The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-09-11

during which time his column Is
 being written by Robert Ruark.)
 BY ROBERT RUARK
 Waterbury Democrat Washington
 CorrespOndert)
 The Federal Bureau of Irvestiga- tion's semi-annual crime report, just out, confirms what was gener- ally suspected-that Americas first war year would show a decided lift in crime, particularly of Q violent nature.
 Rapes, nearly always associated with shifting populations, over- crowding and acute national excite- ment, have jumped 9.9 per cent over the same period. for l94l. NegH- gent manslaughters are up 9.4 per cent; robbery, aggravated assaults and larcenieS have swelled corre- Spondingly.
 Only three decreases were noted in the FBI survey--burglary, Inur- der and auto theft-and those slumps were minute. The national tendency to murder is down cnly 0.2 per cent, for instance, and car theft has dropped 1.6 per cent.
 War, while often removing the economic impetus to crime, substi- tutes mass recklessness that is a vicious compensation. The lid is of, the sky's the limit, the world is going to hell in bucket-so nor- nal fear of consequences is erased.
 Of special significance is the fact that Americas youth continues to predominate in frequency of arrests. For the first half of 1942 the ages 19, 18 and 21 in that order, appear ed most frequently in 305,570 arrest cards examined by FBI. More than 50 per cent of all crimes against property were committed by offend CTS less than 25 years old. The increase over 1941 for arrestetd rni- nors is Ia per cent.
 Youths under 25 represented 57 per cent of robbery charges; 65 per cent of burglary charges, and 76.6 per cent of. auto theft charges. Ar rests of women also had increased over last year from 91 to 1o.2 per cent.
 IMMATURE BRAIN IMPLANTED
 Sociologists can dip down into their whiskers and offer up any amount of explanations for the leap in juvenile crime participation dur ing wartime, but the main facts seem to be these:
 l. The immature brain is ir- famed by ceaselesS stories of vio- lence. Peacetime disapproval of killing is removed and replaced by national attitude of glorifica- tion. Press, radio and moving pictures pander endlessly to bru- tality in the name of war. The Commandos, lionized for their mo- holds barred attacks on the ene- my. helplessly and unwittingly could be responsible for sending the not-too-bright youngster down a criminal path.
 2. War, which takes the father from the home and often sends the mother to 8 factory or office, destroys to a large extent a very vital parental control. With Father in the Army and Mother working overtime at Lockheed, Junior is infinitely more susceptible to evil ways.
 3. It's a dumb kid in his teens now who can't go out and knock of a fat-paying job for himself. The government is checked with teen-age employees who are mak- ing more money than their em- ployed father could command in less lush days. Washington is full of girl clerks and stenographers who are barely out of the pig-tail stage on their own in a town which, next to Norfolk and San Diego, quite possibly presents more interesting sociological hazards than any other city in the land.
 TOO MUCH MONEY
 The nations demand for man. power, no matter how young or crude, adds up to the fact that too many youngsters are quitting school to go to work; too many are mak- A4S AAOAC 4AO1Cy t44o14 ID BOOO 4OI them; %oo many farm kids are leav- ing the hayrick and Swarming to misunderstanding cities where social maladjusttment Is certai11-and they all are subject to hysteria and temptation they normally wouldn't encounter in peacetime.
 The answer is simple: more crime now, and probably success sive increases as the nation be- comes more deeply mired in war. Crime goes hand in hand with overcrowding, abnormal excite ment. 8 superfiuity of cash, na- tional unrest, disrupted homes and huge transient populations.
 It is almost a sure-fire bet that FBI's next report, for the last half of 1942, will show a corresponding increase in practically all phases of lawbreaking with the possible exception of tire-stealing.
 Not even 8 young Capone would be chump enough to take a chance with somebody else's hot tires.