Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-30
HOME IS BLAMED
FOR DEL|NQUENTS
Director of Work Among Boys
Denies They Are Inher-
antIy Bad.
BY GRETCHEN SMITH.

Boys are boys" the world over, and
all are much alike, be they sons of
prince or pauper. Boys, both big and
little, who are brought into Juvenile
Courts on delinquency charges, find
themselves there because of Improper
home conditions, or maybe no home
conditions at all, and not because they
are bad" or have inherited character
deficiencies from forbears. This is the
observation OF Rev. @. H. lie Blond,
director OF Catholic charities of the
Cleveland, Ohio, diocese, based upon 20
years experience with homeless and
underprtvilege boys in Ohio. He is at
tending the Catholic Charities Confer
ence here.
II have found" Father Le Blond
said, that the boys who come to us
at St. Anthony's Home, O home for de-
pendent boys, whether they have been
paroled to us from the courts for some
infringement Of the law, or whether
they have been taken by the courts
from undesirable home. conditions, are
no different than other boys.
'They have exactly the same reac-
tons in work or play. Sometimes when
a boy is pronounced incorrigible there
Is q physical deficiency which, with
treatment, can be remedied.
" EcC C0nC environment
Tin the molding Of character" ths
student Of boys remarked, "9O per cent
Is environment-10 per cent may be In
herited tendencies. One may inherit In.
tellectua1 traits, but there Is no such
thing as tnheriting character. Charac-
ter Is the result Of training and en-
vironment. We are most certainly Iv-
ing in O complex age-an age when
science has done most everything. But
science has not been able to change
human nature" ~
Regarding the inclinations Of present
day youth, Father LIE Blondel re-
marked: Twenty years ago, when ]
nrst went to st. Anthony's Home, the
boys would save every penny they might
earn by extra work in order to buy q
bicycle. That was their ambition-to
own . bicycle. Youth has always been
crazy about locomotion. Today thu
boys want to save to buy Q second
we are living In q faster age, not that
the desires Of youth are different
st. Anthony'S Home Is unusual In its
system. Here boys from the ages of IA
to 18 who are without proper homes
receive care and supervision without re-
Striction. There are 40 boys who now
receive care and shelter from the home,
some having been paroled to the insti-
tuition by the Juvenile Court. All of
the boys work and are free to come and
go as they would In their own homes.
the home by $3.50 o'clock.
Many Good Cftisons
Father LsBlond says that over q hun.
dred young men who once called St.
Anthony's ~hOme" are now hard
working, conscientious citizens, most Of
them married and with families, living
In the neighborhood Of the Institution
which for 90 long was the only place
they could call home"
In addition to St. Anthony's, Father
LIE Blond Is deeply interested in the
work being conducted in his diocese by
the Sisters Of Charity, with an expert
mental home for dependent little chill
dren at Parma, o suburb of Cleveland
The home, known as Parmadale, has
gained reputation throughout the en-
tire country as being q model institu-
ton. 1t Is one Of the first where the
cottage system has been adopted. Upon
$50 acres OF land, 100 of which are
Woodlands, IL cottages have been built,
OF which house groups Of 40 boys each.
Inc cther 3 cottages, compose Office
buildings, school buildings and dining
sAeAAA LAG ~ bOyo lANAklB III OI16 COLLdRe
have genuine home life as nearly as
1t Is possible with such a large group.
Two Sisters of Charity are resident In
each cottage to look after the boys. One
is house mother"--the other is teacher.
The teacher has no Jurisdiction in the
cottage, nor has the house mother
any power to dictate in. the school. or
with the lessons. The two women merely
advise, as would members of a Parent
Teacher Association.
Help Younger Boys.
The different cottage groups ara
entered into friendly competition IN
athletic sports, thus Stimulating
healthy pride in individual cottage
homes" The 40-boy group consists Of
boys ranging in ages from . years TO
10. Older boys help take care Of the
smaller ones, assisting them with per-
sonal needs and lessons. Thus the
older boy, develops unselfishness and
resourcefulneSs through having the re-
sponsibility and dependency of younger
boys. Younger boys also quickly adopt
the right and proper way by watching
and observing older boys.
Boys frequently will not do what
teachers will tell Them" said Father
lie Blond. but they will always take
the advise of other boys" Parmadale,
which was established i've years ago.
has been an experiment, which has
proven so successful that 1t u hoped
soon to have Q home for girls run
In conjunction with that for the boys.