Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-06
SCHOOL FOR DETECTIVES
NEED In SOLVING CRIME
Based on His Experience, Eminent
Author COmmends Practical Edu-
cation of Peace Guardians.

$4,000 leaves 155, 700. Calculating by
mortality figures, about 10000 OF
these murderers have died in the last
20 years. The residue is $4,000 I'M
accounted for murderers, concludes
the jurist-5o, 900 more than all the
policemen in all the cities of the
Union today, a larger number by
10000 than the standing Army OF the
Nation and a larger number by $4,000
than the militia of the States.
But while improving our science of
experimenting criminals would help.
there is bigger step than that TO be
taken"
Hits Tabloid" Newspaper
What is that?" l queried.
I'VE must make war to the death
on the so-called tabloid newspaper and
bring about a general reform in the
way papers handle their crime news"
said Mr.. Reeve. 81 speak particularly
of the tabloid newspaper. That has
become the greatest promoter of crime
In the country. Do you recall the ia
nous Chapman trial? Did you notice
how the tabloids took the sunken
brow of Chapman and had an artist
elevate 1t so that it resembled that of
Cicero, put pince-nez glasses on his
nose that gave him look of distinc-
ton, circulated the widest rumors
about his innocence, told enthusiast
tically of his courage and manliness-
In short, made him a superhero as
well as super-bandit Now the truth
was that Chapman was horribly low
brow looking and he was not q sue
ceSSful bandit, having passed two
thirds of his career under lock and
key. But the tabloid newspapers cap
italized Chapman as a sort of genius
about to be murdered by a. hard-boiled
society. Such papers struck noun
famous blows at the stability of our
courts by their insinuations of his in
nocence. All this made good copy and
sold papers, but it also multiplied
criminals. 1t made the murderer look
heroic. 1t propagated deadly psychol-
ogy to thousands of young boys, who
came to see in Chapman's career.
something really adventurous and ro-
mantle. Tabloids and papers which
pander to the commercialization OF
murder and lewdness are creating
crime and criminals and Maynard
boys"
Issue Up 30 the Press.
What is to be done?'' 1 asked.
Some say the remedy is in the
home" answered Mr.. Reeve. "I saw
what chance has any mother to bring
up law-abiding, uncriminally inclined
children when newspaper filth and
periodical rottenness abound all about
them? Not even the most Watchful
mother can keep all Of these out of
their hands. About every child today
is an environment of filth-one that
plays up the heroic side Of criminals,
popularizes lewdness and immortality
In the form of beautiful naked women
displayed on front pages of tabloids.
Anything good can be done with
a good press. And anything bad can
be done with bad press. In my
day they used to speak OF the Archi-
medean lever of the press. That is
great truth. The press rules coun-
try for better or worse. Editors are
really the guardians of our moral
destiny. And until editors refuse to
stoop to the call Of the dollar and
make criminals heroes and naked
women fashionable we cannot hope to
do much with crime or morality.
1.-THE remedy is simple. Play up
the chances against Deing a success
full criminal. Play up the fact that
Of a psychology and soon boys will
be abandoning crime. Keep hammer
ing in the single point that crime
does not pay. The same point can
be played up in a variety of ways.
But If it is played up effectively our
crime problem is solved.
Melodrama Anti Crime Remedy.
"a few years ago." continued Mr..
Reeve. "a movement was started TO
abolish the melodrama In the movies
because some people feared it caused
anti-crime remedy. In melodrama
is in reality the safest kind of an
anti-crime remedy. In a melodrama
the villain is always defeated, the
heroine always escapes, the hero is
always triumphant. These misguided
reformers did not see that the press
should have been their point of at
tack.
Can we hope for strong editors
who will risk handsome profits so
as not to poison society? 1t is our
only hope. I am quite pessimistic
about the times. Today we are writ
ing filth and selling it by high
powered craftsmanship and calling it
great literature. Everywhere there is
trash and shoddiness. Nowhere is
there a hopeful spirit of proportion
and a true sense of value"
Are We Declining?
''You once expounded that belief in
one of your Craig Kennedy books,
didn't your" / asked.
Yes, in Atavar," replied Mr..
Reeve. but the theory is biologically
sound I think" he continued Zone
Of the first signs of death in the bio
logical world is a loss of proportion.
You have seen those little animals
known as trilobites in the museum.
You have seen how they evolved into
such complex and weird shapes that
they were unable to move and were
killed by their enemies. Dinosaurs
were out of proportion-too much
body and not enough brains. They,
too, were swallowed up by evolution.
Have you ever looked at the last
stages of Gothic architecture in
Europe? The last stages were a
fiamboyant period when the great
craving was sensation and variety
and queer shapes. Original Gothic
architect lost it's sense of proper
ton and died. Our civilization seems
to have lost it's sense of proportion
and to value poisons. 1t seems to
fall for things that, if we had a sense
of proportion, would be Stunned. How
much longer we can keep going 1
don't know. The wonder is that we
keep going"
Copyright. 1927