The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1947-08-07
Increase of
Crime in u. S.
Is Appalling
BY Charies b. RoWe


A Libby man asked me the other
day whether / had noticed the
alarming number of vicious crimes
that are reported in the press almost
daily. Anyone who reads the news
papers cannot miss them. Wives are
numbering husbands; husbands are
numbering wives; it seems a news
paper would not be complete with
out two or more depraved sex
crimes. the victims ranging from
little 5-year-old girls up to loose
women who were asking for it;
teen age sons and daughters are
numbering parents over some real
or fancied wrong; playmates are
numbering their friends to see how
it would feel to kill someone; un-
natural mothers are numbering their
own children Nothing seems so
cheap today as human life. And of
course there IS the usual and in
creasing number of lesser crimes.
An F. B. l. report says that crime
in the United States has reached a
new ten-year high Consider these
astounding figures
On the average day in the United
States
SO persons are slain;
33 women are raped;
172 persons are felonously as
saulted;
98l acts of burglary are COM
mitted.
Obviously something must be
done to halt this alarming and vic
ious trend A writer in Redbook
Magazine seeks the answer. But
he admits that we do not know what
to do
The writer quotes DR. Sheldon
Glueck, man who is devoting his
life to a study of crime and what
should be done to overcome it. A
mong other things Dr. Glueck says
"Our present criminal law pre-
Scribes punishment with too little
attempt to determine the prisoners
true reformability. Thus, not only
are many criminals sent to prison
who might otherwise have reformed,
but many dangerous offenders are
turned loose upon society after too
short an Imprisonment
If a man we're suffering from
leprosy, would we commit him TO a
leper colony for some prescribed
period, say ninety days. then turn
him out among the people regard
less of whether he was cured? We
do that with not few criminals
who are more dangerous to society
than lepers"
Here is an interesting sidelight
on juvenile delinquency as mentioned
by DR.. Glueck and his wife, who
works with him:
The average juvenile delinquent
parents probably are separated; if
not, they very likely quarrel much
of the time. Parental discipline is
either too strong or too lax, seldom
reaching an intelligent medium. The
youngsters parents have no plans
for his future; they haven't thought
much about it,
Dr. Glueck also contends:
But I'm afraid the causes of
crime are not 50 easy to deter
mine The conditions generally
blamed for crime are present in
the lives of many, possibly most,
criminals. But they are also pres
ent in the lives of numerous per-
sons who are not criminals"
why is it then" l asked, that
some boys turn out to be criminals
and others dont?"
why is it," the Gluecks counter,
that of two boys raised on the
sidewalks OF New York, one be-
comes Governor of the State and the
other goes to Sing Sing?"
The answer to that is the key to
the riddle of crime-its causes-and
the Gluecks are hopeful that they
finally have the key in their hands.
In this connection I recall an in
teresting conversation / had a few
days ago with a representative of
the F. B. /. He says his organization
recognizes fully the good work
many social improvement organiza-
tions are doing but feels that they
fall somewhat short of the proper
goal in one important particular
They stress as the chief need refor-
nation of the criminal OF course
that is always desired but it should
also be realized, said the speaker,
that while efforts are being extended
to reform the criminal, there is an
equal or greater duty to protect
society. Society must be protected
while the criminal IS being re-
formed.
That's a foul-smelling mess that
seems to be coming out of Kansas
City and the primary election held
there last year And what is COM
ing to light surely does not look
very well for President Truman and
Attorney General Clark
Election frauds are charged. it be-
ing alleged the e1Iptit was the old,
vicious, resurrecsed Pendergast ma
chine. An INVESTIGATION was final