The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1923-09-11
j. S. HAS NEARLY $4,000
HOMIC|DES IN A YEAR
AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
FINDS THAT CRIME OF ALL
KIND IS ON INCREASE.
STARTLING FIGURES ARE GIVEN
RIame Laid Principally to Apathy and
Indifference of the People and Part
" Upon Manner in Which Courts
junction. Other Reasons.

w Upon MdI1lcI HI WAnSA NuA 20
function. Other Reasons.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.-Startling
disclosures of the extent and rapid in
crease of crime in the United States
,rore made at the session of the Amer
;,on BAR Association today by spe-
o;,I committee on law enforcement,
which urged that the whole code of
criminal practice in the 46 states of
+be union be rewritten so that the
long arm of the law might also be-
come swift, sure, constant and on oc-
casion merciful.
Data on numbers of crime, methods
NJ trial and treatment of prisoners in
Fngrand and France which this coun-
try showed to a decided disadvantage.
The blame was laid partly upon the
structure of the law and the manner
in which Our courts function, but
nrincipallv the increase of crimes and
criminals was attributed to the apa
thv and indifference of the American
people toward law enforcement.
"Terrible failures of justice have oc-
Cured in all parts of the country, says
the committee Truth still clings to
Chief Justice Taft's statement that
the administration of criminal law in
the United States is a disgrace to civ
iIization. The trial of a criminal seems
like a game Of chance with all the
chances in favor of the criminal and,
il he escapes, he seems to have the
sympathy of a sporting public"
Laxity Is Responsible.
An astonishing laxity was discover
ed in the American method OF record
ing crime statistics Some states did
not keep records Of the number OF
persons in prison, as late as l9Zl.
Among others where statistics were
available the penal population is
shown to have ranged since 1910 from
decrease in Nevada and South Car
DINA to an increase in Kentucky and
Rhode Island.
On information furnished by police
and court clerks in 48 principal cities
OF as many states it was estimated
that while the general population OF
the country from the year 1910 until
1922 has increased IA per cent the
criminal population has increased 10
per cent" 1t was ascertalned further
that "the growth of crime was steady
and almost regular up to our entrance
into the world war; during the war
crime decreased greatly, but upon the
resumption of peace, criminals resum--
ed their depredations with increased
activity all over the country"
In 1921, for instance, there were
$500 homicides as compared with q
900 in 1920. In no year during the
last 10 did the number fall below g.
500. In other words, since 1910 no less
than $4,000 of our citizens have per
ished by poison, the pistol, the knife
or other unlawful and deadly injury"
As compared with England and
France:
In the last year for which facts
were available there were o3 muir
ders in England and Wales, sos in
France. In the 48 American cities
where live one-ffth of the population
there were 1862 murders.
Only II London Murders.
In London there were II murders.
Only nine of these were classed as
first degree. Scotland Yard ended the
year with none of them "unsolved.
During the same period Chicago had
I1 recorded murders, and New York
26O-the latter city obtaining three
convictions.
The largest proportionate ratio of
crime is in our cities of less than
100000 population" says the commit
tee 1T therefore may be conserva-
lively estimated that in this republic
last year there occurred 1850 murders:
10 these may be added 600 cases OF
manSlaughter and other unlawful kill
lngs, totaling 1900 unjustihable hon.
icdes."
England is severe in Furnishing muir
derers. The death penalty often is I'M
posed, although prison sentences us
qaIly are brief compared to ours. In
france, where crime is less severely
punished, murder is more frequent,
Eight states of the union have
abolished capital punishment. In five
others if had been outlawed but now
IS relnstated. Thus there were 81 exc
cutons in this country in 1919.
But to prove that our failure to
intiict the death penalty did not pro-
coed from an excess of tenderness,
me committee points out, I'VE sue
C(eSstully put over 80 largely attended
ynChings."