Annual Number of Deaths by Homicide in Various Cities during Nine Years—1898-1906
| 1898 | 1899 | 1900 | 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | |
| New York | 121 | 137 | 140 | 112 | 127 | 137 | 176 | 165 | 253 |
| Chicago | 77 | 108 | 102 | 92 | 108 | 142 | 130 | 185 | 187 |
| St. Louis | 78 | 81 | 74 | 109 | 82 | 80 | 82 | 87 | 63 |
| Louisville | 32 | 26 | 23 | 44 | 22 | 29 | 30 | 36 | 48 |
| Philadelphia | 22 | 18 | 16 | 28 | 32 | 46 | 40 | 37 | 62 |
| Boston | 12 | 15 | 15 | 23 | 31 | 17 | 24 | 14 | 18 |
| Cleveland | 3 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 32 | 11 | 16 | 24 | 36 |
| Baltimore | 24 | 5 | 26 | 21 | 15 | 14 | 24 | 17 | 26 |
| Indianapolis | 3 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 |
| Providence | 9 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 11 |
| Milwaukee | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 8 | ? | ? |
| Los Angeles | ? | ? | ? | ? | 12 | 9 | 11 | 24 | 20 |
| Lexington | ? | ? | ? | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Newark | ? | ? | ? | ? | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 9 |
| St. Paul | ? | ? | 1 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| San Francisco | 37 | 32 | ? | ? | 43 | 36 | ? | ? | ? |
and many other cities. If the number of homicides, in proportion to population, was much higher in 1905 and in 1906 than in 1901 and 1902, such an increase is by no means unprecedented, nor are such annual variations from the average unusual either in Chicago or elsewhere. Already in 1888, the proportion of murders to the number of inhabitants was almost as "alarming" as in 1905, and the ratio was even then higher than it was to be as late as 1903, being 8.09 in the year 1888, and but 5.88 in 1902. As late as 1904 the ratio was only 6.72. Again, while the ratio was 9.17 in 1906, it was 8.38 as far back as 1893, and 7.24 in 1886, which is just about equal to the average for the six years ending with 1906. Taking a period of thirty-five years, the increase in deaths by homicide has been as follows: For the period 1872-79 (eight years), the annual average ratio was 3.20; for the thirteen years 1880-1892, 5.55; for the fourteen years 1893-1906, 7.19 homicides per one hundred thousand of population. The maximum ratio for any one year of the three periods was, 5.00 in 1873; 8.09 in 1888, and 9.26 in 1906. Of grave crimes in general, the increase of arrests was from an annual average of 243.0 per one hundred thousand of inhabitants for the three years 1901-03, to 269.1 for the three years 1904—06, an augmentation during the latter three years of 26.1 in each 100,000 of the population. This increase consists almost entirely of arrests for assaults with a deadly weapon and for assaults with intent to kill. There has been little or no increase in the proportion of arrests for burglary and robbery.
That the increase in crimes of violence in Chicago is due to the presence of a large foreign-born element of an inferior economic and social status is amply attested by the available statistics. For instance, the police records for 1905 show that whereas the ratio of arrests per
