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Show It's Men Like These A LITTLE story out of New York told how throe ex-convicts Sunday had " toiled ten hours trying to make a $35,000 haul from a safe. Allowed to work ten hours at the job by the police, they were then arrested. One had a record of seven arrest and six convictions, a second three arrests and two convictions, and the third four convictions out of seven arrests. The first was 42 years of age, the second was 32 and the third was 35. It is men like these who present the problem of the confirmed, hardened, dangerous criminal. crim-inal. If their cases are typical, something like this approximates their history: a. anio.nnia ay row-up in bad anwirnn. ments either in the homes of what are called the submerged elements of society with none too good heredity as a background, or. in what we call our better homes where parental concern con-cern was not all it should be and possibly where outward show failed to reveal unsound limbs of the family tree. The slums do not spew all our criminals. They started out with mischief. More serious "troubles" followed. Because they were "mere boys" and because "boys' will be boys," nothing practical or effective was done to turn their minds in the right direction. Then something "really serious" ended with their commitment to a reformatory that didn't reform. They were turned out no better then when they went in and with new ideas imparted by older of more seasoned young miscreants. Then they blossomed out as felons. Prison sentences followed. Pardon and parole boards made their contribution. On the "outside" a parole agent with ten times too many men to oversee) couldn't keep close watch of them. With their history, they couldn't find work. Soon they were In again, out again, in again, out again and now they're in again. There are hundreds of thousands of men Ilk these. We are doing with them just about what we were doing with them a hundred years ago. There are great many well meaning citizens citi-zens thinking about this problem. Many writ pieces for th paper about it, make speeches after banquets, over the radio, at "crime conference" con-ference" and before women' dub and busW Mess men's luncheon organizations. Yes, ther 1 a great deal of thinkinj, writing and speaking in respect of crime prevention and crime control. All that remains is for something to be DONE about it. Before the state legislature are a number of proposed laws dealing with the matter. The lawmakers have the opportunity to do something about it but they can only solve their part of the problem. Then the other agencies of government gov-ernment must do their part then the biggest part of the job will remain for the rest of us to do in homes, schools, churches and the other mileposts we have set up to mark progress to the point at which we have arrived and which we call our civilization. . |