3627 " M 6ft|r-. 1918 REPORT OF THE Missouri Children’s Code Commission Appointed by Governor Frederick D. Gardner to revise and codify the laws relating to children, for submission to the 50th General Assembly in 1919. Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. University of Illinois Library REPORT OF THE MISSOURI CHILDREN’S CODE COMMISSION A complete revision of the laws for the welfare of Missouri children. 1918 Prepared by the Missouri Children’s Code Commission appointed by Governor Freder¬ ick D. Gardner to revise and codify the laws relating to children, for submission to the 50th General Assembly in 1919. Printers UIHtUT ^ ^ r ( /V\63 lc 1318 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL TO LEGISLATURE. EXECUTIVE OFFICES. State of Missouri. City of Jefferson. FREDERICK D. GARDNER, Governor. November 4, 1918. To the Members of the Fiftieth General Assembly: To safeguard the interests of its children, is one of the first duties of the Commonwealth. The war has created a situa¬ tion with regard to children that demands our serious attention. We should oppose all attempts to relax the standards of child welfare, to weaken the school system and to break down child labor laws. We must strengthen and develop our legislative standards of child-care to enable the children to assist in the progress of democracy after the war. The Children’s Code Commission was appointed because there was a need for the revision of the laws of the state relating to children. Conflicting laws must be harmonized, obsolete pro¬ visions repealed and new standards created. The 49th General Assembly did well in enacting several of the laws recommended by the Commission, but it did not go far enough. The program proposed by the Commission this year is comprehensive and con¬ structive. The measures are closely correlated and I ask you to give careful consideration to the proposed laws as a whole. (Signed) FREDERICK D. GARDNER, Governor. CD (a) £ TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Governor Gardner’s Letter of Transmittal to the Legislature. 3 Letter of Transmittal to Governor Gardner. 6 Members of the Commission. 7 PART I. GENERAL REPORT OF THE COMMISSION. Statement by the Chairman. 11 Foreword. 14 New Measures Proposed by the Commission. 17 Measures Endorsed by the Commission Not Included in the Code. 19 Chapter I. Discussion of General Laws for the Protection of Children. 20 Chapter II. Discussion of Laws Relating to Marriage. 27 Chapter III. Discussion of Public Administration of Laws Relating to Social Welfare. 30 Chapter IV. Discussion of Laws Relating to Care and Treatment of Delinquent Children. 41 Chapter Y. Discussion of Laws Relating to Care of Dependent Children. 47 Chapter VI. Discussion of LaWs Relating to Care of Defective Children. 52 CHAPTER VII. Discussion of Laws Relating to Employment of Children... 59 Chapter VIII. Discussion of Laws Relating to Education and the Compulsory School Attendance Law. 66 Chapter IX. Discussion of Laws Relating to Health and Recreation. 70 PART II. DRAFTS OF LAWS TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE 50th GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MISSOURI, JANUARY, 1919. Statement. 77 Expenditures Required to Make Effective the Recommendations of the Commission... . 78 Chapter I. 1. Relating to Abandonment of Children. 83 2. Relating to Desertion of Wife and Child. 84 3. Raising the Age of Consent. 86 4a. Relating to the Care and Support of Children Born Out of Wedlock. 87 b. Relating to the Care and Support of Children Born Out of Wedlock. 89 c. Relating to the Care and Support of Children Born Out of Wedlock. 91 d. Relating to the Care and Support of Children Born Out of Wedlock. 92 5. Protecting the Infant Before and After Birth. 93 6. Recovery for Prenatal Injury. 94 7a. Age of Majority of Girls. 95 b. Age of Majority of Girls. 95 c. Age of Majority of Girls. 96 Chapter II. la. Prohibiting the Marriage of Feeble-minded, Epileptic, Insane or Mentally Imbecile Persons. 99 b. Prohibiting the Marriage of Feeble-minded, Epileptic, Insane or Mentally Imbecile Persons. 100 2. Requiring Notice of Intention to Marry. 101 ( 4 ) 46J Table of Contents , 5 Page 3. Abolishing Common-Law Marriages. 103 4. Establishing Age of Marriage for Girls at Fifteen. 104 5 . Form of Marriage License. 105 Chapter III. 1. Appointment of County Superintendent of Public Welfare. Ill 2. Changing Name of County Boards of Visitors to County Boards of Welfare. . . 116 3. Social Welfare Boards in Cities of Second and Third Class. 119 4. State Board of Charities May Close Institutions Found to be Unfit. 122 5. Institutional Care for Colored Children. 123 Chapter IV. 1. Treatment of Adults Contributing to Delinquency or Neglect of Children. ... 127 2. Relating to Commitments to Missouri Reformatory aind Missouri Training School for Boys. 129 3. Relating to Commitments to Industrial Home for Girls. 132 4. Relating to Commitments to Industrial Home for Negro Girls. 134 5. Separating Training School for Boys from the Reformatory. 136 6. Appointment of Probation Officers in the Criminal Courts. 140 7. Treatment of Incorrigible Minors Over Juvenile Court Age. 142 8. Repealing Conflicting Statute. 143 9. Repealing Conflicting Statute. 143 10. Repealing Obsolete Statute. 143 Chapter V. 1. State Supervision of Maternity Hospitals. 147 2. State Supervision of Private Child-Caring Institutions. 148 3. Establishing a State Home for Dependent Children. 150 Chapter VI. 1. Relating to Compulsory Commitment of Dependent Feeble-minded Persons to State Institutions. 157 2. Providing Increased Facilities for the Care of the Feeble-minded. 160 3. Commitment of Deaf Children to State Institution. 161 4. Special Classes for Defective Children in the Public Schools. 162 5. Creation of a Burfeau for Mental Defectives. 164 Chapter VII. 1. Age at Which Children May Work—Hours of Work for Children. 169 2. Issuance of Employment Certificates. 171 3. Relating to Employment of Children in Street Trades. 174 4. Employment of Children Under J6 in Certain Dangerous Occupations Prohibited 177 Chapter VIII. 1. Relating to Compulsory School Attendance. 181 2. State Superintendent of Schools Shall Supervise Work of Instruction in Certain State Institutions.185 Chapter IX. 1. Creation of a Division of Child Hygiene. 189 2. Treatment of Eyes of New-born Infants. 190 3. State-wide Use of School Buildings for Community Purposes. 191 APPENDIX I. Statement in Support of Proposed Laws for the Care and Support of Children Born Out of Wedlock. 195 APPENDIX II. References to Studies and Reports on Conditions Affecting Children in Missouri. 199 APPENDIX III. References to Laws in the Children’s Code Enacted at the 49th General Assembly, 1917. 204 APPENDIX IV. Statement. 205 Juvenile Court Act Proposed by the Commission at the 49th General Assembly. 206 Acts to Establish County Boards of Public Welfare Proposed by the Commission at the 49th General Assembly. 219 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL TO GOVERNOR. St. Louis, October 17, 1918. Honorable Frederick D. Gardner, Governor of Missouri. Dear Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith the report of the Mis¬ souri Children’s Code Commission, appointed by you in 1917 to continue the work of the Commission appointed in 1915 to revise and codify the laws of the state relating to children. The members of this Commission, which was appointed since United States’ entry in the war, have felt that their task is one of more than ordinary significance. The set of legislative bills, termed the Children’s Code, appended to the report has been prepared with a view to meet¬ ing after-war problems which will confront the children of the future. We earnestly believe that this set of children’s laws, if en¬ acted as a whole, will enable Missouri to properly safeguard the children of the state in the critical period of readjustment after the war. We respectfully present this report to you and to the mem¬ bers of the 50th General Assembly, as a preliminary step in Missouri’s reconstruction program. Very truly yours, (Signed) RHODES E. CAVE, Chairman. ( 6 ) MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION Chairman: Former Judge Rhodes E. Cave, St. Louis. Executive Secretary: Lucille B. Lowenstein, Washington Hotel, St. Louis. Executive Committee: Former Judge Rhodes E. Cave, Chairman, St. Louis. Senator Carter M. Buford, Ellington. I. I. Cammack, Superintendent of Instruction, Kansas City. J. D Elliff, State Director of Vocational Education, Jefferson City. L. A. Halbert, Special Representative War Camp Community Service, Kansas City. J. L. Hornsby, Attorney, St. Louis. Prof. Manley O. Hudson, Professor of Law, University of Missouri, Columbia. Mrs. Harry C. January, Secretary Consumers’ League of Missouri, St. Louis. Senator Michael Kinney, St. Louis. Dr. George B. Mangold, Director, Missouri School of Social Economy, St. Louis. Senator Edwin L. Moore, Lamar. Col. M. Shoenberg, St. Louis. Mrs. George A. Still, President, Missouri Federation of Women’s Clubs, Kirksville. J. L. Wagner, Secretary, State Board of Charities and Corrections, Jefferson City. ( 7 ) Members of the Commission. 140 MEMBERS. Jacob Billikopf, Superintendent, Jewish Educational Institute, Kansas City. Judge Frank P. Divelbiss, Richmond. Judge V. L. Drain, Shelbyville. Lee Dunlap, State Factory Inspector, Kansas City. Judge David H. Harris, Fulton. W. K. James, Member 49th General Assembly, St. Joseph. Prof. Isidor Loeb, Dean, University of Missouri, Columbia. Uel W. Lamkin, State Superintendent of Public Schools, Jefferson City. Mrs. Philip N. Moore, Chairman, Municipal Nurses’ Board, St. Louis. R. B. Oliver, Cape Girardeau. Mrs. J. H. Sheldon, President, Missouri Congress of Mother Circles and Parent-Teachers’ Association, Kansas City. William Volker, Kansas City. Dr. J. E. W. Wallin, Director, Psycho-Educational Clinic, St. Louis. Senator Lee Welch, Mountain View. Attorney for Commissson: Edward D’Arcy, St. Louis. PART 1 GENERAL REPORT OF THE COMMISSION. STATEMENT BY THE CHAIRMAN. The 1917 Children’s Code Commission was appointed by Governor Frederick D. Gardner to continue the work of the Commission appointed in 1915 to revise and codify the laws relating to children, whose term had expired upon adjournment of the 49th General Assembly. Only a part of the Children’s Code, prepared by the 1915 Commission, was enacted at the 1917 session of the legislature. The remainder of these laws forms the basis of the new Com¬ mission’s report. Reconsideration of some of the measures prepared by the 1915 Commission, notably the creation of administrative machin¬ ery in the counties, and careful study of the child welfare problems arising because of the war, have resulted in changes in the set of laws. These changes are explained in the discussion of the pro¬ posed legislation which follows. The work of preparing the Code involved three processes: (1) Revising present statutes which are inconsistent or in conflict. (2) Repealing obsolete or undesirable statutes. (3) Recommending entirely new legislation. The Commission desires to call attention to the fact that most of the measures recommended are interdependent; the failure of one of the group will render ineffective or nullify many of the others. For instance, the 1917 legislature passed a bill providing for treatment of incorrigible minors over 18 years of age in the juvenile courts. At the same time, the proposed juvenile court act, which raised the juvenile court age to 18 years, and the act to make 21 years the age of majority for girls, were defeated. The resulting inconsistency has made impossible the practical working out of the law which was enacted. Boys between 17 (the present juvenile court age) and 18 years, are not covered by the act. Girls (who now become of age at 18) are entirely outside its provisions. Thus, one of the primary objects of the Commission, to correct such inconsistencies in the statutes, is defeated. The Commission regards the administration of existing laws and of the proposed laws as the most important matter before (ii) 12 Report of the Missouri [46 it. We desire to point out that the successful administration of practically all of the laws in the Code depends upon the enact¬ ment of the bill for the appointment of a superintendent of public welfare in each county. The Commission in some cases has merely presented recom¬ mendations for action by the legislature without submitting drafts of bills. In each case this is to be explained because (1) some other body is preparing or introducing the needed legisla¬ tion, (2) the expenses incident to its adoption would be pro¬ hibitive at present, and (3) the recommendation is, in the judg¬ ment of the Commission, impracticable of adoption now. Except where the subject is clearly within the sphere and interest of children, the Commission has not attempted to cover matters which apply to adults as well as children. The Commission recommends that the Revision Committee of the 50th General Assembly bring together in one part of the statutes all the laws relating to children, so as to form in fact in the body of the laws a Children’s Code. Where the inclusion of laws relating to children is impossible, we recommend special indexing of the statutes to show clearly such reference. The Commission has published a separate pamphlet showing an¬ notated references to all present statutes relating to children, classified alphabetically under appropriate headings by the Federal Children’s Bureau at Washington. The revision and codification of children’s laws in Missouri is part of a national movement to co-ordinate and harmonize these laws within the states, and to obtain, so far as practicable, uniformity of legislation affecting children throughout the country. Ohio led off in 1913 with a revision and codification of the laws of that state; two years later New Hampshire revised its laws relating to special classes of children. In 1914 the National Committee for Standardizing Children’s Laws was or¬ ganized to further the development of this idea. Under the stimulus of this committee official commissions or voluntary committees have been formed in many states. In 1917 the Minnesota and Missouri Children’s Codes were submitted to the legislatures of those states. Of the 43 measures recom¬ mended by the Minnesota Child Welfare Commission, 35 were adopted, while only 10 of the 42 bills submitted by the Missouri Commission were enacted into law. The Commission is composed of 28 members who have given their services without compensation; the necessary ex- 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 13 penses have been met by contributions of interested persons and organizations. Several of the members, called out of the state for government service, have continued their work by cor¬ respondence. An executive committee, composed of the following members, has met frequently: Judge Rhodes E. Cave, chairman, St. Louis; Senator Carter M. Buford, Ellington. Mr. I. I. Cam- mack, Superintendent of Instruction, Kansas City. Mr. J. D. Elliff, State Director of Vocational Education, Jefferson City. Mr. L. A. Halbert, Special Representative War Camp Com¬ munity Service, Kansas City. Mr. J. L. Hornsby, St. Louis. Prof. Manley 0. Hudson, Professor of Law, University of Missouri, Columbia. Mrs. Harry C. January, Secretary, Consumers’ League, St. Louis. Senator Michael Kinney, St. Louis. Dr. George B. Mangold, Director, Missouri School of Social Eco¬ nomy, St. Louis. Senator Edwin L. Moore, Lamar. Col. M. Shoenberg, St. Louis. Mrs. George A. Still, President, Missouri Federation of Women’s Clubs, Kirksville and Mr. J. L. Wagner, Secretary, State Board of Charities and Corrections, Jefferson City. On March 26, 1918, the Commission held an all-day con¬ ference in St. Louis attended by persons interested in child wel¬ fare from all over the state. Open hearings were conducted on the proposed measures concerning child labor and school at¬ tendance, public administration, delinquent and neglected chil¬ dren, general laws for the protection of children, state supervision of child-caring institutions, and laws for the care of defective children, and criticisms and suggestions were invited. The Commission gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Mr. W. H. Swift, of the National Child Labor Committee, for his assistance at this conference. The Commission submits this report to the Governor and to the members of the legislature, believing that the enactment of this legislation will enable Missouri to properly safeguard its children in the critical period of readjustment when the war ends. (Signed) RHODES E. CAVE, Chairman. 14 Report of the Missouri [46 FOREWORD. CHILDREN IN WAR-TIME. The war has affected thousands of children in the warring countries; juvenile delinquency has increased, more children have been employed under adverse conditions, homes have been broken and the health of mothers and babies has been endangered by the increased employment of women. The United States Children’s Bureau issued a statement on April 11, 1917, calling upon the people of this country to make all possible provision to prevent similar harm to the children of America. All attempts to lower the standards of education and to withdraw industrial protection to children must be resisted and increased efforts must be made to develop child welfare work in both public and private agencies. CHILDREN AFTER THE WAR. Now is the time to prepare for the problems that will con¬ front us as a nation after the war. In considering the problems of the children of to-day, the Children’s Code Commission has viewed them in the light of the future. The citizens of to-morrow must be fully equipped to assist in the development of world¬ wide democracy. In order to do this the state must place educa¬ tion and training for life and work within the reach of every fu¬ ture citizen. In addition, the state must take all necessary steps to provide treatment for children with mental or physical defects; to care for the destitute and neglected children, and to prevent poverty, disease and crime. JUVENILE POPULATION IN MISSOURI, 1917. When we consider that in 1917 Missouri had a population of 1,481,085 children under 21 years of age, ranking seventh among the states in number of children, we begin to realize the size of the task that confronts us in shaping the future of the rising generation. 46^ Children s Code Commission. 15 The following table shows the age groups of this number: 76,886 are under 1 year of age 69,136 are 1 years old 76,445 are 2 years old 76,478 are 3 years old 75,977 are 4 years old 72,404 are 5 years old 74,155 are 6 years old 68,777 are 7 years old 69,366 are 8 years old 67,057 are 9 years old 68,121 are 10 years old 63,324 are 11 years old 69,014 are 12 years old 66,030 are 13 years old 70,668 are 14 years old 65,653 are 15 years old 71,273 are 16 years old 68,182 are 17 years old 73,914 are 18 years old 68,412 are 19 years old 69,806 are 20 years old That the problem of caring for children in Missouri is dis¬ tinctly a rural one is shown by the fact that of the total number of children in the state 65% live in the rural districts; 35% in the cities and smaller towns. In spite of this fact, little or no attention has been given to child welfare work in the country communities. The health of children in the cities is safeguarded by well organized depart¬ ments of health; little has been done to improve the sanitary con¬ ditions in the rural communities and practically nothing in edu¬ cating mothers in the proper care of infants. Education is being guaranteed children of the cities by a full-term compulsory school attendance law and by attendance departments in the boards of education to enforce its provisions; in the state, attendance is re¬ quired only three-quarters of the term and no attendance officers employed to keep children at school. Child workers in the are cities and large industrial centers are protected by a child-labor law which prohibits the employment of children under 14 years in every occupation but agriculture and domestic pursuits, and factory inspectors enforce its provisions in cities of 10,000 popu¬ lation and over. Juvenile courts were established in the six largest counties and the city of St. Louis several years ago; the juvenile court law for the smaller counties of the state was en¬ acted as a part of the Children’s Code in 1917 and probation officers are just now being appointed in the counties. Special classes for defective children have been established in St. Louis and Kansas City only; in the counties these children are being housed in almshouses, jails and other improper places because no adequate provision for their training has been made. Machin¬ ery for the administration of children’s laws and of all matters relating to the welfare of the community has been created in St. Louis, Kansas City, and St. Joseph; in the counties there is no one agent or agency to look after these matters. 16 Report of the Missouri 146 The following table shows the number of children under 15 years of age living in the three cities, in which child welfare work is being carried on by the city authorities: —1917— St. Louis. 177,822 Kansas City. 54,845 St. Joseph. 19,455 252,122 Total number of children under 15 years of age in these 3 cities. 1,063,838 Total number of children under 15 years oi age in the state. How long will the people in the rural districts permit their children to suffer these injustices? Figures in this statement are based on those given in the Handbook of Federal Statistics of Children, Federal Children’s Bureau Publication No. 5, Part 1, and in the Missouri Red Book, 1917. 46] Children's Code Commission. 17 NEW MEASURES PROPOSED BY THE COMMISSION. GENERAL LAWS FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN. Page 1. State supervision of private agencies caring for children. 48 2. Providing for support of children born out of wedlock. 22 3. Raising the age of consent to 16 years. 22 4. Establishing the age of marriage at 15 years. 28 5. Abolishing the common-law marriage. 28 6. Requiring five days’ notice before issuance of marriage licenses. 28 7. Making provision for the extradition of child-deserters. 21 8. Prohibiting the employment of women three weeks before and three weeks after child-birth. 24 9. Establishing a State Home for Dependent Children. 51 FOR THE CARE OF DELINQUENT AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN 1. Providing for the punishment of adults responsible for the delin¬ quency and neglect of children. 42 2. Providing for probation officers in the criminal courts. 44 3. Permitting the commitment of girls between 7 and 21 years to the Industrial Home for Girls and the Industrial Home for Negro Girls; providing that women attendants accompany these girls to the in¬ stitutions. 43 4. Prohibiting the commitment of neglected and dependent children to the state reformatories. 42 5. Separating the state training school for boys from the reformatory. 44 FOR THE CARE OF DEFECTIVE CHILDREN. 1. Establishment of a Bureau for Mental Defectives in the University of Missouri to serve the schools, courts and institutions of the state in the examination of defective children. 56 2. Giving the courts power to commit dependent feeble-minded persons to the state institutions for their care. 53 3. Increased facilities for the care of the feeble-minded. 54 4. Establishment of special classes for feeble-minded, deaf, blind and crippled children in the public schools. 54 5. Prohibiting the marriage of insane, feeble-minded and epileptic persons. 27 6. Providing for the care of feeble-minded negroes. 54 7. Special care for feeble-minded delinquents and immoral women.... 54 CHILD LABOR AND EDUCATION. 1. Prohibiting the employment of children under 14 years in any occu¬ pation, except that such children may work at agricultural pursuits when school is not in session. 60 2. Raising the age limits for boys in street trades to 12 years, and for girls to 18, and requiring licenses and badges. 63 3. Prohibiting the employment of children under 16 years more than 8 hours in one day or 48 hours a week or between 7 p. m. and 7. a m.. 60 2 146 18 Report of the Missouri Page 4. Prohibiting children under 21 years from night messenger service. . 63 5. Prohibiting the employment of girls under 18 years in messenger service. 64 6. Prohibiting the employment of children under 16 years in mines, underground work, on power machinery and prohibiting their em¬ ployment on the stage unless a special permit has been obtained.... 64 7. Requiring physical examination and completion of eighth grade in school for the issuance of employment certificates to children between 14 and 16 years. 61 8. Issuing age proof to children between 16 and 18 years, to be filed with the employer. 62 9. Raising the compulsory school attendance age to 16 years, unless the child has completed the eighth grade. 67 10. Exemption from school attendance may be granted by the attendance officer for physical or mental incapacity, except where special classes for these children are established. 68 11. Giving the State Board of Charities power to place a defective child in need of special training in a school district where special classes have been established; the expense of transportation and maintenance of such child to be charged to the county where it resided. 68 12. Prohibiting exemption from school attendance because of poverty of parents. 67 13. Requiring school attendance for the full school term. 67 14. Requiring working children between 14 and 16 years to attend con¬ tinuation schools for at least eight hours a week between 8 a. m. and 5. p. m.; requiring working children under 18 years who have not completed the eighth grade in school to attend continuation schools for the same length of time. 67' 15. Supervision of work of instruction in certain state institutions a duty of the state superintendent of public schools. 68 FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE HEALTH OF CHILDREN. 1. Establishing a Division of Child Hygiene in the State Board of Health to regulate conditions affecting the health of children. 71 2. State-wide physical inspection of school children. 72 3. Supervision and control of the practice of midwifery. 72 4. Sanitary supervision of rural schools. 72 5. Requiring treatment of the eyes of new-born infants with a solution approved by the State Board of Health.... 72 TO PROVIDE RECREATION. State-wide use of school buildings for community purposes. 73 FOR ADMINISTRATION OF THE LAWS. The appointment of a County Superintendent of Public Welfare by the county court, such appointment to be made from a list of eligible persons prepared by the State Board of Charities and Corrections. The super¬ intendent of welfare and his assistants may act as attendance, probation, and parole officers for children; as parole officer for adults; as local agent of the state free employment bureau, and as deputy of the State Factory Inspector when requested; as placing-out agent for the State Board of Charities in finding homes for destitute children; as super¬ visor of persons released from the state hospitals for the insane; and in administering mothers’ pensions and other outdoor relief. 34 46] Children s Code Commission. 19 MEASURES ENDORSED BY THE COMMISSION NOT INCLUDED IN THE CODE. FOR THE CARE OF DEFECTIVE CHILDREN. 1. The establishment of observation wards in the state hospitals for the insane for the treatment of ineipiently insane children. 2. Separate institutionalcare for the epileptic. FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILD WORKERS. 1. Establishment of a system of vocational guidance in the public schools. 2. Creation of divisions in the state free employment bureaus for the em¬ ployment of children between 14 and 16 years. HEALTH MEASURES. 1. Enlarged powers for the State Board of Health. 2. Creation of a state board for licensing physicians and regulating the prac¬ tice of medicine, separate from the State Board of Health. 3. Reorganization of county health work. FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF LAWS. 1. Creation of a State Industrial Commission. 2. Bi-partisan boards of managers for the state institutions, or the creation of a central board of control. 3. Appointment of all employes of state institutions on merit basis after examination. 4. Employment of at least three agents in the Children’s Bureau of the State Board of Charities. RECREATION. 1. Separate and definite appropriations in the counties for the establishment of parks, playgrounds and libraries. 2. Creation of a State Board of Reviews. 20 Report of the Missouri [46 CHAPTER I. GENERAL LAWS FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN. Present Laws Relating to Guardianship and Parentage of Child. The present laws governing the relation of parents and child—those relating to guardianship, adoption, children born out of wedlock, indeed all those that involve the legal status of the child—have existed almost without change through many years. Many of them represent the old fashioned viewpoints which have been abandoned in the more modern legislation affecting children in every country. The method of adoption in Missouri was changed by the act passed as part of the Children’s Code at the last session of the legislature. Under this act adoption is made a court proceeding, application to be made in the juvenile court. Previous to the passage of this law adoption of children in Missouri was by deed, without a court proceeding, just as in cases of transfer of real estate. The present law relating to wife and child abandonment is ineffective and incomplete. It does not provide that the mother as well as the father may be punished for deserting a child; it does not protect the child born out of wedlock, and it makes no provision for bringing back the deserter who leaves the state in order to escape punishment. The present law relating to guardianship of abandoned and neglected children needs several changes to make it harmonize with the juvenile court act. The ancient common law still prevails in the state that “a bastard is the child of nobody.” The only change that has been made in the old common law is that the bastard is per¬ mitted to inherit from its natural mother, and its natural mother may inherit from it. The child born out of wedlock has no claim whatever on his father, not even the right of support. The mother is solely responsible; if she fails, both the mother and child be- 46] Children's Code Commission. 21 come a burden to the community. The present law provides no proceedings to determine the parentage of these unfortunate children. The marriage of parents legitimates the child born out of wedlock only when the parents recognize the child. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION. 1 . Relating to Abandonment of Child. 2. Relating to Desertion of Wife and Child. The extent of desertion and the cost to the community of supporting the wife and children of a deserter is seldom realized. In a study of desertion made by the Kansas City Board of Public Welfare in 1915 it was found that abandonment had thrown 1,863 persons upon the community for support, at a cost of $54,569. The moral loss upon the family and the community cannot be estimated in dollars and cents. Abandonment has become more frequent because deserters, at the present time, are allowed to leave the state and get out of reach of the law. If a man forges a check he is found and brought back; if a man deserts his family no funds are provided for bringing him back. The deserter should be found and made to assist in the support of the family. If he has left the state he must be brought back and punished by the courts. The Board of Public Welfare of Kansas City during a period of four years brought back 46 deserters from 13 different states, as far away as Washington and Virginia. This cost the Board less than $1,500 and saved the community, it is estimated, something like $12,000. The Commission recommends the following amendments to present statutes: (1) Placing responsibility on parents to support children up to 16 years in order to cover the full period of compulsory school attendance. (2) Making provisions apply to desertion of children born out of wedlock. (3) Including fathers who desert women pregnant with child. (4) Providing special funds for extradition of deserters. Bills for the above recommendations on pages 83, 84. 22 Report of the Missouri l 46 3 . Raising the Age of Consent for Girls. By the age of consent for girls is meant the age below which a man may be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary for having intercourse with a girl even though she consent. The present age of consent in Missouri is 15 years; a man can be prosecuted for having intercourse with a girl between 15 and 18 if it can be proven that she is of “previous chaste character.” Most states have set a higher age limit than the present age in Missouri. In 17 states the age of consent is 18 years. In 20 states girls up to 16 years may get legal redress. The highest age for which protection is given by law is 21. Missouri is one of only four states with the 15-year limit. The Commission recommends raising the age of consent to 16 years. Bill for the above recommendation on page 86. 4 . Relating to the Care and Support of Children Born Out of Wedlock. The laws of Missouri make absolutely no provision for the support of the child born out of wedlock, and even go so far as to provide that the father’s name be omitted from the birth certificate. Most states have bastardy laws which require the father, when the paternity has been established, to assist in the support of the child and contribute toward confinement expenses. Missouri is one of the few states in which the mother and child are helpless before the law. The whole problem of illegitimacy has been emphasized during and because of the war. No nation can longer overlook the drain upon population by the excessively high infant mortality among illegitimate infants, higher now than ever before because the increased cost of living makes it more difficult for the mother alone to support the child. In normal times the chances for a child born out of wedlock to complete the first year of life are very much less than of a legitimate child. Moreover, there has been an awakening of conscience on this question. The public is beginning to see the injustice of requiring the mother to bear the entire burden and to brand the child through no fault of its own. The mental and physical strain borne by the mother, the fact that she is usually compelled to 46 ^ Children’s Code Commission. 23 work up to the time of her confinement and the lack of proper care during confinement are the causes of a very high death rate among these unfortunate children. Besides, it is usually neces¬ sary for the mother to go to work as soon as possible after birth of the child and the infant is denied a mother’s care. Reforms in the handling of this problem are being considered in many of the warring countries and in our own states. North Dakota, in 1917, enacted a law declaring every child to be the legitimate child of its natural parents and making such child an heir to its natural parents. The law further provides procedure in court for establishing the parentage of the child. Minnesota in 1917 passed a law, as part of the Children’s Code of that state, providing for proceedings to establish the paternity of the child born out of wedlock, after which the father is responsible for the care, maintenance and education of the child, and is subject to all of the penalties for failure to provide these as is the father of the child born in lawful wedlock. In making the father share in the support, it is believed the illegitimate birth rate will considerably decrease. Oklahoma in 1910 passed a law providing for establishing the parentage of the child born out of wedlock by proceedings in the county courts. The action is in the nature of civil action, though trial may be had by jury; the support of the child by each parent is determined by the court. Several other states are working on this problem. In practically all of the warring countries the illegitimate child as well as the legitimate child has been included in govern¬ ment provisions for the support of soldiers’ families. Our federal law granting allowances to the families of soldiers provides that an illegitimate child may receive allotments and allowances up to the amount provided by the courts in bastardy proceedings. In this state, because we have no provision for bastardy pro¬ ceedings, the child born out of wedlock cannot obtain the benefit of the federal law. It is due entirely to our failure to provide for the care and support of those unfortunate children that Mis- ' souri is one of the few states in which federal aid cannot be given. In England the new Maternity and Child Welfare Bill makes provision for the maintenance of the child born out of wedlock and its mother. In Austria changes in the already ex¬ isting law providing for the care of the child born out of wed¬ lock permits the father of an illegitimate child to give the child his name, and when necessary for the child’s rights, the court may see that legal procedure establishes the parentage. 24 Report of the Missouri f 46 This, it is believed, is the beginning of a more general recognition of the rights of these children in the reconstruction work after the war. Let Missouri be prepared by enacting the legislation proposed by the Commission as follows: (1) That the child born out of wedlock be given the right to have its paternity established through court proceedings, recognizing the principle that every child should have a father and mother in law as in fact. (2) That, in order to avoid blackmail, such proceedings shall not be begun except with special permission of the court; proceedings shall be brought during the lifetime of the per¬ son claimed to be the parent; at the discretion of the judge, the proceedings shall be privately conducted and the court papers shall be kept secret. (3) That the child born out of wedlock shall be given the same right of inheritance from its natural father as from its mother. This would work no injustice to the legitimate child, for the father would still have the right to disinherit any of his children by will. (3) That where the actual paternity of the child cannot be established, the court is permitted to place the liability of support upon the several men who are shown to have had intercourse with the mother during the period when the child must have been conceived. The child is given no inheritance rights from the possible fathers, however. (5) That the court shall determine the proportion of sup¬ port to be paid by the father and mother with reference to the circumstances of each. (6) That all questions concerning the paternity and support of the child born out of wedlock shall be brought before the juvenile court. Bills for the above recommendations on page 87. 5. Protection of Infant Before and After Birth. Side by side with the problem of saving the lives of babies is the problem of protecting the lives and health of mothers during pregnancy and confinement. The work which the mother does during the period of pregnancy and within the first month after child-birth is a possible direct cause of injury to her and her infant. 46 ] Children s Code Commission. 25 Most of the countries of the world have recognized the need of a period of rest for the mother prior to and following confine¬ ment and many of them have provided maternity benefits for wage-earning women at that time. All of the larger and most of the smaller countries and Australia have made some provision. Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and New York have laws prescribing a period of rest before and after child birth, similar to the one recommended by the Commission. War conditions have greatly emphasized the need for such a law, for women have had to enter industry in increasingly large numbers. In Missouri in 1917 there were 242,412 women wage- earners, 12% of whom were married. The Commission recommends that an amendment be made to the labor laws prohibiting the employment of women in gain¬ ful occupations three weeks before and three weeks after child¬ birth. The mother’s pension law, enacted as part of the- Chil¬ dren’s Code in the 1917 legislature, provides for monthly allow¬ ances for expectant mothers three weeks prior and three weeks after child birth, if there are no relatives to aid in her support. Bills for the above recommendation on page 93. 6. Recovery for Prenatal Injury. The present law permits no recovery for injury received before birth. It does not recognize obligation toward persons unborn. The Commission proposes that a child be permitted to re¬ cover, through its parents or guardians, damages for injuries received prior to its birth. Bill for the above recommendation on page 94. 7. Age of Majority for Girls. Under the common law 21 years is the age of majority for persons of both sexes. This is the age at which both boys and girls attain the age of majority in 29 states, in the District of Columbia, Alaska, Porto Rico, the Philippine Islands. Missouri is one of the few states, and Hawaii, where legislative act makes the age of majority for girls 18 and for boys 21. This means 26 Report of the Missouri [46 that the state has authority over boys three years longer than over girls, and that parents lose control over girls three years earlier than boys. When we consider the difficulties this places in the state’s care and treatment of delinquent, defective and dependent children we realize that this injustice has been con¬ tinued too long. The Commission recommends changes in the statutes to make 21 the age of majority for girls as well as boys. Bills for the above recommendations on page 95. 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 27 CHAPTER II. LAWS RELATING TO MARRIAGE. Desertion, non-support and divorce are the results of hasty, reckless marriages. Marriages of very young persons, usually resulting in early desertion, cause much child-neglect. The de¬ fective classes are constantly being increased by the marriages of persons mentally and physically unfit. All these evils could be lessened, if not checked, by strengthening the marriage laws of the state. The present law prohibits marriages between persons of blood relationship and between white persons and negroes or Mongolians, but makes no provision for prohibiting the marriage of insane, feeble-minded, epileptic persons so as to lessen the number of defectives in the coming generation. No age is fixed at the present time at which a girl may marry and according to the accepted common-law a girl of 12 years may, without her parents’ consent, live with a man as his wife. Common-law marriages are legal, it being only necessary to establish the relation that a man and woman (or a boy and girl) claim to be man and wife. Marriage licenses are granted immediately upon application and solely upon the statements of the persons applying. Under such provision, hasty marriages and elopements, frequently be¬ tween mere children, are encouraged. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION. 1. Prohibiting the Marriage of Feeble-minded, Epileptic, Insane or Mentally Imbecile Persons. The law at present does not prevent the marriage of persons who have been declared insane, nor is any reference made to the marriage of feeble-minded and epileptic persons. The Commission recommends amendments to the marriage laws prohibiting the issuance of a marriage license to persons of these defective classes. In the case of insane persons who have 28 Report of the Missouri [46 been cured and are no longer under guardianship, that fact attested by the probate court, will permit the issuance of a marriage license. This, in combination with the proposed act requiring a five days’ interval between application for and granting of a license, with provision for hearing objections in court, will prevent all cases of marriage of persons mentally unfit, when the law be¬ comes well known. Bills for above recommendation on page 99. 2. Requiring Notice of Intention to Marry. 3. Establishing the Age of Marriage at 15 Years. Many marriages in the state are now contracted by minors falsely swearing to their age. A large proportion of divorces are the result of hasty marriages and elopments. In a study made by the Kansas City Board of Public Welfare in 1915 it was shown that more men deserted their wives before they had been married a year than did in any succeeding year. These broken homes affect the lives of hundreds of children. Many unhappy and ill- advised marriages would doubtless be prevented if a reasonable notice of intention to marry is required before the issuance of licenses. Besides, marriages of persons physically and mentally unfit can be prevented by delay and publicity in the granting of licenses. The Commission recommends a new law requiring an interval of five days between the application for marriage license and its issuance. Applications for licenses will be published. If any objections are filed with the issuing officer, the application for license goes to court for hearing. Special provision is made for waiving the five days’ notice by the court in emergency cases. No person under 15 will be permitted to marry; persons be¬ tween 15 and 21 must have parents’ consent for the issuance of marriage licenses. Bills for the above recommendations on pages 101 , 104. 4. Abolishing Common-law Marriages. In spite of the fact that a Missouri statute provides that previous to any marriage in the state a license for this purpose Children's Code Commission. 29 46 [ must be obtained, and in spite of the fact that another statute requires that persons under age shall obtain the consent of parents or guardian before the marriage license may be issued, minors who cannot obtain a license to marry, can marry under the com¬ mon-law contract without a license. This means that a girl of 12 years may, without her parents’ consent, live with a boy of 14 years as his wife. Many states have alre£ dy abolished common-law marriages. The Commission recommends that a legal ceremony be necessary to every marriage in the state and amendments to the present statute have been drafted. Bill for the above recommendation on page 103. 30 Report of the Missouri [46 CHAPTER III. PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OF LAWS RELATING TO SOCIAL WELFARE. The Commission regards the administration of laws now on our statute books and of the new laws proposed as the most im¬ portant matter before us. The history of legislation for children for the past fifteen years has been very largely that of good laws placed on our statute books but not enforced in practice. We have, therefore, given the problem of administering the laws our chief attention. PRESENT SYSTEM OF STATE AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATION. State Agencies for Social Welfare. The state maintains a number of institutions exclusively for the care of children. The State Industrial Home for Girls at Chillicothe cares for delinquent white girls; the State Industrial Home for Negro Girls at Tipton for delinquent negro girls; the Missouri Reformatory at Boonville for delinquent white and negro boys (until 1915 called the State Training School for Boys). There is no institution in the state for the care of dependent and neglected children. The charitable and correctional institutions conducted by the state for both adults and minors are the State Penitentiary at Jefferson City; School for the Blind at St. Louis; School for the Deaf at Fulton; the Colony for Feeble-minded and Epileptic at Marshall; the four State Hospitals for the Insane at Fulton, St. Joseph, Nevada and Farmington and the State Sanitorium for Tubercular Patients at Mount Vernon. No institution for the care of crippled children is maintained by the state. The Missouri Commission for the Blind, composed of five non-salaried members appointed by the Governor for a term of four years was established by legislative act in 1915. The object of the Commission is to encourage the training and em¬ ployment of blind persons and to provide for the prevention and cure of blindness. 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 31 The State Prison Board, composed of three members ap¬ pointed by the Governor for a term of six years, has exclusive control of the State Penitentiary, Reformatory, Industrial Home for Girls and Industrial Home for Negro Girls. The Board appoints the superintendents and employees of these institutions and makes rules and regulations governing the institutions. Pardons and paroles from these institutions are granted through the board. All of the state eleemosynary institutions are conducted by separate non-salaried boards appointed by the Governor. Mem¬ bers of these boards are appointed for a term of four years. They appoint superintendents and employees for the institutions. There are no requirements governing the appointments and pro¬ motions of employees on the basis of merit after examination. These institutions are all subject to supervision by the State Board of Charities and Corrections, a Board of seven per¬ sons appointed by the Governor. This Board employs a paid secretary, and in addition to supervising such institutions is also charged with the placing-out of children in foster homes, main¬ taining for that purpose a children’s bureau. It assists the counties in the conduct of their work for the unfortunate. While the personnel of the State Board of Charities and Corrections has changed considerably it has not been subject to political influence and has a record of increasing service and usefulness. INDUSTRY. The state has established two agencies to improve industrial conditions—the State Factory Inspection Department, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This bureau conducts the state free employment bureaus and inspects private employment agencies. There are three free employment bureaus—in St. Louis, Kansas City and St. Joseph. The Factory Inspector has charge of the enforcement of all labor laws in the state. Factory inspection is confined to places of 10,000 population and over. The office is conducted on what is known as the “fee system”, under which the inspectors collect a fee for each inspection made and turn it into the state treasury. From this fund the expenses of the office are paid. 32 Report of the Missouri [46 PUBLIC HEALTH. The public health work in the state is in charge of the State Board of Health, a non-salaried body of 7 persons ap¬ pointed by the Governor for a term of four years. They em¬ ploy a secretary. The board has general supervisory powers over health and sanitary conditions, and grants and revokes physicians’ and midwives’ licenses. The Bureau of Vital Sta¬ tistics through which is recorded a complete history of each death and birth occurring in the state, is conducted by this board. A food and drug commissioner, appointed by the Governor, is charged with the enforcement of the pure food and drug laws. A dairy commissioner, under the State Board of Agriculture, inspects dairies all over the state. EDUCATION. Public education in the state is supervised by the state superintendent of public schools, elected by the people. He has charge of state aid to schools and assists in developing education throughout the state. The State Normal Schools, and the Uni¬ versity of Missouri are independent, each in charge of a non- salaried board appointed by the Governor. COUNTY AGENCIES FOR SOCIAL WELFARE. COUNTY COURTS. The charitable and correctional work for each county is administered by the county court, composed of three judges elected by the people. This so-called “court” has no judicial functions and corresponds to what are usually known as “county commissioners” in other states. It is the general administrative body in the county. No money can be appropriated from county taxes except by the county court. It has charge of the granting of poor relief to persons in their own homes, of administering mothers’ pensions and conducts all county institutions. Boards of Visitors. In most of the counties there is a county board of visitors appointed by the circuit court to inspect county institutions and to recommend improvements. These boards of visitors are com¬ posed of seven non-salaried persons, many of whom are women. Their expenses are paid by the county court. 