The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1923-08-29

| American people toward violent
| crimes must be curbed, it concludes.
The report, starting in nature! com
pares conditions in the United States
with those in France and England.
1t shames this country, it frankly ad-
mits, but maintains that only by stir
ring the people in this wise. does 1t
believe constructive action can be OBJ
tanned.
Report Is Plain
The report is so clear in itself, so
kunmistakable in its implication. so
nauseating to the mental tranquility
of the people, that the special com
mittee sets it before the public in its
naked form, without any interpre-
tive siants.
Here 1t is. in part:
1.-THE general population of the
United States for the years 1910 I'M
til 1922 increased 14.9 per cent; the
criminal population increased 1876 per
cent.
Behind every defect in the en-
forcement of our laws, more danger
Gus than any other factor in ac-
counting for the number of crimes
committed in this country Is the
apathy and indifference of the Ameri-
can people.
THE largest proportion Of the
criminal increase is found in crimes
accompanied with violence.
There exists in nearly every State
Of the union a lack of vigorous en-
forcement Of the criminal laws.
The means provided in the United
States for coping with crime and
criminals are today neither adequate
nor efficient.
What 1t Lacks
THE committee contents itself with
reporting first. the situation of law
enforcement in this country, second,
the situation in two other countries
! for the purpose Of measurement or
comparison, third. the chief respects
in which the machinery of law en-
forcement in England and France diff
fers from our own, together with the
immediate results of this difference.
THE system in the United States
lacks in the three great essentials
for law enforcement: celebrity, certain
ty and flnality."
Then the report launches into a
comparative mood.
There were seventeen murders in
London last year and not one of these
crimes was unsolved.
1T is estimated 1850 murders were
committed in the United States last
year. During 1921 there were 26C
murders in New York and 1877 in
Chicago. In the same year through
! out all England and Wales there were
sixty-three murders.
InstaIIment Plan
I'VE learned that the prison popu'
lation in England has been steadily
decreasing since 1876. the later pc
Rod marking about the time when
the simplification of the English
criminal procedure laws began to
be effective.
Zone of the striking reasons for
this is the fact that 1t has been
made possible for anyone sentenced
to a fine to obtain extension Of time
for it's payment at the discretion OF
the magistrate and a defendant may
even pay his fine in installments.
Briefly the committee finds that
the speedy trials given the criminals
is largely responsible for the low
crime rate in Great Britain.
THE continual appearance OF
cases and reversals by the upper
courts are practically unknown to
English justice"
The report shows that in France
+ in 1919. last available figures, there
were 5SS murders and 121 robberies
This was from a population Of 40,
000, 900.
Exiled From France
Contrasting this, figures show that
in forty-eight cities of this country
comprising 21,OOO,0O0 population
there occurred 1852 murders. while
in New York alone robberies numbered
1927, Chicago 1852. Even in Louis
J VILE KY, with PAL robbertes, there
were more than in entire France.
at is not without plain significance
that the laws of France carefully
plan and in extreme cases scientif
cally apply disgrace ,and exile as a
l penalty" the report reads. This
: recognizes a dominant trait in the
CIidI dCNCAg AAAS AONC AOt AllG
native town and his love for France.
Exile is one Of the most drastic pen.
: alties imposed.
"In accounting for the smaller num-
Der of crimes in France, too, 1t must
be remembered that 100000 out
of the 100000 900 people live In small
t villages where their ancestors have
lived for generations. and where every
act Is carfully scrutinized."
The chairman of the committee.
Charles c. Whitman, former COVER
nor of New York. together with Judge
Marcus Kavanaugh of Chicago and
Wade H Ellis of Washington, D. c..
spent some time in England and
France this past spring, studying the
physical application Of the criminal
laws.
Other members of the committee
are: Charles w. Farnham, st. Paul,
and Mrs. Annette Abbott Adams of
San Francisco.