The Washington times., 1925-06-08
LISTEN, WORLD!
By ELSIE ROBINSON.

r AM happier today. I have
come out Of a bad dream and
found fineness where ! had not
expected it. The bad dream start
ed when read that Judge Mac
Nellie, Of the Juvenile Court Of
Philadelphia, had sentenced a lit
tie boy to q cruel whipping. I did
not know Judge MacNeille, but
did know little boys, thousands OF
them. And as / read that story
their naughty. frecklad. fright
ened, helpless faces seemed to rise
before me, pleading for protection.
AS l sat down sick with pity and
fury and wrote hot fighting words.
And now today in the following
statement which Judge MacNeille
has been prevailed upon to give
the world, / find that the story
was not true and that the judge
was not stupid. was not cruel, but
a kindly. just man who did his
best to serve an erring child and
troubled family. So in this place,
wher& you all may see, am
stretching out my hand and ask
ing Judge MacNeille to take it
and forgive the injustice which
/ helped to work. Will you ac-
cept. Judge MacNeille. this honest,
friendly tribute from one who
tries so blunderingly to serve that
cause in which you lead so gal
lantly?
Judge MacNeille's letter follows:
Let it be made plain that the
Juvenile Court of Philadelphia is
unalterably opposed to corporal
punishment in any form. This
much is true, however, that the
law in Pennsylvania is @the same as
in every other State in the Union:
and that is. it does not permit
juvenile court judges to interfere
with parents methods of punish
ing their children while their
methods are within the bounds of
decency and reasonableness. which
means that neither barbarous,
cruel, nor calculated to do physical
nor mental injury to the child.
and that the measures used are
not too severe.
Probably the majority of chill
dren are raised with a small. or
reasonable, amount of corporal
punishment. While we are per-
sonally opposed to it we have no
right to impose upon the citizen
our opinion until the State,
through legislation, authorizes it.
The case tried by Judge Ray
mond MacNeille, and which mas
been widely discussed was that
Of a boy, the son of foreign-born
parents. who conceived a con-
tempt for them-largelyA because
of his ability to speak our Ian
guage more fluently, L could
understand the Anne street
life better than his irents. He
was evidently pampered by these
parents who, while in poor CIR
cumstances thems $, had Law
ished everything III he boy un-
til he was a very much exag-
gerated egotist.
He sneered at his parents, be-
lieving there was no such thing
as parental control. He snecred
at the juvenile court because he
believed it had no power to
handle him. Physically and men,
tally a perfect specimen. with
nothing the matter with him but
his exaggerated ego.
'IIis foreign parent believed
too that he dared not attempt
to cOntrOI the Doy lnpuueHcV
and misconduct. Rather than
have him in anger attempt to
chatise this boy the court oil.
rected that the father should do
so in the presence of probation
officer who was charged with
tie duty of seeing that the pun.
ishment was mild. 1t was indeed
mild, as this doting father had
spoiled the boy by his lack OF
asserting control over him. ANY