Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-08
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Dunlap points out that this was no great, iso-
lated outbreak of popular law defiance, and
that less spectacular instances may be found
on every hand as evidence that social condi-
tions have progressed.
Prohibition was put over through years OF
agitation and work, much of which, from the
bar smashing activities of Carrie Nation to the
virtual confscation of distilleries and breweries
was in direct violation of law" the psychologist
says. Prohibition will doubtless be overthrow
within five years through the persistent viola
ton of the Volstead act. It can be overthrow
and replaced by more enforceable legislation
in no other way"
The traffic situation provides plenty of every
day examples of how disregard for unsound
regulations has brought about progress, and
has eliminated unenforceable laws. Chicago
tried to make pedestrians cross the street like
motor cars with traffic signals. But short
time ago it gave up the attempt and changed
the ruling solely because pedestrians almost
universally refused to obey it. Had the average
walker tamely and patiently obeyed the I'M
popular regulation it would have stood on the
books
This does not mean that a community should
not enforce its laws he adds. But it does mean
that when the laws are persistently broken,
community should take a careful look at the
law and a survey of the situation and see
ment or whether it needs to be altered or re-
pealed.
Women are, in general less given to Servile
respect for law as such than are men, DR..
Dunlap says. women may in certain genera
TONS follow the conventions rather mechanical
ly because they have no definite inclinations in
other directions But when women want to
obtain or accomplish certain things the law
or the conventions forbid, they do not let re-
gard for the law stand in the way
Conventions they can soon overturn, when
considerable minority agree to do so. Laws
crash harmleSsly about their heads, with but
few casualties, and soon the laws are dead
letters. Proof is found in the frantic efforts
of dull-witted makers of city ordinances and
State laws to keep women's clothes at the
ankles, just above the ankle, we'll below the
knee just below the knee in succession, and the
vain attempts to keep the bathing suits volu-
minous. If women ever decide to go naked, the
law may as well accept it early as late.
In the present generation social progress
depends almost entirely upon the women; and
the prospects are that a number Of antique
applicants will be upset within the next Is
years
GIN general, when women are cautiously law
abiding it is for one of three reasons:
they may have strong moral convictions which
back up the particular law; or they may have
estimated the probability of punishment and
decided that infracting the law doesn't pay or
they may believe'that the law gives them what
they want anyhow. The first two reasons are
not important to many women.
Independence against authority and break
ing of rules when the rules are bad are in
dispensable features of the proper development
of child. Children who are really trained to
dc what mamma and papa order them to do,
whether or no, are inevitably ruined. The
child who breaks rules he thinks unwise or
unjust at least has chance to become use
full human being.
THE apparent paradox is avoided by parents
who treat their children like rational beings,
standing ready to help the child retrieve his
mistakes instead of scolding or Furnishing
may say that this is not merely my opinion; 1t
is the opinion of a great many skillful stu
dents of child development problems
This professor of psychology, who is the au-
thor of textbook on the psychology of social
problems, would sweep away two old, zealously
maintained fallacies One is that law-breakers
in general may be set down as being of low
order personally and socially.
Most of the great reformers of the past and
all of the martyrs have been deliberate law
breakers he points out Jesus was no excep-
ton, but rather the shining example. Such
progress as Christianity has made has been
due to those who refused to knuckle to the
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