Evening journal., 1915-03-05
rmr PROTEST. AGAINST COURT MERCER.

NHAYOR HOWELL is the executive head of the city
lV1 Of Wilmington Attorney General Wolcott is the
chief prosecuting officer the entire State. City So
lictor Hastings is the prosecuting officer for this
city When those three men join, they have done, in
formal condemnation of the bill proposing merger
Of the Municipal and the Juvenile courts it time
the members Of the Legislature and Governor Miller
to sit up and take notice When Of other repre-
sentative men and women join with them in opposition
10 the merger plan, added weight is given to the
gcstion for legislative and executive attention
Mayor Howell that the Juvenile Court should
be continued as separate distinct court; that it
should be kept Of politics. and that the Judge Of that
court should receive reasonable salary.
Attorney General Wocott insists that juvenile de-
hnqncnts should be taken before tribunal which deals
solely with their AS Mr.. Wolcou views it,
Judge who deals with regular criminal becomes.
TO some extent al least temporamentally disqualified TO
deal with the delicate and difficult problems which he
would encounter in the handling of the of chill
dren. He insists that. far It may be possible
10 do So sc-rcspcct OF child dclnqucnt should be
protected that they should not be made to feel that
they have become criminals by being subjected to
the corrective influence of the Juvenile Court Further
point is made by the Attorney General that tho Judge
OF the Municipal Court would not be able TO devote
the time 10 the Juvenile Court work that would be nc
cossary for a proper discharge Of that work.
City Solicitor Hastings goes farther than docs
Attorney General Wocot lie insists that neither the
Judge of tho Municipal Court. tho City Solicitor
the Assistant City Solicitor is tomperamcntaly fitted to
have anything to do with tho Juvenile Court II is in
sisted by him that judge who deals with hardened
criminals becomes hardened himself in dealing with
criminals Point is made by him that Of the best
mon in Wilmington today were bad boys at l6 as
can be found in Wilmington today. As he views it. the
Judge of the Juvenile Court should not only protect
society against bad boys and girls but also devote him
self TO work that will such juvenile dolinquents
from themselves City Solicitor Hastings says Judge
and a probation officer arc enough to the Juvenile
Court and that from financial point OF view the seps-
rate tribunal should be properly maintained. Only by
dealing with dolinqucnts in parental way, he says,
can proper results he obtained
Those viows coincide with tho expressed views of
this paper. We have said, and we now repeat that
the Juvenile Court should exercise parental and not
punitive function; that should be kept so far
apart from the criminal that the nge of being
criminal court never should attach TO il in the minds
of the child delinqucns; that the court should have
it's own entity and its own judge and that the judge
should play the big brother role in dealing with those
taken before him Even If the judge Of the Municipal
Court for whom have the warmcsl regard, were
fitted tempcramenally to deal with hoy and girl dc
linqucnts he would have the time to do the iuyen
! lie work as it ought TO be done by proporly-con-
/ stuted parental court
The court must be conducted that 1t will take bad
boys and girls and convert them into good boys and
girls That result cannot be accomplished by putting
even by inference, the tag Of crimnality upon them
and destroying their self-respect