part in crime.
The doctor, the real estate agent, the business man cannot afford to be
without automobiles. No more can the burglar, the hold-up man, the bank
robber, if he would keep up to date. The automobile has raised the
robbery of country banks from a vagrant crime, infrequent and dangerous,
to a steady occupation coupled with a great deal of excitement and some
chance for profit. So far no one has ever suggested anything to
counteract or lessen the evil effects except to increase penalties. The
crimes committed with and for automobiles are a result of the conditions
of life. Out of a thousand men and boys, a certain percentage must
commit these crimes just as a certain percentage must die of
tuberculosis. The temptation is very great. The human equipment is not
strong enough in many people to withstand the temptation. They either
buy them when they cannot afford to own them, or they steal them, and
either way leads to disaster. No doubt men will some time become
adjusted to the automobile as they have become adjusted to the horse,
but until that time comes, it will demand its heavy toll of
unfortunates.

Not only, it seems to me, does the growth of civilization mean the
growth of crime, but that civilization likewise leads to decay. The
world has seen the result over and over again, but it cannot learn. Man
is an animal; the law of his being demands that he shall live close to
nature; he needs the outdoors, the country, the air; he needs to walk
and run; otherwise his digestive apparatus will fail, his brain power
will decay, and the strength of his legs will be impaired. Civilization
runs too much to stomach and nerves, and Nature will have revenge. To be
sure, the professional American rhapsodist points out that we are immune
from natural law because we have a chance to vote for presidents once in
every four years. But there are ample signs that Nature knows little
about political institutions or other man-made devices and that she will
have her way.

How much the natural limitations of man will permit him to learn and
understand; how far his instincts and emotional nature would allow him
to be controlled by knowledge, if he had it; what would be the results
to life if reason could control him, are pertinent questions that affect
all discussion and which may never be satisfactorily answered. It is
entirely possible that the student who tries to point out better ways
and teach better methods does it only to s