Evening Star Newspaper, March 6, 1932, Page 27

Editorial Page Part 2--8 Pages EDITORIAL SECTION he Sunday Star, WASHINGTON, D. VDAY MORNING, MARCH 6, 1932. Special A 1 \ l | | rticles GENEVA PARLEY FAILURE HELD ALL BUT ADMITTED Europe Merely Seeking Broad, Mean- ingless Formula on Which to Base Adjustment. BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. | ENEVA.—The title of one of| Pirandello’s plays, “Six Char- acters in Search of an Author,” | suggests an accurate name for this Disarmament Confer- ence. As it approaches the period of the Easter recess, it presents the striking spectacle of 64 nations in search of a formula. In reality all unsuccessful conferences have three stages: First, agreement in principle, when all na- tional representatives unite in a com- petition of eloquence to indorse virtue and rebuke sin. Second comes disagree- ment in fact, where the same represent- atives urge their irreconcilable national theses up to the point of a complete deadlock. Finally there is the frantic | search for some broad. meaningless formula which will conceal the unpleas- ant truth behind a facade of optimistic declarations. To that point we have now come. Between the Prench theory of security and the prime German ideal of equality “yeber alles” there is no besis of recon- eilistion. The same Is true in the case of the French and Italian dispute as to naval parity. An effective agree- ment could only come in the first case if the French nation agreed to disarm down to the German level on land and to the Italian level on the sea, and if both Germans and Italians agreed to the Tardieu proposal for a league equipped to prevent or punish aggres- sion. Both are obviously out of the question. Here is where the formula maneuver comes in. Already industrious souls are at work, striving to hit upon some method whereby France can concede to Germany the theoretical right of equality, while Germans agree not to exercise this right. This leaves the actual situation as to armed forces un- modifled, but it constitUtes a sop to German pride without really modifying French security. There also is a similar formula going the rounds adapted to the Franco-Italian situation. ‘The present chance of any agreement even upon such a tenuous contract is slight, but, on the other hand, even a semblance of achievement hangs upon them. What it comes down to is that in the present state of mind and dur- ing the political chaos of the continent any real progress toward disarmament remains out of the question. Practical- ly, it will remain out of the question until the situation in Germany is cleared up and the Hitler menace is exorcised, if that proves possible. Until that time France will not materially modify her military forces or assent to any actual modification of restric- tions upon Gérman arms as contained in the treaties which ostensibly ended the great war. | The Geneva Conference is, therefore, permanently restrained within the framework of these political facts. On the other hand, it is fairly clear that neither the French nor the Italians, let alone the Germans, are eager to force a battle here which could only render more difficult the general economic sit- uation in Europe. The hope of doing something at Lausanne exercises con- siderable influence at this point. “We cannot disarm, but let us discuss amicably and disperse ' peacefully.” ‘That is the present temper, although from day to day the tacit truce may be broken because of domestic political considerations. Each Nation Isolated. France and her allies, Tardieu and his friends, are seated in strategic posts to dominate the conference at least negatively, so that nothing shall hap- pen against their will. While Germany and Italy are nominally working in co- operation, in practice Nadolny and Grandi are similarly isolated. Neither the British nor the Americans have so far disclosed the smallest force or in- fiuence. In fact, the case appears clear | enduring peacc; | that the British leader, Sir John Simon, is patently afraid of siding openly against the French lest he foredoom the anticipated progress at | Lausanne. * An agreement to fix all armament expenditures at their present level for a number of years is not impossible, if the formulae covering the political issues mentioned can be found. But even here, more than one government has taken care to pad its pending budget to a point which leaves a quite ade- uate cushion for real expansion, since she fall in world prices has, in fact. the same effect. This will be called limita- tion and a celebrated achievement, but if it is true, as the Hoover adminis- tration has insisted, that Europe Is bankrupting itself by colossal expendi- tures on armaments, then to perpetuate these expenditures at their present maximum level for five years is indeed & quaint means of remedying the evil The simple truth about the confer- ence up to date is that it assembled because, while all European statesmen feared its convocation, all were even more fearful of assuming responsibility for its ponement. Having assem- bled, it e instantly dominated by a fear of the Eastern crisis, which has given an appearance of futility and even of ridiculousness. Now, after & month and a half, the conference is faced by the