Evening star., 1953-11-19

hearings by the subcommittee
and when it doesn't exist the
child may get into trouble.
4. The lack of church connec-
tionS with their Stabilizing and
binding effect in the life Of a
family.
5. The ineffectiveness Of some
schools in providing interesting
courses that appeal to children
who come from greatly varied
backgrounds.
6. Poor neighborhood condi-
tionS, housing problems, crowded
homes and neighborhood dis
elimination.
z. Inadequacy of community
health and welfare facilities and
counseling services for parents
and adolescents needing advice.
DR.. Eliot said the need may be
most acute in poor neighbor-
hoods but there are many indi-
cations today that neighborhood
activities are needed In the more
prosperous areas so that fam
lilies may combine their efforts
to provide a more adequate lie
for their children" She said
that in the reported epidemtcs
Of vandalism, the so-called good
neighborhoods seemed to be in
volved as much as the poorer
ones.
Cite Baby Problem.
DR.. Eliot cited two other cur
rent problemS-the young un-
married mothers who are selling
babies in the black market and
the runaway children. She said
some of these young runaways
are sent home to unsatisfactory
conditions without any agency
being brought in to find out what
the trouble was, and others are
simply taken to State lines and
released to get home as best they
can.
DR.. Eliot urged the subcoimmit-
tee mot to become hysterical"
but to stick to facts and expert
testimony on what is happen
Ing today and what should be
done about it.
Judge Gill, who was the next
witness, emphasized that juve-
nile courts Should not confuse
privacy with secrecy" in the in
formation released by the courts.
Some Information Restricted.
He was asked specifically il
his court gives police the records
of juveniles and the disposition
of their cases in these courts
an issue now being debated in
Washington.
He replied that where police
departments in Connecticut
have a juvenile division, police
and the court interchange in
formation freely, but where there
is no juvenile division, the in
formation is withheld. Wash
ington's Police Department does
have a juvenile squad.
Judge Gill made it clear that
he had no hard and fast rule on
giving out this information, and
as for disposition, he said police
don't inquire for them 80 per
cent of the time because they
are satisfied that the juvenile
courts are doing the right thing.
He was asked what he thought
of the judge giving out DISPOSE
tions to the press in extreme
cases as a deterrent to other
children bent on crime. He re-
piled by citing a newspaper story
on a wave of parking-lneter pill
fering. Within three weeks, he
said, 50 more children who had
never dreamed of doing such a
thing were cracking parking
meters.
Held No Deterrent.
Judge Gill pointed out, how
ever, that information on what
happens to children who break
the law could be circulated by
court workers in schools and af-
fected neighborhoods without
benefit of the press. He said,
however, that he was not sure
children would be deferred by
learning of the fate Of others.
Subcommittee Counsel Han
noch asked Judge Gill how par
entS should cope with the argu-
ment that everybody else does
it, why can't l."
Judge Gill called that Indian
warfare" with the boys of the
neighborhood picking of their
parents one by one. Instead, he
advocated CnaC parents go OUT
and find for themselves the
neighborhood pattern of parents
rules for their children, and, If
one doesn't exist, get together to
establish some minimum stand
ards Of conduct that all the chill
dren would be required to follow.
He said that system had worked
successfully in several places.
AS the hearings began, Senator
Hendrickson discussed the pur-
pose of the investigation. He
said the subcommittee did not
intend to give "senSational-type
publicity" Instead, the Senator
said, the subcommittee wants to
find and present the sober facts
about the size and nature of the
| Juvenile problem and to get the
best available advice on its
causes and contributing factors.
He explained that after get
ting the national picture during
this set Of hearings. the Sena-