Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1899-11-10
Youthful Lawbreakers.

Oregon seem to have been specially
cursed 10y the fiends who ostensiblv
essaYcd to do their worst in celebrat-
ing the anniversary Of one of the most
ill-favorcd saints days in all the
church calendar.
Police interference had to be re-
sorted to in Portland, and in one OF
the suburbs OF that city, little be-
yond the immediate jurisdiction OF the
night force, gentleman was driven to
extremity of protecting his gates and
fences 10y standing guard over them
with a loaded shotgun.
The next morning a score or more
OF young scapegraces were marched
from police headquarters into the
courtroom To answer to such charges
as stoning front doors, throwing clubs
through display windows, overturning
vehicles and stealing every movable
article of value that came in their way.
The Oreqonian publishes a timely
warning to the parents and guardians
OF boys and girls still too young to be
aloof from home control. The follow
ing short extract from this editorial
may be profitably read and pondered
by the parents of some Olympia BOYS
and girls:
The chief business of Halloween in
these days, whatever may have been its
mission in times past, seems to be to
draw aside the curtain from parental
neglect and let it stand in shameless
nakedness before the community. The
spectacle presented by "gang" of
from so to 100 boys, ranging in age from
l3 to 10 years, whooping along the
streets, breaking windows with rocks
and clubs, tearing off pickets from
fences, Infringing gates, overturnng
outhouses, scattering cordwood, ETC.,
under the fiimsy cover of d" Halloween"
is one to arouse the honest Indignation
OF orderly citizens and impeach the pa
rents OF the d:sorderly and wantonly de.
structive lads for nlafeasance in the pa
rental office 1t should 1t be difficult
certainly it should not be impossible-to
teach boys that there is a point where
legitimate fun ceases and malicious mis-
chief begins; yet it is clear that MANY
boys have not been taught by their pa
rents the simplest preliminaries of this
needful lesson. Otherwise the scene of
bowling mob of boys, DESTROYING prop
erty on Weidler street, Tuesday even
ing, followed by the arraignment of
number of the young scapegraces in the
municipal court Thursday on charge of
malicious destruction of property, would
not have been presented to an unappre-
ciative public.
The same report comes from Seat
tic. The patrol wagon on the night
and succeeding morning was loaded
with youthful violators of propriety
and in many cases the letter and
spirit OF the law.
The old folklore saying. "Boys will
be boys" has become hopelessly effete
Properly construed to-day, it would
run, Boys will be criminals"
1t is a subject of common remark
by thoughtful Olympians that our
curfew regulation has ceased to be
operative for good results; that in
point of fact it is a dead-letter, save
only in the monotonous ringing of the
nine o'clock bell. The most ready &C.
cusation at hand for everybody is, of
course, to lay the whole blame upon
our police force. Without reasonable
qualification, such hasty conclusion
is about rs great an injustice as it is q
mistake. Reason and argue as we
may, We cannot escape the conclusion
that lack of home discipline and utter
disregard of parental authority, is,
after all, the root.sin of omission and
the producing cause of all the evils in
question. That children OF both sexes
loiter upon our streets long after the
ringing OF the "curfew" bell, is mat
ter OF the commonest observation; u
fact, indeed, SO common as to excite
no longer any attention or remark
among our adult population with
whom such children freely and boldly
mingle. And yet, the police them
selves are by no means scott free from
blame in these matters. 1t is FORE
gone conclusion that they have had
ample opportunity of making ex-
amples of many violators of the cur
few ordinance.
Thus, then, the queries come unbid.
den, why have they not done this?
Why do they not do it now, when ripe
occasions present themselves about
every evening in the week? Why did
they not exercise the authority given
them by our city officers and arrest
the young boys and girls who went
rowdying through our streets long
after the big bell had pealed forth its
warning, on Tuesday night of last
week? In word, let US have only so
much as one righteous example of the
good fruits OF our curfew regulation,
and the people will cease their COM
plants. Be it rich mems sons or the
veriest gamins who are next found on
the street without proper authority
after the critical moment, let them be
picked up and dealt with according to
the strictest letter of the law, and we
will all shout "Amcnl" with o tiger
for refrain.
A LARGE detachment of marines has
left England for Esquimalt to man
the strongest British station in the
Pacific ocean. Great Britain has been