ssing of judgments, mob psychology is
all-powerful and really, in the last analysis, every human question
comes down to the power of public opinion.

The first thing necessary to lessen crime and to relieve victims from
the cruelty of moral judgments is a change of public opinion as to human
responsibility. When scientific ideas on this important subject shall be
generally accepted, all things that are possible will follow from it.
Some headway has already been made in the direction of considering
heredity and environment. Theoretically we no longer hold the insane
responsible, and some allowance is made for children and the obviously
defective. The discouraging thing is that the public is fickle and
changeable, and any temporary feeling overwhelms the patient efforts of
years. In the present mad crusade against crime consequent upon the
Great War, penalties have been increased, new crimes created, and
paroles and pardons have been made almost impossible. The public and
press virtually declare that even insanity should not save the life of
one who slays his fellow. Repeatedly the insane are hanged without a
chance, and sentences of death are pronounced, where before, a term of
years, or life imprisonment would have been the penalty for the offense.
Individual men and collections of men are ruled not by judgment but by
impulse; the voice of conscience and mercy is always very weak and
drowned by the hoarse cry for vengeance.

As long as men collectively impose their will upon the individual
units, they should consider that this imposition calls for intelligence,
kindliness, tolerance and a large degree of sympathy and understanding.
In considering the welfare of the public: the accused, his family and
his friends should be included as a part. It need not be expected that
all maladjustments can ever be wiped out. Organization with its close
relation of individual units implies conflict. Nevertheless, the effort
should be to remove all possible inducement for the violent clashing of
individuals and to minimize the severity of such conflicts as are
inevitable.

THE END

INDEX

Accidents, inevitability of, 48;
conditions affecting chances of, 253;
law of averages in, 259.
Acquisition, instinct for, 49-50, 51;
power of, not a measure of brain capacity, 51-54.
Adultery, crime of, 90-91.
Adventure, chance for, an incentive to crime, 54, 55, 79, 93.
Age, relation of, to crime, 251;
and disease, 252, 253.