The Coolidge examiner., 1933-09-15

its minimum in very brief time. II
cities handled traffic, protected life
and property and policed as the uni
formed force generally does, there
would be no important corruption
II, when major criminal offenses
were recorded in any city, the fed
eral government gave that city
three days to apprehend the Grim
inals. then, that falling. took over
the investigation itself. there could
be no corruption that would revert
TO destruction of honest lnvestiga-
tion and expeditions solution OF
crime. What Is more, believe that
will come.
The detectives of the United
States will be like its soldiers. They
will never know their next point of
call. They will operate under CEN
tralized orders from Washington.
They will have at their fingertips
complete international identified
tion bureau. They will use radio,
telegraph. telephone, photography.
tingerprints, the bertillon measure
ments. Use. in fact. every science
known TO criminal detection. And
they will succeed in their Job only
as they succeed in the individual
tasks of solution laid upon their
shoulders. And more than that. they
will walk through absurd extradi-
tion folderol as a fireman goes
through a wisp of smoke.
Crime will be against society, not
against a county or a city or a state
Prosecution will be by society, not
by a politically controlled organ
ization dependent for a living upon
the votes of a few communities.
Crime will be a high menace to the
decency of life, the administration
of business and the sanctity of the
home. 1t will be treated as such.
Then solution will be sure in the
vast majority of cases. Then pros
ecution will be genuine and speedy
and efiicacious. Then a change of
venue will temper justice with
mercy and "mercenary" with JUS
tice.
Until then the country will stag
ger along under ever-increasing po-
lice and prosecution costs. 1t will
carry the endless burden of county
bonds and county taxes. And by
every indication, crime will constant
ly increase. How many OF Americas
great cities are solvent today? Why?
America, with the most outrage
Gus murder rate ever known to
civilized land, is In my judgment,
the most law-abldlng nation on
earth. This Is true because Amer
lea stands for more ridiculous and
politician-made laws than any other
country. Technical legal express
sions are the fruit OF legalized law
makers tustlfying their own exist
ence. They have specialized to
such an extent that their complete
success Is the rout OF common equity
and average comprehension. Strict
ly speaking, not single American
Is free from the taint Of criminal ac-
tlvity.
He may speed his motor car. A
crimei He may not sound his horn
A crime! He may run a wire to
light his chicken coop and forget
that he should apply for a permit.
A crime! l could go on forever.
Millions of laws govern Ameri-
cans and the greatest of the legal
minds have not the slightest idea
OF most of them, nor their import.
A favorite court procedure is to
face a situation requiring adjudica-
tion, then cast back as far as neces-
sary for a precedent by which to
judge 1t. In this age, when the ma
chine and science and invention
have altered the whole course of
human life. legal lights frequently
cast back for precedent to the judg-
meat of men who never dreamed of
a horseless carriage. who read by
the light of a tallow candle, bathed
in an iron tub, let their teeth decay
as the years passed, and because 1t
travelled % miles an hour damned
the railroad train as a device OF the
devil for the destruction of man.
This must pass. America will
throw Off this yoke OF archaic habit
The people. fed up with Main street
murders. idiotic legal subterfuges
and outright corruption, will assert
themselves. They will put direct
question. They will want and they
will get a direct answer.
You will be entirely safe In the
representation that when they do
get 1t 1t will come from one no less
than Uncle Sam himself. When the
beard OF that gentleman bristles
with indignation and his mighty BIZ
ceps writhe for whack Mt the
desperate who Is the national prob
lem and the International disgrace,
things will happen. Not until then
Scotland Yard offers a lot Amer
ica ean learn Half aC oeso;art aa