How to Lessen Contributions to Crime

How to Lessen Contributions to Crime Studv for the M. I. A. Advanced Senior Classes

Introduction

— Where there is no vision the people perish this is eminently true of "ommunities. The commercial vision of America has filled the land with Wge cities from coast to coast. Unfortunately for some communities the commercial vision is so large that it obscures all other visions. Yet there are in every county and in every state, cities, towns, and villages that, if they would emerge from obscurity, and become attractive homes for people "f ideals and purpose, must develop personality and uniqueness. Oxford, England, and Cambridge, Massachusetts, are known the world over, despite the fact that one city is located a few miles from London, and the other a few miles from Boston. London can not obscure Oxford, nor Boston Cam- bridge. Both cities have had educational visions. The scripture tells us of city that had a vision of righteousness and God took it unto himself. Evi- dently the other cities near by lacked this vision or they too would have been marked for God's favor. The Scripture also tells us of two cities where the vision was that of crime and unrighteousness; these were marked for God's disfavor and he destroyed them. The question confronting every community is that of making it safe for righteousness. The purpose of these lessons is to make a survey of the forces in communities that are contrib- uting to crime, to the end of reducing it to a minimum, or eliminating the crime. In the early history of our state there was a community known for its unrighteousness. Brigham Young sent a stalwart, worthy man to that com- munity to eliminate these forces and make it safe for righteousness. This leader worked and cooperated with other men sent there for its redemption. Finally there came to that city moral, spiritual and intellectual visions, and lastly visions of civic pride. Today the saloon is closed and the lewd wo- man is no longer found. The streets are lined with shade trees of many varieties, and the lawns are well kept; there are beautiful churches, schools and houses in every part. An art expert who has traveled the world over many times came into the valley where this city is located, and viewing it from the side-hills, exclaimed, "this is one of the three most beautiful val- leys in the world." In the days when that valley was the rendezvous of cut- throats and thieves, and drunkards, and liars, its energies were all used to belittle its natural possibilities; when it got a vision of righteousness, everything went to heighten its natural possibili- ties. Eventually the good, the true, and the beautiful must be locked together, if a civilization is to be permanent. It is of no profit to this world that the Germans have made Berlin beautiful, having generated within its limits a force that seeks to destroy Paris, a force that in all probability will react and eventually destroy Berlin. Had the vast energies and power of the German empire, all so highly organized, been organized for God and his righteousness instead of for the unholy purposes daily revealed, she might perchance have redeemed the world from iniquity. Every community has within it forces that make for good or evil. The aim of these lessons is to awaken an interest that shall cause us to dis- cover and discern what forces are righteous and what forces are unrighteous, to marshal all our strength against the retention and invasion of vice, and

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to come to realize that the religion as taught by Jesus Christ, which religion has been revealed to the Latter-day Saints, is the only force that can be relied upon to eliminate evil and establish righteousness. To successfully accomplish this end we must locate the evil, estimate its strength, count the forces that may be arraigned by the opposition, measure the forces that may be relied upon for the curtailment and elimination of said evil, then mobilize and marshal all forces for the attack.

Aims and Methods The topics selected for the lessons seek to set forth a type of crime characteristic of most communities. No one community may face all of these contributions to crime, but some of them are almost sure to be found, in a large or small degree, in every community. All lessons have a local as well as a general application. Herewith follows a statement of aims and procedure and the list of les- son topics: I. Aim. a. The awakening of universal interest in making our communities safe for righteousness. b. The marshaling of all our forces against the invasion of vice. c. The recognition of our religion as the deciding factor in the con- flict.

II. Plan of Procedure. a. Each lesson will be a treatment of a topic under the following heads: 1. A survey of the contribution of this evil to crime. 2. A survey of the forces marshaled by this evil. 3. A survey of the forces that may be marshaled against this evil. 4. The mobilizing and marshaling of the forces against this evil. 5. The plan of attack against the evil. III. List of Lesson Topics: For October: For January: Ignorance. 1. Public Indifference. }}• Indolence. 2. Lack and Laxity of Law. }J- Ambltl ° n -

3. The Cigarette. FebY^ For For November. 13. Sentimental Sanction of 4. Social Cliques. Sin. 5. Card Playing. 14. Extravagance. 6 Public Dancing. 15. Weakness of the Public Will. For December: For March. 7. Poverty. If. Pleasure Worship. 8. Luxury. 17. Sabbath Breaking. 9. Greed. 18. Civic Slothfulness.

Lesson I— Public Indifference

Lesson Statement: . crime, because Public indifference is in and of itself a contributor to all crime and evil mav flourish in its name and with its permission. Indif- defensive. ference is neither on the offensive nor the A community that is divided in its sentiment on matters affecting pub- more healthy condi- lic morals and welfare is in all probability in a much tion than the community that has no sentiment at all.

