In the American Jungle by Waldo David Frank

So it has come to this. They're advertising for the crook and the yegg. The first practical sign of the uplift was in the modest little placards which blossomed out some time ago in the "L" stations: they reminded prospective robbers of ticket offices that, _if they were caught_, they'd get from six to seven years. The suggestion, of course, was: not to be caught, and doubtless some few courageous men were thereby inspired to do better work. But now there are to be flamboyant posters-every bit as good as the old ones which urged us to Buy Liberty Bonds, to Save Sugar, to Save the World from the Kaiser. These new works of democratic art speak out to all whom they concern: "You CAN'T win. Ships Don't Sail Beyond the Arm of the Law. " Or, "You CAN'T win. You Have to Get All the Breaks. One Little Slip Means Sing Sing."

It is fair to assume that these exhortations are not addressed to the little girl who works all day in a milliner's shop; nor even to the plumber riding home from his pipes. There must be a criminal class, large and plebeian enough to use the streetcars, to whom these advertisements are devoted and whom they are aimed to improve. This is highly significant as perhaps the final proof that we are a democracy. I feel, however, that much good material is neglected by not putting the posters also in the taxis.