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 33 HEALTH. The county court in each county together with a county health officer appointed by the county court acts as a board of health. This board has general powers in case of epidemic and can enforce quarantine regulations in the counties outside of the cities and towns. This board is not responsible to any state body; the state board of health has only power to advise and recommend, but no authority to supervise. No penalty is at¬ tached for failure of county boards to perform their duties. EDUCATION. The schools of the state are organized by districts, not by counties. Each county, however, has a county superintendent of schools, elected by the people, who supervises the district schools within the county. Each school district raises its own money by taxation. The non-salaried boards of education in charge of the districts have full control of the schools. There is no county board of education. COURTS. The 1917 legislature enacted, as part of the Children’s Code, a juvenile court act for the smaller counties of the state. In many of the counties these courts have been created and probation officers appointed. Juvenile courts already existed in the six largest counties and the city of St. Louis under a separate act. In counties in which juvenile courts have not yet been established the following courts deal with children: (1) Probate Court, dealing with matters of guardianship, adoption and insanity. (2) The Justice of Peace Courts, organized by districts, dealing with juvenile and adult offenders charged with mis¬ demeanors. (3) Circuit Court, a court of general jurisdiction dealing with the more serious offenses, divorce, cases involving the custody of children, and crimes against children. CITY AGENCIES FOR SOCIAL WELFARE. Under the constitution of Missouri, cities are subject to full control by the legislature, except St. Louis and Kansas City, which have the right to prepare and adopt their own charters. The other cities are divided into four classes: first class, more 3 34 Report of the Missouri 146 than 75,000 population; second class, between 30,000 and 75,000; population; third class, between 3,000 and 30,000 population; fourth class, between 500 and 3,000 population. Only three cities in the state have any general powers to deal broadly with social conditions affecting children. St. Louis has a department of public welfare created by charter, a board of children’s guardians, and a number of other agencies created by ordinance. Kansas City has created a board of public welfare with broad powers, and also has a special legislative provision for pensioning mothers of dependent children, through the juvenile court. St. Joseph, by an act of the legislature, has a social welfare board, composed of members appointed both by the mayor of the city and the county court and supported by the city and county. It is the first such attempt in the United States to unify the social work of the county and city. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION. State welfare agencies should be largely supervisory in character stimulating the work in all parts of the state and uni¬ fying it but leaving the enforcement of the laws to local initiative. The Commission has studied most carefully several proposals for effective organization in our 114 counties in order to ad¬ minister successfully the laws relating to children and community welfare. COUNTY WELFARE AGENCIES. At the present time we have three sets of officials dealing with social conditions surrounding children of the county, each entirely separate and wholly unable to take advantage of the other employees. The superintendents of schools, under the law, must employ their own truant officers, doing their social work for children entirely separate from other county agencies. In the same way the juvenile courts must employ their own probation officers for children. The county court, which administers all charitable and correctional work of the county, does its work entirely separate from these two agencies. The County Board of Visitors, a non-salaried body appointed by the circuit court, inspects and makes recommendations for improvements in county institutions. This Board is the only local agency to represent the State Board of Charities and Cor¬ rections in the county. 46 ( Children s Code Commission. 35 The Commission recommends the appointment of a county superintendent of public welfare appointed by the county court from a list of eligibles submitted by the State Board of Charities and Corrections. The superintendent will work under the super¬ vision of the county court and the State Board of Charities and Corrections. The appointment of the county superintendent is made entirely optional with the county court who will have power to fix the salaries of the superintendents and assistants. No county is put to one cent of expense by this legislation, except as it desires. It is believed, however, that the county will soon be aroused to the importance of providing adequate machinery to administer the laws relating to the welfare of the community, as has been done in the large cities throughout the state. Under the proposed plan the interests of children, whether in the schools, court, county institutions or in their homes will be looked after, and every county will be enabled to perform important work for the state which is now either not done at all or done very ineffectively. 1. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE. In order to secure persons both as superintendents and assistants in the counties who are well fitted to do the work and in order that the welfare work in the counties will be uniform throughout the state, it is provided the county courts shall appoint to such positions only persons recommended by the State Board of Charities and Corrections. It is made a duty of the Board to submit lists of eligible persons to the county court of each county from time to time. The duties of the superintendent of public welfare and assistants are as follows: (1) To administer all funds devoted to relief of the poor in their homes and allowances to needy mothers under the state¬ wide mother’s pension act. (2) To discover any cases of neglected, dependent, de¬ fective or delinquent children in the county and to obtain for them the benefit of the laws enacted in their behalf. (3) To act as agent of the State Board of Charities in any work to be done by the board within the county; as agent of the children’s bureau in placing children in foster homes. (4) To give special oversight to the patients discharged or parked from the state hospitals for insane residing in his county. (5) To act as agent of the State Prison Board in giving 36 Report of the Missouri [46 oversight to persons on parole in his county from the state cor¬ rectional institutions; to supervise children and adults paroled in his county by the courts, when requested to do so by the courts. (6) To assist the state free employment bureau in finding work for the unemployed in his county. (7) To act as agent of the factory inspection department, which is at present unable to enforce the child labor laws in the smaller towns of the state. (8) To act as attendance officer to enforce the school attend¬ ance laws. (9) To investigate the causes of distress in the county and make recommendations for improvment of conditions. The need for such work in the rural communities is great. In the larger cities welfare work has been established by the city authorities; in addition many private agencies care for the un¬ fortunates. Little of this work is being done in the counties at the present time. Reports of the work of probation officers appointed in the counties under the 1917 juvenile court act, show that they are now forced to take up the welfare work which will be cared for by the county superintendent under the proposed act. The probation officer of Mississippi County, in a recent report to the court, told of dealing with nineteen cases of truancy, with a family in need of relief, with the case of a girl who had been placed in jail with adults and worked on the streets with male prisoners, with a case of family desertion, and with breaking up a gang of criminals which menaced the towns of his county. Bill for above recommendation on page 111 . 2. COUNTY BOARD OF PUBLIC WELFARE. The legislature of 1903 passed a law providing for the ap¬ pointment of a non-salaried board of visitors in each county to inspect the jails, almshouses and other institutions supported by county funds. Boards have been appointed in over one hundred counties and have assisted considerably in arousing community interest in the local welfare problems. In order to promote close co-operation between these boards and the county superintendent of welfare it is proposed to make the county superintendent of welfare secretary of the board, to 461 Children's Code Commission. 37 serve without additional salary, and to change the name of the board in each county to the county board of public welfare. Bill for above recommendation on page 116. 3. CITY BOARDS OF PUBLIC WELFARE. In order that cities may combine their welfare work with that of the counties in which they are located and in order to avoid conflicts between the two, the Commission recommends that all cities in the state be empowered to create social welfare boards, appointed by the mayor or chief executive officer of the city, or, in the case of commission governments, by the Com¬ mission—this board to have general power to deal with social conditions within the city. Such boards would have the power to make co-operative arrangements with the county, as is done in St. Joseph at present, to loan their employees to the county or to obtain the services of the employees of the county with an appropriate exchange of funds. As St. Louis, Kansas City and St. Joseph already have these city boards well organized under special provision they are excluded from the general state-wide act. The Commission is not recommending further detailed pro¬ visions for co-operation between city and county agencies, allowing practical experience in this new field to determine what the relations shall be. Bill for above recommendation on page 119. COLORED CHILDREN. According to federal statistics, Missouri in 1917 had an estimated population of 55,142 colored children under twenty years of age. The constitution requires separate schools for them throughout the state. Many school districts cannot maintain separate schools where the number of colored children is small. Many are therefore wholly deprived of an education. State institutions for the care of unfortunate children have in large part failed to make provision for colored children, although in most cases the law permits them to receive colored as well as white, providing they separate them in the institution. Colored children are admitted to the State Reformatory at Boonville and the School for the Deaf at Fulton. There is a separate state industrial school for delinquent colored girls at Tipton, 38 Report of the Missouri [46 Missouri, opened in 1916. Colored children are not admitted to the State School for the Blind; to the Colony for the Feeble¬ minded and Epileptic, or the State Sanitarium for tubercular patients. The Commission feels it is important that all state and county institutions for the care of children make appropriate provisions for colored children, giving them the same opportu¬ nities as are given the white children. A bill making necessary changes in existing statutes has been drafted for this purpose. Bill for above recommendation on page 123. MEASURES ENDORSED BY THE COMMISSION NOT INCLUDED IN THE CODE. STATE AGENCIES. The organization of the administration of state institutions so that they may more effectively serve the purpose for which they are established, lies beyond the scope of this Commission’s work. It involves the general reorganization of all institutions, both for adults and for children. This matter is being handled by various other agencies in the state. The Commission desires to endorse the proposal to place all these institutions on a strictly merit basis in order to take them entirely out of politics. This it is proposed to do, either by creating bi-partisan boards, non-salaried as at present, for each institution, placing the appointment and promotion of salaried em¬ ployees on the basis of merit by a state-wide civil service system; or by creating a state board of control of a few members, well paid, to devote their entire time to the administration of all of these institutions with the appointment of all employees on a merit basis. Whatever is done to reorganize the administration of state institutions, we believe that the State Board of Charities should be retained as a general supervisory agency and the resources of the board enlarged. It is the only agency in the state engaged in unifying, stimulating and making effective all the social agencies of the counties and cities. By an act of the legislature of 1913 a children’s bureau in the state board was created. In 1915 an appropriation of $3,900 for the two-year period was made, and one agent was employed for looking after the children of the state. This has not been possible during 1917 and 1918 as the last legislature failed to make an appropriation for his salary. Much 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 39 good can be accomplished by the work of this bureau and the Commission recommends that the board’s appropriation be made large enough to allow for the employment of at least three agents in the children’s bureau. INDUSTRY. Administration of laws for improving industrial conditions is at present highly unsatisfactory. Many laws cannot be en¬ forced under the present fee system. The Commission, however, is submitting no drafts of bills on this subject because it is clearly outside the scope of the Com¬ mission’s work, involving the problem of enforcing all the labor laws of the state applying to adults as well as children. Other agencies are going to the legislature with bills designed to reor¬ ganize the system. The Commission desires to express its approval of the pro¬ posed bill to create a State Industrial Commission of five salaried members, to give their entire time to enforcement of laws relating to industry. PUBLIC HEALTH. In the field of public health, reorganization is desirable, but the work involves the entire health service of the state and is therefore not peculiarly within the scope of work of the Com¬ mission. Bills for the reorganization of the health service of the state will be introduced by the State Board of Health. The Commission endorses the proposal to separate the work of licensing physicians from the work of the State Board of Health by the creation of a state board of medical examiners. The State Board of Health should be given larger powers to supervise the health work of the state, to unify and to stimulate local bodies to greater activities. Recommendations of the Com¬ mission regarding the health problems of children, particularly school sanitation, physical inspection of school children and in¬ fant welfare work, are found on page 70. EDUCATION. The needed changes in the public school system in the state was made the subject of an investigation in 1917, jointly under¬ taken by the State Superintendent of Public Schools and his department and the Missouri State Teachers’ Association upon the request of the Governor. 40 Report of the Missouri [46 The survey covered the physical conditions of the schools, their support, methods of instructions, adaptability of course of study to the needs of the community, qualification of teachers and other acts bearing upon the efficiency of the public school system of the state. The findings and recommendations will be submitted to the Governor and the General Assembly in 1919. 46] Children’s Code Commission. 41 CHAPTER IV. LAWS RELATING TO THE CARE AND TREATMENT OF DELINQUENT CHILDREN. With the passage of the juvenile court act, as part of the Children’s Code in the 1917 legislature, opportunity was given every county in the state to provide modern machinery to deal with youthful offenders. Steps to set this machinery in motion should be taken in every county. People throughout the state must be made to see that unless they provide proper protection to boys and girls at this time, America will experience as serious an increase in juvenile delinquency as have the warring countries abroad. In England juvenile delinquency has increased 34% since the war began. Similar reports come from Germany and other warring nations. Safeguards which protected children in normal times have been broken down under the stress of war; fathers and elder brothers have entered the army; mothers have been forced into industry and have less time to devote to their children. A juvenile court was established in St. Louis in 1903, in Kansas City in 1905 and in the six largest counties of the state by an act passed in 1911.* Several new laws for the care and treatment of delinquent children and amendments to existing statutes are necessary at this time. Missouri has no law by which adults who are responsible for the neglect and waywardness of children can be effectively dealt with. The parole law, under which convicted law-breakers may be released on good behavior, is ineffective be¬ cause it provides no system of supervision of persons on parole. Under this law many men who desert or fail to support their children are released without supervision and their families con¬ tinue to suffer. Laws relating to state institutions which care for delinquent children need amendments in a number of particulars. *A brief history of the juvenile court system in the state is in appendix 4, page 205. 42 Report of the Missouri [46 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION. 1. Treatment of Adults Contributing to Delinquency or Neglect of Children. The problems of juvenile delinquency cannot be solved by punishing the child alone. Children are often abused by worth¬ less parents; incompetent parents are often responsible for the incorrigibility of children. In a study of juvenile delinquency in the rural districts of New York, made by the Federal Children’s Bureau in 1917, it was found that considerably more than half of the offenders came from homes in which the surroundings were bad. One of the needs of the juvenile court is that it be given full power to deal with parents and adults responsible for the child’s delinquency. The present statute upon this subject is wholly ineffective chiefly because the jurisdiction is lodged concurrently in two sets of courts. The provisions are weak, and there have been very few cases brought under it. The Commission proposes a new act to reach such adults, putting exclusive jurisdiction in the same court which hears children’s cases so that one tribunal may deal with all the aspects of cases involving the welfare of the child. It is intended that this act shall reach such persons as parents who neglect their children and persons who encourage depravity, immorality or viciousness in the child. It will reach the saloon-keeper who sells children liquor, the druggist who sells tobacco or drugs to chil¬ dren, employers who illegally employ children and parents who permit illegal employment. Bill for the above recommendation on page 127 . 2. Relating to Commitments to the Missouri Reforma¬ tory and Training School for Boys. Amendments to the statute relating to the reformatory for boys are needed so as to harmonize with the juvenile court act in the matter of commitments. The Commission recommends the following amendments: (1) The juvenile court act places sole jurisdiction of cases of commitment of boys under the age of 17 in the juvenile court. Such a provision must be made also in the statute governing the Missouri reformatory. 46] Children s Code Commission. 43 (2) Permitting the commitment of boys under 17 to the Missouri Training School for Boys, the re-establishment of which the Commission is recommending. (3) Prohibiting the commitment of neglected or dependent children to the Missouri Reformatory and Missouri Training School for Boys. Bills for the above recommendations on page 129. 3. Relating to Commitment to Industrial Home for Girls. 4. Relating to Commitment to Industrial Home for Negro Girls. Amendments to the statutes relating to commitments of girls to the industrial home at Chillicothe and of negro girls to the industrial home at Tipton are likewise needed so as to harmonize with the juvenile court act in the matter of commitments. The Commission recommends the following amendments: (1) The same amendments are needed to the statutes relating to the industrial home for girls and industrial home for negro girls as are made in the act relating to the boys’ reforma¬ tory in the matter of commitments. Jurisdiction of cases of commitments of girls under 17 years of age to the two industrial homes is lodged in the juvenile court exclusively. (2) The age at which girls may be committed to the homes is raised to 21 years, so as to conform with the law enacted as part of the Children’s Code at the 1917 legislature. Under this act, parents of wayward minors over the juvenile court age (17 years), may bring them into the court and get the state’s assistance in rearing them. In the case of boys they may be sent to the reformatory at Boonville. At the present time there is no place to send girls of this age. (3) The Commission recommends prohibiting the commit¬ ment of neglected or dependent children to these institutions. Provision for their care is made in the bill for the establishment of a state detention home for dependent children. Discussion of this proposal is on page 51. (4) At the present time sheriffs accompany girls commit¬ ted by the courts on the trips to these institutions. The Com¬ mission recommends that the court appoint for this purpose women attendants who will be paid on a per diem basis, the same as is now allowed for conveying prisoners to the penitentiary. Bills for the above recommendations on pages 132 9 134 . 44 Report of the Missouri [46 5. Separating the Training School for Boys From the State Reformatory. The legislature of 1915 abolished the name of the State Training School for Boys at Boonville and renamed it the State Reformatory, admitting men up to 30 years of age who are first offenders. This the Commission believes to be an unfortunate development. The reformatory should be entirely separate from the training school for boys. The two institutions should be under separate management, both under the control of the State Prison Board. The principles which govern one would not ordinarily succeed with the other. A growing boy should not have the possibility of contact or association with older men con¬ victed of crime. The Commission recommends the re-establishment of the State Training School at Boonville, separate from the reforma¬ tory. Bill for the above recommendation on page 136. 6. Appointment of Probation Officers in the Criminal Courts. “Probation” means supervision of persons by an officer of the court (called probation officer) instead of committing the person to a correctional institution. “Parole” means super¬ vision by a court officer (called parole officer) of a person re¬ leased from an institution on good behavior. The present law under which adults convicted of crime may be released providing they report to the court at intervals is comparatively ineffective because it carries with it no provision whatever for the employment of persons to keep track of the men and women thus released. The judge of the court makes up his mind as to the conduct of the persons so paroled only from what he may happen to hear or what the persons on parole may tell him when they report. If they fail to report the court fre¬ quently loses track of them and the purpose of the parole is lost. A parole law without parole officers is unjust and ineffective. It is of the utmost importance to the welfare of homes to have probation officers for adults, because it is usually the adult who is responsible for neglected children. Probation officers will supervise and hold to account the vicious, intemperate and shiftless father, and the man who deserts his wife and children or 46] Children s Code Commission. 45 fails to support them. From 1909 to 1916 the parole department of the Board of Public Welfare in Kansas City collected over $65,000 from men who have been brought before the courts for failure to support their wives and children. This money was turned over to the families. The Commission recommends an addition to the present parole law permitting the judges of criminal courts to appoint probation or parole officers. In order to secure a uniform system throughout the state it is provided that these officers shall be appointed with the approval of the State Board of Charities and Corrections. It is also provided in the county superintendent of welfare act that the courts may utilize the services of the county superintendent of welfare in order to save the expense of special officers in counties where there are only a few persons on parole. Bill for the above recommendation on page 140. 7. Treatment of Incorrigible Minors Over the Juvenile Court Age. The legislature of 1917 enacted a law, as part of the Chil¬ dren’s Code, giving parents the power to bring wayward minors over the juvenile court age into the circuit court. This bill, drafted by the Commission to harmonize with the proposed juvenile court act, which placed the juvenile court age at 18 years, was not amended in the legislature when the juvenile court age was made 17 instead of 18. Because of this error the courts have been unable to deal with the incorrigible children be¬ tween the ages of 17 and 18 years and request has been made that the Commission correct this inconsistency in the laws at this time. Bill for above recommendation on page 142. 8. Repealing Conflicting Statute. The 1917 legislature enacted two sections relating to com¬ mitments of negro girls to the industrial home for negro girls at Tipton. As this home is under the control of the state prison board, and as the matter of commitments is covered by the state prison board act, the Commission recommends the repeal of the •additional section. Bill for above recommendation on page 143. 46 Report of the Missouri [46 9. Repealing Conflicting Statute. The commitment of destitute and neglected children to the state reformatory is prohibited by bills drafted by the Commis¬ sion. Sections 24 and 25 of the prison board act are in conflict with the proposed section and with the spirit and purposes of juvenile court legislation. The Commission recommends their repeal. Bill for above recommendation on page 143. 10. Repealing Obsolete Statute. This act is repealed as it has proven of no value. The Secretary of State has no record of any incorporation under it. Bill for above recommendation on page 143. 46] Children's Code Commission . 47 CHAPTER V. LAWS RELATING TO THE CARE OF DEPENDENT CHILDREN. The care of destitute children in Missouri is in a chaotic condition. There are over fifty private child-caring institutions in the state. In addition, there are a large number of child¬ placing societies. The large cities are crowded with commercial maternity homes and hospitals which receive hundreds of young unmarried women from all over the state and dispose of their babies in ways unknown to the public. These institutions and agencies are caring for about 5,000 children. None of them is under any supervision by the state. In a single month in St. Louis 22 babies were advertised for adoption and disposed of on a commercial basis, with no system of after-care or supervision and with no record whatever of what became of them. A case in the ‘Traffic in babies” was recently given publicity when a county was put to the expense of burying two infants who had been bought from a maternity home in St. Louis for $5 each. This fact was disclosed in a suit in court brought by a police matron against the parents, charging them with mistreatment of one of the babies. Private institutions do not give enough attention to the placing of children in foster homes, contenting themselves, once a child finds its way to an institution, that it should remain. There are no standard age limits, so that children of greatly varying ages are accepted in the same institution. Furthermore, the training provided for children in many of these institutions is not adequate nor up-to-date. Children cared for by these institutions are as much the wards of the state as those in the state institu¬ tions and the state has a right to know that they are receiving proper protection. Little children are found in one-third of the almshouses in the state, where, of course, influences are bad. This is done in spite of the fact that the law forbids it. At the present time the state makes no provision for their care. In 1916, 761 neglected children passed through the juvenile court of St. Louis County alone. 48 Report of the Missouri [46 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION. 1. State Supervision of Maternity Hospitals. 2. State Supervision of Private Child-caring Institutions. Most progressive states have recognized the duty of the state in supervising private charitable institutions caring for children. The public is vitally concerned in the work for these children, their welfare is part of the general welfare of the com¬ munity. The Commission has made a careful study of systems of supervision and licensing of private institutions for children throughout the country, and has been in communication with authorities in several states with regard to the practical working out of their laws on this subject. Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan, Massachusetts, Arkansas, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Ten¬ nessee, Pennsylvania, and California are among the states re¬ quiring some form of state supervision and licensing of these institutions. The Commission is publishing copies of letters received from Mr. H. H. Shirer, Secretary, State Board of Chari¬ ties of Ohio, and from Rev. Francis H. Gavisk, Chancellor, Catholic Diocese of Indianapolis, member of the State Board of Charities of Indiana. The Ohio law was enacted in 1913; the Indiana law was passed in 1909. Bills for the above recommendation on pages 147 , 148. 46] Children's Code Commission. 49 STATE OF OHIO BOARD OF STATE CHARITIES 335 South High Street COLUMBUS October 29, 1918. Lucille B. Lowenstein, Washington Hotel, St. Louis, Mo. Dear Madame: I have your letter of October 25. The experience of Ohio, under its so-called Juvenile Code, enacted in 1913, giving the Board of State Charities power to certify and supervise public and private child-caring institutions, has been a means of good for all concerned. In the case of public institutions an appeal can be made to the residents of the community which the institution is designed to serve when it is found that is is not measuring up to its opportunities and is otherwise falling below accepted minimum standards of management. In the case of private insti¬ tutions it is often more difficult to arouse an interest. We are fortunate in having several excellently managed private institutions which can be used as actual examples of what we insist shall be done in certain other institutions. All these private institutions are operated under terms of charters given to them and are not governed by any general state law, except such rules and regulations as the Board of State Charities may from time to time establish. Looking back over the brief experience, we are convinced that the effort has been worth while. A number of very poorly managed institutions have been refused certification (the term used in granting licenses in Ohio) until such time as the institutions would show even a willingness to undertake needed changes or, in certain institutions, to actually provide changes. Un¬ fortunately, our present law is so worded that it does not reach the individual who, to all appearances, is conducting an institution, because he has no cor¬ poration organization or other form of association. The proposed Missouri act should be so worded as to include individuals as well as incorporated agencies. It was asserted by some of the opponents to the new powers of the Board of State Charities, that it is the intent of our Board to close up many insti¬ tutions and to establish the Massachustts system of boarding dependent chil¬ dren in family homes. This was merely a wild guess on the part of some individuals who were seeking to make trouble, as our Board has pursued the theory that it was a question of putting to the best use possible the agencies as they existed, rather than attempting to carry out a revolutionary plan of conduct. As we are required to recommend the incorporation of proposed child-caring agencies and institutions before the Secretary of State can issue the articles of incorporation, we are slow to approve the establishment of any additional institutions. Very truly yours, (Signed) H. H. SHIRER, Secretary. Indianapolis, Ind., December 18, 1916. 4 50 Report of the Missouri [46 Chancery Diocese of Indianapolis, 126 West Georgia Street. Dr. George B. Mangold, St. Louis, Mo. My dear Dr. Mangold: Some years ago when it was proposed to place all child-caring institutions under the supervision of the Board of State Charities, that is, requiring them to be licensed and inspected by the officials of the Board, there was some opposition by Catholics to the measure, as none of the Catholic Orphan Asylums in Indiana received any aid from either the County or the State. Because the House of the Good Shepherd in Indianapolis received children committed to their care from the courts and from the County Boards of Children’s Guardians it received pay for such children from some of the counties but not (at that time) from the courts. That institution was always inspected both by the Board of State Charities and the County Board of Charities. There was never the least friction; the relation was mutually help¬ ful. The licensing law in Illinois requiring child-caring institutions to be in¬ spected put a number of unworthy institutions out of business and they moved over to Indiana. Many of these were mere exploitations of children to pro¬ vide places for keepers. Some undertook to care for orphan and neglected children under conditions which the community ought not to tolerate; one such opened an orphan asylum near this city in a barn and housed 29 children. There was no legal provision to prevent this. When these conditions were learned by the Catholic authorities the opposition ceased and the law requiring child-caring institutions to be licensed and inspected by the Board of State Charities was passed. The law has been in operation about ten years. There has been no friction; as I have been on the Board of State Charities for more than nine years I am entirely familiar with its operation. The Inspector of the Board is Miss Ethel Clarke, a woman of tact and discretion and thoroughly familiar with what a child-caring institution ought to be. She visits the Orphan Asylums of the Catholic Church in the State at regular intervals and reports upon them—usually in favorable terms. The reports of her inspections are the basis of a renewal of the annual license. The licenses have always been renewed without question by the Board. I think I can say that the inspections are helpful to the institutions. As in some instance licenses have been held up and even denied (none, however, to Catholic institutions) and improvements suggested, the inspections have not been merely formal. I am, very truly, yours (Signed) FRANCIS H. GAVISK. 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 51 3. Establishing a State Home for Dependent Children. Missouri cares for delinquent children in the industrial home for girls at Chillicothe and the home for negro girls at Tipton and the reformatory for boys at Boonville; deaf and blind children are given homes and education at the state homes for the deaf and blind at Fulton and St. Louis; feeble-minded chil¬ dren are cared for, however inadequately, at the colony for feeble¬ minded at Marshall, but the state has made no provision what¬ ever for the care of homeless, ill-treated and neglected children, awaiting placement in foster homes or with adopted parents. In order to make effective the child placement work of the Children s Bureau in the State Board of Charities, it is necessary to have a temporary receiving home for cases of (1) destitute children who are in need of a little training before they can be accepted in proper homes, (2) for children who have been re¬ turned from foster homes and are waiting placement in a new home, and (3) the children for whom there is difficulty in finding permanent homes. Such children are now being kept in alms¬ houses, jails and other improper places in the counties. The most satisfactory method of meeting this situation is in the establishment of a state home for dependent children where they may be kept temporarily to fit them for family life in a foster or adoptive home. Eleven states have adopted this plan, the most notable examples of the system are in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. Minnesota established this home thirty years ago and has cared for 5,500 children. The Michigan home is somewhat older and has handled over 9,000 children. A bill establishing such a home for Missouri was passed in both houses of the 1917 legislature but was vetoed by the Gover¬ nor. The Commission is reintroducing the same bill with the hope that the financial condition of the state is such now that the establishment of such a home will be possible in 1919. Bill for the above recommendation on page 150. 52 Report of the Missouri [46 CHAPTER VI. LAWS RELATING TO CARE OF DEFECTIVE CHILDREN. FEEBLE-MINDED. There is no state in the Union with the same population and wealth as Missouri (with possibly one exception), which has pro¬ vided such meagre institutional facilities for the care of the feeble-minded. Less than 10% of our feeble-minded population, estimated at 6,000, is confined in the Missouri Colony for the Feeble¬ minded and Epileptic at Marshall, the only institution of this kind the state maintains. The great majority are at large in the state, constituting a heavy burden on public and private charity and on hundreds of families. Many feeble-minded are now being improperly kept in hospitals, jails, prisons and reformatories. Only two cities in the state, St. Louis and Kansas City, provide special classes in the schools for feeble-minded and back¬ ward children. The need for such classes throughout the state is great. The only public clinics for the examination of these defective children are ones supported by the St. Louis Board of Education and one in connection with the juvenile court of Kansas City. EPILEPTICS. It is estimated that there are at least 1,000 dependent epi¬ leptics in the state. The Colony at Marshall, which was estab¬ lished for the care of both the feeble-minded and epileptic, ac¬ commodates only 162 epileptics. A large number are improperly confined in the various state and county institutions, but most of them are in their homes without special care. CRIPPLED CHILDREN. There is not one special class or school or home for crippled children in Missouri. There are no laws whatever bearing upon the education of these children, who, with proper training, can usually be made entirely self-supporting. 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 53 BLIND AND DEAF CHILDREN. The state supports two residential schools for the training of these defectives—The Missouri School for the Blind at St. Louis and the School for the Deaf at Fulton. There is not one special class or day school in the state for the education of blind children. Kansas City and St. Louis have the only special public schools for the deaf. Many of these handicapped children are growing up with¬ out any schooling whatever, as the school attendance law does not at present compel their parents or guardians to send them to school. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION. 1. Relating to Compulsory Commitment of Dependent Feeble-minded Persons to the State Institution. Feeble-minded persons, because of a defect in the brain existing from birth or an early age, do not “grow up” mentally. Though they may be adults in years and in size they are children in habits and capabilities. All feeble-minded lack self-control. They are easily led into temptation and easily drift into im¬ morality and crime. Many of them, unable to earn their own living, are thrown upon the state or private charity for support. There is no method known to modern science by which the feeble¬ minded can be brought to normality. A very low estimate of the number of feeble-minded persons in Missouri in 1917 is 6,000. The institution at Marshall, in 1918, accommodated only 416 exclusive of epileptics and had a waiting list of 800. The jails, almshouses, reformatories, hospitals and other improper places house about fifteen hundred of these unfortunates. It is estimated that there are about 4,000 at large in the state in need of care and treatment, a constant menace to the community. The state cannot cope with the serious problem of feeble¬ mindedness without the power to enforce commitment of those who are not under proper supervision and control. The Commission recommends a law to meet this need, as follows: (1) Commitments must be made by the circuit court. 54 Report of the Missouri [46 (2) No person may be committed to an institution with¬ out legal certification of feeble-mindedness by experts appointed by the court. (3) Discharges may be made by the court which com¬ mitted only upon the recommendation of the superintendent of the institution in which the person is confined and the secretary of the State Board of Charities and Corrections. (4) The compulsory provision will apply to all feeble¬ minded dependents, girls and women of child-bearing age, prostitutes and criminals. (5) Petitions for commitment may be filed with the judge of the circuit court by parents, guardians or by any responsible citizen. Bill for above recommendation on page 157. 2. Providing Increased Facilities for the Care of the Feeble-minded. The state of Missouri now maintains one institution for the care of the feeble-minded and epileptic at Marshall, with a capacity of about 600. If Missouri provided the same accom¬ modation in proportion to the population as Iowa does she would care for over 2,200; if the state did as well as Massachu¬ setts in the care of these handicapped persons Missouri would now care of 2,900. The Commission recommends the enlargement of the in¬ stitution at Marshall to care for at least 1,000 persons. The Commission recommends an appropriation to en¬ large the institution at Marshall to care for at least 1,000 persons. We recommend that the board of managers be given power over such funds as may be appropriated to make all desirable provisions for the feeble-minded, in camps or in separate insti¬ tutions located wherever the board may determine. This will provide eventually, when funds are available, for the separation of the epileptic from the feeble-minded. Feeble-minded prostitutes should be cared for permanently in detached cottages at the central colony and adequate provi¬ sion should be made for colored inmates. Bill for above recommendations on page 160. 3. Special Classes for Defective Children in the Public Schools. In every school district of the state there are children who, unable to keep up with the normal children in the regular classes, 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 55 are a drag on the teacher and the other pupils. They are the feeble-minded and backward children, and eventually become the truants and delinquents. The importance of organizing special classes for these chil¬ dren, in which the training is adapted to their individual needs, has been recognized in the large cities of the state. Special classes have been established in St. Louis and Kansas City. According to the 1917 report of the chief attendance officer of St. Louis, the separation of these children from the normal children of the regular grades, and the provision for their train¬ ing in kinds of work for which they are suited has been a tre¬ mendous factor in reducing the number of habitual truants. There were in St. Louis during that year 434 children in special classes where instruction was given to meet the requirements of the individual pupil; 3,111 children who were backward in their grades because of mental or physical defects were given in¬ struction adjusted to their needs in what is called ungraded classes. Of the number, 1,317 were enabled to be restored to their normal grades at the end of the year. It is estimated that there are 3,000 feeble-minded and 20,000 backward children in the public schools of the state. Among the l,59i children examined during the last three and a half years in the St. Louis public school clinic, 476 feeble-minded children have been found; 353 children have been declared “border-line” cases. The schools of the rural communities should be equipped to do anything and everything for the country child that the schools of St. Louis and Kansas City offer the city children. The Commission recommends the establishment of special classes in the public schools for the training of feeble-minded, deaf, blind and crippled children in every school district in the state in which ten such children are in need of training. Where two or more school districts each have less than 10 of these defective children, these districts may jointly organize the classes. An annual appropriation of $300 will be granted by the state for each class. The Commission further recommends amendments to the compulsory attendance law so as to make it apply to these de¬ fective children in districts in which special classes have been established; in districts in which no provision has been made, the State Board of Charities is authorized to place such children in need of special training in a school district where special 56 Report of the Missouri [46 classes have been established; the expense of transportation and maintenance of the child to be charged to the county where it resided. Bills for the above recommendation on page 162. 4. Creation of a Bureau for Mental Defectives. The means available in the state at present for the examina¬ tion and classification of feeble-minded children are entirely in¬ adequate. In many counties there is no one qualified to do this work. The correct diagnosis is often difficult and mistakes are serious both to the individual and to the community. The public schools are greatly in need of such service so that these defective children may be removed as early as possible from the regular classes where they hamper the progress of normal pupils. It is important that the courts should be able to deal in¬ telligently with feeble-minded delinquents. The judge of the juvenile court should know whether the child brought before, him is feeble-minded and irresponsible. The Commission proposes the establishment of a bureau for mental defectives in the University of Missouri to serve the schools, courts and institutions of the state in the examination of defective children. An annual appropriation of $10,000 is required. Such bureaus have been established in Illinois, Ohio, Min¬ nesota, California and other states. The Juvenile Psycho¬ pathic Institute at Chicago is supported by the Illinois De¬ partment of Public Welfare and by Cook County, witn an ex¬ penditure of approximately $15,000 a year. Iowa maintains a psychological clinic in the state university. Minnesota maintains a department in the state school for the feeble-minded and in the state university. The state department of education has a department for backward and feeble-minded children. Cali¬ fornia maintains bureaus in the boys’ reformatory, in the girls’ reformatory, in the state board of charities and corrections, in the state university, and in the state institution for feeble-minded. In addition, the cities of Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco and San Diego have bureaus which serve the schools and courts. Bill for the above recommendation on page 164 . 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 57 MEASURES ENDORSED BY THE COMMISSION NOT INCLUDED IN THE CODE. INSANE CHILDREN. Little attempt has been made in the state to secure pre¬ ventive treatment of incipently insane children. Custodial care is provided for them in state and municipal hospitals for the insane and in the state institution for the feeble-minded. Many are to be found improperly confined in state institutions for juvenile delinquents and in county infirmaries. The Commission recommends the establishment of observa¬ tion wards in connection with the hospitals for the insane to give preventive and curative treatment to this class of children. Educational authorities are urged to report all such cases in the public schools for observation and treatment. No legislation is necessary to accomplish this. THE EPILEPTIC. The state has thus far made very meagre provision for the care of its epileptic dependents. The colony at Marshall, which was erected for the care of both the feeble-minded and epileptic, can accommodate only 162 epileptics at the present time. It is estimated that there are at least 1,000 in need of state care to¬ day. In order that the state may meet this need, the Commission believes that a separate institution should be established for the care of epileptics, under the same general management. This institution should be constructed on the. cottage plan and em¬ phasis should be placed on practical industrial training. THE CONTROL AND ELIMINATION OF DEFECTIVE CLASSES. The measures recommended for the care and treatment of defective classes are only a beginning. For any really adequate solution they must be more far-reaching. Feeble-mindedness alone is an extremely difficult problem, involving many remedies covering a long period of time. The Commission has indicated only the more immediate steps, without going into an extensive discussion of those other 58 Report of the Missouri [46 steps which must be taken later to get at the whole problem suc¬ cessfully. We have considered the laws passed in other states for the prevention of degeneracy and defectiveness by sterilizing both men and women so as to prevent procreation. We do not believe that Missouri is yet ready for legislation of this sort, nor that its usefulness has yet been demonstrated in the other states where it is being tried out. 46J Children's Code Commission. 