The Washington times., 1931-08-22
True to Type
CRIME CON- M ISSION
AND ITS .CRlTlC IN
BLUE FUNK
By GILBERT SEI.DES-

1t is pleasant to strong throw in the
sponge. When Jess Willard's seconds abandoned the
fight for him. the towel caught Dempsey in the face
he coming out of his corner and he bewdered
but bewildered the experts who remarked,
coldy, that the worlds heavyweight championship had
before been surrendered in this way. At crisis
we expect people fight until they knocked out AS
a French general said during the when he
dered to take rest for his health soldiers have the right
to die, but not to be sick"
1t will seem to great many people that the Wicker
sham commission crime has abdicated, little con-
temptiby The confession of failure is frank enough;
of the stiffness of the report prohibition
parent but avowed inability to anayze the of
crime and to suggest remedies disheartening. the
members of the commission after all their work. cannot
do these things, who can?
Judge Anderson's Ideas
The answer to be that Judge Anderson
His minority report is full of general terms of alb
stractions but he is not afraid to tackle his subject
And another instance of surrender in the face of the
enemy is to be found in the reception of his analysis.
An editorial writer calls it hopeless and fantastic be-
Judge Anderson says: There should be thorough
and courageous re-examination of the principles and
structure of social political legal and economic
tems This s of course not all of his report he wishes
individuals to be watched helped and corrected if they
unbalanced; he wants slums abolished and the
cries of crime destroyed But he is willing in the face
of danger to examine everything, to reject evil and to
hold fast to that which is good For this he is called
visionary
It happens that just this sort of examination is actually
going on in haphazard and half-hearted way The
and it's consequences have forced every thinking to
ask himself whether the system which creates and
i
Not institution of those we accepted and revered
20 years ago has escaped this critical scrutiny if
have been unconscious of it.
If people do not to church it is not because the
motor and the golf links more attractve it is
because in way the church has failed them if they
stop patronizng fortunetelers it because fortune
teers tell es if they refuse to vote it is because political
parties have betrayed them Wall Street and farming
and college education and newspapers and patent edi
cne and the Red Cross subject to the scept
csm; sport and the judiciary. Even booteggers
longer immune.
More Than Debunking
The process has been going for than ten years.
becoming definite in its purpose material conditions
grew We called it debunking, at first and de-
bunkng. grew tresone because it had no objective; it
was too much of sneer too little of creative work
Judge Anderson does not suggest that we smash
churches he asks to anticipate and eliminate the con-
ditions which people to smash churches like Dr.
John Deweys committee, he is not much afraid OF
Communist as of the poverty and cruelty which make
Communists.
should dislike an Institute of Human Research, which
Judge Anderson to think ought to be created by
the Government; something in the name sounds like the
upift and social workers. But anyone could name two
dozen and women who might be persuaded to come
together and to think together about the problems OF
human relationships in America. They would be, un-
fortunately, another commission; they would have to
make report and growing leery of reports But
at least they would not throw up ther hands IN despair
attractive in America than has been IN the last "a
months
ponents of Judge Anderson have it in the back OF
their minds. An Institute Of Human Research existed
Once-and it had great deal to do with the Ffencn
Revolution The form it took strange to us; it
published encyclopedia, For p years this great
critical work appeared analyzng the bases of society,"
the mind of the French wordUand before another 20
years had passed, the society of France and the
French mind had been completely changed 1t was
factfinding agency with strong political and moral
prejudices; it directed by philosophers who knew
their objective. And it enormously successful.
Perhaps little fear of similar outcome exists to-
day. To examine social and economic system
may prove embarrassing. But the people who fancy
that revolution must be the result of the questioning
spirit are little disloyal to their standards and,
what is more they show great ignorance of revolu-
tons If capitalism and the Republican party and the
D. A. R. and the Anti-Saloon League good and
powerful no examination of their books can disturb
them if they are not, they had better 60 Unmourned
Change, Not Revolution i.
But, if like most human institutions, our banks and
our factories and railroads and newspapers and
movies and daify-farms and baseball leagues are
mixture of good and bad they stand audit and
should welcome it because change is the great enemy
of revolution. The company which refuses to admit
new talent is the which is suddenly bankrupt the
government which continually faVors single Glass;
goes to the wall England has escaped revolution be-
cause in succeeding every class has come into