Evening star., 1947-06-12
By George Kennedy


kids when school lets out and the
only place they have to play is the
streets and alleys?
The Police Departments juvenile
bureau was brought face to face
with this question by campaign
against destruction of property
caused by ball playing on the pave
ments, begun by the police of the
ninth precinct. The precinct is that
section of Northeast bounded by
East Capitol street, New York ave-
nue. and the Anacostia River.
Four groups of boys detained by
police for ball playing in the pre-
cinct were brought into the bureaus
Offices in Police Headquarters yes
terday along with their parents for
informal hearings. The parents
were so interested in the principles
involved that they gave permission
for the names of their children to
be used. The police agreed, point
ing out that the objections to pub
hcation of the names Of children In
juvenile delinquency cases would
not hold true in here because play
ing ball on the streets is not delin-
quency.
One hearing surpassed the others
in dramatic quality because the COM
plainant responded to request for
his presence. The complainants
who caused the arrest of the other
three groups of boys did not.
Carpenter Makes Complaints.
Roy F. Tuttle, 713 D street NE,
a carpenter with the Federal Works
Agency, found a window broken in
his garage in the alley behind his
house and complained to the police.
On the following day the police
descended on the alley and took to
the station Jimmie Kotz, IA, of 709
D street NE; Stuart Hensley, jr.,
IA, of CAT G street NE; Herbert q.
Stogner, jr., 8, of $50 Eighth street
NE, and Andrew Chiacchieri, jr., 8,
of TOT G street NE.
Mr.. Tuttle and the boys, who were
accompanied by Herbert G.. Stogner,
a veteran and an electrician, and
Mrs. Fannie Chiacchieri, wife Of
construction foreman with the
Charles H. Tompkins Co., parents of
two of the boys, appeared before
Pvt. Travis Harmon of the Juvenile
Bureau for hearing. Pvt. Harmon
also is veteran. He was sergeant
gunner on a B-29 which was shot
down into Japan's Inland Sea.
The police, said Pvt. Harmon, were
between the devil and the deep blue
sea" in these cases. Property is
destroyed and complaints are made,
he said. Then, he added, when
police enforce the law by taking the
children into custody, the parents
descend on them.
Held Only for Playing Ball.
"How many windows have you had
broken?" he asked Mr.. Tuttle.
Six" said Mr.. Tuttle.
"If he had only come to me in
stead of calling the police" protested
Mr.. Stogner.
"But Mr.. Tuttle does not know
who the boys were who broke the
windows" said Pvt. Harmon. "He
was never able to see more than a
pair of legs disappearing when a
window was broken. He then CON-
planned about the children playing
ball and the police found these chill
dren at it. They are not charged
with breaking windows. They are
charged with playing ball in an
alley"
Yeah" said Jimmie Klotz, "they
arrest us. They don't arrest the
big boys. Why not?"
Having patrolled in the ninth
precinct" said Pvt. Harmon, Il do
not believe the police there are
afraid of the big boys"
Purchase of Lot Suggested.
Mrs. Chiacchieri was not at all
satisfied.
Answer me this" she said. What
are you going to do with them?"
Pvt. Harmon said:
"It is up to the parents to provide
p1dy cpdtC lOl yoh16StCAo. 4AbCJ
could pool together and purchase a
lot. 1t would not necessarily cost
much. Forty families putting up $5
each would mean 5000 a year. HE
said afterward this was his own
idea-he had never heard of 1t being
done. ...t
Mr.. Stogner protested:
These boys should never have
been arrested. I've paid their cab
fare to send them out to Fairlawn to
play ball. We are trying to bring
them up to be good citizens. They
belong to the Scouts and 60 to Sun
day school,"
Pvt. Harmon read an order of the
acting superintendent, Walter H.