Evening star., 1933-09-10
BY JOHN T. VANCE.
Law Librarian. Library of Congre

THe pledge of President Roosevelt
to put at the disposal of the Sen
ate subcommittee investigating
! racketeering all the forces of the
Federal Government, and the
wflple-hearted manner in which this
committee, under the Craftsmanship OF
Senator Copeland. has takerrS hold OF
the problem, points to an effective war
against crime on all frontS-legislatlVe
executive and judicial.
It is extremely fortunate for this
country that we have at this critical
period a Chief Executive who is ac
lively and personally interested IN solv-
ing the crime problem of the United
States President Roosevelt is men,
ber of the Executive Committee OF
the National Crime Commission. His
secretary, Louis McH. Howe. is assist
ant chairman of the said commission
and has done fine work in exhorting
the American people, through the press
and by other means, to wake up to the
crime situation. His article in a re-
cent issue of a magazine, entitled I'm
Gle Sam Starts After Crime" is most
illuminating and hopeful to an almost
hopeless citizenry. Raymond Moley.
former Assistant Secretary of State, Is
an outstanding authority upon the ad-
ministration of criminal justice That
he has been delegated by the President
to formulate plan whereby the Fed
eral Government may best cooperate
with the States in putting down the
crime wave is guarantee Of sound
action. With Attorney General Cum
mings leading the fight on kidnapping
and racketeering, ably aided by the
well-known expert prosecutor, Assist
ant Attorney General Joseph keenan,,
It seems that the period of commis
sions and reports is definitely over and
the Federal Government finally
aroused to action. This is confirmed
also by the recent creation of a division
Of investigation in the Department of
Justice, in charge of the able head Of
the former Bureau of Investigation. j.
Edgar Hoover. and it means moreover
that the Government is going to Or
ganiZe its forces upon scientific ba-
sis. It is said that other Federal agen-
eies will be transferred to this division,
which plans to coordinate the inveS-
tjgative agencies of the States and
municipalities, headed by those of the
Federal Government. This is indeed
the first victory in the war on crime
an augurs the establishment Of the first
real police scientifique" in this coun-
try.
Real Beginning Made.
That the public is aroused as never
before is reflected in the action of the
Governors of the States in pledging
themselves as staff officers of the Presl-
dent in his war against commercializeo
crime In the opinion of many, the
way is rapidly being paved for Fed
erel penal code. States duties are
more important than States rights, and
if a State cannot protect the lives Of
its citizens. the whole country, or in
other words the Federal Government,
must do it. Many measures will un-
doubtedly be tried, but until the crimi-
nal is deprived of the protection of the
States boundaries, the problem will rot
be adequately solved.
But beginning has been made The
question now is in what further direc-
ton the efforts of the Federal Gov
ernment should be bent No ATTEMPT
to launch a discussion of all the meas
ureS that are open to the central aC-
thorities will be made. But the views
of sociologistS and criminologists as
to the necessity of criminal research
bureau are impressive. They differ as
to detail, but all agree that the present
state of knowledge about crime is es-
sentially inadequate and that until
more light can be had on the various
problems connected Herewith. no sub
etantial headway can be made in the
crusade against the criminal And
sound, common sense bears out this
statement of the experts.
Moreover the work which has been
done, and is being done daily, by the
European criminaliStic institutes, sucn
as the InStitut &c Police ScientifiQue
of the Lausanne University, the In
stitut de Criminologie of the University
of Paris. the Russian State Institute
for the Study of Criminality and the
Criminal. the Vienna Polizeidirektion
and KriminalistiSches Institut, the
Scuola Superiore di Polizia Scientifica,
and numerous others, is proof positive
of the value of such organizations. As
q concluding argument it may be point
ed out that in this country the Ameri-
can Prison Association, the American
Institute of Criminal Law and Criml-
nology, the Harvard Institute of Crimi-
nal Law, the Scientific Crime Detection
Laboratory, affiliated with Northwestern
University: the Chicago Academy OF
Criminology and the California Crimi-
nalistic Organization developed by Prof.
May, limited as they are in their scope
have proved their worth. If compare
lively small organizations Of this ma
ture can produce beneficial results 1t
is not hard to prophesy that firmly
established, well oriented and adequate
1y equipped criminalistic institute could
do much toward dispelling the fog OF
ignorance that envelops our present ap-
proach to criminology
Need for Institute Stressed.
Among the prominent exponents OF
Ghe view that criminalistic institute
in America is necessity we cannot
do without, may be mentioned Henry
w. Anderson of the Wickersham Crime
Commission who, in his separate report
on the causes of crime. dwelt on the
desirability of an Institute of Human
Research, which would devote itself to
scientific study in the field Of Grim
inology Representative of the views
of private investigators might be named
the suggestions of Messrs. Michael and
Adler in their recent volume, Crime,
Law and Social Science" and the sur
Vey made under the auspices of Co.
1umbia University at the request OF the