59 CHAPTER VII. LAWS RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN. The laws which protect child workers in Missouri compare favorably with those of other states, except in agriculture, domestic service and street trades in cities. Except in these particulars Missouri follows the so-called “model” or uniform child labor law. Thorough enforcement, however, is utterly im¬ possible under the law. Inspection is confined to cities of 10,000 population and over and the present “fee system” supporting the department cripples any thorough work. The child labor law prohibits the employment of boys and girls under fourteen years of age in all gainful occupations, except in agriculture and domestic service. There are no restrictions whatever as to age or hours of work for the large group of children in this kind of work. The law permits children to go to work at fourteen years, if they first get a certificate from the school authorities. Between fourteen and sixteen years children may work only 8 hours a day, between 7 a. m. and 7 p. m., and not more than 48 hours a week. They are forbidden to enter occupations “dangerous to health or morals,” many of which are specified, and to work on certain dangerous machinery. Children not at work must be in school. There are no restrictions after the sixteenth birthday except in cases of girls, who are protected by the labor laws relating to women. The present law makes only an age requirement for a child to go to work; there is no provision that they must have finished a certain grade in school. Missouri does not require physical examinations to determine the fitness of children to enter par¬ ticular kinds of work, an exceedingly important provision in industrial districts. There is no explicit provision prohibiting children of fourteen to sixteen years working in mines or underground; the law pro¬ hibiting children fourteen to sixteen years from work on dangerous machinery enumerates only a limited number. The law pro¬ hibiting the employment of children in theatrical performances is ineffective and unenforceable. (59) 60 Report of the Missouri [46 The section of the law regulating street trades among children is entirely ineffectual because it provides no system of license or supervision. It prohibits boys under ten and girls under sixteen from selling articles on the street, but it is not en¬ forceable. There is no provision to prohibit children under twenty-one from.engaging in night messenger service as is now customary in modern child labor legislation. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION. The Commission suggests a number of amendments to the child labor law to meet the needs outlined above. The amendments proposed are: (1) Prohibiting the employment of children under 14 years in any occupation in the state, except that children may work in agriculture when school is not in session. (2) Raising the age limits for boys in street trades to 12 and for girls to 18 and requiring licenses and badges. (3) Prohibiting the employment of children under 21 years in night messenger service. (4) Prohibiting the employment of girls under 18 years in messenger service. (5) Prohibiting the employment of children under 16 years in mines, underground work, on power machinery and prohibiting their employment on the stage unless a special permit has been obtained from the factory inspector. (6) Requiring physical examination and completion of the eighth grade in school for the issuance of employment certi¬ ficates for children between 14 and 16 years. (7) Issuing a certificate of age proof to children between 16 and 18 years to be filed with the employer. 1. The Age at Which Children May Work—Hours of Work for Children. The present act regulating child labor does not prohibit the employment of children under fourteen years in farm labor and domestic service. The danger of exploitation in these fields is great, yet the subject has not been attacked in the child labor movement in this state. Farm work is an occupation for summer vacation rather than during the period while school is in session. 46] Children's Code Commission. 61 In 1916 an investigation of school children who work after school hours was made by. the Federal Bureau of Education, covering eleven states, including Missouri. The study showed that of a total of 14,391 children, 33% of the boys and 26% of the girls performed farm work for pay. The nature of the work varied, including picking fruits, weeding, hoeing and cultivating crops, and caring for poultry, horses and other live stock. Over 50% of the school girls found working after school hours were engaged in housework; nearly half of these were work¬ ing for someone other than their parents. These children be¬ come so exhausted that they are unable to keep up with their studies and drop out of school. The 1917 report of the state superintendent of schools in Missouri shows that only one-half as many children completed the common school course in the country schools as those in the towns and cities. The United States Department of Labor has set a high standard of conditions of farm work suitable to boys. It has organized in every state the Boys’ Working Reserve, U. S. A., in which only boys over 16 years of age are enrolled. Each boy must pass a physical examination and present the written consent of his parents. Leaders and instructors who will super¬ vise the boys accompany each group. The Commission recommends prohibiting the employment of children under fourteen years of age in any kind of work for wages. This will include domestic service and farm labor, excepting that children may be employed on the farm during the school vacation period. Bills for the above recommendations on page 169. 2. Issuance of Employment Certificates. PHYSICAL EXAMINATION. The present law relating to the issuance of employment certificates by the educational authorities does not require physical examination of the child by a physician to determine fitness for particular kinds of work. The officer issuing a certi¬ ficate may have such examination made if he sees fit, but this is seldom done outside of the cities. The need for a thorough examination of these children is great in order that physical weaknesses may be discovered and corrected before they have entered upon their industrial life. Twenty-two states now re- 62 Report of the Missouri [46 quire a certificate of physical fitness before the employment certificate is issued to a child. The Commission recommends that every child should undergo a physical examination when applying for employment certificates. EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS. Children may now go to work if they are fourteen years of age without any other educational accomplishment than ability to read and write. This does not fulfill the purpose of the com¬ pulsory-school attendance law to guarantee every child at least an elementary education and to guarantee the state a new generation of better educated men and women. Seventy-eight per cent of the children who applied for work certificates in St. Louis in 1917, totaling 6,621, left school before they had completed the 8th grade; more than 40% had not completed the 6th grade. The Commission proposes an amendment to the present law requiring children to remain in school until they are 16 years of age unless they have completed the 8th grade in school. Children between 14 and 16 who are not at work should be required to attend school. In order that the attendance officer may return any unemployed children to school, the Commission recommends that the work certificate must be returned to the issuing officer as soon as the child leaves his place of employment. PROOF OF AGE FOR CHILDREN BETWEEN 16 AND 18. Injustice is now being done employers by placing upon them the responsibility of deciding whether children applying for work who claim to be over 16 years of age are really of that age. It is often difficult for the employer to know a child’s age; he must take the child’s word. The courts have ruled, however, that the actual age of the child is the determining factor and that the false statement of the child is no defense for the employer. The Commission recommends requiring proof of age of children between sixteen and eighteen years who are seeking employment. This certificate will be issied upon birth certi¬ ficate, or upon a previous employment certificate by the issuing officer. Bills for the above recommendations on page 171. 46] Children's Code Commission. 63 3. Relating to Employment of Children in Street Trades. The present law regulating street trades permits boys of 10 years of age and over and girls 16 years of age and over to sell on the streets. Federal investigation in 1916 showed that next to farm labor, street trades hold the largest number of children working before and after school hours during the school session. The work includes running errands, taking orders, delivering goods and messages, peddling and the like. While the selling of news¬ papers hold a large proportion of the group, most of the girls were found selling flowers. It is clear that children who spend more than four or five hours a day outside of school hours working on the streets are under too great a strain to make the best use of their time at school. Besides, these children are thrown in contact with all kinds of evil and the great majority of them eventually come into the juvenile courts. A recent study of the National Child Labor Committee disclosed the fact that 56% of the total number of cases coming into the children’s court of Manhattan showed direct connection with employment in street trades. These children need our protection. Twenty states have regulated the employment of children in these occupations. Mis¬ souri is among this number but the present provision is unen¬ forceable. NIGHT MESSENGER SERVICE. Of all forms of street trades in which children are engaged, none is as harmful as night messenger service. It brings the child into personal contact with vice; it fails to train him for future work, teaching little of value and actually leaves him unfit for industrial life. Of the 49 boys on parole in the Kansas City courts who gave as their occupation messenger service, 42 were between the ages of 17 and 22. The state permits the boy of 18, 19 and 20, the most critical period of his life, to be engaged in the most demoralizing and objectionable kind of work. Thirty states in the Union have regulated night messenger service for children. Arizona, Delaware, Kentucky, Massachu¬ setts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah and Wisconsin have the twenty-one year age limit. Missouri has made no provision whatever to keep children out of this occupation. 64 Report of the Missouri [46 The Commission recommends the following amendments relating to street trades: (1) Raising the age limit of boys in street trades to 12 years and for girls to 18 years and requiring licenses and badges. (2) Prohibiting the employment of girls under 18 in mes¬ senger service. (3) Prohibiting the employment of children under twenty- one in night messenger service. Bills for above recommendations on page 174. 4. Employment of Children Under 16 in Certain Dan¬ gerous Occupations Prohibited. At the present time boys between fourteen and sixteen years are permitted to work in mines, where their lives and health are constantly endangered. In addition to work in mines there are many occupations dangerous to the health and morals of children. Forty-two per cent of the deaths of working children between 10 and 14 years of age are caused by accident. The present law lists a number of dangerous machines on which children are forbidden to work. This is unsatisfactory and ineffective because it makes evasion of the law easy and risks lives of young children who work on power machines not included in the list. The present law permits children of any age to appear on the stage if it is “a respectable entertainment.” Twenty-seven states regulate the employment of children under sixteen years in theatrical performances. Missouri is among the number, but the present section is unenforceable and conflicts with the intent if not with the exact provisions of the child labor law. The Commission recommends prohibiting the employment of any child under 16 years of age in any mine or underground work, in operating any and every kind of power machinery, and prohibiting children under 16 years in theatrical performances unless they have obtained a certificate from the state factory inspector. Bills for the above recommendations on page 177. RECOMMENDATIONS ENDORTED BY THE COMMIS¬ SION NOT INCLUDED IN THE CODE. EMPLOYMEMT of children. No effort is made at present in the state to obtain employ¬ ment of children between 14 and 16 years of age. The United 46] Children's Code Commission. 65 States Employment Service (women and girls’ division), through Missouri offices, assists girls 16 years of age and over in finding suitable employment. Two states, Massachusetts and New York, have legal provisions for the establishment of public em¬ ployment offices for children. The Commission recommends that the Missouri State Free Employment Bureau organize a division for children between the ages of 14 and 16 years. 66 Report of the Missouri [46 CHAPTER VIII. LAWS RELATING TO EDUCATION AND THE COM¬ PULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE LAW. The present compulsory school attendance law applying to the state is defective chiefly because it requires attendance at school only three-quarters of the school year. The law applying to the city of St. Louis requires attendance the full term. There is no good reason why country children should not attend school for the same period as those in the cities. According to the 1917 report of the State Superintendent of Public Schools, the total number of days’ attendance at schools in the cities of Missouri was double that at the schools in the rural districts. Twice as many children completed the common school course in the cities as in the country. The short time requirement for rural districts makes enforce¬ ment of the compulsory school attendance law practically im¬ possible. It is difficult to say which quarter a child elects not to attend school. Excuses can always be offered, when the child is out of school, that this is the quarter he is not attending. Educational authorities all agree that the compulsory attendance act for the state ought to be made to cover the entire school term. The present act also permits children to be exempted from school attendance because of poverty of their parents. Exemp¬ tion because of the poverty of the family is entirely without foundation in principle or expediency. Children are entitled to an education whether their parents are poor or rich. If the parents cannot afford to send them to school the state should help the parents. This can be done at the present time through the state-wide mother’s pension act enacted as a part of the Chil¬ dren’s Code at the last session of the legislature. Allowances are granted in the counties to mothers with dependent children under the school age, 16 years. Parents under the present law are given ten days in which to return truant children to school. This, it is believed, is too long after notification. Three days is a reasonable period. 461 Children's Code Commission. 67 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION. The Commission recommends a number of amendments to the compulsory attendance law, many of which are closely re¬ lated to the child labor regulations: (1) Raising the compulsory attendance age to 16, unless the child has completed the eighth grade. (2) Requiring attendance for the full school term through¬ out the state. (3) Children between 14 and 16 years, not actually en¬ gaged for at least 6 hours a day in some useful employment, must attend school. (4) Prohibiting exemption from school attendance be¬ cause of poverty of parents. (5) Requiring parents to return truant children to school within three days after notification. Bills for the above recommendations on page 181. 6. Compulsory School Attendance at Continuation Schools. Part-time or continuation-school classes are those in which pupils who have already become wage-earners may give part of their time to scohols for the purpose of continuing their education or increasing their efficiency in the occupations in which they are engaged or which they would like to follow. Training in in¬ dustry, agriculture and home economics is given. Under the Smith-Hughes Act, which was signed by President Wilson in February, 1917, the Federal Government will grant aid to the states for the development of these schools or classes. Missouri was the first state to take advantage of the Smith- Hughes Act. The last legislature passed an act enabling each school district in the state to set aside a fund for this purpose to which will be added an equal amount from the Federal Govern¬ ment when prescribed conditions are met. These classes will not be successful unless the compulsory school attendance law is made to cover them. The Commission recommends necessary changes in the law to require attendance of working children between 14 and 16 years at continuation classes not less than eight hours a week between the hours of eight in the morning and five in the evening, and to require all 68 Report of the Missouri [46 working children under 18 who have not yet completed the elementary school to attend for the same length of time. Bill for the above recommendation on page 181. 7. Compulsory Attendance at Special Classes for De¬ fective Children. In another section of the report the Commission recom¬ mends the establishment of special classes in public schools for feeble-minded, deaf, blind and crippled children. Discussion of these recommendations is on page-. In order to make these classes successful a change is neces¬ sary in the compulsory school attendance law so as to cover feeble-minded, deaf, blind and crippled children where special classes have been provided for their training. Where these classes are not provided the State Board of Charities is given power to place defective children in need of training in a school district where special classes are established. If the parents are unable to bear the expense, it is charged to the county in which the children live. Bill for the above recommendation on page 181. 8. State Superintendent of Schools Shall Supervise Work of Instruction in Certain State Institutions. For the purpose of obtaining a closer co-ordination of edu¬ cational instruction in the state institutions for defectives and delinquents, the supervision of the work of instruction in the Missouri School for the Deaf at Fulton, Missouri School for the Blind at St. Louis, the Colony for the Feeble-minded and Epi¬ leptic at Marshall, Missouri Reformatory and Training School for Boys at Boonville, Industrial Home for Girls at Chillicothe and Industrial Home for Negro Girls at Tipton should be vested in the state superintendent of schools. This the Commission has done by an amendment to the law relating to the duties of the state superintendent of schools. The provision requires that the state superintendent of schools shall visit these insti¬ tutions, inspect the work of instruction, designate the courses of study and necessary equipment and grant certificates of quali¬ fication to teachers in these institutions the same as teachers in the public schools. Bill for the above recommendations on page 185. 461 Children's Code Commission . 69 MEASURES ENDORSED BY THE COMMISSION NOT INCLUDED IN THE CODE. VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE. In normal times in Missouri about 15,000 industrially un¬ trained children leave school and go to work at 14 years of age. During and after the war this number will be greatly increased. Except in large cities, no effort whatever is made by the school authorities to get these young people into occupations for which they are fitted. Boys and girls drift into all kinds of “blind alley” work because neither they nor their parents know the opportunities for work ahead of them. Systems of vocational guidance in public schools have recently been started in St. Louis and Kansas City. In St. Louis this work in the elementary grades is called “vocational information.” The children are taken to various industrial and commercial establishments and public institutions after which discussions are held in the class¬ rooms. The Commission urges similar efforts in every school district in the state. 70 Report of the Missouri 140 CHAPTER IX. LAWS RELATING TO HEALTH AND RECREATION. Both state and county health work in Missouri is feeble be¬ cause of inadequate organization of the agencies and lack of financial support. The activities of the state agencies are directed chiefly to the licensing of physicians and registration of births, deaths and diseases and to the enforcement of the pure food, pure milk and drug laws. The vital statistics law is practically the model law advocated by the United States Public Health Service but the weakness of the health agencies limits its enforcement. Midwives are now required to obtain licenses from the State Board of Health but there is no supervision over their practice. They are for the most part women with little training, some of them unscrupulous and need to be constantly checked up to in¬ sure anything like competency in handling the extremely delicate cases with which they deal. Hundreds of babies lose their sight because of midwives’ failure to adopt aseptic methods at child¬ birth. The state has made no effort whatever to guard the health of children during their school years. In the large cities of Missouri physical inspection has been developed in the schools. This has had little or no consideration in the counties. Nine states in the Union have enacted laws for systematic "examination of the health of school children. Health work in the counties is under the supervision of an ex-officio board of health, with a health officer, paid in some counties on a per diem or fee system. The work is very irregular and ineffective and in some counties health boards have not been organized. The sanitary condition of the average rural school house is poor. Standards of sewerage, ventilation, heating, lighting and cleanliness of schools in the rural districts are lacking. The water supply in many places is unfit for drinking purposes. A recent investigation of the rural schools in Saline County showed that only 49 % of the wells were safe. Only 7 % of the schools were adequately lighted. 46] Children's Code Commission. 71 Investigation has shown that the death rate among infants in the country districts is very much higher than in the cities; mothers in the country districts have no opportunity what¬ ever to learn even the simplest things about the care of the baby. Municipal health work in the larger cities is for the most part well organized and effective. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION. 1. Creation of a Division of Child Hygiene. The importance of saving lives of babies has been emphasized since the war, and determined efforts everywhere are being made in order that the next generation may be strong in body and able to meet the task that will confront it. England during the second year of the war reduced her infant mortality rate to the lowest in her history. In the United States, in the second year of our entry in the conflict, the Federal Children’s Bureau, and the Child Welfare Department of the Woman’s Committee of the Council of National Defense undertook a nation-wide campaign to save the lives of 100,000 babies. With the limited powers at present given the State Board of Health in Missouri, activities for the protection of the health of infants and children are neglected. Prob bly no one feature of child life in the state needs regulation and supervision more than the health of infants and children in the rural communities. Four states—Kansas, New Jersey, New York and Ohio— have distinct divisions in the state departments of health dealing with problems of infant and child hygiene. In 44 states, the boards or departments of health are doing educational work in' this field by means of pamphlets, leaflets, lantern slides, and newspaper articles. Twenty-two cities have distinct divisions of child hygiene as branches of city health departments. Of the eight largest cities in the United States, only two—St. Louis and Baltimore—have failed to create a division specializing in this work. The Commission recommends the creation of a division of child hygiene in the State Board of Health to regulate conditions affecting the health of children throughout the state. Its acti¬ vities will include: (1) Study of the causes of infant mortality. (2) The prevention and control of diseases of infancy and childhood. 72 Report of the Missouri 46J (3) Educational campaigns for the care of babies and the hygiene of children. (4) 'Regulation and supervision of the practice of mid¬ wifery in the state. (5) Sanitary supervision of rural school buildings. (6) State-wide physical inspection of school children. Bill for the above recommendations on page 189. 2. Treatment of Eyes of New-born Infants. The present law relating to treatment of eyes of new-born infants is ineffective and unenforceable. It does not require the physician or midwife to report cases of sore eyes to the board of health, nor does it require preventive treatment of infants’ eyes. Authorities state that 10% of all blindness is due to babies’ sore eyes and that prompt and efficient treatment of the eyes of infants at birth could prevent this amount of misfortune. It was estimated in 1917 that Missouri’s blind population was 2,543, of which 5% are children under twenty years of age. Thirty-six states have laws or regulations requiring the reporting of babies’ sore eyes by the physician, midwife, nurse or person in charge at the time of birth. Fifteen states require the physician or midwife to use a prophylactic solution. Amendments to the present law recommended by the Com¬ mission are endorsed by the Committee on Prevention of Blind¬ ness of the Missouri Commission for the Blind, a state body appointed by the Governor to investigate and make recommenda¬ tions for the care of the blind and prevention and cure of blind¬ ness. Bill for the above recommendation on page 190. RECREATION. Organized recreation for children in Missouri must be de¬ veloped by and within each community. Very little new legisla¬ tion is needed. The legislature recently passed an act permitting school buildings to be used for social and recreational purposes. Granting the use of the building, however, is optional with the school authorities. The law is not state-wide in application applying only to places of less than 75,000 population. Under this provision a number of successful centers have been organized 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 73 in the state, notably in Nodaway, rural Jackson, and Howard Counties. The legislature of 1913 passed a law authorizing the edu¬ cational authorities in every school district in the state to establish and maintain public parks, playgrounds and libraries. Only such funds as are not needed for the maintenance of the schools may be appropriated for this purpose. This means that in most districts funds are not available. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION. 1. State-wide Use of School Buildings for Community Purposes. The importance of maintaining and developing recreation during the war, if we wish to avoid the increase of juvenile delin¬ quency experienced by warring countries abroad, is emphasized by the Federal Children’s Bureau in its program for Children’s Year, England, during the war, has allowed government aid for the support of children’s play centers. In 1916, six states— Louisiana, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Maryland—enacted legislation authorizing wider use of school buildings and playgrounds for recreational purposes. In Oregon, the state superintendent of instruction issues a recreation manual and is stimulating playgrounds and supervised play in numerous ways. In Minnesota, and North Dakota the agri¬ cultural colleges send out road-plays, creating little country theatres. It is the common experience that where recreation is developed the drift of young folks to the city is lessened. The Commission recommends that the law permitting the use of school buildings for community purposes be amended to include all parts of the state and to require the school authorities to open the schools upon application for public meetings and community purposes. MEASURES ENDORSED BY THE COMMISSION NOT INCLUDED IN THE CODE. SEPARATE APPROPRIATION FOR HE ESTABLISHMENT OF PARKS AND PLAYGROUNDS. The Commission recommends that separate and definite appropriations be made for parks and playgrounds in the school districts of the state. 74 Report of the Missouri [46 STATE CENSORSHIP OF MOVING PICTURES. State censorship of films is part of a national movement to obtain an efficient national governmental censorship. At the present time four states have censorship laws—Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Hundreds of pictures which are refused in these states are sent across the line for Missouri children. The Commission desires to express its approval of state censorship of moving pictures, but does not submit a draft for the creation of a state board of reviews, as other bodies are in¬ troducing such legislation in the next Assembly. r* PART II DRAFTS OF BILLS TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE 50TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MISSOURI JANUARY, 1919 ( 75 ) 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 77 STATEMENT. The following drafts embody all the recommendations of the Commission, including new acts and the revision or repeal of present statutes. All new acts or parts of acts are printed in black-face type. Wherever any change has been made in a sec¬ tion of an existing statute the change has been printed also in black-face type. References to the discussion of the proposed laws will be found after the heading of the acts, which are identical in each case with the headings in the report. The Commission regards it as unnecessary to print all pres¬ ent statutes relating to children, showing at the same time the suggested changes. We believe that the discussion in the re¬ port, together with the drafts of new laws, revisions and repeal acts are all that it is useful to print for general distribution. We realize that this does not actually put into our report a complete code, as such. For those who desire to have the legal references to all statutory and constitutional provisions relating to children, classified in code form, we are printing a separate pamphlet which may be obtained by addressing the executive secretary of the Commission, Washington Hotel, St. Louis. This pamphlet gives annotated references to all present statutes, showing which are recommended for revision or repeal. For convenience, the assembled drafts of new acts and pres¬ ent statutes which are recommended for repeal or revision are termed the “Children’s Code.” This, of course, is not an exact use of the term, but it indicates collectively those changes which are needed to make all of our statutes relating to children a com¬ plete and harmonious code. Many of the acts proposed in the code are interdependent. The successful carrying out of these measures depends partic¬ ularly upon the passage of the proposed bill providing for the appointment of county superintendents of public welfare. The county superintendent of public welfare, appointed by the county court, will have charge of the administration in the county of practically all of the measures which the Commission recom¬ mends. Failure to pass this bill will nullify all of the laws which must be administered by a local agent in each county. 78 Report of the Missouri [4b EXPENDITURES REQUIRED TO MAKE EFFECTIVE THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMISSION. The Commission has included few bills which require directly an appropriation of money from the state treasury. A number of bills, however, will require an appropriation of money by the state, counties or cities for their successful op¬ eration. These bills are: Expenditures by the State: 1. The enlargement of the Colony for the Feeble-minded at Marshall requiring any amount which the Legislature sees fit to include in the appropriation-bill. Several hundred thousand dollars are really necessary to make adequate provision for the state care of the feeble-minded. 2. The establishment of a Bureau for Mental Defectives in the University of Missouri. For this purpose the sum of $10,000 a year should be appropriated. 3. For a Division of Child Hygiene, under the State Board of Health, the sum of $5,000 to $10,000 a year should be appro¬ priated. 4. For the establishment of special classes in the public schools for the feeble-minded, deaf, blind and crippled children. A state appropriation of $300 is granted annually for each of these classes established in a district. 5. For the establishment of a State Home for Dependent Children an appropriation of $30,000 is needed. Expenditures by Counties: 1. The appointment of a county superintendent of public welfare is optional with the county court. The successful ad¬ ministration of children’s laws will call for the expenditure of some money. This is left entirely with the counties to deter¬ mine. (For further discussion see page 0.) Expenditures by School Districts: The only expenditure required is that of providing separate classes for defective children when there are ten or more such children in the school district. This expenditure will be com¬ paratively light, and will be supplemented by the state appro¬ priation of $300 for each class. 46] Children s Code Commission. 79 Expenditures by Cities: The creation of Boards of Social Welfare in such cities as desire to have them is entirely optional and will cost only such sums as the cities vote. GENERAL LAWS FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN. Discussion of these recommendations appears in Chapter I, page 20. 81 ) 6 46] Children s Code Commission. 83 CHAPTER I. GENERAL LAWS FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN. 1. RELATING TO ABANDONMENT OF CHILDREN. 2. RELATING TO DESERTION OF WIFE AND CHILD. 3. RAISING THE AGE OF CONSENT. 4. a. RELATING TO THE CARE AND SUPPORT OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK. b. RELATING TO THE CARE AND SUPPORT OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK. c. RELATING TO THE CARE AND SUPPORT OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK. d. RELATING TO THE CARE AND SUPPORT OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK. 5. 'PROTECTING THE INFANT BEFORE AND AFTER BIRTH. 6. RECOVERY FOR PRENATAL INJURY. 7. a. AGE OF MAJORITY OF GIRLS. b. AGE OF MAJORITY OF GIRLS. c. AGE OF MAJORITY OF GIRLS. I. RELATING TO ABANDONMENT OF CHILDREN. (Page 21, Section 1.) An act to amend Article 4 of Chapter 36 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of the State of Missouri of 1909, by amending Section 4490 of said Article by adding the following words at the end of said section: “this section shall apply without regard to whether the child was born in lawful wedlock,” and by adding three new sec¬ tions to said Article , to be known as Sections 4490-a, 4490-5 and 4490-c. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section. 1. That Article 4 of Chapter 36 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of the State of Missouri of 1909 be, and the same is hereby amended as follows: 84 Report of the Missouri [46 Section 2. That Section 4490 of said Revised Statutes be and the same is hereby amended by adding at the end of said sec¬ tion the following words , “this section shall apply without regard to whether the child was born in lawful wedlock,” so that the section as amended shall read as follows: Section 4490. ABANDONMENT OF CHILDREN. — If any father or mother of any child under the age of six years, or any other person to whom such child shall have been confided, shall expose such child in a street, field, or other place, with in¬ tent wholly to abandon it, he or she shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary not exceeding five years or in the county jail not less than six months. This section shall apply without regard to whether the child was born in lawful wedlock. Section 3. That three new sections be added to said Article 4 of Chapter 36 to be known as Sections 4490-cc, 4490-6 and 4490-c, as follows: Section 4490-a. RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY.—In trials under Section 4490 the persons proceeded against shall have right to trial by jury, which shall be granted unless waived. Section 4490-b. JURISDICTION.—The Circuit Courts of the several counties of the state, acting as juvenile courts, shall have exclusive jurisdiction of all cases coming within the pro¬ visions of Section 4490. Section 4490-c. LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION. —Section 4490 shall be liberally construed in favor of the state, for the purpose of the protection of the persons therein named from neglect or omission of duty toward them by any person or per¬ sons, and, further, to protect the children therein named from the effects of the improper conduct or acts of any persons which may cause, encourage or contribute to the neglect or delin¬ quency of such children, although such person may be in no way related to such children. Section 3. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. II. RELATING TO DESERTION OF WIFE AND CHILD. (Page 21, Section 2.) An act to amend Article 4, Chapter 36 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of the State of Missouri of 1909 by repealing Sections 4492 461 Children's Code Commission. 85 and 4495 of said article and enacting new sections in lieu thereof to be known as Sections 4492 and 4495; and by adding new sec¬ tions to said Article 4, Chapter 36, to be known as Sections 4495-tf, 4495-Z>, 4495-c and 4495 -d. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Article 4 of Chapter 36 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of the State of Missouri of 1909, be and the same is hereby amended as follows: Section 2. That Sections 4492 and 4495 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of the State of Missouri of 1909 are hereby repealed , and new sections enacted in lieu thereof , to be known as Sections 4492 and 4495 as follows: Section 4492. MISTREATMENT OF CHILD.—If any mother or any father of any infant child under the age of ma¬ jority, whether such child was born in lawful wedlock or not, or any person who has adopted any such infant child or any other person having the legal care and control of any such infant shall unlawfully and purposely assault, batter or injure such infant, whereby his life shall be endangered or his person or health shall have been or shall be likely to be injured, the person so offending shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary not exceeding three years or by imprison¬ ment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both such fine and imprisonment. Section 4495. ABANDONMENT OF WIFE AND CHILD. If any man shall, without good cause, abandon or desert his wife, or a woman with child by him, or shall fail, neglect or re¬ fuse to maintain and provide for such wife or woman; or if any man or woman shall, without good cause, abandon or desert or shall fail, neglect or refuse to maintain and provide for his or her child or children, born in or out of wedlock, under the age of sixteen years, he or she shall, upon conviction, be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not more than one year, or by fine of not less than fifty (50) nor more than one thousand (1,000) dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment. No other evidence shall be required that such man was married to such wife than would be necessary to prove such fact in a civil action. 86 Report of the Missouri [46 Section 3. That four new sections are hereby enacted to be known as Sections 4495 -a, 4495 -b, 4495-c and 4495-cf, as follows: Section 4495-a. EXTRADITION OF PERSONS GUILTY OF WIFE OR CHILD ABANDONMENT.—It shall be the duty of the county court in any county and of the Social Welfare Board of the City of St. Joseph and the Board of Children’s Guardians in the City of St. Louis in any case in which appli¬ cation is properly made by the officers responsible for the ex¬ ecution of the law, to provide the funds necessary for extra¬ diting any person charged with violating the provisions of the foregoing section. Section 4495-b. TRIAL BY JURY.—In trials under Sec¬ tions 4492 and 4495, the persons proceeded against shall have the right to trial by jury, which shall be granted unless waived. Section 4495-c. JURISDICTION.—The circuit courts of the several counties of the state, acting as juvenile courts, shall have the exclusive jurisdiction of all cases coming within the provisions of Sections 4492 and 4495. Section 4495-d. LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION.—Sections 4492 and 4495 shall be liberally construed in favor of the state, for the purpose of the protection of the persons therein named from neglect or omission by duty toward them by any person or persons, and, further, to protect the children therein named from the effects of the improper conduct or acts of any persons which may cause, encourage or contribute to the neglect or de¬ linquency of such children, although such person is in no way related to such children. Section 4. All acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. III. RAISING THE AGE OF CONSENT. (Page 22, Section 3.) An act to amend Section 4471 of Article 4, Chapter 36, Re¬ vised Statutes of Missouri , 1909, as amended in 1913, by striking out in lines three and four thereof the word “ fifteen ” and inserting in lieu thereof the word “sixteen,” and to amend Section 4472, by striking out in line three thereof the word “ fifteen ” and inserting in lieu thereof the word “sixteen.” BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Sections 4471 and 4472 of Article 4, Chap- 461 Children's Code Commission. 87 ter 36, Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1909, be and the same are hereby amended by striking out in lines three and four of Section 4471 the word “ fifteen 99 and inserting in lieu thereof the word “six¬ teen” and striking out in line 3 of Section 4472 the word “ fifteen ” and inserting in lieu thereof the word “sixteen” so that said sec¬ tions, when so amended, shall read as follows: Section 4471. RAPE—PUNISHMENT. Every person who shall be convicted of rape, either by carnally and unlawfully knowing any female child under the age of sixteen years, or by forcibly ravishing any woman of the age of sixteen years or up¬ ward, shall suffer death, or be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary for not less then five years, in the discretion of the jury. Section 4472. CARNALLY KNOWING WOMAN BE¬ TWEEN SIXTEEN AND EIGHTEEN YEARS.—If any person over the age of sixteen years shall have carnal knowledge of any unmarried female, of previously chaste character, between the age of sixteen and eighteen years of age, he shall be deemed guilty of a felony, and upon conviction shall be punished by im¬ prisonment in the penitentiary for a term of two (2) years, or by a fine of not less than one hundred (100) dollars nor more than five hundred (500) dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not less than one (1) month or more than six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discre¬ tion of the court. IV (A). RELATING TO THE CARE AND SUPPORT OF CHIL¬ DREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK. (Page 22, Section 4.) An act to determine the parentage of children, and the liability of parents or possible parents for the support of their children, with sections to be known as Sections 1679 to 1685 of Article 2 of Chap¬ ter 20 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1909. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1679. EVERY CHILD THE CHILD OF ITS NAT¬ URAL PARENTS.—Every child hereafter born, and whether born in or out of lawful wedlock, shall be deemed in law the child of its parents, and the legal relation of parent and child 88 Report of the Missouri [46 shall not depend upon the parents being married; provided that if a child’s mother is married at the time of its birth, the child shall be deemed the child of its mother’s husband at the time of its birth until shown by a preponderance of evidence not to be the child of her husband. Section 1680. SUIT TO DETERMINE PARENTAGE— Any interested person may with special permission of the judge institute a suit in the juvenile division of the circuit court for the purpose of determining the parentage of a child; such suit shall be conducted as a proceeding in chancery, and at the dis¬ cretion of the court the hearing shall be private, in the presence of interested parties only and the record and proceedings may be withheld from the public. The child and, if its mother be alive, the mother, shall be necessary parties to such proceed¬ ing and any person alleged to be the father of the child may be made a party; provided that no such proceeding shall be allowed for the purpose of establishing the parenthood of a person de¬ ceased at the time of the filing of the petition. The decree of the court in such proceeding shall be conclusive evidence of the facts found by the court relating to the parentage of the child, in so far as the parties to the proceeding are concerned. Like process and proceedings shall be had in such causes as are had in other civil suits. Section 1681. HUSBAND OR WIFE MAY TESTIFY AS TO SEXUAL INTERCOURSE.—In any proceeding to estab¬ lish the parentage of a child, and in any proceeding in which proof of parentage may be material, it shall be competent for a husband or wife to testify as to sexual intercourse with his or her spouse in so far as such testimony may relate to the ques¬ tion of parentage. Section 1682. PARENTS LIABLE FOR CHILD’S SUP¬ PORT.—The natural parents of a child under the age of sixteen years shall be responsible for its support without regard to whether the child was born in lawful wedlock and without re¬ gard to the emancipation of the child; and the liability for the support of the child shall not be dependent on the custody of the child. Section 1683. SUIT TO ENFORCE DUTY TO SUPPORT CHILD.—Either parent or any interested person may institute a suit in the juvenile division of the circuit court to enforce a par¬ ent’s liability for the support of child under the age of sixteen, and such suit shall be conducted as a proceeding in chancery 46) Children s Code Commission. 89 and like process and proceedings shall be had in such causes as in other civil suits. The court may order the defendant to pro¬ vide such maintenance for the child as from the circumstances of the case and the situation of the child and its parents shall seem reasonable, and the court may determine the amount of support which should be furnished by each or either parent, having regard to the needs of the child and the ability and situ¬ ation of the parent. The court may enter judgment against the defendant for past support and may decree future maintenance and may order the defendant to give security for such mainte¬ nance ; and upon his neglect to give the security required of him, or upon default of himself and his sureties, if there be any, to provide such maintenance, the court may award an execution for the collection thereof, or enforce the performance of the judgment or order by sequestration of property, or by such other lawful ways and means as is according to the practice of the court. The court may from time to time make such alteration to the order of maintenance as may seem proper. Section 1684. LIABILITY OF POSSIBLE FATHER FOR SUPPORT OF CHILD.—Where it is impossible to establish the paternity of a child because of its mother having had inter¬ course with several men during the period in which the child must have been begotten, each man who had intercourse with the child’s mother during such period and who might possibly have begotten the child shall be liable for the support of the child during its minority; and in a proceeding in the juvenile division of the circuit court brought by any interested person to secure the child’s support, every such man may be ordered to contribute to the support of the child during its minority in such measure as the court may determine in consideration of the cir¬ cumstances of the case and the needs of the child, and the pro¬ visions of the preceding section as to enforcing the order of the court shall be applicable. Section 1685. INCONSISTENT AND CONFLICTING ACTS REPEALED.—All acts and parts of acts inconsistent or in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. IV (B). RELATING TO THE CARE AND SUPPORT OFCHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK. (Page 22, Section 4.) An act to amend the following sections of the Revised Statutes of Missouri , 1909: Sections 340 and 341, concerning inheritance 90 Report of the Missouri [46 of children horn out of lawful wedlock; and Section 344, concerning certain slave marriages. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Section 340 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri, 1909, be and the same is hereby repealed and there is sub¬ stituted in lieu thereof a new section to be known as Section 340, as follows: Section 340. CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK SHALL INHERIT WHEN AND HOW.—A child heretofore born out of wedlock shall be capable of inheriting and transmit¬ ting inheritance from its mother, and such mother may inherit from such child in like manner as if it had been born in lawful wedlock. A child hereafter born out of wedlock shall be ca¬ pable of inheriting and transmitting inheritance from both of its parents, and its parents and other blood relatives shall be ca¬ pable of inheriting and transmitting inheritance from such child in like manner as if it had been born in lawful wedlock. Section 2. That Section 341 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909 be and the same is hereby repealed and there is en¬ acted in lieu thereof, a new section to be known as 341, as follows: Section 341. CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK DEEMED LAWFUL CHILDREN WHEN.—If a man having a child by a woman, shall hereafter marry such woman, such child shall be deemed the lawful child of both father and mother as from the time of its birth. Section 3. That Section 344 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909, be and the same is hereby repealed and there is en¬ acted in lieu thereof a new section, to be known as Section 344, as follows: Section 344. ISSUE OF CERTAIN SLAVE MARRIAGES CONSIDERED LAWFUL.—The children of all parents who were slaves, and were living together in good faith as man and wife at the time of the birth of said children, shall be deemed and taken to be the lawful children of such parents, and all of the children of any one mother who was a slave at the time of their birth, shall be deemed lawful brothers and sisters. Section 4. INCONSISTENT AND CONFLICTING ACTS REPEALED.—All acts and parts of acts inconsistent or in con¬ flict with this act are hereby repealed. 46] Children s Code Commission. 91 IV (C). RELATING TO THE CARE AND SUPPORT OF CHIL- 'DREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK. (Page 22, Section 4.) An act to amend Section 5 of “An Act to Give Married Women Equal Rights with Their Husbands ” etc., approved March 20, 1913, as it appears in Laws of Missouri, 1913, pp. 91, 94, by omitting the words “husband and wife ” wherever they occur there¬ in, and substituting therefor the words “father and mother,” and also adding a new section to said act, to be known as Section 6a. