New-York tribune., 1909-07-11
IN CHILDREN'S COURT
Incidents Of Probation officers
Work among Young Criminals.

4 shall tell in the following pages. as well as
I may few of the incidents that have come TO
my knowledge as chief probation officer OF Column
bus. Ohio. from the simple standpoint Of one
who works in the field" says Jessie NJ Keys IN
The Worlds Work"
Il remember very we'll boy OF sixteen who
was brought before our juvenile court for steal
ing SIC from the pocket of a coat left hanging
I'm a public hallway. The boy opened a savings
bank account for himself with the money. That
unusual feature or tho case. The judge.
instead OF sending him to the reformatory, dis
missing him with reprimsnd and firmly fixed
idea tnat tho court was easy, put him on proba-
tion for q year
we went to his mother. and she avoke TO her
responsibilities. We talked 10 the boy firmly, and
found him willing to work Finally We found
position for him In the first probation year his
earning capacity was $40 Since then he has
heen an inspiration To us. a strong agent in this
city for the growth OF the power of Law, and
upon his name they rests TO prison biemish.
Sometimes it takes lot Of study TO find out
just what Is the matter with these young crimi-
nails This search for ultimate causes is not the
least important part Of the work Of the Juvenile
Court. undoubtedly the most frequent cause OF
the offences committed br children ls paren tai
neglect though very often it is parental vice. and
sometimes the two combined. l remember the
case Of a boz Of fourteen who brought into
court for entering a freight car He could not
didn't get nuthin. cos de cop come too soon.
lie was put on probation. and We visited his
mother At first Sue would not let in. but
after a while she did. and she was visited con-
stantIy. ON ono occasion found her out pehlho
the house knocking coal from loaded car stand
ing on tho tracks She declared that there was
no harm in this. because the company would not
miss IL and she needed IL. II took months TO ex-
plain 10 her that there any relation at all
between her predilectlon for the company's coal
and the fact that her boy had turned out to be
thief This boy was in rather sad state-fairly
in the early stages of consumption. pale. hstless
and poorly nourished. ! advised his mother that
she should feed him better. keep the windows OF
his room open at night take him out of the chain
factory where he was working and let him take
a position that We ready TO get for him out
In the open air. She listened with alarming calm
ness but at the end Of the little sermon she said'
well l think the county might be In better
business than sending fussy old maids to tell me-
how to raise my children. Sure. knows how to
raise kids-I've buried five Of them already
she buried the sixth one later
There is no telling how the mind OF boy
will work 4 lad of thirteen accused OF
stealinE $40 from the teachers desk in school.
He stoutIy denied It, and long and careful
search failed to discover the money But IT did
discover quite a collection Of cheap, trashy litera-
ture In the boys possession One OF the books
described how a thief concealed a valuable gem
n trouser button. This tale furnished the clew
TO the lost money and II discovered folded
very small and tucked in beneath loosened but
ton on the waistband of the boys trousers.
We found three boys who got into pretty
pickie one Sunday afternoon. and who we're only
saved because the court had learned to temper
justice with good nature. They had found their
way into a haf-hnished dwelling. and had found
there no provision made for their special arnuse-
ment so they set to work to remedy this Omis-
sion. They picked out A very handsome, polished
floor set a couple of bricks IT, and built
roaring fire The arrived when the floor
was lust nicely scorched. He brought them into
court in hurry. and nothing would satisfy him
but a sentence the reform school They we're
all first offenders. and we argued for hours with
that owner before persuaded him that he
would be doing both the boys and himself great
Injustice by insisting He finally yielded. year
later gang partially wrecked another of his
buildings aru he called those three boys TO
find the gang for him They did II willingly.
so his bread upon the waters came back to him.
II suppose that in every town there is a Sleepy
Hollow or Happy Hollow In my Happy
Hollow there are many little children neglected
bv their mothers and provided for by their
fathers One little girl. when l asked her how
things were at her house. said:
"'Oh we live in Happy Hollow" and you know
all fathers get drunk down there and NOBODY
has any shoes.
"A little boy and his sister. brought UP from
.Eappy Hollow by the police listened while their
mother was sent to the wOrlShOuse and while they
themselves committed to the county chill
dren's home The poor little wizened face Of the
ten-vear-oId boy wore look of terror he
realized that the sentence meant separation from
the only things he had. his mother and his nome,
but the girl, one around her doll and the
other around the boy, met the situation with the
philosophical remark;
.''Don't cry brother: God amt dead yet
II remember another child OF eleven whose
father had gone to the pen for stealing. and
whose mother had cut the family adrift and left
them TO shift for themselves Brought up before
the court. he put the situation quite succinctly
when he said:
NANNY went away when / wore pettic0ats
ar1 I've been "batchin'' ii ever since
HONESTY REWARDED.