Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-05-12

Special Correspondence OF The Star.
NEW YORK, May II. 1907.
The metropolis Is trying. with great sue
cess, a novel method to rescue boys of the
slums who have come before the children's
court for offenses from life of degrade
ton and crime, and to turn them into good
citizens. This is the Big Brothers move
ment which assumes that the street gamin
with criminal tendencies has a heart, pro-
ceeds. in individual instances, to win that
heart and TO direct the boys activities INTO
legitimate and useful channels. The move
ment has been established on large basis
through the cooperation of the Young
Mems Christian Association, the Mems
Club of the Central Presbyterian Church
and other organiza lions. Members of the
Mems Club have been carrying on the work
for nearly two years, but 1t is only recently
that the Young Mems Christian Association
took it up and extended the movement.
Since the establishment of the childrens
court In the metropolis. several years ago,
there has been radical Improvement In
the method of dealing with the thousands
of youngsters who fall on the wrong side
of the law. They do not come in contact
any longer with old and hardened criminals
and there is an excellent system of proba-
ton. by which the boys are placed on parole
under the espionage OF officers OF the court,
But after these periods of probation ex-
pire the boys are again thrown back on
their own resources and often. living as
they for the most part do amid conditions
of squalor or even crime, they fall into a
second offense which brings them before
the court again. The Big Brothers move
ment aims to prevent these criminal recur-
rences and give the boys falr start IN
life.
The main object Of the movement Is to
assign to each boy after his probation pc
Rod, a man who will take a friendly inter-
est in him and give him his chance to get
respectable footing in the world. 1t Is the
part of each of these Big Brothers to see
his adopted youthful kinsman in the boys
home and to bring the boy In touch with
the Big Brothers home. Incidentally. the
Big Brothers take their boys to the circus
base ball games and other amusements
Some of them confess that the boys have
helped them more than they believe they
could have helped the boys
There are now about $50 Big Brothers
and their number is growing daily. Out
of 400 boys that have been taken care OF
by the brothers, only four have found their
way back to the children's court on sec
ond offense.
The Big Brothers can tell a score of In
stances of how the movement works out
For instance, boy who had been sent to
the house of refuge on RandalPs Island
for theft watched his chance and escaped,
swimming several hundred yards across the
East rIver in order to get back to New
York. There a few days later, he ran Into
a. friend of his, one Red" who had also
come before the court, but had been re-
leased on a suspended sentence.
'Hully geer cried Red. II fought you'se
was dom tfme.''a
well, skiddoed." replied the other, DE
cause me mudder amt got no one to help
her get feed fer de kids, an she needed me
at home But now I'm up against 1t.
can't 70 home because den I'll be pinched,
and It's eighteen months fer any guy what
runs away from de island"
Come see me big brudder about it, said