Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-12-03
MAYNARD CHILDREN.
Thew Are Never Taken to Prison IN
the City Of Buffalo.

In Ruffalo child under arrest is
never taken to the police station. II
is against the law to take INN thefe'
and a uoliceman who did such d thlhs
to a child would probably nave ms
shield taken away from him. Chill
drcn who commit offenSes against the
Lave. runaway children. Migrants, all
children. in fact. who come within the
list of dependents or dellnquents' are
taken to a large, old fashioned resi-
dencn, far removed from the center OF
| the city-thc detention home OF the
juvenile court of Buffalo. This nome
| is in charge of Il matron. woman
who for 20 years was a philanthroplc
workers. In this home the delinquent
child OF the neglected child is fed.
| lodged and cared for until his case
comes before the jucvnilc court.
His trial takes place before Judge
Nash in the pleasant dining-room OF
| the detention home. Not in court
room in ourt-housc. 1t is the most
| informal kind of d trial, with no one
| present except the child. his parents,
| the probation officer and the witness
cs. if there are witnesses. If. at any
| pobEt III lllt tIldi tIt' Jut6t W loIitS ~
talk confdentially with the child or
his parents, he gets up from his chair
and leads the way into the matron's
private parlOr. The judge can stop
| the trial at any minute that seems
| wise to him. All he wishes to estab-
ish is the child's necessities: his mis-
Gcmeanors are of less consequence.
| Every child is given a chance under
probation. at least once. Two paid
probation officers attend to the work
Of investigation. and there are over 80
volunteers. clcrgymen, teachers bust
| ness men, club women. who deal with
individual children under the direc-
ton of the court. OF course when
probation fails. as it sometimes does,
or wnen the child's home conditions
are too bad to correct. institutional
care of some kind has to be provided
The detention home is the only SYM
| boil of the law which is shown to a de-
inquent child in Buffalo. From start
to finish. children's cases are disposed
Of there. The probation officers have
| their desks in the front office and chill
dren on probation report there. The
effect of the detention home on the
| community is good The number of
children who used to suffer arrest
every year was once very large. Many
OF these arrests We're made on the
most trivial charges. That sort of
| thing is not done now. because the de-
| tention home refuses to accept trivial
complaints. a child brought in for a
simple act of mischief is sent to it's
home and thn I.
probation officer
Inc juvenile court in Buffalo exists
to help children, not to punish them.
The detention home is a refuge. not a
prison The quickest way to turn a
miSchievous. undisciplined boy into a
deliberate lawbreaker is to lock him in
cell. One type of boy will have his
respect for justice injured and his con-
hdence in his elders permanently
weakened Another type ACQUIRES a
contempt for punishment. His first
terror subsidies after few hours of
conflnerent, he begins to assure him
sen mat jail is not such a bad place
alter an, and his play instinct begins
u "ork He imagines himself to be
desperate character a terror of the
Community. Certainly he has he
cohie person of consequence. He
wonders whether people are talking
ABOUT him. whether his case will get
INTO the papers. He resolves that he
VIII do some boasting among the other
boys when he gets out. And he does
ne s"asgers and struts among his
piasfeitows, like returned hero. +
The delinquent child should naver
for Il moment be permitted r. .b;n1, -