The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-07-22
NEA Service Writer

Washington.-Wh a child Is brought into federal court to face charges of helping father tend n still. delivering a bottle of boot leg liquor, stealing an automobile lot of difference what kind of a judge Is on the bench.
 Some federal judges told in- vestigators for the Wickersham committee, during it's study of the "child offender" and his treat ment by Uncle sam. that they saw no good reason for making distinction beween child and adult offenders. Others said they refused to try children when they were within juvenile court age and local juvenile agency would take care of the case.
 Inequality of treatment of ju- venile delinquents is also inti- mated in the committees report where 1t asserts: "In some dis tricts the policy is to commit al- most all to institutions, in others to commit none" One judge said he sentenced minors as d rule only when they came from igno- rant and impoverished families. as that would enable them to learn a trade. Some go on the theory that federal corrections 1 institution is a Superior type of boarding school" and others re- gard 1t as a last resort for a hardened" offender.
 In Court at Age of
 In some districts no young chill dren are prosecuted for prohibi- ton violations, on the principle that the adults are to blame for the Offcnse. But in one case three brothers, aged 13, 15 and 16, were sentenced for three years and the father and an older brother sentenced to pcniten- tiary after conviction for manu- featuring liquor on their farm.
 Children under seven years have been brought before United States commissioners. 1t was found. and others of similar age are detained in jail awaiting out come of cases in which parents face immigration charges.
 Among 303 young federal prisoners whose cases were studied In 10 institutions there were found two aged 10, three aged II, three aged 12, 10 aged 13 and eight aged {. The re- port doesn't name the offenscs fol which these kids had been sen- tenced but 155 of the group were In for violating the Dyer automo- bile theft act. A for prohibition xL Ln1 nffnnI ir, sr against the postal laws.
 Of 2243 boys and girls under IS held on federal charges in the last half of last year. however, A per cent were involved in pro- hibiiton cases, 22 per cent in i'm migration cases. 17.6 per cent in automobile thefts and per cent in postal cases.
 There Is no legal age limit be- meath which child cannot be prosecuted under federal com mission found no federal prisoner anywhere under nine years of age dts assertion indicates that Uncle Sam has a nine-year-old boy cooped up somewhere) who had actually been sentenced and com mitted. Under the federal judi cial code the child offender is on the same cooting as the adult and there is no definition of Juvenile delinquency as there Is in laws of the wide use of discretion by the judges.
 In Court Without Parents Courts also use their discretion as to whether parents should be notified when children arc brought before the court. In many instances 1t appears the parents do not know the date of trial and children frequently are committed when neither 6 parent nor a law yer ts present. Tn some federa districts careful attention is giver