Circumstantial felons there will be so long as social circumstance makes for them. Always a certain percentage will go down under the pressure of a closely competitive social scheme that recks but little of moral weaklings, and less of physical slackers; but such bear serious relation to criminal statistics in the sense only that they are dragged down to habitual crime appreciably by criminal recidivists; by repeating felons who forage on society by choice, who make no bones about it, who shout stout defense of it, and who glory in it. With the latter class of criminals it is up to America to deal, and to _do it now_. During recent decades, and within and without prison walls, crime-breeding slack has been paid out to them until to kill ruthlessly means not so much to them as would warts on their hands. Therefore: reformative régimes should function so as to free such prisoners of shackles forged by their lower selves. When refractory units will not coöperate to that end, the aim of society must be for deterrence that protects society from them, and no apology whatsoever to them for the deterrence. For society habitually to bare its breast to the deadly strokes of derailed underdogs, just because they are derailed underdogs, is for society to spade at its own grave. Statistics that involve general conclusions are avoided herein. They are, because under present opportunity for specific research, they cannot be made either substantially reliable or inclusive. At the best they may mislead. At the worst they will lie. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I TYPAL EARMARKS 11 II THE CRIMINAL MIND 32 III THE MORAL CRIMINAL 51 IV THE PSYCHIATRIST 66 V THE CRIMINOLOGIST 88 VI LINKS IN THE CHAIN OF CRIME 104 VII CHAMOIS-SKIN CRIMINOLOGISTS 121 VIII "EXCESS PROPHETS" 141 IX CRIME AND THE LAY CRITIC 154 X PRISON DISCIPLINE 169 XI PSYCHOLOGY AND THE CRIMINAL 192 XII SUMMARY 236 CRIMINAL TYPES CRIMINAL TYPES I TYPAL EARMARKS Criminal types there are, but there is no one criminal type. Closely-allied criminous expression is vastly different as to individual intent. That will be so because the underlying causes for like offenders are dissimilar and variable. The height of the offense usually squares with the depth of depravity, the which is no respector of facial or other deviations from the Apollo type.