The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-07-01

to perform its duties. but do say it is
absurd to make such necessary quail
fication-
We have very poor conception of the
awful cost of crime to this nation, not
more important. in the citizenship of to-
morrow. over half of the criminals IN
this country are uder the age of twenty
IoOr, ana - per cent are criminals De
cause of bad habits. bad environments and
misfortune during childhood In the past
we nave waited and waited Tor these
habits these conditions 10 produce
criminal. Then we pOunce upon the man
with weapons of force and violence OF
hate and vengeance. which generally ac-
complish his destruction, without dong
much to protect or preserve society. we
lions in money for carrying on this kind
police officers, but it is the same old
story everywhere, that because of some
for, the state Immediately becomes as
niggardly of dollars and cents in the SAL
walton of children as il has been prOdigal
in the conviction of criminals. Not until
We had been able TO show in Denver that
in three years our people hadsspent 81 .O36.-
900 in the detection and conviction of
criminals. and not one red cent TO the
judge or probation officer in the saving
of children, were we able to get even an
allowance Of actual expense money for
this important work. Indeed we went
step further. according to the messages
OF two of our governors, who in their
inaugural addresses proved to the legis-
lature that the juvenile system had in
this three years saved TO the state and
county over $4,000 cash. and 80 per cent
of its delinquent children
Why Police Oppose.
There is something so sensible and con-
siStent with natural justice in the theory
and practice of the chilren's court that
IT seldom meets opposition from any
source except that schOOled in the ways
OF force and violence, hate and despair.
rms IS not because the average police
man is inherently different from other
people, but because his education in the
ways of the jails and criminal courts is
necessarily different. 1t is therefore from
this source that most of the opposition
has been encountered / do not want to
dent advocates of the juvenile courts
have been found among police officers
The greatest jaiIer of the world was John
l. whitman of Chicago. He is a great
man. SO is Jim Dawson of St. Louis. So
is Sergeant cambridge of San Francisco,
all of whom are my warm personal
friends, and every one of them will tell
you that the Jail for boys is the tobog-
gan slide straight INTO hell. They will
also tell you that the Juvenile court sys-
tenn IS DONG more in year to prevent
crime than the jails and criminal courts
Will do in twenty years. At the national
conference IN Portland, Ore. next month,
shall deliver an annual report, made up
principally from letters from chiefs of
police of the largest cities and towns in
this nation. Without a single exception
these men have declared in written state
ments that they believe in the principle
OF the Juvenile court. and from every city
IN which it has been in operation for
over a year they have likewise declared
that crime among youthful offenders is
on the decrease, and that it has their un-
qualified support. i do not know of a
more noteworthy incident than this fact.
for it shows the conversion of those
Schooled along different lines to the new
scheme of correction.
Way Good is Accomplished.
1t is very simple Christ taught il two
thousand years ago He said 'Overcome
evil with good The Juvenile law saws
the child shall be treated not as
criminal, but as needing, aid help as
sistance. announcement, and the firm
ness which commands respect, and not the
gets hate. violence begets violence, love
begets love. The juvenile court is a re-
we know that force is not necessary,
when human nature is studied and under
stood Boys are sent alone to reform
schools and not one ever failed to so. We
study law less and men more. We care
Tor law less and for men more. The best
sacred childhood, when character is
plastic and can be nodded as clay in the
pOtter's hand. Skill in handling marble
is as nothing as skill in handling men
one OF the greatest philosophers of our
time says, that skill in evOking melody
from the harp is as nothing compared to
skill in allaying the discords of the soul
and bringing out its noblest impulses,
this work demands skill.
u never saw bad boy. Somewhere
down in every soul is the image of God
The right master will bring if out But
too often the boy does bad things. This
Is not because the boy is Inherently bad
Zoo never created awning bad En-
vironment was bad. Training was bad.
and a thousand other things made that
chllu we OF the Juvenile court say he is
unfortunate rather than bad. He is weak
rather than vicious He does not want
punishment. He wants love He wants
kindness. He wants assistance. He wants
frmneSS. OF course, all of these things
may seem to fail. but if thew do. rest
assured that hate and violence, force and
punishment would not have succeeded.
The inherent good in an individual may
NSronment and bad influence of years
standing that the good environment and
good influence of few months may
h1t accomplish change.
>. 1t takes time 1t takes patience But
it is worth while. A boy is worth more
than dollars and cents. He is the great
est investment in the world. His case Is
the most important that any court was
ever called upon to handle. And yet he
mas been the most neglected creature in
the world. There are over 100 600 boys
brought to the jails and criminal courts
every year. The criminal law went after
the boy The juvenile law goes after
those who are responsible for the boy a
less parent will be helped
chiId's Good Main Object.
1t is hard to understand how anyone
would want TO upset the juvenile law and
return to the old system of the criminal
courts. OF course, the Juvenile law be-
hcNeS that no individual should be de-
prived of liberty without due process OF
law. But it should be understood that
the juvenile court is a chancery court,
and not criminal court 1t will never
take a child away from its parents I'M
less the parents have forfeited their right
TO its custody And then il is taken away
purely in the interest of the child.
The first consideration is, what is best
Tor the child2 The state stands superior
10 the parent only when the parent has
demonstrated his inability to care FOR the
p1lG hal IN