Evening star., 1922-12-18
Senator Brookhart Would
Replace Juvenile With
Parental Court.
PENSION FOR MOTHERS
Measure Seeks Divorcement From
Criminal Law of Children
Under 18 Years.

| Changing in important respects the
law and the method of dealing with
dependent and delinquent children In
| the District, a bill was introduced In
( the Senate today by Senator Brook
hart of Iowa. 1t is understood that
an identical bill will be offered in the
House by Representative Free of Cali
| fornia.
| The Brookhart bill defines the legal
| status of all children under eighteen
years Of age in the District; creates
parental court. which will take the
place of the Juvenile Court, and pro-
vides for a pension to mothers with
dependent children.
! Bill Explained.
! In statement issued by Senator
| Brookhart. explaining the DILL the
Iowa senator, says. in part:
| with the growing law Vlolatlons
| by tho youth of the land. we need
somewhere the establishment OF a
| system of child control and mothers
| assistance that will be modei IN
| statute provisions and in actuai work.
1t is my belief that Washington.
| therefore. should inaugurate and put
| into force this plan for parental
court
Courts of punishment were never
| intended to save the individual. out
! to protect society from the criminal. !.
| Therefore in my bill we propose first
| to lift children from adult measure
! ment in law and make them infants
| In criminal. Now, they are infants IN
| civil law.
| With the enforcement of all chill
| dren under eighteen years OF age
| from criminal law. this necessitates
! the establishment of a judicial de-
partment of a very high order. which
| for the moral education. the detention
and the care of children, must ex-
| ercise equity jurisdiction.
This, then. is embodied IN n
, parental court of the District of Co.
| lumbia.
Aims Sought.
Being of 4 parental nature, thls
court only steps in to assume any
control of child after the two other
parental agencies fail-that Of the home
| and the school.
| "To these two institutions the parental
court offers assistance for such children
as are disobendient to law and authority.
| or are in distress because Of the acts OF
| others.
Under the parental plan. no child is
| arrested, never a Criminal complaint can
obtain against a child, but the matter
+, is wholly one of right and proper Gus
tody Thus, there can never be rec
ord against child under eighteen
| years of age.
| Protection to Parents.
1.-THE measure offers every protection
| to parents in the permission of petitions
and appeals and continued hearings. the
! whole bent being to keep children in
the home under control of parents and
/ in school under normal conditions.
! In the child's relief allowance. We
! have but approached the mothers PEN
sion idea from a more dignified angle.
: Instead of sort of charity given
! the mother by some organized agency.
We dignity the home and make an
! appeal to the child by stating that all
! children under certain conditions are
! entitled to child relief allowance. The
child in plenty today may. because of
| circumstances. be in need tomorrow.
! In this event it is wonderful thing
/ for 4 child to know that his govern
! ment comes to his relief and that he
/ has a right to assistance because of
| his condition, which adults have
brought about.
/ With the unit the child. then the
j mother is designated as the proper
| person to expend this allowance and
/ to provide a home for her children.
Pension Measure.
! "The ordinary mothers pension
! centers all about the mother, and sub
! jects her to delays, to legal investi-
! CATION. to a prying into all her
! domestic and friendly relations. to the
! prosecution of her husband If per-
! chance he is able and has not con-
I tributed to the support of herself and
children. And all the while the
| children are in need of food and
shelter. and pending investigation
of the mother, they have been taken
/ away and placed In other homes for
board, where those assuming custody
! for this purpose are not investigated
i relative to their moral and domestic
and friendly relations"
| Referred to Committee.
| The Brookhart bill was referred to
the Senate District committee. which
already has before 1t the Calder and
Pomerene bills providing for assist
ance to mothers with dependent chill
dren in the District of Columbia. The
committee is expected to refer the
| Brookhart bill to the District Com
missioner for report and recon-
mendations. The committee made 1t
clear at a recent meeting that 1t
would not undertake to legislate on
child relief until it has received the
report Of the Commissioners.
Under the provisions of the Brook
hart bill the parental court would
have one judge. appointed by the
President and confirmed by the Sem
ate, serving for term of six years.
The salary of the judge would be
Sc, 900 a year. The court officers would
be appointed by the judge, and would
include a clerk at $4,000. a chief
parental guardian at $500. a deputy