Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-03-06
Give the Kids a Chance"

Give the Kids Chance"
/ Editor KcEncec Journal:
| There is a bill for hearing before the
Judiciary Committee, Friday, March
{, in behalf of the children, the biggest
natural resource of the State, and
! would speak to every legislator on the
subject and urge the fairness and ne
cessity of cnacting this law.
! 1t is Il bin framed TO so conserve
| the largest natural resource that W.
| will save To the state much Of its
manhood and wurnanhood in their
strength rather than in their weak
ness.
We are at the wrong end of the
proposition when we are bending our
back To pay the tax imposed for tho
care. maintenance and ENLARGE
MENT of cur aysIams for the unfortu-
nate class. We must, of course. look
out for them VINO cannot look out for
themselves, BIT. we are trying to
care for the product of an i'll condi-
ton ard are doing nothing for the
condition. We talk glIhly about the
conservation OF natural resources and
forget that we are doing il ALL for
the children Ia Gene on the stage of
action when we leave it. We forget
that the State would not he State il
it were not for tie childreni We
seem 10 forget that we are conserving
| everything else than the children
| themselves,
Lei us consider them the GREAT
EST NATURAL RESOURCE and sec
if we cannot save the great sums they
are asking for In enlarge this Schooi
and that by the application of a little
common sense and without the eX-
penditure of much money
1t is written of the Illinois law.
The juvenile court law, it is now con-
! coded, ranks as one of the most
beneiicent enacthients upon the
statute books of Illinois, If good for
that state and so good that it was
| written into the constitution of one of
the latest states to be admitted 10 this
glorious Union, why should it not be
good for Maine
Just a figure or two: In Denver.
Colorado, 354 boy cases were disposed
of in is months. Under the old sys-
| TEN the cost would have been am
average of $227.92 per capita. including
| the average term of Imprisonment, a
total of Sl03,475.68. The actual cost
under the Juvenile Court and Proba-
ton system was $I4.648, n saving Of
| S3,S276S to the state. Was that
good? Figure the saved expense to
the state Of the lives saved To useful
citizenship
Before the days of the Juvenile
Court in Utah, the average attendance
at The reform school for boys was be-
tween $50 and 175. Shortly after the
commencement of the Juvenile Court,
finally showed an average attendance
of only IS. Did that save anything
Was it good for Utah?
II we could have the attendance at
our School for Boys and Industrial
School for Girls reduced one half
would it be beneficial?
Answer these questions fairly, Mr.
| Legislator, and give the kids a chance
| to show what good they can be- Do
not, as is usually the case when the
unfriended boy is before the municipal
court, kick him out to get rid, of
him. Establish the law for the chill
dren and see if it does not work to
reduce the big attendance at these
schools. Would it not be better to
save our money this way while, at the
same time, we were saving citizens?
As now arranged, the lad goes TO
the Maine School for Boys under Il
criminal record and after a criminal
procedure in court He gets the
record-criminal record-and often in
matter very trivial and in some
where the adult person is wholly to
blame. There is nothing short of
the Indian Gin tradition). except the
boy, with so big a bump of get event"
Because he is unfairly dealt with in
many respects, is the cause of the
statistics showing that So per cent. of
the boys leaving reform schools under
the conditions in which ours is run
return to cost the State more and more
money as they grow into old Offend
ers.
The judge can only inquire into the
fact of whether or not the kid COM
mltted the act charged. If guilty,
then the punishment must lie made 10
fit the crime" and not the boy. For
instance here is u boy of IL swiping u
wheel. He is sent UP for eight years
at the school. Such a case came into
one of our juvenile courts not long
since and on examination of the