River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1908-04-02
The Juvenile Court.

| upon the INVITATION or the Men S
Brotherhood. Judge Orr of ST. Paul
gave an address last Sunday eve
ming at the Congregational church
| to large audience. The Judge is
one of the district judges of Ramsey
county, a man of mature age, broad
experience in the world as we'll as
in his chosen profession and man
who believes in the child.
Under the laws of Minnesota
there are in three of the largest
cities of the state juvenile courts,
for the consideration of complaints
| for miSdemeanorS or crimes in
which the defendants are children
under seventeen years of age. One
of these courts is in St. Paul and
Judge Orr was chosen by his asso-
ciate judges to take charge of this
department of their work. The
court therefore commenced with the
great advantage of having as its
director lawyer, trained both in civil
and criminal law, and man deeply
sympathetic with children. On the
one hand the danger of such loose
construction of the law as might
have been given by a person sym
pathetic but not we'll trained and
on the other of such a technical con-
struction of law as would defeat the
object to be gained, were avoided
| at the outset. And in selecting
Judge Orr no mistake was made He
examines the infants brought before
him with strict view to fully COM
pretending their situation before
taking steps for their control. He
believes in the good faith of children,
if properly approached. He seeks
to gain their confidence and to
make them feel that his work is one
of friend to be trusted rather than
that of a stern judge indicating
what are sometimes termed public
rights. The statistics given were
surprising to those who had never
had attention called to such work.
He believes that 80 per cent of so
called bad boys and girls can be re-
formed. That by wise counsel,
proper forbearance, careful atten-
ton to their wants, correction of
evil in their training by parents and
sometimes teachers as well, that
they can be to this extent brought
up to be good citizens.
Boys remember kindness shown
to them when a result is obtained of
good to them. A change of environ
ment often works wonders. Physical
injuries may cause criminal acts. All
o4%
and intelligent attention. The man
who undertakes this work must be
one of resourcefulness and decided
ability. And yet people are rarely
willing to call out such talent by
adequate rewards. Too often 1t
seems to be felt that there is none
tary gain to the state in such courts,
no vast interests of commerce in
volved and hence that small COM
pensation is to be given to those who
engage in such work. But the state
is the gamer in having those who
would under other environments be-
come hardened criminals changed by
wise direction and control into use
full citizens. But all cannot be reform
ed, all cannot be trusted. The judge
said as he closed his remarks, that
he had never sent boy or girl to
the Training School with the COM
mitment papers in their pockets.
If he could trust boy to go there,
he could trust him to stay under the
direction of the court.
So rapidly did the words fall from
the lips of the speaker that any
attempt to give an adequate abstract
of what he said is impossible. 1t
would have been we'll had every
parent in the city been present as so
much of his address was suggestive
in the line of training up our boys
and girls to be real men and women.