The Weber Literary Journal 1921 was over $300,000,000. This is merely for theft, and does not include the many millions obtained by fraud. The statistics of the American Bankers' Ass'n tell the startling story of there being 455 holdups and burglaries of banks in our country in 1921. This means a bank robbery in some form every nineteen hours and fifteen minutes of last year. Judge Rosalsky of the New York Court of General Sessions estimates that there are 30,000 professional crooks in New York State; the Chicago Crime Commission estimates that there are 10,000 professional criminals in that city. Whatever the exact number in the whole United States, the army of professional criminals in this country is highly organized and efficient, while the forces of law to combat it are decidely inadequate. It is evident that something must be done at once to combat this alarming increase in lawlessness. In order for this to be accomplished, our officers must effect obedience to the law with more uniformity, certainty, and severity. They must realize the evil of deferred punishment, and as soon as possible after a crime has been committed, make the arrest of the criminal. Then the trial should be speedy and effective. Why indeed, permit a criminal case to stand for months or even years? There are criminal cases that have been on docket in New York City for two years; the docket as a whole is said to be about a year and a half behind. Punishment should not only be immediate, but it must also be sure. Authorities on the matter agree that as soon as punishment is certain and is inflicted according as the misdemeanor was small or great, crime will be checked. The many avenues of escape now open to criminals must be closed. The men in America who are authorized to carry out our laws might well copy the methods employed by the widely-known Scotland Yard detectives of England, and also those of the Police of her sister country, the Royal Northwest Mounted. In the case of the latter we have much the same habits, institutions, and ideals as the Canadians. We are divided only by an imaginary line. And yet in 1913, there were eight times as many murders south of the border as north of it. What is the cause for this difference? There is only one answer the certainty of punishment 42 The Weber Literary Journal on the Canadian side. The slogan of the Canadian Northwest Mounted Police is "We always get our man". And that this is not an idle boast is shown in the story of the rough miner from an isolated camp in Canada, who killed a man, escaped, and was pursued across Canada, down the Western coast of the United States and finally was caught in distant Chile. On the other hand, those at the head of our criminal agencies can surely profit by the laxity of law enforcement in Mexico, and by the attitude today in Russia the idea of each man a law unto himself. There is yet another phase of the question of enforcement to obedience to the law which is mainly the business of the officers, and that is the helping of the man with criminal tendencies, whether he be American or foreign born. Interpretation of the law and advice concerning it should be rendered by our Police and Judicial Departments to foreigners. In a large, cosmopolitan city, these various foreign elements are a prolific source of lawlessness, not because they are naturally criminal, but because they have been uprooted from their native soil. It is the duty of the officials to train these people to an understanding of our demands concerning their obedience to the law. No matter whether the traveler be native or alien, the lower road along life's journey is the easier route to follow. It affords easy means of transportation and the seats are tufted most of the way. This lower road is traversed yearly by countless men and boys to whom an officer could lend a helping hand. A kind word, a timely suggestion to the man who has fallen, or in case of determined malefactors, a stern bit of counsel or perhaps a threat, will do wonders towards the redemption of the one who has not yet fallen to crime, but who thinks it the easiest way. In the case of convicted criminals, our prison authorities could aid materially in the cause of law enforcement if they would see to it that the prison was indeed a house of correction, which fostered industry and allowed no indolence. One of our great jurists has said, "The treatment of those sent to penal institutions is pitifully ineffective." To be successful, every branch of service in the strange 43