Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-07-19
Judge B. B. LINDSEY
MAKES BIG HI
Juvenile Court Advocate Wins
sympathy For Himself and
Mickey
ADDRESSES A LARGE AUDIENCE
First of Marshalltown chautauqua
Star Attractions Speaks Thursday
Afternoon on "The Misfortunes of
Mickey"-TeIIs His Experiences in a
Way That Wins Sympathy Of All.

way stok V''S ~ 'Hes''J
| A big Marshalltown audience has
heard and been seized with an I'M
bounded enthusiasm for Judge Ben B.
Lindsey, affectionately known as the
Kids Jedge,' of Denver. He was in
troduced by Judge ]. NJ. Parker OF this
city. The relation of the child to the
government is one of the greatest prob
lens troubling the nation today, and
Judge Lindsey, with his juvenile court
scheme, seems to have worked out the
most successful solution possible, and
that in the face of great difficulties. !,
AS the Kids Jedge' says, the ju-
venile court depends principally on the
human heart but one of THE most i'm
portant requisites is not allowing the
miscreant boy TO mistake kindness for
weakness. Kindness and sympathy
yet withal firmness which commands
respect, is the rule followed, and an
appeal to loyalty the dominant note
| thruout. Judge Lindsey has formed as
| the result of his own experience the
maxim, IF you want to get the truth
out of child, take fear out Of his
heart" and when his confidence Is
won, SO also is his loyalty.
Tho Misfortunes of Mickey"
In his lecture known by the above
title, Judge Lindsey gave his personal
experiences, interesting in the extreme,
as illustrating great abstract PROPOSE
| lions, and before he had gone very far,
Mickey had the sympathy of the audi
ence in his misfortunes, as well az that
OF his "jedge." The state in the past.
The speaker said, has cared more for
tne property OF the child than for the
chlld itself, and because there was no
other way, has often been forced to
| step in and make criminal of the
cHld The criminal courts have
Jagged behind in the procession, he
said, and deal rather with things than
people. 1t is a mistake for the state
10 wait until the child gets into serious
trouble before it steps in, and the Jail
is poor reform school. I'D rather
nave the state put my boy into his
grave than to throw him into the mire
or corruption in the jails of great
many cities of this country" the
speaker cried, and believing what the
Bible says, that it were Better that
milestone be hanged around thy neck
unan that thou shouldst offend one of
these little Ones he is directing every
effort to keep other boys out. The
Denver institution was the second de-
tention school in this country, and now
lhere are al least twenty, with need
for many more, to look after the thou
sands of children threatened with de-
struct1on, and pluck them into right
eousness from the jaws of he'll Misdi-
rected energy Judge Lindsey said,
is one of the most common causes of
street gamins, as they are called, get
ting into trouble, and Mickey was one
OF theMNictims of misdirected energy.
Arrested time after time, whether
guilty or not guilty, because the police
failed to locate the other miscreants.
and had pick at Mickey, he became
the avowed enemy OF the law as rep
resented by the cops but its loyal
supporter once his confidence was won
by the methods of the Juvenile court.
Revelations in Kid Slang.
The speaker explained various
phrases in kid slang, which explana-
ton made clear his frequent imperson-
atoms of the characters about whom
he was relating incidents. He said
that they had never failed to get the
truth out of the boys brought before
them, because they respected their
rigid law of loyalty. The need Of the
juvenile court is apparent in the fact
that in nearly every city twice as
many boys as men, in proportion to the
population are arrested. What won't
a boy do for the state. upon finding
it to be his chum, when he will lie and
be knocked down without whimpering
rather than "snitch" or tell on one of
the gang" he exclaimed One Of the
most dramatic incidents which he re-
lated was the way in which Mickey
and the kids aided in and won the
fight against the Jail. The juvenile
court has obtained almost unbelievable
results by its successful efforts to get
the gang spirit in it's favor.
Girls Are Not Neglected.
The girls are not neglected, he said,
but where there is one girl in court
there are twenty boys When asked
to explain this, however, one Of these
girls said. "Why, jedge, one bad little
girl is worse than twenty bad kids"
There is delinquency and contributory
delinquency. and the latter is crime
Of which the adults of many Of the
homes are found guilty, many and
many boys and girls badness being
the direct result of environment. An
other phase of the work, therefore, is
to get after the home and place re-
sponsibility on the adult.
Probation Plan Good One.
The speaker also told of many cases
of probation, in which the boys are
good for the sake of the judge whom
they would not be for even fear of
the police. because they know the
Judge is their friend, and they feel
themselves to be in cooperation with
HIM, Not all these cases turn out well,
of course. but the great majority are
saved, not lost.
Judge Lindsey was present as one
of the audience at the evening session,
and his appearance was greeted with
In