The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-04-30

have been informed Dy MT
 nam, probation officer of the city ol Birmingham, that some very pit'er complaints have been made against the juvenile court law passed at the recent session of the Legislature ana that you felt very much inclined lo condemn the law. based on such coh- plaints. n IL. n,tura and does not become operative untiI thirty days after the adjournment or the July session of the Legisiature' Code Ala. Section oo4o: ,,,aas for no salaries of an official (Judge; clerk or probation officer) connected With the court. It Is purely philantihror O. criminaliy inclined child under four teen wears of age, from a life Of crime. The club women of the state of Alabama and a large hummer or ed men have promised to provide pro bation officers to carry the law in'o effect. ,, .ha. it as failing to provide for detention homes for the child when first arres- ted until his trial. The thought was that to force cities ana eoun.ieS ,r eT necessitate an expense that might de, feat the bill As the age of the child arrested being under fourteen years there would be little danger or sucn parents and friends of such arrested child could and would make bond TOT if and could be punished under SeetiQn iS of the act If they contributed to or encouraged its s,tt denqu1mes nf the Operation of the law on the child is fixed under fourteen years. from the fact that that age. under the common Iaw .h roi n-ii n Alabama places the presunptt HpItt ma facie) of innocence as to many or
 Fifth--The details for putting the law into effect the ,aPp appoin{fifng nffee and U prpeafE]ph paqe fdp the ef cSid etc, have not been provided for. as the law Is not in force. The child under fourteen years of age can be proceeded against ana placed in 1ail or the penitentiary un- der existing laws, hence the following clippine from The Advertiser of 22nd instant, does the friends of the law injustice as well as the cdaIsn mesisiature'
 The juvenile court law, passed by the Legislature, is going to work hardship on the courts, and many negro thieves and criminals' w1o ought to be in the penitentiary are going to go "Scott'' free. if my interpreta- tion of the law is correct" said cit izen.
 are not allowed to imprison any one under fourteen years old Through my long experience with negroes. l know that there are numbers or them who would swear almost anything in refercHce to their ages to get out of iail l believe the law will operate so that almost all negroes under twen- ty-one years will claim they are but fourteen. and the result will be that our State will be overrun with this class of negro law-breakers. "A question with me, also is what would he done with these negro boys. Where is there a reformatory to which they could be sent? The juvenile | court law would necessarily mean that without a reformatory for the blacks the boys. even though they would be guilty of heinous crimes would be | turned loose on the public.
 Just mark my prediction and watch the effect"
 Fitth. The article says, many ne gro thieves who are criminals who ought to be in the. penitentiary are go- | ing Scott free" because the writer says there is no reformatory. 10 Whlcn they can be sent Section 44!4 of State Criminal Code reads; "Reforma- sep. separated and worked apart as far as practicable. from other con H Lho board of inspectors as reforma- tory. and which shall be managed un- der such rules as the board Of inspec- ! tors may prescribe, keeping III view ] their moral and intellectual improve ment Such reformatory must be To- cated on the property owned by the
 Section 4538 of State Code reads , County conVicts under sixteen years of age may be sentenced to tern in the reformatory provided for IT 1 this chapter, etc.
 The present juvenile court law wher of force. vests the power. authority and discretion in the judge to commit ' the child to reformatorY establlsh' i ed bV the State, or to put him on pro { Lation or send him to any home ol other institution fin the State that may
 sixth. There is a reformatory fol white boys established by the State al
 East Lake, and reformatorY Tor ne pro boys established years ago bI Judge Jesse Carmichael and hIs asSo cjates on the Board of Convict 1nspec' tors at Spelgners, Ala, on Douisvill' a,d Nashville Railroad. just north O Montgomery on the State convic of Birmingham, known as the Folic' Court, has for several years beer sonding the incorristole little negr' i thieves and law breakers to tnls re
 fQrmatory for negro boys; There arr now nearly fifty boys at this plac' and l am informed it is well Kept an' the negro boy well cared for by th' l present board of State inspectors.
 seventh. It Is clear that under tn