Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-12

There are so many ways by which the
doctors" of humanity would cure the
evils that f1esh-or rather minds heir
tol Theories and announcements OF
new discoveries" are abroad in the
land, now that school has reopened for
the training Of youth in the way 1t
should go.
I do not recall who was the author Of
the famous prescription sent to bride
on how to train a husband, but it has
never been gainsaid in its wisdom.
When she wrote for directions the an
swer came back promptly, Feed the
brute"
Dapper Dan, "King of the Hoboes, !"
introduced and successfully passed the
following resolution at last weeks con-
vention of hoboes in New York City:
Empty stomachs make full jails; I'LL up
peoples StomachS and you'll empty the
jails."
In the same line, now, comes the an
nouncement from the Salvation Army
that malnutrition, rather than drink, Is
what causes crime. Yet the modern
craze of women to reduce" by semi
starvation suggests the possible con-
spiracy of femininity to go upon ram
page of wild crime. and the best way to
counterfeit it would be to corral them
all and dose them between meals with
cream and beefsteak. Feed the
brutessesl" That will reduce avoirdu-
poiS, induce suavity and allay feroc1ty.
Wasn't Caesar the first dietitian to pre-
scribe this menu: EFT tn, Brute?" What
had he "et"?
While in the United States the growth
of crime is alarming, in England 1t is
claimed that crime has decreased rs
per cent in the last 20 years. Why?
British tea and marmalade?
Mr.. e. Roy Calvert, a British pencil
ogist, modifies that statement by saying
that actual crime has not decreased, but
the number of persons sent to prison
has lessened from 100000 a year in
1918 to $4,000 now.
He attributes this result partly to the
probation act of 1908, which enables
judges to put first offenders, under 81
years Of age, on probation, with sus-
pended sentence not to be enforced I'M
less there is a second offenSe. He denies
that British justice wins its success by
severity; it is. due to promptneSs in ex-
ecution, rather than to harshness. ut Is
the certainty of punishment, and not
the type of punishment, which makes
British justice severe" he declares.
For young offenders there are, In
place of prisons" what are known as
Borstal Institutions, and youths are sent
there for any crimes except murder, and
must remain there three years-not for
punishment alone, but rather for the
influences of reform. It Is not reported
whether the reforming influences in
clude f1rst-class board with balanced
ration.
r n X
The modern discovery" that a bal
anced and adequate ration will Offset
the evil influences of intoxicants may
be sound doctrine; so many things are
being discovered" nowadays that 1t
would take great courage, or old-fogy
reactionism, to dispute them, but in the
memory of the present writer there re-
mains that ineffaceable picture Of a 49,
year-old boy murderer upon q scat
fold. He had been only Is years old
when he quarreled with fellow dancer
at saloon ball, lay in wait for him out
side, intoxicated, and stabbed him to
death.
we spectators in the Jail before the
scaffold listened to his last message:
Drink and bad company brought me
here" It had not then been revealed
that beefsteak and "leafy vegetables"
were the great neutralizers OF drink
and bad company"
In the course of years In journalism
have witnessed several executions of
murderers, and once, following great
outburst of public indignation against
the corrupt courts and their traveSty of
Justice, in Cincinnati, 1t fell to me to
Interview SIS murderers then In jail con-
corning their crimes and their expert
ences while the mob was attacking the
Jail. Strange-not one Of them men,
toned the tough meat and burned bis
cults ''lilke their mothers used to make"
that might have caused their murders,
hut nearly all referred. in varying ex-