Evening star., 1926-09-07
FAULTY ADMINISTRATION OFLAW
BLAMED FOR CRIME INCREASE

| electric chair, the rope. the lethal
F! chamber--the lagal means of execut-
| ing the death sentence-do not stop
crimes Of violence. Long sentences
of Imprisonment have likewise proved
Ineffective.
| The value of various projects for
correcting criminal conditions by
methods less drastic than these is
still to be determined. That some
more effective means than those now
in use are needed to prevent or check
present day activities of the profes-
sional criminal is shown by the in
formation to be presented in this
series of articles and the judgments
of students of the criminal law.
The annual crime bill of the United
States approximates $4,000, 900, 900.
This is almost three times the yearly
cost of administering the United
States Government. 1t approximates
the sum loaned by this country to all
foreign powers during the World War.
Ie represents one-thirty- of the
total wealth of the nephews and nieces
of Uncle Sam, and Is per cent of the
value of all property in the State OF
New York.
Cost Totals $4,000, 100000.
Of the total cost of crime every
wear to the, lis 900, 900 inhabitants OF
the country, $500. 100000 represents
the value OF property stolen through
acts of violence or fraud. The remain
ing $1,000, 900 900 is accounted for by
the cost OF protective and punitive &C.
tivities, both official and volunteer,
and the loss of productive power
through diversion to criminal pur-
suits. This is the dollar cost of crime.
On the human side, the average
yearly record of crime is even more
appalling. Last year, for instance
10000 persons in the United states
lost their lives through acts OF vlo-
lence committed by others. Compe-
tent analysts attribute more than ~
per cent of this total to violence COM
mitted by professional criminals IN
cold blood for personal gain.
Estimates furnished to the writer
show 100000 persons in the Nation
engage in criminal pursuits, and grow
ing numbers of young rlen in large
cities who adopt a life Of crime as a
comparatively safe way of getting
easy money"
Penalties Easily Escaped.
The ease with which professional
criminals escape paying the penalty
for their crimes is established by rec
ords covering 1000 average cases.
These records show that 700 out OF
1000 guilty criminals escape punfsn
ment. The estimate is accepted as
conservative by statisticlans OF our
glarv insurance companies and stu
dents of criminal conditions. fo1lce
Commissioner Mclaughlin of New
York City thinks the percentage OF
criminals who escape through various
loopholes in the law is even higher
Politics, although less brazenly EN-
ploved than in other days, undoubtedly
continues to play an important part
in the war the professional cr1mlna
is conducting against society. Corrup
tion. Inadequate and doctored evidence
fayoritism and lax prosecution are
declared by some authorities to MAKE
it comparatively easy TOR the cri1h
inal with sufficient money or backing
TO beat the law.
Laws make it a felony to possess re
voIyers and other accessories or Grim
inal pursuits. but evasions are tne
rule rather than exception. The police
records and other investigators re
ports show that it Is almost as easy
for. a. New York crook to buy plsto
as il is for him to purchase pocket
handkerchief. 1t is merely a matter
of using the mails between one State
and another.
Motor Cars Assist.
The pistol and the motor car are
generally regarded by students OF
crime to be responsible for the increas
ing percentage of murders GROWING
ont of robberies and other crimes OF
violence. Reliable figures confirm this
belief.
On only two phases of the crime
situation is there anything like con
sensus Of opinion. The first Is that
crime has been steadily increasing In
the United States for the last 35 years
far bevond the normal proportions que
to growth of population; the second Is
that the criminal laws of the country
are archaic, have broken down OF
become ineffective.
In discussing the efficacy of the
legal system Dean Pound OF the Har
ward Law School recently said:
"A highly developed system of SUB
stantive law and a specialized mach1n
ery of prosecution, administration
judicial organization, legal procedure
and penal treatment, devised ant
shaped for pioneer, rural agricultural
America of the first half of the nine
teenth century are struggling Wltf
the wholly different conditions OF tne
urban, industrial society of today. III
the huge cities which have grown uI
all over the country in a generation
the i'll adaptation of the machinery te
the task is acute
Expert opinion is divided regarding
the Importance of prohibition in the
crime situation. Wet and dry stats
tics are generally unreliable. Figures
collected by the Prudential Life In
surance Co. indicate that the volume
of homicide has increased markedly
since the passage of the eighteenth
amendment in 1919. Court records
show that the Federal and State tri
bunals are largely occupied witt
LIQUOR law violations. In many Of the
larger cities congested court calendars
are overtaking the facilities provided
for handling these cases, and are de
laying the prosecution of other crimi
nal charges.