of man's racial origin and development. Today, biology and allied
sciences are devoted to unraveling the complex causes responsible for
individual development. It is fair to presume that this new effort of
science may be able in time to solve the problem of crime, and that it
may do for the conduct and mental aberrations of man what it has already
done for his physical diseases.

XXXIV

LUCK AND CHANCE

Accident and luck may seem to have no place in a world of law, and yet
the fate of lives rests almost entirely on what can be better classified
under this head than any other.

This is a pluralistic universe. The world is made up of an infinite
number of independent machines, each having its own existence and
controlled by the laws of its own being. In going its several ways and
living its own life, inevitably it often clashes with others and is
seriously affected by them. The fox and the rabbit both roam the woods,
apparently at will, at least independently of each other. By an infinite
number of circumstances, at a particular time and place, their paths
cross and the fox devours the rabbit. Had they not met at the time and
place, the fate of the rabbit would not have been the same. The fox
would have traveled farther and eaten another rabbit or some other
animal in its stead.

An engine is running on a railroad track. It makes the trip day after
day without accident or disaster. An automobile is one of a million
built in a far off city. Its mechanism is marvelous, and each part is
dependent on the rest for its normal functioning. Some vital piece of
the machine contains a flaw. How it chanced to be imperfect is another
story involving endless speculation. An inherent natural defect in the
ore, or a tired workman anywhere from the original smelting place to the
last hand that touched it, may have been the cause; or, the reason may
be still more impossible to discover. The machine is purchased and does
its work perfectly for months. It is driven thousands of miles without
any mishap. It is propelled along the highway and reaches the railroad
track over which the engine runs. It is filled with happy people
enjoying a vacation. The automobile and the engine reach the crossing at
almost the same time. The automobile driver sees the engine and applies
the brakes. For the first time since it left the shop, the machinery
does not work. The car forges ahead and reaches the tracks just in time
to be struck by the