job.

In another company from 40 to 50 per

2. THE STABLE WORKERS WITHIN AN OCCUPATION

We now come to the second and newer phase of standardizing tests for placement, the discovery within an occupational group of the most stable workers. If one seeks not only to find a job in which a person can compete, but also one in which he will be contented, the ability of the group in this occupation must be considered in relation to the length of service of these workers on their jobs. For a year or more the staff of the Personnel Bureau has measured this sort of relationship with various groups. To our constant astonishment it repeatedly found that the turnover of employees is decidedly greater for certain abilities within the occupational group. In one group it may be those of lowest ability who remain longest, in another those of highest or of medium ability. This point was clearly brought out by Dr. Walter Dill Scott at the recent meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

This variation in stability relative to ability has been found to hold for various types of jobs: machine production in a factory, office clerical workers, salesmen, etc. So pronounced is the tendency in some groups that the bureau has found a correlation of .45 between tested ability and length of service. This was true for the group selling to local retail stores which I described above. The more mental capacity the men within this group had, the shorter time they remained with the company. While abler men could compete,

cent. of the women clerks who tested high or low within the range of their fellow workers left their jobs within six months. In comparison, relatively only half as many of the medium ability workers in the group left within the same period of time. The middle grades of ability within that job's range were most stable.

Such facts make it clear that this problem of vocational placement is not always to find the ablest man to send to a job. The public placement office in Pittsburgh, supported jointly by the public schools and the federal junior employment service, finds that the insistent demand of employers is for promotion material. I wonder how many of them realize that overstocking on promotion material in low-grade jobs may account for their large labor turnover.

It is a truism that tests can be used much more easily for selection of employees than for vocational advice, but I have been recently impressed with the fact that the problems of guidance and selection are not so different as they seem. They come together in the placement office, which is the essential connecting link between the schools and employment. A request comes to the placement office; there is an opening for one young man. The office has three possible candidates, let us say. Which shall it send? This is clearly a selection problem.

We shall not be able to solve such problems in a civilized way until the employer is able to tell the office what grade of ability is needed for his job, what grade will stay on the job and whether the promotion material in that job is already oversupplied. The burden of supplying this accurate information in terms of human meas

urements will probably rest for many years with the employers. The best that the school system can do is to measure with standard tests all its pupils who are about to leave school. The employer should then hire a qualified expert to apply the same tests to his employees and chart those groups for which he most frequently seeks recruits. The relative stability of the grades of tested ability will also inform him and the placement office whether too high or too low ability is being sent to that job. A suitable portion of promotion material can then be cared for.

In spite of all the dangers involved in any attempt to deal with human power more accurately and more satisfactorily, I feel that the critics of tests are too prone to compare the little which has been accomplished with a perfect vocational sorting of the human product of our educational system. We see our progress better by examining what alternatives are proposed.

A common assumption is that placement should be on the basis of the first come, the first placed-any boy can fill any job or learn it in a week. This assumption disregards all differences in native capacity and levels all jobs. It is the primitive blanket of ignorance. Quite as disastrous is the belief in mystic skull or facial signs, the faith that vocational aptitude can be described in terms of the physiological form, size and color of the victim. This turns vocational counseling over to the smooth soothsayers of an age of savagery.

forest, how to make their vocational sallies, how to test any promising soil or stream, but wisdom will restrain the counselor from pretending to know the secrets of the forest. His mission is to provide supplies for the exploration. The nearer such equipment approaches the chart and compass the more sure will be the vocational advance of our youth, the more easily will they choose their own pathways.

JAMES BURT MINER CARNEGIE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

COLLEGE MEN BEHIND PRISON

WALLS

OCCUPYING cells in the penitentiaries of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, are 72 college men. There may be more, but out of a total of 3,429 white men criminals examined by the writer of this article came 72 bearing the colors of beloved colleges and universities. That is, more than two per cent. of the desperate criminals in three great states are college-trained individuals. The significance of this statement may well wring a cry of dismay from all true lovers of higher education. If education is not in any way a contributing cause of crime, according to the law of chance there should not be found more than 25 college men in the above group.

