The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1907-01-23
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Redwood 0o3ctte
WEDNESDAY, JAN. %, 1907.

read, if any; what games he has
played; his ideas on the current
topics of the day. such as the new
rules of football, Sunday closing of
saloons. the annexation of Cuba,
etc. This gives an insight into what
the child is thinking about, and his
point of view is often very amusing.
When complaint has been made
against child the first duty of the
probation officer is to investigate
the nature and extent Of the cyl
dence against him. This is done be-
! fore an arrest is made Sometimes
the complaint is found to be result
of neighborhood quarrel, and by
visiting all the parties involved the
matter is amicably adjusted without
a trial. If the alleged offense is
serious the child is arrested and
placed in the city jail, in charge of
the matron. But in most cases he
| is allowed to remain at home until
/ the day of trial when he is brought
into court by his parents. At the
trial the judge takes into considera-
ton the home surroundings of the
child, his school record, his physical
condition, his mental capacity. his
moral Tenderness and the character
of his parents. Here is where the
previous investigation of all these
things by the probation officer is
especially valuable, for it would be
difficult for the judge to do justice
without a knowledge of all the cir
cumstances.
For the first offense the child is
placed on probation and sent to his
home. He is given printed slip on
which it is stated what he may
and may not do during his SEN
tence. He must report to the
officer twice month and bring with
him report from his teacher if at
work. If out of employment he is
assisted in finding work. The differ
ent charity districts or settlement"
of the city are we'll equipped with
clubs, classes and gymnasiums, and
the boys are urged to join them.
There are certain places in the
city where the temptations are
greatest and where most of the
crimes are committed. Many boys
go to these places and form them
selves into gangs to do mischief or
steal simply because they have no
other outlet for their activities. In
many instances the parents are more
to blame than the boys. Divorce,
drunkenness. immortality, and a per-
verified sense of property rights are
the fundamental causes of children S
delinquency. Mothers are left with
large families to support by day
labor which necessitates their alb
sence from home. This permits the
children to roam the streets after
school hours, when they come in
contact with all forms of vice and
learn vicious habits.
One of the most serious problems
to be dealt with is that of the girls
who work in the factories, many of
whom are homeless and are living
in cheap boarding houses where the
surroundings are untidy and the
atmosphere full of scandal, gossip
and immortality. They work from
seven in the morning till six at
night, with half hours incoming;
and for this they receive from $3.50
to Sc a week. On that sum they
must live. They like pretty things
and want to dress as we'll as other
girls, and this leads them to steal.
They are social by instinct, and after
a hard days work they go out in
search Of pleasure, They stay out
late and associate with men and
boys who drink, use coarse language
and indulge in the lowest forms of
vice. When a girl is so far gone
that she enjoys such society and
surroundings it is well nigh impos-
sible to reach her. She no longer
cares to be clean or respectable.
She enjoys the fascination of her
life of freedom from restraint and
cannot be induced to change her
habits or companionship.
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