The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-11-28
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
BUREAU
FREDERIC J. HASKIN, Director,
Wa ahinoton N q
THE CASE OF THE BAD BOY.
Washington, d. c.

washington, -. -, NOV. Zo.-<Al IAC
age of 13 Robert Field broke into the
hardware store in his town, and stole
a caseful of jackknives. His guilt sus-
pected, he was searched and the miss
ing property found in his clothing.
The owner of the hardware store
to his father, who gave him a vigorous
thrashing.
Since then, Robert has not been
caught in any delinquency. but he ap-
pears to have a bad influence on the
rest of the small boys in the town, and
is accused of having encouraged one
boy to steal bicycle. His school rec
ord shows that he is always out of
school because of alleged illness. and
consequently has never progressed be-
yond the fifth grade. He claims to
have "heart trouble kidney trouble"
and stomach trouble"-claims in
which his mother strongly supports
him.
Further investigation of Roberts
history reveals the fact that his father.
who died of tuberculosis shortly after
the incident of the jackknives, was
drunkard and ne'er-do-well. His
mother also has a very bad reputa-
ton.
The case of Robert Field is only one
of many uncovered in a recent investi-
cation of juvenile delinquency under.
taken by Kate Holiday Claghorn of
the United States children's bureau.
Out of twenty-one communities inves-
tigated, Miss Claghorn reports 1876
cases Of erring juveniles, 119 of whom
were boys and &c of whom were girls.
Never has the connection between
heredity and crime been more clearly
illustrated than in this investigation
by the Children's Bureau. In nearly
every case the parents of the delin-
quent child are shown to possess men
tai or moral defects.
Why. for example. did Robert Field,
among all the other little boys in his
village, show an irresponsible tend
ency to lie and steal? Some will con-
tend that it was the boys environ
ment, but at the time that he broke
into the hardware store his environ
ment was much the same as that of
the other boys in his community.
Only he was handicapped by his her
itage-a drunken father and a dis
reputable mother.
Here is another case reported by
Miss Claghorn: At the age of eleven
Harry Porterfie1d stole a watch from
a neighbor. The neighbor imme-
diately got out a warrant for the
arrest of both Harry and his father,
and the watch was discovered in the
possession of the father. The father
asserted that Harry had stolen the
watch, and that he was going to make
him return it, but this was doubted
by all who knew the father. Two
years later. Harry had become the
leader of a gang of boys who were
causing the village all sorts of trou-
BILE. Among other things, they
wrecked several buildings on the local
picnic ground. An investigation of
Harry's family showed that his father
had reputation for stealing, prin-
cipally chickens; that he had been on
probation twice for deserving his fam
lily, and that he was in the habit of
going on sprees every time he got
money enough.
Another case is Bert Snyder, who
committed his first offense against
society at the age of IA when he broke
into the schoolhouse, locked up for the
noon hour, and appropriated money
from the teachers desk. Encouraged
by his success, Bert tried this second
time and was caught and thrashed
by the principal of the school. A year
later, Bert, in company with another
boy, broke into the local grocery store
and stole SIS. The boys were suspected
and put thru an informal third degree,
in which the other boy confessed. No
action was taken, however, since the
owner of the grocery and Berts father
were friends. At the age of 16 Bert
left school, having completed only the
collecting money on deliveries of meat
for his father, who is a butcher. charg-
ing them on the books and keeping
the money for his own use. Some light
is shed on Bert's propensities when We
learn that his father is what Is known
as a bottle drnker' and has recently
had a case of delirium tremenS which
nearly left him insane.
The same kind of heredity is found
in the case of Jennie Park, 15 years
old, who recently became the mother
of an illegitimate child, the father of
which is a man 20 years old who has
finally decided to marry her. Tracing
Jennies record, the investigator found
that she had scarcely gone to school
at all, and that the scheol authorities
had not been troubled by her absence
because she was believed to be feeble
minded. John Park, the father of
Jennie Is immoral and lazy. and is
wife, who provides most of the sup
port of the family by scrubbing, is I'M
questionably subnormal.
Richard Park. Jennie'S cousin, is
also a delinquent of fifteen who has
committed several offenses of a feeble
minded nature. He has given his
teachers a great deal of trouble in
school. where he has never advanced
| beyond the third grade. One of his
| first caprices was to take a horse from
a pasture and ride it so long and hard
| that the animal died. He also bought
! eggs on account at one grocery store
and then sold them for cash at the
grocery store across the street. 1t is
| believed. however, that maturer in
| tellect instigated this particular pro-
| ceeding, since it involved a business
sense which Richard is not believed to
have. Since then, Richard has stolen
everything within his reach-chickens
vegetables, firewood, boots. Richards
father, who is the brother of Jennie's
father, is mentally subnormal, Hitter
ate, and incapable of supporting his
| family. His mother. also a village
scrubwoman, is mentally deficient.
| All of this goes to prove what Euro
! pean psychriatrists have long known
that crime is due to mental defect
| which is generally both hereditary anc
| incurable. A man who is a thief gen
| erally has a child who is a thief, I'M