fact that real disarma- ment or actual agreement on the im- portant lssues have passed out of the picture. Seek Best Way Out. The problem then is how to go home. Tardieu must find something to show | for his grandiose project of a restored League; Bruening seeks something to satisfy the hopes awakened by Ger- many'’s demand for equality; Grandi requires something to please the Fascist insistence upon naval parity. None of these things, in reality, have anything to do with disarmament or even limi- tation—all are matters of domestic politics. What counts is whether all three can get together and manufacture | some triangular, face-saving formula, or will all be condemned ultimately to fall apart into an open quarrel, which is always possible—even imminent—at such moments? While nominally the British govern- ment would like to see a real step taken toward reduction of armament expenditures, practically it is concerned as to the outbreak of fresh continental struggles. If a result is achieved by the formula that there will be a Brit- ish indorsement goes without saying. That leaves only the gallant little American band, becoming more and more pathetic in its isolation, actually insisting upon disarmament. Literally, this group is wandering about in a fog of Continental politics. The conference, having proved that Europe cannot now agrec upon any- thing important, is now approaching a test as to whether the great Continental rivals can agree upon something mean- ingless and then adjourn, leaving things no worse than they were. We talked at Paris of peace by understanding; now the slogan is peace by formula.| g, Formerly there was a search for an now the motto is “sufficient unto the day is the peace thereof.” A slight but still significant basis for a larger optimism concerning the general situation is discoverable in the apparent reluctance of the statesmen of rival nations to invite applause at home while there is sp>ctacular fighting abroad. You feel here in Geneva a great growing lassitude disclosed by statesmen, doubtless indicative of home conditions. Even Germans are far less passionate over wrongs than a year ago, while their neighbors are less violent | for their rights. That is why we may | find the magic formula and yet go home | still keeping our arms infact but with | no new incitation tp use them. (Cogzright, 1932.) History Shows None Like’ Washinglon, Thomas Jefferson Wrote in Year 1814 ‘Thomas Jefferson wrote, in 1814, that Gearge Washington merfed “everlast- ing remembrance,” av’a “perfect char- acter” and that the “history of the world furnished no like example.” A personal friend of Washington through more than 30 years, Jeflerson | offered his opinion of the character of | the. First President in a letter to a frlend, Dr. Walter Jones, written Janu- ary 2, 1814, from his home, Monticello. The letter, pointed out by Brig. Gen. S. E. Tillman, U. 8. A, retired, was writ- ten in response to a letter from Dr. Jones, which mentioned the “violence and malignity of the party spirit.” 1t follows, in part: “I think I knew Gen. Washington intimately and thoroughly; and were 1 called on to delineate his character, it should be in terms like these: “His mind was great and powerful, | without being of the very first order; | his penetration strong, though not so| | safety, he took a fair share in conver- | sation, his colloquial talents were not above mediocrity, possessing neither coplousness of ideas, nor fluency of words. In public when called on for a sudden opinion, he was unready, short | and embarrased. Yet he wrote readily, | rather diffusely, in easy and correct style. This he had acquired by conve: sation with the world, for his educa- | tion was, merely, reading, writing and common arithmetic, to which he added surveying at a later day. “His time was employed in action | and that only | chiefly, reading little, in agriculture and English history. His | correspondence became necessarily ex- tensive, and with journalizing his agri- cultural proceedings, occupied his leis- ure hours within doors. “On the whole, his character was, in its mass, perfect. in nothing bad, in a few points indifferent; and it may truly be said, that never did nature and for- The Boycott—Is It War? World Interest in Idea Quickened by China’s Use of It in Combating Japanese Influence BY RODNEY GILBERT. URING the years that have| intervened since President | ‘Wilson sailed away to put his ideas of whd‘t international relations ought to be into| D | effect at Versailles, the demerits of war as an ‘“instrument of national policy” have furnished a theme for more pas- sionate propaganda than any other non-religious subject. Events in the East have recently stimulated an entirely new interest in this theme; and this interest has not been confined to Geneva or to diplo- matic chancellories. It has been aroused in every intelligent community through- out the world, where the obvious risk | of international collisions and compli- cations at Shanghai has prompted the nervous question: “Are we going to be drawn into it?"” | ‘Whenever the adjustment of this| Sino-Japanese inbroglio comes, the | terms of it will, therefore, be of far more interest than the legalistic details of any previous Oriental feud; for