The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1941-03-13
THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1941
GROWING
PAINS
By MARIE O'DEA
The Juvenile Delinquency
Commission


Last fall, Governor Herbert R.
O'Conor appointed a Juvenile Delin-
quency Commission of fifteen mem
bers INCLUDING the writer) to make
the States first complete review of
this problem in Maryland.
Statements were received in the
weekly hearings and by mail from
State, county, municipal and profess
sional experts in public welfare, edu-
cation, parole, probation, mental n.y.
giene, correction, the courts, reform
schools, States Attorneys and others
The Commission discovered that nc
two counties handled the children in
the same way, only four counties haC
active Juvenile Court committees, nc
two courts were alike, each institution
had its own standards of admission
discipline and care, that facts and sta.
tistics presented were contradictory
and opinions We're widely divergent.
Baltimore is the only large city il
the country in which the Juvenile
Court cannot try a child for serious
offenses. If boy steals an automo.
bile and the Juvenile Court commits
him to a reformatory as "a minor
without proper care" the lad can Sc,
cure writ of habeas corpus from the
vi hn
mediately.
This is because the Juvenile, Court
of Baltimore is merely a magistrates
court and not court of record. Under
the Maryland constitution a magis.
trate's court has no jurisdiction ovel
felonies. To clothe this court with the
proper authority requires a constitu-
tional amendment.
Eight counties have Juvenile Courts
The others try their juvenile delin-
quents before Circuit Court judges OF
justices of the peace. In a few places
public or private welfare agencies
handle the investigations and recon-
mendations. In eight counties proba-
ton officers do this work.
To commit child to a reform
school a judge must first seek the in
stitution's permission. Nearly all these
schools are overcrowded, all have diff
ferent facilities and equipment for
handling the children, therefore their
"intake policies" vary.
Saint Mary's Industrial School, for
example, was founded about the close
Of the Civil War to take care of boys
who had become hayward while their
fathers were away fighting. The Xav-
erian Brothers also took orphans of
that war. For years, Saint Mary's &C
cepted every boy sent them by par
ents, social agencies or the courts
Boys bright and dull, sick and we'll
good and bad, were included in the
classes. The Brothers were nearly
frantic trying to make good citizens
out of this motley crowd. A house
cleaning became necessary.
First of all, the Brothers refused
to admit any more non-delinquent or
phans or boys under ten years of age
They insisted that a reform school
was no place for them. Then they con-
centrated on the real POLLEN of re-
facilitating delinquent boys. Those
who were sufficiently intelligent were
given standard schooling. After school
hours they were placed in the insti-
tution's shops to learn some useful
trade. Those boys who were backward
in their studies were coached and if
schooling was too much for them they
spent most of their time in the shops
Immediately there arose the prob
lem of the mentally defective delin-
quents, those who were incapable OF
studying or of learning a trade and
who were constant menace to them
selves and to the other boys operating
machines. Similarly it was thought
too much of a risk to allow sickly
boys and those with infectious dis.
eases to mingle with the normal
healthy youngsters. The Brothers be.
gan to refuse extreme mental anC
physical detectives. Thus Saint Mary's
cleared decks for really effective
campaign to make useful citizens Out
of young delinquents who could be
trained in school or in shops.
The Maryland Training School fol
Boys at Loeb Raven, the Montrose
School for Girls at Reisterstown anc
the two Baltimore Houses of Coco
Shepherd for white and colored girls