The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-04-01
JUVENILE COURT
FOR SAVANNAH
MOVEMENT BEING AGITATED
no ESTABLISH COURT To TRY
YOUTHFUL CRIMINALS.

the Rescue Mission, Has InauEu-
rated the Movement and Judge
Lindsay, of Denver, WIN he Asked
to Come TO Savannah TO Assist.
County Commissioners VIII BE
Asked to Assist in Establishing "A
County ReformatOry.
An effort will be made TO have the
city of Savannah establish juvenile
court for the trial of youthful crimi-
nails.
The movement is headed by Mrs.
Richard. Webb, president of the Work
ing Peoples Home and Rescue Mis-
sion, and state superintendent of Penal
Work for the W. c. T. L. The County
Commissioners will also be asked TO
assist in the establishment of a re-
formatory for the youthful criminals.
Judge b. B. Lindsay, of Denver, Col,
who worked for the establishment Of
a Juvenile court in Atlanta, has been
asked to come to Savannah and begin
the agitation looking towards the es-
tablishment of such a court. Judge
Lindsay has for years devoted his gifts
and energies to the study, and the best
practical methods of dealing with the
young law-breakers.
Judge Lindsay is president of the
National Association of Charities and
Corrections, and is said to have contrib
nted several thousand dollars to-
ward the establishment of juvenile
courts in the different cities through
out the United States. He issues an
annual report which shows that under
the Juvenile court system less than 3
per cent. of the youthful criminals that
are brought before the court are ar
rested on a second charge.
Wants Reform school Established.
Mrs. Webb will apply to City Council
TO provide for a separate hour for the
trial of youthful criminals in the City
Court, and will request the County
Commissioners to assist in building a
house on the county farm that can be
used as a reformatory. 1t is her idea
that a white man and wife be en-
plOyed to take charge of this reform
atory and that the youthful criminals
be sent to the reformatory instead of
being given jail or work-house sem
fences. She believes this plan would
be the means of saving many boys
from lives of sin.
II the reformatory is established ar
rangements will be made to give the
inmates instruction for several hours |
each day, and religious services will be |
held on Sundays. Mrs. Webb says if |
the County Commissioners will adopt |
this system. and separate the youthful |
law breakers from the hardened erimi- |
nails 1t Will have the tendency of caus- |
ing the great majority of these young |
wrong-dOers to reform and make bet
ter men.
The matter will be taken up and the |
w. c. T. u. viii lead in the movement |
to have the Juvenile court and the re-
formatory established. Mrs. Webb |
cites the case of young Edward /
Sickles, IA years old, who is now serv-
ing a sentence of six months in the
county Jail, and a 16-year-old boy
named Kelly, who was recently sent
to the changing by Judge Norwood
for the larceny of a boat. She be-
lteves if these two boys were in a re-
formatory, where they would not come
in contact with the hardened crimi-
mails, there would be some chance to
reform them and cause them to make
good citizens.
Judge Lindsay's Plan.
Judge Lindsay visited Atlanta last
May and started the agitation for the
Juvenile court. In a communication
from Judge Lindsay, which Mrs Webb |
has received, he says.
THE juvenile law, when properly I'M
derstood, is simply an effort on the |
part of the state, through it's citizens,
composed, for instance, in Georgia of
those who are attending meetings in |
behalf of the juvenile law, to have the
state perform it's function wisely and |
well. To do this. it must have some |
kind of a scheme or plan backed up |
and sustained by the power of the
state.
This scheme must deal not only
with the child, but with the parent, and |
every other citizen. We should re-
member that the great increase in jul
venile depravity, in the cities, espe-
cially of this country, is no evidence |
at all that children are bad. IT is sim
ply evidence that the state and the |
parent are both careless and negli- |
gent"
What He Observed i'm Atlanta
when 1 was in Atlanta last May 1 |
found that out Of 49, 900 arrests by the
police department, over 1000 of them
were under 20 years of age. Do you
know what that means as compared |
TO the population in numbers by dec
AIDES, that is, the number of people be-
tween 10 and 20, 20 and 80, 80 and 40,
and so on? 1t simply means that they
are arresting twice as many children
as grown people, and the citizen who
stands indifferentlv by, without aiding
any intelligent, earnest effort to COR
rect such an evil condition of affairs is
unworthy to be called citizen. The
future of this country depends upon
the kind of children we are producing
in the cities"
Mrs. Webb and others who are in
terested in the movement to estab-
lish branch of the juvenile court in
Savannah will probably secure the
services of Judge S. b. Adams to pre-
sent their claims to the city govern
ment and urge that some steps be
taken in the matter. When the matter
of establishing the reform school at
the County Farm is brought to the
attention of the County Commission
ers the promoters of the scheme will
obligate themselves to raise a certain
amount of the money necessary, If
the county will make an appropria-
ton and allow the reformatory to be