Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-24
ALIEN CR|M|NALITY
BELIEFS ASSA|LED
Wickersham Group Declares
Foreign Born Abide
Well by Law.
~ the Associated Press.


~ the Associated Press.
Absolving the foreign born Of blame
for the volume Of crime In this country,
the Wickersham Commission made clear
today 1t could not say the same for the
native-born children of foreigners.
with this statement the commission
severed its last oficial connection with
the Capital. 1t was learned today that
even the tiny temporary ofiices 1t had
supported, after lack Of funds caused
the closing of the former elaborate
headquarters last july /, had closed their
doors late last week.
The report upon crime and the for
eign born" was the commissions four
teenth and last, save for statement Of
its finances by Chairman Wickershan,
addressed to President Hoover.
In It the members attacked what was
termed a popular belief that aliens were
responsible. for more crime than any
other class. Discussing the cause Of
this belief, however, the commission
said it could not present either positive
proof or denial as to the responsibility
OF the children of foreign parents.
All II members signed statement
that they were able definitely to say
that any such impression as to the
foreign born is at variance with the
facts"
Reports by half dozen specialists
,,T,y, Hcrirae and the foreign born
supervised by Dean Edith Abbott of
the University of Chicago's Graduate
school of Social Service Administration.
maintained that despite prejudice
seai1st the alien this class actually
committed less crime than the native
born proportion to their number.
easy to Shift Blame"
sTA IN EASY" Dean Abbott said in
summary. ssto shift the responsibility
for what is wrong by charging II upon
the nationals of other countries. II IS
eaxier. for example, to charge our CRIME
record against immigrants than against
an jneficient and corrupt system OF
police and an outworn system OF GRIM
a sts,dy Of the Mexicans in California
by prof. Paul F. Taylor OF the Unlver-
sitv of California found that IN some
sections where crime among TINS Gas
excesded that OF resident citizens, police
prejudice acted to increase ariesss qui'e
INDEPENDENTLY Of criminal1ty.
Mis- Aida c. Bowler. research as
sisfant at the University OF Chicago,
renorfed that among 4ee foreign born
criminal In Illinois penitentiaries tales
~ ar,5lice brutality were frequent AL
though discounting many OF these re-
norts as q customary method OF secur-
Ing sympathy, she Sc "a:
SJustice is certainly In serious straits
IN ! eity where the intelligence Of It's
detectis Is does not Use superior 70 Lne
,,se Of the rubber fcse ~ . favorite
means Of solving crime.
paul IiyinRston Warnshuis OF the
nrenhVteriau Board Of National Missions,
,pnnrfina upon Mexicans IN Illinois. as
~erted they were sabjeeted 70 the tn1ro
derree more than any other type Of
prisoner. He said foreigners had been
stood against = wall and peaten, mn
r,1praed IN ice water, whipped with
rubber hose and even suoJected 70
tkree-day hunger test"
IN fts own brief report, prefacing
the others, the commission Asserted
criEae in ti1fa country has not been m
creased disproportiUnately BY the con-
duct Of the foreign born"
whether or not" 1t said, the cur,
rent IMPRESSION OF eACc1sNG VI AAAtAAA@.
1rouensities among so-called foreigners,
GENERALLY, can partially be tustineo py
the existence OF criminal propen&tleS
among children OF forelgn-born par
ents, IL Is impossible either 70 afnrm
or deny"
ChIcaeo Enemies" Studied.
Miss Bowler's statistical study found
that among Chicagos y p.o PIC
enemies" at least 10 were natives OF the
united states although born Of foreign
parents. while eight were born abroad.
OF the black HIST" held by Cleveland
police. she said that Of the III names
1rpon il "A were native white OF foreign
pareutaee" while 30 were foreign born.
the commission itself, however,
warned that the many Americans
raising the cry of America for Amerl-
cans often themselves were the direct
descendants Of immigrants, who. risen
to the post Of seniors in the school OF
American citizenship, have the COM
mon disposition to regard the freshmen
of their day as peculiarly uncompromiS-
ing, If not dangerous, material.
Adverse assumptions are easy and
habitual with regard to minority
groups." 1t said. Differences OF race,
religion, speech and habit, which
obviously segregate minorities, are in
stfactively extended by the majority to
Imply other differences and, when some
members Of the minority group have
been guilty of anti-social conduct. the
majority all too quickly assumes such
conduct to be q characteristic weakness
Of the minority group as a whole"