Evening star., 1962-05-20
Climates and Crime

Ile l6IJ6T dCJOTS III
Crime" reveals a radical re-
shaping of much of our usual
thinking.
II hot climates make for
crime and cool climates tend
toward the abatement of
crime in the descendants of
their inhabitants, I wonder
how the war crimes Of GER
tain Germans could be ex-
planned. Other Germans, who
have contributed so much to
science that even the man.
moth satellites talk to each
other in German as they
pass, must have descended
from Northern ancestors.
Parts of RuSsia-and here I
may be a victim of Commu-
mist propaganda are much
cooler than Washington and
should accordingly produce
more virtuous men than our
country can rear. And 1 am
concerned about the grand
children of missionaries in
Africa, who will be affected
by the heat endured by their
sires. ...
We had better, check our
cultural debt to Greece.
Israel and Rome. These
three countries are several
notches below Norway, and
nearer the tropics. and there
fore are suspect Of less noble
thoughts. :-.
Further, as an American of
Irish lineage, fear that since
the writer Of Factors in
Crime" mentioned England
and Scotland as paragons of
ethical standards, but omit
ted Ireland. THE land of
saints and scholars" 1 must
reread my history to dis
cover what factors in the
soft weather of Ireland
makes them unworthy Of
mention with the pious ma
tions.
The letter opens great
horizons for improving our
moral conditions. Imagine
the decrease in crime made
possible by air conditioning
the slums. And instead of
giving one-way tickets to
New York the ride should be
extended to Alaska or to the
Pole. The writer also throws
penetrating theological light
on the after-life. Those from
the torrid countries are more
likely to enter the hotter,
lower regions-and possibly
are better prepared for the
heat. Those who chose to be
born in cooler climates have
a better chance to live in
eternal bliss, unaffected by
the pains of heat.
What surprised me most of
all. however, was the failure
of the writer to give the most
persuasive argument estab-
fishing the fact that climate
affects morals. The incest
old man today lives in a
castle at the North Pole. The
cold blasts invigorate him
and his elves to labor all year
to make. the toys for good
little children. This man is
as virtuous as he is cold. The
essence of evil dwells in
eternal fires, and is so af-
fected by the heat that he
prowls the world seeking
whom he may devour. While
this argument mixes myth
with reality, it is just as CO.
gent as any Of the examina-
ton of statistics given by the
writer of Factors in Crime"
Frank Mann.
r. A. Mullen writes in his
letter: Most law-abiding
citizens" were spawned from
"the cooler nations of the
earth" But those whose
ancestors originated in
hot countries are likely
to get into trouble with
the law"
Nevertheless, while the peo-
pies of the Mediterranean
cauldron were grading West
ern civilization and formulat-
ing what we know as the rule
of law, the inhabitants of the
cool countries were growing
at each other and snatching
each others bear skins dts
cool up there. you know And
if the steaming Mediter-
ranean gave us the Justinian
Code, the cool north gave us
the Nuremburg laws-and it
must be remembered how as
siduously these laws were
followed.
I must add, however, that
the recognized truths, of