The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1923-06-15

total Number OF arrests in those cities
for homicide, robbery, burglary and
drunkenness; also for the total arrests
for all oifcnses. and the total deaths
from all causes for the years 1ol1 TO
1922. Replies have now been re-
ctived from fifty of these cities
What the Figures Show
As to tho more serious crimes OF
homicide. burglary and robbery, the
figures show that in thirty-hve OF
these cies there was remarkable
decrease between the years 1917 and
lo72. Fifteen cities only show an in
crease Taking them all together
there was decrease OF over 10 per
cent in the number OF arrests for
serious crimes in 1922 over the year
1917. rhi, decrease began in 1920
and has continued steadily ever since.
In the matter OF drunkenness. the
record is far moro instructive. In
lo17 the total number of arrests i'll
these cities for drunkenness was
302.07t IN 1920 ii was ll0i4o; i'll
1921, 1870 and in 1912. $4,000. In
other words. there were l9l OBS fewer
arrests for drunkenness in these cities
in 1920 than 1917; l55,7o4 less in
1921. and li7,o7s less in 1922. The
percentages OF reduction are 65 per
cent less in 1920. so per cent less in
1921. 81 per cent less in 1922. II we
multiply the population OF these cities
by four we approximate the total
population of the country and, as
Stunning that these cities represent fair
~ the total population of the coun
try, we have 700 900 less arrests for
drunkenness i'll 1920 and 100000 less
In 1922.
u Prckibition's Effect on the Young
There are, OF course, some who
drink liquor now who never drank
before What strange argument!
Did it ever occur TO these eager souls
looking for an excuse that hundreds
OF thousands of young men and
women reach the drinking age each
wear move as well ~ before the enact
ment OF Ithe Eighteenth Amendment
Because some OF them still fall vic
Tins Is that any reason why all OF
them should be exposed 10 the wiles
81 tho most insidions business?sdl
= Again II Is urged that the boys and
girls OF today are more immoral, and
this is due to general breaking down
oftpur Jaws through the enactment OF
prohibi,ory statutes Since when did
the saloon become an aid to, moral re-
form pr an inspiration TO the .young'
As usual, the basis, OF the argu-
,nlent is. wrong. An index of what is
going on is found in our juvenile court
in Chicago, the largest court OF its
kind i'll the world Year by year the
cases OF delinquency have decreased
from 2.786 in 1910 to 1917 in 1922;
and the dependency cases in that time
from 2,3l0 to 1896.
!. Fewer Dea.hs Under Prohibition
Perhaps nowhere is the change that
has come over the country been as
manifest as in the lowering OF the
death rate everywhere. Notwith-
standing the vast increase in the
population. the number of deaths has
decreased in nearly every community.
No one VII claim that this is all due
to the enactment of prohibition, but
no one can examine the record with
out feeling that more sober living has
had much TO do with it. /. =
The death rate in the United States
has decreased in the last six years
from about fifteen for every one thou
sand population to little over eleven
for every one thousand. And we arc
Just informed by the United States
government agents that the total con-
sumption OF Intoxicating liquor during
the last year is only about one-hfth
what i, wss i'll 1917.
Last vcar third OF all arrests in
the l'ni;q States were due to viola
tons OF trsaic regulations. Is there
any ono w o would repeal these laws
and allow the speeders to revel in a
paradise OF their own
One Big Trouble
The year 1920 was the banner year
In the enforcement OF the provisions
of the Eighteenth Amendment. There
was. decreased cffor. in 1921 and a
still further letting down in 1922. This
is due i'll large part to the encourage
ment received by the enemies of the
measure through their organized
propaganda What is needed is a
nationwide movement to secure bet
ter enforcement The president of
the United States seems to be
genuinely in sympathy with the law
and no doubt desires a much stricter
enforcement. But a great many of
r. -. r.zt.I.