Evening star., 1944-01-29
D. 'AIesandro Will Call
Night Session in Quiz
Df Child Delinquency
Plons to Give Parents
An Opportunity to Hear
Points Found in Study

sA Plans to call night session mex
week Of the subcommittee of the
House District Committee studyine
Juvenile delinquency here to give
parents and others unable to at.
tend day sessions an opportunity
to hear some of the testimony are
being made by Chairman A'Alesan-
Adro. ..
ssg The subcommittee chairman sale
5he hoped to obtain the caucus room
of the old House Offlce Building
sAor the night hearing in order tt
accommodate the large number oi
persons who have shown an interest
ain his investigation.
IS He announced the plan last night
sat the conclusion of tour of some
recreation programs sponsored fol
Washington youth by the Recrea-
sion Department and Police Boys
Club.
rs Visit School Door Canteens.
After visiting three school-door
Nanteens, including the Opening
night" for Terrell Junior High
School, Representative D'Alesandro
said that from what he had seen
he thought the Recreation Depart
ment which sponsors the entertain
ments had made good start. He
questioned, however, whether the
program went far enough to meet
the immediate situation The prob
lem of juvenile delinquency, he en-
phasized, is not a postwar problem.
He appeared pleased with the
work being done at Police Boys
Club No. 2 at 1900 U street NV,
the first stop on his tour.
Representative Rowan, Democrat,
OF Illinois, member of the D'AI-
esandro committee, also made the
tour, which was arranged by Milo
F. Christensen, superintendent of
the District Recreation Department.
The group of visitors included mem
bers of the Recreation Board and
Others concerned with juvenile pro-
grams here.
Presented to Boys.
:, At the U street Police Boys Club,
the only one of its kind for colored
boys here, Representatives D'Alesan-
dro and Rowan were presented to
an audience of several hundred
youngsters assembled in the audi
torium for movie.
After asking several questions
about their school and church activi-
ties, Chairman D'Alesandro sug-
gested the boys write the director
of the club telling him what recre-
alton they like best. The director
told the visitors the club, which has
total enrolment of 1928 members.
averaged daily attendance of $50
in 1943.
Hundreds of teen-age boys and
girls were dancing at the school,
door canteens at Powell, Terrell and
Jefferson Junior High Schools, which
are part of the system of Friday
night entertainments recently in
augurated for about a dozen areas
in the city.
Told of Admission Fees.
1nquiring about admission fees,
Representative D'Alesandro was told
they vary according to the section
of the city and the entertainment
provided. The admission fee at
Powell is 25 cents, dancers are ad-
mitted at Jefferson for II cents and
the fee at Terrell is II cents. The
Terrell fee is the lowest because
music for dancing is provided by a
juke box rather than an orchestra,
it was explained.
Representative D'Alesandro also
was interested in the hours observed
at the various centers visited.
The tour included look-in at
Banneker Junior High School, where
Recreation Department activities
had given way to an interschool bas-
ket ball game.
Harry S. Wender, chairman of the
District Recreation Board, and James
E. Schwab, vice chairman, were
among those visiting the centers
Sergt. Forrest Benswanger repre-
sented the Police Boys Clubs.