the reason that there is bound to be very| lively discussion of another “instrument of national policy,” which is not to be found in the indices of the best known reference pooks on international law— the boycott. ‘The boycott will assume importance because, whether the end of this trouble is far or near, the Japanese are going | to trace it back to its beginnings in the | inevitable dispute over “war guiit.” In| pointing out the causes of it they are | going to indicate the Chinese boycott, among other things, as an aggressive and provocative instrument of policy | justifying & resort to arms in self-| efense. Additional Interest is now given to any discussion of boycotts generally because of the application in the press of the term “boycott” to the measures provided for in Article 16 of the League covenant. These measures are, however, to be imposed upon a nation that has resorted to war in violation | of other articles of the covenant and is | therefore “deemed to be ipso facto at war with all other members of the | League.” ‘There is no pretense that they are of popular origin or that they | do not put. the governments concerned |in a position hostile to the delinquent | state. They are imposed as a substitute for war during a recognized state of war. The feasibility of putting into effect these measures providing for the sus- pension of commercial and financial intercourse with the nation that re- sorts to war has been much debated. Now that there is some slight pros- pect of invoking these provisions, the merits of the boycott have come into even more serious doubt in Washington and London. It is now recognized that, while the boycott is a blunt in- strument of war, like the maces and hammers carried by warrior priests and monks averse to shedding blood in the Middle Ages, it would almost certainly prompt reprisals with edged weapons. It would, in short, lead to war in the| Pacific, a naval war, with America's nearest base at Pearl Harbor, Hawali, and Britain's nearest base at Malta, 8,000 miles from the theater in which lle, virtually . unprotected, the Philip- Flnghgongknng and, on the edge of t, pore. It is also recognized that Japan's first reaction would be an effort to com- pensate herself in China for the loss of world trade, to the discomfiture of all interests there. And it is clearly —Drawn for The Sunday Star by J. Scott Williams | seen that, if the boycott did not lead to actual hostilities, it would put a restriction on business, already de- | pressed, that would be as costly to the | major trading powers as to Japan. The reaction to these thoughts upon | policy in London and Washington is | easy to see. It has been frankly ad- | mitted in Geneva that if America did | not support a League boycott it would be ineffectual. It has been made equally clear that, lacking American | support, the burden of putting Article | XVI into effect would fall almost | wholly upon Great Britain. In Wash- ington the congressional reaction to the idea has been promptly and de- cidedly unfavorable. In London Sir John Simon, the foreign minister, has sald in effect that the League Assem- | bly which opened on Thursday would | make every effort to insure that the boy- | cott is not prematurely discussed and | that the Assembly is not called upon | to fasten the “war guilt” upon Japan. Strangely enough, Dr. W. W. Yen, the Chinese delegate at whose request this session of the Assembly was held, seems to have been persuaded by some powerful influence that it would be unwise to invoke Article XVI and has announced, to the disappointment of all the minor powers, which would like to see it tried out at Anglo-American expense, that he will not take the initiative in broaching the boycott. In contrast to all this, the kind of boycott to which China has become habitually addicted is supposed to have its origin in popular sentiment over which the government has no control, to be passive and pacific, to involve the government in no hostile gesture toward the nation against which it is directed and, therefore, to t no warlike reprisals, but to %fly unassailable,” as domestic labor, racial and similar boycotts are considered in English law. All of which the Jap- anese have latterly claimed the Ghinese boycott was not, and all of which the American Government once contended a Chinese boycott directed against our trade was not. According to Chinese tradition there is only one legitimate motive for a stirring of popular sentiment from the bottom up, and that is hunger. For 3,000 years and more the Chinese people have been taught that popular thought upon political matters is an outrage against & decent soclal order. If their betters, the men of letters who have’ taken degrees, and the officials chosen from among their ranks, can- not the trusted to do their think- ing for the masses, then the whole Confucian social system is wrong. If the thinking class becomes too ra- pacious in an evil generation and thinks 50 exclusively of its own enrichment that the “small commons” perish of want, then it is belleved that heaven's mandate has been withdrawn from the dynasty, or central government, if you like, and that a rising of the “stupid folk” in blind fury and in a nation- wide orgy of unspeakable violence, cruelty