1006 IMPROVEMENT ERA The man who wrote, "God made the country, man the city, and the devil the small town," must have been thinking of an indifferent small town. A city that boasts a great white way, whose lights make brilliant the saloon, the gambling den, the cabaret, and sometimes the brotheL is indifferent to making itself safe for righteousness. Public indifference may conrtibute to crime in the town, state or nation, and may even have international scope. An indifferent public may contribute to crime directly and indirectly. There are few persons who would not recognize that the saloon is a direct contribution to crime, while there are many who might not feel that the lack of a physical examiner in the schools is in any way connected with crime; and perhaps a greater number who would be reluctant to admit that a vacant house with half its windows broken might suggest crime. What harm will come to a community as a result of indifference: to its water supply, to the existence of saloons and gambling dens, to enforcing the anti-cigarette law, to the sort of dancing it indulges in and the kind of amusements it presents, to the quarantine law, to the whereabouts of its children and youths at night time, to the fact that dogs infest the streets and fill women and children with alarm, to nation-wide prohibition, to the federal suffrage amendment? In every community, state and nation are found conditions that are con- stantly contributing to crime. The recognition of such conditions is the first step towards its elimination. The second is arousing the public conscience. Indifference may be born of ignorance, prejudice, or selfish interest. Ignorance and prejudice may be overcome by information that enlightens; but it requires courage to overcome self-interest. Public sentiment must be moulded in the direction of the problem to be solved. German propaganda, so successfully carried on in both neutral and enemy countries, is an amazing example of how iniquitous public senti- ment based on error may be molded. Russia in large measure was con- quered through propaganda; Italy has been threatened; the pacifists' atti- tude in the United States, emphasized. The lessening and overcoming of German propaganda is the old story of beating the devil at his own game. The United States has found it a military necessity to establish a strong bureau of public information to which it has called its best talent, and which is publishing millions of pamphlets, which are being scattered broadcast over the land. German propaganda is doomed to failure, because it is the child of error, but the initiative zeal and resourcefulness with which it has been pushed may well be patterned after by those who are seeking the triumph of righteousness. The overcoming of evil with good, the planting of truth where error has flourished, appear to have required struggle and fierce combat from the very beginning. Sometimes this struggle requires physical force, some- times mental exertion, sometimes both. It is this dual situation that we are facing today. Said Dr. Parkhurst: "The wicked flee when no man pur- sueth, but they make much better time when some one is hot on their trail." So with indifference towards public problems that make for the spiritual and moral health of a community. Most evil finds a vanishing point some- where, but the vanishing may be hastened infinitely by wise leadership and organized effort. And if this wise leadership and organized effort culminate in the establishment of truth it shall endure because it is truth. This is the strength of the gospel of Christ as applied to all problems. It is- the truth and the truth endureth forever. Nothing is possible in a democracy, without public sentiment behind it. said Abraham Lincoln. If this be true, the converse is also true, that every- thing is possible with an enlightened public sentiment behind it.

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Problems and Questions. 1. What conditions exist in your locality, daily contributing to crime, to which the public is indifferent? 2. What are the forces in your community that perpetuate a state of indifference? 3. Which of your community problems do you regard as direct contri- butions to crime, and which as indirect? 4. What is meant by surveying the forces behind indifference? 5. Why take account of the forces that may be marshaled in support and against an evil which a community is seeking to curtail or eradicate? 6. Illustrate wherein a righteous cause may meet disaster through lack of wise leadership and ineffective organization? 7. Show how the M. I. A. slogans are contributions towards the les- sening of crime. 8. Summarize the value of the entire lesson as something curtailing the evil of indifference toward crime.

Lesson II — Lack and Laxity of Law. Mr. Roosevelt truly said: "The corner stone of this republic, as of all free governments, is respect for and obedience to the law." Undue delay in the administration bf both civil and criminal law is the crying evil of the day. The fault is not primarily with the judges nor with the lawyers. In- cidentally, these administrators of the law can aid in the prompt and efficient administration of justice. It will require legislative enactments to reach the root of the evils. President Taft, in speaking at Chicago, in September, 1909, said: "It is not too much to say that the administration of the criminal law in this country is a disgrace to our civilization, and that the prevalence of crime and fraud, which here is greatly in excess of that in the European countries, is due largely to the failure of the law and its administration to bring criminals to justice. Of all the questions that are before the Amer- ican people, I regard no one as more important than this, to-wit: The im- provement of the administration of justice." Prof. Vance, when Dean of the University of Washington, said: "We lead the world in most of the great struggles mankind is making, but in the administration of the law, America lags two generations be- hind the rest of the civilized world." If reverence for the law is to "become the political religion of the nation," as Lincoln thought, and if "the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay of all sexes and tongues and conditions" are to "sacrifice unceasingly at its altars" some reforms must be made, or the sacrifices will not be voluntary ones. Such reforms should be made that the time and money of poor litigants be not used in settling points of procedure or technical law. Some delay in law is desirable so that litigants may have time to cool. In England about one-third of all cases commenced in court are com- promised. .

