The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1904-12-06

In the vital matter of taking care of
children much advantage could 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
ly a work of character building. 1t is
now generally recognized that young
boys and young girls who go wrong
should not be treated as criminals, not
1 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 adj
/ 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-
lions in washington. The hidden resi-
Dental alleys are breeding grounds Of
vice and disease and should be opened
into minor streets. For 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, espe-
cdally from preventable diseases, are
SO unduly high as to suggest that the
exceptional wholesomeness Of Wash
ington's better sections is offset by
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-
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 model for other municipalities
Is an ideal which appeals to all pa
riotic 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
Washington has no compulsory school
attendance law and that careful inQu1--
ries indicate the habitual absence from
school of some 20 per cent Of all chill
dren between the ages Of eight and
fourteen It must be evident to all who
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 di-.
rected by the board Of education.
Public Fairgrounds are necessary
| means for the development of whole
some citizenship in modern cities. 1t is
| important that the work inaugurated
here through voluntary efforts should
be taken up and extended through con-
| gressional appropriation of funds sufh-
| cient to equip and maintain numerous
convenient small Fairgrounds upon
land which can be secured without
purchase or rental. It 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
responding saving could be made by
stopping the building of streets and
leveling 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 made
Quately punished by imprisonment, for
Imprisonment may often mean nothing
to him, while it may cause hunger and
want to the wife and children who
have been the victims Of his brutality.
Probably some form Of corporal pun
ishment would be the most adequate
way Of meeting this kind Of crime.
Agriculture.
The department of agriculture has
grown into an educational institution
with a faculty of 1000 specialists
making research into all the sciences
Of production. The congress appropri-
ates, directly and indirectly, 100000
annually to carry on this work. It
reaches every state and territory in the
Union and the islands Of the sea lately
come under our flag. Cooperation is
had with the state experiment stations
and with many other institutions and
individuals. The world is carefully
searched for new varieties of grains,
fruits, grasses, vegetables, trees and
shrubs suitable to various localities in
our country, and marked benefit to our
producers has resulted
The activities of our age in lines Of
research have reached the tillers Of the
soil and inspired them with ambition
to know more of the principles that
govern the forces Of nature with which
they have to deal. Nearly half Of the
people Of this country devote their en-
ergies to growing things from the SOIL
Until recent date little has been done