and destruction is justified. The Chinese believe in their social system and adhere closely to their tra- ditions; so it is almost impossible to find a record of a true popular move- ment in their history, from its dawn to this very moment, with its source in what we should call public opinion. Public opinion is made in the en— the officlal residence; or if public opin- jon is opposed to the yamen and takes the form of 8 non-co-operative move- (Continued on Fourth Page.) U. S. Closely Studies Crime Bureau of Investigation, Convinced of Increased Lawlessness, Seeks Way to Effect Cure. BY REX COLLIER. ESPITE criticism of its methods from Wickersham Commission | experts and others, the United | States Bureau of Investigation has determined to continue unabatedly its statistical researches on the prevalence of crime in America. J. Edgar Hoover, director of the bureau, is convinced: 1. That crime is on the increase in this country That crime cannot be combated effectively until its extent, its nature and its geographical concentration are known to the authorities. | 3. That the best way yet devised to | diagnose the crime problem is through collection of crime statistics. | 4. That the bureau's present method of collecting these statistics — by co-operation of police departments throughout the country—is the most satisfactory plan developed to date. The bureau’s severest critic is Prof. Sam Bass Warner of the Harvard Uni- | versity Law School, who wrote the Wickersham Commission's “Survey of Criminal Statistics.” In a recent issue of the Harvard Law Review Prof. War- ner declared | _“In collecting and publishing these | misleading statistics of crimes known to | | the police, the Federal Government is | of police statistics In his Wickersham report: “The best index of the number and nature of offenses committed is police statistics showing offenses known to the police.” While there is some question as to whether police statistics, as compared with judicial or penal statistics, are worthy of - serious consideration in a crime survey, Mr. Hoover declares that the consensus of “acknowledged ex- perts in the field of criminology and criminal statistics” is that police sta- tistics hold “the greatest promise.” In its statistical bulletins the Bureau of Investigation defines “offenses known to the police” as all crimes occurring in the jurisdiction of the police, “whether they become known to the police through reports of police officers, of citizens, of prosecuting or court officials or otherwise.” These crimes, under the uniform code, are grouped in seven classes, namely, “felonious homicide, including murder, non-neg- ligent manslaughter and manslaughter by negligence; rape, robbery, burglary, larceny, aggravated assault and auto- mobile theft. “It must be borne in mind” Mr. Hoover points out, “that figures com- piled by the police are subject to the police interpretation as to whether particular set of circumstances reported | to a police department constilutes one LEADERS AWAIT FIRST TEST OF ROOSEVELT-SMITH VOTE New Hampshire Primary Result May Give Baffled Democrats-an Insight Into Party S BY MARK SULLIVAN. T is trite, but there is no other way to say it: The Democratic situ- ation baftles analysis. No politi- cian in either party, and no ob- server among the many with wh in the writer has talked, pretends to b: able to trace the probable outcome, or even to estimate the weight of all th factors and psychological forces volved. Practically every judgment ex pressed is tentative, half-hearted. The very size of the field makes for complexity. We may take, as an au- thoritatively complete list of all the possibilities, the statement made re- cently by the working head of the Democratic National Committee, whose enumeration of men “I can gladly sup- port,” made in a spirit of demonstrat- ing his impartiality, included Speaker John N. Garner of Texas, ex-Gov. Harry F. Byrd of Virginia, Senator Cordell Hull of Tennessee, Senator Pat Harrison of Mississippi, Senator J. Hamilton Lewis and Meivin A. Traylor of Illinols, Gov. George White, Senator Robert J. Bulkley, New- ton D. Baker and ex-Gov. James M. Cox of Ohio (four from Ohio, mother of presidential aspirants!), Gov. Pranklin Roosevelt, ex-Gov. Alfred E. Smith and Owen D. Young of New York, Gov. Al- bert C. Ritchie of Maryland, ex-Senator James A. Reed of Missouri. ‘There are 15, named by the acting chairman of the party, in a context in which he was determined to prove his neutrality, and in which, therefore, he n\:jnuy be presumed to have included care- {n m);, every possibility that came to his Even so, there is a striki omission from Mr. Shouse’s list. If . Shouse was intent, as the context shows he was, on being “aggressively” neutral, it is strange he should have forgotten “Al- falfa Bill." Or did Mr. Shouse forget him? Did he deliberately omit the Oklahoma Governor? It was not s tactful omission, for Gov. Murray is a suspicious person, markesly inclined to- ward remembering slighs, and aveng- ing them. Moreover, Nrray in the best of moods has a role ¥ the present situation that aims away from harmony and toward explosive acttons. Murray may not be at this time a major con- tender in the race—few competent Judges think, at this