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That the act entitled “An Act to Give Married Women Equal Rights with Their Husbands to the Custody and Control of the Persons of Their Minor Children, Their Wages and Earnings, and the Management of Their Estates ,” etc., approved March 20, 1913, as it appears in the Laws of Missouri, 1913, pp. 91, 94, be and the same is hereby amended by omitting the words “husband and wife ” wherever they occur in said section and sub¬ stituting therefor the words “father and mother,” so that the sec¬ tion as amended shall read as follows: Section 5. SERVICES AND EARNINGS OF MINOR CHILDREN—CUSTODY AND CONTROL OF.—The father and mother living apart are entitled to an adjudication of the circuit court as to their powers, rights and duties in respect to the custody and control and the services and earnings and of the management of the property of their unmarried minor chil¬ dren without any preference as between the said father and mother, and neither the father nor the mother has any right paramount to that of the other in respect to the custody and control or of the services and earnings or of the management of the property of their said unmarried minor children, any provi¬ sion of law whatever written or unwritten, to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding; and pending such adjudication the father or mother who actually has the custody and control of said unmarried minor children shall have the sole right to the custody and ^ontrol_and to the services and earnings and to the management^of the property of said unmarried minor children. Section 2. That said act be and the same is hereby amended 92 Report of the Missouri [46 by the addition of a new section which shall be known as Section 6 a and which shall read as follows: Section 6-a. The terms of this act shall apply to children born out of wedlock and to children born in wedlock and the terms “father,” “mother,” “parent,” “child,” shall apply with¬ out reference to whether a child was born in lawful wedlock. IV (D). RELATING TO THE CARE AND SUPPORT OF CHIL¬ DREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK. (Page 22, Section 4.) An act to amend Section 6677 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909, entitled “What a Certificate of Birth Shall Con- tain ,” by omitting certain words therein and substituting other words in lieu thereof. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 6677. WHAT A CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH SHALL CONTAIN.—The certificate of birth shall contain the following items: 1. Place of birth, including state, county, township or town, village or city. If in a city, the ward, street and house number; if in a hospital or other institution, the name of the same to be given instead of the street or house number. 2. Full name of child. If the child dies without a name before the certificate is filed, enter the words “died unnamed.” If a living child has not yet been named at the date of filing cer¬ tificate of birth, the space for “full name of child” is to be left blank, to be filled out subsequently by supplementary report, as hereinafter provided. 3. Sex of child. 4. Whether a twin, triplet or other plural birth. A sep¬ arate certificate shall be required for each child in case of plural birth, giving number of child in order of birth. 5. Whether born in lawful wedlock or not. 6. Full name of father. 7. Residence of father. 8. Color or race of father. 9. Birthplace of father; city or town, state or foreign country. 46] Children's Code Commission. 93 10. Age of father at last birthday, in years. 11. Occupation of father. 12. Maiden name of mother. 13. Residence of mother. 14. Color or race of mother. 15. Birthplace of mother; city or town; state or foreign country. 16. Age of mother at last birthday, in years. 17. Occupation of mother. 18. Number of child of this mother, and number of children of this mother now living. 19. Born at full term. 20. The certificate of attending physician or midwife as to attendance at birth, including statement of year, month, day and hour of birth, and whether the child was alive or dead at birth. This certificate shall be signed by the attending physi¬ cian or midwife, the date of signature and address; if there is no physician or midwife in attendance, then the father or mother of the child, householder or owner of the premises, or manager or superintendent of public or private institution, or other com¬ petent person, whose duty it shall be to notify the local regis¬ trar of such birth, as required by Section 6676 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1909. 21. Exact date of filing in office of local registrar, attested by his official signature and registered number of birth, as here¬ inafter provided. All certificates, either of birth or death, shall be written legibly, in unfading black ink, and no certificate shall be held to be complete and correct that does not supply all the items of information called for herein, or satisfactorily account for their omission. V. PROTECTING THE INFANT BEFORE AND AFTER BIRTH. (Page 24, Section 5.) An act to amend Article 4 of Chapter 67 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of the State of Missouri of 1909, by adding thereto a new sec¬ tion to be known as section 7815a, prohibiting the employment of women three weeks before and three weeks after childbirth , and pro¬ viding a penalty. 94 Report of the Missouri [46 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Article 4 of Chapter 67 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of the State of Missouri of 1909 he and the same is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to be known as section 7815 -a, as follows: Section 7815-a. PROHIBITING THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN BEFORE AND AFTER CHILDBIRTH.—It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to knowingly employ a female or permit a female to be employed in any of the divers kinds of establishments, places of industry, or places of business specified in section 7815 of this act, within three weeks before or three weeks after childbirth. Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than fifty nor more than one hundred dollars. VI. RECOVERY FOR PRENATAL INJURY. (Page 25, Section 6.) An act to amend Article 17 of Chapter 2 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of Missouri of 1909, by adding thereto a new section, to provide or recovery for prenatal injuries, and to be known as Section 402-a. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Article 17 of Chapter 2 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of the State of Missouri of 1909 be and the same is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section, to provide for recovery for prenatal injuries, and to be known as Section 402 a, a s follows: Section 402-a. RECOVERY FOR PRENATAL INJU¬ RIES.—Any person who has sustained a prenatal injury shall be entitled to recover therefor as though he had been born at the time of sustaining such injury. This act shall apply whether such person was born in or out of lawful wedlock. Section 2. CONFLICTING STATUTES REPEALED.—All acts or parts of acts irreconcilable or in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. Children s Code Commission. 95 46 ] VII (A). AGE OF MAJORITY OF GIRLS. (Page 25,'Section 7.) An act to amend Section 402 of Article 17 of Chapter 2 of the Revised Statures of Missouri of 1909, by inserting in line one, after the word “males” and before the word “of” the words “and females” and by striking out in line two the words “and females of the age of eighteen years” BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Section 402 of Article 17 of Chapter 2 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1909, be , and the same is hereby amended by inserting in line one, after the word “males” and be¬ fore the word “of” the words “and females” and by striking out in line two the words “and females of the age of eighteen years” so that said section , when amended , shall read as follows: Section 402. MINORS, WHO CONSIDERED.— Males and females of the age of twenty-one years shall be considered of full age for all purposes, except as otherwise provided by law, and until those ages are attained they shall be considered minors. VII (B). AGE OF MAJORITY FOR GIRLS. (Page 25, Section 7.) An act to repeal Section 14 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909, and to enact a new section in lieu thereof, to be known as Section 14. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Section 14 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909 be and the same is hereby repealed, and the following new section be enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as Section 14: Section 14. PERSONS DISQUALIFIED FOR ADMINIS¬ TRATING.—No judge or clerk of any probate court, in his own county, or his deputy, and no male or female person under twenty-one years of age, or of unsound mind, shall be executor or administrator. No married woman shall be executrix or 96 Report of the Missouri [46 administratrix, nor shall the executor of an executor, in conse¬ quence thereof, be executor of the first testator. YII (C). AGE OF MAJORITY FOR GIRLS. (Page 25, Section 7.) An act to repeal Section 536 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909, and to enact in lieu thereof a new section, to be known as Section 536. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Section 536 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909, be and the same is hereby repealed, and the following new section be enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as Section 53 Section 536. WOMEN MAY MAKE WILLS OF REALT OR PERSONALTY, WHEN.—Any married or unmarried woman of twenty-one years of age and upward, of sound mind, may devise her land, tenements, or any descendible interests therein, and any married or unmarried woman, of twenty-one years of age and upward, of sound mind, may bequeath her personal property held in her own right, in possession or expectancy, by her last will and testament, subject to the rights of the husband, if any, to his curtesy therein. LAWS RELATING TO MARRIAGE. Discussion of these recommendations appears in Chapter II, page 27. ( 97 ) 46—7 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 99 CHAPTER II. LAWS RELATING TO MARRIAGE. 1. a. PROHIBITING THE MARRIAGE OF FEEBLE¬ MINDED, EPILEPTIC, INSANE OR MEN¬ TALLY IMBECILE PERSONS, b. PROHIBITING THE MARRIAGE OF FEEBLE¬ MINDED, EPILEPTIC, INSANE OR MEN¬ TALLY IMBECILE PERSONS. 2. REQUIRING NOTICE OF INTENTION TO MARRY. 3. ABOLISHING COMMON-LAW MARRIAGES. 4. ESTABLISHING AGE OF MARRIAGE FOR GIRLS AT FIFTEEN. 5. FORM OF MARRIAGE LICENSE. I (A). PROHIBITING THE MARRIAGE OF FEEBLE-MINDED, EPILEPTIC, INSANE OR MENTALLY IMBECILE PERSONS. (Page 27, Section 1.) An act to prohibit marriages between insane, mentally imbe¬ cile, feeble-minded or epileptic persons, and to amend section 4728 of the Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri of 1909 by inserting in line 5 thereof after the word “consent” and before the word “or” the words “or is insane, mentally imbecile, feeble-minded or epileptic.” BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That a new section to be known as Section 4727 -a of the Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri hereby is enacted , reading as follows: Section 4727-a. MARRIAGES BETWEEN INSANE, MENTALLY IMBECILE, FEEBLE-MINDED OR EPILEP¬ TIC PERSONS PROHIBITED.—No man and woman, either of whom is insane, mentally imbecile, feeble-minded or epi¬ leptic, shall intermarry. Section 2. That Section 4728 of the Revised Statutes of the 100 Report of the Missouri [46 State of Missouri of 1909 be and the same hereby is amended by inserting in line 5 thereof after the word “consent” and before the word “or,” the words “or is insane, mentally imbecile, feeble¬ minded or epileptic,” so that said section when so amended, shall read as follows: Section 4728. ILLEGALLY SOLEMNIZING MAR¬ RIAGES. —Every person who shall solemnize any marriage, hav¬ ing knowledge of any fact which renders such marriage criminal in either of the parties under the preceding provisions of this article, or, having knowledge that either of the parties shall be under the age of legal consent, or is insane, mentally imbecile, feeble-minded or epileptic, or where, to his knowledge, any other legal impediment exists to such marriage, and every person not authorized by law to solemnize marriages who shall falsely rep¬ resent that he is so authorized, and who, by any pretended mar¬ riage ceremony which he may perform, shall deceive any inno¬ cent person or persons into the belief that they have been le¬ gally married, shall, on conviction, be adjudged guilty of a mis¬ demeanor, and be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine not less than five hundred dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment. I (B). PROHIBITING THE MARRIAGE OF FEEBLE-MINDED, EPILEPTIC, INSANE, OR MENTALLY IMBECILE PERSONS. (Page 27, Section 1.) An act to amend Section 8280 of the Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri of 1909, prohibiting certain marriages , by strik¬ ing out from line four of said section the word “and” following the word “blood” and before the word “between'” and by inserting in line five of said section the words “and between persons, either of whom is insane, mentally imbecile, feeble-minded or epi¬ leptic,” following the word “Mongolians” and before the word “are” and by striking out in lines six and seven of said section the words “illegitimate as well as legitimate relatives” and by inserting in lieu thereof the words “persons born out of lawful wedlock as well as those born in lawful wedlock,” so that said section , when so amended , shall read as follows: Section 8280. CERTAIN MARRIAGES PROHIBITED.— All marriages between parents and children, including grand- 46 ] Children’s Code Commission. 101 parents and grand-children of every degree, between brothers and sisters of the half as well as of the whole-blood, between uncles and nieces, aunts and nephews, first cousins, white per¬ sons and negroes, white persons and Mongolians, and between persons either of whom is insane, mentally imbecile, feeble¬ minded or epileptic, are prohibited and declared absolutely void, and this prohibition shall apply to persons born out of lawful wedlock as well as to those born in lawful wedlock. II. REQUIRING NOTICE OF INTENTION TO MARRY. (Page 28, Section 2.) An act to amend Chapter 76 of the Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri of 1909, entitled “Marriage and Marriage Con¬ tracts” by adding thereto four new sections to be known as Sections 8283-a, 8283 -b, 8283-c and 8283 -d. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Chapter 76 of the Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri of 1909 be, and the same is hereby amended by adding thereto four new sections to be known as Sections 8283-a r 8283 -b, 8283-c and 8283 -d, as follows: Section 8283-a. REQUIRING NOTICE OF INTENTION TO OBTAIN MARRIAGE LICENSE.—Persons who intend to be joined in marriage in this state shall, not less than five days before obtaining a license therefor, cause a written notice of their said intention, signed by them, to be filed in the office of the recorder of deeds requested by such persons to issue such license, which said notice shall contain the information respect¬ ing the said persons intending to marry which is required by law to be given before the issuance of such a license; and showing that neither of said parties comes within the prohibitions con¬ tained in this chapter; and said notice shall be kept open to public inspection and a list made up from said notices shall be kept open to public inspection, setting forth the names and ad¬ dresses of the contracting parties and the dates of the filing of said notices shall be posted by such officer in some conspicuous place in his office. Said list shall also be published during the said five-day period, daily in cities or counties having a daily 102 Report of the Missouri [46 newspaper, and in cities or counties having only a weekly or semi-weekly newspaper, on the dates of issuance of such news¬ paper; provided, no license which shall be issued prior to the third day after the first publication of said notice. The recorder of deeds of the city or county shall select such newspapers, and it shall be his duty to see that said lists are correctly edited and published. In any city or county having a newspaper under con¬ tract to do legal printing, said list shall be published in said newspaper. No license to marry shall be issued by such re¬ corder of deeds except after full compliance with the provisions of this section; provided, however, that said five-day period may be dispensed with on order of the circuit or probate court of the county in which said license is applied for, such order being issued only for good cause shown and by reason of such unusual conditions as to make a period of delay unwise. Section 8283-b. OBJECTIONS TO ISSUANCE OF LI¬ CENSE.—Any person may at any time prior to the issuance of such marriage license by the recorder of deeds, as provided in Section 8283-a, file with said recorder of deeds objections to the issuance of such license. Such objections shall set forth fully the facts upon which the objections are based, and the rela¬ tionship or other connection, legal or otherwise, if any, between the objectors and the parties applying for the license, and all other facts which may serve to throw light upon the merits of the objections. The objections shall also state the residences of the objectors, and shall be signed by the person or persons filing the same, and sworn to before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths, and said officer shall certify to the place or places of residence of the objectors. Upon the filing of any objection complying with the above mentioned requisites, the recorder of deeds with whom same is filed shall immediately file same with the clerk of the circuit court of his county, or if said court is not in session, then with the clerk of the probate court of said county. Thereafter no license shall be issued to said applicants except upon order of the court before whom said objections have been filed, after due hearing. Section 8283-c. PENALTY FOR FALSE STATEMENTS IN OBJECTIONS.—Any person or persons filing with the re¬ corder of deeds objections to the issuance of a marriage license without reasonable cause to believe that the facts therein stated are true and that such facts constitute legal ground for the re- 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 103 fusal to issue the license applied for, shall be guilty of a mis¬ demeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by im¬ prisonment in the county jail not exceeding ninety days, or by fine not exceeding five hundred (500) dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Section 8283-d. INCONSISTENT AND CONFLICTING ACTS REPEALED.—All acts or parts of acts inconsistent or in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. III. ABOLISHING COMMON-LAW MARRIAGES. (Page 28, Section 4.) An act to amend Chapter 76 of the Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri of 1909, entitled “Marriage and Marriage Con¬ tracts ,” by amending Section 8283 .of said Chapter by adding at the end thereof the following words , “and no marriage hereafter contracted shall be recognized as valid unless such license has been previously obtained and unless such marriage is solemn¬ ized by a person authorized by law to solemnize marriages. Common-law marriages hereafter contracted shall be null and void.” BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Section 8283 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri , 1909, be, and the same is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof the following words : “and no marriage hereafter con¬ tracted shall be recognized as valid unless such license has been previously obtained and unless such marriage is solemnized by a person authorized by law to solemnize marriages. Common- - law marriages hereafter contracted shall be null and void.” so that the section as amended shall read as follows: Section 8283. LICENSE MUST BE OBTAINED.— Previ¬ ous to any marriage in this state, a license for that purpose shall be obtained from the officer herein authorized to issue the same, and no marriage hereafter contracted shall be recognized as valid unless such license has been previously obtained, and un¬ less such marriage is solemnized by a person authorized by law to solemnize marriages. Common-law marriages hereafter contracted shall be null and void. 104 Report of the Missouri [46 IV. ESTABLISHING AGE OF MARRIAGE FOR GIRLS AT FIFTEEN. (Page 28, Section 3.) An act to amend Section 4721, Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri of 1909, by striking out in line fourteen the word “ twelve ” and inserting in lieu thereof the word “fifteen.” BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Section 4721, Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri of 1909, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out in line fourteen the word “ twelve ” and inserting in lieu thereof the word “fifteen,” so that said section , when so amended , shall read as follows: Section 4721. LAST SECTION CONSTRUED.—The last section shall not, by reason of any former marriage, extend to any person again marrying in either of the following cases: First, where the husband or wife by such former marriage shall have been absent for seven successive years, without being known to such person to be living; or, second, where the husband or wife by such former marriage shall have been absent, and continually remaining without the United States and their ter¬ ritories, for seven successive years; or, third, where such former marriage shall have been dissolved by competent authority, and such person is not by law prohibited from again marrying, or the time of such disability has expired; or, fourth, where such former marriage shall have been declared void by competent authority; or, fifth, where such former marriage was contracted by such persons while under the age of legal consent—the age of legal consent, as intended by this section, shall be, of males, fifteen years, and of females, fifteen years; or, sixth, where the husband or wife by such former marriage shall have been sen¬ tenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for life. 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 105 V. FORM OF MARRIAGE LICENSE. (Page 28, Section 3.) An act to amend Chapter 76 of the Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri of 1909, entitled “Marriage and Marriage Con¬ tracts,” by amending Section 8284 of said chapter by omitting the words “applied to by” between the word “when” and the word “any” in the third line of said section, and by inserting in the third line of said section the word “is” between the word “person” and the word “legally;” and by striking out in line fifteen the word “eighteen” and inserting in lieu thereof the word “twenty-one” and by inserting in line sixteen, between the word “man” and the word “is” the words “or the woman” and by striking out the words “or the woman under eighteen” in line sixteen; also by re¬ pealing Section 8289 of said chapter and enacting a new section in lieu thereof to be known as Section 8289, and also by enacting a new section to be known as Section 8289-a. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Section 8284 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri , 1909, be, and the same is hereby amended by omitting the words “applied to by” in the third line of said section, between the word “when” and the word “any,” and by inserting the word “is” in the third line of said section, between the word “person” and the word “legally;” and by striking out in line fifteen the word “eigh¬ teen” and inserting in lieu thereof the word “twenty-one” and by inserting in line sixteen, between the word “man” and the word “is” the words “or the woman” and by striking out the words “or the woman under eighteen” in line sixteen so, that said section, when amended, shall read as follows: Section 8284. RECORDER TO ISSUE LICENSE—FORM OF. —The recorders of the several counties of this state and the recorder of the City of St. Louis shall, when any person is le¬ gally entitled to a marriage license, issue the same, which may be in the following form: State of Missouri, County of-. This license authorizes any judge, justice of the peace, li¬ censed or ordained preacher of the gospel, or other person au- 106 Report of the Missouri [46 thorized under the laws of this state, to solemnize marriage be¬ tween A. B., of -, county of - and state of -, who is - the age of twenty-one years, and C. D., of-, in the county of-, state of-, who is the age of twenty-one years. If the man or the woman is under twenty-one, add the fol¬ lowing: The father or mother or guardian, as the case may be, of the said A. B. or C. D. (A. B. or C. D., as the case may require) has given his or her assent to the said marriage. Witness my hand as recorder, with the seal of office hereto affixed, at my office, in-, the-day of-, 19-. Of which said license the person solemnizing the marriage shall, within ninety days after the issuing thereof, make as near as may be the following return, and return such license to the officer issuing the same: State of Missouri, County of-. This is to certify that the undersigned-did at -, in said county, on the - day of -, A. D. 19-, unite in marriage the above named persons. Section 2. That Section 8289 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909, be, and the same is hereby repealed and the following new section , to be known by the same number, is to be enacted in lieu thereof: Section 8289. CONSENT OF PARENT OR GUARDIAN NECESSARY, WHEN.—No recorder shall in any event issue a license authorizing the marriage of any person under fifteen years of age; and no recorder shall issue a license authorizing the marriage of any person under the age of twenty-one years, except with the consent of his or her father, mother or guardian, which consent shall be given at the time, in writing, stating the residence of the person giving such consent, signed and sworn to before an officer authorized to administer oaths. The re¬ corder shall state in every license whether the parties applying for the same, one or either or both of them, are of age, or whether either or both are minors, and if either party is a minor,^the name of the father, mother or guardian consenting to such mar¬ riage. 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 107 Section 3. That a new section , to be known as Section 8289-a, be enacted as follows: Section 8289-a. INCONSISTENT AND CONFLICTING ACTS REPEALED.—All acts and parts of acts inconsistent or in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. . ; ■ ' -.-—- PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OF LAWS RELATING TO SOCIAL WELFARE. Discussion of these recommendations appears in Chapter III, page 30. ( 109 ) 46 ] Children’s Code Commission. Ill CHAPTER III. PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OF LAWS RELATING TO SOCIAL WELFARE. 1. APPOINTMENT OF COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF PUBLIC WELFARE. 2. CHANGING NAME OF COUNTY BOARDS OF VISIT¬ ORS TO COUNTY BOARDS OF PUBLIC WEL¬ FARE. 3. SOCIAL WELFARE BOARDS IN CITIES OF SECOND AND THIRD CLASS. 4. STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES MAY CLOSE INSTI¬ TUTIONS FOUND TO BE UNFIT. 5. INSTITUTIONAL CARE FOR COLORED CHILDREN. I. APPOINTMENT OF COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF PUBLIC WELFARE. (Page 35, Section 1.) An act to create and regulate the office of County Superintend¬ ent of Public Welfare , and of his assistants. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. APPOINTMENT OF COUNTY SUPERIN¬ TENDENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE AND HIS ASSISTANTS. The county court in each county may appoint a county superin¬ tendent of public welfare, and such assistants as it may deem necessary. Such appointments shall be made by the county court from a list of persons, either men or women, prepared and furnished to the county courts by the state board of charities and corrections, which board shall determine the qualifications of applicants for the position of county superintendent and of assistantes to said county superintendent, and the manner of selecting them for a place on said list; provided, however, that said county courts may make temporary appointments of county superintendents or of assistants to said county super¬ intendent when no names of eligible persons have been fur- 112 Report of the Missouri [46 nished to it by said state board of charities and corrections; but the term of such temporary employes shall expire within thirty days from the date on which the state board of charities and corrections files with the county court the name or names of a person or persons qualified for appointment as such county su¬ perintendent or assistants, as the case may be. It shall be the duty of the state board of charities and corrections to furnish to the several county courts, from time to time, said lists of the names of persons qualified for the positions of county superin¬ tendent of public welfare and of assistants to said county super¬ intendent. Section 2. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT AND ASSIST¬ ANTS TO HAVE CERTIFICATE OF QUALIFICATION.—The state board of charities and corrections shall issue certificates of qualification to such persons as it may, under its rules, find eligible for appointment as county superintendent and assistants to said county superintendent, and shall place on its list of eli- gibles for appointment to said offices only the names of persons who possess said certificate of qualification. Section 3. COUNTY COURT TO FIX SALARY OF SU¬ PERINTENDENT AND HIS ASSISTANTS.—The county court shall fix the salary of the county superintendent of public welfare and of his assistants in its county. The county super¬ intendent of public welfare may receive such salary as the county court prescribes, not exceeding, except as otherwise pro¬ vided in this act, $2,500 per annum in counties of 300,000 inhab¬ itants and over; not exceeding $2,000 in counties of 100,000 in¬ habitants and less than 300,000 inhabitants; not exceeding $1,800 in counties of 50,000 and less than 100,000 inhabitants; and not exceeding $1,500 in counties having 20,000 inhabitants and less than 50,000 inhabitants; and not less than $1,200 in any county. Officers appointed to assist the county superintendents of public welfare may receive such salaries as may be prescribed by the county court, not exceeding three-fourths of the amount paid to the superintendent of public welfare under whose direc¬ tion they work. Section 4. DUTIES OF COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE AND HIS ASSISTANTS.—It shall be the duty of the county superintendent of public welfare to ad¬ minister all of the funds of the county devoted to outdoor relief and allowances to needy mothers. He shall seek to discover any cases of neglected, dependent, defective or delinquent chil- 16 ] Children's Code Commission. 113 dren in the county, and take all reasonable action in his power to secure for them the full benefit of the laws enacted for their benefit. Assistants to the county superintendents of public wel¬ fare shall perform such of the duties of the county superintend¬ ent of public welfare as he may assign to them. Section 5. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT TO ACT AS AUXILIARY TO THE STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS.—The county superintendent of public wel¬ fare may be deputized or authorized by the state board of char¬ ities and corrections to act as its agent in relation to any work to be done by said board within the county, and when said county superintendent is so authorized as the agent of the state board of charities and corrections, he shall have the same powers and authority as are given to the state board of charities and corrections. The county superintendent of public welfare may at any time call on the state board of charities and correc¬ tions for advice and assistance in the performance of his duties. Section 6. AFTER-CARE OF THE INSANE.—The county superintendent of public welfare in each county shall, upon the request of the state board of charities and corrections, and in accordance with its direction, give special care and attention to the needs of any patients recently discharged from the state hos¬ pital for the insane who reside in his county, either on parole or permanent discharge, to the end that such patients may be es¬ tablished in such favorable circumstances as shall tend to pre¬ vent their relapse into insanity, and shall report on the progress of such former patients to the state board of charities and cor¬ rections, and under its direction, to the institution from which they have been paroled or discharged. Section 7. OVERSIGHT OF PERSONS PLACED ON PAROLE OR PROBATION.—The county superintendent of public welfare shall give such oversight and supervision to pris¬ oners who are on parole from the state penitentiary and are re¬ siding in his county, and to persons who are on parole from the Missouri reformatory, and Missouri Training School for boys and to girls on parole from the state industrial home for girls or from the state industrial home for negro girls, as may be requested by the state prison board and shall report upon the progress of said paroled prisoners to the state prison board as often as it may request. The county superintendent of public welfare in each county shall give oversight and supervision to prisoners on parole or 46—8 114 Report of the Missouri [46 probation by any court in the state of Missouri and shall inves¬ tigate applications for clemency when requested to do so by said courts, and shall report in regard to each person placed under his supervision to the court placing said person under his supervision. The county superintendent of public welfare shall also give oversight and supervision to children placed on parole or pro¬ bation by the juvenile court or the court having jurisdiction of children’s cases in his county when requested to do so by said court and shall report to said court upon progress of persons thus placed on parole or probation. Section 8. OVERSIGHT OF DEPENDENT CHILDREN. The county superintendent of public welfare in each county shall act as local representative of the children’s bureau of the state board of charities and corrections and shall, upon the re¬ quest of said bureau, assist in finding suitable foster homes and shall report to said state board of charities and corrections upon the progress and welfare of children who have been placed in foster homes by said bureau. Section 9. ASSISTING STATE EMPLOYMENT BU¬ REAUS.—The county superintendent of public welfare in each county shall co-operate with the state employment bureaus and shall, upon the request of the head of such bureaus, furnish data with regard to the opportunities for employment in their respective counties and shall aid and assist in any practical way in securing employment for the unemployed in his county. Section 10. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE TO ACT AS AGENT OF STATE FACTORY IN¬ SPECTOR.—The county superintendent of public welfare and his assistants may be deputized by the state factory inspector, as his agent or agents, and when they are so deputized by the state factory inspector they shall have the same powers and authority as deputy factory inspectors. Section 11. INVESTIGATION INTO THE CAUSES OF DISTRESS.—It shall be the duty of the county superintendent of public welfare to investigate the conditions of living among the poor, sick and delinquent in the county and to examine thor¬ oughly into the causes of crime and poverty in the county and to make recommendations from time to time to the state board of charities and corrections and to proper local authorities as to any change in conditions or in legislation necessary to prevent or reduce poverty, crime or distress in the state. The superin- 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 115 tendent of public welfare and his assistants may be deputized as agents of the state bureau of labor statistics and when they are so deputized by the state bureau of labor statistics they shall exercise all of the authority to make investigations which is granted to the state bureau of labor statistics. Section 12. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE TO ACT AS ATTENDANCE OFFICER. — The county superintendent of public welfare, upon the request of any board having charge of a public school in any district in the county, shall act as attendance officer to enforce the provisions of sections 10896 to 10905, inclusive, of the Revised Statutes of Missouri 1909, with such additional compensation, if any, as may be ordered by the county court or by the board of edu¬ cation, board of directors of the school district, and in any such case shall have all the powers and duties of an attendance of¬ ficer, as provided by the aforesaid sections or other similar acts. Section 13. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE TO ACT AS ADMINISTRATOR.—The county su¬ perintendent of public welfare may be appointed as administra¬ tor of small estates of widows or children by the probate court and when he is so appointed he shall act in that capacity with¬ out pay so long as he is county superintendent of public welfare. Section 14. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE TO ACT AS PROBATION OFFICER, WHEN.— The county superintendent of public welfare may be appointed as probation officer for his county by the judge of the juvenile court of that county, and may, in that case, receive, in addition to his salary as county superintendent of public welfare, such additional salary as probation officer, if any, as may be prescrib¬ ed by the judge of the juvenile court, with the approval of the county court. Section 15. RECORDS.—The records of cases handled and business transacted by the county superintendent of public welfare shall be kept in such manner and form as may be pre¬ scribed by the state board of charities and corrections. Section 16. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE TO MAKE YEARLY REPORT.—The county super¬ intendent of public welfare shall each year prepare and keep on file a full report of his work and proceedings during the year, and shall file a copy with the county court and with the secretary of the state board of charities and corrections. Section 17. INCONSISTENT AND CONFLICTING ACTS REPEALED.—All acts and parts of acts inconsistent or in con- 116 Report of the Missouri [46 flict with this act are hereby repealed, provided that this act shall not be construed to apply to the city of St. Louis, and pro¬ vided that it shall not be construed to repeal or amend House bill No. 668 of the Session Acts of 1913, pages 134 to 137, which provides for social welfare boards in certain counties. II. CHANGING NAME OF COUNTY BOARDS OF VISIT¬ ORS TO COUNTY BOARDS OF PUBLIC WELFARE. (Page 36, Section 2.) An act to amend Article 3 of Chapter 19 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of the State of Missouri of 1909 by amending Section 1329 of said Revised Statutes by striking out in the headline of said section the words “Board of Visitorsand inserting, in lieu thereof, the words “County Boards of Public Welfare ;” and by striking out in the fifth line of said section the words “board of county visitors ” and inserting, in lieu thereof, the words “county board of public welfare,” and by striking out in the tenth line of said section the words “board of visitors 99 and inserting, in lieu thereof, the words “county board of public welfare;” also by repealing Section 1330 of said Revised Statutes and enacting a new section to be known by the same number, in lieu thereof; also by amending Section 1331 of said Revised Statutes by striking out in the first and second lines of said section the words “board of visitorsand by inserting, in lieu thereof, the words “county board of public welfare”; also by amending Section 1332 of said Revised Statutes by striking out in the first, fifth, twelfth and thirteenth lines of said section the words “board of county visitors 99 and inserting, in lieu thereof, in each of said lines, the words “county board of public welfare.” BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Section 1329 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909 be, and the same is hereby amended by striking out in the headline of said section the words “Boards of Visitors 99 and inserting, in lieu thereof, the words “County Boards of Public Welfare” and by striking out in the fifth line of said section the words “board of county visitors'* and inserting in lieu thereof the words “county board of public welfare,” and by striking out in 46J Children's Code Commission . 117 the tenth line of said section the words “board of visitors ” and in¬ serting, in lieu thereof, the words “county board of public wel¬ fare” so that said section, as amended, s/ia/Z read as follows: Section 1329. COUNTY BOARDS OF PUBLIC WEL¬ FARE-HOW APPOINTED—TERM OF SERVICE.— In each county of the state the judge of the circuit court may, and upon the petition of fifteen reputable citizens shall, appoint six per¬ sons, three of whom shall be women, and not more than three shall have the same political affiliations, who shall constitute a county board of public welfare, two of whom, as indicated by the appointing judge, upon the fixed appointment, shall serve for one year, two for two years, and two for three years, and upon the expiration of the term of each, his or her place and that of his or her successor shall, in like manner, be filled for the term of three years, who shall constitute a county board of public welfare for the inspection of all corrective institutions supported by such county, who shall serve without compensa¬ tion. Section 2. That section 1330 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909 be, and the same is hereby repealed and a new sec¬ tion, to be known as section 1330, enacted in lieu thereof, as follows: Section 1330. ORGANIZATION OF BOARD—SECRE¬ TARY TO FILE REPORT.—The persons appointed as mem¬ bers of the county board of public welfare, within one week after receiving notice of appointment, shall meet at some con¬ venient place, and organize by electing a chairman from their own number. In counties in which a county superintendent of public welfare has been appointed, said officer shall act, without salary, as secretary of the county board of public welfare; in counties in which a county superintendent of public welfare has not been appointed, the board shall elect a secretary from their own number. The secretary shall file a report of such organ¬ ization signed by him or herself, and by the said chairman, with the clerk of the circuit court of the county. Section 3. That section 1331 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out in the first and second lines of said section the words “board of visit¬ ors,,” and inserting, in lieu thereof, the words “county board of public welfare,” so that said section as amended shall read as ollows: Section 1331. DUTIES OF BOARD.— It shall be the duty of such county board of public welfare, by personal visitation 118 • Report of the Missouri 146 or otherwise, to keep themselves fully advised of the conditions and management of all corrective institutions, supported wholly or in part by county or municipal taxation, or which are under county or municipal control, and especially the county jail, almshouses and municipal prisons. They shall examine every department of each institution, and shall ascertain its condition as to effective and economical administration, the cleanliness, discipline and comfort of its inmates and other respects, and at least once in every three months all of said institutions shall be visited by said board or a committee of its members. In case the said board or one of its committees shall find any state of things in any institution, which in their opinion shall be injuri¬ ous to the county or to the inmates of the institution, or which is contrary to good order and public policy, it shall be their duty to address a memorial to the county court, or other officials having jurisdiction, in which memorial they shall set forth the facts observed and shall suggest such remedies as in their judg¬ ment may be necessary. Section 4. That Section 1332 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909 be and the same is hereby amended by striking out in the first, fifths twelfth and thirteenth lines of said section the words “board of county visitors,” and inserting in lieu thereof, in each of said lines, the words “county board of public welfare” so that said section as amended shall read as follows: Section 1332. BOARD TO MAKE YEARLY REPORT.— The county board of public welfare each year shall prepare a full report of their proceedings during the year, with such rec¬ ommendations as they may deem advisable, and shall file the same with the secretary of state board of charities on or before the first day of November of each year. Whenever the county board of public welfare shall present a memorial or report to the county court or to the judge of the circuit court, they shall, at the same time, transmit a copy of the same to the secretary of the state board of charities and corrections, and they may at any time call upon the secretary or members of the state board of charities and corrections for advice and assistance in the per¬ formance of their duties. The secretary of the state board of charities and corrections shall furnish each county board of pub¬ lic welfare with such stationery, blanks and postage stamps as said county board of public welfare may need to make the re¬ port prescribed by law to the board of state charities. 46] Children's Code Commission. 119 III. SOCIAL WELFARE BOARDS IN CITIES OF SECOND AND THIRD CLASS. (Page 37, Section 3.) An act to create social welfare boards in cities of the second and third class , at the option of the mayors and common councils thereof , and providing for their government and operation . BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. SOCIAL WELFARE BOARDS, CREATION OF IN CITIES OF SECOND AND THIRD CLASS—POWER— TO PROMOTE GENERAL WELFARE, SUE AND BE SUED —TO HAVE COMMON SEAL—MAKE RULES AND REGU¬ LATIONS.—In all cities, of the second and third class in this state there is hereby created and established, at the option of the mayor and common council of any such city, a board which shall be styled “The Social Welfare Board of the City of-.” All powers and duties connected with and incident to the relief and prevention of dependency, relief and care of the indigent, and the care of sick dependents, with the exception of the in¬ sane and those suffering with contagious, infectious and trans¬ missible diseases, and excepting those persons who may be ad¬ mitted to the county poorhouses of the counties in which such cities are located, shall be exclusively invested in and exercised by said board. Said board shall have power to receive and ex¬ pend donations for social welfare purposes, and shall have ex¬ clusive control of the distribution and expenditure of any public funds set aside and appropriated by such cities for relief of the temporary dependent. Said board shall have power to sue and be sued, complain and defend in all courts, to assume the care of or take by gift, grant, devise, bequest or otherwise, any money, real estate, personal property, right of property or other valuable things, and may use, enjoy, control, sell or convey the same for charitable purposes, to have and to use a common seal and alter the same at pleasure. Said board may make by-laws for its own guidance, rules and regulations for the government of its agents, servants and employes, and for the distribution of the funds under its control. 120 Report of the Missouri [46 Section 2. BOARD — POWERS AND DUTIES.—Said board shall have power to make all suitable provisions for the relief, maintenance and support, of all indigent persons within said cities, and to make suitable provisions for the care and maintenance of the sick dependents and those who are unable to support themselves; to enforce the laws of the state, the or¬ dinances of said cities, in regard to the indigent, and to make such rules and regulations in the conduct of its business not in¬ consistent with the laws of the state of Missouri, and the ordi¬ nances of said cities; to recommend to the common council of said cities the passage of such ordinances as said board may deem necessary for the welfare of the indigent of said cities. The board shall have the power to employ and discharge all persons or officers in their judgment necessary to carry on the work over which said board is given jurisdiction or control. Said board shall further have power to enter into co-oper¬ ative arrangement with federal, state or county agencies, or with charitable and philanthropic associations in order better to pro¬ mote the objects of its work. Said board may act as agent for the County Superintendent of Public Welfare within the limits of the city, under such arrangements as may be made jointly by them. Section 3. BOARD—TO BE COMPOSED OF WHOM— MEMBERS—HOW MANY AND WHO—APPOINTMENT- TENURE OF OFFICE—TO BE NONPARTISAN AND NON¬ SECTARIAN—NO COMPENSATION—VACANCIES—HOW FILLED.—Said board shall be nonpartisan and nonsectarian and the members and officers thereof shall receive no compen¬ sation as such. Said board shall consist of the mayor of such cities, who shall be ex officio a member thereof, and six other members, men or women, who shall be appointed by the mayor and the common council of such cities, who shall hold office, two for one year, two for two years, and two for three years, whose terms of of fice shall be designated by the mayor. Whenever the term of office of any member so appointed expires, the appoint¬ ment of his successor shall be for three years. All such appoint¬ ments shall date from the first of June following their appointment. Vacancies from any causes shall be filled in like manner as orig¬ inal appointment. The mayor may, for misconduct or neglect of duty, remove any member appointed by him in the manner required for removal of officers of such cities. Section 4. BOARD—ORGANIZATION OF.—Said mem- 46] Children's Code Commission. 121 bers shall, immediately after their appointment, and annually thereafter, meet and organize by electing out of their number a president, vice-president, treasurer and secretary. All subor¬ dinate officers, agents and employes appointed shall give such bonds for the faithful discharge of their duties as may be re¬ quired by the board. Section 5. TREASURER—BOND OF—DUTIES OF.— All moneys received or appropriated for the use of said board shall be deposited with the treasurer, who shall give good and sufficient bond to said board for the safe-keeping and proper expenditure of all funds placed in his hands, by or for the use of said board. Section 6. BOARD—DUTIES OF—RECORDS AND RE¬ PORTS.—It shall be the duty of said board to keep a record of its proceedings and its receipts, expenditures and operations, and to annually render a full and complete itemized report, stating the condition of their trust, together with such other mat¬ ters as they may deem of general interest to the mayor and common council of said cities; provided, said board shall ren¬ der reports concerning receipts, expenditures, operations, etc., whenever called for by the common council of said cities. Section 7. BOARD—DUTY OF AS TO APPLICANTS FOR RELIEF.