Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-29
Would Protect Children


Such knowledge would make it possible to
know about children in advance and better
protect them from evils. In the case of
the criminals, such knowledge in advance
would enable lis better to protect the COM
munity.
G. Exhaustive study of single typical
criminals is valuable, because they repre-
sent large number.
Z. The more exact knowledge we have of
inmates, the better we can manage them in
the institutions. Such work will bring more
men of edcuation and training in the sery-
ice.
8. AS most of the inmates of reformator-
les and prisons are normal any knowledge
gained about them will be useful to the
community at large. Any system of train
ing or education that will help inmates of
penal institutions to become good citizens
is needed in the community at large
g. Proper and full statistics of the alb
normal classes would alone Justify this
work This REQUIRES not only knowledge
of statistics, but a first-haEd knowledge of
the subject matter; the statistics must be
interpreted; pile of bricks don't make
house This is the main reason so many
statistics are useless.
10 The work naturally falls under gov
eminent control, as the institutions for the
abnormal classes are already under such
control. The university cannot properly do
such work as the study of large numbers
which are necessary for safe conclusions:
nor can private endowment gather mat
ter of more or less confidential nature
from public institutions.
MacDonald's Efforts Commended.
In connection with this resolution it may
not be out of place to make few remarks
to the gentleman who has planned and de-
veloped the work embodied in the resoIu-
ton. Mr.. Macdonald has for several years
been endeavoring to have established at
Washington and in some of the state cap
IfllC n Lob fnr 70
classes. For the last ten years he has car
ried on the work in the bureau of educa-
ton at Washington under many difficulties
He Is the author of some ten works on
crlminolog1cal ana other patho-social sub
1ects, six of which have been published by
the government. These works are used as
reference or textbooks in our universities
and some have been translated into several
languages In brief his work has been well
received in the scientific world, both in
Europe and this country, though it be of a
pioneer nature and therefore liable to en-
counter special dlfficultieS in the way OF
prejudice and misinterpretation and in ad-
dition the unavoidable mistakes to which all
pioneer work is subject.
Few university men would care to give
their lives to Investigations that necessarily
would throw suspicion upon their motives,
no matter how high their intentions or how
strict their personal life might be. This
man sacrificed almost everything to pre-
pare himself for and develop this line of in
vestigation. starting out as a poor stu
dent. teaching, tutoring and competing for
scholarships and fellowships in order to
gain the mere necessities of life, so that he
might obtain the broad preparation required
to pursue and develop such work.
Arbitration Endorsed.
A resolution was introduced by Ferdinand
Shack of New York and adopted that the
association express its deep qualification at
the steps recently taken by the Interparlia-
mentary Union toward the settlement of
controversies between nations in the same
manner as disputes between individuals are
settled; that is, by judgment in accordance
with recognized principles of law; and that
this associationerecord its great satisfaction
a. the announcement by the President OF
the United States of his intention to COM
ply with the request made to him by the
Interpariiamentary Union that he invite the
EG tons to conference.
The report of the standing committee of
uniform state laws Was adopted.
Solution Of the Indian Problem.
A report of the SPECIAL committee on In
dian legislation was received and fled The
report embodies the conclusion that ..in the
majority of the Indian reservations the
prompt carrying out of the provisions of
the .severalty act approved February s.
1887 is apparently the best practical soiu-
ton of the Indian prohiern
The report states our policy toward the
Indian Is neither wise nor humane. We re-
quire of him no labor We feed him and
allow him to spend his time liz iistless idle
ness This naturally leads to vice. degen-
We think that in the greater portion of the