Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-08-30
| Crime Increase Rapid
Urge New Code OF
Criminal Practice.


the American Bar Association today
by a Special Committee on Law En-
forcement which urged that the,
whole code of criminal practice in
the 48 states of the union be rewrit-
ten so that the long arm of the law
might also become swift, sure, con-
slant and. on occasion, rnerciful.
Data on numbers Of crimes, meth
DDS Of trial and treatment OF prison.
ers in England and France were cit-
ed. in comparison with which this
country showed to a decided disad-
vantage.
The blame was laid partly upon the
structure of the laws and the manner
in which our courts function, but
principally the increase Of crimes and
criminals was attributed to "the
apathy and indifference Of the
American people" toward law en-
forcement."
Terrible failures of justice have
occurred in all parts of the country"
says the committee. Truth still
clings to Chief Justice Taft's state
ment that 1.-The administration OF
criminal law in the United States is
a disgrace to civilization. The trial
of a criminal seems like a game of
chance with all the chances in favor
of the criminal and. If he escapes, he
seems to have the sympathy OF
sporting public"
Charles s. Whitman, former gov
ernor of New York, is chairman OF
the committee, which includes Mar
Gus Kavanagh, Charles W. Farnham,
Wade K. Ellis and Annette Abbott
Adams. Besides conclusions drawn
from personal observation as eminent
members of the American Bar, they
gathered an immense amount Oh
statistics on crime not available from
the census. Three members of the
committee made an exhaustive study
of the criminal courts in England and
France-forms of indictment, trial
and sentencc-sitting through whole
murder trials and hearings Of appeal,
and inspecting penal institutions.
An astonishing laXity was dis
covered in the American method or
recording crime statistics. Some
states did not keep records of the
number of persons in prison. as late
as 1921. Among others where status
tics were available the penal popula
ton was shown to have ranged since
1910 from a decrease of IL percent IN
Nevada and 37.5 in South Carolina, to
an increase of 1.5 percent in Ken
lucky and 171.3 in Rhode Island.
Gains in civil population were taken
into consideration
On information furnished by police
and court clerks in As principal cities
of as many states, 1t was estimated
that while the general population OF
the country from the year 1910 until
1922 has increased 14.9 percent, the
criminal population has increased
I1G.6 percent" 1t was ascertained
further that 1.-The growth OF crime
was steady and almost regular up 10
our entrance into the World war !:
during the war crime decreased
greatly, but upon the resumption OF
peace criminals resumed their dep
relations with increased activity all
over the country"
In 1921 for instance, there We're
$500 homicidcs as compared with g.
OO0 in 1920. In no year during the
last 10 did the number fall below g.
500. In other words. since 1910 no
less than $1,000 of our citizens have
persisted 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 90 muir =
ders in England and Wales; 5S5 in
where live one fifth of the population
there were 1852 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 'un :
solved During the same period
Chicago had 1877 recorded murders,
and New York 26O-the latter city
obtaining three convictions.
The annual homicide rate per 100,
600 population in Hartford, Conn, Is
Ia. It is SIS in Memphis, Tenn.
THE largest proportionate ratio OF
crime is in our cities OF less tnan
100000 population" says the COM
mittee. 1T therefore may be con-
servatively estimated that in this
republic last year there occurred -
$50 murders. To these may be added
500 cases of manslaughter and
other unlawful killings, totalling a.
Gao uniustihable homicides."
England is severe in Furnishing
murders. The death penalty often is
imposed. although prison sentences
usually are brief compared to ours.
In France where crime is less Sc
verely punished, murder is more fire.
quent.
Eight states Of the union have
abolished capital punishment. In five
others it had been outlawed, but now
is reinstated. Thus there were 80
executions in this country in 1919.
But to prove that our failure to
inflict the death penalty did not pro-
coed from an excess Of tenderness"
the committee points out, I'VE sue
cessfully put over SO largely attended
Iynchings."
Jurists visiting English and French
courts on behalf Of the American bar
reported several commendahle tea.
lures in each. Justice was expedit-
ed. A criminal was tried, convicted
and punished while details Of his
crime were still fresh in the minds of
the public, and the horrible exam
pie" theory of punishment was there
fore effective. This country is no.
torious for it's long drawn out pros
ecutions. says the committee. Two
CT three years elapse between the
crime and execution, sometimes. and
"a first verdict judgment forms
merely the preliminary skirmish.'
Discussing the prospect of speed
ing the trial of prisoners in the Unit
ed States; of eliminating the disap-
pearance of witnesses, classification of
defenses and loss of testimony, the
committee concludes:
1.-The first great work to be accom-
plished in bringing about a better en-
forcement of law must be the awak-
ening of the public to a clear sense
of their responsibility for it. I'M
provement in our laws can accom-
plish little unless accompanied by a
determination on the part of our citi-
Gems To have those laws enforced