—It shall be the duty of said board, when any person by himself, or another, applies for relief to make immedi¬ ate inquiry into the state and circumstances of the applicant, and if it shall appear that he or she is in such indigent circum¬ stances as to require temporary relief, the said board shall fur¬ nish, out of the funds in its hands, such relief as the circum¬ stances of the case may require; provided, that in all cases where the applicant for aid may be found dependent, and said applicant or member of said applicant’s family is an able-bodied person, said board shall require such person to perform work to the value of the aid given. Section 8. POLICE AND HEALTH OFFICERS TO AID SOCIAL WELFARE BOARDS.—It shall be the duty of the police and health officers of said cities to render said social wel¬ fare board, its officers and agents, such aid as may be requested of them, or either of them, whenever such aid requested shall reasonably come within their duties. 122 Report of the Missouri 146 IV. STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES MAY CLOSE INSTITU¬ TIONS FOUND TO BE UNFIT. An act to amend Section 1317 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909 by inserting in the third to last line, between the words “ deposition ” and “a” the following: “And after such investiga¬ tion the board may order such institution closed, if found by the board to be not properly performing the functions for which it was created.” BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Section 1317, Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1909 be, and the same is hereby amended by inserting in the third to last line, between the words “ deposition ” and the word“a” the words “And after such investigation the board may order such institution closed, if found by the board to be not properly per¬ forming the functions for which it was created”, so that said sec¬ tion, when so amended, shall read as follows: Section 1317. MEETINGS—POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD—INFORMATION FROM INSTITUTIONS TO BE FURNISHED—BOARD MAY INVESTIGATE THE MAN¬ AGEMENT OF INSTITUTIONS—REPORTS.— The commis¬ sioner of the permanent seat of government shall provide for the use of said board suitably furnished rooms in which regular meetings shall be held quarterly, but adjourned, special or called meetings may be held at such times and at such places within the state as said board in its discretion may deem nec¬ essary. Said board for the regulation of its own proceedings shall adopt and enforce such rules and orders as are necessary to carry into effect the purposes for which this board is created. Said board shall have the power, and it is hereby made its duty, to investigate the whole system of public charities and correc¬ tions; to examine into the condition and management of all prisons, jails, almshouses, reformatories, reform and industrial schools, hospitals, infirmaries, dispensaries, orphanages and all public and private retreats and asylums which derive their sup¬ port wholly or in part from the state, or from any county or mu¬ nicipality within the state; and the officers of the various insti- 51 Children's Code Commission. 123 utions named herein, when so requested in writing, without un- tecessary delay, shall furnish to the board such information as nay be demanded. The board may prescribe such forms as it nay deem necessary to secure uniformity and accuracy in the tatements made by the several institutions reporting. The >oard in its discretion, or upon the official request of the governor >r of the General Assembly, may at any time make an investi¬ gation by the whole board, or by a committee thereof, of the :ondition and management of any institution under its charge, md the said board or its committee shall have the power by its presiding officer to summon any person to appear and produce ,uch books and papers as may be designated in the summons, ind to give testimony, under oath, concerning the matter or nstitution under investigation. The presiding officer of the ooard or its committee shall have the same power to administer >aths and to enforce these provisions that are given to notaries Dublic when they are taking depositions. And after such in¬ vestigation the board may order such institution closed, if bund by the board to be not properly performing the functions or which it was created. A full report of such investigation, including the testimony, shall be made to the governor and may oe transmitted by him with suggestions to the General As¬ sembly. V. INSTITUTIONAL CARE FOR COLORED CHILDREN. (Page 37, Section 4.) An act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 19 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of Missouri of 1909, relating to the State Board of Charities land Corrections , by adding a new section to be known as Section 1317 -a. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Article 1 of Chapter 19 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of Missouri of 1909 be, and the same is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section to be known as Section 1317-a, which shall read as follows: Section 1317-a. ACCOMMODATION FOR NEGROES IN STATE AND COUNTY INSTITUTIONS. — The Board shall see to it that proper accommodations are made for depend- \w 1 124 Report of the Missouri ]46 ent, defective and delinquent negroes in separate quarters in all established state and county institutions, and it shall be the of the duty boards and officials in charge of all state and county institutions to make such special provisions for negro inmates, except where the state or county has made other provision in a separate institution for negroes. LAWS RELATING TO CARE AND TREATMENT OF DELINQUENT CHILDREN. Discussion of these recommendations appears in Chapter IV, page 41. ( 125 ) 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 127 CHAPTER IV. LAWS RELATING TO CARE AND TREATMENT OF DELINQUENT CHILDREN. 1. TREATMENT OF ADULTS CONTRIBUTING TO DELINQUENCY OR NEGLECT OF CHILDREN. 2. RELATING TO COMMITMENTS TO MISSOURI REFORMATORY AND MISSOURI TRAINING SCHOOL FOR BOYS. 3. RELATING TO COMMITMENTS TO INDUSTRIAL HOME FOR GIRLS. 4. RELATING TO COMMITMENTS TO INDUSTRIAL HOME FOR NEGRO GIRLS. 5. SEPARATING THE TRAINING SCHOOL FOR BOYS FROM THE REFORMATORY. 6. APPOINTMENT OF PROBATION OFFICERS IN THE CRIMINAL COURTS. 7. TREATMENT OF INCORRIGIBLE MINORS OVER JUVENILE COURT AGE. 8. REPEALING CONFLICTING STATUTE. 9. REPEALING CONFLICTING STATUTE. 10. REPEALING OBSOLETE STATUTE. I. TREATMENT OF ADULTS CONTRIBUTING TO DE¬ LINQUENCY OR NEGLECT OF CHILDREN. (Page 42, Section 1.) \ An act to amend Article 4 of Chapter 36 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of the State of Missouri of 1909, by repealing Section 4491 of said article and enacting a new section in lieu thereof to be known as Section 4491; and by adding three new sections to said Article 4 of Chapter 36 to be known as Sections 4491-a, 4491 -b and 4491-c. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Article 4 of Chapter 36 of the Revised Stat- 128 [46 Report of the Missouri utes of the State of Missouri of 1909, be, and the same is hereby amended as follows: Section 2. Section 4491 of the Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri of 1909 is hereby repealed and a new section, to be known as Section 4491, is hereby enacted in lieu thereof, as follows: Section 4491. CONTRIBUTING TO CONDITIONS THAT MAKE A CHILD NEGLECTED OR DELINQUENT.—Any person who shall knowingly or willfully do any act or acts that directly produce, promote or contribute to conditions which ren¬ der any child under the age of majority neglected or delinquent, or who willfully neglects to do that which will directly tend to prevent such state of neglect or delinquency, and any person, having the custody of a child, who shall cause or knowingly per¬ mit such child to work in violation of the child labor laws of this state, and any one who so employs a child, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprison¬ ment. Provided, that, instead of imposing the punishment hereinbefore provided, the court shall have power to enter an order suspending sentence and releasing the defendant from custody on probation for the space of one year, upon his or her entering into a recognizance, with or without sureties in such sum as the court may direct; the conditions of the recognizance to be that, if the defendant shall make his or her personal ap¬ pearance in court whenever ordered so to do, within a year, and shall provide and care for such neglected or delinquent child in such manner as to prevent a continuance or repetition of such state of neglect or delinquency, or as otherwise may be directed, and shall further comply with the terms of such order, then the recognizance shall be void, otherwise it shall remain in full force and effect. If the court be satisfied by information or due proof that at any time during the year the defendant has. violated the terms of such order, it may forthwith revoke such order and sentence him or her under the original conviction. Section 3. Three new sections are hereby enacted, to be known as Sections 4491-a, 4491 -b and 4491-c, as follows: Section 4491-a. TRIAL BY JURY.—In trials under Sec¬ tion 4491 the persons proceeded against shall have the right to trial by jury, which shall be granted unless waived. Section 4491-b. JURISDICTION.—The circuit courts of the several counties of the state, acting as juvenile courts, shall Children's Code Commission. 129 t6] have exclusive jurisdiction of all cases coming within the provi¬ sions of Section 4491. Section 4491-c. LIEERAL CONSTRUCTION.—Section 4491 shall he liberally construed in favor of the state, for the purpose of the protection of the persons therein named from neglect or omission of duty toward them by any person or per¬ sons, and further, to protect the children therein named from the effects of the improper conduct or acts of any persons which may cause, encourage or contribute to the neglect or delinquency of such children, although such person is in no way related to such children. Section 4. All acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. II. RELATING TO COMMITMENTS TO MISSOURI RE¬ FORMATORY AND MISSOURI TRAINING SCHOOL FOR ROYS. (Page 42, Section 2.) An ad to repeal Sections 22, 23, 26 and 33 of an act entitled “Charities and Corrections: Penitentiary, Missouri Training School for Boys, Industrial Home for Girls and Industrial Home for Negro Girls ”, as it is set out in the Laws of Missouri , 1917, commencing at page 155, and to enact four new sections in lieu thereof , to be known as Sections 22, 23, 26 and 33 of said act. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Sections 22, 23, 26 and 33 of an act of the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, entitled “Charities and Corrections: Penitentiary, Missouri Training School for Boys, Industrial Home for Girls and Industrial Home for Negro Girls ”, as they appear in Laws of Missouri , 1917, commencing at page 155, be, and the same are hereby repealed and new sections, to be known as Sections 22, 23, 26 and 33 of said act, are hereby en¬ acted in lieu of said repealed sections , as follows: Section 22. PERSONS UNDER 17 YEARS — HOW TREATED.—Any person under the age of seventeen years, convicted of a crime, the punishment of which, under the stat¬ utes of this state, when committed by persons over the age of 46—9 130 Report of the Missouri 14. seventeen years, is death or imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term of not less than ten years, may be punished in the same manner and to the same extent as provided by the stat¬ utes for the punishment of persons over the age of seventeen, or, if a boy, he may be imprisoned in the penitentiary or com¬ mitted to the Missouri reformatory, or Missouri training school for boys; and any boy under the age of seventeen years con¬ victed of any other felony, either upon a plea of guilty or upon trial, may be committed to the Missouri reformatory or Mis¬ souri training school for boys. Any boy under the age of seven¬ teen years convicted of a misdemeanor, in any court of record, either upon a plea of guilty or upon trial, may, in the discretion of the court, be committed to the Missouri reformatory, or Mis¬ souri training school for boys. No boy under seventeen years of age convicted of a felony shall hereafter be committed to the county jail as a punishment for such offense. Any court having criminal jurisdiction, in which any male person, between seven¬ teen and thirty years of age, shall, upon a plea of guilty, or by the verdict of a jury, be convicted of a felony and his punishment assessed at imprisonment in the penitentiary, may, in its discre¬ tion, at the same term at which such plea of guilty is entered or conviction occurs, and before such person is transferred to the penitentiary, commute the punishment to confinement in the Missouri reformatory for such term as the court may deem proper, but not for a longer time than that fixed in the sentence to the penitentiary; but such court shall first ascertain and de¬ termine that said conviction or plea of guilty is for the first of¬ fense, and that the previous conduct, habits and associations of the person so convicted warrant such commutation. All commitments of boys under the age of seventeen to the Mis¬ souri reformatory, the Missouri training school or the peniten¬ tiary shall be made by the juvenile division of the circuit court. Section 23. GOVERNOR MAY COMMUTE—WHEN.— The governor shall have power to commute the punishment of any person under thirty years of age who may heretofore have been, or who may hereafter be sentenced to the penitentiary, that he may deem suitable to be sent to the Missouri reforma¬ tory, to commitment in said reformatory for such term as he may think proper, not exceeding the time for which said person may have been or may be sentenced to the penitentiary. If any person between the ages of seventeen and thirty years who shall have been sentenced to confinement in the penitentiary, and 46] Children's Code Commission . 131 whose punishment shall have been thereafter commuted by the governor, or by any court of criminal jurisdiction, as here¬ tofore provided in this act, to confinement in the reform¬ atory, shall be found to be incorrigible and not amenable to reformation by reason of the opportunities and advantages af¬ forded him in such reformatory, the governor may annul, cancel and revoke the commutation granted such person and order and direct the said board to transfer such person to the state peni¬ tentiary where the said board shall confine him until he shall have served the remainder of the sentence in accordance with the terms of the original judgment against him which had not been served upon the date of the commutation of said sentence to confinement in such reformatory. Section 26. NEGLECTED, DEPENDENT, IDIOTIC, IN¬ SANE OR CONTAGIOUS DISEASED PERSONS.—No per¬ son who is neglected or dependent or who is idiotic or insane, or who has any contagious disease, shall be committed to or re¬ ceived by the superintendent into said Missouri reformatory or Missouri training school for boys. Section 33. EXPENSES PAID BY COUNTY IN CER¬ TAIN CASES.—When any boy under seventeen years of age shall be committed to said reformatory or said training school by any court having competent jurisdiction, upon conviction of any felony or misdemeanor, or when the governor, except as hereinafter provided, shall commute the sentence of any per¬ son from imprisonment in the penitentiary to commitment to the reformatory, the expenses of the maintenance of said boy, as provided in the foregoing section, shall be paid by the county in which he was convicted. The clerk of the court in which the conviction is had shall certify the judgment of conviction to the county court of said county, and the governor shall cause to be certified to said county court any commutation made by him. The board shall cause to be filed with the said court a certificate showing the date when such boy was received into said institu¬ tion, and the support of said boy, at the rate and in the manner stated in the foregoing section, shall be paid by said county upon an account presented by the secretary of said board to said county court: Provided, that all payments for the sup¬ port of persons chargeable to a county shall be paid by such county in cash, and for that purpose the county court is author¬ ized to discount its warrants, but the Missouri reformatory or Missouri training school for boys shall not receive any county 132 Report of the Missouri .[4 warrants for the maintenance and support of any person com¬ mitted to such institution. When any person between seven¬ teen and thirty years of age shall be committed by a court hav¬ ing competent jurisdiction, to confinement in said reformatory or said training school, or is transferred from the penitentiary to said reformatory by order of the governor, the support of such person shall be paid by the state out of money appropriated for that purpose, and the auditor shall draw his warrant therefor in favor of the state prison board quarterly upon requisitions filed with him by the secretary of said board, and provided further, that if it shall be shown to the court before which the conviction is had, that any person committed to said reformatory, or said training school, has an estate sufficient to maintain him at said institution, judgment shall be entered against him for his main¬ tenance while confined in said institution; but if such person is under twenty-one years of age, such judgment shall be against his guardian, curator or other person having possession of his estate; and it shall be the duty of the guardian, curator or other person having possession of his estate, to pay to the state prison board, quarterly in advance, the amounts hereinbefore, provided for his support in said institution. Section 2. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed. III. RELATING TO COMMITMENTS TO INDUSTRIAL HOME FOR GIRLS. (Page 43, Section 3.) An act to repeal Section 39 of an act entitled “Charities and Corrections: Penitentiary, Missouri Training School for Boys, Industrial Home for Girls and Industrial Home for Negro Girls” as it appears in Laws of Missouri, 1917, commencing at page 155, and to enact a new section in lieu thereof, to be known as Section 39 of said act; also to amend Section 40 of said act by striking out the word “twenty” following the word “to” and preceding the word “years” in line 8 of said section, and inserting in lieu thereof the words “twenty-one”; also to amend Section 42 of said act by in¬ serting in line 2 of said section, after the word “any” and preced¬ ing the word “girl”, the words “neglected or dependent”, and by inserting in line 2 of said section, after the word “institution” and Children's Code Commission. 133 oreceding the word “who”, the words “or any girl”; also to repeal Section 49 of said act and to enact a new section in lieu thereof to be known as Section 49. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Section 39 of an act entitled “Charities and Corrections: Penitentiary, Missouri Training School for Boys, Industrial Home for Girls and Industrial Home for Negro Girls ”, as it appears in Laws of Missouri, 1917, commencing at page 155, be, and the same is hereby repealed and a new section, to be known as Section 39 of said act, is hereby enacted in lieu thereof, as follows: Section 39. GIRLS OVER 7 AND UNDER 21.—All com¬ mitments to the industrial home for girls, of girls over the age of seven and under the age of seventeen, shall be made by the juvenile division of the circuit court. Every girl over the age of seven years and under the age of twenty-one years, who shall beconvicted of any offense not punishable with death or imprison¬ ment for life, or whose associations are immoral or criminal, or bad and vicious, or who is incorrigible to such an extent that she cannot be controlled by her parents or guardian in whose custody she may be, may be sentenced to said industrial home until she shall reach the age of twenty-one years, if the court or magistrate before whom such conviction shall be had deems the girl so convicted a fit subject to be committed to said home, and the age of the girl so committed to be endorsed on the commitment. Section 2. That Section 40 of said, above described act, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out the word “twenty” following the word “to” and preceding the word “years” in line 8 of said section and inserting in lieu thereof the words “twenty-one”, so that said section, as amended, will read as follows: Section 40. BOARD TO ADOPT SYSTEM OF GOVERN¬ MENT.— Said board shall prepare, systematize and adopt a system of government for said industrial home, embracing all such rules and regulations and general laws as may be deemed * necessary for preserving order and enforcing discipline, for im¬ parting instruction, for preserving health, and for the proper physical, intellectual and moral training of the inmates. Said home shall be conducted on the family or cottage plan, for girls from seven to twenty-one years of age, in which there must be thorough systematic teaching of all domestic industries, which 134 Report of the Missouri 146 i industries shall take precedence of trades, and be a thorough education in every branch of household work. All the officials and help for the internal management shall be women, unless otherwise ordered by the board. Section 3. That Section 42 of said act be and the same is hereby amended by inserting in line 2 thereof after the word “any” and preceding the word “girl”, the words “neglected or depend¬ ent”, and by inserting in said line 2 of said section, after the word “institution” and preceding the word “who”, the words “or any girl”, so that said section as amended shall read as follows: Section 42. NOT TO RECEIVE INSANE PERSONS, ETC.— No court or magistrate shall sentence any neglected or dependent girl to said institution, or any girl who is insane or idiotic, or afflicted with an incurable disease or enceinte, or who is so incorrigible that in the opinion of the officer sentencing her, there is not a fair possibility of her reformation. Section 4. That Section 49 of said act, be and the same is hereby repealed and a new section enacted in lieu thereof to be known as Section 49 of said act, reading as follows: Section 49. WOMEN ATTENDANTS.—The circuit court of each county shall appoint women attendants to take to said industrial home for girls all girls committed to said home by the court. The same fees that are now allowed by law for con¬ veying prisoners to the penitentiary shall be allowed to the said women attendants of the several counties of this state for the service of taking to said industrial home such girls as may be committed there, and such fees shall be paid by the state in the same manner as now provided by law in Section 10702, Chapter 104, Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1909. Section 5. All acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. IV. RELATING TO COMMITMENTS TO INDUSTRIAL HOME FOR NEGRO GIRLS. (Page 43, Section 4.) An act to repeal Section 55 of an act entitled “Charities and Corrections: Penitentiary , Missouri Training School for Boys, Industrial Home for Girls and Industrial Home for Negro Girls”, as it appears in Laws of Missouri, 1917, commencing at page 155, and to enact a new section in lieu thereof to be known as Section 16J Children's Code Commission. 135 55; also to amend Section 56, of said ad, by inserting in line 2 thereof, following the word “any” and preceding the word “negro”, the words “neglected or dependent”, and by inserting in said line 2, following the word “institution” and preceding the word “who,” the words “or any girl”; also to repeal Section 63, of said act, and to enact a new section in lieu thereof to be known as Sec¬ tion 63 of said act. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Section 55 of an act entitled “Charities and Corrections: Penitentiary, Missouri Training School for Boys, Industrial Home for Girls and Industrial Home for Negro Girls” as it appears in Laws of Missouri, 1917, commencing at page 155, be and the, same is hereby repealed and a new section is hereby en¬ acted in lieu thereof to be known as Section 55, of said act, reading as follows: Section 55. NEGRO GIRLS OVER 7 AND UNDER 21.— All commitments to the industrial home for negro girls, of negro girls over the age of seven and under the age of seventeen shall be made by the juvenile division of the circuit court. Every negro girl over the age of seven years and under the age of twenty-one years, who shall be convicted of any offense not punishable with death or imprisonment for life, or whose asso¬ ciations are immoral or criminal, or bad and vicious, or who is incorrigible to such an extent that she cannot be controlled by her parents or guardian in whose custody she may be, may be sentenced to said industrial home until she shall reach the age of twenty-one years, if the court or magistrate before whom such conviction shall be had deems the girl so convicted a fit subject to be committed to said home, and the age of the girl so committed to be endorsed on the commitment. Section 2. That Section 56 of said act, be and the same is hereby amended by inserting in line 2 thereof, after the word “any” and preceding the word “negro”, the words “neglected or depend¬ ent”, and by inserting in said line 2, after the word “institution” and preceding the word “who” the words “or any girl”, so that said section, as amended, shall read as follows: Section 56. NOT TO RECEIVE INSANE PERSONS, ETC. —No court or magistrate shall sentence any neglected or dependent negro girl to said institution, or any girl who is in¬ sane or idiotic, or afflicted with an incurable disease, or enceinte. 136 Report of the Missouri [46 or who is so incorrigible that in the opinion of the officer sen¬ tencing her, there is not a fair probability of her reformation. Section 3. That Section 63 of said act, be and the same is hereby repealed and a new section is hereby enacted in lieu thereof to be known as Section 63 of said act, reading as follows: Section 63. WOMEN ATTENDANT 3 .—The circuit court of each county shall appoint women attendants to take to said industrial home for negro girls all negro girls committed to said home, by the court. The same fees that are now allowed by law for conveying prisoners to the penitentiary shall be allowed to the said women attendants of the several counties of this state for the service of taking to said industrial home such girls as may be committed there, and such fees shall be paid by the state in the same manner as now provided by law in Section 10702, Chapter 104, Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1909. Section 4. All acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. V. SEPARATING THE TRAINING SCHOOL FOR BOYS FROM THE REFORMATORY. (Page 44, Section 5.) An act to repeal Sections 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34 and 35, of an act entitled “Charities and Corrections: Pen¬ itentiary, Missouri Training School for Boys, Industrial Home for Girls and Industrial Home for Negro Girls ”, as it appears in Laws of Missouri, 1917, commencing at page 155, and to enact new sections in lieu thereof to be known as sections 17, 17-A, 18, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34 and 35, of said act BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Sections 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34 and 35, of an act entitled “Charities and Corrections : Penitentiary, Missouri Training School for Boys, Industrial Home for Girls and Industrial Home for Negro Girls '’, as it ap¬ pears in Laws of Missouri, 1917, commencing at page 155, be and the same are hereby repealed, and new sections to be known as Sections 17, 17A-, 18, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34 and 35, of said act, are hereby enacted in lieu thereof, as follows: 46] Children's Code Commission. 137 Section 17. The institution heretofore known as the “Mis¬ souri Training School for Boys”, located at Boonville, Missouri, shall continue to be maintained and shall hereafter be desig¬ nated as “Missouri Training School.” Younger and less hard¬ ened offenders shall be sent to the Missouri Training School. Section 17-A. The institution heretofore known as the “Missouri Reform School for Boys,” located at Boonville, Mis¬ souri, shall continue to be maintained and shall hereafter be designated as the “Missouri Reformatory.” Older and more hardened offenders shall be sent to the Missouri Reformatory. Section 18. The state prison board shall have full control and management of both the Missouri training school and the Missouri reformatory, which it shall hereafter conduct as en¬ tirely separate and distinct institutions. The prison board shall, from time to time, adopt such separate and distinct by-laws, rules and regulations, not inconsistent with law, as may be deemed best for the management of each of said two institu¬ tions. Said board shall elect a superintendent for each of said institutions, and such other officers and employes as may be necessary for properly conducting each of said institutions, who shall hold their offices during the pleasure of the board, and shall fix the salaries of said officers and employes, which shall be paid monthly. Officers or employes of one of said institutions shall not be officers or employes of the other of said institutions, or be in any way, directly or indirectly, connected therewith. Section 19. SUPERINTENDENTS — OATH — BOND.— Under the control of said board the superintendent of the re¬ formatory shall be the chief executive officer of that institution, and the superintendent of the training school shall be the chief executive officer of that institution, and each superintendent shall have control and management of all the educational, do¬ mestic and industrial affairs of the institution under his charge. Each of said superintendents shall take and subscribe an oath to support the Constitutions of the United States and of the State of Missouri, and to faithfully discharge the duties of his office, which shall be filed with the secretary of said board. Section 20. LITERARY SCHOOLS.—The said board shall, so far as is practicable, maintain in each of said institu¬ tions, schools for the literary education of the boys committed thereto; also trade schools for their industrial training, to the end that they may become intelligent and useful citizens. Section 21. SUPERINTENDENT TO KEEP LISTS, ETC.— The superintendent of each of said institutions shall keep a 138 Report of the Missouri 146 account of the number of persons received and discharged, a classified list of all purchases and their cost, of all products of the farm and shops, the number of officers, teachers and em¬ ployes, and their salaries and wages paid them, and perform such other duties as the board may require. Section 27. BOARD MAY RELEASE — WHEN.— Said board shall have the power to permit any person committed to either of said institutions to return to his home and to release him temporarily from confinement in said institution, but not from its control and supervision, but such permit shall be condi¬ tioned upon his continued good conduct during the remainder of the term for which he was committed to such institution. Such persons shall under rules adopted by said board report to said board from time to time during the term for which he was sent to either of said institutions, and said board shall have power to cause the return of any person to serve the time for which he was committed whenever his conduct during his per¬ mit shall make it necessary or proper in the opinion of said board to do so. The superintendent or any other officer of either of said institution shall have authority to apprehend and return to said institutions any person whom the board may direct to be so re¬ turned. No parole shall be granted by the court or judge there¬ of to any person committed by such court to either of said insti¬ tutions after he shall have been received into such institution. Section 28. PENALTY FOR ENTICING INMATE AWAY.— If any person shall entice, or attempt to entice away from either the reformatory or the training school any boy legally committed to the same, or shall aid or assist or attempt to aid or assist any boy to escape from such institution, or shall knowingly har¬ bor, conceal or aid in harboring or concealing any such boy who shall have escaped from such institution, such person shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than two hun¬ dred dollars. Section 29. DUTIES OF SHERIFFS, CONSTABLES, AND MARSHALS.—It shall be the duty of every sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable or marshal, and every officer and employe of either such reformatory or such training school, to arrest, with or without warrant, any person who shall have escaped from such institution and return him thereto, and such officer, ex¬ cept officers and employes of the institutions, shall receive such compensation as shall be allowed by law for like services ren- 46] Children's Code Commission. 139 dered and shall be paid out of any fund in the treasury of such institution, not especially appropriated. Section 30. DAMAGES.—For all damages for trespass and other wrongs to the reformatory, or to the training school, or to any property, real or personal, belonging thereto, actions may be maintained in the name of the state prison board, as such, and all damages recovered in such actions shall be paid into the treasury of such board, for the use of such reformatory or such training school, respectively. Section 31. COSTS—HOW PAID.—In all cases of con¬ viction of felony wherein the punishment is commitment to the reformatory or to the training school, the cost of the proceedings, and of the delivery of such person to such institution, shall be paid by the state; and in all cases, of misdemeanor wherein the punishment is commitment to the reformatory or to the train¬ ing school, the cost of the proceedings and of the delivery of such person to such institution shall be paid by the county in which the conviction is had. The sheriff, marshal or other person charged with the delivery of any person to the reform¬ atory or to the training school, shall be allowed the necessary traveling expenses of himself and such person, and a per diem of two dollars for the time actually occupied in taking such per¬ son to said institution and in returning therefrom, to be paid by the state or county as the case may be. Section 32. EXPENSES—HOW PAID.—There shall be paid to the state prison board the sum of ten dollars per month for the support, maintenance, clothing and all other expenses of each person committed to said reformatory or to said training school, from the time of his reception into said institution until his discharge therefrom: Provided , that no payment shall be made for the time that any such person may be absent from the reformatory or from said training school on probation, by per¬ mission of the board. All payments shall be made quarterly in advance. Section 34. RECORD OF DISCHARGES TO BE KEPT.— It shall be the duty of said board to keep a separate record of the persons discharged from each of said two institutions, and, as far as possible, of their whereabouts, occupation and con¬ duct. Section 35. INMATES TO BE CLASSIFIED.—It shall be the duty of the said board to provide for the separation of the in¬ mates in said reformatory and in said training school into dif- 140 Report of the Missouri [46 ferent classes and to provide an entirely separate department for each class, so that the younger and less vicious in each in¬ stitution shall not come in contact with the older and more hardened class therein. Each department shall be entirely separate from any other department and shall have different subordinate officers in control thereof, and said board shall pro¬ vide rules whereby the inmates may be transferred from one department or class to another department or class in the same institution from time to time, as their conduct may merit or re¬ quire; and in order that there shall be separate departments so that the inmates may be classified according to their deserts and each class kept in its appropriate department, said board shall cause suitable buildings and enclosures to be erected in each institution for the department or class containing older or more hardened offenders therein, and those who cannot be con¬ trolled except by closer confinement and sterner discipline than in the school department. Said buildings and enclosures shall be erected upon a different part of the grounds from the build¬ ings now located thereon, and shall constitute a distinct depart¬ ment of the institution. Section 2. All acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. VI. APPOINTMENT OF PROBATION OFFICERS IN THE CRIMINAL COURTS. (Page 44, Section 6.) An act to amend Article 1 8 of Chapter 37 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of the State of Missouri of 1909, bp adding a new section there¬ to ., to be known as Section 5364-a, relating to the appointment of parole officers. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Article 1 8 of Chapter 37 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of Missouri of 1909 be and the same is hereby amended by add¬ ing after Section 5364 a new section, to be known as Section 5364 -a, and to read as follows: Section 5364-a. For the purpose of supervising persons pa¬ roled under the provisions of sections 5363 and 5364, any circuit 46] Children's Code Commission. 141 or criminal court of this state shall have power to appoint, at sal¬ aries to be fixed by such court, one or more parole officers, not to exceed, however, one parole officer for each judge of such court, who shall be officers of the court, and who, before enter¬ ing upon their duties, shall take the constitutional oath of of¬ fice. All appointments shall be subject to the approval of the State Board of Charities and Corrections, and any such officer may be removed by the court appointing him for reasons as¬ signed in writing. The salaries and expenses of such parole officers shall be paid monthly out of the funds of the county or city in which they serve, or in case of officers appointed by a circuit court having more than one county in its circuit, out of the funds of the several counties, in such manner as may be agreed upon between the circuit judge and the several county courts. Such salaries shall not exceed eighteen hundred dollars ($1,800) per annum in counties or cities not within a county having a population of 100,000 or over, and shall not exceed twelve hun¬ dred dollars ($1,200) per annum in counties of less than 100,000. And said expenses shall in no case exceed two hundred dollars ($200) per annum. Any officer of a county, city, school dis¬ trict or of a court of record may, while holding said office, be appointed parole officer, with or without additional compensa¬ tion within the limits fixed herein. Such parole officer shall act in the same capacity for any penal or reformatory institu¬ tion in the state, when so requested by the judge or by the State Board of Charities and Corrections, and shall act as probation officer for children when so requested by the judge of the juve¬ nile court of the county in which such officer is employed; such additional employment to be with or without additional compen¬ sation, within the limits herein fixed, as determined by the said state board or by said judge, as the case may be. It shall be the duty of parole officers to investigate and report to the court regarding the antecedents, character, history and circum¬ stances of any person who is to be brought before such court, and to take charge of and supervise all persons paroled by the court to the end that the court may be fully informed as to the habits and progress of persons paroled. 142 Report of the Missouri [46 VII. TREATMENT OF INCORRIGIBLE MINORS OVER JUVENILE COURT AGE. (Page 45, Section 7.) An act to amend an act of the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, relating to the treatment and correction of delinquent minors , approved April 10, 1917, as it appears on pages 201 and 202 of the Laws of Missouri of 1917, by striking out the figures “18” in lines two, three and five and the word “ eighteen ” in line five of said act, and inserting in lieu thereof in each place the word “seventeen.” BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That an act of the General Assembly relating to the treatment and correction of delinquent minors, approved April 10, 1917, as it appears on pages 201 and 202 of the Laws of Missouri of 1917, be, and the same is hereby amended by striking out the figures “18” in lines two, three and five and the word “ eighteen ” in line five of said act, and inserting in lieu thereof in each place the word “seventeen”, so that the said section, as amended, shall read as follows: Section 1. TREATMENT AND CORRECTION OF DE¬ LINQUENT MINORS SEVENTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OVER. —Whenever in the state of Missouri any minor of the age of seventeen years or over shall commit any of the acts consti¬ tuting a delinquent child as defined in the statutes of this state, applicable to children under seventeen years, such minor may be caused to be brought by his or her parents or lawful guar¬ dian or by the probation officer or by any person interested in said minor, before a court of record having jurisdiction over mis¬ demeanors, and tried in the same manner as a person charged with the commission of a misdemeanor. Upon the finding of delinquency, the court may proceed to make such order in the case as may seem to be for the best interests of said minor, either by commitment to any public institution, or to any private institution willing to receive such minor, or to the care and custody of any individual willing to care for said minor, or said minor may be left in the care of his or her parents or guar¬ dian, subject to the supervision of the court under suspended sentence; or the court may proceed to make any other lawful disposition of the case. 461 Children’s Code Commission. 143 VIII. REPEALING CONFLICTING STATUTE. (Page 45, Section 8.) An act to repeal an act entitled “Charities and Corretions: Industrial Home for Negro Girls”, approved April 10, 1917, as it appears on page 150 of the Laws of Missouri of 1917. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That an act entitled “Charities and Corrections: Industrial Home for Negro Girls”, approved April 10, 1917, as it appears on page 150 of the Laws of Missouri of 1917, is hereby repealed. IX. REPEALING CONFLICTING STATUTE. (Page 46, Section 9.) An act to amend an act designated as “State Prison Board Act” approved April 12, 1917, commencing on page 155 of the Laws of Missouri of 1917, by repealing Sections 24 and 25 thereof. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That sections 24 and 25 of an act designated as the “State Prison Board Act” approved April 12, 1917, commencing on page 155 of the Laws of Missouri of 1917, be, and the same are hereby repealed. X. REPEALING OBSOLETE STATUTE. (Page 46, Section 10.) An act to repeal Article II of Ch pier 33 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of Missouri of 1909, entitled “Training Schools for Minors.” BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Article II of Chapter 33 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1909, be, and the same is hereby repealed. LAWS RELATING TO THE CARE OF DEPENDENT CHILDREN. Discussion of these recommendations appears in Chapter Y, page 47. ( 145 ) 46—10 46] Children's Code Commission . 147 CHAPTER V. LAWS RELATING TO THE CARE OF DEPENDENT CHILDREN. 1. STATE SUPERVISION OF MATERNITY HOSPITALS. 2. STATE SUPERVISION OF PRIVATE CHILD-CARING INSTITUTIONS. 3. ESTABLISHING A STATE HOME FOR DEPENDENT CHILDREN. I. STATE SUPERVISION 0]F MATERNITY HOSPITALS. (Page 48, Section 1.) An act to provide for the licensing and supervision of mater¬ nity hospitals. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. LICENSE REQUIRED FOR MATERNITY HOSPITAL.—It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, cor¬ poration, or association to conduct or maintain a maternity hospital, as herein defined, without having in full force a written license therefor from the state board of charities and correc¬ tions ; provided, that nothing in this act shall apply to any insti¬ tution maintained or operated by the state and city and county. Section 2. MATERNITY HOSPITAL DEFINED.—The term ‘ ‘Maternity Hospital’’ as used in this act, shall be held to mean a house or other place maintained or conducted by anyone who advertises himself or holds himself out as having, or con¬ ducting, a maternity hospital or boarding house, or a house or any other place in which any person receives for treatment, cares for or treats, within any period of six months, more than one woman during pregnancy, or during or after delivery, except a woman related to him by blood or marriage; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be construed to prevent a nurse from practicing her profession under the care of a physician in the home of the patient,or in a regular hospital other than a maternity hospital. 148 Report of the Missouri ]46 Section 3. POWERS AND DUTIES OF STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS.—The state board of charities and corrections shall have the following duties: 1. To grant licenses to persons or organizations to con¬ duct maternity hospitals or boarding houses, and to renew the same when expired; provided, that no license shall be granted for a term exceeding one year. 2. To investigate the condition of maternity hospitals or boarding houses, inspect their books and records, premises and inmates, examine their officers and agents, and revoke the li¬ censes of such institutions as fail to obey the provisions of this act, or the rules and regulations made by said board. 3. To visit any woman or children in such maternity hos¬ pital or boarding house, and to order their removal if necessary. 4. To determine what records shall be kept by such insti¬ tutions, and the form thereof and methods to be used in keeping such records, and to require reports to be made to said board at regular intervals. Section 4. PENALTIES.—Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this act or any of the rules and regula¬ tions made by said state board of charities and corrections under authority of this act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. Section 5. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent or in con¬ flict with this act are hereby repealed. II. STATE SUPERVISION OF PRIVATE CHILD- CARING INSTITUTIONS. (Page 48, Section 2.) An act to provide for the licensing and supervision of board¬ ing houses for infants, boarding homes for children , and of the occupation of placing infants. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. LICENSE REQUIRED.—It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or association to conduct or maintain a boarding house for infants, boarding home for chil- 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 149 dren, or to engage in or assist in conducting the occupation or business of placing infants, as herein defined, without having in full force a written license therefor from the state board of charities and corrections; provided, that nothing in this act shall apply to any institution maintained or operated by the state city and county. Section 2. BOARDING HOUSE FOR INFANTS DE¬ FINED.—The term “boarding house for infants” as used in this act, shall be held to mean a house or other place conducted or maintained by any person, firm, corporation or association who advertises or holds out himself or itself as conducting a boarding house or place of residence for infants under three years of age, or who, within any period of six months, receives or has in his or its custody or control, unattended by parents or guardians, two or more homeless infants under the age of three years, for the purpose of providing such children with either food or lodging, except such children as are related by blood or marriage to the person so keeping or lodging such infants, or as have been legally adopted by him. Section 3. BOARDING HOME FOR CHILDREN DE¬ FINED.—The term “boarding home for children” as used in this act, shall be held to mean any children’s home, orphanage or institution conducted by any association, organization or in¬ dividual and in which orphans or dependent or neglected chil¬ dren are boarded, lodged, received and cared for. Section 4. PLACING OF INFANTS DEFINED.—Who¬ ever advertises himself or holds himself out as placing or find¬ ing homes, or as otherwise disposing of infants under three years of age, or whoever, within a period of six months, actually places or assists in placing in homes of persons other than rel¬ atives, or, within a period of six months, causes or assists in causing the adoption, or a change in the custody of more than two infants under three years of age, shall be deemed to be en¬ gaged in or assisting in conducting the business or occupation of placing infants. Section 5. POWERS AND DUTIES OF STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS.—The State board of charities and corrections shall have the following duties: (1) To grant licenses to persons or organizations to con¬ duct the occupation defined in this act, and to renew the same when expired; provided that no license shall be granted for a term exceeding one year. 150 Report of the Missouri [46 (2) To investigate the conditions of the homes and other places herein defined, inspect their books and records, prem¬ ises and inmates, examine their officers and agents, and revoke the license of such individuals, institutions or organizations as fail to obey the provisions of this act, or the rules and regulations made by said board. (3) To determine what records shall be kept by such in¬ stitutions, and the form thereof and methods to be used in keeping such records, and to require reports to be made to the board at regular intervals. Section 6. PENALTIES.—Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of this act, or any of the rules and regula¬ tions made by said state board of charities and corrections un¬ der authority of this act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars ($300), or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. Section 7. