The evening leader., 1918-09-07
REPORT OF PROBATION
OFFICER FOR AUGUST

Io tIle DodIu VI SOuHLy SOnHlS-
sioners:-
The county relief list for the pres
ent month contains twenty-six names,
of which fourteen are widows, five of
the number being incapacitated by
age or sickness, the other nine having
dependent children, in addition to the
burden of physical weakness, with
two exec pt 'ons. Six men without
family ties have been compelled, in
their time of dependence, to look to
the public for the aid which doubtle SIS
each one, with one exception, could
have provided for himself during his
years Of vigor. had he possessed the
necessary thrift and foresight One
man who has deparded for y~H~2 rrrr
private ard public charity died just
after being committed to the state
hospita! for the insane. The remain
mig two cases are children who, for
the present, require assistance from
the public.
Early in August Il troublesome boy
was sent to the juven.te court, brt
was sent home to await the Turn
of the Judge, before whom he will be
aur.noned in the naar future. IN
the meantime he is trying t. DO
right, and so clear his nanc Two
other boys recently placed under p O.
baton are doing well. A little
motherless boy, suffering 'ha loss Of
his father also, remained in the care
of the kind hearted undertake who
took charge Of his fathal'q body, to
be sent 10 his frandfather in accord
with his fathers dying request.
In the interest Of child welfare
visit was made with the County Child
Welfare nurse to home containing
SIX children, ranging in ag- &.o>t
thirteen to fopr years. The thirt cen
year old child claims 70 have reached
the third grade, which means that shc
has passed through the first two
grades, the next two children practi-
cally have never been in school, while
the six-year-o'd boy was emphatic IN
his refusal to enter school this tern,
Z his family lives within two miles
of one Of our fine graded schools, yet
the detected mother, whose energy
seems to have disappeared in her un-
ending struggle with poverty and i'll
health, says she does not send The
children to school because she cannot
lo p thon IN clothing. When i Wa
suggested that clothing might be sup
piled she still asserted they could not
go, as ''the larger boys at school are
SO mean, and chunk the little ones al
the way home" In this "Chi]drcn'S
Year" no better work can be done fol
! child welfare than to make all possi
bic effort to encourage regular schoc
attendance among all children within
reach, one of the inalienable rights O
all children being the right to sucl
an education as their mentalities ar
able to receive.
The necessity for this course espoe
tally affects little Children. as ch.lc
who by regular attendance has reach
cd the fifth grade at he age Of te,
years entering school at six ard max
ing a grade each year, WI requjr
no coercion to finish the eighth grade
while a ten-year-ol1 child in the sec
ond grade finds school an irksome Oh
legation from which 70 scape at II
earliest possible moment. Pin2lla
county may well be proud of it
system Of public schools, but the tax
payers are not receiving full return
from their investmenrs so long as on
child does not receive IT, full benef
of these schools
SARAH COLTON SMITH.
County Prohatio Officer,