Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-01
THE JUVENILE COURT

During the year of 1905 the Juvenile
Court, presided over by Judge William II
DeLacy, disposed of a total of 2.6J2 cases
with still nearly hundred pending, both
in the juvenile and adult charges. The
past year of the court has been most
successful one, because of the salutary ef-
feet of punishment melted out to husbands
who fail to support their wives and chill
dren after substantial probationary
term under a suspended sentence. to com
ply with his marital obligations The
court has also had a most successful year
in its probation system for juvenile Of
tenders and its tendency to draw the
youthful culprit away from former bane-
full influences.
A noteworthy law which went into eF-
feet in the court during the past year
was the child labor act of May Is, lSoS.
Under this act about twenty-seven de-
PENDANTS have SO far been arraigned and
tried and in each instance the benehcent
purposes of the law were revealed VI
the cases presented for CONSERVATION OF
this character before Judge De Lacy two
were OF great Importance in defining mer-
chandise in the meaning of the act and
a parents duty to his child
The first was that against Lynn l..
Reder charged with employing boy
under fourteen years or age 10 denver
ing. In this case the child labor law
was viciously attacked by counsel for the
defense in that Ii was unconstltutional
because it created class Legislation ana
that within the meaning OF the law news
ma ners could not be properly called MGR
chandise. Arguments upon the part of
the prosecution and defense We're proiohg-
ed upon the matter, and the case was car
ried over for several days before ttie
court rendered an opinion, IN which Inc
defendant was acquitted upon the SrouiluS
set forth by his counsel.
The other case was that o. Anton ISL
mann proprietor of meat STAND IN one
of the local markets. The defendant was
charged in two separate lnlorhiatiois
With en,ployins his two young sons. aged
a,nyan and thirteen years, respectively,
about his place of business. 1he prose-
cution conte nded there was a VOCATION OF
The law, because of the fact that the boys
were found about the stand on SATURDAY
ALI the wear round, and each time they
were observed by the inspt ctors they We're
found working. With testimony TO tins
effect the prosecution asserted that a
bona fide case OF violation OF the act
was before the court.
For the defense the attorneys argued
that the employment of sons about their
fathers place of business was not a vio-
Ia ion of the law as to either its intent
or meaning. and particularly so when
neither of the boys received wages for
their work and were about the meat
stand at the instance of the father to
learn the business. The court dismissed
the case. giving as his reason that a
ia her has a perfect right to train his
child as successor TO MS business and
to bring him under such influences which
would give him proper business instincts
Al the present time there are So chill
dren convicted of minor offenses at lib
erty as wards of the court and always
under the excellent influences of the pro-
baton officers.
But six cases of children who We're
destitute of proper parental care or unfit