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent or in con¬ flict with this act are hereby repealed. III. ESTABLISHING A STATE HOME FOR DEPENDENT CHILDREN. (Page 51, Section 3.) An act establishing a state home for neglected , ill-treated and homeless children; providing for the superintendent and employes thereof and their salaries; prescribing rules and regulations for the government of the home and for the admission of children thereto and their discharge therefrom , and placing the same under the supervision of the board of charities and corrections; and carrying an appropriation therefor . BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. There is hereby established an institution to be known as the state home for children. The purpose of said home shall be to provide for neglected and dependent children a temporary home that will furnish for them, pending placement in permanent family homes, proper care and instruction. Said care and instruction shall be such as to develop the children 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 151 while in said home, mentally, morally, and physically and train them in the industrial arts. Section 2. The state board of charities and corrections shall exercise general care and management of said home. The board shall have power to decide on time and place of meeting, but shall meet on its own adjournment or otherwise at least once in two months and shall receive all necessary expenses incurred in attending such meeting. Said board may take, hold and manage all lands and other property acquired by pur¬ chase, gift, donation, devise, or bequest for the use of the in¬ stitution. Section 3. Said state board of charities and corrections shall proceed to examine, consider, and select the proper loca¬ tion for said state home for children, and shall give first consid¬ eration to the town or city that is most conveniently located as to accessibility from all parts of the state and which may make the most favorable offer to donate land or other property for, or money to purchase building site and property to be used for the purpose named in this act. Section 4. When any town, city, person or persons shall have donated land for the site or money for the purchase of a site for the state home for children, the state board of charities and corrections shall have authority to have plans prepared and have a building or buildings erected and furnished out of any funds for this purpose at the disposal of the board. Section 5. There is hereby appropriated the sum of thirty thousand dollars which is not otherwise appropriated, for erection and furnishing of buildings for a state home for chil¬ dren and for salaries of officers of same and for support of the institution. Section 6. The state board of charities and corrections shall appoint a superintendent who shall have power to appoint and discharge such assistants and employes as may be neces¬ sary. The said board shall determine the number of assist¬ ants and employes, their salaries and the salary of the super¬ intendent. It shall prescribe regulations for the government and conduct of the institution. Section 7. Only children under seventeen years of age who are dependent on the public for support, abandoned, neg¬ lected, or ill-treated, and who are sound of mind and free from disease, shall be received into said home. Whenever the number of children shall exceed the capacity of the home, pref¬ erence shall be given to the younger children and to those in 152 Report of the Missouri [46 greatest need, and the children received shall be divided among the several counties as justly as possible, taking into consideration the number of such children in each county and its population. The state board of charities and corrections or superintendent shall notify the chief probation officer of the juvenile court, or the probate judge in counties where there is no juvenile court, of the number of children that can be re¬ ceived from such county, whenever vacancies exist, or upon inquiry from the aforementioned county officers. No child who can be received into the home shall be maintained in any countypoor house or almshouse. Before any child under one year of age shall be ordered sent to said home, a written statement from the superintendent shall be obtained, showing that said child can be received and cared for in said home. Section 8. In all counties where there now exists or may hereafter be a juvenile court, complaint shall be made and trial conducted in accordance with the laws governing such courts. In all other counties, any two citizens may make complaint in writing to the judge of the probate court stating that in their opinion such a child is: 1. Dependent upon the public for support, or 2. In a state of habitual vagrancy or mendicity, or 3. Ill treated, and his or her life, health, or morals en¬ dangered by continued cruel treatment or neglect, or by the habitual intemperance, immorality, or gross misconduct of parents or guardians. It shall also state the names, residence, and occupation of the parents, so far as the same can be ascer¬ tained, and whether either parent is dead or has abandoned the child and shall ask that the child be committed to the guardian¬ ship of the state board of charities and corrections. Section 9. The judge shall thereupon cite the parents or guardian, if within the county, to show cause before the court, at a time andfplace named, why such child should not be com¬ mitted. If .the child has no parent or guardian within the county, no citation need issue. The citation shall be served at least two days before the hearing. Any person may appear on behalf of the child, and at the request of the judge, authors of the complaint shall so appear. Upon like request, the county attorney shall appear in support of the complaint; but the pro¬ cedure shall not be [deemed invalid by reason of failure to serve such citation, or of any informality or irregularity in the service or in the complaint. 16 ] Children's Code Commission. 153 Section 10. Said judge shall examine into the facts alleged as in other hearings before him, and, if he finds the allegation of the complaint true, he shall cause the child to be examined by the county physician, if there be one, otherwise by a prac¬ ticing physician. If such physician shall certify in writing and under oath that upon such examination he finds the child of sound mind and free from chronic or communicable disease, and that in his opinion he has not within the past fifteen days been exposed to any such disease, the judge shall make specific findings upon each fact alleged in the complaint, and enter an order committing the child to the guardianship of said board; whereupon all rights of the parents or guardian to the custody, control, service, or earnings of the child shall be suspended until such child is returned to their custody by order of the state board of charities and corrections. Section 11. A child admitted to said home shall remain therein and subject to the guardianship of the board until a proper home is procured for the child. The board shall return or discharge each child when satisfied that it is unsound in mind or diseased or for other cause is not a proper inmate of this home. Upon such return or discharge, the guardianship of the board shall cease and the child shall again be under the cus¬ tody of his parents or guardian or a charge upon the county from which he was sent. In any case where the child is found to be feeble-minded or epileptic, the board may commit such child to the school for the feeble-minded and epileptic by and with the consent of the superintendent of that institution. Section 12. If the parents or other persons having custody of the child shall refuse to surrender such child to the custody of the court, the judge may make a written order requiring the probation officer or the sheriff to produce said child in court. The probation officer or the sheriff shall thereupon take the child and shall keep it at a proper place other than the county jail or county almshouse, under the direction of the judge of the court, at the expense of the county. Section 13. Said board so far as practicable shall secure permanent homes for such children in proper families, by adop¬ tion, and for that purpose may consent or authorize the superin¬ tendent to consent to the legal adoption of any such child in the same manner as the child’s parents might have done; or the board may place the child with its natural parents without sur¬ rendering guardianship of said child or it may place such child in a proper family home during minority or for a shorter period. 154 Report of the Missouri [46 Section 14. Whenever any such child has become self-sup¬ porting, or his parents have become able to provide for him and are otherwise suitable, the board, by resolution, may discharge him; whereupon the guardianship of the board shall cease, and he shall be entitled to his earnings, with power to contract for his services, or shall be returned to the custody of his parents as the board may direct. Section 15. Suitable persons shall be appointed to act as agents of the home. They shall visit the wards of this board, at its direction, and report to it their condition, and shall per¬ form such other duties as the board may direct. They or the superintendent shall provide and investigate homes for the wards. They shall be allowed, in addition to their salaries, their necessary traveling expenses, to be audited by the state board and the auditor. Section 16. The board shall cause to be kept at the home a record containing the names, ages, and residences of all children received; the names, residence, occupation, and char¬ acter, so far as known, of the living parents; the date of recep¬ tion, and of adoption, with the name, occupation, and residence of the person with whom the child is placed; the date and cause of discharge; and a brief history of each child during minority. On or before January first, preceding each regular session of the legislature, the board shall report to the governor the oper¬ ations of the home for the two preceding fiscal years. Section 17. Any parent, guardian, or other persons who shall abduct, conceal, entice, carry away, or improperly inter¬ fere with any child committed to the guardianship of said board, or who shall obstruct or interfere with any officer or agent in the performance of any duty imposed by this act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not less than fifty dollars and not more than two hundred dol¬ lars. LAWS RELATING TO CARE OF DEFECTIVE CHILDREN. Discussion of these recommendations appears in Chapter VI, page 52. ( 155 ) 46 ) Children's Code Commission. 157 CHAPTER VI. LAWS RELATING TO CARE OF DEFECTIVE CHILDREN. 1. RELATING TO THE COMMITMENT OF DEPEND¬ ENT FEEBLE-MINDED PERSONS TO STATE IN¬ STITUTIONS. 2. PROVIDING INCREASED FACILITIES FOR THE CARE OF THE FEEBLE-MINDED. 3. COMMITMENT OF DEAF CHILDREN TO THE STATE INSTITUTION. 4. SPECIAL CLASSES FOR DEFECTIVE CHILDREN IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 5. CREATION OF A BUREAU FOR MENTAL DEFEC¬ TIVES. I. RELATING TO THE COMMITMENT OF DEPEND¬ ENT FEEBLE-MINDED PERSONS TO STATE INSTITUTIONS. (Page 53; Section 1.) An act to provide for the commitment to and care of feeble¬ minded persons in state institutions or colonies , and their dis¬ charge therefrom , and to repeal Sections 1508 and 1509, of the Revised Statutes of Missouri , 1909. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. DEFINITION OF FEEBLE-MINDED PER¬ SON.—The words “feeble-minded person” shall be construed to mean any person afflicted with mental defectiveness from birth or from an early age, so pronounced that he is incapable of managing himself and his affairs and of subsisting by his own efforts, or of being taught to do so, and who requires supervi¬ sion, control, and care for his own welfare, or for the welfare of others, or for the welfare of the community, and who cannot be classified as an “insane person.” Section 2. PROCEDURE IN CIRCUIT COURT.—The commitment of feeble-minded persons to any state institution 158 Report of the Missouri 146 for the feeble-minded shall conform in all cases to the proced¬ ure and conditions prescribed in this article. The circuit court in each county, and in the cases of children under seventeen years of age, the juvenile court thereof, shall have sole and ex¬ clusive power of commitment. The procedure in the circuit court shall be initiated by petition which may be filed by any immediate relative or guardian of the person believed to be feeble-minded, or by the county superintendent of public wel¬ fare, or by any responsible citizen, provided that in the case of a petition filed by a relative or guardian of the person sought to be committed, a bond for the payment of the costs of the pro¬ ceedings to an amount to be determined by the court shall ac¬ company such petition. Such petition shall be in the form of an affidavit, and shall allege, first, that the petitioner believes according to the best of his knowledge that the person for whom such commitment is sought is feeble-minded, and second, that by reason of such mental defectiveness and of surrounding social conditions, such as lack of proper control, care and sup¬ port, he is a proper subject for commitment to a state institu¬ tion for the feeble-minded. There shall be endorsed on such petition the names and residences of witnesses known to petitioner by whom the truth of the allegations of the petition may be proved. Thereupon the procedure shall be conducted as a proceeding in chancery and* the court shall have power to summon witnesses and conduct such investigations as may be necessary to establish the facts in the case. In such proceedings the alleged feeble-minded person shall be notified of such petition for his commitment and of the time and place at which a hearing upon such petition shall be had, and shall possess the right to cause witnesses to be summoned in his behalf. It shall be a necessary part of every such hearing that the alleged feeble¬ minded person shall himself appear before and be subjected to an examination by the court. In conducting this examination the court shall be assisted by at least one competent psycholo¬ gist or competent physician, and no person shall be committed without a certificate of such psychologist or physician or a ma¬ jority thereof. Section 3. TEMPORARY DETENTION PENDING HEARING.—Upon the filing of the petition, or upon motion at any time thereafter, if it shall be made to appear to the court by evidence given under oath that it is for the best interest of the alleged feeble-minded person or of the community that such 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 159 j person be at once taken into custody, or that the service of sum¬ mons will be ineffectual to secure the presence of such person, a warrant may issue on the order of the court directing thal such person be taken into custody and brought before the court forthwith or at such time and place as the judge may appoint, and pending the hearing of the petition the court may make any order for the detention of such feeble-minded person, or the placing of such feeble-minded person under temporary guar¬ dianship of some suitable person, on such person entering into such recognizance for his appearance, as the court shall deem proper. But no such feeble-minded person shall during the pendency of the hearing of the petition be detained in any place provided for the detention of persons charged with or convicted of any criminal or quasi-criminal offense. Section 4. COMMITMENT AND APPOINTMENT OF GUARDIAN.—In case the court shall find upon all the evidence that the alleged feeble-minded person is a proper subject for commitment, it shall enter an order of commitment to the appro¬ priate state institution. And if it shall appear that the feeble¬ minded person is possessed of an estate, the court shall ap¬ point a guardian, who shall be subject to the provisions of law governing the guardians of insane persons in so far as said pro¬ visions apply. It shall be the duty of the county superintend¬ ent of public welfare thereupon to arrange for the removal of such feeble-minded person to said state institution and the ex¬ pense of transportation shall be paid out of the funds of the county court, in case the feeble-minded person does not pos¬ sess an estate out of which the expense incurred can be paid or his relatives are unable or unwilling to pay such expense. Section 5. COSTS AND FEES.—The court may, at its dis¬ cretion, in case no order of commitment is entered, require that the costs shall be paid in whole or in part by the relative or rel¬ atives or guardian filing the petition. The fees paid for the at¬ tendance of witnesses and examiners and the execution of legal process shall be the same as those allowed by law for similar services in other cases. Section 6. DISCHARGE OF PERSONS COMMITTED AS FEEBLE-MINDED, ETC.—No person committed to an in¬ stitution under the provisions of this act shall be thereafter dis¬ charged therefrom except upon the joint certificate of the super¬ intendent of the institution and the secretary of the state board or charities and corrections, and upon the order of the court 160 Report of the Missouri [46 making the commitment. Petitions for such discharge may be filed in such court by any person interested at any time after one year after the commitment, and if on a hearing, as provided for in Section 2 hereof, the court shall find that the person is a proper one to be discharged, it shall enter an order of discharge. Section 7. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE TO KEEP RECORDS OF COMMITMENTS.—It shall be the duty of the county superintendent of public welfare in each county to keep and maintain a complete record of each case of commitment to a state institution for the feeble-minded by the circuit court of the county. Section 8. INCONSISTENT AND CONFLICTING ACTS REPEALED.—Sections 1508 and 1509 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1909 are hereby repealed. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent or in conflict with this act are hereby re¬ pealed. II. PROVIDING INCREASED FACILITIES FOR THE CARE OF THE FEEBLE-MINDED. (Page 54, Section 2.) An act to provide for the management of the Colony for Feeble¬ minded at Marshall and for the establishment of additional col¬ onies. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. It shall be the duty of the board of managers of the Missouri colony for the feeble-minded and epileptic at Marshall, as soon as funds therefor are available, to segregate into separate colonies those inmates who are afflicted with epi¬ lepsy. It shall also be the duty of said board of managers to segregate into separate colonies or institutions, or if this is im¬ possible, than into separate wards or detached cottages, all feeble-minded delinquents, prostitutes, children and other classes of inmates, who, for their own welfare or the welfare of other inmates, should be segregated. The board of managers shall also establish and maintain a separate cottage or cottages for colored inmates. Section 2. The board of managers of said colony is here¬ by empowered to establish other colonies in temporary or per- 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 161 manent camps, in connection with the central colony at Mar¬ shall, at any place or places in the state where the inmates may be profitably employed and their welfare better secured. Section 3. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent or in con¬ flict with this act are hereby repealed. III. COMMITMENT OF DEAF CHILDREN TO THE STATE INSTITUTION. (Page —, Section —.) An ad to amend Section 1495 of Article 11 of Chapter 19 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1909, as amended by an act of the 4 8th General Assembly, approved March 23, 1915, entitled “An act to amend Section 1495 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri re¬ lating to the School for the Deaf , by striking the word forty 9 out of the twelfth line of said section and inserting the word * sixty 9 in lieu thereof ,” as it appears in the Laws of Missouri of 1915 on pages 208 and 209, by striking out parts of lines 9, 10 and 12 and inserting certain words in lieu thereof. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Section 1495 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909, as it appears on page 209 of the Laws of Missouri of 1915 be, and the same is hereby amended by striking out in line 4 of said section the words “probate court, or the judge thereof in vacation ” and inserting in lieu thereof the words “juvenile division of the circuit court or the judge or referee thereof in vacation”; by striking out in lines 5 and 6 the words “between the ages of 8 and ” and inserting in lieu thereof the words “under the age of”; and by inserting before the word “thereof ’ in line 8 the words “or referee” so that said section when amended, shall read as follows: Section 1495. PROCEEDINGS WHEN PARENTS ARE UNABLE TO PAY EXPENSES. —Whenever upon petition of any person, and satisfactory evidence adduced to the juvenile division of the circuit court or the judge or referee thereof in vacation of any county in the state, that there is a deaf person under the age of twenty-one years residing in said county who is capable of receiving instruction in said school, the said court or 46—11 162 Report of the Missouri [46 the judge or referee thereof in vacation shall certify such facts to the superintendent of the school for the deaf, who shall admit such deaf person into the institution as a pupil; and in all cases where suitable clothing and means of defraying necessary traveling expenses are not otherwise supplied to a pupil, the same shall be provided by the steward, under the direction of the superintend¬ ent, who shall make out an itemized account therefor against the county from which such pupil is sent in a sum not exceed¬ ing Sixty Dollars ($60.00) per annum for such pupil, and shall file said account with the county court of the proper county, or with the city auditor or other proper officer of the city of St. Louis. Said account shall be signed by the superintendent and attested by the seal of the institution, and when so certified, shall be received as prima facie evidence in all courts of this state. The county court, or city auditor, or other proper offi¬ cer of the city of St. Louis, shall thereupon cause said account to be paid to the treasurer of the institution, who shall forth¬ with transmit the same to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the maintenance fund of the said institution. If said account be not paid within a reasonable time, it shall be the duty of the superintendent to certify such fact to the state treasurer, with a copy of such account, who shall thereupon cause suit to be instituted against such county or city for the collection of such account, and all amounts so collected by the state treasurer shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the maintenance fund of the institution; and the county court of the proper county or proper officer of the city of St. Louis, shall, in the name of the county or city, and by suit, if necessary, collect the amount of such accounts from the par¬ ents or estate of such pupils, in case there is ability to pay same. IV. SPECIAL CLASSES IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR DEFECTIVE CHILDREN. (Page 54, Section 3.) An act to provide for the education of feeble-minded , deaf , blind and crippled children in special classes in the public schools , to be known as Sections 10795-a, 10795-6, 10795-c, 10795 -d and 10795-e of Article 2 of Chapter 106 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909. 461 Children’s Code Commission. 163 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Article 2 of Chapter 106 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1909, be , and the same is hereby amended by adding thereto new sections , to be known as Sections 10795-a, 10795-6, 10795-c, 10795-d and 10795-e, to read as follows: Section 10795-a. SPECIAL CLASSES FOR FEEBLE¬ MINDED, DEAF, BLIND AND CRIPPLED CHILDREN — Whenever in any school district there shall be found ten or more children who are blind, or who are deaf, or who are crip¬ pled but yet able to be moved about or who are feeble-minded and yet capable of instruction, the board of education or board of directors of the district shall provide appropriate instruction in a special class for such groups of ten or more of each class of defectives, and shall provide transportation to and from school, for such children as could not otherwise attend. Instruction, which is adapted to the varying physical and mental capacities and handicaps of the children, must be provided in these classes under the regulations of the state department of education. It shall be the duty of the board of education or board of directors in each school district to ascertain annually the number of chil¬ dren in a district who belong to any of the above types. Section 10795-b.—Where two or more school districts each have less than ten children in any of the classes of defectives provided for in Section 10795-a, the boards of education or boards of directors of such school districts may contract with each other for the establishment of special classes for the edu¬ cation of such children in one or the other of said districts, pro¬ vided the pupils cannot be accommodated in the appropriate state institutions established for their training. Section 10795-c. APPROPRIATION.—The state shall ap¬ propriate out of the general school revenues the sum of three hundred dollars annually to each local school district for the proper support of each class provided for in Sections 10795-a and 10795-b. Section 10795-d. The state board of charities and correc¬ tions is hereby authorized (where no special classes have been provided, or instruction arranged for as provided in this act, and where proper home instruction is not given as provided in Section 10897) to take charge of and provide for the proper training of feeble-minded, deaf, blind and crippled children under the age of sixteen years who have not attained the eighth 164 Report of the Missouri [46 grade in school. Where, in order to secure such training, it is necessary to incur expense for the transportation, education or maintenance of such child, and where the state board of char¬ ities and corrections ascertains upon investigation, that the parent, guardian or other person in charge of such child is un¬ able to bear such expense, the state board of charities and cor¬ rections is hereby authorized to incur such expense for such child, and to charge the same to the county in which it resided. It shall be the duty of the county superintendent of public wel¬ fare and of the county superintendent of schools to report to the state board of charities and corrections all children within their counties who come within the provisions of this section. Section 10795-e. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby repealed. Y. CREATION OF A BUREAU FOR MENTAL DEFECTIVES. (Page 56, Section 4.) An act to create a Bureau for Mental Defectives, under super¬ intendence of the Curators of the University of Missouri. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. There is hereby created a Bureau for Mental Defectives to be organized and operated under the superintend¬ ence of the Curators of the University of Missouri, in such place or places as may be designated by them. The functions of said Bureau shall be: (a) The examination and diagnosis of mentally defective or mentally exceptional children wherever called upon in the state by the courts, public school authorities, state institutions, parents, private or public social agencies. (b) The gathering of data, making of investigations con¬ cerning the mental examination and treatment of mentally de¬ fective children, the dissemination of information concerning the feeble-minded in the state, and such other duties as may be prescribed by the Curators of the University. Section 2. The Curators of the University shall appoint a Director of the Bureau who shall be a clinical psychologist and 6 ] Children's Code Commission. 165 Nho has had at least five years of practical experience in schools ind institutions in the psychological, social and educational ex- imination and diagnosis of mentally backward, feeble-minded md delinquent cases, and in directing social and educational work adapted to their needs. The Curators may also appoint such assistants to the director of the Bureau as shall be neces¬ sary. The director and his assistants shall be appointed in the same manner and shall be under the same terms of service as apply to the faculty appointments in the University. Section 3. There is hereby appropriated out of the gen¬ eral revenues of the state the sum of $10,000 annually for the support of the bureau for mental defectives. Section 4. All acts or parts of acts in conflict or inconsist¬ ent with this act are hereby repealed. LAWS RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN. Discussion of these recommendations appears in Chapter VII, page 59. ( 167 ) 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 169 CHAPTER VII. LAWS RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN. 1. AGE AT WHICH CHILDREN MAY WORK—HOURS OF WORK FOR CHILDREN. 2. ISSUANCE OF EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATES. 3. RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN IN STREET TRADES. 4. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN UNDER 16 IN CER¬ TAIN DANGEROUS OCCUPATIONS PROHIB¬ ITED. I. AGE AT WHICH CHILDREN MAY WORK —HOURS OF WORK FOR CHILDREN. (Page 60, Section 1.) An act to repeal Sections 1715, 1716 and 1717 of an act ap¬ proved by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, April 7, 1911, Laws of Missouri , 1911, page 132 et seq., pertaining to the employment of children and to substitute in lieu thereof new sec¬ tions, to be known as Sections 1715, 1715-a, 1716, 1717, 1717-a, 1717-6 and 1717-c. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That sections 1715, 1716 and 1717 of an act ap¬ proved by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, April 7, 1911, page 132 et seq., pertaining to the employment of children, be, and the same are hereby repealed, and new sections, to be known as Sections 1715, 1715-a, 1716, 1717, 1717-a, 1717-6 and 1717-c are hereby substituted in lieu thereof, as follows: Section 1715. CHILDREN UNDER FOURTEEN NOT TO BE EMPLOYED, WHEN.—No child under the age of fourteen years shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work at or be engaged in any occupation in this state; except that during the hours when the public schools in the district in which the child resides are not in session, such child may work at agri- [46 170 Report of the Missouri cultural pursuits; and except as provided in Sections 1726-b, 1726-c and 1726-1. Section 1715-a. CHILDREN BETWEEN FOURTEEN AND SIXTEEN NOT TO BE EMPLOYED WITHOUT CER¬ TIFICATE.—No child over fourteen and under sixteen years of age shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work at or be engaged in any occupation in this state unless such child has obtained an employment certificate as provided in Sections 1718 to 1724, inclusive; except that such child may, without an employment certificate, work in agricultural pursuits during the hours when the public schools in the district in which the child resides are not in session; and except in cases where special permit is required as provided in Sections 1726-b, 1726-c and 1726-1. Section 1716. HOURS OF LABOR OF MINORS.—No child under the age of sixteen years shall be employed, permit¬ ted or suffered to work at or be engaged in any occupation in this state more than forty-eight hours in any one week nor more than eight hours in any one day; nor before the hour of seven o’clock in the morning, nor after the hour of seven o’clock in the evening. No child under twenty-one years of age snail be employed, permitted or suffered to be engaged in transmission of dispatches or messenger service before the hour of seven o’clock in the morning or after the hour of seven o’clock in the evening. Section 1717. NOTICES TO BE POSTED.—The state fac¬ tory inspector shall furnish printed forms to every employer of children under the age of sixteen and every such employer shall correctly fill in and post in a conspicuous place in every work room or place where such children are employed, a printed no¬ tice, reading as follows: NOTICE TO CHILDREN. Under the laws of Missouri no child under the age of four¬ teen years can be employed or permitted to work in this estab¬ lishment. No child under the age of sixteen years can be employed or permitted to work in any occupation for more than forty- eight hours in any one week, nor for more than eight hours in any one day; nor before the hour of seven o’clock in the morn¬ ing nor after the hour of seven o’clock in the evening. 46 ] Children s Code Commission. 171 The working hours of this establishment are as follows: Opening Lunch Closing Hour. Time. Hour. Monday. A. M. M. to-M. —— P. M. Tuesday. A. M. M. to —— M. -P. M. Wednesday. . . A. M. M. to-M. -P. M. Thursday. A. M. M. to-M. -P. M. Friday. -—— A. M. -M. to-M. —— P. M. Saturday. A. M. M. to-M. -P. M. Section 1717-a. LISTS OF CHILDREN EMPLOYED TO BE POSTED.—Every person, firm or corporation employing minors between the ages of fourteen and sixteen years within this state shall keep two complete lists containing the names, ages and places of residence of all such children employed, one on file, and one conspicuously posted near the principal en¬ trance of the place or establishment in which such children are employed. Section 1717-b. PENALTY FOR VIOLATING PRECED¬ ING SECTIONS.—The violation of any of the provisions of this act shall be deemed a misdemeanor and every day’s violation shall constitute a separate offense, and any person, firm or cor¬ poration committing such violation shall be punished by a fine of not more than $100.00, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Section 1717-c. INCONSISTENT ACTS REPEALED.— All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby re¬ pealed. II. ISSUANCE OF EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATES. (Page 61, Section 2.) An act to repeal Sections 1718, 1720, 1721, 1723, 1724 and 1725 of an act approved by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, April 7, 1911, Laws of Missouri, 1911 page 132, et seq., pertaining to the employment of children, and to substitute in lieu therefor new sections to be known as Sections 1718, 1720, 1721, 1723, 1724, 1725, 1726-h, 1726 -i, 1726 -j and 1726 -k. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Sections 1718, 1720, 1721, 1723, 1724 and 172 Report of the Missouri [46 1725 of an act pproved by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri , April 7, 1911, Laws of Missouri , 1911, page 132 et seq., pertaining to the employment of children , be , and the same are hereby repealed and new sections to be known as Sections 1718, 1720, 1721, 1723, 1724, 1725, 1726-/?, 1726-?, 1726 -f and 1726 -/c, are hereby substituted in lieu therefor as follows: Section 1718. CHILD NOT TO BE EMPLOYED WITH¬ OUT EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATE.—No child between the ages of fourteen and sixteen years shall be employed, permitted or suffered to work at or be engaged in any occupation in this state, unless there is first procured and placed on file by the employer at the time of employment an employment certificate as hereinafter prescribed, except as provided in Sections 1715-a, 1726-b, 1726-c and 1726-1. Such certificate shall be accessible to any factory inspector, and to any school attendance officer, and to any other authorized officer. On termination of the em¬ ployment of any such child, such certificate shall be forthwith transmitted by the employer to the person who issued the same, whereupon such surrendered certificate shall be canceled and filed by such person. Section 1720. EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATE, HOW ISSUED.—The person so authorized to issue an employment certificate shall not issue such certificate until he has received, examined, approved and filed the following papers, duly executed: 1. The school record of such child properly filled out and signed by the principal or chief executive officer of the school which such child has attended. It shall contain a statement certi¬ fying that the child has regularly attended the public schools, or parochial schools and has completed the eighth grade thereof or schools and grades equivalent thereto, and is able to read and write simple sentences in the English language. Such school record shall also give the date of birth and residence of the child, as shown on the record of the school, and names of its parents, guardian or custodian. 2. A passport or duly attested transcript of the certificate of birth, or baptism, or other religious record, showing the date and place of birth of such child. 3. An affidavit of the parent or guardian or custodian of a child (which shall not be accepted, however, unless a pass¬ port or certificate of birth, or baptism, or other religious record is not obtainable), showing the place and date of birth of such child. Such affidavit must be taken before the officer issuing 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 173 the employment certificate, who is hereby authorized and re¬ quired to administer such oath without demanding or receiving any fee therefor. 4. A certificate of a duly licensed physician to the effect that such child is in good health and in sound physical condi¬ tion and has reached the normal development of a child of its age. Section 1721. EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATE NOT TO BE ISSUED WITHOUT PERSONAL APPEARANCE AND EXAMINATION BEFORE OFFICER ISSUING SAME.—No employment certificate shall be issued until the child in ques¬ tion has personally appeared before and been examined by the officer issuing the certificate, nor until such officer, after making such examination has signed and filed in his office a statement that the child can read and legibly write simple sentences in the English language, and has completed the eighth grade in some public school, or the equivalant thereof, and is in suffi¬ ciently sound health and physically able, to perform the work it intends to do. Section 1723. EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATE SUB¬ JECT TO REVIEW BY FACTORY INSPECTOR — HOW CANCELED.—All such employment certificates shall be sub¬ ject to review by the factory inspector, or by any of his assist¬ ants or deputies,‘and may by him be canceled if he finds such certificate has been, obtained through fraud, misrepresentation or falsification of facts. In such cases the factory inspector shall give written notice to the employer, who shall at once cause the minor affected to be dismissed from employment. Section 1724. FORM OF EMPLOYMENT CERTIFI¬ CATE.—Such employment certificate shall be printed on a form which shall be furnished by the state superintendent of schools, and shall be filled out, signed and held for surrender in such form. Section 1725. PERSONS ISSUING CERTIFICATES TO TRANSMIT LIST OF SAME MONTHLY TO STATE SUPER¬ INTENDENT OF SCHOOLS AND FACTORY INSPECTOR.— The superintendent of instruction, or other person authorized to issue employment certificates shall transmit between the first and tenth days of each month, to the offices of the state superintendent of schools and the state factory inspector, upon blanks to be furnished by the state superintendent of schools, a list of the names of children for whom certificates have been 174 Report of the Missouri [46 issued. Such list shall give the names of the employers to whom the certificates shall have been issued and the nature of the occupation the child has been permitted to engage in. Section 1726-h. AGE CERTIFICATES ISSUED TO CHIL¬ DREN BETWEEN SIXTEEN AND EIGHTEEN.—Children between sixteen and eighteen years of age desiring to obtain a certificate of age for purposes of employment may secure such certificate from the officer authorized to issue employment cer¬ tificates, as prescribed in Section 1719, which certificate shall state on a form to be prescribed by the state superintendent of schools, that proof of age has been filed with the issuing officer in the same manner as prescribed in Section 1720. Section 1726-i. ENFORCEMENT OF ACT.—The state factory inspector, the state superintendent of schools, the pro¬ bation officer of the juvenile court, the county superintendent of public welfare and every person authorized by any of these, and every attendance and truant officer, shall enforce the pro¬ visions of this act. Section 1726-j. PENALTY FOR VIOLATING PRECED¬ ING SECTIONS.—The violation of any of the provisions of this act shall be deemed a misdemeanor and each day’s viola¬ tion shall constitute a separate offense, and any person, firm or corporation committing such violation shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Section 1726-k. All acts of parts or acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. III. RELATING TO EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN IN STREET TRADES. (Page 63, Section 3.) An act to repeal Sections 1726-a, 1726 -b, 1726-c and 1726 -d of an act approved bp the General Assembly of the State of Mis¬ souri, April 7, 1911, Laws of Missouri, 1911, page 132 et seq., pertaining to the employment of children, and to substitute in lieu therefor new sections to be known as Sections 1726-a, 1726-6, 1726-c, 1726-d, 1726-c, 1726-/ and 1726-g. 461 Children's Code Commission . 175 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: That Sections 1726-a, 1726-6, 1726-c and 1726 -d of an act approved by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri April 7, 1911, Laws of Missouri, 1911, page 132 et seq ., pertaining to the employment of children, be, and the same are hereby repealed, and new sections, to be known as Sections 1726-a, 1827-6, 1726-c, 1726-af, 1726-c, 1726-/ and 1726-#, of the Revised Statutes of the State of Missouri, are hereby enacted, as follows: Section 1726-a. BOYS UNDER 12 AND GIRLS UNDER 18 NOT TO SELL ARTICLES IN CERTAIN PLACES.—No boy under twelve and no girl under eighteen years of age shall sell, expose, or offer for sale any article, commodity or thing whatsoever in any street, hotel, railway station, theatre, vaude¬ ville show or other place of public amusement, place where in¬ toxicating liquors are manufactured or sold, public office build¬ ings or in any public place within this state. Section 1726-b. PERMIT AND BADGE FOR CHILDREN ENGAGED IN STREET TRADES.—No boy between the ages of twelve and sixteen years shall, in this state, distribute, sell, expose or offer for sale in any street, hotel, railway station, place of public amusement, place where intoxicating liquors are manu¬ factured or sold, public office buildings, or in any public office, any article or thing whatsoever, or work at or be engaged in any occu¬ pation performed in any such place unless he complies with all of the legal requirements concerning school attendance, and unless a permit and badge as hereinafter provided shall have, been issued to him by the superintendent of instruction of the board of education of the school district where such boy is em¬ ployed, or by a person authorized by him in writing, or, where there is no superintendent of instruction, by a person author¬ ized by the board of directors of the school district where such boy is employed, upon the application in person of the parent, guardian or custodian of the dhild desiring such permit and badge, or in case said child has no parent, guardian or custo¬ dian, then upon the application of his next friend, being an adult. Such permits and badges shall be in such form as shall be prescribed by the state superintendent of schools, and shall be furnished free of charge by the persons authorized to issue them. Section 1726-c. REGULATIONS CONCERNING ISSU¬ ANCE OF BADGE AND PERMIT.—Such permit and the 176 Report of the Missouri [46 badge shall not be issued until the officer issuing the same shall have received, examined, approved and filed the following pa¬ pers, duly executed, viz.: 1. Evidence that such boy is over twelve years of age Such evidence of age shall consist of the proof of age required for the issuing of an employment certificate as specified in Sec¬ tion 1720. 2. The written statement of the principal or chief execu¬ tive officer of the school which the child is attending, stating that such child is an attendant at such school, with the grade such child shall have attained, and that he is physically and mentally fit for such employment and that he is able to do such work beside the regular school work required by law. 3. A certificate of a duly licensed physician to the effect that such child is in good health and in sound physical condi¬ tion and has reached the normal development of a child of his age. After having received, examined and placed on file such papers, the officer shall issue to the child a permit and badge. The badge shall be worn conspicuously at all times by such child while so working, and shall not be transferred to any other person, and shall be returned to the issuing officer when employment for which it was issued ceases. Principals or chief executive officers of schools shall keep complete lists of all children in their schools to whom permits and badges, as herein provided, have been granted. Section 1726-d. VIOLATION OF PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT, HOW PUNISHED.—Upon the recommendation of the principal or chief executive officer of the school which such child is attending, or upon the recommendation of any officer charged with the duty of enforcing this act, or of any police officer, the permit of any child who violates any of the provisions of this act, or who becomes delinquent, may be revoked by the officer issuing the same, and the badge taken from such child. Section 1726-e. ENFORCEMENT OF ACT.—The state factory inspector, the state superintendent of schools, the pro¬ bation officer of the juvenile court, the county superintendent of public welfare, and every person authorized by any of these, and every attendance and truant officer, shall enforce the pro¬ visions of this act. Section 1726-f. PENALTY FOR VIOLATING PRECED¬ ING SECTIONS.—Any minor who shall violate any of the pro- 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 177 visions of this act, and any person, firm or corporation employ¬ ing any such minor, or violating any of the provisions of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and each day’s viola¬ tion shall constitute a separate offense, and shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars, or by imprison¬ ment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Section 1726-g. All acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. IV. EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN UNDER 16 IN CERTAIN DANGEROUS OCCUPATIONS PROHIBITED. (Page 64, Section 4.) An act to repeal Sections 4741, 4742 and 4743 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1909, relating to “Miscellaneous Offenses ,” and to enact new sections in lieu thereof , to be known as Sections 1726-/, 1726-//?, 1726-/?, 1726-0 and 1726-p. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Sections 4741, 4742 and 4743 of the Re¬ vised Statutes of Missouri of 1909, relating to “Miscellaneous of¬ fenses," be and the same are hereby repealed and new sections to be known as Sections 1726-/, 1726-//?, 1726-/?, 1726-0 and 1726-p are hereby enacted in lieu thereof , as follows: Section 1726-1. CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 16 NOT TO BE EMPLOYED IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS.— No child under the age of sixteen years shall be employed, per¬ mitted or suffered to work at or be engaged in any capacity in the operation of any power machinery or assisting therein in any capacity whatever; nor shall any such child be employed, per¬ mitted or suffered to work at or be engaged in or about or in connection with any mine or underground work; nor shall any such child be permitted or suffered to work, or be engaged in any capacity in, about or in connection with the preparing of any composition in which dangerous or poisonous acids or alkalis are used; the manufacture of paints, colors or white leads; dip¬ ping, drying or packing matches; manufacturing, packing or storing powder, dynamite, nitro-glycerin compounds, fuses or other explosives; the sewing, lasting or adjustment of any belt 46—12 178 Report of the Missouri [46 to any machinery, nor in oiling, wiping or cleaning any ma¬ chinery; nor in operating or assisting in operating any machine used in picking wool, cotton, hair or upholstering material; nor any job or cylinder press; nor any machine used in polishing or grinding any metal, nor any machine used for manufacture of goods for immoral purposes; nor in, about or in connection with any brewery, or other establishment where malt or other alco¬ holic liquors are manufactured, or sold, packed, wrapped or bottled; hotel, pool or billiard hall; wholesale drug store; sa¬ loon, nor in operating any automobile, motor car or truck, nor in bowling alleys. No child under the age of sixteen years shall, except where a permit therefor has first been secured from the state factory inspector or from the county superintendent of public welfare, acting ks his deputy, shall be permitted to make its appearance at any time upon the stage of any theater, con¬ cert hall, moving picture show or vaudeville show, or in any connection with any theatrical performance, moving picture show or vaudeville show or other exhibition or show. Such per¬ mits shall be furnished by the state superintendent of schools, in a form to be prescribed by him, and shall be issued free of charge to those entitled thereto. Section 1726-m. GIRLS UNDER 18 NOT TO BE EM¬ PLOYED IN MESSENGER SERVICE.—No girl under the age of eighteen years shall be employed, permitted or suffered to be engaged in the transmission of despatches or in the messenger service. Section 1726-n. ENFORCEMENT OF ACT.—The state factory inspector, the state superintendent of schools, the pro¬ bation officer of any juvenile court, the county superintendent of public welfare, and persons authorized by any of them, and every attendance and truant officer, shall enforce the provi¬ sions of this act. Section 1726-0. PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF PRE¬ CEDING SECTIONS.—Any minor violating any of the provi¬ sions of this act, and any person, firm or corporation employ¬ ing any such minor, contrary to the terms of this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and each day’s violation shall constitute a separate offense, punishable by a fine of not more than $100 or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceed¬ ing one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Section 1726-p. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. LAWS RELATING TO EDUCATION AND THE COM¬ PULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE LAW. Discussion of these recommendations appears in Chapter VIII, page 66. 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 181 CHAPTER VIII. LAWS RELATING TO EDUCATION AND THE COMPUL¬ SORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE LAW. 1. RELATING TO COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTEND¬ ANCE. 2. STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS SHALL SUPERVISE WORK OF INSTRUCTION IN CER¬ TAIN STATE INSTITUTIONS. I. COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE. (Page 67, Section 1.) An act to repeal Sections 10897, 10907 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of the State of Missouri, 1909, as amended by Sections 2 and 3. respectively, of an act approved by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, April 7, 1911, Laws of Missouri, 1911, page 137, and Sections 10896, 10898, 10901, 10902, 10905, 10906, 10908, 10911, 10912 and 10917 of Article 4, Chapter 106, Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1909, pertaining to compulsory school attendance of children and to substitute in lieu thereof new sections, to be known as Sections 10896, 10897, 1C898, 10900-a, 10901, 10902 and 10903. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Sections 10897 and 10907 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1909, as amended by Sections 2 and 3, re¬ spectively, of an act approved by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, Aprill, 1911, Laws of Missouri, 1911, page 137, and Sections 10896, 10898, 10901, 10902, 10905, 10906, 10908, 10911, 10912, 10917 of Article 4, Chapter 106, Revised Statutes of Missouri, 1909, pertaining to compulsory school attendance of chil¬ dren, be, and the same are hereby repealed, and new sections, to be known as Sections 10896, 10897, 10898, 10900-a, 10901, 10902 and 10903 are hereby substituted in lieu therefor, as follows: Section 10896. CHILDREN BETWEEN 8 AND 16 RE¬ QUIRED TO ATTEND SCHOOLS FOR ENTIRE SCHOOL 182 Report of the Missouri SESSION.