Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-07-20
DISTRICT BAD BOY
|SNOT S0VERY BAD
Composite Picture Makes Him
13 Years Old and Taker
of Small Things.
JUVENILE COURT REPORT
Is SENT TO CONGRESS
Miss King, Probation Officer, Elk
pounds the Philosophy Of the
Dirty-Faced Youngster.

- NSSA 4VAA6SVNAs
The composite photograph Of Wash
| ingtons criminal class of the short
pants style would be a dirty-faced
youngster Of the age Of thirteen in
the act of stealing q banana from a
1ruit stand, according to the annual re-
| port of the Juvenile Court, which has
| reached the District committee Of the
Senate, having been transmitted to
congress by President Wilson.
Washington's juvenile lawbreaker is
| portrayed in the report in a set of
long facts and figures. but it is easily
gathered that the average youngster
who went to Judge De Lacy's court in
the past year was caught stealing
somethfng-either a bag of peanuts, a
banana, a coupling pin or anything to
| which the juvenile mind took a fancy
at the golden opportunity when he
thought no one was looking.
Not So Bad After All.
Nor is the bad boy so bad after all,
according to the delicious report of
Miss Jean King. one of the probation
officers of the court. who has warm
SpOt hCi hSdII Luz tlc Sluulty AdCC0
young yegg, for this is what she says
| of him in her addenda to the judges
report:
1.-The small boy probationer has follow
ed his usual course. He has cheerfully
proceeded to break every probation rule
as soon as his name has been placed upon
the record. and has as delightfully."- fallen
into line when he has considered the
patience of the probation staff sufficient
ly tried. He has generally not the slight
est intention to break the law. He only
wants to feel free and happy, and pre-
| fers to be on less intimate terms with
| the police. His fingers itch to break off
| the forbidden flower, his arm aches to
fling the tempting stone, and he cannot
see why murmured regret to the victim
who comes within its orbit is not eQuiva-
| lent to a fine or a three months proba-
| ton
HE frankly admits that he borrows a
wheel which he intends returning when
| he is through with it; and he sees no
reason for suppressing his unlimited vo-
| cabulary, upon which he has put SO much
valuable time in acquiring. In reality
| the small boy of the court is absolutely
| without malice, and perfectly willing to
| forgive and be at peace with an un-
| friendly world. and possessed with an
amused tolerance toward those in author
| ity.
'.nis sense of humor is delicious: even
in his final serious motnhs of probation
| it bubbles up irresponSibly, and helps
him to many a cold day, for the small
probationer is sometimes a rather hard
up little fellow, who bravely has to hunt
up sunny spots to walk in. He is
small boy one can accept little pit1fully
| and very tenderly, but. to act with wis
dom, not too seriously.
Problems of Older Boys and Girls.
OF course, the report states that when
the older boy has to be dealt with the
problem is serious. With the girls who
went before Judge De Lacy last year
there were more serious problems, and
the probation officer says that she has
found that the best way to deal with
them is to make them little more self
reliant and self-respecting.
TIL court was busy during the year, &C
cording to the report. Juvenile offenses
to the number of 2,O39 were taken be-
fore the judge. and of these 1853 We're dis
missed, sentences We're suspended In All
cases, ia fined, 275 forfeited collateral.
$50 were committed to institutions and
$40 placed on probation in charge of a
probation officer. Petitions to place chill
dren in institutions to the number of Al
were received and forty-four of these
were dismissed. One hundred and thirty
eight petitions were filed for special labor
permits under the poverty clause of the
child-labor law for children between
twelve years and fourteen. OF these
Twenty-Five were denied, 1856 granted,
conditioned to be valid only outside OF
school hours, and only twenty-three chill
dren were given unconditional permits
for indoor work.
The court dealt with 721 adults, most of
them being men charged with non-sup-
port of families. The court wrung from
them S46,774.79 in the year, all turned
over to the families without expending
even a two-cent stamp. In addition some
of these non-support fellows were sent
to Occoquan, where their labor Melted
so cents day for the families at home,
making a total of $5,Oo7.