The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-06-15
AGE OF ROMANCE IS NOT DEAD YET Athletics Is Contemporary Form of Chiyalry  TO MEET IN SEATTLE National Conference of Charities Ratifies Selection of Commit
 tee-Many Addresses
 Are Heard
ITO MEET IN SEATTLE

Cleveland, June 14.-The National Conference of Charities and Correc- ffon in general session tonight ratihed its committees selection of Seattle, Wash, as the next meeting place. The date is yet to be determined.
 Age of Romance Not Dead
 The age of romance is not dead. On the contrary, all the romance of past ages has been a preparation for the golden age that Is promised by the advocates and promoters of public re- creation in American cities The dele gates attending the sessions of the National Conference of Charities and Correction were told this evening by Joseph Lee of Boston in an address on Boys, Girls and Rhythm" that the problem before the cities is the meet ing of boys and girls; that 1t is a prob lem not of evil, but of good of how fo keep this great budding force of nature, the mutual attraction of the sexes, to its natural task of producing strength and beauty. instead of per uniting 1t to go to waste and worse. cone way" said MT. Lee. lis the pro-
 
 sufficiently romantic, but boys should Read Scott and Lorna Doene while still young enough to take them seriously. Nothing makes the grosser pleasures appear more flat and tawdry than a TO mantic ideal. Athletics constitute a sexual expression---a contemporary form of chivalry, which is simply the fdeaIization of the sexual relation. All art is partly sexual. Singing especially is loves native tongue, and must be brought back from the professionals into our daily life. Dressmaking-from Praxiteles and Botticelli down to fWorth--is the art not of hiding, but of revealing beauty. and spould be taught to all girls in that intention. The dan ger in our dance halls and in any art is dn the too simple rhythm which acts, like alcohol, as an anaesthetic, relaxing the conventional inhibitions, putting conscience to sleep. Safety is in the ac- tive, the creative. in the effort more worthily to present an ideal of beauty. Even coquetry-the frankly developed art of sex attraction-as seen, for in- stance, in a Scotch song or an Irish hance. is a safety, not a danger Social dancing, when well done, aimed at musical ideal, is a satisfaction more than an excitement The true use of sexual attraction Is to give beauty to life by being wrought into the infinite forms of art"
 Forgot Object of Charitable Institution
 Charitable institution people too often forget the very purpose of the creation of no f1q he rtp rather for its own benefit than that of its patrons the state" was the charge made by H. c. Bowman, chairman of the state board of control of Kansas, before the National Conference of Chari- ties and Correction here this morning. This happens said MT. Bowman, with very worthy people who are quite honest and well meaning. It is simply a lack of perspectiveI their very pride in having the institution a model, helps to make them forget its purpose.
 Very little is known about the institu- ttons of state by the people who own and support them," said the speaker, ''even chancellors presidents, superin- tendents and wardens of the institutions know very little about the management and facilities of the other institutions. Each lives in a world of his own, in which everything pivots around him, and there is no concerted action to accom-
 
 of view of some executive officers of state institutions, the organization of an institution is first, the executive officer or officers second, the board in charge to act as a shield or buffer for the execu- tive officers; third, the governor, whom they will treat with courtesy if he does not interfere with their appropriations or their ideals of running the institution; and fourth, the people of the state who pay their bills through taxation. The correct organization would be the direct opposite"
 Legalized Wife Desertion
 ''The Imprisonment of wife deserters or husbands charged with non-support is simply legaized and enforced family aea sertion, unless the convicted husband is placed at hard larbor and the proceeds of his labor turned over by the munich pality or the state for the support of his family" said Edwin J. Cooley probation officer of the supreme and county courts of Buffalo, in an address before the Ma tional Conference of Charities and Cor rection here this morning. The speaker argued in favor of the establishment of courts of domestic relations as distinct from criminal courts, and the treatment of offenders of this class by probationary methods rather than commitment to jaIls ! and prisons.
 "Such courts could and would upon their own initiative and through the pro- bation officers" said MT. Cooley ''get ir. close touch with all the agencies of the community which make for constructive preventive work. If it be true that these non-support and desertion problems h. volve the happiness of the family and the future welfare of the children. both nor ally and materially, as well as the economic interests of the community persistent effort must be made to utilize to the full of the church, the charity or ganizations, public agencies caring for dependent children, playground associa- tions, settlements, the library. and the other agencies in the community that can help. Sane, conservative use of these forces under careful direction and super vision will hasten the time when courts Involving domestic relations will take n Unsuitable pride in the number of families they have kept out of court rather than the number of cases on their dockets.
 Boys Clubs for Dance Hall
 The substitution of boys clubs for pub lie dance halls was urged by George D. Chamberlain in an address on "Social Adventures of Boys Clubs" before the National Conference of Charities and Correction here this morning. According to the speaker mo return checks" has been the only club used to induce many rowdies to put on neckties and shave themselves before attending boys club dances Accustomed they had been when attending the ordinary dance halls to refresh themselves at a bar when fancy dictated, these young men at first ,ehelled against the rule of no return c,,eclxs b,it they were given to under