| Show WHY CRIME IS ISON ISON ISON ON THE INCREASE Writing to ono one on of the New York papers G 0 M Walker Balker gives tives hia bh explanation o ot of the th growing rowing crime record In the th United States He fie says Bays I have haTe haT watched w w the tho crimInal courts court of foreign forI n countries In la op for tor many years and for over thirty years year el have hav ave collected d data on and ana crime MJ MY cup pinc cup cup- cupping ping book on this subject was WUI w the first thIng studied by th the Bureau Burau of Municipal Research en It began the Investigation of the New Nw York police som some years year ago aco There Ther can be little doubt that the nary nary amount of crime crim in la this Ale coun CUn- coun- coun country try Is I due flu ue not to the tho th lax enforce enforce- enforcement i ment of the tho tb lav laws I s but to the tho th lack of enforcement of the th laws and thIs latter fact tact namely the th lack of enforcement is due du to the th ox- ox extraordinary x and unconscionable so se severity verity of the th American criminal law It may be that this severity had Its It origin orlim In the tho old Puritan spirit of New Nw England but that could hardly explain th the equally severe sovere criminal law In our southern states I could give you a fine fIno list lIat of crimes and punishments from Ui the courts court compared with th the sam same crim crime and Its pen penalty pen pen- penalty penalty alty in the American courts I have seen Been a man plead guilty in an Eng Eng- English English ll lish a court and receive a ft sentence of o three o months for tor a crime crim which In America la Is followed upon con con- convIction conviction con conviction with a term of at imprisonment Imprison Imprison- Imprisonment Imprisonment ment of not less ls than five years The result of o this extraordinary difference in the penalty Is la first that the th enforcement of o criminal law In England is admonitory and reformatory The English prisoner Is not in jail long lone enough to come out a confirmed criminal II lie He has had hi his warning and three throe to six she months sees him tr free again acain witha with a well grounded determination not b be caught again In the tho meshes of th the law but her here In America the criminal if would ha hate e been confined for tor five years i and when released would auld fund find him bim himself Im self lost In n the th world his family even havIng almost forgotten him and reappearance as 8 n an affront He has baa been so long lone con can confined con confined I I fined with Ith professIonal criminals that ho bo comes out a professional and confirmed continued criminal himself The lack of ot enforcement I Is due to the tho fact that American Juries real real real- realIzing realizing Izing that If It they convict a ft manh man mau mauhe he will b be sent up for tor such extra extra- extraordinarily extraordinarily ordinarily long lont terms find him not guilty In tb the tac face of conclusive evidence where they would un undoubtedly un- un undoubtedly undoubtedly convict com If It th they y know knew that upon conviction the erring man or woman would only be Sent up for a short time a term not long enough to turn the th errIng one Into a confirmed criminal but long enough to be b punishment That experience experienc has bas been met with In Ogden Juries have bave failed to convict because the th penalties Were considered too so severe ere The break do down nn n Is due du to either the laws lalOs being too drastic or the American juror Is fe growIng soft sott and leans too much on th the side aide of the offender 00 00 |
