Los Angeles herald., 1906-01-20
RAISE BOYS IN
REAL HOMES
CHARITIES CONFERENCE FINDS
PROBLEMS
When Taught to Overcome Tempta-
tions Rather Than to Avoid Them,
the Greatest Obstacle Has
Been Brushed Aside

1--WE often hear Of live problem
said Judge Wilbur, but If there is an,
lvelier problem than a boy under six
teen year of age, I have not been abl
to discover it. The first problem i
the aim of the Juvenile court to reform
boy in his own surroundings and en-
vironments and If he has one, so far a
possible, in his own home-to keep th
child out of institutionalism so far a
possible, for the institutionalized chill
is like hothouse plant, perfect, per
haps in every way apparent to tht
closest observer, yet lacking that un
definable and undiscernable something
that can stand the rough wind anC
harsh treatment of real outdoor life
The problem is to teach the child t
meet and overcome temptation man
fully, rather than to avoid 1t"
Child Labor Laws
w. A. Gates presided at the session
He introduced w. V. Stafford, state
commissioner of labor statistics, whc
spoke on "Child Labor Laws and Theil
Enforcement" He said:
"I think probably as much objection
to the child labor law has been from
parents as from any other source. M
longer is the mere unsupported WORD
the age of the child, but an oath is
required, and this oath must be veri-
fed by church, school or government
records Often have parents beer
found ready to swear a child IA, wher
the school records show him to be but
eleven or twelve. The attempts to ex-
plain these discrepancies are Otter
amusing. Several instances have been
brought out, where the parents ad-
nI,f boI oh, n5
to give wrong age to the railroad
conductor in order to escape paying
fare, which age, from force of habit
was given to the teacher when the
child went to school in another case
g child more backward than children
of his age has given an age too young
to the schol authorities.
Parents on Defensive
"In all such cases the parent to secure
a certificate is put in the embarrassing
position of having to prove that either
he or the child, or more likely both
have lied on some previous occasion.
1T is hard to persuade certain eie-
ment of our population that they have
not the divine right to put out to service
their young children. Great is the in
dignation on the part of these abused
parents, when they find they can no
longer keep their offspring from school
to work in cannery or store or drive
a wagon, but must now give him the
some advantages afforded to other chill
dren of like age"
Judge Wilbur followed with an in
teresting and instructive paper on THE
Juvenile Court" He said:
From the Heart
"Recognizing that all humn actions
spring from the impulses and deter
limitations of the human heart, it fol
lows that the officers of the juvenile
court are necessarily interested in keep
ing the child under its jurisdiction and
under the influence and teaching of the
church, to which it naturally belongs.
The really important thing which is
taught by all the churches and which
should be taught in all of the public
schools is the idea Of individual re-
sponsibility to God, who knoweth the
inmost thoughts of the heart.
"It is scarcely necessary for me TO
mention the interest which the officers
of the juvenile court must take in the
home of the child. All laws for the
enforcement of domestic rights which
require father and mother to do their
duty, and which protect children in
the home, are Of interest to and di-
rectly bear upon the problems of this
court
Judge H. Fl. Klamroth of Pasadena
chairman of the Los Angeles county
Juvenile court commission, spoke, CIV
ing a short history of the juvenile
court movement here and the good and
valiant work accomplished under the di.
rection Of Judge Wilbur.
Bishop Conaty's Deductions
Bishop Conaty closed the evenings
program with an eloquent address on
Forces That Tend to Child Delln-
quency." He said:
Juvenile depravity is one of the
startling results which investigation
chronicles. The real danger to our
social fabric is largely from youth GO
ing astray. The boy, too familiar with
the street, enamored of 1t, finds theft
more profitable than honest labor anG
crime easier than virtue. The young
girl introduced by the street into asso.
Citations that lead her from virtue
lured to ruin by her more fortunate
friend and led in consequence into {
life of sin, the nighthawlSs who barter
I'm human souls the vagrants desperate
for food and drink, the prOWler in oul
byways, and the highwayman in oul
public streets are largely the outcome
of misdirected, misled and wrongly
trained youth.
'The street corners, the arcade pic
lures. the shooting galleries, the die,
throwing at cigar stores, the poo
rooms, the saloons, the gambling dens
the race tracks, are all rounds in tn,
ladder that lead many downward t.
depravity. The careless and improve
dent homes, the vicious parents, th'
unwillingness to attend school, the dis
like for work, associations with thosr
familiar with crime, are all occasions
that make the street, rather than tn,
home the school or the church, tn,