The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1915-12-07
Article On The Delinquent
Boy" Is Written
By Probation Officer Purcell
For The Industrial
School Journal

In the December number of the In.
dustrial School Journal, published at
Lancaster in connection with the
Boys Industrial school, there appears
an interesting article written by Pro.
baton Officer Patrick Purcell of Mt.
Vernon, entitled 1.-THE Delinquent
Boy"
The complete article follows
AS a probation officer of the juve.
nile court for the past eight years, I
am frequently asked the question,
why are we required to have juve.
nile courts and Juvenile officers, and
why are SO many boys committed to
our Industrial schools We did not
have so many bad boys when we
were young" My answer is, "Condi.
tions have changed; today we have
temptations beyond number; a lack
of proper home training, and the lib
erty granted children has increased
so that 1t is necessary to enact new
laws, new forms and methods for the
protection of youth And again, the
thinking people of this nation having
come to realize the value of our boys,
are led to methods and agencies to
save rather than send them to their
ruin. The whole purpose and intent
of our juvenile courts is to separate
the juvenile delinquent from all Grim
!nal court procedure, and give the
child to understand that he is not a
criminal, but the most valuable as
set Of the state, and the foundation of
a good citizen, and worthy of the care
and protection OF the law. And for
this purpose, and to carry out the in
tent Of the law, every probation Off
Ger should be person whose heart
and soul is in his work, namely, the
saving Of unfortunate delinquent
children. The probation officers duty
is different from that of any other
officer of the law; the efficiency of
the average officer Of the law is mea-
sured by the number of arrests and
convictions, while with the probation
officer it should be the opposite; his
record should be based on the num-
Der of children saved from arrest and
criminal record. He should be in.
terested in the future of children, and
this rule should apply to all those
connected with institutions that care
for delinquent children. If their in
terest in and love for this class of
children Is not above compensation
and politics then they are in the
wrong place. 1t is by love and pa
tience that this class of boys are
saved for citizenship. Those who
deal with delinquent boys should
have magnetism, firmness, wisdom
and the unselfishness and tender love
of our Lord and Master. But, the
truth still remains that occasionally
boy is found that all human power
seems fruitless to save"
And now as to why so many boys
I'M our industrial school? l answer:
environment, neglect and commit
ment without just cause or thorough
investigation. Many are only home
less and friendless, and are commit.
ted as delinquents; some are mental
ly deficient and not responsible for
their acts. Some of these boys it is
true, are lawbreakers, and are paying
the penalty, but they are not crimi-
nails; most Of them never had a
chance: they have not been taught
Gods Ten Commandments, or the re-
suits of a misspent life. It is true
that some have come from good
homes and parents, but their assoc
iations led them astray; this fact
goes to prove that the sanctity and
security of good home depends on
how well other homes in the same
community are regulated. Therefore
1t is essential that we should have a
common interest in home building for
the benefit of all.
What are some of the common
causes of delinquency? First let me
ask those who are interested, and
what would be your answer when I
tell you that in the Boys Industrial
school at Lancaster there are more
than twelve hundred boys whose av-
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