The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1903-11-19
OFFICERS ELECTED
FOR ANOTHER YEAR
Interesting Addresses at Yes
terday's Sessions
OF KANSAS ASSOCIATION
Next Meeting Place Is Leaven-
worth.
OF KANSAS ASSOCIATION

The session of the Kansas Conference
Of Charities and Corrections was held
yesterday and was a most interesting
one. At the morning session Rev. o. S.
Morrow, superintendent Of the Kansas
Childrens Home society, of Topeka. gave
a very fine address on the Care of De-
pendent Children by Private Charities"
Rev. NJ f. McKirahan of Topeka gave
an address on Dependent Children in
State Institutions \ lively discussion
followed these addresses.
Mrs Larkin, of the board of directors
OF the Chldren's Home of This city, read
q very interesting paper
The afternoon session was opened with
a vocal solo by Mrs. Florence Howard
Gerties. with Mrs. Gail as accompanist,
which was most thoroughly enjoyed by
everyone present.
Rev. L. a. Fredenhagen, A. NJ, general
superintendent of the Kansas Society for
the Friendless, Topeka, was first on the
program His subject was THE Pre-
vention of Crime Through a State Or
ganization." He said: Crime has been
defined as the breaking of civil law.
This IS not deep enough; crime is really
the violation OF the rights of others.
Why should we have a state organization
for the prevention of crime? Because
the sources of crime are state wide. Sci
entifcally classified the sources are,
heredity and environment Environment,
j believe, is the greater source; it in
&c hpf
it becomes individual and therefore. en-
vironmental before hereditary. Good en-
vironment overcomes heredity and will,
in time, eradicate it. Environment may
be analysed as home, school, church and
community And criminal tendencies al
ways arise through the failure of one OF
these fundamental institutions to do
their work We find crime everywhere;
it is statewide. it is universal. And the
agencies for its suppression are also
statewide and universal. How shall we
prevent crime? Our propaganda is the
popular education, teaching of the peo-
pie in the communities which are above
the crime line. and by bureaus OF per
sonal service in the communities which
are below The crime line; by workers
who will so down into these slums and
live with the people ana by their Chris
tian example and influence elevate their
surroundings
Legal methods for the prevention Of
crime are of Che strongest. They are
the truancy law, curfew ordinance, child
labor law. probation law; first the sus-
pension of sentence and by The proba-
ton of juvenile delinquents. The latter
being the best of these two methods gives
the first offenders another chance before
plighting their lives with a prison sen
tence Fear of the prison does more to
crime than imprisonment itself. Rescue
from crime. rather than punishment for
It, is the best plan
Following Mr.. Fredenhagen's address 4
paper written by Mrs. Ella Glenn Shields,
police matron, was read by Mrs. Ford
ham. The subject was the Prevention
of Crime Through Local Police Depart
mcnts." Mrs. Shields said:
However we may al differ in regard
to methods and systems, in the treatment
of criminals all are agreed it IS better
70 prevent crime than to try to cure IT.
Whether we look at it from the stand
point of the sinner or the sinned against,
This is true.
The protection OF society is best Sc
cured by extirpatins criminality rather
than the criminal; by removing the con-
dition rather than the offender 1t has
been demonstrated over and over again
that Imprisonment is not always the best
method of dealing with the offender
The statistics of crimiuolosy will show
that punishment of individuals is not a
successful method Of preventing crime
The penitentiaries and jails are as crowd
ed today, after decades of precept and
example OF punishment by long terms Of
imprisonment. as they ever We're.
THE saying that the hope of the ma
ton IS in its young men has been changed
TO read the hope OF the reformer is in
the children
In al the congresses leading TO the
uplifting of morality, the chief topics
are juvenile courts. child labor. truancy
and the probation system. The great ma
1ority of first offenders against the law
are not criminals in purpose. and would
never become habituaI criminals. if So
ciety would adopt the right method Of
dealing whit them.
Many times after an arrest fer a first
ofrense it requires constant vigilance OF
the local ponce 10 SuaIu tiie young "iAeHNc
from further temptation until he has a
chance 10 get a new foothold in life that
saves him. know two young men today
paroled from the refornatory that would
have surely been returned long ago but
FOR the watchful care and interest Of one
officer Temptation has come 10 them.
but the friendship and announcement Of
this one man and the desire 20 meet his
appreciation and deserve his confidence
has been the means Of saving them from
a return 10 the institution But as I said
before. the law falls far short in providing
for the redemption Of the Young criminal
or the local police could accomplish much
more than they do