Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-01-14

Pepper subcommittee held
loud hearings on juvenile de-
linquency some weeks back.
Mayor LaGuardis Illuminated.
Nothing came Of it..
II anything does, YOU may he
sure IL will he an idea FOR
spending money. That ia The
politicians answer 10 every
problem.
he mai reaction 10 some
thoughts ! ventured some weeks
ago suggests the solution must
be wrought without The ex-
pendIture OF a Morgcnthau
penny simply by some public
leadership along the right path.
This leadership well could be
IN derta ken by LaGuardia.
Senator Pepper. Mrs. Roose-
Welt and other major politicos
already aruculalely involved
The personal testimony in
letters from school teachers,
soldiers, mothers fathers, would
make large sized volume, but
il all hoilS down 10 SIMPLE
understanding OF what has
taken hold OF us nationally. II
shows the symptoms Of the
trouble, points 10 the cause and
the cure.
TEACHERS wrote many spe-
Cltic case histories OF their
inability TO handle The problem
Of an increasing number, hut
still a minority. OF children.
The large majority still comes
from sound homes where good
mothers enforce discipline.
These probably are being bet
ter raised today than any chill
dren IN our history They do
their work and conform 10 the
customs OF society
But literally there are hum
dredS of thousands. If not mil
lions Of homes in which there
IS degrading and degenerating
absence Of discipline not due
10 economic reasons either, as
the prlm social thinkers and
politicians contend, but solely
because the woman Of the
house, or The man generally
both1, Is Indifferent TO the re-
possibilities OF child raising
and stupidity lazily, Self-inter-
eStedly maintains no discipline
over the Young
They are The ones who are
spawning the new class of hood
umS While this class may
number considerably less than
10 per cent OF the mothers to-
day they have weakened the
moral strength OF n whole ma
ton and their bratS soon VIII
be begettlng other braIS 10 he
similarly raised wild under the
paternal excuse Of "Self-expres-
sion.
THE problem Is 10 reach that
class with intelligent. modern
conceptions OF responsibility. or
otherwise enforce discipline
upon that nonconforming class
through the schools and the
churches Dbut not the Statel.
The currently popular way in
Washington IS TO Coddle these
mlscreant matrOnS with excuses
that their husbands may not
be making enough money and
similar rot The best mothers
have seen have been in the
poorest homes. and the best
men | have met have come out
Of those poorer homes
To make them measure up.
the first necessary step is 10
have the current leaders change
their tune Customs and popu-
lar thinking are established very
largely by personal leadership
OF prominent people Including
writer's who set an example and
suggest the general norm
If THEY would stop Sobbng
Il SynpathieS and preach fam
lily discipline, the pressure from
the top would he reversed.
II they strengthened this with
a warning that undiSciplined
children viii be disciplined IN
The schools enh>ting the leader
ship of Pareni-Teachcr ASsoCia-
tons (the mothers on those
boards are never the parental
delinQuentSD and strengthen the
hands OF pastors in the churches
as we'll A. the teachers, 10 do the
lob that parental delnquentS
Viii not or cannot do. then these
children running oos Q soon
would find II 10 their advantage
TO conform 10 An enlightened
civilization Of average American
NT1tb