Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 4.djvu/664

 644 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

stitute obstructions to a uniform system of jurisprudence, not existing elsewhere.

1. The form of government is, perhaps, one of the greatest impedi- ments to a uniform system of jurisprudence, and the administration of criminal law forms a strong argument for the centralization of gov- ernmental power. Now each state enacts its own laws and penalties, and has its own procedure ; and, as a result, all grades of punishment and different methods of procedure exist for the same crime. A serious crime in one state may be only a misdemeanor in another, and the range of penalties in one state may often result in a criminal's receiving a maximum penalty for a crime in one jurisdiction, while in another, under precisely similar conditions, only a minimum penalty would be imposed. This discrepancy is often seen in comparing states. The impossibility of uniform law is well illustrated by the laws of capital punishment. With the exception of four states, it is the penalty for homicide ; in less than half the states it is the penalty for both homicide and treason ; in nine states arson and rape are added to the above.' The various methods of arrest, identification, and of police and judicial systems only add to the hindrances against unification.

2. The negro element of population, which presents such a large class of citizens out of harmony with the advanced civilization exist- ing in the greater part of the United States, is responsible for no small degree of criminality, and has given the United States the preeminence which it enjoys as the exponent of lynch law. The number of negro prisoners — it being remembered that convictions are very dispropor- tionate to the number of crimes committed — is entirely out of propor- tion to the negro population. In 1890, of the 82,329 convicts 24,277 were negroes, although the negro population was only 7,470,040, or 11.93 psr cent.; while the white population, with 87.70 per cent., only furnished 57,310 convicts.' The number of executions by lynching was twice as great in 1890 as the number of legal executions. This is a

' In this connection it will be gratifying to note the late revision of the federal law relating to capital punishment. The bill was introduced in Congress by General N. M. Curtis, and was passed in January, 1897. At the time of its passage there were sixty offenses punishable by death in the United States statutes. By this bill the number is reduced to some half dozen offenses, and it is provided that in certain cases a verdict of " guilty, but without capital punishment," may be returned. This law is a most important step in the way of securing uniform criminal law and penalties.

' Cf. Eleventh Census Report, " Department of Crime, Pauperism, and Benevo- lence."