Evening star., 1933-03-31
ChiIdren's Aid Society Head
Addresses Jurisprudence
Institute.
PARENTAL DISCIPLINE
AND CONTROL is SCORED
Baltimore Speaker Advocates Pun
ishment Of Parents and Treat
ment of Children.

An age when juvenile courts would
punish the parents of delinquent chill
dren and treat the offenders was en-
visaged today by Paul T. Beisser, execu-
tive secretary of the Henry Watson
Children's Aid Society of Baltimore.
Speaking before the Institute on So
cial Jurisprudence-the Child, the Law
and the Court-at the United States
Chamber of Commerce Building, Beis-
ser attacked the present American
juvenile court system.
He advocated
Intelligent discrimination between
punishable delinquency and the mere
absence Of parental discipline and
control.
That the juvenile court should pun
ish the parents and treat the children.
Urges Modern Methods.
That it should use modern diagnostic
methods and should not attempt to
control all treatment processes.
That 1t should use its power to make
people utilize proper treatment facili-
ties, but should not demand miracles
OF the treatment services, the social
agencies"
Beisser said the juvenile court should
not be regarded as a substitute for the
normal discipline CT life" adding:
The juvenile court Is not a panacea
Tor all OF the Ills of the young generation
Unless 1t mtelligently discriminates be-
tween punishable delinquency and the
absence OF proper parental control it Is
a very real menace. The court should
not act as vortex and suck In all the
ordinary cases of child activity, but
should act as an intelligent body and
call before 1t the really punishable
Quality rearing"-the raising Of chill
dren IN the proper environments the
chief problem cf the juvenile courts and
al otner social agencies in producing
new generations, said Beisser. He at
tackled the present system by which
parents can unload their whole fespon-
sibilities on the schools from the pre-
scncol nursery age UP through the
graduate schools. Referring to the
inherent tendency" of juvenile courts
to take children away from their
parents, he said:
Parental Absence Held Bad.
The worst thing that we do today is
70 take the children away from their
parents. 1t Is the most virulent. most
violent. and sometimes bestial punish-
ment that could be meted out and it
Is q wrong that can never be rightsd"
Truancy Is no crime, Beisser said,
asserting that the American people Of
this modern era apparently have lest
the Mark Twainism of regarding play
ing hockey as romantic and exciting
adventure. AZ he had anything to do
with 1t, Beisser added, no truancy case
would ever be brought into Juvenile
In urging that modern diaenostic
methods be adopted by the Juvenile
courts. the speaker stressed particu-
iariy the necessity for instructing par
ents In how to bring up their children.
he also advocated modern mental and
medical examinations and special treat
ments OF children based on individual
cases rather than classification. He
attacked the tendency of both the
courts and social agencies to "forsyer
classify and not examine more thor
oughly. He pointed to the fallacy OF
building parental schools and then
sending children to them instead of
parents.
Probation Officer Speaks.
Beisser was followed by James s.
owens, probation director of the De-
partment Of Correction of New York
State. Owens topic was what Kind
OF Persons Are Qualified to Administer
the Juvenile Court?" Judge j. Wilmer
Latimer, formerly of the Juvenile
Court, presided over the morning ses-
SION, with Joel r. Moore, probation
supervisor. United States Courts, acting
as discussion leader.
= AT a luncheon session Mrs. Edward
Z. Costigan presided, with Miss Hem
sioner of New York City, and JOY Ell
mer Morgan, editor of the National
Education Journal, the speakers.
Otner speakers included DR.. John
O'Grady, Ray L. Huff, DR.. Miriam F.
Dunn, Sanford Bates, Justin Miller and
Edward M. Gerlach. A
Sponsors Iof Institute.
Judge Jesse c. Adkins 3d. DR. Franr ciuae W
Ballou, Mrs. Louis d. Brandeis. Mrs
Frederick Brooke, Joseph A. Burkart.
Judge James A. Cobb, Mrs. Hugh
cummings, Mrs. Wilson Cornpton
John O'Connor, Mrs. Whitman Cross
Mrs. Henry Grafton Doyle. Ms
Charles Goldsmith, Bishop James =
freeman, DR.. Paul H. Furfey, Judge
Z: lawrence Groner, Mrs. Gilbert
Grosvenor, Coleman Jennings, DR..
1oi Gil oolusou, MRS. "A. j. McKelway.
w. w. MILAN, Mrs. Gerrit Miller ir.::
Mrs. Elwood P. Morey. George Hewitt
Myers, Mrs. Charles p. Neil, H. c.
Newcomer, Col. and Mrs. Arthur
O'Brien, Mrs. Eleanor Patterson, District
Commissioner Luther H. Eeichelderfer.
Mrs. w. M. Ritter, Elwood Street, Wal
ter Uford. Mrs. Mabel Walker WILLIE
brandt, Arthur Wood and Sanford
Bates.