Five

As late as ten or fifteen years ago, it was quite the fashion to believe with Lombroso that criminals are the result of biological reversion to primitive types. Such individuals bore the stigmata of deformity and savagery. But atavism is not in good biological repute at the present time. years ago Dr. Goddard's theory that criminals are essentially feeble-minded gained ground. But how can that explain the fact that 72 college men are in the penitentiaries of three representative states? Some recent writers claim that crime is a necessary consequence of war. All the

1

above criminals were in prison before the war was half over, while the majority of them were there long before the war started. Some contemporary statesmen claim that the present sickening crimewave is the result of unrestricted immigration. The 72 college men discussed in this article are Americans. Even prohibition itself has been discussed as a factor in the steady increase of crime. Undoubtedly, prohibition plays a large part in making a criminal more successful, and harder to catch. But the college men of this discussion were in prison before the time of prohibition. To-day's paper conveyed one individual's opinion to the effect that crime is largely the result of a drug habit. The reader will notice that not one word has yet been said about the "poor, down-trodden working-man" who turns in desperation to crime in order to right his wrongs. But the picture, as drawn by sociological criminologists, is a familiar one. In addition to the above collection of causes, there are many pulpits in the country that proclaim the causes of crime to be sin. The meaning of this paragraph is just this: none of the many accepted theories of crime are adequate to explain why there should be as many as 72 college men in prisons where only 25 should be expected.

In considering the original data gathered for this paper, let the facts of intelligence be examined first. According to the Army Alpha test, offering a scale of measurement extending from 0 to 212, the average intelligence of the American people lies probably between 60 and 70. According to the same scale, the average intelligence of the 3,429 white men criminals examined is just 64.2. That is, criminals are fairly representative of the intelligence of the American public. However, college people are much superior to the average citizens of

the country. The members of the liberal arts college at Miami University have an average intelligence of 132. The same is true of the members of the liberal arts college at Ohio State University. It would be reasonable to suppose that the 72 interesting individuals discussed in this paper might have an average intelligence of about 132. But such is not the case. These 72 intellectual derelicts have an average intelligence of 155. The least intelligent one in the group measures 67, while the most intelligent one measures 205. No student or faculty member at Miami has ever succeeded in making more than 198 in the Alpha test, while some students entering here have measured less than 50. The 72

criminals have an average intelligence equal to that of the highest 15 per cent. of the students in Miami, and equal to that of the highest 5 per cent. of the citizens of the whole country.

In the case of each of the 72, nature had spent thousands of generations in developing a powerful brain. For generation after generation, some lesser intelligence had lost in the fight for survival, that the handiwork of God might grow in the world and blossom into a great leader of men. In each case, a loving mother cooed over her wonder-child, the child that learned so easily, that stood upright among his playfellows, that led in the chase, the rivalry, and the organization of play. In each case, a proud father dreamed of the time when the bright little fellow would take over his business or profession and carry it forward to greater service. In each case, some paternal commonwealth or righteous community has said: "Come hither, my son, to the place of learning that I have prepared for you since the foundation of this great republic, accept as a gift the treasures of knowledge and precept, and repay me

by taking your place as a leader of men." Who has made the mistake that has brought to defeat the unbroken victories, the treasures of love, and the resources of wealth and experience?

Let the nature of crimes committed be examined next. Of the 3,429 criminals examined, 76 per cent. committed crimes of deceit and played the part of thieves. Of the 72 college men, 85 per cent. committed crimes of deceit and played the part of thieves. Of the 3,429 criminals, 17 per cent. committed crimes of violence. Of the 72 college men, only 3 per cent. committed crimes of violence. Of the 3,429 criminals, 7 per cent. committed sex crimes. Of the 72 college men, 11 per cent. committed sex crimes. The decrease in crimes of violence among college men might indicate that education results in the curbing of the emotions, but the increase in sex crimes indicates just the opposite. The emotional eruptions that accompany the commission of sex crimes are probably more violent than in the case of the commission of murder. It seems that college criminals are unmitigated cowards, and avoid open violence. It is curiously interesting to recall at this point that conscientious objectors in the army were found to be somewhat more intelligent than the average.

It must not be supposed that college training causes a man to commit unusual and strange crimes. There are seven crimes that have one representative each from the 3,429, but no one of the seven is represented by a college man. There are thirteen crimes that have less than five representatives each, but no one of the thirteen is represented by a college man. No college man is found in any group of less than fifteen. College criminals travel the broad pathways that convey the great crowds to perdition-the pathways that grow broader

as they go, just as the great majority of other college-trained men follow the broad pathways that convey the great crowds to accomplishment and fullness of life-the pathways that grow less and less broad as they go.

