The Greeley tribune., 1904-12-15
LAW IS PLAIN
SERIOUS THING TO OFFEND
AGAINST JUVENILE RULES
Probation Officer Crone Says
Parents are Worse Offenders
Than Their Children
Some Points

1t is surprising how many parents
of children are unfamiliar with the
Juvenile delinquency law, according
to the statement OF Probation officer
John V. Crone. AS the law in its
present form is only little over Il
year old. this may not seem strange,
however. According to Mr.. Crone,
there is hardly school district In
the county that has not some cases
Of delinquency, to which the parents
of the children are directly or indi
rectly contributary. AS everything
in the way of childish pranks, that
should not be done, will come under
this heading, and as parents are
often familiar with the doings of the
children, and sometimes directly re-
sponsible for their acts, it will be
seen how easy it is to be in contempt
of the law.
The fact that a parent may be
liable to fine of $1,000, years i'm
prisonment or both of these for
keeping his son or daughter out of
school will show how serious is de-
tiance of the law. A large number
of the cases that come under his
investigation and thus into the juve-
nile court of the county are due to
ignorance of the law. says Mr.. CrOne.
So often, when he goes to parents
to inquire why their children are not
in school, while it is seldom that
| they are anything but polite about
it, they hint that as they are absO-
lutely minding their own business
and not interfering with anyone
else, when they keep their children
out of school, because they used
| them at home, they cannot see why
| they should be interfered with. 1t
! is their children, and it Shou Id be
only their business, whether they
send them to school or not. The
new law Is very implicit upon this
point, however, and without an ex-
emption or excuse from the superih
tendent of schools, who must to
large extent exercise his Judgment
as to whether the case is an urgent
one or not, child of school age must
attend school, or the parents are
amenable to the law While the
child who may be unruly will be
dealt with by the Juvenile court,
harsher measures will be employed
against the parents who wilfully
abet the child in its delinquency.
| While the greatest amount of
trouble comes from the parents and
children who are rather transient
residents. according to the officers
there are great many prominent
people, who are also of the impress
sion that it is optional with them
whether or not they shall send the
children to school.
| Recently Mr. Crone had occasion
to investigate and straighten out
four cases of delinquency in one
small school district, and in each
instance the parents were among
|
the most prominent in the district.
| The children were simply kept at
| home. because they were needed for
certain work. Had the parents con-
suited the Superintendent of schools,
they might have been given per-
NIT to keep the children out Of
school for certain time, and not
been breaking the law.
The Juvenile law is intended to
give the children justice in the way
of fair chance for an education,
and when once parents become IA
mlliar with its workings. they will
see that it is a good thing, although
at times it may seem to work Il hard
ship.