The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-18
Outfit the Gift to IIu.
manit Of Three
Brothers 80 What It's
Advantages Me n to
the Wounded Soldiers

~ - - 'sfhS W. AILN
These gangsters are the worS, in.
fiuence in the ncighborhood working
not only against school Attendance
but against home control and rood
ideals. To the younger bows rh.v
look like heroes. They fight and
swear and spit and chew and boas,
They advertise themselves 10 IN.
small boy as what you Will be II
you do as we say and tie small
boy. as they say. falls for IT, for
lack of any other vision Of the period
Of life just ahead Of him. These older
boys promise to protect the younger
one from the cop the truant officer
and the court. For every boy in such
II gang who gets sent up dozens es.
cape. Therefore the younger bows
believe In the proffered guardianship
and accept II.
The school does nc. feel more BIZ.
terly against these gangs than 90
the mothers OF the boys themselves.
but both seem powerless to contend
against them. The West Side gang
is a sort of self-perpetuating ins,i,u-
ton which is constantly fed from be-
meath by the ranks Of truants as the
tlhtI iIltIilbtIS pass ON To DEEPER
shades of vice. graduating into thugs
and saloon toughs Of the neighbor.
hood, who in turn lend protection TO
the next In succession"
What kind of a job are YOU going
to look for when you go to work."
This question. put by Miss Irwin.
brought among others the following
surprising W
"A Job to open doors for ladies who
get out of automobiles
"A job In a pool room. you get lots
OF tips"
AN artist and paint scenes on the
walls Of saloons"
These answers. showing imagina-
ton, were given by boys on the West
Side. The boys on the East side
who had aspirations were going 10
become brokers. doctors. lawyers.
architects, civil engineers and other
professional men. Continuing on this
subject, Miss Irwin says in the re.
port:
Two things were equally notice.
able in the conversations on the sub.
Iect of future occupations. First was
the absolutely unstimulated attitude
Of the boys, all within "A year or so
of working age and many within a
few months OF actually seeking en-.
ployment. Apparently neither At
home nor at school lad any one pre-
scented to them any constructive plans
for "A career Second, was the eager.
ness with which they entered INTO
conversation on the subject and We.
coined suggestions of any kind Il
would seem that individual inter-
views with these boys concerning
their economic prospects and the Ie-
lation of education To- success woui.
he fruitful means Of interesting them
in regular attendance. While voca-
tional training in the schools and
~prevocational classes are under d..
cussiOn and scientific vocational cl.l.
ance is mercllsa phrase. doubtless ID
little unscicntiiic but Interested con-
vcrsatiOn between individual teachers
and individual boys would hc most
Iemuneratlvc in helping the child 10
bridge that wide gap between ~,
known airl the unknown, and in Civ
ing him a vision of a future career
founded on his present education
IL her investigation Miss Irwin
studied n hundred and fifty cases
intensively. Twenty of these were
girls on the West Side. twenty. seven.
boys on the East Side, one hundred
and three, boys on the West side
From this study Miss Irwin draws
the following conclusions IN her re-
port:
"Truancv is like sickness in tina,
every case canno be cured by a dose
from the same bottle. More than half
the value of the treatment must con
sist IN a careful and correct diaguo-
sis of the cause in each case. H.
this comparatively small number OF
cases OF truancy so many different
oauses have been found that there
must be on the entire list OF truan's
throughout the city a still larger
number of causes as Yet Undecided
only an analytical method OF treating
these cases can bring about an in
t~elligent and effective handling Of
them.
OF the truants studied by Miss II
win AZ per cent were actually feeble
minded and : per cent. were border
line cases. DISCUSSING this phase O.
the subject Miss Irwin says:
"Oue OF the salient characteristics
of the mental defective Is never 20
do anything regularly and on tine
except through training and hadn't
formation or from outside c1mpuls.or.
A methodical and well ordered lie
is essentially the product %. a norma.
mind"
Another important influence upon
tlo tr,,n,t found lNr Mice truth us
whether the boy came fror, a com.
plete economic family, that IS both
parents living. father earning, mother
1T home. OF the cases studied ~
per cent. did come from such q family.
while - per cent. did not az ms
situation Miss Irwin says III Yer re-
port
THE East Side boys who come from
incomplete families are no such prom
lem as the West side hoNs IL the
first place the proportion Of Zen
boys is small.
"Thc West side cases. or The o'1eF
hand. were of a far more serious nae
ture. Perhaps there IS nothing more
pathetic on al, the WoS' S.ir '.'.
the boy without a mother y '...."'
case is illustrative of ,n-i'.'''
others:
John is 10 years old ltIs mother
died when he was 10 Yeas a'. a
lived with his father. sister AM .''e
brother for a while: hUt his '''f
took in another womau NHt
took his little brother .a! "..'''
out, i wouldn't stand fpr '.t'. 'e
said