Let us consider next the influence of age. The average age of the 3,429 criminals is 28.7 years. The average age of the 72 college men is 35 years. What is the legiti mate inference from that interesting fact? Either that college training has repressed criminal tendencies for a time in otherwise potential criminals, or that college training has put into the individual a poison that eventually results in crime. Let the facts be analyzed further. The average age of criminals who have committed crimes of deceit and robbery is 27 years, while the average age of similar college-trained criminals is 35 years. The average age of men who have committed crimes of violence is 33 years, while the average age of collegetrained men who have committed similar crimes is only 30 years. The average age of men who have committed crimes against sex is 36 years, while the average age of college-trained men who have committed similar crimes is 40 years. The evidence is very strong that college training is a strong preventive of violence. For all practical purposes, crimes of violence on the part of college men can be ignored. Remember that 2 per cent. of criminals are college men, but those college men commit only one half of 1 per cent. of the crimes of violence. However, they commit more than 3 per cent. of the crimes against sex, and more than 2 per cent. of the crimes of deceit and robbery. The inference is very strong that college experiences are directly responsible for the percentile increase in sex crimes and crimes of deceit and robbery. If further analysis of the conditions

of college training should bear out this inference, the colleges of the country would be facing an indictment of the most serious character an indictment demanding the gravest consideration. Our institutions of higher learning have ever been considered the very heart of our social structure.

For the sake of more complete analysis, let us consider next the various trades and professions by which these criminals earned their living before they fell into crime and became segregated from society. The following 87 occupations are represented among the 3,429 criminals: army officer, mining engineer, mechanical engineer, lawyer, preacher, accountant, chemist, teacher, salesman, clerk, printer, doctor, dentist, book-binder, book-keeper, musician, artist, mechanic, machinist, engineer, steam fitter, switchman, telegrapher, driver, lineman, brewer, glass worker, rubber worker, bartender, farmer, tailor, barber, carpenter, cook, painter, baker, blacksmith, moulder, plumber, laborer, optician, florist, dairyman, steeple-jack, candy maker, jeweler, furrier, junk dealer, stenographer, reporter, soldier, porter, contractor, watch man, metallurgist, broker, potter, janitor, cooper, actor, foreman, inspector, iron worker, newsboy, nurse, plasterer, wood worker, spinner, stone cutter, conductor, tinner, sailor, upholsterer, embalmer, harness maker, cobbler, butcher, brakeman, bricklayer, horse dealer, photographer, riveter, chauffeur, boiler maker, waiter, electrician, fireman and miner. There are 850 living men alumni of Miami University whose occupations are given in the latest alumni directory. The following 60 occupations and professions are represented among the 850 Miami graduates: preacher, lawyer, doctor, farmer, salesman, contractor, merchant, treasurer, civil engineer, banker, broker, oculist, dentist, sur

veyor,

mine operator, manufacturer, chemist, druggist, real estate dealer, college professor, clerk, secretary, mining engineer, electrician, mathematician, historian, linguist, botanist, manager, mail carrier, commercial engineer, accountant, bookkeeper, irrigation engineer, buyer, athletic coach, draftsman, iron worker, teacher, artist, actor, psychologist, editor, biologist, advertiser, physicist, architect, insurance, engineer, journalist, printer, agriculturist, economist, Y. M. C. A. worker, geologist, ceramic engineer, army officer, educational expert, chauffeur and musician. But only 20 occupations are represented among the 72 college men being discussed in this paper: book-keeper, clerk, farmer, laborer, lawyer, dentist, doctor, cook, accountant, engineer, musician, machinist, army officer, salesman, mechanic, metallurgist, reporter, tailor, wood worker and chemist.

As far as occupation is concerned, criminals in general seem to be a very representative group-87 trades and occupations covering quite a wide range of behavior. All the living alumni of a representative college do not cover nearly so wide a range of interest. But college-trained criminals are a still more highly selected group. It will probably be of interest to note the number representing each of the 20 occupations: book-keeper 3, clerk 17, farmer 3, laborer 3, lawyer 2, dentist 1, doctor 1, accountant 5, engineer 3, musician 7, machinist 1, army officer 2, salesman 13, mechanic 2, metallurgist 1, reporter 4, tailor 1, woodworker 1, and chemist 1. The striking fact is that clerks, musicians and salesmen constitute more than half the entire number of college trained criminals. But clerks, musicians and salesmen constitute only 14 per cent. of the 850 living male alumni of Miami University. Does that mean that the graduates of Miami are