The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-05-25
REFORMS URGED
To AID CHILDREN
More Laws Are Deemed NeCeS.
sary By Mothers Congress.
CITY JAIL is DENOUNCED
F. B. STEPHENS SPEAKS FOR
FATHERs-oTHER ADDRESSES.


close last night with a session at
which vivid pictures Of needed
| reforms in the realm of childhood were
drawn, and earnest appeals were made
for improvement The sale of intoxi-
cants to minors at drug stores and
soda fountains was depicted in all its
| details, The inadequate means Of
caring for child criminals and the con-
ditiOn Of the Salt Lake City Jail. where
children are incarcerated with old and
hardened criminals, were described
and denounced. The lack of adequate
| laws governing the realm of childhood
was described, and resolutions were
/ adopted to call upon the legislature to
! enact reforms along these lines.
At the morning session, reports were
| received and officers elected. In the
| afternoon the social life of the child
/ amusements and class work, and the
parts each played in the after life Of
/ the youth, were discussed.
The following officers were elected
| for the coming year:
1 Mrs. Emily S. Richards, president.
Mrs. f. F. Shepard, first vice
| president
Mrs. selden I. Clawson, second vice
/ president
! Mrs. William NJ. Stewart, secretary.
Mrs. Schiller. treasurer.
! The evening session was one at which
/ the fathers had a say, and it was a
most interesting and decisive say, too.
| The city fathers were scored as well
| as the fathers of each and every boy
! whose sins should be visited on the
/ heads Of his ancestors, and it was a
| father. a real father, who did the
] scoring. No theories of old maids as
/ to the rearing of children were ad-
vanced, but a practical talk on the
| needs of the system of legislation was
given.
Speech by F. B. Stephens.
The meeting was presided over by
/ Superintendent of Schools D. H. Chris
/ Jensen, who, in a brief speech COM
mending the work of the Mothers
! Congress, introduced Frank B. Steph-
ems. Mr.. Stephens talk was divided
into two heads. both coming under the
| question Of reformation. Enforcement
( of Laws and Needed Legislation"
TOO. little attention is given to the
requirements of children" he said "al-
though they form thTee-dfths of our
/ population. Anyone coming from an
other planet and viewing our ma
chinery, our homes, or our business
cepters would think we made no pro-
vision for them. Only about twelve
pages Of our laws. exclusive of the
school laws, relate to children. Many
Of these laws are dead letters. The
law against the sale of intoxicants to
! minors is not often violated, but that
against the sale of tobacco is practical
/ ly useless. The curfew law is not en-
! forced. When We want TO have these
/ enforced they viii be. If 500 persons
in this city should determine to have
them enforced they could do so.
Drug Stores Are Scored.
when I say the sale Of intoxicants
to minors is not carried on. mean in
/ the saloons, l do not mean to pass
the subject of the same sale in drug
stores. Last summer the demand for
Intoxicating drinks was so great that
one or more of our drug stores took
cut saloon licenses. When a drug store
takes out a saloon license, it should be
a saloon 1t should be subjected to the
laws governing saloons and women
[ should be'eXciuded. Last summer moth
ers complained that their girls came
home intoxicated. In many of these
places intoXicants are sold under fancy
names when the young girls do not
know what they are drinking"
Mr.. Stephens outlined briefly some oil
the laws be said were needed, amone
which were those providing for houses
Of detention for Juvenile offenders, {
separate industrial school for girls
schools for unfoTtUnates not needing
the reform school, some punishment
for the buyers of intoxicants as we'll a:
the sellers and a press censorship for
bidding the publication of certain ad
Vertisements and details in crimina
cases.
Exposes Jail Conditions.
Speaking of the city Jail, where boys
and girls who are committed are kept
he said.
I would had the language Of
Burke, the satire of Swift. the elo
quence Of an. Ingersoll that l nigh
j describe to you the condition of TIL
city Jail as I have seen it. No descrip
ton of the dungeons in Hugo's work.
/ could be worse. Into this place, vii
and unwholesome. in company witt
depraved women. the most abandonet
classes are put the child criminals o
either sex. 1 blame no administra
ton. The same conditions existed un
der the Mormon. Liberal. DemOcrat I'll
and Republican administrations. I an
told that the Jail has been condemne,
nfty-siX times. Every grand jury 70
years has condemned it. If the PEG
! pie in this building would wall
through that place we would have
new jail. If the members of the cit
council and a few OF our prOminen
. citizens were compelled by law to re
, main there only few hours we woul
b D a nav 10 70
city property would build us one.
Children wouldn't die the way the
, do if we loved them as we should
. More than one-third of the deaths ar
) OF children under years. II our Go
nestle animals were dying as our chill
/ dren arc the government would apprO
pirate millions Of dollars to prevent it.
, Mrs. Schoff made a brief talk on tn
: need of parents forming clubs in tn
schools, and added a word of con-
/ mendatiOn and endorsement for q
z that Mr.. Stephens had said.
I, Petitions For Legislation.
At the close Of Mrs. Schons tai
, resolutions were passed petitioning tn
legislature and the city councils /
} cities Of the first and secOnd-class [
r Introduce manual training in the publ
{ schools, and to employ kindergarte
teachers for the beginners grade;
T ! provide for a separate trial for juvenil
, Offenders TO establish homes Of deter
ton for juveniles awaiting trial. an
[ authorize the appointment by the Nc
, Tiers congress of two or more Droba
e / tionary officers who shall have charg
Of such offenders. For the carrying on
Of these resolutions, the following com
} / mittee was appointed: Professor Wi
- liam ". Stewart. Mrs. MCVicker, Mis-
e Mary May and Superintendent d. 1
r Christensen. Salt Lake: Professo
/. MOench of Ogden. Professor Kerr
{ Logan, Mrs. Lucy A. Clark Of Farm
ingtOn. Mrs. Ida Smoot Dusenberry {