The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-12-06
ROOSEVELT IN MESSAGE: TO CONGRESS

MI
fo r. TO show happy go-lucky lack
Of concern Tor the youth Of today; for,
II SO, the community will have to pay
q terrible penalty of financial burden
ana social degradation in the tomorrow.
ihere should be severe child-labor and
Iacgory-lnspection laws. It is very de-
slrable that married women should not
the man is to work, to be the breadwin-
ner; the prime duty Of the woman is to
pc the mother, the housewife. All ques-
lions OF tariff and finance sink into utter
1ns1gn1t1cance when compared with the
tremendous, the vital Importance of
trying TO shape conditions SO that these
TWO duties OF the man and of the woman
can be fulfilled under reasonably favor
able circumstances. If a race does not
have plenty of children, or if the chill
dren do not grow up, or If when they
grow up they are unhealthy In body
and stunted or vicious in mind, then that
race is decadent, and no heaping up of
wealth, no splendor Of momentary ma
terlal prosperity, can avail in any de-
gree as Offsets.
The congress has the same power of
legislation for the District of Columbia
which the state legislatures have for the
various states. The problems incident
to our highly complex modern industrial
civilization, with it's manifold and per-
picking tendencies both for good and for
evil. are far less sharply accumulated
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 problems in Washington, and the
District Of Columbia government should
be model for the other municipal
matters as supervision of the housing
Of the poor, the creation Of small parks
in the districts inhabited by the poor,
in laws affecting labor, in laws provld-
ing for the taking care Of the children,
in truant laws, and in providing schools.
-....-. Care of Children.
In the vital matter of taking care of
children, much advantage could be
been accomplished in such states as
Illinois and Colorado by the juvenile
courts. The work of the juvenile court
is really a work of character building.
It is now generally recognized that
young boys and young girls who go
wrong should not be treated as GRIM
mails, not. even necessarily. as needing
reformation, but rather as needing to
have their characters formed, and for
this end to have them tested and de-
veloped by a system Of probation.
Much admirable work has been done
in many of our commonwealths by ear
nest men and women who have made
a special study of the needs of those
classes of children which furnish the
greatest number of juvenile offenders
and therefore the greatest number OF
by profting by the experiences of the
different states and cities in these mat
ters, it would be easy to provide gooc
code for the District Of Columbia.
.5.~; Probe Housing Conditions. IT,. -.
Several considerations suggest thu
need for a systematic 3 investigation
into and Improvement 2of housing. con
ditions in Washington: The bidder
of vice and disease, and should: b.
opened into minor streets. For mum
Der of years influential citizens : hav'
Joined with the district commissioner
in the vain endeavorl to secure law
permitting the condemnation Of insani
tary dwellings,. The local death rates
especially from preventable: diseases
are so unduly nigh as to suggest IT. th "a
1.-THE exceptional wholesomeness Of Wash
ington 8 better sections is offset by ba'
conditions in her poorer neigh ht, orhoodcs
hea sRfel eondtiona 81 national G cap
tal'' would not only bring about til
reformation of existing evils, .bu
would also formulate an appropriat
mammoth brick tenements and othe
| evils which threaten to: develop her
as they have in other cities.
That the nation s capital should b
|. made a model for other municipalitie
: is an ideal which appeals to all patri
otto citizens everywhere, and such
special commission might map out an
organize the city's future development
; in lines of civic social service, just a
| Major L 'Enfant and the recent par
commission planned the arrangement 0
5 her. streets and parks. .-5 .5...-
; Flaw in School Laws. 90. {
: It is mortifying to- remember tina
l Washington has no compulsory .scho(
attendance law and that careful il
t quiries indicate the. ,habitual absenc
: children between the ages of 8 and L
r It must be evident to all who conside
= the problems of neglected child life {
: the benefits of compulsory education /
other cities, that one Of the most urgen
needs of the national capital is la
requiring the SCnOOl attendance OIL d
children, this law to be enforced b
n attendance agents directed by the boar
of education. 49,
Public Fairgrounds are necessa1
q means for the development of who'll
. some citizenship in modern cities.
/, is important that the work inaugurate
q here thru voluntary efforts should
:. taken up. and extended thru congre
: sional appropriation of funds suffcie1
; to equip and maintain numerous col
; venient small Fairgrounds upon Ian
;, which can be secured without purchas
u or rental. It is also desirable thu
. small vacant places be purchased an
Il reserved as small-park Fairgrounds
\ densely settled sections. Of the cit
which now have no public open space
e and are destined soon to be built I
J solidly. All these needs should be M
8 imme diately. To meet them would e.
/ tail expenses; but a corresponding sa
;. ing could be made by stopping tt
q building of streets and leveling {
q ground for purposes largely speculatiN
q in outlying parts Of the city.
/ There are certain offenders who
criminality takes the shape of brutal
o ty and cruelty towards the weak, wi
l. need special type of, punishment. TT
IS wife-beater, for example, is inadequat
: ly punished by Imprisonment; for IL
n prisonment may often mean nothing
v him, while it may cause hunger al
It want to the wife and children who ha!
RI hoon tho uiotiroo If hio a 1itu Pro