The age-herald., 1900-10-30
WoMAAn0 A0c,rrv
Mrs. Ballard Discusses
 the CurteW Ordinance

| Curfew ordinance in Birmingham should | meet with that encouragement and sym l pathy that the earnest women in many oth-
 CT cities have enlisted in this work, and 1 there is every reason to believe that when
 the petition Is presented to the City Coun- l cil that the strongest influences will be 1 brought to bear for it's adoption. The com l mittee, of which Mrs. A. N Ballard is
 chairman, is fully Investigating the results | of the Curfew law in other cities, and Is | prepared to present the statistics that show | a steady decrease in arrests among boys | where the Curew has become a law. The | reports and testimonies of the municipal | authorities in other cities go to prove that | where the Curfew ordinance is enforced | that it has lessened crime among children | from 50 to 80 per cent According to a re- | cent official report more than 700 cities and | towns in the United States have adopted | the Curfew law, and the report gives as a l result 80 per cent. decrease in arrests. An | investigation of the question emphasizes | the need of it's serious consideration, since | it touches directly upon the most important | social problem with which a city must deal | Official reports show an appalling number
 of boys and girls whose names swell the
 criminal records, and those persons who | have had any experience with criminal
 classes declare that the first wrong step | can be traced to the evil stories and sug- | gestions heard while lettering in the city | streets at night Aside, too, from this elo- | quent plea for Curfew ordinance, is the | question of rest, early sleep and moral 1 teaching so essential TOT the young, and 1 Which contact with street life utterly pre- l cludes.
 Alter thorough investigation of the sub tf.,n
 mans Christian Temperance Union has | framed the following ordinance, which will
 later be presented to the Council
 T. Be 1t ordained by the City Council,
 That 1t shall be unlawful for any child | or children under the age of 16 years to | be lettering on the streets or elsewhere l out of doors in this city in the night l season alter the hour of o'clock D. m. l unless accompanied by parents other adult guardian, or bearing newly writ ten, signed and dated statement from | such parent or guardian that he Is on an emergency errand.
 | 2. Any child so found after the time appointed shall be liable to be warned | by any constable or peace officer to go | home, and if, after such warning, the child shall be found lettering on the l streets, such child may be taken by such l constable to its home.
 | g. Any parent or guardian may be summoned for permitting his child to I ing been warned in writing and may be fined for the first offense $1 without I costs, and for the second offense $2, and for the third any subsequent offense | $5." This petition will not be presented until the question has been sufficiently agitated | for public sentiment to be strong for it's | adoption. The women who are at the head l Of Bereavement are bringing 1t to the at l tenuon of the leading citizens, and the aln Nf t1A af+
 use their influence for the passage of the
 ordinance. The newspapers are discussing | it most favorably and the general opinion 1 indicates desire that a curfew ordinance | be enforced in Birmingham
 In discussing the advantage of the curfew l law with Mrs. Ballard yesterday, she re- | called the statements of the municipal au- | thoritieS of other states.
 | Mayor Graham of Lincoln, Neb., she l said states that the results of the ordi- | nance in reducing crime were a complete l surprise There has been decided inn | provement, socially and morally of the | youth, and a pecuniary saving from the | decrease of 75 per cent in the arrests of | youths, similar testimony coming from
 many other cities that have tested the cur | few law.
 Mrs. Ballard recalled the action of the
 sheriffs of the United States in their con-
 Vention at Denver in adopting a resolution
 that urged the city councils of all cities to l enact ana enforce the curfeW ordinance l with as much promptness possible.
 In his report for 1898 State Superintendent
 Skinner of New York says that the result
 o1 the curfew law has been a decrease of
 from Otto 75 per cent. in the number of ar
 rests of children for crime. Teachers re- l port that boys who formerly were behind | in their studies, by reason of late hours | on the street, are more punctual and reg
 ular and keep up with their school work.
 I44s report also shows that there has been | a reduction of from 50 to 100 per cent in | commitments of youths to reform schools. | A recent discussion of the curfew law by | Prof. l. G. Kreage, superintendent of the | public schools of Green Bay, Wis, which
 was sent Mrs. Ballard deals not only
 with the possibilities of reforms, but also
 touches upon the difficulties that all re-
 forms encounter.
 | "I am aware" he writes, that when
 step of this sort is advocated, there will
 be some opposition. No reform of social
 conditions was ever carried out unattended
 with difficulties and opposition. Money is
 freely appropriated to build and maintain
 poor houses, reformatories and prisons,
 but we meet much apathy and even oppo- | sition if we suggest a measure whereby
 their necessity is lessened and their ex- l pense greatly reduced.
 | Alany who approve laws forbidding child
 labor in factories or compelling parents to
 send children to school oppose a curfew
 law because 1t is paternaliStic. Instead of
 interfering with any inherent right of
 parents, the curfew assists parents in dis
 charging their duty to their children and
 the community, and it does this most ef- l fectually when children get beyond home ! control. The parent who properly looks
 after his child puts strict limits his | liberty at night, and Is not inconvenienced 1 by the curfew. But if the parents so
 indifferent to their childrenfs welfare as
 to let them wander at will at night, then
 the duty of watching over them is not as-
 sumed by but thrust on the city. The
 curfew interferes with the wishes of only
 those parents who ignore their duty. Leg l islation is always necessary to restrain
 and punish those whose conduct endan- l gers the general welfare"
 1 Mrs. Ballard, Mrs. Spencer, Mrs. Jeffres l and Mrs. Weisel are making every effort
 to enlist the cooperation of every citizen
 in Birmingham, for they fully realize that