time, that Murray has much chance of getting the nomi- natlon, but everybody concedes he is building up a sensationally large per- sonal following, and that he will make much commotion in the convention. Murray, at his weakest, iy tty cer- taln to have more delegates n three or four whom Mr. Shouse included in his list. Murray, two weeks fmm Tues- g:‘y&u in n;; r:grm Dakota primury, ly wi e delegates of tha from Gov. Roosevelt. y Six Real Possibilities, In this Democratic fleld of 18 almost anything can happen. At least six them are real possibilities. We mo; suggest, very ten Poasibly divoit h&}:-b. two of the , may State e. Roosevelt may come to the conven- to be able to dominate the situation and nomln:t‘: . That is the ::mnx' &hl)r the T of legates specificall; support Foosevelt.” To make this sing of campaign successful, Roosevelt needs to have available for the first ballot close to 500 delegates out of the 1,154. With 500, Roosevelt would have so great a moral advantage as to be able probably to go on to the necessary two- thirds, or 770. Roosevelt, following the lne to which he is now committed, m\:.n have lhenh:hmt number of dele- gates, among al e candidates, on first ballot, and—this is xmpenuv& he must increase his lead on every succeeding ballot. If on any ballot the aggregate delegates of the other candi- dates hold firm and prevent Roosevelt from growing, that will be “holding nou:;velt,'l'mxii it hfi})pem, every sea- soned politician will recognize Roosevelt has failed. s That is the picture of the first phase of the convention. Beyond that no prophet can now go. If Roosevelt does not win, then there will be such a complex realigning of delegates that no person can possibly foresee the succeed- ing developments. There will a whirling of forces, a confused cross. swarming of delegates out of which any one of at least six candidates may emerge with the prize. In such a situation curlous forces will be at work, forces of a kind that the public rarely recognizes. ample: Speaker Garner (who s decid- edly one of the possible winners) is supported by William R. Hearst. That makes people who dislike Hearst lean away from Garner. Garner also is in- dorsed by Willlam G. McAdoo. That makes people who dislike McAdoo lean away from Garner. Now, one of the strongest, possibly the strongest force in the convention, will be ex-Gov. Smith—and Smith dislikes, exceedingly, both Hearst and McAdoo. This is mentioned here, not for a decisive importance it necessarily ha: convention may ton so much the leading contender as managers. They ar largest possible’ num- | For ex-| ituation. factor. “Alfalfa B Mu to the convention in per gate. Of that he has ass by controlling his own Oklahoma dele- gation. He will have a_considerable number of delegates, perhaps = hun- dred, perhaps more--in any even. as many as some others who are looked upon as formidabie. At the convention Murray will put himself on the Reso- itions Committee, which writes the latform. In the committee he will propose some extraordinary planks—no stale “point with pride" platitudes for “Alfalfa Bill." One of Murray's pro- vocative planks will propose currency based on cotton, wheat and other farm crops. In the committce he and his plank will be defeated, because prob- ably & majority of the committee will be_conservative. Murray counts on that; it is part of his careful staging of his plan. There- | upon Murray will go before the conven- tion with a minority report. This is what Murray looks forward to as his great opportunity. His tactics are easy to foresee. He will talk not only to the convention, but to & whole Nation lis- tening on the radio. Murray will try to make & Bryan speech, the equivalent of the “cross of gold” one, with which Bryan stampeded the convention and seized the nomination in 1896. (Query: Can a man of Murray's age, 62, make a Bryan speech? Murray is a real spell- binder, let no one doubt that. But was not Bryan's youth, 36, an essential ele- ment in the glamorous magnetism of his cross of gold speech?) Murray may not stampede the con- vention—a majority of delegates will be pretty non-resistant to emotional ora- tory. But even if Murray loses, what will the party leaders do about him and the passions he will have aroused in a listening Nation, or at least the distressed part of it, which is pretty large? To what extent will the party leaders feel obliged to take account of that in their nominee and in their platform? Roosevelt-Smith Situation. On_one pretty important aspect of the Democratic situation we sm get light next Tuesday. In New Hampshire on that day will be a contest between partisans of Roosevelt and of Smith to determine which shall have the dele- gates from that State in the Demo- cratic Convention. It will be a clear- cut contest ... ~2en these two. No other name is enterc.. The New Hampshire primary law (along perhaps with that of Ohfo) is the most rigid in the coun- try. Under it one set of candidates for delegates is pledged specifically to vote in the convention for Smith, the other for Roosevelt. The outcome on Tues- day will be important far beyond the comparatively small number of dele- gates involved, which is eight. The New H-mhl:;::m result will be ac- e:gted as a eter suggesting the