Evening star., 1928-06-05

feSSors TO say and do as they please Is
in danger Of being cuytailed more ard
more.
1t has been currently accepted in re
cent years that there has been o gree
increase of crime throughout the uni5cS,
States. AT first this was explained b.
the World War. on the theory that eX
perience in severe military disciplins
tended 10 cause the soldiers when Fe-
leased from the Army to become rabid'.
opposed to even ordinary discipline e.
law. This has never been demonstrated
however.
It has been further explained the.
the FoiStead law was making crin
mails" owing To the alleged "unfairnssS
OF passing such a law by trickery
taking advantage of the fact that IN
voters we're overseas and could not pre-
vent the unfair" legislation.
II Is pointed out. however. that III
voters were. not overseas when the Con
grcSsmen who voted TO submit IN
eighteenth amendment Of the Constitu-
ton to the States for ratification We
elected. They had their votes in sue,
elections. Nor were they still oversee
when many of the States adopted pro,
hihltion as State measures. even hefogE
the eighteenth amendment had beer
submitted
Yet that defense of Haunting Of tn
prohibition law is persisted in. and hav-
ing justified defiance OF one law whiCh
does not please the yiOlstor. II becomes
easy to adept the same attitude to all
laws. or 10 any which chance TO dis
please. So v!olatorS of Law become
elf-juStiied. and attain hravadu
which makes them heroes In their OWN
cancsit, Such effect is most visible in
the very young-at the smart -aleck az,
or soon after its height.
-
This is the presentation OF the Sit,la-
item by certain high authorities i'm tn
Government But they appear To n
dealing IN generalitieS. rather than con-
crete facts. and il is surprising to thoSs
who have accepted these or other plau-
Slble explanations of the recent growth in
crime to have all theories upset by the
director of the United States Census Blu
rSsau. MIR, William A, Stewart Mr..
Stewart SAYS.
There is widespread general im-
preston that acconluaaylng the In
crease Of Our population. there has been
an alarming increase OF crime. II Is
doubtful whether the number OF erim-
tnal acts per 100000 population has IN
creased as rapidly as some people think
but there is an entire lack Of tnforma-
tien that VIII enable MS 10 dstcgnalne the
situation in any one state as compared
with another. and there is necessarily
an entire lack Of such data for the
whole United States"
There tS a conspicuous lack of re-
liable data all along the line az crime
statistics, and despite efforts % persuade
the States TO supply the information of
conditions within their Jurisdictions and
Congress 10 extend authority 10 the
Census Bureau 20 gather such data. the
whole matter remains at loose ends
IS
Not only is the general impression
that the crime wave is increasing "a
an alarming degree eontradtcted hy
the Census Bureau, even upon its in-
perfect data but other high authorities
deny That crime today lS napfe charge
able to youth than IN former wears.
IL may hc true that Youth Is ''vOtsnxv
cr' amt siudler and nlore hes.dirSS ana
smart" than IN the eariy decades All
the elders. but even ghat Ii not proved
statistics et the average aye of com
Nieted criminals in prisons do not bear
>ut the assumption that they are ynang-
W NAtAA NAAN hkAHAt&NAN wv btfNlER kFnFfW
attenS, Neuth has ALWAYS ssNnllea cny
criminals i'm undue propcFtieN. sos
ynuth Viii nel accept the experience
et maturity, that the ayerage gains Of
burglars and highwayMeA and heaters
and tofgefs and trieSStefs are far less
IMAM the same men would earn at
trades of pgugeSsionS. They note the
ee0tN oi an occasional cfiMe but not
the IailurVN, They eia nat hSiievp that.
even rs matter as ls1iley, honesty iS
hSat. They tla n0t see thai crime does
not pay Yet II evttalnly does nal
cutie asida tfom qaesslolts ~ morality,
Hardened efinllnals according To the
Vaid statistics pf cFIiNlnologlSsS have
nothing 10 DAAat as IN their 9@inS,
meaSured IN ~WageS'' and ~ they
eever their tollS With fakeheea ~ "a
how n psys,
teeesasA., aest, ~ rAM ', eelhaal