The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1911-10-20


small. blonde, fat-faced boy was
| accused of having twisted the
wrist of little girl, and taken
from It the dollar with which the
mother had sent her to the grocery.
did you do that. George?" asked
the Judge.
George confessed that he had.
And, Mary, what did you do?"
asked the Judge. turning to the little
girl.
Il ruined after him, and chased
him, but couldn't ketch him." George
was fleet kid, you observe.
What did you do with the money!"
asked the Judge.
George hung his head, smiled slight
ly, and replied 81 spent 1t for candy"
Next to George, In the court room,
stands his father, Lithuanian who
cannot speak English. For this pur-
pose an interpreter is at hand.
Georges mother is dead. father and
son board at little one-horse house,
but 1t is vacation time, and while the
father works and earns a paltry
roams the neighborhood and worries
the citizens and the police. Vacation
and leisure often hurt kids morals.
Here the interpreter tells the father
that the Judge decides George shall
go into the country; that the father
must pay the farmer 81 week for
the boys board. Money is always a
h,,r, u 10 lov fot
vince under the decision, but In this
instance the father first pays back the
dollar George pilfered, and then
agrees to pay the board demanded
AS the boy trcts of, the Judge makes
the suggestion that the boy has not
been kept as clean as he ought, and
suggests that the kids ears need
bath
Many such parents cannot furnish
the board money, and even when
they promise to do so circumstances
cause them to default. Here the
Big Brother and Big Sister league
steps in and helps. 1t has a salaried
man to escort George to proper
farm, to see that the board is paid.
ing. and that he is brought back
when school begins. When there are
no parents. or they are too poor to
assume these expenses. the league
shoulders the burden.
Farm life has civilizing influence
All that has been lost in the city is
often gained amid waving wheat fields
Recently one father wrote thus to
the court:
Il never want to see that fellow
again"
He referred to his son. eight years
OF age. who had been tried in court
for delinquencies. who was placed on
a farm, but who for some reason re-
turned. The letter continued;
las far as the girl is concerned
(Jo had sister who had also been
provided with a temporary home), |
am willing to take her back any day
when they get through with. her, but
never again that dirty thing OF boy,
as he is called"
10. the young culprit, confessed
that he had been untidy at home
merely to get back to the farm. He
was second time placed with farm
er at Marengo. ILL.,. where he became
orderly. Industrious and cleanly, and
made good in every way. The Big
Brother and Big Sister league thus
brought about q wholesome reform.
There are cases OF dependents In
the juvenile court-minors for whom
homes must be found-there are de-
linquents, VINO, because of the gravity
of the offenses or because of frequent
lapses from goodness, are trotted of
summarily to corrective schools. but
there are leftover" boys and girls,
who often become good men and
women in the highways of life, mere
iy by being given a second chance.
case like that of Johnnie Jones,
which came up in court the other day.
is not difficult to handle. but there are
others more intricate.
Johnnie. little curly-headed quad
room, stood before the Judge with not
a whit of penitence in his sallow boy
Lsh face. HIS mother is colored and