The processes in
the law courts may attract the fleeting attention of public opinion, of
legislation, of government, to the disease from which this portion of
the social organism is suffering, but mere repression will not
accomplish anything lasting.
The teaching of science tells us plainly that in such a case of endemic
criminality social remedies must be applied to social evils. Unless the
remedy of social reforms accompanies the development and protection of
labor; unless justice is assured to every member of the collectivity,
the courage of this or that citizen is spent in vain, and the evil plant
will continue to thrive in the jungle.
Taught by the masterly and inflexible logic of facts, we come to the
adoption of the scientific method in criminal research and conclude that
a simple and uniform remedy like punishment is not adequate to cure such
a natural and social phenomenon as crime, which has its own natural and
social causes. The measures for the preservation of society against
criminality must be manifold, complex and varied, and must be the
outcome of persevering and systematic work on the part of legislators
and citizens on the solid foundation of a systematic collective economy.
Let me take leave of you with this practical conclusion, and give my
heart freedom to send to my brain a wave of fervent blood, which shall
express my enduring gratitude for the reception which you have given me.
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