The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-11-17

nave not been caught In criminal acts.
1t has been suggested to me that the
school authorities be Interested enough 10
increase the number OF truancy officers
and that they should work In cooperation
With the police department ana citizens.
The police could be instructed TO take the
name and residence Of every boy under a
| certain age and report II at headquarters
ana TO the truancy OTncers- VINO would
keep accurate records ana make frequent
visits 10 the homes of offenders. When a
boy could not be controlled he should then
be sent TO the Reform School.
81 have also been considering the ques-
ton OF Juvenile day for Police Court. IN
der the plan as / look at il now the cases
OF boys would be continued until that day.
and when they appeared in court with
their parents and other witnesses l would
make an effort 10 ascertain something of
the social and moral standing of the par
ents as well as the boys. using all informa-
ton secured and made Of record in coming
10 a decision as TO what action should be
taken with that boy.
These boys seem to take a kind of pride
among their Acknowledgements in being
known as criminals. Only a few days ago
l was standing on the street at the mouth
Of an alley. / heard a number of young
steers talking. One of them surprised me
and younger than himself, BY - I'm "A
turf. I'm a real tuff. I've been 10 the
workhouse.' His listeners stood with up
raised heads, wide-open mouths and looks
of admiration on their faces.
Il don't know but what 1t is just as Ralph
Waldo Emerson said that to get at the real
NAN ~ RtCRAt " AIo ADOh abONA
and see what they were 80 years before
they were born
MR.. DALY'S OPINION.
William c. DAILY, who occupied the Po-
lice Court bench for two years previous
10 Judge Stubs, took a great interest in
the boy criminals. He was thoroughly con-
scientious. and in the interest of the boys
remained many times all afternoon at his
office to receive the parents of boy prison
ers. He was severely criticised by many
for the manner in which he permitted peo-
pie 10 run TO him after court was over TO
plead for friends and relatives, but it was
without full knowledge of what was going
the evening when other duties would not
permit his receiving parents during the
afternoon. He gave much thought to the
boy question and introduced into the Po-
ice Court practice the system of ~fOgging.
which Is now used to some extent by Judge
StuDbs. Speaking of the matter Mr.. DAILY
said:
Il found in my experience as Judge Of
the Police Court that ii was much more
difficult to bring about a right solution of
cases in which the criminals were boys
than In any other classes with which we
had to deal. Few weeks elapsed that we
did not have from five to twenty or twenty
five. boys araigned for various offenses,
their ages ranging all the way from seven
to fifteen years. and perhaps an equal per-
centage or white and cOlored. Probably
ABOUT One-lIIn OF LEem displayed some
compunction at the situation in which they
found themselves. while the remainder
gave no evidence of regret for their &C
lions and seemed to look upon their GRIM
maj achievements as something TO be proud
of.
when l adopted the plan of having the
unruly youth taken to the basement and
thoroughly logged by his father in the
presence of one or more policemen it had
a very decided beneficial effect i'm nearly
all the individual cases in which il was re-
| sorted to. am satisfied also that the gen.
eral effect was wholesome, having arrived
at this conclusion from information given
me by quite a number of parents who had
been having trouble with their boys, and
who told me that the fear of being SUBJ
Jected TO the humiliation Of a public whip
ping was operating as a very effective
check and was doing more towards re-
straining them than any other means that
had been employed.
THE boy usually came from his expert
ence in the basement thoroughly discom-
fitted, his plumes very much bedraggled
and altogether in a different frame of
mind as 10 his being a hero. | r~ecollect
especially the case of one boy who had
been several times allowed TO go on sus-
pended sentence anG was finally given a
term in jail-this being before we adopted
the whipping method-after he had served
a short time, and upon his making numer-
Gus solemn promises as to his future con-
duct, the remainder of the sentence was
suspended. L learned that as soon as he
regained his freedom he began to boast
of having been in Jail and strutted before
/ lie dulIliIlUk eyes u Ills NOuluIul OH
panicns as one whose example was to be
emulated. 1t was only a short time until
he was I'm again on another charge and he
vas one of the first upon whom we tried
the whipping process. 1t had the effect
of humiliating him very much, especially
when, as j afterwards learned. he was
greeted with jeers by the same companions
before whom he had been posing as a person
of some achievements at the time of his
release from Jail He did not appear again
in court, and inquiry developed the TACT
that he is leading an honest life and grow
ing up with good promise of a useful man
hood.
"One of the beneficial effects of the whip
ping method is that as a rule it is very
humiliating to the father also and is cal
culated TO make him keep a %stricter watch
over his boy in order that he himself may
not be again placed in a most unpleasant
situation
THE PARENTS PART.
eff the youthful offender is fined the
amount is paid by the father or mother
from a slender purse, which, in the major
ity of cases, does not contain enough to
supply the other members of the family
with the necessaries OF life, thus taking
the bread from the mouths of the other
children in order to obtain the freedom of
a graceless scamp Of a boy, who, far from
approaching the sacrifice made for him.
nearly always imagines that he has done a
smart thing. If he is sent to Jail it asso-
CldACC MN Will GlAilllIdAS anu llSIedu u
deterring him from violations of the law
very often has the effect. as in the case of
the boy / referred to. of causing him to
think that he has something to boast of.
My experience is that they care very
little for a lecture. and If allowed to go
altogether on suspended sentence. in by far
the larger number of cases they shortly re-
appear, charged with new and more serious
ofenses, however positive the promises
they had given.
'Of course. if a boy becomes thoroughly
hardened. the Reform School is the place
for him, but 1 believe corporal punishment
will save many of them from the stigma of
being committed to such an institution, and
1 am glad that Judge Stubs is pursuing
this method OF dealing with youthful Grim
inals.
Il believe that the principal cause of so
many boys finding their way to the Grim
inal courts is the utter failure of "A grea [
many parents to appreciate the solemn OBJ
legations they are under to bring up their
children in the way they should go, to
afford them right training of heart and
mind and to impress upon them the far
reaching Importance of morality and relig-
ion. So many parents appear 10 be either
entirely ignorant OF the tremendous weight
of their responsibility and of the duties
their parentage imposes upon them. or too
tndolent and careless of the welfare of their
children and of society to exert themselves
in properly guiding and watching over the
offspring intrusted 10 them. Some parents
] again. while very solicitous as to the future