South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-09-26
NEIL IS TESTING
EMBRYO SOLONS
ON PENSION LAW

Millions of dollars that once went
to public childrens asylums will this
year be paid directly to mothers. This
statement was made by Judge Henry
Neil, father Of the mothers pension
system, who is making a tour Of the
nineteen states in which it has been
adopted, to prove it's efficiency.
Judge Neil arrived in South Bend
last night incident to his tour in In
diana, presently devoted to interview
ing candidates for the legislature on
their attitude on the subject
Never before in history has any
people accomplished such a reform in
so short a time ne says in review OF
the strides made by the mother sys-
tenn in its contest with the asylum
system. 1T is a great proof that the
people of this country really want all
children fed, clothed, sheltered,
schOOled and cared for by their own
mother in their own home. No one
now defends the asylum system. No
one can raise children in asylums or
homes. To try il means failure.
Mothers were made by nature to take
care of their own children. The best
we can do is to improve the individu-
al home and aid the mother.
Organized Charity Changes.
Three years ago il was the COM
mon custom TO tear children from
their own mothers arms by process
of law and in the name of kindness,
just because the family was poor.
Now this outrageous business is pretty
well stopped. Only "a few organized
charity societies row are in the field
against the new plan and they soon
will be completely routed. The time
is almost here when there will not
be poverty child in the United States.
1.-The search for child-pOverty will
be as relentless as was the search for
the typhoid-fever germ, and poverty
said Judge Neil, lin so far as it affects
children, will be eXterminated COM
pletely."
Speaking OF the Illinois law in par
ticular Judge Neil calls attention to
the recent report of Prof. Robert II.
Gault, Of Northwestern university,
Chicago, and editor of the Journal Of
Criminal Law and CriminOlogy.
"A study of the relation between
poverty and Juvenile delinquency"
says the professor, lis we'll under way.
Several Investigations in other cities
point to the close relationship be
tween Juvenile delinquency and de-
tendency. Our problem in this sec
ton of our investigation is to discover
and the supervision that it presup-
poses upon juvenile delinquency in the
homes.
Compare Hundred Families.
ITO this end we have selected a
group of 100 families that have come
under the benefit of the mothers
pension law and are comparing it with
a group of 100 families that would be
eligible to the pension but who are
sporadically relieved of the necessi-
ties only by the county agent
Excepting for the pension and the
supervision of the officers of the
funds to parents department OF the
Juvenile probation office the two
groups are alike On the whole there
is the same number of children in
family there is the same economic
status in one as in the other, and
they live in the same neighborhoOd."
A tabulatiOn Of data on the families
benefiting from pensions showed
these facts
"Ninety-seven of the families could
not have got along decently without
the pensions.
"Thirty-seven of the families are
better off now than they were during
the fathers lifetime.
"In seventy-four Of the families
improvements are noticeable, due to
the probation officers supervision.
There was delinquency in eleven
OF the families when the pensions
were granted. There is delinquency
in eight families now. but the detail
ed results will show that much of the
delinquency now in those families is
due to children and other relatives
above the age of IA who have re-
turned 10 the home subsequent to the
granting of the pension and to whom
the pension and supervision of the
officers do not apply