New-York tribune., 1900-07-15
INFLUENCES ON BOY LIFE.
JAMES B. REYNOLDS ON CAUSES OF
CRIMINAL TENDENCIES IN
THE SLUMS.
THE SLUMS.


ties Building by James B, Reynolds, head
worker at the University Settlement:
The influences which work for good or Ill IN
the career of the average boy are three1oIo'
First, heredity, the influence of birth; second.
the tendencies of human nature, or the psyche
logical influence; third, the influence or en-
virOnment, that which arises from social con-
ditions.
"Heredity determines the boys character at
the start If the parent bequeathes to him an
inheritance Of fair physical, mental and moral
qualities he has a fair chance to achieve good
character and there is a fair possibility that he
will respond to good influences The criminal
traits or tendencies in parents however fire.
Queutly bequeath similar traits to the child The
low forehead, the fiat ear, and other signs Of
the brutal type stamp the mark of Cain on the
child at it's birth. OF such it may be said as
Bishop South remarked, that they are not born
but condemned into the world
The ordinary nature of the boy will predispose
him to crime under certain conditions and 20
good conduct under other conditions For in
stance boys are by nature venturesome, cour-
ageous and active. To repress those tendencies
Is to encourage crime. Firm leadership which
will control at the same time that it directs and
offers a chance for the expression of these at
tributes, should be the line of procedure. SO far
as possible We should remove the temptation to
deceive merely IN the spirit OF DTdNduo anu
venturesomeness. Hence, in managing boys
clubs self government rather than the control
of some outside authority has been shown to
encourage responsibility at the same time that
it removes the temptation to deceive the teacher
director.
II want to mention another source OF criminal
influence 1t is considered subtle and mysteri-
ous, and while we have guessed much, know
little of its real power. Yet l believe that it is
to be named and studied, and that any attempt
to reckon with forces which make for crime
would be incomplete without It, l mean that
peculiar influence which is sometimes called
personal magnetism and sometimes 'hyp-
notism How far person can control an
other by sheer force Of viii or ly ovcrpowcr-
ing charm do not know, but We know that
the power exists. The moral problem which
arises in crmnology from the extent OF this
subtle power is then, Can the will Of one we'll
intentioned be 80 far controlled by one with
criminal intent that he may be forced to do that
against which his conscience rebels?
THE EYRAUD-BoMPARD CASE.
''The classic illustration on this point is the
famous OF Eyraud and Gabriel Rompard.
I in Paris when the case was tried. The
public prosecutor NJ. Reaurepaire, conducted
the prosecution. The guilt Of both the man and
the woman, who had a share in the murder.
easily established. 1t became evident that the
would be guillotined and there only
the uncertainty as to whether the woman would
suffer the same fate The claim was made in
her defence that she had been under the hyp-
motto Influence Of the man and had been
willing complice. but that she did not share in
the actual deed Of murder. To prove the claim,
the woman was put in hypnotic state, and,
while in that state, she was made to go through
the act Of numbering her victim. She placed the
cord about his neck and tied the knot but when
told to draw the knot and strange the victim
while under the control Of the hypnotist
she refused absolutely to act.
'1TEe contention was made by the hypnotists Of
the Nancy school that this experiment proved.
first, the contention of the Wouan's counsel
that she was the victim of the man. and second
that it established the general principle that
even in the hypnotic state cannot bc forced
to do deed repugnant to ones conscience The
was subsequently much discussed In
France At the moment it served to save the
womans life. The same question will certainly
be raised with equal seriousness in this country
before long. and bound to admit and to
understand the operation of the subtle force OF
personal magnetism and hypnotic control to a
greater or less degree.
Il remember when first coming to the Uni
versity Settlement found that the smallest
boys club at the settlement. consisting of boys
from eight O wears of age. had for Uresi-