The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1920-08-05
THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 1920
INSTITUTIONS NOT PERSONS

Kenosha county are at loggerheads over the
management of the office of the probation Off
Ger and the duties of that office but it is to be
hoped that the fact that people have disagreed
will not lead the people to believe that personal
Disbursements over methods, over employment
Of assistants and over details, to believe that
the program of the probation office is failure.
It is a lot bigger thing to have institutions than
to have people to hold offices in these institu-
lions and with the certainty that the County
Board will judge fairly as between the Judge
and the Probation officer warning is sounded
that the people do not reach the idea that it
might be just as well to dispose of the proba-
ton Office or limit the work of that department.
Squabbles of this kind are usually disposed
of by eliminating the cause of the squabble but
it is to be hoped that the county board of Ke-
nosha county will be more far sighted.
The work of the probation office under the di-
rectiUn of Miss Hahn has proven the value of
this work to Kenosha county and no one who
has been in close touch with the work would for
minute think of it's elimination even to bring
peace in the official county family.
Possibly we have had the wrong idea of the
probation department. We had not considered
it as the servant of any one institution in the
county but as the servant of the entire county
ready to serve the Municipal Court the County
Court, the Circuit Court, the Police Depart
ment, the Sherff's Office or any other office
which heard the call of humane treatment of
big problem and sought the answer to the
problem The probation office is expected to
look after the bad boys and the bad girls but
it is not expected to turn a deaf ear to good
girls and good boys if the call comes for it's
kindly ministrations.
It has been our idea that the probation de-
partment was a department for the whole
county That it was to be made up Of several
ounces of reform, several ounces Of prevention
and just enough of humanity to make good
pound of good works. We had come to believe
that the work of the department was about
equally divided between prevention and cure,
and that prevention of child delinquency by de-
veoping better conditions in homes was just
as important as the reform of child criminals.
We do not know whether the best results in
this work could be secured by man or wo-
man probation officer. We do know that after
wide investigation and supposedly an intelli-
gent investigation the committee of the county
board decided that the work could be best done
by woman. 1t is too early to call the decision
Of the board an error 1t takes time to work
we believe that the probation officer has made
haste just as rapidly as could be expected The
pertinent thing is that the work is now becom-
ing well organized in the county. Towns in
the county are forming organizations to CO..
operate with the department, civic organiza-
tons in the city limits have shown an interest
in the work and a willingness to aid the proba-
ton officer both in the prevention of delin-
Of 4Lo o,,J
girls who have gone wrong. We are inclined to
believe that the plans worked out in Kenosha
county have been almost as satisfactory if not
quite as satisfactory as those in other counties
Of the state
It isn't possible for the whole people to be
satisfied with any work Of this kind. Some peo-
pie are sure to call it fad and others are sure
to feel that it is just offering chance for 9TH
ers to get work from the county and increase
the taxes but the real test is the story that
comes back from the homes that this work has
touched. The heart story in this case is the
story worth while
We do not attempt to divide credit for the
success of the organization which has been
completed Undoubtedly much of it has been
due to the work of Miss Hahn. Undoubtedly
she has been aided by the county committee
headed by Judge Fully
The important thing is that the work should
go on and the county board should tell the
contending factions that they must bury their
differences and work with the understanding
that the county and its people get served and
with the understanding that none of them, but
rather, the county of Kenosha and its officially
elected heads is the BOSS. The Importance
of this work to the public is not in who is to be
the "boss", but the results which are to be at
%ainod