The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-12
Kept As Far Away From Courts and Institutions
 As Possible
CHANGE IN METHODS
 OF HANDLING CASES
Judge Feagin's Work in Probation System and Willows Activities in Finding Homes and
 Correcting Abuses
By WALTER HARPER

What Is being done to save the bad boys of Birmingham
 The assignment was given apropos of the fight that is now going on over the establishment of juvenile court for Jef- ferson county. and the filling of the judg- ship that will be created.
 The first thing I discovered was that there are no bad boys In Birmingham or Jefferson county. ~This is taking the word literally. All boys are bad in an innocent. rolicking red-bloodcd way, but harm to anyone. They are not crirnir als under eormal circumstances and yet in former days the wild boy was handled through the police courts just as other criminals.
 It is said that in the early cays of Birmingham wayward boys were taken up from the streets by policemen in uni form, dragged before the police judge. perhaps after lying in a dirty dongeon all night in close contact with ell sorts of criminals, and were handled, fined or punished pretty much as the adult.
 It Is said that sometimes boys were actually whipped by big police officers and even clubbed on the streets. But what was done in Birmingham in this respect was the custom practiced In al- most all the cities of the world
 Not Correst Way
 Of child life and sociology woke up to The realization that this was not tho cor rect way to handle the child. The first work along new and more approved lines was adopted by a judge in tho city of Paris who without law to sustain him pu. petty criminals on ,her honor, suspended sentence and released them on probation. stt
 Judge N. B. Feagin, who came on the bench of the Birmingham police court about that time became very deerly in- terested in the probation idea and espe- cialy in the handling of juvenile cases Like the Paris judge, he had no author bation, but he adopted the plan and, it is said, with tolerable satisfaction.
 He was most successful with juvenile cases over which he could keep some sort of surveillance, through a probation officer, which place was later created through the combined influence of Judge Feagin and the Boys Club whieh vas organized about nine years ago. The Boys Club
 The Foys' Club. which was later re- organized as the Boys Club and Child's Aid Society, had the backing of many is intended to reach children that do not come under the Jurisdiction of the police or any other court. In other words, the gociety's object is to save the rhild that is thrown in evil or dependent en- vironment from ever reaching court of legal correction or punishment. Tho so- eiety also tries to save the child from institutlonalism. It tries to find congenial end healthful homes for all children who are or may become dependent through any cause.
 That the club has done and is doing great work along this line is freely ad- initted by all classes of people who have t-thCi atHC tiiHS tO lhNOotiSdtC UT WHO by virtue of their positions have seen some of the results.
 White Children Delinquents
 After the Boys club became well esi tablished the white child delinquent coming into police court on any charge was turned over to the superintendent of the club who had also been appoint ed probation officer for the police court.
 Through personal contact and 0 friendly study of the home conditions the probation officer and his assistants have often succeeded in reforming the boy with wayward tendencies.
 But. as said before. the society went farther than this. It's officers took up the cause of the, child who without committing any offence needed the care and direction of some friend or guardian. %i,i
 Under this head come. children neg lected, children destitute for one rea- son or another, children cruelty treated, children that are incorrigible in their
 
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