What delay should be provided as a "cooling time? Court dockets are sometimes congested by cases which should never have been brought, or by defenses which should not have been made. When money is worth more than the legal or agreed interest, a defense may be made for delay only. .

"A busy lawyer may by reason of his many engagements readily adversary wishes render imnossible the trial of a particular case which his be^in two to try." In other words, a court will not require a man to courts at the same time. How can these evils of delay be remedied.''

1008 IMPROVEMENT ERA

Much of the time of the courts has been spent in the trial of person- al injury cases. The establishment in Utah of the Industrial Commission and the fixing of rates of compensation by employers of their employees for personal injuries and deaths will dispense with the trial of many dam- age cases in the courts. Why not apply the same principle to other re- lations than employer and employee? Why not permit a person in buy- ing a railroad ticket to pay a little more and be compensated at a fixed ratio if personally injured on the trip by accident or by negligence of the railroad company? The crime of perjury is a very common offense in trials in which an issue of facts is involved. A remedy suggested is that the jury should be required to find whether any witness before it has been guilty of false swearing and to name the witness. The judge could be required to do the same thing in cases tried before the court. Should this experiment be tried ? Disputed wills, being a fruitful source of litigation and perjury, it has been suggested that laws be enacted permitting a person to prove his will before he dies so that he may testify to his intentions. Do you think such an expedient edyisable to enact? Delays during trial are sometimes caused by unncessary or improper cross-examination and personal altercations between counsel. This should be stopped by the judge, and counsel required to address the court and not each other. Time can be saved by tactful suggestions by the court to counsel. In an article in the Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 104, November, 1909, en- titled,"Treadmill Justice," by Geo. W. Alger, instances are given of the outrageous delays involved in appellate practice in New York. One case had been tried seven times. Another had been tried three times, and the expenses had absorbed the value of the property in litigation. Still another case was in litigation from 1882 to 1902, when the plaintiff be- came so sick and disheartened at the "law's delays" that he refused to go on with his case. Delays incident to appeals to higher courts can be avoided by laws, requiring juries to make special findings of fact, the courts to apply the law. In the Federal courts the judge instructing the jury can give a sum- mary of the evidence and give help to an inexperienced jury in finding the facts. This is not permitted in our State courts. Should it not be allowed? If the disinterested trial judge, skilled in the trial of cases, can not be trusted, who can be? Can you advise a better remedy for numerous appeals on technical points of procedure than the enactment of a statute as proposed by the American Bar Association, as follows: "No judgment shall be set aside, or reversed, or new trial granted, by any court of the United States in any case, civil or criminal, on the ground of misdirection of the jury or the improper admission or re- jection of evidence, or for error as to any matter of pleading or proced- ure, unless, in the opinion of the court to which application is made, after an examination of the entire cause, it shall appear that the error com- plained of has injuriously affected the substantial rights Of the parties." Homicides in the United States, increased from 1,266 in 1887, to 9,000 in 1908. The totalin fifteen years was 133,192, more by twenty thousand than were killed during the Civil War. Louisville, Ky., had 47 homicides during the year ending Aug. 1, 1910, while the city of London had only 19 in the year of 1909. Not one of the 47 were legally executed, while all the London murderers were executed or found insane, except one who died while waiting trial.

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President Woodrow Wilson recently made an earnest and elo- quent appeal to the American people to refrain from lynch law. In re- sponse to this urgent request, and in order not to give the enemy aid and comfort during the war period, brutal lynch law may cease for a time, but for a permanent cure we must lay the ax at the root of the tree, we must remove the cause for people taking the enforcement of law into their own hands. Lynchings generally occur on account of the lax ad- ministration of law by the courts. Reform our criminal procedure in the courts, and the people will not try to enforce law outside of the, court room by brute force. The intense feeling against crime and the one who commits it does not last to the time of the trial. President Eliot says: "The defenses of society against criminals have broken down. The impunity with which crimes of violence are committed is a disgrace to the country." A mass of hair-splitting distinctions in favor of. a defendant charged with crime has gradually been developed by the decisions of courts until now it is a difficult thing for a judge and prosecuting attorney of ordinary learning and experience to secure a conviction against a defendant whose money or friends can hire eminent counsel for his defense. Somewhere in the proceedings error can creep into the record, upon which a technical supreme court can reverse for error. After several trials and years of delay, the public lose interest in bringing the defendant to punishment, the prosecuting witnesses become worn out and disgusted; (particularly if the complaining witness is a young girl who has been wronged by the defendant) and the prosecution is allowed to lapse, with the resolve per- haps that next time the injured persons will take the enforcement of the law into their own hands. Problems. What remedies have you to suggest in order to secure an efficient ad- ministration of the criminal law? Should a person charged with crime be required to give testimony in court? Is there any consistency in permitting a defendant to be tortured cruelly by police officers giving him the "third degree," and then in court, where he would be subject to the supervision and protection of the court in making statements or confessions, exempt him from the necessity of giving an account of the transaction? Who should be better informed as to the transaction than the defendant? Should not a large part of the hair-splitting technicalities which have been developed in favor of a defendant be swept aside so that the public will receive proper protection as well as the criminal? Are not many of the grounds upon which courts in the United States release criminals absurd? Should old rules devised for the protection of the people against the encroachments of the crown, be perpetuated in this age when society needs protection against the criminal? #

