Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-26
CRIME LAID TO POLITICS
In PROSECUTION SYSTEM
Police, State Attorneys and Judges Held
Too Often Subject to "Influence"-
Public Apathy Scored

\ MEXICAN justice is political
and fhof nvnlainc n,YY- hiOH

~ and that explains our high
~ crime rate, according to the
4 4 mastery and utterly unusual
expert analysis which follows
Our police are usually political
Political police mean fewer arrests
and-more crimes.
Our prosecutors are usually politi
cal. Political prosecutors mean fewer
convictions and--more crimes.
Our judges are usually political
Political judges mean easier bail
fewer convictions, softer sentences
and--more crimes.
There you have the reasons for
the swelling evils which stain inf.
nitely rich America with disgrace un.
usual among the comparatively pow.
erty-stricken other nations of the
world"
Statement by Professor.
The man who made to me this
striking statement Is Prof. Raymond
Moley, now of Columbia University,
recently one Of the most important
factors in Americas only two real
crime surveys. These investigated con-
ditions in the State of Missouri and
the City of Cleveland. He knows
more about this subject than any
other man and believes immediate i'm
provement might be brought about
through a complete revision of the
American system, but in no other
way.
He says the European, particularly
the English, police and judicial sys-
TENS, in which politics plays no part.
are infinitely more effective than our
own, and that they, not moral supe.
riority of the people. are responsible
for the comparatively low European
crime rate.
We have foolish laws, each State
code differing from every other; we do
bad police work, with no experts at
hand save in the big cities; our judges
frequently are incompetent and usual.
ly subject to political influence.
"And individual citizens don't seem
to care" Prof. Moley exclaimed bit
terly, putting upon public apathy the
final responsibility.
Sees Amazing Indifference.
Zones regrets that his friend
Brown was robbed, but does not Wis.,
ualize himself as a thugs victim.
Smith accepts with an astonish-
ing calm last nights murder of Rob-
inson in the next block, not stopping
to reflect upon the fact that his wife,
his daugher. his son or himself may
be tomorrow's CHASTITY corpse.
at is amazing!
els it really a crime wave? Or is
It a state of things normal to us
alone among the nations?
"Who knows? America is wicked,
but none can say how wicked.
I'VE are without reliable statistics;
our crime records are farcical.
"I have been a student of the situa-
ton for some years and could not
accurately state how many known
Yya1rrdnas committed I'm fha a.
ton during the last year"
The two recent crime surveys with
which Prof Moley has been associ-
ated stand as monumental and illumi-
native efforts. AS their result the
State of Missouri and the City Of
Cleveland really know exactly where
they stand.
Finds Reliable Data Lacking.
These studies in the West natu-
rally have given me a keen and vital
interest in the situation In the East"
Prof. Moley said. But none can sat.
lsty my curiosity. No infinitely pains
taking and authoritative study ever
has been made in, for instance, New
York, Chicago, Boston. Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh or any of the other cities
and States. In the main we are in
the dark concerning even recent Grim
inal history.
"Ail we know is that it has been
dreadful, that life and property have
been and are utterly unsafe, that
police fail miserably, that laws are
bad, that courts are virtually help
less and hopeless and that all plans
of punishment, like all schemes OF
prevention, are broken down and dis
credited.
"Of course, the blame lies with the
average citizen, and a natural fear is
that an Indifference to crime may be
engendered in the minds of the Amer
lean people.
''In a nutshell that Indifference,
think, is the basic trouble in this
country. The individual citizen has
lost realization of his personal re-
sponsibility for what happens in his
community, forgetting that he alone
has power to correct such bad con-
ditions as exist.
Comparison With Canada.
'sThe number of murders per
million of population in the United
States is several times as great as
that in any European country; 1t is
much greater than In Canada. just
across an imaginary line in the same
sort of country, ruled by the same
economic laws, inhabited by the same
sort of people and as democratic as
I this nation ever was, but possessed
Of better statutes. better police and
better criminal judiciary.
"fH $50 the real crime question IN
lkinerica is, What's the matter with
the average American citizen?
az Last Spring / was asked to name
the causes for this situation at the
annual meeting of the National Asso-
: citation of Social Workers and did
not find it difficult to crystalline them
into two words: Politics and parsi-
+ itiony. / am increasingly certain OF
this diagnosis.
"Political administration of the
police and justice, spendthriftism
with regard to many other things
st.ontfasted with stinginess in crime
q prevention and the enforcement Of
fundamentally important criminal
20 iawsi-Athese are responsible.
I'VE deliberately establish wrong
standards in the selection of the men
intrusted with the protection OF our
lives, property and honor, and then
we do not give the Unsolicited men
enough money with which to do their
vitality important Jobs as effectively
as their ability suggests. Although
our general procedure has made
certain that we shall need protection
rather more than anybody else, we
do not protect ourselves.
Refers to Police Scandals. 8
''It is easy to direct attention to
events in recent American history
which establish our astonishing in
efficiency.
How often have police scandals
stirred this country? Frequently and
almost everywhere. Why? Because
police positions are political gifts In
our partisan politically governed
cities and as such have been con
sidered licenses for graft. OF course,
real nolice skin. therefore. Is not