The Weber Literary Journal Law Enforcement Leonard Wright First place in the Sons of American Revolution Contest WITH the signing of the documents of peace, a war-torn world went gloriously mad; but that sudden burst of enthusiasm and thankfulness was soon lost in the darkening shadows of international strife. In our attempts to solve the worldwide problems growing out of the war, we as Americans, are perhaps unmindful of one, domestic in its nature, which if not solved will in time spell disaster for our own government. In America today some of the people have so abused their individual rights that they infringe upon the liberty of others. The result is that there is a depravity of social institutions, and that a carnival of crime is at present engulfing the United States. The simple fact which stands out as the self evident cause of the situation is that our laws are not being enforced, and are being regarded by many as palliative pretenses of good government. Eminent writers tell us that it is the American people who are to blame for the breakdown in our whole system of administering justice, and that it can only be through their change in sentiment, coupled with a strong demand for immediate action by the forces of law, that the increasing crime menace can be annihilated. Let us pause for a moment and consider some of the self-convincing facts concerning the extent of crime in this country. Statistics on every hand show that there is a growing menace to life and property, which long ago attained the proportions of a national disgrace. The total amount of money and property stolen in the United States in 1921, not including the millions obtained by fraud, is estimated at $300,000, 000. Last year there were 455 burglaries of banks, a bank robbery in some form every 19 hours of the day. The aggregate loss sustained was $1,200,000, which compared with $300,000 for 1917, shows a startling increase of 400 per cent, in four years. 34 The Weber Literary Journal The number of murders in the United States is appalling. In Chicago during 1921, there were 352 murders, almost one a day throughout the year, an increase of 121 per cent, in 10 years. Yet Chicago is not exceptional. New York had more murders than all England and Wales combined. Los Angeles, one-twentieth the size of London, had ten more murders than the metropolis. From 1912 to 1917, there was a steady increase in this gravest of crimes, and during the seven years there were 59,000 murders committed in the United States, 9,000 more people being murderously maudled than the number of American soldiers actually killed in all the battles of the greatest war in history. This alarming situation calls for a concentrated action of all loyal forces, to stay the threatening dangers. There are iniquitous tendencies in American life today which must be obliterated, lest the conflagration of crime consume all our social institutions. Americans, for instance, have always been prone to boast of their free-born liberty. This attitude has so aggravated the situation that today, although free, America lags far behind other countries in suppressing the catastrophe of crime. Our revolutionary fathers organized this government to safeguard the property and rights of the people, yet today the danger of life and property is alarmingly increasing. And is it any wonder when we consider the dilatory dispatch of law procedure? Crime can be committed and the culprits never caught. Laws are often violated without even an arrest being made. It is almost a daily occurrence to pick up a paper and see a number of mysterious crimes recorded. It is astonishing to note the very few of those wherein the perpetrator is apprehended. In only a small percentage of the cases of murder are the criminals convicted and punished. In New York City in 1920, there were 679 homicide cases investigated, and only one was convicted of murder in the first degree. The odds were 679 to 1 in favor of the murderer, and the nullifying of law. Aside from our law forces being pathetically incompetent, our courts are tragically inadequate. They are falling stead- 35