Sacramento daily record-union., 1883-11-07
JUVENILE RgFoRMAroRIEs AND AIDS.

The annual report of officers of the Boys
and Girls Aid Society at San Francisco is
a suggestive document. This private So
ciety, in the year ending May 3lst, re-
ceived 34S children to its care. OF these
los came from Courts and prisons, by
legal commitment, SO directly from bad
homes, 50 were sent from the Society for
Prevention to Cruelty to Children, 81 were
"waiis," % came voluntarily to seek
shelter and kindness, and relatives brought
70. The society thus reports the disposal
of these little ones: Furnished with
homes, l73; trades and homes, IS;
shipped, 8 returned to relatives under
surveillance OF the society, 10; placed in
private institutions, "a returned for sen.
tepce, . sent to the aims house, l; died,
> sent to hospital, 2; eloped, ?; still in
charge, IS. Beeides these 34S unfortunate
ones, the society aided 276 children by
finding them proper employment. Thus it
fostered over 600 children, and improved
their condition, or cared for them till
death The officers agree that the most
freGuent and immediate cause of the chill
dren enumerated being thrown upon its
charity is drunkenness. But upon this we
cannot now pause for comment. We must
take the fact as it is. This is the work of
a single society," private Organization
and represents but very small proportion
OF the wretched children of the State. The
question that most concerns US is whether
the State, as representing our society and
civilization, is doing its duty toward
the homeless children of the
State And we speak OF the
homeless in the broadest sense. The &C.
counts that the society referred to give OF
some OF the little ones committed to its
care, or rescued from the haunts OF vice
and infamy, are pitiful in the extreme.
They show that not alone are orphans
homeless, but that those very often who
are most truly without homes are those
who have the semblsnce of homes, and
from which it is necessary to snatch them
TO prevent the most horrible cruelty, or the
bringing up of the children as criminals,
hating the world and deemiDg mankind
victims upon whom they are TO prey. It
Is admitted on all hands that as a reform
story the Industrial School at San Fran
cisco is 4 total failure-its title is mis-.
nomgr. It may as well be placed outside
Of all consideration of the question as to
whether the State has done anything for
abandoned children. a few are cared for
in church and other private asylums, and
= few mere in charity by class of quiet
working benevolent people. Our law per-
uaits the Courts to suspend sentence when
there is reason to believe that the juvenile
criminal defendant may be reformed. In
such cases the Judge may commit the child
to the care Of some private institution, the
managers of which will agree to attempt
his reformation, and if the parents of the
child cannot be made to pay for its care,
The hberality of the county is to be
strained to the extent OF S25-2nd no
more-for the care of the child for
two months, presumably on the ground
that his whole moral nature is to
be revolutionized in that period. This
Is literally all the care the State gives tOits
abandoned children, except as to such as
are received into orphan asylums under
other provisions relating to abandoned
children, and which provision it is not
necessary to now consider, as it is not
intended to relate to juvenile offenders
against the laws, with view to keeping
kbem without the contaminsting atmos'
ghere of prisons, The Aid Society re-
rerred to moves upon a totally different
,lsu irom the Industrial School. 1t is, as
N understand lit, opposed, as the Super.