The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-02-10

YOuInIul uelnQuGnlb, ana the study OF
the question made by those interested in
to better things.
Teeth and Morality.
In the study of the raw material for
good citizenship, attention is paid to
details which might at first seem to be
trivial. The experts in boy training. for
example, understand the relationship of
teeth to morality. Ninety-four per cent
of the children sent to the Juvenile asy
lum have defective teeth, and large
proportion suffer from eye and skin trou-
bles
How could they be expected to act
normally under the circumstances asks
the experienced and sympathetic superin-
tendent.
So one of the first experiences of the
newcomer at Chauncey is that of being
put in good phyical condition. and to
many of these boys the experience is a
decided novelty And as soon as the
youngster begins to feel like a normal.
healthy boy his schooling begins, and
II he is old enough he spends some of
his time in one of the shops where trades
are taught.
The Juvenile asylum authorities and
people engaged in similar work have
been trying to find a correct answer to
the question, What is q bad boy? Most
of the boys committed to the children s
court are classed as ungovernable, which
means in nine cases out of ten that they
have been playing hockey. Boys who
play truant TO go swimming, boys who
chase circus out of town, boys who try
to run away to sea-all these come under
the head of ungovernable, though the
specialist knows that such delinquency is
in the blood and must come out and does
not necessarily make a boy bad. In fact.
ba xrrb0 -. hoe aI@id
faith in the ultimate goodness of the
average bad boy The specialist knows
from the returns In thousands of cases
that as a general rule the youngster will
walk straight after getting the right
directions. Too often he cannot get these
at home and a stumble brings him to
court.
Given Home Environment.
While the price of making good boys
and men out of maynard youngsters
has gone up because of the new system
of surrounding them with home infiu-
ences, the directors and friends of the
Juvenile Asylum and the city authori-
ties as well are reconcied to the change
They believe In the new idea so firmly
that they are planning to build more
cottages where the boys may live in
pleasant home surroundings. These
men have the utmost faith in the
method which separates one type of
young offender from another and
bngs out individual merits by discov-
ering and removing individual defects
Parents Of hayward boys are coming to
have the same faith too, for in some
cases they contribute to the boys sup
port according to their needs. which is
a point the court determines, the assess
ments ranging from fifty cents to two
dollars a week. There are a few in
stances where well-to-do parents pay
the full price, and would gladly pay
any price to have their children sub
jected to the business-like method of
reformation followed at Chauncey. But
the asylum prefers to take the children
of the less fortunate, who compose the
bulk OF prisoners in children's courts
today. and who, according to the
Chaunceys idea, will in eight or nine
cases out OF ten, become useful and
honorable men II they can be given a
new start and a fair chance.