The sun., 1918-10-26
CURFEW ORDINANCE
Is HOTLY DEBATED
Mrs. William r. Hearst OPP
poses It as Placing Stigma
on Children.
MRS. 0'GRADY DEFENDER
Deputy Police Commissioner
Says Girls Must Be Saved
From Themselves.
MRS. O'GRADY DEFENDER

the proposed curfew ordinance, de-
signed TO keep the boys and girls-espe-
cially the girls---at home of evenings for
their own good. was warmly debated be-
fore the general welfare committee of
the Aldermen at City Hall yesterday.
Mrs. William r. Hearst was one Of the
speakers against the ordinance in Its
present form. Mrs. Ellen O'Grady.
Deputy Police Commissioner. favored Il
except that she would make the curfew
hour 7 80 p. NJ. in tho winter instead OF
and p. N. In the summer instead
OF 10.
The measure. already revised by Jus
tice Samuel D. Levy of the Children's
Court, lists parks, dance halls. concert
halls. theatres, museums, the highways
and other public places as territory for
hidden to children under the age Of six
summer and after o'clock in the win
ter unless they are accompanied by
parent, guardian or other custodian"
Any culprit caught abroad In defiance
Of the ordinance may be taken home by
ANY police officer. or other peace officer"
II the offender is found in the county
where he or she lives. Otherwise, or II
the home address can't be ascertained.
the truant shall be taken to the shelter
Of the Society for the Prevention OF
Cruelty to Children, and the adult pro-
tectors, II there, are any. shall be notified
forthwith. Then the parent OF guardian,
or the child, or both, shall be summoned
TO court.
Objections to Ordinance.
Mrs. Hearst went TO the hearing with
several other members of the Mayors
Committee OF Women on National De-
fence. OF which she is chairman. They
had two principal objections to such a
law. First, they feared that a child
would be stismatized and perhaps dis
graced by being taken home by a police
man, and consequently they argued that
the nabbers. IL anybody, should be police
women. Secondly. they did not like the
idea OF sending child to an "institu-
ton even for a night Just because its
possibly good home was not near by. In
general. they thought there was danger
OF treating a harmless child as = crimi
nal
Mrs. O'Grady said that young girls
must he saved from themselves" From
nfghtfall until Q or 10 o'clock at night
bad influences were on the increase"
Her policewomen had taken home as
many as twenty or thirty girls in a
night
why" Mrs. OGrady exclaimed, the
lower animals. the young lambs. the
birds OF the air. go home when night
falls, Why should our little humans be
out late? The situation is serious"
Bronx conditions had been reported to
her as pretty good. but she said that
young girls had been found after hours
in Central. Fort Greene and other
parks. and under the railroad track at
Ninety-sixth street where the sailors
come in"
Miss Sophie Irene Loeb, who sat with
Mrs. Hearst, asked Mrs. O'Grady X po-
licewomen couldn't gather in the wan
dering girls better than policemen.
81 believe they could IL I had enough
Of them" the Deputy Commissioner an
swered. Policemen are policemen and
have not got away from the old tradi-
tions. yet they are the most humane
when they bring a child home the neigh
bors don't know what to make OF It."
Stern Authority Needed.
In the opinion of Miss Stella Miner OF
the Girls Protective League, stern au-
thority was needed to persuade some
girls to go home. but the policemen were
too busy with other things TO go out OF
their way to round them up. She was
for the ordinance IL its enforcement was
left to Mrs. O'Grady and her police
women.
The real delinquents." observed the
Rev. John Il. Kelly. spiritual director Of
the Roman Catholic Big Brothers, ARE
not the children but the parents who go
chasing out 10 moving picture shows
while their girls and boys run in the
streets or the parks"
Increase in delinquency In other coun-
tries in wartime was cited by Justice
Levy as indication OF what New York
might expect when fathers go away In
the new draft, In Muenchner 1t had In
creased 400 per cent. In year.
"Oh. that's in Germany" piped Miss
Loeb.
I'm not one OF those morbid serti-
mentalists," pursued the Justice. who
are afraid Of the tender hand of a police
man being laid on little girl. WHY,
all the policeman says TO her Is Come
along. Mary Jane, you've got TO get
out OF this park. I'll take you homo
And he takes her home.
'lf she hasn't home I'm not going
TO get excited because the child in taken
TO the shelter of the Society for Pre-
vention OF Cruelty to Children. where
she will have a clean bed, good food and
good care until some one in the parental
relation calls for her From my thirty
eight years experience in child caring
work ! say this is the best kind OF an
ordinance. I'm not afraid OF police
man. He's a humane institution"
HYLAN UNFAIR, SAYS BLAU.