Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-12-08

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b1a which the state legislatures have
for the various states. The problems
incident to our highly complex modern
industrial civilization, with It's mani
fold and perplexing tendencies both
for good and for evil, are far less
sharply accentuated in the city Of
Washington than in most other cities.
For this very reason it Is easier to deal
with the various phases of these prob.
lens in Washington, and the District
Of Columbia government should be
model for the other municipal govern-
ments of the nation in all such matters
as supervision of the housing OF tha
moor, the creation Of small parks in
the distncss inhabited by the poor, III
laws affecting labor, in laws providing
for the taking care of the children, in
truant laws and in providing schools.
In the vital matter of taking care Of
children much advantage conld be gain
ed by a careful study of what has been
accomplished in such states as Illinois
and Colorado by the juvenile courts.
The work of the juvenile court is real
~ work Of character building. 1t il
now generally recognized that young
boys and young girls who go wrong
should not be treated as criminals, not
even necessarily as needing reforma-
ton, but rather as needing to have
their characters formed, and for this
end to have them tested and developed
by system of probation. Much ad-
mirable work has been done in many
of our commemorative by earnest men
and women who have made special
study Of the needs of those classes OF
children which furnish the greatest
number Of juvenile offenders and there
fore the greatest number Of adult Of
tenders, and by their aid and by profit
ing by the experiences of the different
states and cities in these matters It
would be easy to provide good code
for the District Of Columbia.
Several considerations suggest the
need for systematic investigation In
to and improvement of housing condi-
tions in Washington. The hidden resi-
Dental alleys are breeding grounds Of
vice and disease and should be opened
into minor streets. For a number Of
years influential citizens have Joined
with the District commissioners in the
vain endeavor to secure laws permit
ting the condemnation Of insanitary
dwellings. The local death rates, espc-
cially from preyentable diseases, arc
so unduly high as to suggest that tho
exceptional wholesomeness Of WASH
ington's better sections is Offset by
bad conditions in her poorer neighbor-
hoods. A special commissioner on
housing and health conditions in the
national capital" would not only bring
| about the reformation Of existing evils,
but would also formulate an appro-
J pirate building code to protect the
/ city from mammoth brick tenements
! and other evils which threaten to de-
velop here as they have in other cities.
That the nations capital should be
made a model for other municipalities
I is an ideal which appeals to all pa
,triotic citizens everywhere, and such
"a special commission might map out
and organize the city's future devel-
\ opment In lines of civic social service,
| just as Major L'Enfant and the recent
! park commission planned the arrange
| ment of her streets and parks.
| 1t is notifying to remember that
siWashington has no compulsory school
/ attendance law and that careful inqui-
/ rics indicate the habitual absence from
school of some 20 per cent Of all chill
dren between the ages of eight and
I l. 4, %,H 4, ~
consider the problems of neglected
| child life or the benefits of compulsory
education in other cities that one OF
the most urgent needs of the national
capital is a law requiring the school
! attendance Of all children, this law to
/ be enforced by attendance agents de
rected by the board of education.
/ Public Fairgrounds are necessary
means for tile development of whole
some citizenship in modern cities. 1t is
important that the work inaugurated
here through voluntary efforts should
4 be taken up and extended through con-
4 gressional appropriation of funds sufi-
Gent to equip and maintain numerous
convenient small Fairgrounds upon
land Which can be secured without
purchase or rental. 1t is also desirable
that small vacant places be purchased
and reserved as small park play.
grounds in densely settled sections OF
the city which now have no public
open spaces and are destined soon to
be built up solidly. All these needs
should be met Immediately. To meet
them would entail expenses, but cor.
J responding saving could be made by
stopping the building Of streets and
leveing of ground for purposes largely
speculative in outlying parts of the city
There are certain offenders whose
criminality takes the shape of brutal
ity and cruelty toward the weak who
need a special type Of punishment. THE
wife beater, for example, is in.~e
quately punished by Imprisonment fol
imprisonment may often mean nothing
to him, while it may cause hunger and