Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-17
BY COL. GEORGE FLETCHER
CHANDLER,

Former Superintendent of the New York
State Police.
TINE United States is the most
criminal country in the world If
we may judge by the number of
Il crimes committed. OF course,
what is criminal in one country
may not be criminal in another
Our legislators have made so many
laws that what was not crime 40
years ago is now cited as one, and on
the other hand, certain acts once listed
as crimes are no longer so. For in
stance, 1t Is on the statutes that If
man rides bicycle more than II miles
an hour he is committing a crime, but,
of course, a man might ride bicycle
at any speed and nobody would pay
any attention to him. So, while our
country seems to be more criminal than
others, perhaps it is not so bad as it
appears to be on account of the multi
plicity of our laws.
AS civilization became more intricate,
laws TO regulate people for their own
benefit became necessary and such are
our Sumptuary laws. Some can be en-
forced only under certain conditions
because of necessity, as, for instance,
the food laws during the Great War.
Taxes can be collected because every
one knows that they are for the main
tenance of the government and are
necessary so that the people may live
in comfort.
Progress Multiplies Laws.
Traffic laws were made necessary by
the invention of motor cars. Mari
time laws grew up with the shipping
and tenement laws with our big build
ing. So with fish and game laws.
merchandise displayed on sidewalks,
licensing of pushcarts and peddlers,
and the numberless laws regarding
our great railroads.&c. these are sump-
tuary laws and have grown with the
country. Now if there are too many
such laws and they are too drastic,
the people rebel either individually or
in body. If individually, we have
mostly misdemeanors. If the people
rebel in body, we have revolution
such as spring UP in this country
after the tea was thrown overheard in
Boston Harbor.
A felony is a crime punishable by
one year or more in State prison. A
misdemeanor is crime not punishable
by term in State prison. 1t is the
punishment then which claSsifieS the
offense as felony or a miSdemeanor.
The first great cause of so many in
fractions of the law in this country
is our fluid, unstable population. Peo-
pie In this country are forever NOV
ing. They move from one location to
another In the same city. They move
from city to city. They live in one
place and work IN another. They
travel necessarily.
NeighbOrs Strangers in City.
According to the latest report of the
Tronsit Commission, the total number
of travellers moving in and out of New
York City by railroad and ferry during
1922 was 427 1895 ,285, an increase ot r
| 1928 of more than 10000, 000 This does
not cover any travel by automobile In
lar critics no one knows his aighbor,
and even in the smaller cities there Is
| the constant change of location. Chill
dren do not stay at home. AS they orow
older they leave home for various
| reasons.
Our population problem, therefore,
differs greatly from that of the foreign
countries. In England, France, Ger
many and most of the other European
countries families settle on piece of
| property and remain there for many
| generations. The children grow up, live
nearby, succeed to the business or liyeli-
hood and continue in the same COM
nunities.
| The call of this country. with its