Evening star., 1924-01-27
WANTS OBSOLETE
! CHILD LAWS ENDED
Expert Regrets Mounting
Number of Statutes-TeIIs
Progress of Welfare Code.

In revising child welfare legisla
Ition in Washington that which is OBJ.
lsolete should be repealed and only
itively needed, Frank T. Nesbit, sec.
jretary of the commission on public
welfare legislation, declared in g
statement last night.
Every student of government re-
grets the mounting volume of law
both state and federal" read the
statement. No one would willingly
contribute to that enormous volume
anything additional unless new laws
were absolutely necessary.
"It is, Of course. important to repeal
| that which is obsolete. but the new
legislation proposed ought to be
based un the experience of other
states: it ought to be proposed be-
cause of a definite and positive need;
| it ought to be well, drafted SO as to
accomplish its purpose and to be we'll
considered from every point of view
Duty to Children.
The statement emphasized the fact
see that every dependent, neglected
and delinquent child is receiving ade-
quate care and protection.
The present movement toward
Standardization of child welfare legis-
lation dates back. Nesbit said, to
the children's act passed by England
in 1908. which resulted in such prog
ress that it was called the children's
magma charta."
a year later, he explained, America
followed suit, when President Rocse-
volt called q Pnnfarannn ut
ton of child welfare experts.
Home Life Upheld.
1T will be remembered that the
greatest pronouncement of this con-
ference was that home life was the
finest product OF modern civilization
and that no child should be taken
from his home and his parents except
for grave and serious reasons which
make it impossible for him to secur.
a square deal in his home" the state
ment continued.
1T was also the conclusion of this
conference that the state should euuir
itself to discharge it's full obligation
to the child, and it was recognized
that good law was one means of dis
charging that obligation.
"Following this White House con-
ference, which stands as one of the
great achievements of a great Pres
ident. the Governor of Ohio in 1911
appointed a child welfare commission
to study the laws of that state and
make suitable recommendations. The
commission reported to the legisIa =
ture considerable body of proposed
laws which was enacted in 1913. Thus
Ohio was the first state to recognize
the important relationship that exists
between law and the protection of
children.
I'm 1913 Oregon and New Hampshire
in 1914 the District of Columbia. ?,n and
then followed Missouri, Minnesota
Michigan, Wisconsin and large
number of other states, until at pres
ent thirty-two states have commits
sions or committees of one sort or
another whose business is to find
out whether the laws on the statute
DOCKS are serving the interest OF
children or not and to propose such
changes are circumstances made wise
ana necessary. These commissions
have repealed and amended a very
large body of law in this country
They have also proposed number
or new and progressive measures
which have protected more ade-
'quately the rights, interests and fu-
ture hopes of the coming generation
Just ten years after the White
House conference of 1909 the federal
children's bureau called another con-
ference, to which were invited not
only experts from America, but ex-
in the world, and here again were
threshed out the great social prob
lens involved in child protection, The
findings of the White House confer
ence in 1909 were in the main ap-
lproyed.