What effect does laxity of enforcing the criminal law have in fostering lynch law? . ., , Does the lax enforcement of the curfew law and law against juvenile de- linquents bear the crop of criminals? any relation to Should our juve- nile courts be given power topunish juvenile delinquents? Should your state have an asylum for the feeble minded? What instances have come to your attention of the acquittal of the guilty by reason of unreasonable legal technicalities? Can much hope be placed in the needed reform to be given by lawyers become accustomed to the present legal system? who have ,

Will not be necessary it for forces outside the profession to lead in the necessary reform legislation? . «

(We suggest that a lawyer be asked to aid the class leader in the presen- tation of this lesson.)

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Lesson III— The Cigarette and Tobacco Lesson statement: Our object in this lesson is to show how the use of cigarettes and tobacco contributes to crime and then how we may lessen that contribution. Tobacco a contribution to crime. The use of tobacco may contribute to crime, both in the individual and in the community. The cigarette is an enemy to cleanliness and whatever is against per- sonal cleanliness contributes also to personal degeneracy and evil. Whatever contributes to the individual's degeneracy contributes also to the degeneracy of the community. The boy who uses tobacco loads himself with a heavy handicap for the race of life and excludes himself from employment in some of the great industries of the world. Being excluded from proper employment, he devises schemes and meth- ods to keep himself busy and these are frequently such as contribute to crime. Anything that destroys a man's strength and efficiency is a crime against manhood and the crime against the individual manhood of a community is a crime against the community. From the medical tests taken by efficient doctors, it has been clearly shown that the smoking of cigarettes and tobacco increases the heart rate and blood pressure. Muscular precision is affected. The smoking of a single cigar has shown loss of physical precision, and accuracy. In rifle shooting, so important in these days of war, .the tests in ac- curacy were affected by smoking a single cigar or cigarette. (See article by Dr. Fisher, Era, September, 1918, p. 984.) The use of cigarettes by boys and young men leads to destruction of their character, in that they become indifferent to the truth and frequently lie, steak and cheat. (See p.220,To6acco and Human Efficiency, Dr. Pack; also Era, Sept., 1918, pp. 981 and 984-6.) How now can these evils be counteracted and the crimes that follow in their wake be lessened? In the first place a proper enlightenment of the evil results of smoke- ing and chewing should be demonstrated to the young people. The evil effects physically, mentally and morally on man should be clearly shown by competent authorities. The boys and girls should be told the truth about tobacco and the physical, mental and moral havoc that it works in the user. They should be made to understand and have a clear knowledge of the economic waste in the use of tobacco. Proper example and teaching in the home should be observed. The word of the Lord should be impressed upon children from an early age. "Tobacco is not good for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to be used with judgment and skill" (Doc. and Cov. 89:8). An aggressive, systematic, and united public agitation concerning the evils of tobacco should be begun and an aggressive propaganda car- ried on. Proper laws and regulations limiting, or abolishing Its sale should be adopted, and officers elected who will execute the law. Where such laws are already passed all officers should be compelled to do their full duty in enforcing the laws and punishing the offenders.

Problems. 1. Show how cigarette smoking and the use of tobacco contribute to crime.

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2. Why does the public solicitation of funds for smokes for the sol- diers add to the problems of men who are trying to develop character in boys? 3. What do you think of the ethics of a man who believes tobacco is injurious and yet who advertises and sells it in his store? 4. Show how the observance of the word of the Lord would lessen largely the contribution to crime in the use of cigarettes and tobacco. 5. Why should the word of the Lord be final with all Latter-day Saints regarding tobacco? (Doc. and Cov. 89:8). 6. What action can be taken in this ward to lessen the contributions to this evil? 7. Thomas A. Edison says: "The elimination of all stimulant would be a fine thing for the race. The temperance movement's advance ought to be a subject for general congratulation. Presently we shall be cutting out tobacco, tea, and coffee, and we shall be better for it."

French Official Photograph. © Underwood & Underwood, N. Y.

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