Detroit evening times., 1945-03-28

Executive Secretary of the New York State YMCA
HE only way to arrive at sensible solution of the
delinquency problem is to start where it starts And
it starts with one boy, any boy
Delinquency is not like q snOwstOrm that sweeps
over a city and everything. Nor should it be
looked social phenomenon that, for no known
reason just happens Nor in the sense that vicious niue
germs carrying it about Is 1t an epidemic 1t Is
simply one boy making mistake here and there and one
girl going wrong.
So let's start with one boy Obviously he is not all
good all bad Like you any one else, he Is
mixture. That's tremendously important thing to
remember about boy. He has possibilities in all direc-
tons. Neither is he fixed quality all the time.
DECENTLY in involved and advanced conference
IL delinquency expert launched off into a long
thesis of predenquents He asserted that would be
astonished if knew what large percentage of our
American people is 'predelnquent
But whatever the percentage is it comes to
great shock | think almost every is potential
predeinquent. I am you make delinquent out
of any if you go about it right.
more humble and certainly realistic way
is to consider every boy the light of all his possibilities
And there three things remember about every boy
He is mixed quality He has good qualities
and he has bad qualities. Sometimes his good qualities
wrongly used and causes delinquency Sometimes
his bad qualities keep him from becoming serious
problem.
A young chap with energy and originality and skill
could be an expert forger.
NEVER met socially any real gangsters, but in the
movies the gang leader often has degree OF
courage and real leadership l mention this to re-
emphasize the involvements of dealing with youth.
2-He is not always the same One day he is de-
pendabe another day he is not One day he is lazy and
the next day he is energetic One day he is easily infu
enced and the next day he is stubborn.
It's mistake to deal with people though they
fixed qualities. grew up in a prison town and
knew number of convicts. knew the guards, too.
And often liked the cOnvcts better than the guards.
Warden Lewis Lawes of the first men to look
denquents people, people with fine pOssi-
bties. In their best moments and In certain he
discovered they could be trusted.
3-What a boy does become is not accidental
development Inevitably, he becomes what his environ
ment designs. Delinquency" whatever else it is, is
manufactured product
DAD things in environment seep through into
ID boys character. Now, of course, there no per-
feet environments. You can't have absolutely de-
lnquent- proof city any than you have clean
streets all the time
You can't isolate boy or girl completely from
life around them they will be subjected to temptations
or opportunities.
SO you come to this conclusion. The basic cure OF
delinquency takes on two approaches
You keep the community clean possible. And
YOU build up the boy to resist the mperfectOns There
you have the sound aaround approach to the problem
It's long, costly involved business There is no
quick easy way. Any parent has learned that in his
family Or is your family different from mine?
ITO Re Contiuued)