Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-08-14
COURT |SAD|SCRACE,
mrs. KELLY DECLARES
Capitals Trial Place for Chill
dren AmazeS Well Known
Welfare Worker.

An instance Of the opinion Of the pres
ent quarters Of the Juvenile Court formed
by strangers in Washington the minute
they see them was afforded yesterday
when Mrs Margaret W. Kelly, inspector
Of the public welfare department Of ST.
Paul, was questioned on the subject.
Mrs. Kelly, who has become widely
known as one of the two 'policewomen"
Of the middle western city. but who ex-
planned to a Star reporter that her work
has no connection with the police depart
ment at all, when asked for her opinion
Of the structure in which Washington
children were tried for attractions Of the
law said: II never was SO surprised in
my life. I certainly expected to find a
proper building in Washington, of all
places. but this courthouse is a dis
grace"
Acquainted With Needs.
Mrs Kelly is spending her two weeks
vacation in making tour Of a number
of the larger cities Of the country. and
has visited the children's courts in every
one she has been in thus far. The work
with the children Of st. Paul occupies
most Of her time and she is well &C
oalainted with the workings Of the courts
in which juveniles are taught to respect
the law.
There has been a children's court in
every city in which l have been since
cellent one there. This courthouse in
Washington is absolutely the worst l
have seen. How on earth anything can
be done for the good Of a child in this
structure is beyond comprehension, Mrs
Kelly continued.
Mrs Kelly Was NJ course unfamiliar
with the site of the Court of Appeals
building, and was unable to express her
opinion of the plan of establishing new
Juvenile Court building on Judiciary
occupied by the building constructed for
the use Of the higher court.
Impression on Child's Mind.
Mrs Kelly agreed with the suggestion
that the surroundings in a juvenile court
were of utmost Importance. While
am not an attache of the st. Paul court.
much of my time leads me there, and
am, therefore, familiar somewhat with
the needs of children and their courts.
The impression left on q child's mind
by visit to court can scarcely be esti-
mated by the adult mind, and it must be
hard to convince q child that any one is
really taking the right kind of interest
in helping him by bringing him into the
courthouse in use in this city,
Mrs. Kelly has visited the children's
courts in New York, where a new one
has just been completed. and in a num-
Der of other eastern cities. She left
Washington last night for Pittsburgh,
Pa. where she will visit the court. Mrs.
Kelly remained in Washingto only one
day. as she has in all Of the other cities
she has visited. having divided her time
so that she can spend each day in be-
coming familiar with the work among
children in various cities, and travel at
night.
Miss Adams Also a Critic.
Criticising particularly the iron bars
across the windows of the present Ju-
venile Court building in Washington, Miss
Jane adams Of Hull House, Chicago,
said today that although she has never
seen the building here she was convinced
from what she has heard that 1t is a dis
grace to the National Capital.
Miss Adams, who has been interested
is in Washington to attend the meeting
OF the council of woman voters, of which
she is vice president at large. She
was told today OF just what kind of
building Washington has for its Juvenile
Court She expressed herself as being
surprised that Congress had not provided
for new building before this.
Pictures | have seen OF the court
building show iron bars across the win
dows." said Miss Adams 1T looks like
a prison. That is wrong. The children
should not be treated as though they
were criminals. Why have Juvenile
Courts. If they are to be made the same
as the police courts in which children
used to be tried?"