Evening star., 1932-02-16
Y ATERLAND, Conster-
! nation reigned in the branch
Of the Bank OF France at
Theirs when packages supposed

" Of the Bank Of France at
ThierS when packages supposed
to contain, In the aggregate,
notes Of l,000-frAnc denomination to
the value Of 5000, 900 francs (t3s.325)
we're discovered to be merely bundles
Of white paper. Suspicion fell upon =
33.year -old bookkeeper. Albert Laur.
who finally admitted his guilt and also
the prior embeulement Of another
million of francs from the vaults of
the depository.
Human AninAI
Walls When Despair ComeA
La Opinion, santo Domingo. Wherev-
Or crimes abound the general public Is
accustomed to raise either . voice Of
lamentation or Of protest. demanding
the infliction OF more severe penalties
to terminate the wave Of homicide and
robbery. It has long been popularly
supposed that when criminals are Sc
verely punished there Is . tendency on
the part Of other would-be criminals to
turn from contemplation Of enormitieS
and to lead law-abiding existences.
Such . philosophy is vain! We do
not take into consideration that those
impulses are to obtain by stealth or
violence what other people have
achieved by industry and care and are
not normal human beings In either q
moral or mental sense and 80 are not
amenable to the self-discipline and
worthy incentives which actuate the
behavior of estimable individuals. Such
abnormalities, however. are charac-
teristic Of every phase Of life.
For instance, in the midst Of . uni
versal economic crisis there occur
periods Of prosperity and in the red
maelstrom Of so-denominated crime
wave there occur days when there Is
not even . petty theft.
Examine, II you will, the newspapers
published during the dance Of the
millions: times now acknowledged to
have been marvelous-unpreced !;
times when gold rolled over the differ
ent countries in an interminable wave!
Did either public or papers speak OF
prosperity then? No, of prosperity they
spoke later-When 1t was gone!
Likewise, no comment Is uttered
upon epochs when there is complete
absence of social dereliction. Curiously
enough, the human animal never takes
any account Of the moments when he
Is safe, happy or prosperous, but When
surrounded with the converse OF these
conditions his wailings pierce the skies.
Without gratitude for his former
state. he is plunged into despair when
reverses come. and finds himself with
out faith, courage or ambition Tor
the very exigencies and emergencies
wherein these qualities are most lndls-
pensable. Man is the crea .ure that
suffers from nostalgia above all others:
He lives continually regretting the good
old times and places But such condl-
tions are never satisfactory while they
are q part of his current experience.
How few Just now. for example. are
taking into any account the tranquility
of the days through which We are
passing. According to ofIicial statistics.
within the last month there has not
been registered a single crime OF blood
in our whole country. few little
thefts and one offense against de-.
cency constitute the whole category OF
our otfenses. Items Of small signlfl-
cancel
For a country which contains . total
Of 100000 inhabitants such record
whole world. Perhaps the reason such
a satisfactory state of affairs has not
been alluded to in the press is that 1t
is our normal condition, though we do
not recognize it as such. We will be-
wall our "crime wave" again when we
have some deviations from this tran
Gull life. Nevertheless We were almost
disappointed because there was such
paucity Of crimes and casualties during
the holiday season!
We should learn to take the good
along with the bad. II there has been
less prosperity. so. too. there have been
fewer tempta tions for thieves. ana fewer
frenzies and disasters engcndered by
high living.