relative strength of Smith and Roose- velt in the rest of the East, particu- larly Massachusetts, Connecticut ay is going as a_dele- d himself weyer, heavily in New Hampshire next Tues- day that would have the effect of ele- Vating Roosevelt's fortunes very mate- rially and correspondingly Smith's weight in the convention. It is not going to be simple to in- ret the New Hampshire outcome. The State is divided, roughly, between & considerable city, Manchester, and rural “towns,” as they are called in New England, townships in other parts of the country. Smith's strength is mainly in the city, Roocsevelt's in the rural districts. As between these sections, weather counts. In the city, where | Smith is strong, it is easy for the voters to go to the polls, regardless of weather. In the rural territory, upon which | Roosevelt mainly depends, either a |March blizzard (quite possible in New | Hampshire) or the opposite, a “Spring thaw” might keep the voters home. Thanks to the good sense of leaders on both sides, religion has been kept out of the New Hampshire contes. Of the | candidates for delegate on the Roose- velt slate, elght omt of twelve are | Ccathoics. | Leaders Favor Roosevelt. As respects not only New Hampshire, but generally, developments between Roosevelt and Smith have followed cer- {tain roughly identical lines. Preced- ing Smith’s announcement on February (8 (which was rather late) many of the | local party leaders all over the country had identificd themselves with Roose- | velt. Roosevelt was far in the lead: he seemed the logical candidate—indeed, |for a time, almost the inevitable one. To nominate Roosevelt scemed the path toward party peace and party vie- fory in November. Under that condi- tion a considerable majority of the local but merely as one illustration of liter- | party leaders and workers had lined up tune combine more perfectly to make Locke; and as far as he saw, no judg- | & man great_ and to place him in the ment was ever sounder. It was slow in | same constellation with whatever have operation, being little aided by inven- | merited from man an everlasting re- tion or imagination, but sure in con- | membrance, clusion. Hence the common remark of his officers, of the advantages he de- acute as that of a Newton, Bacon, or type of crime or another. “with such conflicting factors it may be appropriate to consider whether the data compiled on such a basis can possibly be accurate. Naturally, sta- | tistics on a national scale can never | ally hundreds of similar factors which, with Roosevelt. After Smith’s an- unnoticed by the public, will have nouncement they kept that position. By weight in this convention. that time, as usual, and according with both politics and human_nature, Complex Proceeding. their emotions had become involved. | _This type of thing, not obvious to Local leaders thus situated tended to the public, is understood perfectly by regard Smith's announcement as tend- diverting its own attention from a far | more important and feasible statistical task, that of collecting criminal court statistics.” | “For his was the singular destiny| Others have criticized police statistics | | and merit of leading the armies of his as unreliable, susceptible of manipula- | rived from councils of war, where, hearing suggestions, he selected what- ever was best; and certainly no general ger planned his battles more judiclons of action was di: | country successfully through an ardu- |tion at the source and | ous war. for the establishment of its independence; of conducting its coun- cils through the birth of a Govern. likely to be | pointed to improperly as an index of | police effictency. Some of these critics claim that court But if deranged during the course | ment, new in its forms and principles, | or prison statistics, or both, are more | if any member of his plan | until it had settled down in a quiet |dependable than ‘offenses known to ocated by sudden circumstances | and orderly train; and of scrupulously | the police,” which are the basis of the slow in readjustment. The con- | obeying the laws through the whole of | bureau’s crime reports. ence was, that he often failed in | field and rarely against an _enemy | the history of the whole world furnishes | collecting crime statistics is an ation, as st Boston and York. | He was incapable of fear, meeting | nal dangers with the caimest un- Perhaps the strongest feature his career, civil and military, of which no other example. * * * “These are my opinions of Gen. Washington, which I would vouch at the judgment seat of God, having been The Government's present system of out- growth of an _enterprise undertaken | privately in 1927 by the International | Association of Chiefs of Police. With | :he financial aid of the Laura Spellman racter was prudence, never formed on an acquaintance of 30 | Rockefeller Memorial, the association °d, going through with his whatever obstacles opposed. 