The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-01-27
TRY
TO GUST BROWN
Real InWardneSS of the Plot
Against the Juvenile
Court Judge.
WORK OF ITS TWO YEARS
BRIEF OUTLINE OF WHAT HAS
BEEN ACCOMPLISHED.


But where is your mother?" the
judge had asked, at the conclusion OF
the boys admission of recreancy i'm
school duties.
My mother is dead sir" was the
reply, and tear trickled down the
lads cheek. leaving d glistening streak
through the CRIME.
SO is mine my boy" said the Judge
and his voice was husky His hand
somehow found its way TO the bows
shoulder and. for the space Of many
moments, there was a profound still
ness IN the Juvenile court room.
Inc proceeding was altogether irreg-
uiar- The judge had no right To make
an inquiry regarding the boys mother.
me mother, dead or alive. was not on
trial Any testimony regarding her
was, therefore, incompetent. irrelevant
ana lmmaterial.' Certainly a Judge of
the type suggested by the learned su-
pIeme court. one learned i'm the law
and Nersed i'm the rules of procedure. p"
would never have asked such a ques-
ton. II was altogether wrong. but-in
and through the action a boys heart
was sottened and won, a boy was made
I TO feel that there is human sympathy
( for the motherless BARN: a boy was
drawn step nearer toward the path
tAAeAb -N'iA" " AlNAAoA1 bAts NHIlEiN flAlLtl-
ship.
The existence of the juvenile court.
presided over ~ Judge Willis Brown
! has continued over "A period that lacks
only d few months of being two years
/ During that time there have been many
procedures that would doubtless be
/ characterized by the learned supreme
/ court of the state of Utah as manifest
( ing "a total disregard of wholesome
rules" Judge Brown has not shown
any great respect or any respect at all.
/ for that matter, for technicalities. 1t IS
/ easy TO believe that if he had known
that some day he would draw down
upon his head the lightnings of an out
ragged supreme court he would not have
| deviated by so much as hairs breadth
! from the course he early marked out
for himself.
What Brown Has Done.
Steadfastly 10 the lire Judge Brown
has hewed. Some of the chips have
fallen into places where they were
highly objectionable. but straight ahead
has the hewing gone on. He has made
some mistakes. IT is within the range
of possibility that even the members
OF the supreme court have made mis-
takes i'm their time though not OF
course, since they donned the robes Of
their present high Office During the
Two NtdLS OF Ills tenure OF ONCE Judge
Brown has achieved results 1t is fair
to judge him. as it would be fair 10
judge any public official. by his record.
And now that he is under fire from the
juvenile court commission as a pretend
ed result OF the supreme courts collat-
eral caStgatiOn. il is proper to review
the record made by the man who came
here q stranger. two years ago.
First. the fact that there is a juvenile
!, rg.f To- on the cf1frlfa hoDlrC Of TTfah
today is due more TO the efforts of Will
lis Brown than TO any other influence,
; perhaps more than TO all the other in
fluences combined. And the supreme
. court in its recent decision says: The
juvenile law of this state is of too much
Importance to be hampeTed or set aside
, for trivial and aVoidable causes. Thus
the highest tribunal i'm the common
wealth gives its unqualified endorse
ment to a measure that was enacted
| largely through the efforts of Willis
: Brown.
: So the law was passed and Willis
: Brown became the first judge Of the
! juvenile court. His remuneration was
/, fixed at the princely sum of $500 per
: wear Ont on the hills OF Utah and
t Idaho and Wyoming are hundreds OF
2 men whose duty IL is TO see that the
sheen owned by their. employers do not
stray from their ranges. These men get
more than did Judge W lllS brown thal
] first year. and their board is added to
Z their condensation A herder OF sheep
5 was worth more than a shepherd OF
f. boys.
: Little Pay; Much Good Done.
But Brown was not in the work for
the money he got out OF il. He could
{ have earned more as ditch digger or
: a bod carrier yes or as a sheepherder.
. He undertook TO ill the duties Of the
. position because he believed ne couiu
Il accomplish a great work-the salvation
o of bows and OF girls. The juvenile court
: under Judge Brown abundantly justi-
: fed its existence before il was three
o months old. And. i'm spite of the occa-
= sionaI mistakes that have occurred in
r its administration. mistakes that Judge
: Brown and his friends readily admit
q were mistakes, il has continued TO be
Continued on Page 5.