Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-17
The Causes of Crime.

The Causes OF Crime.
Three blind man, according to John
G. SAKE, writing in verse that IS one
of the gems of American humor, were,
in the courtyard of an Eastern prince,
led into the presence of an elephant.
the like Of which they had never be-
held, they having never seen. One caught
hold of its trunk and exclaimed that
the creature was very like a rope;
another felt of the elephants ear and
vowed that 1t was very like fan. "
The third, grasping q leg, contended
that the elephant was very like a
tree" And this poem has stood for
many years as an Illustration of varia-
tions Of the point OF view.
The report OF the Wickersham Com
mission on Law Observance and En-
forcement, popularity known as the
Crime Commission, is being presented
in q series Of chapters on particular
phases Of this broad and widely rami-
fed question. The latest installment
to reach the public is composite study
OF the cause or causes OF crime. Upon
reading it, which Is to say the indi-
vidual reports of special investigators
engaged by the commission, one is re-
minded strongly Of the three blind men
and the elephant. Each expert or in
vestigator finds q different cause of
crime, attributing law-breaking to that
particular condition of society in which
he or she is especially interested
It is not discouraging to find that
the commission cannot put its finger
exactly upon specific cause Of crime
in tbs United States No one really
expected that it could do 50. For there
are nine members Of the commission
and there have been numerous investi-
gators, and consequently there are al
most as many judgments-far more
than the three rendered by the blind
men.
Crime is indeed q composite result of
numerous conditions and causes. In
one quarter there will be one dominat-
ing influence or condition Of society
in another. Here it is unemployment;
there it Is bad policing; in another
place, or In perhaps the same place,
it Is ineffective education or incompe-
tent home-making, or lack of parental
control. There are almost as many
causes Of crime as there are crimes,
perhaps more.
The normal course Of life is law
abiding The abnormal course leads
70 crime. The normal is dominant.
The abnormal is exceptional. AS mod
ern conditions have become more COM
pick there have been more temptations,
more incentives. more opportunities for
crime. And yet society a thousand
years ago was not strictly law-abiding
and there Was a large percentage Of
crime. Unfortunately no statistics we're
kept then and indeed statistics of
crime now are incomplete and unde-
pendable.
Nobody really knows why crime pre-
walls in the sense Of finding dominant
major causation Everybody knows
that there Is q dangerous degree OF
crime, and all law-abiding citizens.
which means the great majority Of
citizens, hope for correction. But there
is no panacea for this evil No one
prescription, however effective, can
remedy this disease Better homes.
better education, better parentship.
fuller employment and the elimination
Of pernicious influences and examples
IN the amusements of the people, these
are all factors for lowering the crime
percentage. But it can only be lowered
and never eliminated.