—Every parent, guardian or other person in this state having charge, control or custody of a child between the ages of eight and sixteen years, shall cause such child to attend regularly some day school, public, private, parochial or parish, not less than the entire time the school which said child attends is in session, or shall provide such child at home with such reg¬ ular daily instruction during the usual hours as shall, in the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, be substantially equivalent at least to the instruction given the children of like age at said day school in the locality in which said child resides; and every parent, guardian or person in this state having charge, control or custody of a child between the ages of fourteen and sixteen years, who is not actually and regularly and lawfully engaged for at least six hours each day in some useful em¬ ployment or service, shall cause said child to attend regularly some day school, as aforesaid. Section 10897. EXEMPTIONS FROM SCHOOL AT¬ TENDANCE FOR MENTAL OR PHYSICAL INCAPACITY.— The foregoing section shall apply to feeble-minded, deaf, blind and crippled children where special classes are provided for them as directed in Sections 10795-a, 10795-b and 10795-c of the Revised Statutes; provided, however, that the parent, guardian or other person in this state having charge, control or custody of such feeble-minded, deaf, blind and crippled chil¬ dren for whom special classes are provided, may provide such child at home with such regular daily instruction during the usual hours as shall, in the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, be substantially equivalent at least to the instruc¬ tion given the children of like development in such special classes, and provided further, that a child between the ages aforesaid may be excused temporarily from complying with the provisions of this act, in whole or in part, if it be shown to the satisfaction of the attendance officer, or if he declines to ex¬ cuse, to the satisfaction of a court of competent jurisdiction, that said child is mentally or physically incapacitated to attend school for the whole period required, or any part thereof, or that said child has completed the common school course as pre¬ scribed by constituted authority, or its equivalent, and has re¬ ceived a certificate of graduation therefrom. Section 10898. APPOINTMENT OF ATTENDANCE OF¬ FICERS, POWERS AND DUTIES.—The board having charge of public schools in any school district may appoint and remove 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 183 at pleasure one or more attendance officers to enforce the pro¬ visions of this act and shall fix the compensation and manner of performance of the duties of said attendance officers, and shall pay them from the public school funds; and the attendance of¬ ficer or officers, as aforesaid, shall have the right to investigate the claims of children for exemption under Section 10897, and to issue certificates of exemption when such claims are estab¬ lished to his or their satisfaction; shall serve written or printed notices upon the parents or guardians or persons who, having charge, control or custody of children, as aforesaid, violate the provisions of said sections; shall, when reasonable doubt exists as to the age of any such child, require a properly attested birth certificate or an affidavit stating such child’s age, giving date of birth, physical characteristics and bearing the signature of the child; shall have the right to visit and enter any mine, office, factory, workshop, business house, place of amusement, or other place in which children are employed or engaged in any kind of service, or any place or building in which children loiter or idle during school hours; shall have the right to require a properly attested certificate of the attendance of any child or children at such day school; shall have powor to arrest, without warrant, any truant, or non-attendants or other juvenile disorderly per¬ sons, and place them in some school, or take them to their homes, or take them to any place of detention provided for neg¬ lected or delinquent children in such school district; shall serve in the cases which they prosecute without further fee or com¬ pensation than that paid by the board as aforesaid, and shall carry into effect such other regulations as may lawfully be re¬ quired by the board appointing them. Section 10900-a. CHILDREN UNDER SIXTEEN RE¬ QUIRED TO ATTEND CONTINUATION SCHOOLS IN PART-TIME CLASSES, WHEREVER ESTABLISHED.— Whenever the board of education or board of directors of any school district in this state has established part-time instruction in continuation schools for children under sixteen years of age, lawfully engaged in any regular employment, all such children shall be required to attend such school not less than eight hours a week between the hours of eight o’clock in the morning and five o’clock in the evening during the school year of such part- time classes; provided, further, that whenever the part-time classes, herein provided for, shall have been established in any school district, that all children who are under eighteen years 184 Report of the Missouri (46 of age, who have not completed the elementary school course in the public schools of Missouri, or its equivalent, and who are not attending regularly any day school, shall be required to at¬ tend regularly such part-time classes not less than eight hours a week between the hours of eight o’clock in the morning and five o’clock in the afternoon during the school year of such part- time classes. Section 10901. PENALTY FOR VIOLATING PRECED¬ ING SECTIONS.—Any parent or guardian or person who, hav¬ ing charge, control or custody of any child between the ages of eight and sixteen years, violates any provisions of Sections 10896 to 10901, inclusive, shall be warned as aforesaid as soon as possible after the beginning of the public school term of the district in which such child resides, and also at any time there¬ after, by the attendance officer herein provided for, or by the clerk of district when no attendance officer is provided for, to place and keep said child in regular attendance at some day school within three days from the service of said written or printed notice of warning, and upon failure to comply with said sections after a lapse of three days from the date of the service of said notice of warning, said parent or guardian or person having charge, control or custody of any such child, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall pay a fine of not less than ten dollars and not more than twenty-five dollars, or be imprisoned for not les than two days and not more than ten days, or both such fine and imprisonment. Provided, that said sentence of fine or imprisonment, or both, may be suspended and finally remitted by the court, with or without the payment of costs, at the discretion of the court, if the said child be immediately placed and kept in regular attend¬ ance in some day school as aforesaid, and if such fact of re¬ gular attendance is proven subsequently to the satisfaction of said court by a properly attested certificate of attendance by the superintendent, principal or person in charge of said day school. Section 10902. ENFORCEMENT OF ACT.—It shall be the duty of the state superintendent of schools and the superin¬ tendents of instruction of boards of education in this state and of the county superintendent of public welfare and of every attendance and probation officer, to enforce all laws re¬ lating to compulsory school attendance. 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 185 Section 10903. COURTS HAVING JURISDICTION OVER CASES OF VIOLATIONS.—Prosecutions under Sec¬ tions 10896 to 10903, inclusive, shall be brought in the name of the state of Missouri. The circuit court shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the court having general jurisdiction over misdemeanors to try and determine any cases of violation of the provisions of said sections and shall also have jurisdiction to determine exemptions under Section 10897 and a general supervisory jurisdiction over the enforcement of the provisions of said sections. II. STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS SHALL SU¬ PERVISE WORK OF INSTRUCTION IN CER¬ TAIN STATE INSTITUTIONS. (Page 68, Section 8.) An act to amend Article 7, Chapter 106 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of the State of Missouri of 1909, by adding thereto three new sections , to be known as Sections 10920-a, 10920-6 and 10920-c. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Article 7 of Chapter 106 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1909, be, and the same is hereby amended by adding thereto three new sections , to be known as Sections 10920-a, 10920-6 and 10920-c, as follows: Section 10920-a. STATE SUPERINTENDENT SHALL SUPERVISE INSTRUCTION IN CERTAIN STATE INSTI¬ TUTIONS.—The supervision of instruction in the Missouri School for the Deaf at Fulton, the Missouri School for the Blind at St. Louis, the Colony for the Feeble-minded and Epileptic at Marshall, the Missouri Reformatory and the Missouri Training School for Boys at Boonville, the Industrial Home for Girls at Chillicothe and the Industrial Home for Negro Girls at Tipton, shall be vested in the state superintendent of schools. It shall be the duty of the state superintendent of schools, in person or by deputy, to visit said institutions, inspect the work of instruc¬ tion, designate the courses of study and necessary equipment, and to make rules and regulations governing the educational work in said institutions. It shall also be the duty of the state 186 Report of the Missouri [46 superintendent of schools to examine the teachers for the above named institutions and grant certificates of qualification to those who pass a satisfactory examination; but the applicant shall not be charged a fee for such examination or certificate, nor shall the state superintendent receive any fee or compensation there¬ for; and any person holding such certificate from him shall be permitted to teach without further examination from author¬ ized examiners. Only persons holding said certificates from the state superintendent of schools shall be employed as teach¬ ers in the above named institutions. Such certificate may be revoked by the state superintendent of schools for incompe¬ tency, cruelty, immorality, drunkenness or neglect of duty. Section 10920-b. POWERS.—The state superintendent of schools is hereby authorized to incur such expenses as may be necessary to carry out the terms of the preceding section, subject to the approval of the state board of education. Section 10920-c. REPEALING CONFLICTING SEC¬ TIONS.—All acts or parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. LAWS RELATING TO HEALTH AND RECREATION. Discussion of these recommendations appears in Chapter IX, page 70. ( 187 ) 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 189 CHAPTER IX. LAWS RELATING TO HEALTH AND RECREATION. 1. CREATION OF A DIVISION OF CHILD HYGIENE. 2. TREATMENT OF EYES OF NEW-BORN INFANTS. 3. STATE-WIDE USE OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS FOR COMMUNITY PURPOSES. I. CREATION OF A DIVISION OF CHILD HYGIENE. (Page 71, Section 1.) An act to amend Article 1 of Chapter 53 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of the State of Missouri of 1909, by adding thereto a new sec¬ tion, to be known as Section 6653 -a, creating a division of Child Hygiene, in the State Board of Health. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Article 1 of Chapter 53 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of Missouri of 1909, be, and the same is hereby amended by adding thereto a new section, to be known as Section 6653-a, as follows: Section 6653-a. There is hereby created in the state board of health a division to be known as the division of child hygiene, to be under the general supervision and direction of the state board of health. The general duties of this division of the state board of health shall include the issuance of educa¬ tional literature on the care of the baby and the hygiene of the child; the study of the causes of infant mortality and the appli¬ cation of preventive measures for the prevention and suppres¬ sion of the diseases of infancy and childhood; the supervision and regulation of the physical inspection of school children in the public schools of the state; of the sanitary and hygienic con¬ ditions in public school buildings and grounds; of the practice of midwifery and such other duties as are prescribed by the state board of health. 190 Report of the Missouri [46 II. TREATMENT OF EYES OF NEW-BORN INFANTS. (Page 72, Section 2.) An act to repeal Sections 8321 and 8323 of Article 2 of Chap¬ ter 78 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri , 1909, and to enact four new sections in lieu thereof , prescribing treatment of eyes of new¬ born infants , and to be known as Sections 8321, 8321-a, 8323 and 8323-a. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Sections 8321 and 8323 of Article 2 of Chapter 78 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri , 1909, be , and the same are hereby repealed , and /oizr new sections , /o 6e known as Sections 8321, 8321-a, 8323 and 8323-a, are hereby enacted in lieu thereof , as follows: Section 8321. TREATMENT OF EYES OF NEW¬ BORN INFANTS.—Every physician, midwife or nurse who shall be in attendance upon a new-born infant or its mother, shall drop into the eyes of such infant, immediately after de¬ livery, a solution of silver nitrate not weaker than one-half of one per cent nor stronger than one per cent, or some other anti¬ septic solution approved by the state board of health, and shall within twenty-four hours thereafter, report in writing to the board of health of the city, town or county where such birth occurs, his or her compliance with this section, stating the solu¬ tion used by him or her. Section 8321-a. CASES OF SORE EYES TO BE RE¬ PORTED TO THE BOARD OF HEALTH.—Should one or both eyes of an infant become inflamed, swollen or red, and show an unnatural discharge at any time within two weeks after its birth, it shall be the duty of the physician, nurse, midwife or other attendant having charge of such infant, to immediately report in writing to the board of health of the city, town or county in which such birth occurs, the fact that such inflama- tion, swelling and redness of the eyes and unnatural discharge exist. On receipt of such report, the board of health shall take such immediate action as it may deem necessary in order that blindness may be prevented. 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 191 Section 8323. VIOLATION OF THE LAW A MISDE¬ MEANOR, PUNISHMENT.—Any failure to comply with the provisions of Sections 8321, 8321-a and 8322, shall be a misde¬ meanor, and shall be punishable by a fine of not less than ten and not more than one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not to exceed six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Section 8323-a. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. III. STATE-WIDE USE OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS FOR COMMUNITY PURPOSES. (Page 73, Section 1.) An act to amend Section 10784 of Article 2, Chapter 106, Re¬ vised Statutes of Missouri , 1909, as enacted and approved March 15, 1915, by striking out the word “may” between the words “there¬ to” and “allow” and inserting in lieu thereof the word “shall” in line 16, and by striking out all of the last line thereof , and all of the next to the last line , after the word “excepted” BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. —That Section 10784 of Article 2, Chapter 106, Revised Statutes of Missouri , 1909, as re-enacted in 1915, be and the same is hereby amended , by striking out the word “may” in line 14 thereof , and inserting in lieu thereof the word “shall” between the words “thereto” and “allow” and by striking out all of the last line thereof and all of the next to the last line after the word “ex¬ cepted ”, so that said section , when so amended , shall read as follows: Section 10784. CARE OF PROPERTY AND PURCHASE OF MATERIAL—FREE USE OF HOUSES, BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS—FOR WHAT PURPOSES.—The board of direc¬ tors or board of education shall have the care and keeping of all property belonging to the dictrict, and shall provide the neces¬ sary globes, maps, charts, apparatus, supplementary books, and other material for the use of the school. The board shall keep the schoolhouses and other buildings in good repair, the grounds belonging thereto in good condition, and shall provide fuel, heat¬ ing apparatus, and other material and appliances necessary for the proper heating, lighting, ventilation and sanitation of the 192 Report of the Missouri 146 schoolhouses; shall have the floors swept and the fires made at the expense of the district, and cause an accurate account of the expense thereof to be kept and a report of the same to be made at the next annual meeting. The board of directors, or board of education, having charge of the schoolhouses, buildings and grounds appurtenant thereto shall allow the free use of such houses, buildings and grounds for the free discussion of public questions or subjects of general public interest, for the meeting of organizations of citizens, and for such other civic, social and educational purposes as will not interfere with the prime pur¬ pose to which such houses, buildings and grounds are devoted; provided, that at any annual or special meeting the use of the schoolhouse for any of the above purposes may by a majority vote of the qualified voters voting on the proposition be prohibited. Such prohibition shall remain in effect until the next annual school meeting. Whenever any such application shall be granted and the use of such houses, buildings or grounds shall be per¬ mitted for the purposes aforesaid, the board of directors, or board of education, having charge of the same may provide, free of charge, heat, light, and janitor service therein when nec¬ essary and may make such other provisions, free of charge, as may be needful for the convenient and comfortable use of such houses, buildings and grounds for such purposes, or said boards of directors or boards of education, may require all such expenses to be paid by the organizations or persons who are allowed the use of the houses, buildings and grounds. All persons upon whose ap¬ plication, or at whose request the use of any schoolhouse, build¬ ing, or part thereof, or any grounds appurtenant thereto, may be permitted as herein provided, shall be jointly and severally liable for any injury or damage thereto, which directly results from such use, ordinary wear and tear excepted. APPENDICES. ( 193 ) 46—13 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 195 APPENDIX I. STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF PROPOSED LAWS FOR THE CARE AND SUPPORT OF CHILDREN BORN OUT OF WEDLOCK. I. THE PROBLEM. $ In 1911, which was the first year after the Missouri birth registration law went into effect, 700 children were recorded as born of unmarried parents in the city of St. Louis alone. In 1912, the number was 681; in 1913, it was 714. Eighteen hundred and twenty-two (1822) illegitimate births were recorded in 1912 in Missouri. (29th Annual Report Missouri State Board of Health.) Such children are handicapped because of (1), their poor economic outlook; (2), their anonymous paternity; (3), the social stigma. While in primitive societies the social stigma did not always attach, such children were early branded by the church as the “fruit of sin.” Their mothers were made out¬ casts, and the children were outlawed as “children of shame.” The English common law adopted the ecclesiastical attitude, and treated the child as the “child of nobody”—no one had the duty to support it, it was entitled to no education. The Napoleonic Code went further and forbade any inquiry into the paternity of the child. Modern legislation has abandoned this attitude, and has usually taken one of three forms: (1), It has made the state the guardian of the child with the duty of rearing and educating it. Such legislation is common in Europe, not¬ ably in Germany, Hungary, and France. (2), It has recognized the mother as the child’s legal parent, and put on the father some duty to support it. Such legislation prevails in most civilized countries, and it is very common in the United States. (3); It has given every child a place in the law without reference to its parents’ marriage. This may be said to be the tendency of the most recent legislation in Europe, where the lead has been taken in Norway. (See Anthony, Feminism in Germany and Scandinavia, New York, 1915, pp. 142-168.) In Missouri neither of these types of legislation has been accepted. A child whose parents have not married each other 196 Report of the Missouri 146 still remains, to a large extent, a social outcast. It may inherit from its mother, and she may inherit* from it, but no other change has been made in the common law as it came down to us from feudal England. In the eyes of law, the child has no father. No one has a duty to support or educate it, not even the state. It is left to “root for itself”, and take its chances on the poor farm. It is entitled to no home, no parental care, no start in life. It can pick up a name where it chooses. It can inherit from its mother but in most cases she is not a woman of property. (St. Louis statistics show that almost 90 per cent of the mothers are in occupations where the money return is slight, more than 60 per cent being engaged in domestic service). In short, a child in Missouri suffers great economic hardship be¬ cause its parents failed to marry. It pays the penalty for what is considered to be their sin. It may be relieved of the penalty if its parents choose to marry and acknowledge it, after its birth, but in ‘the making of this choice it can have no part. (The Status of Children in Missouri Law, No. 10 Law Series, Uni¬ versity of Missouri Bulletin.) Instead of being given some com¬ pensation for occupying a less favorable position than a child born in wedlock, it has few of the privileges accorded to the latter. “Unhampered by precedents, we should say that on princi¬ ple, children born outside of wedlock have an equal claim on both their parents, and that the duty of both their parents to support them must stand on an equal footing; but the analo¬ gies of the common law are all the other way.” (Quotation from Judge Rombauer, speaking for the St. Louis Court of Appeals in Easley v. Gordon [1892] 51 Mo. App. 637, 639.) The present situation then puts on the child a serious in¬ justice, while it relieves the parents of responsibility for their acts. A high infant mortality prevails among children whose parents have not married, considerably higher than among children of married parents. The percentage of still births is also larger. Many private children’s homes attempt to bear the burden and care and support, but municipalities have no legal obligation, and the tendency is for the children to be con¬ gregated in the cities from the rural communities. The pro¬ spective mother of an illegitimate child usually leaves the smaller community for the larger centers where she will not be known. The social problems in this situation have a very intimate relation to crime, prostitution and racial degeneration. 46 [ Children's Code Commission. 197 II. THE PROPOSED SOLUTION. The proposed legislation proceeds on the following principles: (1) . That the law should recognize nature’s provisions of two parents for each child. It leaves the child free in the choice of a name, but gives him a right to have his paternity established. “Bastard” may cease to have its stigma when every child has a father and a mother, in law as well as in fact. (2) . That the state as well as the mother may act as an agent between the child and its father. If the child’s rights could be established only on its mother’s complaint, it could be deprived of them as a result of her ignorance or inexperience, or sense of shame or neglect. The state has an interest in seeing that a helpless child is nurtured and given such care as will make it a useful citizen. It should be permitted to assert this interest by forcing the father to shoulder his responsibility. (3) . That both parents should be liable for the child’s sup¬ port. The father has no just ground to escape. This is gen¬ erally recognized in the United States. His duty is owed not merely to the child, but also to the state. Moreover, in an age when mothers are frequently wage earners, they, too, should be liable for support. The proportion of liability, as between the father and mother, may well be left to be determined with reference to circumstances. (4) . That where the actual father cannot be known, a pos¬ sible father should be liable for the child’s support. The pos¬ sible consequences of sex intercourse are universally known. If a man risks them, he should be made to share the consequence. Nature’s physiological plan puts all the risk on the woman—a social plan should put some of it on the man in order to protect helpless children and the state. Without this principle, little would remain of liability of a father. But where proof is lacking as to actual paternity, the child is given no right of inheritance from possible fathers. (5) . That children should inherit from their parents with¬ out reference to their marriage. As long as a parent may dis¬ inherit a child born in wedlock, it seems necessary to permit him to disinherit a child born out of wedlock. The proposed law would put the two children on the same basis. The present law permits every child to inherit from its mother, and there seems no good reason why it should not also inherit from its father. The latter’s family obligations are to be considered, but they 198 Report of the Missouri 146 do not outweigh the equal justice to all of his children. Long ago, daughters were put on equality with sons in the matter of inheritance. The same principle is now proposed for further extension. (6) . That restrictions should be put on paternity proceed¬ ings which will avoid the possibility of blackmail. This principle has been carefully applied in the drafting of the act proposed. It is provided that such proceedings shall be conducted during the life of the person to be charged as father; that the court papers shall be kept secret; that special permission shall be necessary for their filing; and that at the discretion of the judge, the proceeding may be privately conducted. (7) . That all questions concerning the support of children shall be brought before the juvenile court. The problem is more frequently administrative than judicial, and the organization of the juvenile court is better adapted for handling it. Furthermore, there is more chance of having expert treat¬ ment in the juvenile court. The proposed legislation will dis¬ courage illegitimacy, and promote morality in relations between the sexes. It offers no personal advantages to the woman who is the mother of the child. For this reason she is not entitled to any allowances from the child’s father except such as may be necessary to the protection of the child. The proposed law forces both parents to bear burdens which they will not lightly under¬ take. It holds out no inducements to people who are unmarried to become parents, but forces them to a more serious considera¬ tion of consequences. This will not wholly do away with such parentage, but it should greatly reduce it. Nor does the proposed legislation tend to undermine marriage. The present distinctions between children in the matter of inheritance do not really up¬ hold marriage as an institution, for a father may by acknowledg¬ ment or adoption extend the benefits of inheritance to children born out of wedlock. The first step was to permit the father to do it—the next step is to force him to do what is so manifestly just to children who would not have been born but for his act. 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 199 APPENDIX II. REFERENCES TO STUDIES AND REPORTS ON CON¬ DITIONS AFFECTING CHILDREN IN MISSOURI. The following list includes only such studies of statewide interest as have direct bearing upon the problems of child welfare with which the Commission has been dealing. PRESENT LAWS RELATING TO CHILDREN. 1. Some Aspects of the Status of Children in Missouri; James, Eldon R., (University of Missouri Bulletin, Law Series No. 10, 1916.) 2. Executory Limitations of Property in Missouri; Hudson, Manley 0. (University of Missouri Bulletin, Law Series No. 11, 1916.) 3. Digest of Missouri Laws Relating to Children. (Pre¬ pared by the Federal Children’s Bureau for Missouri Children’s Code Commission, 1916.) 4. Laws of Missouri Particularly Applicable to Women and Children. (The Missouri Printing and Publishing Company, Mexico, Missouri, 1912.) PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OF LAWS FOR SOCIAL WELFARE. 1. Outdoor Relief in Missouri; Warfield, George A. (Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1915.) 2. Government in Missouri, Local, State and National; Loeb, Isidor. (American Book Publishing Company, New York, 1912.) 3. Politics in Public Institutions; Cross, Wm. T. (Pro¬ ceedings Missouri Conference of Charities and Corrections, 1913.) 4. Needed Reforms in Public Institutions of Missouri; Cross, Wm. T. (Proceedings Missouri Conference of Charities and Corrections, 1913.) 5. City and County Charities; Wagner, J. L. (Proceedings Missouri Conference of Charities and Corrections, 1915.) 200 Report of the Missouri [46 6. State Supervision of Charities; Bernstein, Louis. (Pro¬ ceedings Missouri Conference of Charities and Corrections, 1915.) 7. The State Institutions in Missouri. (Reports of the State Board of Charities and Corrections of Missouri, 1911-12, 1913-14, 1915-16.) 8. Practical Child Welfare in Rural Communities; Greene, Mrs. Charles W. (Proceedings Missouri Conference for Social Welfare, 1917.) 9. Rural Welfare; Bernard, L. L. (Proceedings Missouri Conference for Social Welfare, 1917.) 10. The Rural Church and Social Welfare; Taylor, A. W. (Proceedings Missouri Conference for Social Welfare, 1917.) 11. Features of Law Creating State Board of Charities and Corrections of Interest to Certain Public Officials. (Bulletin No. 5, State Board of Charities and Corrections of Missouri, 1913.) 12. Seventh Annual Report Board of Public Welfare, Kansas City, 1915-16. DELINQUENT CHILDREN. 1. County Almshouses and Jails of Missouri; Cross, Wm. T. and Forrester, C. B. (Missouri State Nurses’ Association Bul¬ letin, 1912.) 2. Change Wrought by Juvenile Probation System in St. Louis; Elliot, C. C. (International Prison Commission. Chil¬ dren’s Courts in United States, 1904.) 3. The Juvenile Court Law; Baldwin, Roger N. (Pro¬ ceedings Missouri Conference of Charities and Corrections, 1914.) 4. Juvenile Courts in- Missouri. (Reports State Board of Charities and Corrections, 1911-12, 1913-14, 1915-16.) 5. St. Louis Juvenile Court. (Review of Work for Five- Year Period, 1908-1913, 1914-1916.) 6. Report of St. Louis Municipal Commission on Delin¬ quent, Dependent and Defective Children, 1911. 7. Report of the State Industrial Home for Girls, Chilli- cothe, 1913-14. 8. Report of the Missouri' Training School for Boys, Boon- ville, 1913-14. 9. Report of the Missouri Industrial Home for Negro Girls, Tipton, 1913-14. 10. Parole Work in State Institutions for Delinquent Girls; 46 ] Children’s Code Commission. 201 Wilson, Miss Franklin. (Proceedings Missouri Conference for Social Welfare, 1917.) 11. Work of the Juvenile Court in St. Louis; Smith, Jesse P. (Proceedings Missouri Conference for Social Welfare, 1917.) DEFECTIVE CHILDREN. 1. Feeble-Mindedness; Fairbank, Alfred. (Proceedings Missouri Conference for Social Welfare, 1915.) 2. Needs of Feeble-minded in Missouri; Wilson, R. P. C. (Proceedings Missouri Conference for Social Welfare, 1915.) 3. The Obligation of the Schools for the Training of Feeble¬ minded Children; Wallin, J. E. W. (Report Board of Education of the City of St. Louis, 1915.) 4. Instructions for Special Classes. (Forty-fourth Annual Report, Board of Education of the School District of Kansas City, 1915.) 5. Report of Missouri General Assembly Committee to Visit the State Institutions, 1909. (Reports Upon Missouri School for the Deaf and Dumb, Missouri Training School for Boys, Missouri School for the Blind.) 6. Report for the Missouri School for the Blind St. Louis 1913-14, 1915-16.) 7. Report Missouri School for the Deaf, Fulton (1913-14, 1915-16.) 8. Report Missouri Colony for Feeble minded and Epileptic, Marshall. (1913-14, 1915-16.) 9. The Problem of Feeble minded in Missouri; Wallin, J. E. W. (Proceedings Missouri Conference for Social Welfare, 1917.) 10. The Psycho-Educational Clinic and Special Schools, St. Louis; Wallin, J. E. W. (Report of Superintendent of In¬ struction of St. Louis, 1916-17.) DESTITUTE CHILDREN. 1. Needs of Children in Missouri; Mangold, George B. (Proceedings Missouri Conference of Charities and Corrections, 1913.) 2. Widows’ Pensions; Cruise, Mrs. E. M. (Proceedings Missouri Conference of Charities and Corrections/1913.) 3. Children in Missouri; Wagner, J. L. (Proceedings Mis¬ souri Conference of Charities and Corrections, 1915.) 202 Report of the Missouri 146 4. Dependent Children in Missouri. (Reports State Board of Charities and Corrections of Missouri, 1911-12, 1913-14, 1915-16.) 5. A Study of 1,000 Cases of Child Neglect in St. Louis; Persons, C. E. (Washington University Studies, 1913.) 6. United States Bureau of Census; Benevolent Institu¬ tions. (1910). 7. Illegitimate Births in St. Louis; Mangold, George B. (St. Louis School of Social Economy, 1914.) 8. Statistics on Illegitimate Births in Missouri. (Reports of Missouri State Board of Health.) 9. Report of St. Louis Municipal Commission on Delin¬ quent, Dependent and Defective Children, 1911. 10. A Survey of the Extent, Financial and Social Cost of Desertion and Artificially Broken Homes in Kansas City, Mis¬ souri, 1915. Marquis; Eva M. 11. The Children’s Code; Mangold, Geo. B. (Proceedings Missouri Conference for Social Welfare, 1917.) 12. Report of Committee on Children; Lowenstein, Lucille B. (Proceedings Missouri Conference for Social Welfare, 1917.) 13. The Need of a State School in Missouri for Neglected and Dependent Children; Edson, D. L. (Proceedings Missouri Conference for Social Welfare, 1917.) 14. Care of Illegitimate Children; Mangold, George B. (Proceedings Missouri Conference for Social Welfare, 1917.) CHILD LABOR AND EDUCATION. 1. Child Labor in'Missouri. (Biennial Report, Missouri State Factory Inspector, 1913-14, 1915-16.) 2. Child Labor in the Smaller Towns of Missouri. (Na¬ tional Child Labor Committee, Pamphlet 44, 1911.) 3. Newsboys of St. Louis; Tyler, I. (St. Louis School of Social Economy, 1913.) 4. Industrial Opportunities for Children of St. Louis; Mangold, George B. (Washington University Studies, 1913.) 5. A Survey of Working Children in Kansas City; Marquis, Eva M. (Report Kansas City Board of Public Welfare, 1915.) 6. State Course of Study for the Rural and Graded Schools. (Report of Missouri Superintendent of Schools, 1915.) 7. Child Labor Legislation in the United States; Sumner, H. L., and Merritt, E. A. (Federal Children’s Bureau, 1915.) 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 203 8. United States Bureau of Census. Population, Occupa¬ tion Statistics, Volume 4, (1910). 9. Illiteracy in Missouri. (United States Bureau of Census. Statistical Atlas, 1914.) 10. Report of Superintendent of Public Schools of the State of Missouri, 1913, 1917. 11. Moral Peril in Messenger Service; Marquis, Eva M. (Proceedings Missouri Conference for Social Welfare, 1915.) 12. A Study of the Rural Schools of Saline County, Mis¬ souri; Elliff, J. D. (University of Missouri Bulletin Education Series No. 11, 1915.) 13. Forty-fourth Annual Report Board of Education, School District, Kansas City, 1915. 14. Annual Reports Board of Education, City of St. Louis, 1915, 1916, 1917. 15. Missouri Red Book. Wartime Industrial History of a Progressive Commonwealth, 1917. 16. Vocational Education in Missouri. (Missouri State Board of Education, Vocational Education Bulletin No. 1.) 17. The Co-operative Investigation and Study of the Rural Schools of Missouri. (Report of State Superintendent of Public Schools, 1917.) HEALTH AND RECREATION. 1. Social Center Work in Rural Schools; Robeson, James A. (Proceedings Missouri Conference of Charities and Corrections, 1913.) 2. Mortality Statistics. United States Bureau ot Census, 1910-14. 3. Opportunity for Social Work Opened to the Visiting Nurse in Rural Communities; Bryant, Willie. (Proceedings Missouri Conference for Social Welfare, 1917.) 4. What Rural Health Surveys Have Revealed; Suther¬ land, E. H. (Proceedings Missouri Conference for Social Wel¬ fare, 1917.) 5. Thirty-fifth Annual Report of the State Board of Health of Missouri, 1917. 204 Report of the Missouri [46 APPENDIX m. REFERENCES TO LAWS IN THE CHILDREN’S CODE ENACTED AT THE 49TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY, 1917. Page in 1917 Session Acts. 1. Adoption of Children. 193 2. Mother’s Pension Act. 151 *3. Juvenile Court Act for Counties of less than 50,000 Population. 195 4. Repealing Laws relating to Apprenticeship of Chil¬ dren . 195 5. Treatment of Delinquent Minors Over Juvenile Court Age. 201 6. Requiring County Clerks to Report Deaf and Blind Children to State Institutions. 500 7. Children Under 21 Entitled to Benefits of State School for the Blind. 191 8. Children Under 21 Entitled to Benefits of State School for the Deaf. 192 9. Relating to Commitment to the Industrial Home for Negro Girls. 150 10. Establishment of State Detention Home for Depend¬ ent Children (vetoed by the Governor). 586 11. Guardians of Friendless Children. 109 *See Appendix II. 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 205 APPENDIX IV. STATEMENT. Appendix IV contains the state-wide juvenile court bill and the bill to establish county boards of public welfare which were submitted as a part of the Children’s Code to the 49th General Assembly, 1917. The Commission believes that a brief dis¬ cussion of these measures, both of which failed of enactment, will be of interest to child welfare workers in the state. JUVENILE COURT ACT. Juvenile courts were first established in Missouri in 1903 by an act applying only to the city of St. Louis. Kansas City followed with a juvenile court act in 1905, and an act was passed in 1911 creating juvenile courts in counties of 50,000 popula¬ tion and over. This reached the five largest counties, St. Louis, Jackson, Buchanan, Jasper, Greene and St. Louis City. The act of 1903 has been upheld by the Supreme Court. (Ex parte Loving, 178 Mo. 194.) An act was passed in 1913 applying to all the counties of less than 50,000 population. Under this act juvenile courts were established in over fifty counties, with probation officers appointed to look after the children brought under the court’s care. This law was declared invalid by the Supreme Court (Ex rel. State vs. Tinchner, 166 S. W. 1028), and all the courts were at once abolished. A new law, applicable to all the counties by amending the act of 1911, was prepared to meet the objections raised by the Supreme Court and introduced in the Legislature of 1915. It passed the House and was on the calendar for passage in the Senate when the Legislature adjourned. The Missouri Children’s Code Commission, in 1917, submit¬ ted to the''49th General Assembly a new juvenile court act ap¬ plying to all of the state. This bill met with opposition in the Legislature and a substitute bill, applying to counties of less than 50,000 population, was enacted and is in operation at the present time. Under it probation officers have been appointed in over sixty counties in the state. 206 Report of the Missouri [46 STATE-WIDE JUVENILE COURT ACT SUBMITTED BY THE COMMISSION TO THE 49TH GEN¬ ERAL ASSEMBLY, IN 1917. An act to amend an act approved April 11, 1911, entitled , “An act to regulate treatment and control of neglected and delin¬ quent children , and to provide the necessary places of detention therefor; and to establish juvenile courts in counties having a pop¬ ulation of fifty thousand (50,000) inhabitants and over, and to define the jurisdiction of such juvenile courts over children, and re¬ pealing Article 6 and Article 7 of Chapter 35 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of Missouri, 1909, with an emergency clauseby striking out in Section 1 of said act certain words and inserting certain other words in lieu thereof, among other things including children up to eighteen years of age; by striking out certain words in Section 2 of said act and inserting certain words, so as to extend operation of the act to all the counties in the state, and so as to provide that in all cases arising under this act trial shall be without a jury and the practice and procedure the same as in equity; and by adding to said Section 2 a new paragraph providing for the appointment of referees; by striking out in Section 6 of said act certain words and inserting certain other words in lieu thereof; by striking out in Section 7 of said act certain words and inserting certain other words in lieu thereof, providing for the bringing of proceedings under this act against delinquent children, upon the complaint of a probation officer; by striking out in Section 8 of said act certain words and inserting certain other words in lieu thereof, so as to provide that an order adjudging a child delinquent shall not be deemed a con¬ viction of crime, and so as to prohibit the commitment of any child in a proceeding under this act directly to the penitentiary; by strik¬ ing out in Section 9 of said act certain words and adding certain words to said Section, so as to place the appointment of probation and deputy probation officers on the merit system; by inserting in Section 10 of said act a provision for the appointment of volunteer probation officers; by striking out in Section 11 of said act certain words and inserting certain other words in lieu thereof, so as to change the salaries of probation and deputy probation officers in certain counties; and by adding a new section to be known as Sec¬ tion 5 -a, relating to depriving parents of their rights in children, and a new section to be known as Section 8-a, providing that no child under eighteen (18) years of age shall be prosecuted for crime until first brought before the juvenile court , as provided in this act , 4611 Children's Code Commission. 207 and providing that if the judge of the juvenile court , upon hearing , deems it proper , he may certify any child for criminal trial , as by law provided , zn the usual way. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: That the act of April 11, 1911, entitled “An act to regulate the treatment and control of neglected and delinquent children , and to provide the necessary places of detention therefor; and to estab¬ lish juvenile courts in counties having a population of fifty thou¬ sand (50,000) inhabitants and over , and to define the jurisdiction of such juvenile courts over children , and repealing Article 6 and Article 7 of Chapter 35 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri , 1909, with an emergency clause" be amended as follows: Section 1. By amending Section 1 of said act by striking out in line 2 the words “seventeen (17) years"- and inserting in lieu thereof the words “eighteen (18) years”; by striking out in line 8 of Section 1 the words “its majority" and inserting in lieu thereof the words “the age of twenty-one (21) years”; by striking out in line 9 the words “inflicting a punishment" and inserting in lieu thereof the words “retaining custody of and confining a child for a period”; by striking out in line 10 the word “majority" and inserting in lieu thereof the words “twenty-one (21) years”; by striking out in line 10 and line 11 the words “convicted of a crime" and inserting in lieu thereof the words “found guilty of an act”; by striking out in line 20 the word “ten" and inserting in lieu thereof the word “twelve”; by striking out in lines 15 and 24 and 25 the words “seventeen (17) years" and inserting in lieu thereof the words “eighteen (18) years.” So that said section , when amended , shall read as follows: Section 1. WHAT CLASS OF CHILDREN AFFECTED- DEFINITION OF TERMS.—This act shall apply to children under the age of eighteen (18) years, not now or hereafter in¬ mates of any state institution or any institution incorporated under the laws of the state for the care and correction of delin¬ quent children: Provided, that when jurisdiction has been ac¬ quired under the provisions hereof over the person of a child, such jurisdiction shall continue, for the purpose of this act, until the child shall have attained the age of twenty-one (21) years; but nothing in this act shall prevent the juvenile court from retaining custody of and confining a child for a period which shall extend beyond the age of twenty-one (21) years in cases 208 Report of the Missouri [46 where the delinquent shall be found guilty of an act, the punish¬ ment of which under the statutes of this state, when committed by persons over the age of eighteen years, is death or imprison¬ ment in the penitentiary for a term of not less than ten years. For the purpose of this act, the words “neglected child” shall mean any child under the age of eighteen (18) years, who is desitute or homeless, or abandoned, or dependent upon the pub¬ lic for support, or who habitually begs or receives alms, is found living in any house of ill-fame, or with any vicious or disrepu¬ table person, or who is suffering from the cruelty or depravity of its parents, or other person in whose care it may be; and any child who while under the age of twelve (12) years is found ped¬ dling or selling any articles or singing or playing any musical instrument for gain upon the street or giving any public enter¬ tainments or accompanies or is used in any aid of any person so doing. The word “delinquent child” shall include any child under the age of eighteen (18) years who violates any law of this state, or any city or village ordinance, or who is incorrigible; or who knowingly associates with thieves, vicious or immoral persons, or who is growing up in idleness or crime, or who know¬ ingly visits or enters a house of ill-repute; or who knowingly pat¬ ronizes or visits any policy shop or place where any gaming device is or shall be operated; or who patronizes or visits any saloon or dram house where intoxicating liquors are sold; or who patronizes or visits any public pool room or bucket shop; or who habitually wanders about the street in the nighttime with¬ out being on lawful business or occupation; or who habitually wanders about the streets or roads or public places during school hours without being on any lawful business or occupa¬ tion; or who habitually wanders about any railroad years or tracks, or jumps or who habitually hooks on to any train, or enters any car or engine without lawful authority, or who is either habitually truant from any day school, or who, while in attendance at any school is incorrigible, vicious or immoral; or who habitually uses vile, obscene, vulgar, profane or indecent language; or who is guilty of immoral conduct in any public place or about any schoolhouse; or who habitually and willfully, and without the consent of its parents, guardian or other per¬ son having legal custody and control of such child, absents itself from home and remains away at night, or loiters and sleeps in alleys, cellars, wagons, buildings, lots or other exposed places. Any child committing any of the acts herein mentioned shall 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 209 be deemed a juvenile delinquent person, and shall be proceeded against as such in the manner hereinafter provided. Any dis¬ position of any delinquent child under this act, or evidence given in such cases shall not in any civil, criminal or other cause or proceeding whatever in any court be lawful or proper evidence against such child for any purpose whatever, except in subse¬ quent cases against the same child under this act. The word “child” or “children” may mean one or more children, and the word “parent” or “parents” may mean one or both parents when consistent with the intent of this act. The word “asso¬ ciation” shall include any corporation which includes in its pur¬ pose the care or discipline of children coming within the meaning of this act. The word “probation officer” in all sections of this act defining his powers and duties, shall include his deputies. Section 2. By amending Section 2 of said act by striking out all of line 2 and part of line 3, beginning with the words “Ex¬ ercise and jurisdiction” and ending with the words “or more”; by inserting in line 2 after the word “courts” and before the word “shall” the words “of the several counties of the state, acting as juvenile courts”; and by striking out a part of line 4, and all of line 5 and part of line 6, beginning with the word “ provided” in line 6; by inserting in line 8, between the word “act” and the word “in” the words “in counties where there is but one judge, such judge shall hear and determine all cases coming under this act”; by striking out part of line 14, all of lines 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20, beginning with the words “and provided” and ending with the words “this act”; by striking out in line 26 the word “such” and inserting in lieu thereof the word “each” after the word “of” and before the word “counties”; and by striking out in line 26 the words “as the case may be”; by striking out part of line 27 and all of lines 28, 29, 30 and 31, and part of line 32, beginning with the words “the practice” in line 27 and ending with the words “trial by jury” in line 32; by striking out in line 31 the word “such” and inserting the word “each” after the word “in” and before the word “county”; and by striking out in line 32 the word “other” and in¬ serting in said line 32, between the word “cases” and the word “the” the words “arising under this act”; and by adding a new paragraph to said section reading as follows: At the discretion of the court the hearing may be private in the presence of interested parties only and the record and proceedings may be withheld from the inspection of the public. The court may, in its discretion, appoint some discreet person 46—14 210 Report of the Missouri [46 or referee to hear any individual case or annually to hear such cases as may be referred to him or her and make findings of fact, in the same capacity and except as may be otherwise provided herein, with like powers and duties and under such practice and rules, as far as practicable, as pertain to the appointment of referees. Said referee shall hear all cases coming within the pro¬ visions of this act, and make a report thereof, with his or her conclu¬ sions, findings and recommendations, to the court. If no exception be taken to said report and no petition for review be filed, the report may be confirmed by an order of said court, and shall thereupon be and become the judgment of said court. Until said report or said exceptions shall be acted upon by the court, the conclusions, finding and recommendations of the referee shall stand and be in effect, as fully and effectually as though duly confirmed by the court, and during the said time the referee shall have control over the person of the child, and may alter or modify his conclusions, findings and recommendations, and his disposition of said child. The referee shall have the same qualifications as are now required for probation officers, and be appointed to hold office during the pleasure of the judge presid¬ ing in the juvenile court, and shall receive compensation to be fixed by the court, which, when appointed annually, shall not exceed that received by a probation officer and which, when appointed in individual cases, shall not exceed that fixed by law for referees. So that said section , when amended , shall read as follows: Section 2. JURISDICTION OF THE CIRCUIT COURTS. The circuit courts of the several counties of the state, acting as juvenile courts, shall have original jurisdiction of all cases coming within the terms of this act. For the purpose of this act, the City of St. Louis shall be considered a county within the meaning of this act. In counties where there is but one judge, such judge shall hear and determine all cases coming under this act. In counties where there are or may be more than one circuit judge the judges of the circuit court in such counties shall designate one of their number, whose duty it shall be to hear and determine all cases coming under this act until there be another judge so designated: Provided, that in case of the absence or inability of the judge designated to hold said court, any one of said judges may perform that duty. A courtroom, to be designated the juvenile court room, shall be provided or assigned by the county or circuit court of each county for the 46 ] Children’s Code Commission. 