The San Francisco call., 1910-08-07
81 ||eme Concrete Examples Of How Chill
!Ien and Adults Who Break ths. Law
Ere Being nended Instead Of Sent

here's another instance Of the beauty
OF their system) the information is SO
drawn that neither the offender nor his
people, II he has any, need be hurt or
ashamed. neither when the case comes
before the court nor afterward when he
has learned better. I'VE go after the
misdemeanor hard, but so many of
those we have to deal with haven't had
q chance to know any better and we
lose our best hold on the boy If we
can't make him love us. Most people
can't make distinction as yet between
tho transgressor and the transgression.
They think If boy steals something
he's thief. whereas he may be only
hungry. That's one reason we are reti-
cent about our work." they said
This Doctor Lorenz simply Will not
talk about his cases in detail unless
they happen to be joyous ones. He told
me OF little lad who had got through
from Chicago In four days, starting g
without money. He had hidden under a
Pullman berth, and when found the
passengers made up a purse and paid
his fare. He was about II years old,
and from Juvenile court was taken In
charge by a merchant whose interest
had been aroused by the courage Of
the young explorer, who was without
any home ties. SO far as the court could
discover. This man telephoned in while
Il
we'll and was Just the sort he had been
looking for.
eve can't either one of us be sure
about that yet," said the Judge. 'Tf 1t
proves otherwise we will have to find
something else for him."
He says they must deal with each
case as circumstances require; no two
are ever alike, but the aim of the court
is to secure for each child fair chance.
Y ~Af 70 -
sentence. and he said: There Is no
sentence. How could there be when
child is not responsibleT
I asked the Judge IL any Of tho boys
and girls were making conspicuous sue
cesses, and he said Yes" without max
ing a bit Of use OF the chance he had
right there to tell mo about some of
them. Then I asked If they kept track
of them after they were launched In
self f-sustaining positions.
I'VE do" he said (and 1t sounded as
emphatic as You bet''). "I get letters
from them all the time, and answer
them, too, just as many as I can; but
there are so many. If I answered them
all 1t would take all my time" And he
pulled open drawer in his desk. a
large drawer, crammed as full as It
could hold with letters from his pro-
bationers.
There are two departments to the
work the court does-the dependent
and the delinquent children-and in
addition to the cases brought In by
their own 10 or IL officers they handle
the childrens cases for the Associated
Charities, the Society for the Preven-
tion of Cruelty to Children and a num-
Der of other organizations of the Sort
and many which the city police bring
in. You will be thinking to yourself
That means a busy court session once
a week." but it means so much more.
Once that court takes up a case 1t
keeps watch over 1t as long as may be
necessary. An item of that days work
was a statement to the court that the
report in preparation of 1000 baby
cases for recommitment was not ready
yet. Do you get that? One thousandi
Every six months all the facts in the
case of each infant ward of that court