The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-11-30
Harry BOwman's Address
Conference of Charities.
Deals With Juvenile Court Law
and Its Work.
FOR COUNTY COURT.
Would Enlarge Scope Of Probate
Court Work.
TOday's Interesting Program at
BelOit Conference.

Beloit, Kan, Nov. 30-The second
day of the eleventh annual session of
the Kansas conference of charities and
correction at this place was opened this
morning by the reading of reports on
the charitable institutions and the hear
ing of reports from all committees.
Guy T. Justis, of the Topeka Provident
association, is chairman OF the special
committee on charity work in the cities,
and he made an interesting report on
the years work. The feature of the
days session was the reading of pa
per by H. c. Bowman. chairman Of
the state board of control on 1.-THE Juv-
emile Court and the Child"
AT the afternoon session ii. W.
Charles, superintendent of the indus
trial school for boys at Topeka, read a
paper on the Reclamation OF YOUTH
Judge E. E. Porterfield of Kansas
City, Mo-, is to make an address at
the session tonight
Mr.. Bowmans paper dealing with the
Juvenile court showed the result
of long study of most important SUD
ject. His advocacy of a county court
with enlarged powers IN connecIlon
with the probate court was given CLOSE
attention. It is possible that bill Gre
ating such judiciary to deal with spec
ial Juvenile cases will be introduced IN
the legislature. Mr.. bowman paper
in part was as follows:
Powers of the Juvenile Court.
1.-The Juvenile court act of Kansas
requires juvenile Offenders under the
age of Is arrested, with or without a
warrant, to be brought before the
Juvenile court instead of being taken
before any other court. The success OF
the Juvenile court law depends TO
great extent upon the judge of the
flA nd r.
ficers The members of the state board
of control made careful study or this
law before they took charge Of the
state institutions. AS soon as they
took charge they sent full interpreta-
ton Of the law to each judge of the
Juvenile court in the state, and ever
since then have been strongly insisting
that the provisions of this law should
be carried out.
1.-THE purpose of the act is that the
care, custody and discipline OF child
shall approximate, as nearly as may
be proper parental care: and in all
cases where the same can be properly
done that a child may be placed in an
approved family home, by legal adop-
ton or otherwise. This does not ap-
peal to officers who want to make fees,
or who believe IN the. old system Of
punitory punishment. In their eyes
the wrong done has not been righted
until the extreme penalty has been i'm
posed They lose sight of the fact that
the essence of punishment Is not to in
flict suffering. but to reform; and be-
cause so few criminals do reform,
once a criminal, always a criminal
has become an axiom with them. An
unsympathetic Judge or probation Of
ficer will only fill up the state instf-
tutions without reducing the volume OF
Juvenile crime. 1t is not SO much a
question of enforcing the law as 1t is
of quickening the public conscience
into a realization of it's duty to the
hayward child.
and neglected children, and covers
some procedure and matters not COW
cred in previous laws pertaining to de-
pendent and neglected children
The County Court Plan.
"In Illinois and Colorado they have
county courts, and the county court
has jurisdiction of both civil and
ord. I do not know very much about
| the courts of Colorado, but from legal
papers which 1 have seen from there
they have a county court and the next
step higher is the district court. APP
peals are allowed from the county
court to the district court I know
| more about the laws of Illinois. In
| Illinois the county court also has
| jurisdiction of probate matters. 1t is
very much like our probate court, ex-
| is court of standing and dignity, over
which an able and competent lawyer
! would be glad to preside. In counties
where the probate work and all the
| jurisdiction of the county court is too
great for the county court they sepa-
rate the work and have a probate court
| If the work of the county court still
continues to be too heavy. then they
separate the county court into civil
and criminal courts, and have judges
| to preside over the different divisions.
| Now, if we should practically do away
with the justices of the peace and
| combine their present work with the
work of the probate court, and enlarge
the jurisdiction of the probate court
and make it a county court. the child
| proposition could be handled to much
! better advantage.
"By curtailing the jurisdiction of
| justices of the peace to SO in civil
actions and in criminal matters to the
issuance of a warrant returnable to
| the county court it would leave the
justice court what it was really in
tended, kind Of a peace, officer to
adjust petty matters of dispute between
| his neighbors, and would leave mat
ters to be judicially determined under
the supervision of one educated in the
/ law. which is just as necessary as one
| by one educated to do so.
| probate Judge Schoch. judge of the
juvenile court of Topeka. in an ad-
dress to this conference at Hutchin-
son in November, 1909. said:
" In this state the probate courts
for more than thirty years have been
dumping ground for all kinds OF
| Legislative experiments. = 1t was
but the natural thing for the 1egisla-
ture of Kansas when it came time tic
| enact the juvenile court law to hand
1t over to the probate courts. The leg
islature had become used to it and the
public expected it. There are many
good reasons to be given why the
juvenile courts should be q part of the
probate court. That court in it's gen
eral duties is required to look after the
interests of minor children, and If the
juvenile court as an experiment ir
Kansas had to be tackled onto some
other jurisdiction it had just about as
well be the probate court as any other