211 hearing of such cases, and the proceedings of the court in such x cases shall be entered in a book or books to be kept for that purpose, and known as the juvenile records, and the court may for convenience be called the juvenile court. The clerk of the circuit court in each county shall act as the clerk of the juvenile court. In all cases arising under this act the trial shall be be¬ fore the court without a jury, and the practice and procedure customary in proceedings in equity shall govern except where otherwise provided by this act. At the discretion of the court the hearing may be private in the presence of interested parties only and the record and proceedings may be withheld from the public. The court may, in its discretion, appoint some dis¬ creet person to hear any individual case or annually to hear such cases as may be referred to him or her and make findings of fact, in the same capacity and except as may be otherwise provided herein, with like powers and duties and under such practice and rules, as far as practicable, as pertain to the ap¬ pointment of referees. Said referee shall hear all cases coming within the provisions of this act, and make report thereof, with his or her conclusions, findings and recommendations to the court. If no exceptions be taken to said report and no petition for review be filed, the report may be confirmed by an order of said court, and shall thereupon be and become the judgment of said court. Until said report or said exceptions shall be acted upon by the court, the conclusions, findings and recommenda¬ tions of the referee shall stand and be in effect, as fully and effectually as though duly confirmed by the court, and during the said time the referee shall have control over the person of the child, and may alter or modify his conclusions, findings and recommendations, and his disposition of said child. The ref¬ eree shall have the same qualifications as are now required for probation officers, and be appointed and hold office during the pleasure of the judge presiding in the juvenile court, and shall recieve compensation to be fixed by the court, which, when ap¬ pointed annually, shall not exceed that received by a probation officer, and when appointed in individual cases shall not exceed that fixed by law for referees. Section 3. By amending Section 5 of said act by striking out in line 2 the words “seventeen (17)” and inserting in lieu there¬ of the words “eighteen (18)” so that said section , when so amended , shall read as follows: 212 Report of the Missouri [46 Section 5. WHEN FOUND NEGLECTED, CHILD MAY BE COMMITTED, HOW.—When any child under the age of eighteen (18) years shall be found to be neglected within the meaning of this act, the juvenile court may make an order com¬ mitting the child, under such conditions as it may prescribe, to the care of some reputable person of good moral character, or to the care of some association willing to receive it, embracing in its objects the purpose of caring for neglected children, or to any institution, incorporated under the laws of this state that may care for children, or to any institution which now or here¬ after may be established by the state or county for the care of boys or girls, or the court may return the child to the parent or guardian, under the supervision of a probation officer. The court may, when the health or condition of the child requires it, cause the child to be placed in a public hospital or institution for treatment or care or in a private hospital or institution which shall receive it for like purpose without charge. Section 4. By amending Section 6 of said act , by striking out in lines 2 and 3 the words “seventeen (17)” and inserting in lieu thereof the words “eighteen (18)”; and by striking out in line 2 the word “such”; by striking out in lines 5 and 6 the words “now or hereafter having jurisdiction of the offense charged ,” and by striking out in line 6 the word “such” and inserting in lieu thereof the word “the”; and by striking out in lines 11 and 12 the words “in accordance with the law for the trial of such offenses” and inserting in lieu thereof the words “as herein provided”; so that said section , when amended , shall read as follows .* Section 6. CASE TO ORIGINATE IN OR BE TRANS¬ FERRED TO THE JUVENILE COURT. —When in any county a child under the age of eighteen (18) years is arrested with or without a warrant, such child shall, instead of being taken to trial before a justice of the peace or police magistrate, or judge of any other court, be taken directly before the juvenile court; or if the child shall have been taken before a justice of the peace or police magistrate or judge of such other court, it shall be the duty of said justice or police magistrate or judge to transfer the case to such juvenile court, and of the officer having the child in charge to take such child before said court, and the said court shall proceed to hear the case, as herein provided. Section 5. By amending Section 7 by inserting after the word “act” in line 1 the words “against a child as delinquent”; by striking out in line 2 the words “information or” and by striking 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 213 out part of line 2, all of line 3, all of line 4 and part of line 5, be¬ ginning with the word “city” in line 2 and ending with the words “or complaints” in line 5, and inserting in lieu thereof the words “probation officer provided for in this act”; by striking out in line 8 the word “information” and inserting in lieu thereof the word “complaint” and by striking out in line 9 the word “infor¬ mation” and inserting in lieu thereof the word “complaint”; so that said section , when amended , shall read as follows: Section 7. PROCEEDINGS, HOW HELD.—All proceed¬ ings under this act against a child as delinquent shall be by sworn complaint, to be filed by the probation officer provided for in this act, verified by his oath, which may be on information or belief, or by oath of some person competent to testify as a witness in the case, or supported by the affidavit of such per son, which shall be filed with the complaint. The complaint shall in a general way state that the act or acts claimed to have been committed by any child shall constitute such a child a “delinquent child” within the meaning of this act. In place of a warrant for the arrest of any child a summons may issue as provided in Section 4 of this act. Section 6. By amending Section 8 by striking out in line 5 the words “seventeen (17)” and inserting in lieu thereof the words “eighteen (18)”; by inserting in line 6 between the words “court” and “all” the words “except as otherwise herein provided. No order of court adjudging any child neglected, dependent or de¬ linquent shall in any case be deemed a conviction of crime”; and by inserting in line 8, between the words “children” and “rest” the words “when proceeded against under this act”; and by in¬ serting between the words “court” and “and” in line 8 the words “provided that in proceedings hereunder no delinquent shall be committed directly to the penitentiary, or in any way committed so that the commission to the penitentiary shall begin before such delinquent is twenty-one (21) years of age,” and by strik¬ ing out in the next to the last line the word “his” and inserting the word “the” and adding after the word “discretion” the words “of said judge.” So that said section , when amended , shall read as follows: Section 8. NO COURT DEPRIVED OF POWER TO ORIGINATE PROCEEDINGS.—Nothing in this act shall be construed as depriving any court or magistrate of such counties of the powers now given them by the law to fde complaints and issue warrants for the arrest of children under the age of eight- 214 Report of the Missouri [46 een (18) years, but all subsequent proceedings shall be had in the juvenile court, except as otherwise herein provided. No order of court adjudging any child neglected, dependent or de¬ linquent, shall in any case be deemed a convicion of crime, and all punishments and penalties imposed by law upon persons for the commission of offenses shall, in the case of said delinquent children, when proceeded against under this act, rest in the dis¬ cretion -of the judge of the juvenile court, provided that in pro¬ ceedings hereunder no delinquent shall be committed directly to the penitentiary, or in any way committed so that the com¬ mission to the penitentiary shall begin before such delinquent is twenty-one (21) years of age, and execution of any sentence may be suspended or remitted in the discretion of said judge. Section 7. By amending Section 9 of said act by striking out in line 2 the words “or the criminal court” ; by striking out in line 2 the words “where constituted” and inserting in lieu thereof the word “acting”; by adding in line 5, after the word “court” and before the word “Whenever” the words “women shall not be dis¬ qualified from holding the position of probation officer”; by in¬ serting in line 8, after the word “court” the words “or referee”; by inserting in line 10, after the word “court ” the words “or ref¬ eree”; by striking out in line 11 the words “as the judge” and in¬ serting the word “they”; by striking out inline 12 the word “trial” and inserting in lieu thereof the word “hearing”; by inserting in line 13, after the word “court” the words “or referee”; by striking out in line 17 the words “five hundred” and inserting in lieu there¬ of the word “fifty” and adding to the section the words “in coun¬ ties of less than fifty thousand (50,000) population said proba¬ tion officer, deputy probation offlicer and persons in charge of places of detention shall be appointed with the approval of the state board of charitiesand corrections.” So that said section , when amended , shall read as follows: Section 9. APPOINTMENT OF PROBATION OFFI¬ CER—DUTIES.—The circuit court acting as a juvenile court under this act shall appoint a discreet person of good character, not under the age of twenty-five years, to serve as probation officer during the pleasure of the court. Women shall not be disqualified from holding the position of probation officer. Whenever there is to be a child brought before the juvenile court, it shall be the duty of the clerk of said court, if practic¬ able, to notify the probation officer in advance of that fact. It shall be the duty of the probation officer to make such investiga- 46 ] Children’s Code Commission. 215 tion of the child as may be required by the court or referee, to be present in court in order to represent the interests of the child when the case is heard, and to furnish to the court or referee such information, and assistance they may require, and to take charge of any child before and after hearing, as may be directed by the court or referee. Probation officers are hereby vested with all the power and authority of sheriffs to make arrests and perform other duties incident to their office. The juvenile court shall have power to make rules specifying the duties of the probation officers in any and all cases. In counties now or hereafter containing fifty thousand inhabitants or more the pro¬ bation officer, deputy probation officers and persons in charge of places of detention shall be appointed on the basis of merit, after competitive examination had in pursuance of rules made a matter of record of the circuit court. In counties of less than fifty thousand (50,000) population said probation officer, deputy probation officers and persons in charge of places of detention shall be appointed with the approval of the state board of char¬ ities and corrections. Section 8. By amending Section 10 of said act by adding thereto the following: “In addition, the court may appoint volun¬ teer probation officers to serve without compensation, subject to such regulations and directions as the court may deem proper. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibit¬ ing the appointment of any existing officers of the court or of the county or of any school district within the county to these positions with or without additional salary within the limits pro¬ vided in Section 11.” So that said section , when amended , shall read as follows: Section 10. DEPUTIES MAY BE APPOINTED.—The judge of the juvenile court shall have the authority to appoint one or more deputy probation officers, to serve as probation officers during the pleasure of the court. Women shall not be disqualified from holding the position of deputy probation of¬ ficer. In addition, the court may appoint volunteer probation officers to serve without compensation, subject to such regula¬ tions and directions as the court may deem proper. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the appointment of any existing officers of the court or of the county or of any school district within the county to these positions with or with¬ out additional salary within the limits provided in Section 11. 216 Report of the Missouri [46 Section 9. By amending Section 11 of said act by striking out in line 2 the words “or the criminal court ” and by striking out in lines 6 and 7 the words “one thousand dollars ” and inserting in lieu thereof the words “fifteen hundred dollars,’’ and by in¬ serting after the word “inhabitants ” in line 7 the words “and not exceeding one thousand dollars per annum in counties of twenty thousand (20,000) inhabitants and less than fifty thou¬ sand (50,000) inhabitants, and not exceeding three hundred dollars per annum in counties of less than twenty thousand (20,000) inhabitants”; and by striking out in line 9 the words “or the criminal court” and by striking out in line 12 the words “100,000 and over” and inserting in lieu thereof the words “fifty thousand (50,000) inhabitants and less” and by striking out part of line 13, and all of line 14, beginning with the words “and not ” in line 13, and inserting in lieu thereof the words “and not exceeding five hundred dollars per annum in counties of twpnty thousand (20,000) and less than fifty thousand (50,000) inhabitants, and not exceeding two hundred dollars per annum in counties of less than twenty thousand inhabitants.” So that said sedion f when amended , shall read as follows: Section 11. SALARIES OF PROBATION OFFICERS.— The probation officers shall receive such salary as the circuit court when constituted as a juvenile court under this act may prescribe, not exceeding twenty-five hundred dollars per annum in counties of five hundred thousand (500,000) inhabitants and over; not exceeding two thousand dollars in counties of one hundred thousand (100,000) inhabitants and less than five hun¬ dred thousand (500,000) inhabitants; and not exceeding fifteen hundred dollars in counties of fifty thousand (50,000) inhab¬ itants and less than one hundred thousand (100,000) inhab¬ itants; and not exceeding one thousand dollars per annum in counties of twenty thousand (20,000) inhabitants and less than fifty thousand (50,000) inhabitants; and not exceeding three hundred dollars per annum in counties of less than twenty thou¬ sand (20,000) inhabitants. Each deputy probation officer shall receive such salary as may be prescribed by the circuit court when constituted as a juvenile court under this act, not exceed¬ ing fifteen hundred dollars per annum in counties of two hun¬ dred thousand (200,000) inhabitants and over; not exceeding one thousand dollars per annum in counties of fifty thousand (50,000) inhabitants and less than two hundred thousand in¬ habitants, and not exceeding five hundred dollars per annum 461 Children's Code Commission. 217 in counties of twenty thousand inhabitants and less than fifty thousand (50,000) inhabitants, and not exceeding two hundred dollars per annum in counties of less than twenty thousand in¬ habitants. The salaries of the probation officer and his deputy shall be payable monthly out of the funds of the county, actual disbursements for necessary expense, exclusive of office expense, made by probation officers while in the performance of their duties, shall be reimbursed to them out of the county funds after approval by the judge of the juvenile court; but no officer shall be allowed for such disbursement a greater sum than two hundred dollars in any one year. Section 10. By amending Section 13 by striking out in line 6 the words “seventeen (17)” and inserting in lieu thereof the words “eighteen (18)”; by striking out in line 13 the words “sentenced to confinement ” and inserting in lieu thereof the word “com¬ mitted” and by inserting in line 20 between the words “ lock-up ” and “and any officer ” the words “and no dependent or neglected child shall be committed to the State Industrial Home for Girls at Chillicothe, or the State Industrial Home for Negro Girls at Tipton, or to the Missouri Reformatory at Boonville, or any other institution maintained by the state for the care of de¬ linquent children.” So that the said section , when amended, shall read as follows: Section 13. DISPOSITION OF DELINQUENT AND NEGLECTED CHILDREN—PENALTY.— In all cases arising under this act, the juvenile court shall require notice to be given and investigation to be made when practicable, as in the several cases under this act provided for, and may adjourn the hearing from time to time for the purpose. The court shall not commit a child under the age of eighteen (18) years to a jail or police station; but if said child is unable to give bail, it may be com¬ mitted to the care of the sheriff, police officer or probation offi¬ cer, who shall, unless otherwise ordered by the court, keep such child in the place or house of detention provided by the county, or such child may be committed to the care of any association willing to receive it, having for one of its objects the care of neglected and delinquent children. When the delinquent child shall be committed to any institution to which adult convicts are sentenced, it shall be unlawful to confine such child in the same building with such adult convicts, or to bring such child into any yard or building in which adult convicts may be pres¬ ent, or to permit any contact or intercourse whatever between 218 Report of the Missouri [46 such child and such adults. No child within the provisions of this act under the age of fourteen (14) years shall, under any circumstances, be incarcerated in any common jail or lock-up and no dependent or neglected child shall be committed to the State Industrial Home for Girls at Chillicothe, or the State In¬ dustrial Home for Negro Girls at Tipton, or the Missouri Re¬ formatory at Boonville, or any other institution maintained by the state for the care of delinquent children, and any officer or person so doing shall be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanor and punished accordingly. The judge of the juvenile court may make in vacation any order for the temporary care of any child or children coming within the provisions of this act. Section 11. By adding to said act the following new section , to be known as Section 5 -a: Section 5-a. DEPRIVING PARENTS OF THEIR RIGHTS OF CHILDREN.—If the court shall find any child under the age of majority to be neglected within the meaning of this act, or if either parent of said child, the whereabouts or the name of the other parent being unknown, shall file in said proceedings his or her written consent to the action of the court, the court may by its judgment and decree take away from and deprive the natural parent or parents or guardian of all the legal rights of such parents or guardian as respects the child, and thereafter such natural parents or guardian shall not be entitled to the care or custody of said child, nor to obedience from said child, and such natural parents or guardian shall thereby be relieved from all obligations to support, maintain and educate said child. Section 12. By adding to said act the following new section , to be known as Section 8-a: Section 8-a. JUDGE OF JUVENILE COURT MAY CER¬ TIFY CHILD FOR CRIMINAL TRIAL.—No child under eight een (18) years of age shall be prosecuted for crime until the matter has been first submitted to the juvenile division of the circuit court in the manner hereinbefore provided, but if on such hearing in the juvenile court the judge thereof shall determine v and adjudge that any alleged delinquent child is not a proper one to be dealt with under the reformatory provisions of this act, then the complaint shall be dismissed and such delinquent child prosecuted under the general law; provided that, if found guilty, such child shall not be committed directly to the peniten¬ tiary or in any way committed so that the commitment to the penitentiary shall begin before the age of twenty-one (21) years. 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 219 Section 13. INCONSISTENT ACTS REPEALED.—All acts and parts of acts, inconsistent with the provisions of this act, are hereby repealed. ACTS TO ESTABLISH COUNTY BOARDS OF PUBLIC WELFARE. The Commission submitted to the Forty-ninth General As¬ sembly a bill to create a Board of Public Welfare in each county, composed of the three judges of the county court, the county su¬ perintendent of schools, and the judge of the court hearing children’s cases, to administer the laws relating to children and to supervise welfare work in the counties. The employment of a county superintendent of public welfare was optional with the board. Three plans providing administrative machinery in the counties were submitted to the Commission for consideration at the time: (1) A paid county superintendent of public welfare, ap¬ pointed by and working under the supervision of the county court. (2) A county board of public welfare composed of the three judges of the county court, county superintendent of schools and the judge of the court hearing children’s cases; the employment of a county superintendent to be optional with the board. (3) A county board of public welfare of five members ap¬ pointed by the county court, employing a superintendent of public welfare. The Commission regarded the second plan as the most likely to be successful and a bill for the creation of the county board of public welfare was introduced as a part of the Chil¬ dren’s Code. The measure met opposition in the Legislature, however, and was defeated. After reconsideration and further conferences with interested workers throughout the state, the plan for the appointment of a superintendent of public welfare by the county court has been adopted by the Commission, and such a bill will be introduced in the 1919 Legislature. Discussion of the proposed measure is found in Chapter III, page 30. 220 Report of the Missouri [46 AN ACT TO ESTABLISH COUNTY BOARDS OF PUBLIC WELFARE AND SUPPLEMENTARY ACTS SUBMITTED BY THE COMMISSION TO THE 49TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY, IN 1917 I. An act to establish County Boards of Public Welfare . BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. COUNTY BOARDS OF PUBLIC WELFARE, HOW CONSTITUTED.—There is hereby constituted and es¬ tablished in each county a County Board of Public Welfare, which shall consist of the three members of the county court, the county superintendent of schools and the judge of the court hearing children’s cases. Section 2. COMPENSATION.—The judges of the county court shall, while attending to the duties required by this ar¬ ticle, draw such per diem compensation as is now allowed them by law while holding court; provided, that the judges of the said court shall not receive any per diem compensation for services rendered hereunder on days while the court is in session for the transaction of other business. The judge of the court hearing children’s cases and the county superintendent of schools shall receive no additional salary or compensation because of their duties as members of the County Board of Public Welfare. Section 3. MEETINGS.—The County Board of Public Welfare shall hold regular meetings at least once a month and as many special meetings as it may deem proper and three members of said board shall constitute a quorum for the trans¬ action of business and an affirmative vote of at least three members shall be necessary to authorize any action of the County Board of Public Welfare. Section 4. RECORDS.—The records of cases handled and business transacted by the County Board of Public Welfare shall be kept in such manner and form as may be prescribed by the State Board of Charities and Corrections. Section 5. BOARD TO MAKE YEARLY REPORT.—The County Board of Public Welfare shall each year prepare a full report of its proceedings during the year and shall publish the same and file a copy with the secretary of the State Board of 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 221 Charities and Corrections and with the judge of the circuit court, on or before the first day of November of each year. Section 6. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE AND ADDITIONAL EMPLOYES.—The County Board of Public Welfare may appoint officers without salary to assist in the performance of its duties and may, when the money is appropriated therefor by the county court, employ a county superintendent of public welfare to have general charge of all the work of the board at a salary to be fixed by the county court, and may employ under the same circumstances such assistants as may be necessary. Section 7. QUALIFICATIONS OF COUNTY SUPERIN¬ TENDENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE AND OTHER PAID EM¬ PLOYES.—The County Board of Public Welfare shall appoint as county superintendent of public welfare or as paid assistants only such persons as possess certificates of qualification as so¬ cial workers from the State Board of Charities and Corrections; provided that the County Board of Public Welfare may make temporary appointments of persons without such certificates when there is not available any person possessing a certificate of qualification as a social worker; but the term of such tempo¬ rary employes shall expire within thirty days from the date upon which the State Board of Charities and Corrections notifies the County Board of Public Welfare that there is available a list of persons possessing certificates of qualification as social work¬ ers, and all subsequent appointments must be made from such lists. Section 8. CERTIFICATES.—Certificates of qualification as social worker issued to persons by the State Board of Char¬ ities and Corrections shall be of four grades: Professional, first grade, second grade and third grade; and shall continue in force in the order named for the respective periods of five years, three years, two years and one year. Certificates shall be is¬ sued only to persons who are citizens of Missouri and who have completed the equivalent of a four years’ high school course or hold teachers’ certificates issued by the state superintendent of schools, by a state normal school or by the state university, and have in addition, successfully passed an examination covering prac¬ tical questions in poverty, crime, sanitation, recreation, indus¬ trial problems, and such other subjects as may be required by the State Board of Charities and Corrections. The County Board of Examiners of Teachers’ Certificates shall conduct the 222 Report of the Missouri [46 examinations at the time and place of the regular teachers’ ex¬ aminations, and the questions for the papers on crime, poverty, sanitation, recreation, industrial problems, etc., shall be pro¬ vided by the State Board of Charities and Corrections which shall have charge of the grading of the papers. Professional certificates shall be issued to persons of not less than twenty-five years of age, who have successfully served as county superintendent of public welfare for a period of three years; provided that the person who receives a professional cer¬ tificate shall make in the examinations a general average of not less than 90 per cent. Any person holding a professional cer¬ tificate shall be entitled to a renewal of said professional cer¬ tificate by the State Board of Charities and Corrections without examination; provided, said applicant shall not have remained out of service as a county superintendent of public welfare or other professional social work longer than two consecutive years. Certificates of the first grade may be issued to persons of not less than twenty-one years of age, who have successfully served as county superintendent of public welfare or in other professional social work for a period of two years and who have made in examination a general average of not less than 90 per cent. Certificates of the second grade may be issued to persons of not less than twenty-one years of age who have served suc¬ cessfully as county superintendent of public welfare or in other professional social work for a period of not less than one year and who have made in the examination a general average of not less than 80 per cent. Certificates of the third grade may be issued to persons of not less than twenty-one years of age, who have made in the examination a general average of not less than 75 per cent. Section 9. DISBURSING OF FUNDS.—The county court may appropriate funds to the Board of Public Welfare which shall be applied by the Board of Public Welfare to its various activities in such proportion as it deems best, but in the dis¬ bursement of its funds and making of contracts the Board of Public Welfare shall be subject to the same restrictions as con¬ trol the county court. Section 10. DUTIES OF THE BOARD.—It shall be the duty of the County Board of Public Welfare to administer all of the funds devoted to the care of the poor, sick and distressed of 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 223 the county, and to administer the charitable and correctional institutions of the county. It shall seek to discover any cases of neglected, dependent, defective or delinquent children in the county and take all reasonable action within its power to secure for them the full benefits of the laws enacted in their behalf. Section 11. TO ACT AS AUXILIARY TO THE STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS.—The County Board of Public Welfare may be deputized or authorized by the State Board of Charities and Corrections to act as its agent in relation to any work to be done by the state board within the county, and when said County Board of Public Welfare is so authorized as the agent of the State Board of Charities and Cor¬ rections, it shall have the same powers and authority as are given to the State Board of Charities and Corrections. The County Board of Public Welfare may at any time call on the State Board of Charities and Corrections for advice and assist¬ ance in the performance of its duties. Section 12. AFTER-CARE OF THE INSANE.—The County Boards of Public Welfare in each county shall, upon re¬ quest of the State Board of Charities and Corrections and in ac¬ cordance with its direction, give special care and attention to the needs of any patient recently discharged from a State Hos¬ pital for the Insane who resides in their respective counties, either on parole or permanent discharge, to the end that such patients may be established in such favorable circumstances as shall tend to prevent their relapse into insanity, and shall re¬ port on the progress of such former patients to the State Board of Charities and Corrections, and under its direction, to the in¬ stitution from which they have been paroled or discharged. Section 13. OVERSIGHT OF PRISONERS PLACED ON PAROLE OR PROBATION.—The County Boards of Public Welfare shall give such oversight and supervision to prisoners who are on parole from the State Penitentiary and are residing in their respective counties as may be requested by the State Prison Board and shall report upon the progress of said paroled prisoners to the State Prison Board as often as they request. The County Board of Public Welfare in each' county shall give such oversight and supervision to persons who are on pa¬ role from the Missouri Reformatory or to such girls as may be on parole from the State Industrial Home for Girls or from the State Industrial Home for Negro Girls, as the proper authorities of these respective institutions request, and shall report to said 224 Report of the Missouri 146 institutions upon the progress of those persons on parole from them as often as they are requested by said state institutions. The County Board of Public Welfare in each county shall give oversight and supervision to prisoners on parole or proba¬ tion by any court in the State of Missouri and shall investigate applications for clemency when requested to do so by said courts, and shall report in regard to each person placed under its supervision to the court placing said person under its super¬ vision. The County Board of Public Welfare shall also give over¬ sight and supervision to children placed on parole or probation by the juvenile court or the court having jurisdiction of chil¬ dren’s cases in any county in the state when requested to do so by said court and shall report to said court upon the progress of persons thus placed on parole or probation. Section 14. RECREATION.—The County Board of Pub¬ lic Welfare shall have the power to issue and revoke licenses for all commercial amusements operated in the'county outside the limits of any incorporated city or town, and to make rules and regulations governing the conduct of such commercial amuse¬ ments. Section 15. OVERSIGHT OF DEPENDENT CHILDREN. The County Board of Public Welfare in each county shall act as local representative of the Children’s Bureau of the State Board of Charities and Corrections and shall, upon the request of said bureau, assist in finding suitable foster homes and shall report to said State Board of Charities and Corrections up >n the prog¬ ress and welfare of children who have been placed in foster homes by the Bureau for Children. Section 16. ASSISTING STATE EMPLOYMENT BU¬ REAUS.—The County Board of Public Welfare in each county shall co-operate with the State Free Employment Bureaus and shall, upon the request of the head of such bureaus, furnish data with regard to the opportunities for employment in their respective counties and shall aid and assist in any practical way in securing employmentf or the unemployed of their respective counties. Section 17. INVESTIGATION INTO THE CAUSES OF DISTRESS.—It shall be the duty of the County Board of Pub¬ lic Welfare to investigate the conditions of living among the poor, sick and delinquent in the county and to examine thor¬ oughly into the causes of crime and poverty in the county and 46 ] Children’s Code Commission. 225 to make recommendations from time to time to the State Board of Charities and Corrections and to proper local authorities as to any change or any legislation necessary to prevent or reduce poverty, crime or distress in the state. The investigators of said Board of Public Welfare may be deputized as agents of the State Bureau of Labor Statistics and when they are so deputized by the State Bureau of Labor Statistics they shall exercise all of the authority to make investigations which is granted to the State Bureau of Labor Statistics. Section 18. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE TO ACT AS ATTENDANCE OFFICER.—The County Superintendent of Public Welfare, upon the request of any board having charge of a public school in any district in the county, shall act as attendance officer to enforce the provi¬ sions of Sections 10886 to 10905, inclusive, of the Revised Stat¬ utes of 1909, with such additional compensation, if my, as may be ordered by the county court or by the Board of Education of the school district, and in any such case shall have all the powers and duties of an attendance officer, as provided by the aforesaid sections or other similar acts. Section 19. COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE TO ACT AS ADMINISTRATOR.—The County Superintendent of Public Welfare may be appointed as adminis¬ trator of small estates of widows or children by the probate court and when he is so appointed he shall act in that capacity without pay so long as he is County Superintendent of Public Welfare. Section 20. INCONSISTENT AND CONFLICTING ACTS REPEALED.—All acts and parts of acts inconsistent or in conflict with this act are hereby repealed, provided that this act shall not be construed to apply to the City of St. Louis, and provided that this act shall not be construed to repeal or amend House bill No. 568 of the Session Acts of 1913, pages 134 to 137, which provides for Social Welfare Boards in certain coun¬ ties. II. An act to repeal Article 4 of Chapter 19 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of Missouri of 1909 , including Sections 1333 to 1350 , inclu¬ sive, and to substitute therefor a new article to be known as Article 4 of Chapter 19 , with sections numbered from 1333 to 1351 , in¬ clusive. 46—15 226 Report of the Missouri [46 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Article 4 of Chapter 19 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of Missouri of 1909, including Sections 1333 to 1350, inclu- ive, be and the same is hereby repealed , and there is substituted in lieu therefor a new article , to be known as Article 4 of Chapter 19, with sections numbered from 1333 to 1351, as follows: Section 1333. COUNTY TO SUPPORT POOR.—Poor persons shall be relieved, maintained and supported by the county of which they are inhabitants. Section 1334-a. WHO DEEMED POOR.—Aged, infirm, lame, blind, sick or destitute persons, who are unable to sup¬ port themselves, and when there are no other persons required by law and able to maintain them, shall be deemed poor per¬ sons. Section 1334-b. STATE ALLOWANCES FOR CERTAIN POOR PERSONS.—All needy and deserving widows and wives whose husbands are in any state prison, penitentiary, in¬ sane asylum or other state charitable or correctional institutions, disabled persons and those dependent upon such persons, shall be entitled to systematic and adequate relief, and where such persons have not sufficient resources of their own or support from relations to provide adequately for them and their de¬ pendents, stated allowance for such adequate support may be provided by the County Board of Public Welfare in the county in which they reside and shall be furnished to them according to the further provisions of this act. Section 1335. WHO DEEMED AN INHABITANT.—No person shall be deemed an inhabitant within the meaning of this article who has not resided within the county for a period of twelve months next preceding the time of any order being made respecting such poor person, or who shall have removed from another county for the purpose of imposing the burden of keep¬ ing such poor person on the county in which relief is sought. Whenever a decision has been rendered by the State Board of Charities and Corrections indicating that a person is properly a burden upon the charities of any county of this state, it shall be the duty of the County Board of Public Welfare to assume over¬ sight of such person and it shall be unlawful for any public authority to such county to avoid the support or care of such person by transporting him or her outside the county or aiding in such transportation. 46 ] Children’s Code Commission. 227 Section 1336. COUNTY COURT TO PROVIDE FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE POOR.—The county court of each county shall provide the necessary funds to the County Board of Public Welfare for the relief, maintenance and support of the poor. Section 1337-a. COUNTY BOARD OF PUBLIC WEL¬ FARE TO EXERCISE DISCRETION—WHEN.—The exclu¬ sive power to grant stated weekly allowances under this act and also to determine and pass upon all allowances for public out¬ door relief made to poor persons, and to decide who shall be en¬ titled to relief in the county infirmary, poorhouse or county hos¬ pital in each county in Missouri shall be vested in the County Board of Public Welfare of said county; provided, however, that no child under sixteen years of age shall be kept, lodged or em¬ ployed in or about any county or city almshouse for a period exceeding ninety days. Said board shall at all times use its discretion and grant relief to all persons who may require its assist¬ ance without regard to residence, and shall advise the county court in regard to who shall be entitled to be recognized as county charges and sent at the expense of the county to any of the state charitable institutions. Section 1337-b. INVESTIGATION OF APPLICANTS.— The Board of Public Welfare in each county shall investigate thoroughly the applications of all persons for stated allowance under this act, or for any public relief of any kind, and such in¬ vestigation shall be made in the manner and form prescribed by the State Board of Charities and Corrections, to the end that uniform records and rules of procedure may prevail in all coun¬ ties, and a full record of all the pertinent facts in regard to each applicant shall be kept on file and open to the inspection of the county court or the State Board of Charities and Corrections. Section 1338. MAY ALLOW FUNERAL EXPENSES.— The County Board of Public Welfare of each county shall allow such sum as it shall think reasonable for the funeral expenses of any person who shall die within the county without means to pay such funeral expenses. Section 1339. MAY PURCHASE OR LEASE LAND.—The county court shall have power, whenever it may think it expedi¬ ent, to purchase or lease any quantity of land in the county, not exceeding three hundred and twenty acres, and receive a con¬ veyance to the county for the same. Section 1340. MAY ERECT POORHOUSE ON LEASED LANDS, ETC.—Such county court may cause to be erected on 228 Report of the Missouri [46 the land so purchased or leased a convenient poorhouse or houses, and cause other necessary labor to be done, and re¬ pairs and improvements made, and may appropriate from the revenue of their respective counties such sum as will be suffi¬ cient to pay the purchase money in one or more payments, to improve the same, and to defray the necessary expenses. Section 1341. SUPERINTENDENT SHALL BE AP¬ POINTED.—Whenever such poorhouse or houses are erected, the County Board of Public Welfare shall have the power to appoint a fit and discreet person to superintend the same and the poor who may be kept thereat, and to allow' such superin¬ tendent a reasonable compensation for his services. Section 1342. POWERS OF SUPERINTENDENT.—Such superintendent shall have power to cause persons kept at such poorhouse, who are able to do useful labor, to perform the same by reasonable and h imane coercion. Section 1343. THE COUNTY BOARD OF PUBLIC WEL¬ FARE SHALL MAKE NECESSARY ORDERS AND RULES.— The County Board of Public Welfare shall have power to make all necessary and proper orders and rules for the support and government of the poor kept at such poorhouses, and for supply¬ ing them with the necessary raw materials to be converted by their labor into articles of use, and for the disposing of the prod¬ ucts of such labor and applying the proceeds thereof to the support of the institution. Section 1344. COUNTY COURTS SHALL PROVIDE NECESSARY AMOUNTS FOR THE ANNUAL SUPPORT.— The County Board of Public Welfare shall maintain the county poorhouse out of funds apportioned to it by the county court. Section 1345. MAY REMOVE SUPERINTENDENT.— The County Board of Public Welfare may at any time, for good cause, remove the superintendent and appoint another to fill the vacancy. Section 1346. SUPERINTENDENT TO KEEP REC¬ ORDS.—It shall be the duty of the superintendent of the poor farm, as provided for in this article, to keep records with regard to all his financial transactions and with regard to the important facts concerning the inmates, and such records shall be kept in form and manner as may be prescribed by the State Board of Charities and Corrections. Section 1347. PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO KEEP PROPER RECORDS.—Should the superintendent of the poor 46 ] Children’s Code Commission. 229 farm fail or refuse to keep proper records, this failure or refusal would be sufficient cause for removal by the County Board of Public Welfare. Section 1348. MONEY TO BE PAID INTO THE TREAS¬ URY.—All money that shall come into the hands of the super¬ intendent from the sale of farm products, stock or other articles belonging to the county and all other money belonging to the county that shall come into his hands from other sources, ex¬ cept by warrants drawn in his favor by the County Board of Public Welfare, shall be paid into the county treasury and placed with the fund appropriated to the County Board of Public Welfare, and a receipt taken for the same. Section 1349. SUPERINTENDENT TO GIVE BOND.— Every superintendent before entering upon his duties shall enter into a bond to the State of Missouri in a sum not less than five hundred (500) nor more than three thousand (3,000) dol¬ lars, to be determined by the County Board of Public Welfare, conditioned that he will faithfully account for all money be¬ longing to the county that shall come into his hands, and that he will exercise due diligence and care over property belonging to the county, under his control. Said bond shall be approved by the County Board of Public Welfare and filed with the sec¬ retary thereof. Section 1350. NOT APPLICABLE TO CERTAIN COUN¬ TIES.—Provided, that the four preceding sections shall not apply to any county where the support and keeping of the poor is let out by contract, nor to any county where the superintend¬ ent rents or leases the poor farm and stocks the same and fur¬ nishes the necessary farm implements used thereon at his own expense, and carries on said farm at his own expense, but the power to arrange such contracts for keeping the poor or such lease of the poor farm shall rest entirely with the County Board of Public Welfare and the terms of the contract shall be such that the County Board of Public Welfare can control the standard of care given to the poor and the kind of records kept with regard to them. Section 1351. INCONSISTENT AND CONFLICTING ACTS REPEALED.—All acts and parts of acts inconsistent or in conflict with this act are hereby repealed, provided that this act shall not apply to the City of St. Louis. 230 Report of the Missouri [46 III. An act to amend Article 5 of Chapter 19 of the Revised Stat¬ utes of Missouri of 1909 bp amending Section 135 2 of said Re¬ vised Statutes by striking out in the third line of said section the words “such' county court ” and substituting in lieu thereof the words “ the County Board of Public Welfare”, and by striking out in the fourth line of said section the words “county court ” and inserting in lieu thereof the words “County Board of Public Wel¬ fare”; also to repeal Section 1353 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909 and to substitute therefor a new section , to be known as Section 1353; also by adding two new sections to said Article 5, to be known as Sections 1365-a and 1365-6. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI , AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. That Section 1352 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909 be and the same is hereby amended by striking out in the third line of said section the words “such county court ” and substituting in lieu thereof the following words: “the County Board of Public Welfare”, and by striking out in the fourth line of said section the words “county court ” and substituting in lieu thereof the following words: “County Board of Public Welfare”, so that the section as amended shall read as follows: Section 1352. COUNTY POOR TO BE KEPT IN COUNTY HOSPITAL.— Whenever a county hospital is estab¬ lished and built by the county court, as provided by Section 1351 of this article, it shall be the duty of the County Board of Public Welfare to place therein all of the poor persons that the County Board of Public Welfare shall deem proper to place in said county hospital, who shall be kept there and treated. Section 2. That Section 1353 of the Revised Statutes of Mis¬ souri of 1909 be and the same is hereby repealed and there is sub¬ stituted therefor a new section to be known as Section 1353 as follows: Section 1353. COUNTY BOARDS OF PUBLIC WEL¬ FARE TO MAKE RULES AND REGULATIONS.—The County Board of Public Welfare of any such county shall make all rules and regulations for the government of such a hospital, appoint and employ such officers and attendants as in their judgment may be proper, prescribe their duties and fix their compensation. The ex- 46 ] Children's Code Commission. 231 penses of maintaining such hospital, including the compensa¬ tion of officers and employes thereof, shall be paid out of the general revenue fund of such counties, or from the same sources as are provided by law for caring for the poor by counties. Section 3. That the following new sections are hereby en¬ acted , to be known as Sections 1365-a and 1365 -b, as follows: Section 1365-a. PENALTY FOR THE VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT.—Any person or corpora¬ tion who shall violate any of the provisions of Sections 1352 or 1353, or any of the lawful orders or regulations of the State Board of Charities and Corrections or of the County Boards of Public Welfare, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceed¬ ing one hundred (100) dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than fifty (50) days. Section 1365-b. APPROPRIATION.—There is hereby ap¬ propriated out of the moneys in the general revenue fund, not otherwise appropriated, the sum of (-) dollars to the State Board of Charities and Corrections for the purpose of ex¬ ecuting the provisions of this act in so far as the State Board of Charities and Corrections is charged with the execution of the provisions of this act. Section 4. INCONSISTENT AND CONFLICTING ACTS REPEALED.—All acts and parts of acts inconsistent or in con¬ flict with this act are hereby repealed, provided that this act shall not be construed to apply to the City of St. Louis. V ' '• * \ *» * • ^ i . -m