Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-02-09
JUDGE JAMES e. GORMAN
On the Child and the Law

FTNllE position of the child before the law
l. has improved tremendously in the City
and County Of Philadelphia within the last
twenty years and this Improvement has
advance in the living conditions for entire
families, says Judge James T.. German. OF
the Municipal Court.
philadelphia" said Judge, Gorman
was one of the first cities in the country
to take up the matter of the relation Of
the law and the child in a really important
wav. The women of thc community played
a tremendous part in the crystalizati0n OF
sentiment for this Improvement. under the,
leadership of Mrs. Frederic Schoif and
other public spirited women. In fuct.
doubt If without their aid the improve
mcnts would have come nearly 80 soon as
they did.
The Old. Time Juvenils Offender
at seems almost incredible now. but
in those days children who were arrested
were treated in exactly the same manner
as adults. They were taken by the police
officers TO the station houses, given hear
ings by the magistrates and sent to prison
when convicted. In about tho year 1900,
there were no fewer than 800 children under
sixteen years of age confined in Moya-
mensing.
Mrs Schoif got Judge Bcitlcr interested
in the matter Of the reform of these abuses.
and ! was asked to act as juvenile magiS-
trate and hear all cases Of children. |
was very glad to do this, and soon the first
House of Detention III the United States
was established at Fifteenth and Arch
streets. Here the cases Of the children
were heard entirely away from those Of
adults.
Judge Lindsey had undoubtedly blazcd
the way by his Denver court. but ours was
the first to be established in large city
where conditions were entirely different
from those in city the size of Denver,
n,,.tpu q, tho n, pDpnln nf plila.
delphin and the cosmopolitan character Of
that population. We had trouble at first
with the police, who were not nccu >rom"d
to bringing the children to the House of
tra,cS; but these difficulties were soon
t"nightcned out and we had in rts city
the first large and substnnli ia Juvenile Court
procedure ! heard about 5000 cases each
year at that time.
The Gases in the Courts
eve had few probation officers whose
salaries were paid by private contributions.
The eases sent to the criminal courts w"r"
still tried in the same manner as adult cases
because there was no legal provision for
treating them otherwise. except that one
day II week was set aside for them. The
decisions Of the Judges in these matters were
final. whether it involved discharge or i'm
priSonmCnt.
..irhe need of something different soon
became apparent, and when the Municipal
Court was organized the Juvenile eases
we're handed over to II. In fact, one Of the
main reasons for the establishment Of this
cour, was the cases of the children. Tho
court handled the cases of all children from
the initiative to the final disposition. Sub.
scouent acts enabled the court to extend
its functions so as to include truancy and
dependency cases.
.,In the meantime the County Of PLila
deluhia had erected the Detention House n,
Twenty second and Arch streets.
Glasses Of Children's Gases
There arc three general classes rder
which most Of the juvenile case. come. Tbcso
nre delinquency. dependency and truuncy
The first Of these includes such cases aS
children brought into court for some Of thr
lnin0r violations of the law which tL"y
usually commit Dependency is when ,hoy
are brought into court on petition ,trt.
ing that they are homeless and wirbnr,
mcilns Of support. Truancy Is simply stay.
ing away from school uncXcuscd
'.But the cases Of children freuuen,lv nIor
on important part in the living conjit;nmSs
Of a whole family. When child is hr","ht
into court there immediately follow nm nv
vesiixation of its family and tho rn,m
;ions of its home the atmosphere nV nV",n, w.,
the child. 80 that the Judges know Tho cn,,.n ".
OF every child being present In the court ~
tbs procedure tsnds 70 mnke parents