Arizona republican., 1922-05-16
Two Kinds of Reformers

There is much in this world that does not win the
approval of DR.. Frank Crane He admits that there
is Improvement, but he is impatient for more rapid
progress He has recently concerned himself with
crime prevention which he believes cannot be accom-
pushed by punishment but only by the power Of
moral inhibition in the populace."
one might almost infer from of the illus
tratons introduced by Dr. Crane that he is opposed to
vigorous resistance against the crime least
as something Intellectual The illustration is the
effort of Adams Express company to protect the
property entrusted to it by the of armored and
armed trucks "Al of this remarks DIR. Crane,
represents an elaborate continuation Of the wrong
method of dealing with crime. TO which the mind OF
the world is committed"
We suppose from this that if DR.. Crane were the
Adams Express company he would use no such pro-
tective devices but he would tc the prospective
bandits and would lay moral inhibition" upon them
with the result that they would leave the open and
unguarded trucks alone.
Now the robbery of mail trucks for couple
of years was outdoor sport in all our larger
cities until Postmaster General Hays last armed
marines and them along with the mail We have
heard of no robbery of mail truck wagon since.
Though the mail was saved by this precauton
viii admit that it has not improved the morals of
mail bandits.
There are effective reformers and effective
reformers The former work slowly and thoughtfully,
with an eye all the time on human experience and
with regard for human nature In this imperfect
world, they discover many imperfections and seek
to remedy as many of them possible. They wisely
distinguish between the possible and the impossible;
between the practical and the impractical and it is
to such reformers that every useful reform has
been made.
,ofr rho ftarly
disregard human experience and human nature. They
contemplate only dreamy ideal and attempt to lead
the world directly to it. The world follows
them with the result that these reformers sue
ceed in accomplishing anything
natural consequence of evil is the punishment
Of the evildoer. At times the punishment may have
been unwisely administered either too vigorously
or with great laxity. But evenly and certainly
administered, its effect has always been deterrent
There was time when less oboquy attached to
crime than present. when crime looked
lenently though it was punished more cruelty
Then the criminal was engaged in contest with
ruling class, and not the whole people 1t was not
a disgrace to rob stage coach but rather adven-
ture but it was death to be caught. Now crime is
not crime against class but a crime against all
abiding people. There is no longer any cruelty
in the administration of punishment and punishment
is administered less as punishment than as a de-
terrent.
But the trouble is that punishment in this coun-
try is not administered with certainty That be-
lieve has as much TO do with the crime which
DR. Crane describes anything else. There has
always been lack of certainty in the administration
of punishment in the United States, and have
never been free from crime waves.
Chicago now, for instance, is going through an
episode similar to which it passed through nearly
forty years ago. Then it temporized with lawess
element until day incident occurred which
Mortified it. There wholesale and swift retri-
button and long thereafter Chicago free from
the activities of that particular element. Now it has
risen against another element and we suppose there
will be another wholesale administration of punish
ment.
While all this law enforcement by spurts is
better than way at all, it is a bad way. The
English, and generally the European way is better
the steady enforcement-the certain punishment-so
that criminals and the law abiding public know
where they stand-and then there are no great
heights of crime and no orgies law
forcement.