Show I I A MURDEROUS COUNTRY COU TRY I Proportion of Homicides Larger Here Than in Any An Other Land Worlds Work Judge Thomas of ot Alabama makes the startling statement s that In the year 1906 there were homicides in the United States tates for every million of population In Germany there were 46 to the mil mit million lion in Ir Canada In Britain 84 The proportion In the United States is larger that than In any other advanced coun country country country try Why is this so There will be many answers but they will gradually sift down to one name namely namely ly l that the people of the United States have not been properly taught respect for law either human or divine The law against murder is primarily a di dl divine vine ine law but It Is also als a human law lawIn lawIn lawin In every civilized country in the world As such it depends for Its enforcement upon pon human agencies and upon the t e co cooperation cooperation cooperation operation of the people whom it pro protects protects So long as the consequences of the breaking of the law are not certain swift and terrible so 50 long will the breaking of the law continue Here in the United States the chances of or conviction are probably less than thanin in any other civilized country In the first place the police organizations in our larger cities clUe leave much to be desired The machinery of detection Is less near nearly nearly nearly ly perfect than it Is In either London or Paris Of the twenty or more mur murders ders that happen every day In Jn this country It is probably quite safe sate to say that five are not followed by the arrest of the slayer Of or the other fifteen ten are not followed by conviction tion Of or the thelast thelast thelast last five perhaps not more than half bring men to the gallows g or the electric chair chairIt It is easy to adduce other causes the negro population the mixture of races In the great cities the ignorance and Illiteracy prevalent not only In the thelow low lower er orders of the cities but also In large rural communities but these are very small contributory causes The quick temper of ot the Italian Immigrant might be adduced but for the fact that even Italy has had this last year a smaller percentage of murders than the United States The real cause must be faced squarely It Is our national disregard of law Jaw perhaps one might even say nay s y our national contempt of law The voice of the law is not sufficient sufficiently ly terrible Too many extraneous con considerations considerations considerations enter into the administration of this terrible law which demands alife a aUfa alir life Ufa for a life Maudlin sentiment the pbs of ot a child the pressure of a poUt political lea ical machine the unwritten law if it you yon will wu the actual expenditure dt d money in Jn large quantities the agitation of the press pre san all these Uiese and many other similar agencies have sufficed at times to turn aside the merited punishment of the murderer The murder rate is advancing in inthis Inthis Inthis this country It is time to face the truth to put aside forever our half halt halfway halfway way measures In the enforcement ement of the stern hard bard law that Is our only safe safeguard s safeguard fe guard against the slayer If It there be benot benot benot not In the United States a steadfast steadfastness ste ness riess a certainty a sternness in the en enforcement enforcement enforcement of this law such as there is for instance in Germany or in Canada then the United States cannot hope to tc tota stay ta this terrible retrogression How flow many years will it be before we sink to the level of Mexico where nearly neath 15 men are slain each year out ut of gf every oyer million inhabitants c 4 t I 1 I 1 |