Evening star., 1936-04-09
CRIME COURT USE
FORYOUNGF0UGHT.
Mrs. Roosevelt Opposes
Legal Routine in Juvenile
Matters.

Recommending that the juvenile
court be removed from criminal pro-
cedure as far as possible, Mrs. Frank
lin D. Roosevelt told the Voteless
League of Women Voters at lunch
con Yesterday that the court should
be made an agency for better under
standing in the handling of children.
Her address climaxed program In
which the club demonstrated, through
skits, its support of legislation for
national representation in the Dis
trict of Columbia, the Sisson bill to
repeal the "red rider" the 40-hour
week bill for women workers, and the
Kerr Coolidge immigration bill. Com
menting on the program, the Presi-
dents wife said the skits clearly 1ndl-
Gated one thing:
so many of our laws should be
handled from humanitarian stand
point" she declared.
Regarding the juvenile court, she
said: Infinite pains should be taken
in the selection of Judge. And fam
lilies in cases under consideration
should be made to understand their
responsibility to society.
Legal Routine of Little Use.
Legal routine is of very little use
In a children's court" she continued.
"We must think Of the whole ques-
tions from the standpoint Of how we
can keep youngsters out of the GRIM
inal courts in the future, OF now 10
prevent the forming Of criminals out
of the material that comes into the
courts"
The Districts lack Of voting prlvl-
1eges was the first target for the
dramatic skits. Turning the stage OF
the Mavfower Hotel ball room into a
committee room, the league conducted
its own hearing on bill for District
national representation. After W.T.
nesses had testified the Federal Gov
ernment pays less than II per cent
of the Districts governmental eX-
penses, that residents pay a personal
tax on everything from jewelry to
horse blankets. and that they nave
no voice in their own government
even so far as its educational system
is concerned, the committee triumph
ently reported the bill favorably.
Pointed humor crept into the school
room skit on the Sisson bill when 1t
was announced that the act would be
entitled Under the White and Blue y
A dozen pupils, singing Three Cheers
for the Red, White and Blue" SUBJ
stituted the word dear" for red
and from then no reference was per-
rnitted to the red" Russia" or 'radi-
Gals"
Asked to bound Poland, a pupil was
Instructed to say. 1T has long East
ern frontier" and then hurry on to
the south. In arithmetic, radical"
was changed to root" A janitor' be-
wildered by the term communism,
which he was forbidden to teach-"I
amt got no child by that name" ne
said-was told, a little Indefinitely,
that it is an economic theory" And
the class broke up after an lrate
mother instructed the teacher to teach
her child American history and 'let
Europe alone" and a naughty pupil
threatened to expose the teacher for
mentioning communism, ff you
funk me-"
Loss of Codes Bemoaned.
Two working girls, bemoaning the
fact that there are no longer codes to
prevent them from working long hours,
were represented by Mrs. Bernard
Nordingler and Mrs. Edward sonnen-
born.
A monologue by Mrs. David Kush-
ner, which received Mrs. Roosevelt's
special praise, depicted the plight Of
an immigrant italian woman on the
verge Of deportation. 1t was explained
that the Kerr Coolidge bill, while
strengthening deportation Laws, would
provide for leniency in the case of un-
naturalized foreigners, who have made
their homes in the United States and
who have good records.
Mrs. William Kittle, president Of
the league, presided.