1is integrity was most pure. stice the most inflexible I have ever wn, no motives of interest or con- v, of friendship or hatred, be- ing able to bias his decision. “He was, indeed, in every sense of the words, a wise, a good and a great man. His temper was naturally high toned: but reflection and resolution had obtained a firm and habitual as- cendency over it. If ever, however, it broke its bonds, he was most tremen- dous in his wrath. “In his expenses he was honorable, but exact; liberal in his contributions to whatever promised utility; but frown- and unyielding on all visionary vmrfysem and all unworthy calls on his | charity. His heart was not warm in its affections; but he exactly calculated every man's value, and gave him a solid esteem proportioned to it. “His person, you know, was fine; his stature exactly what one would wish, his deportment easy, erect and noble; the best horseman of his age and the most graceful figure that could be seen on horseback. “Although in the circle of his friends, where he might be unreserved wil his | Mexico City Saloons Show Decline in 1931 MEXICO CITY.—Days of a saloon or have passed for the Federal district, Mexico's greatest center of population, which includes the national capital Data of the Department of National Statistics reveal a remarkable decrease in the number of such “filling stations” in 1931, compared with that during the previous year. The number of such establishments, including stores, clubs, etc., holding liquor vending licenses was 3,599 two years ago. It was 2,891 last year. ‘While the department does not com- ment upon these figures, it is deemed that the Federal government's anti-al- coholic beverage campaign and the tightening of restrictions by the civic authorities in the matter of granting licenses has had much to do with lim- iting the number of places at which the district’s _one million residents may drink. The district now has only 612 saloons and 423 eating places, where fi.f'wm can order beer, wine or laid the foundation for the project by studying the problem and effecting & uniform classification of offenses for the reporting of police statistics. Col- lection of data under this classification was_instituted The | tracted the attention and support, froni the first, of Director Hoover, who hailed | wet goods emporium on every .COrner it as an important move in the War on | | erimes. As the work grew by tremen- ‘flous leaps it became apparent that a central neutral and competent agency was needed to compile the reports and announce the results, Agitation by the | police association resulted in the enact- |ment of legislation nearly two years | 820 under which the Bureau of Investi- | gation assumed the task. Since that time the bureau has been recelving uniformly classified crime re- | ports of “offenses known to the police from citles. towns, counties and other jurisdictions with an aggregate popula- tion of more than 50,000,000 persons. All but four of the 38 cities of the | United States with a popylation of & | quarter of a million or rhore citizens | are_contributing crime statistics to the bureau. The exceptions are New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Mem- phis. Efforts are being made to secure the co-operation of authorities in those municipalities. No official compulsion may be used by Federal officers, as the police chiefs' undertaking at- | J. EDGAR | participation by the States and cities is wholly voluntary, Monthly bulletins in which the sta- tistics are tabulated were published un- til recently, when, for lack of funds, the decision was reached to issue the bulletin quarterly. Director Hoover has given forceful tistical work in a statement sent to | police chiefs and others interested in the project “The need for adequate and compre- hensive criminal statistics in this coun- try,” he said, “has for many years been & topic which has engaged the minds of | our foremost criminologists and sociolo- | gists. When one attempts to delve into the causes of crime and its effect upon the economic and social order, or whether one's task be to determine the | effect of the economic and social order | of things upon the extent of crime, the | | first step to be taken is to determine how much crime is actually committed. “Experts in such matters have uni- formly recognized the value of criminal statistics as one of the necessary factors in accomplishing such & study. 4 answer to critics of the bureau's sta- | HOOVER. Accurate crime statistics should be of tremendous value to experts in deter- mining the cause of the prevalence of particular types of crime as compared with other types and its effect upon the security of persons and property. | “Analysis and study of statistics | should enable them to recognize the factors contributing to the increase, or even the decrease, of certain species of crime and to recommend ultimately legislative, adjustment in accordance therewith.” Mr. Hoover is not alone in his be- lief that police statistics are a valuable index to crime. He is supported by such experts on soclology As Bennet Mead, statistician of the Bureau of Prisons and author of treatises on criminology; Dr. Thorsten Sellin, pro- fessor of sociology of the University of Pennsylvania and now & special agent of the Census Bureau; Bruce Smith, staff member of the National Institute of Public Administration, and Edwin H. Sutherland, professor of sociology at the University of Chicago. Moreover, Mr. Hoover recalls that Prof. Warner himself judicial or administrative | Dr. had this to say | wif reach an absolute degree