The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-10-20
M. E. Tracy Says:

URINE is not supposed to be an issue in this
~ country You couldn't get any one to stand
up and publicly indorse it. A vote on crime
would go 100 to l for destruction, and you'd
never find out who the one was. If lip music
could be depended on, we'd have been through
with crime long ago. We have shown plenty Of
sentiment and accumulated plenty Of law.
Still crime appears 70 be making Roadway.
II must have a lot of friends somewhere,
especially the kind who are willing to keep quiet,
neglect their duty, or even help a bit in safe
ways.
I have an idea that our trouble started with
the assumption that crime was due to drugs,
systems and diseases, and that the logical way
to stop it was through inhibitiQnS and reforms.
For many years we have been telling ourself that
crime was due to about everything, except in
dividual choice. We have laid it to the broken
home and then passed more liberal divorce laws
to break more homes
We have lit on whisky as the chief cause but
| only 10 decide we were wrong after twelve years
! of noble experimenting. We have attempted to
remodel criminals with honor systems, suS-
pended sentences and easy pardonS We have
! found excuses in the field of insanity, or more
moderate mental defects. And all the while, we
gradually have let up on our efforts to catch and
convict criminals.
Z kept he is concerned directly the average
- citizen has come to look upon crime as a
good show drama to be followed in about the
same way as one follows movie or detective
story He can get very excited over an important
trial. but from about the same standpoint that
he gets excited over a football game or a horse
race. He does not visualize himself as part of
the performance.
To him. the prosecution represents one side
of the combat, but he seldom thinks of it as
his side He sees the affair as just one more
battle Of wits in which he is privileged to enjoy
the role of spectator He watches to see who
wins, not whether justice has been served.
Our law-enforcing agencies have taken on
an imperSonal aspect. By and large we do not
look upon them as belonging to or representing
us. We are as apt to boo cheer when they
go into action. To some extent, this may be ex-
planned as traditional hangover of antagonSm
toward the law. Our country was born of re-
bellion against too much authority, of suspicion
and distrust.
Long before the Declaration of independence
was signed, our forefathers had learned to ques-
ton the wisdom if not the honesty of British
judges, to deteSt sheriffs, customs officials and
constables, to take some pride in trying to out
wit representatives of government.
THAT perverse streak fingers with us We
l. naturally are inclined to oppose anything
and everything which smackS of arbitrary power
Though frequently we say otherwise, we never
have accepted the idea that we are members and
| servants of the state We much prefer to think
of the state as something we can change or
paIK at WILL and as utterly subordinate to our
varying emotions.
That frame of mind is what gives crime its
strongest foothold We can't see it as an offense
to society which should be dealt with solely
from the standpoint of the common good. What
we see is problem for the police to solve, or
a case for the district attorney to fight, and
we find it easy to razz them, even though we
lose in the process
We forever are finding fault with peace Off
GERS, prosecutors and courts not because they
fail to deal with crime more effectively, but be-
cause we think they have treated some alleged
criminal in ways that are not nice Weak minded
youth listens to the fault-finding, observes how
many criminals get away, contrasts the floiln-
dering of justice with the devilish precision of
gangSterS and is tempted Added to this, officials
get sore. throw up their hands and say, whats
the use?"