The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-04-27
THE NEW CURFEW Law
To Keep Boys and Girls Off the
Street
HAS FRIENDS AND ALSO ENEMIES.

Capt Waters says There'u Soon be n
Law Suppressing Hot Saleratus
BiscuIts-Judge Guthrie Endorses
the Ordinance.
The city councils ordinance to keep
children under IS years of age of the
streets of Topeka after p. M, s'the
save-the- children ordnance as it is
called, is provoking some adverse critic
ism and also some favorable comment on
the streets.
The lawyers, whose profession IL Ia to
wrestle with questions involving legality
and constitutionality agree that the ''child
saving" ordinance is not backed by the
law. They say that the city council has
no right to legislate outside of the juris-
diction given it by the city charter; and
the charter says nothing about keeping
children indoors after o'clock.
JOURNAL reporter talked to num-
Der of citizens about the ordinance today
and the following were among the opin-
ions he was given:
G.. G. Clemens-.A child under Is
years of age is just as much citizen of
the republic as one over 21. The SUI
preme court of Illinois knocked out the
state reformatory on this very PROPOSE
ton, and the chief justice held in hand
ing down his decision that person .un-
der 10 had the same legal rights and
no getting around the fact that boys IL,
IA or is years old can go on the streets
whenever they want, if their older BROTH
ers can. If the police can keep boys of
the street, they could enforce law to
keep all persons under 90 years of age
off Kansas avenue after supper time"
Joseph G. Waters said-'sIt is humbug;
there are not enough of poor parents or
bad children in the city to justify such
measure. 1t is worthy of the witehcraft
days in Salem. But I don't care. Let
them follow it up with prohibiting Sun
day journeying and eating hot saleratus
biscuits"
Superintendent William Davidson-"I
live in part of town where we are not
troubled much with bad boys. have no
doubt though that there are p@rts of town
where the eighbors need just such pro-
lection. Perhaps the policemen need
protection. In Chicago once l watched
crowd of about forty boys guy police
man until life to him was burden. Per-
haps this is the reason the police asked
for the ordinance. l imagine there are
some boys it would be we'll to keep at
home after o'clock"
W. A. S. Bird-"I doubt the legality of
the ordinance, because L can't see where
it is backed by any state law or cOnstitu-
tional provision The only people the
police have right to keep off the streets
are disreputable persons. If the ordin-
ance is going to be enforced at all 1
would like to see it apply to about half
the male population in town, and not let
more than five men be in any one block
on Kansas avenue after 10 o'clock"
s. b. Isenhart-"If the ordinance can
be enforced. the police can keep any
man or woman off the avenue; and if
they can do that they can Danish a man
from the state for term of years. The
car of Russia is the only person who
could enforce such a regulation at that
As l understand it the ordinance does
not make any exception in the case of
children accompanied by their parents
1t won't be safe to wheel baby carriage
up town after supper. The police may
arrest the. baby and confiscate the car
riage. and fine the parents. 1t will
amuse me to see how high the ordinance
will be knocked, if any effort is ever
made to enforce it's
Joseph Reed observed: "If had boy
16 years old that wasn't capable of
taking care of himself after dark
would disown him. Such a boy isn't
worth the clothes on his back when he
is in swimming. If they can keep boys
under 10 years old off the street they can
make it apply to anybody under the age
of Methuselah."
Judge John Guthrie: 81 haven't given
the legality of the ordinance any thought.
but don't know but that the spirit of
the ordinance is commendable. The
boys are going to run the nation and we
don't want them to become rowdIes or
hoodlums. If the parents haven't got
sense enough to keep them off the street
the police ought to-