of accuracy. | The Interpretation based upon them is commensurate with the knowledge and experience of those interpreting them. “Anticipating unwarranted and mis- leading interpretations of the figures presented .in_its monthly bulletin, the Bureau of Investigation qualifies the figures published with the sentence: ‘In publishing the reports sent in by chiefs of police in different cities, the Department of Justice does not vouch for their accuracy. They are given out as current information which possibly may throw some light on problems of crime and criminal law enforcement.’” Dr. Lent D. Upson, director of the Detroit Bureau of Governmental Re- search, is quoted in connection with the question of accuracy of police fig- ures: “Considering the rapid turnover of police officials it is a herculean job to keen each new chief educated in the in‘iicacles of accurate reporting or even to bring about the introduction of a reporting system of any kind.” ‘Taking cognizance of charges that the Government is putting “the stamp of authority” on unreliable statistics, . L. C. Marshall, of the Johns Hop- kins University Institute of Law. has replied that it would be “the height of folly for the United States to scrap the nucleus of a great system of national crime reporting simply because at the outset some of the police department: did not submit reports which were st; tistically accurate.” “It appears that those who have made a thorough study of the subject concur in the belief that the develop- ment of statistics based on the number of offenses known to police should be carried forward,” Mr. Hoover recently informed a committee of Congress, “Guided by this e: opinion and counsel, the Bureau of Investigation, not- the obstacles that may be L politicians who operate on the psychol- ing to mar party harmony. Since ogy of conventions. Nominating a Smith's announcement there has been man for the presidency and electing | no measurable defection of local :eaders him is a complex thing, crowded with |from Roasevelt to Smith. Conseque subtletles and intricacies. It Includes 'so far as the primaries everywhere taking advantage of men's hates as |lagely influenced by the local leaders, well as of their loyalties and affections. so far as public participation is com- | The men who fully understand the art | partively slight, the situation favors |sre hardly a handful in the whole Roosevelt. | country. ‘They range from the hard-| Below the ranks of leaders the situa= | bolled Harry Daugherty, who nominated | tion is somewhat different. The pub- Harding, to the shy and scholarly Col. | lic, the rank and fil: of Democratic House, who largely nominated Woodrow | voters, had not, up to the time of | Wilson in 1912. For exercise of the Smith's announcement, become inter- arts that such men understand, the ested. Roosevelt had not, up to that coming Democratic combination is go- | time, developsd any strongly aggressive | ing to be peculiarly, fruitful of oppor- | public following. In the comparatively | tunity. indifferent stat> of mind in which the |~ Constder one eccentric and explosive rank and file were, Smith normally ha: ————————————— ———————— | a larger personal following, cert the East-rn States, than Roosevelt. placed in the path of such a develop- These voters had follow=d Smith in the | ment, the least of which is not the su- | 1928 campaign, had become consciously | perficial criticism directed at the proj- |loyal to him—certainly they were so in ect by those who it is assumed should | 1928. In short, one would assume that have a better understanding of the in New Hampshire next Tuesday, and matter, proposes to continue its process' elsewhere in the East, so far as the of gradual education of police officers|rank and file of voters get stirred up in the matter of compiling statistical|and go to the primaries, the existing reports.” condition in the Eastern States favors In the meantime, the bureau,is not|Smith. To say the same thing in other opposed to the movement to include| words, if Smith's position in the pre court and prison statistics in national |ent situation appeals to the rank a; crime surveys. Indicative of its co-|file of Democratic voters (in the Eas operation was the calling of a confer-|ern States) as powerfully as his posi- ence at the bureau several weeks ago|tion in 1928 did, in that event a large to consider possibility of securing a uni- | number of them should be expected to | form classification of crimes for use in |attend the primaries and vote for | judicial, penal and police statistics. A |Smith. number of leading experts on criminal | Prom all of which it is apparent that | statistics attended. the result in Nev- Hampshire next Tues- At this conference a committee was | day, both rs rcspcots the evidence of appointed to study the problem and |public in‘crest in (e primaries and make a report at a later meeting. The | as respects the outcome nationally, will committee includes Dr. Marshall of |be an important barometer. We should Johns Hopkins, Bruce Smith, Dr. Sellin | really be able to tell something next ;tm:u .{;:]»A J. :v:t!er:‘.n in_charge :‘! ge wfinudly marning or as much later A worl Buresu - | 88 I8 necessary to interpret the outcome vestigation. accurately. 1