mass of the people of the North. The Fourteenth and
Fifteenth Amendments to the Federal Constitution, and the statutes
passed to enforce them, providing political and civil equality for the
black man, and forbidding discrimination on railroads, in hotels,
restaurants, theatres and all public places, have never really been the
law in any state in the Union. Their provisions have always been openly
violated and no court would think of enforcing them, for the simple
reason that public sentiment is against it. Laws condemning witchcraft
and sorcery both in Europe and America did their deadly work and died,
for the most part, without repeal. Sabbath laws of all sorts forbidding
work and play and amusements are dead letters on the statute books of
most states, in spite of many attempts to galvanize them into life. All
kinds of revenue laws are openly violated. Most tax-payers of
intelligence who own property violate the revenue law openly and
notoriously, and all courts and officers as well as the public know it.
Many laws which interfere with the habits, customs and beliefs of a
large number of people, like the prohibition laws, never receive the
assent of so large a percentage as to make people conscious of any wrong
in violating them, and therefore people break them when they can. Often
this class of laws is enforced upon offenders who believe the law is an
unwarrantable interference with their rights, and thus causes
convictions where no moral turpitude is felt.

Every new crusade against crime not only sweeps away a large amount of
work that has been slowly and patiently done toward a right
understanding of crime, but likewise puts new statutes on the books
which would not be placed there if the public were sane. When it does
not do this, it increases penalties which work evil in other directions
and awe courts, juries, governors and pardon boards, not only preventing
them from listening to the voice of humanity and justice, but causing
them to deny substantial rights and wreak vengeance and cruelty upon the
weak and helpless.

XVIII

IS CRIME INCREASING?

The question is often asked, Is crime increasing? Statistics of all
kinds can be gathered on this subject. In the main they seem to show
that crime is on the increase in most civilized countries. It is very
unsafe to use statistics without at the same time considering all the
questions on which conduct rests. An increase of crime, as shown by
statistics,