Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1908-08-27

The answer to New Yorl5's child
problem" is the educating and improv-
ing of the child's parents. Bring this
about and you have taken the essen
tial step in lettering the conditions
that now lead to packed houses" in
the children's court. Neglect the field
occupied by the parents and your work
on the children themselves is of little
avail
Every day at the children's court
the room is crowded, SO that many are
banked up in Eleventh street outside.
This means primarily not that the
boys and girls for whom this branch
was created necessarily are bad but
that their parents have not been
reached. 1t seems rather a sad COM
mentary to have to point out that the
accommodations of the childrens
advisable to seek new quarters, but it
is a fact, and in a report soon to be is
sued the securing of larger space will
be recommended, with a reference to
the old home Of the College of the City
of New York. as desirable location
We can't afford to handle this situa-
ton unskilfully, and we certainly need
more room for properly conducting the
campaign against youthful delin-
Quencies than we have in the present
court
The children's court is doing very
r ~, fho
several years that juvenile cases have
been considered separate from the
magistrates courts I think incalcula
BILE good of an educational sort has
been worked among the citizens. I'm
til comparatively short time ago it
was The custom to make no differentia-
ton between offenders of any age, so
far as the place of their examination
and sentencing was concerned. and
this system must unhesitatingly be
pronounced a bad one. Boys and girls
brought up for the trifling offenses of
childhOod-trifiing at their time of
life and needing only sane methods to
cOunteract then-Were associated in
the court room with the most aban
doned characters Of mature years, and
the contact was bound TO be hurtful.
1t was in 1902 that a law was en-
acted providing for a separate court
for the hearing and final disposition of
the cases of children under the age of
sixteen years taken into custody. I'm
till the children'S court was opened on
Sept 2 of that year all children taken
into custody were arraigned in the
magistrates courts, where they wit
messed scenes that were sure to leave
lasting and harmful effects on their
impressionable natures. The heavy
calendars. too, with which the police
magistrates had to deal made it i'm
possible to give the child's case the
careful and painstaking attention it de-
served. Agitation for a children s
court had been going on for long
time. and finally a law was drafted by
Judge Deuel., and this established the
first separate court in New York city
with full and complete jurisdiction for
children. being part of the court Of
special sessions of the first division.
The children's court OF the first di-
vision annually deals with the largest
number of children's cases of all sim
liar courts in the world. 1t has juris-
diction, except in homicide cases, in
the cases of all children under sixteen
wears taken into custody in Manhattan
and the Bronx 1t is possible, in the
great majority of instances, to work
the children's reformation without
commitment 10 Institutions. Some
form of punishment suited to the indi-
vidual child may be employed.
Sometimes it is good whipping
that is needed Now, | have never
sentenced a child to be whipped, and
| never shall. because | have not the
authority TO do SO. All can and will
do is 10 say to the parents that here is
a child which needs punishment, and I
ask them, do you wish to punish this
child according to your own methods,
or shall punish him according to the
lights of the law" In other words,
do they prefer taking the naughty
youngster up stairs and giving him
whipping he will remember. or paying
the fine which the laws says is my
mode of punishment?
Some parents help the court and
thereby help their children and help