Evening star., 1925-09-16

Arrests have increased greatly since
prohibition went into effect, but no
small part of the increase can be at
tributed to such crimes as overpark-
ing or driving the wrong way on one
way streets. -
Arrests for serious felonies have
| not increased materially, but there
has been an upgrade in arrests for
that type of misdemeanors which
show an increasing disrespect for the
! law.
| Crime figures have little value in
! determining the effect of the dry law,
| since, judging from the past an in
| crease of crime was to be expected in
the wake of the war. 1t is impossible
to determine whether or not prohibi-
ton had any effect on this.
There is apparently as much or
more drinking among young people.
But there has been general tendency
among young people to break away
| from convention, and the pocket flask
| has had less to do with this than the
automobile
! On the whole 1t is very dangerous
TO try to draw conclusions on the eff
feet of prohibition from crime studies.
Views Based on Research.
These are some of the conclusions
| of Rev. F. Ernest Johnson, head of
| the Department of Education and Re-
| search of the Federal Council of
Churches. contained In today's release
of his study on prohibition.
He has determined that there has
been no Increase in drug addiction due
to the dry law. Alcoholics will not
turn to drugs for relief, he says, be-
cause, however stringently the dry law
may be enforced, it always is easier
and cheaper to buy liquor than
dope" Moreover. the two habits are
founded on a different basis. Drugs
are not substitutes for alcohol, or vice
versa.
Rev. Mr.. Johnson says:
The implications of these figures
are the same as those of the World
Leagues figures, namely, that there
is Enthusiastically a rapid increase in
violations of the law. chiefly of the
misdemeanor class. 1t is gratuitous,
however, to blame prohibition for this
fact. All that can be asserted Is that
prohibition has thus far not prevented
an increase in such offenseS.
THE greatest caution should be
used in drawing conclusions from
crude statistics Of crimes, since a
growing proportion of them represent
minor offenses that signify little save
the increasing difficulty of keeping the
procession OF humanity moving ana
keeping individuals out of each others
way. Experts are not ready to say
whether serious offenses are actually
increasing or decreasing in the coun-
try at large. The opinion of the spe-
cial committee on law enforcement
of the American Bar Association, con-
tanned in its report for 1922 and re-
affirmed in 1923, is worth noting in
this connection: From all the data and
and opinions of experts which your
committee has been able to gather,
we beg leave to report that, particularly
since 1890, there has been and con-
tinues a widening, deepening tide of
lawlessness in this country, sometimes
momentarily receding, but swelling
again into greater depths of intensity;
at intervals this tide pillows into
waves that rise and break, but only
for time attracting attention.
The criminal situation in the United
States so far as crimes Of violence are
concerned Is worse than in any other
civilized country. :"
Unable to Give Exact Figures.
"'While your committee cannot OBJ
tain the exact figures. from all avail
able sources of information we esti-
mate that there were more than $500
unlawful homicides last year 192D in