ Binder, Phi. D., head
OF the department OF sociology at New
York university.
The Shattuck robbery took place
not more than a stones throw from
DR.. Binders office at the university
in Washington square. We spoke OF
that extraordinary incident, and OF
others almost equally sensational, be-
fore | asked this keen and experienced
observer of modern conditions to dis
cuss the causes and the cure for the
outbreak OF lawlessness about which
all New Workers are talking and tum-
ing today.
These are DR.. Binders chief points;
Our law itself is basic reason Tor
our lawlessness.
Before prohibition the American
people were in the main law abiding
people. but now their whole psycholo-
CIV is in process Of change.
The administration OF our law pro-
tects the criminal at the expense OF
society.
Most criminals are physically, men
tally and morally below par, and socie-
ty should protect itself permanently
against them as it now protects itself
against the insane.
Easy to Evade the Laws.
More than any one factor in crime
waves | blame the tangled up confu
sion, the slipshod administration OF
our laws" began DR.. Binder. 1T has
been estimated that, in the last few
wears, no less than $1,000 federal,
state and local laws have been passed
in this country. The honest man can
not tell whether he is breaking the
law or not The crook can always hire
clever lawyer to show him how to
get around the law, or Il he breaks
one, how to find another that protects
him.
Not only do we pass a surplus Of
asnine new regulations against per
sonal habits instead OF crime, but we
never can lose a bad law, no matter
how old and out of date it has grown.
You remember the other day in Eng
land it was argued that a woman was
innocent of a certain offense because,
according to a ruling by King Canute,
no married woman has mind enough
to commit a crime-she must be di-
rected how to do it by her husband.
1t is absurd-yet no more absurd than
other legal practices dating from the
fifth and sixth centuries and still rul-
ing us in the 10th century.
America, especially, suffers from a
mania OF law making. | do not think
there is anything like it in any other
country. A few OF us see an evil, we
pass law against it, then we go on
our way rejoicing that the evil is end
ed. We seem to think that the mere
act of law making is enough, that laws
enforce themselves"
Drudgery Is Abolished"
DR.. Binder paused a moment, and
his brown eyes twinkled.
LET me give you an instance of our
national psychology" he said. Several
years ago there was a certain conven-
tion Of women's clubs in Pittsburg
After discussing with some feryor the
to which woman is sub
iect. these women, in all seriousness
and good faith, passed the following
resolution; Resolved, that drudgery
be abolished.
Approaching the humor of the in
cident, l repeated it to my class here
at the university, to illustrate the very
point which l have been discussing
with you Hardly had | finished the
little story when one OF my most bril-
liant girl pupils arose and commented
as seriously as the dear women in
Pittsburg, Thank heaven, they've got
that far, anyway?