dbc Univcrsitv of Chicago libraries VLRSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN STACKS The person charging this material is re- sponsible for its return to the library from which it was withdrawn on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University. To renew call Telephone Center, 333-840O UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 2 jXffiEB 1 9 201 ftj>R08p8 SEP JUN 8 191 8 1 OCT06 DEC 05 S3 L161 O-1096 RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME A STUDY OF THE DELINQUENT WARDS OF THE JUVENILE COURT OF CHICAGO BY SOPHONISBA P. BRECKINRIDGE, PH.D. AND EDITH ABBOTT, PH.D. DIRECTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL INVESTIGATION, CHICAGO SCHOOL OF CIVICS AND PHILANTHROPY WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY JULIA C. LATHROP CHIEF OF THE FEDERAL CHILDREN'S BUREAU NEW YORK SURVEY ASSOCIATES, INC. MCM XVI IDU'.CAT Copyright, 1912, by THE RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION Printed June, 1912 Reprinted February, 1916 PRESS OF WM. F. FELL CO. PHILADELPHIA 3C//.36 B -/M,,. .7 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION i CHAPTER I. Description of the Inquiry II. The Wards of the Court III. The Child of the Immigrant: The Problem of Adjust- ment . . 55 IV. The Poor Child: The Problem of Poverty . . . 70 V. The Orphan and the Homeless Child: The Problem of Misfortune .90 VI. The Child from the Degraded Home: The Problem f Degeneracy 105 VII. The Child from the Crowded Home: The Problem of Confusion . . . 115 VIII. The Ignorant Child: The Problem of the School . .126 IX. The Child without Play: The Problem of Neighbor- hood Neglect 151 X. The Child from the Comfortable Home: The Problem of the Unmanageable Boy 160 XI. The Court and the Delinquent Family: Some Aspects of the Problem of Treatment 170 APPENDICES I. Legal Problems Involved in the Establishment of the Juvenile Court 181 II. Testimony of Judge Merritt W. Pinckney . . . 202 III. Abstract of Juvenile Court Laws 247 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE IV. Family Paragraphs Relating to the Delinquency of 100 Boys Brought into the Juvenile Court of Cook County at Chicago, Illinois, between July i, 1903, and July i, 1904 267 V. Family Paragraphs Relating to the Delinquency of 50 Girls Committed to the State Training School at Geneva by the Juvenile Court of Cook County at Chicago, Illinois, during the Years 1903 to 1908, 314 VI. Copies of Schedules Used in the Inquiry . . . 333 INDEX 345 Vlll LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1. Number of Delinquent Boys and Girls brought to court each year from July i, 1899,10 June 30, 1909 .... 21 2. Delinquent Boys brought to court each year from July i, 1899, to June 30, 1909. Numbers and percentages. By age . 24 3. Delinquent Girls brought to court each year from July i, 1899, to June 30, 1909. Numbers and percentages. By age . 24 4. Delinquent Boys and Girls brought to court during the ten-year period from July i, 1899, to June 30, 1909. Totals and per- centages. By age 26 5. Delinquent Boys brought to court each year from July i, 1899, to June 30, 1909. Numbers and percentages. By offense. 28 6. Specified offense of 908 delinquent boys brought to court on the charge of stealing, between July i, 1907, and June 30, 1909 29 7. Delinquent girls brought to court each year from July i, 1899, to June 30, 1909. Numbers and percentages. By offense . 36 8. Delinquent boys and girls brought to court during the ten-year period from July i, 1899, to June 30, 1909. Totals and per- centages. By offense 39 9. Disposition of cases of all children brought to court between July i, 1899, and June 30, 1909 40 10. Number of times delinquent children were brought to court during the eight-year period from July i, 1899, to June 30, 1907 . 42 1 1 . General nativity of parents of delinquent children brought to court between July i, 1899, and June 30, 1909. (Data from court records.) 57 12. General nativity of parents of 584 delinquent boys brought to court between July i, 1899, and June 30, 1909 (Data from family schedules.) 59 13. General nativity of married population of Chicago . . .62 14. Age at immigration of foreign born parents of delinquent boys . 63 ix LIST OF TABLES TABLE. PACK 15. Number of foreign born parents (of 280 delinquent boys) from other than English-speaking countries who were able to speak, read, or write English 63 16. Classification into economic groups of families of 584 boys and 157 girls for whom family schedules were obtained . . 72 17. Occupation before commitment of 181 girls (77 from Cook County and 104 from other counties) sent to the State Training School 78 1 8. Occupations of working mothers of 103 delinquent boys and 65 delinquent girls brought to court during 1903-04 . . .84 - 19. Parental condition of delinquent children brought to court between July i, 1899, and June 30, 1909. (Data from court records.) 91 - 20. Parental conditiqn of 584 delinquent boys and 157 delinquent girls brought to court during 1903-04. (Data from family schedules.) 92 _2i. Number of children brought to court as dependent and later returned as delinquent in - 22. Number of children in the families of 584 delinquent Boys and 157 delinquent girls 116 - 23. Age at marriage of parents of delinquent boys. (Data for 404 fathers and 430 mothers, from family schedules.) . . .124 - 24. Age at marriage of parents of delinquent girls. (Data for 87 fathers and 94 mothers.) 124 25. Age at which 274 delinquent boys entered school. By nation- ality 128 26. Last grade attended by 262 delinquent boys, and age at leaving school 129 27. Delinquent boys who "would not go to school" during the years 1903-1904 and 1907-1908. By age 141 28. Last grade attended by 705 delinquent girls before their commit- ment to Geneva, and age at time of commitment . .143 29. Offenses of delinquent boys from comfortable homes (i. e., from groups III or IV) brought to court during 1903-04 . . 166 30. Ages of delinquent boys from comfortable homes (i. e., from groups III or IV) 167 " It is as if we ignored a wistful, over-confident creature who walked through our city streets calling out, 'I am the spirit of Youth! With me, all things are possible!' We fail to understand what he wants or even to see his doings* although his acts are pregnant with meaning, and we may either translate them into a sordid chronicle of petty vice or turn them into a solemn school for civic righteousness." JANE ADDAMS. The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets. INTRODUCTION BY JULIA C. LATHROP THIS study of juvenile delinquency in Cook County, Illinois, should perhaps be prefaced by a brief statement of the conditions which led to the establishment of the juvenile court of Cook County. These conditions are of importance since they were in general such as survived in other parts of the world at the time of the enactment of the Illinois law in 1899. They must also be taken into consideration in weighing the unquestionable imperfections which still exist in the organization of the Illinois juvenile courts and in their resources. Until the opening of the juvenile court of Cook County, July i, 1899, the offenses of Chicago children were dealt with under the same laws and in the same courts as were the offenses of adults. The police courts, 1 1 in number, scattered over the 190 square miles of the city, had jurisdiction over most of the offenses for which children were held. Children who were arrested and were unable to furnish bail, were placed in the cells of the police station, tried by the police justice, and if punished, were fined and imprisoned in the Bridewell, the city prison. The child "laid out" his fine unless his parents were willing and able to pay it. If the fine was paid, the resources of the family were re- duced by just so much, with an effect upon the family comfort which can be judged better after reading the chapter entitled The Poor Child. As to the effect of imprisonment, we have no way of measuring the intrinsic demoralization of a child from a prison term, however great the effort to minimize its evils by such methods as the helpful instruction given by the John Worthy Manual Training School, maintained by the Chicago Board of i THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME Education at the city prison, and by the Pontiac Reformatory, maintained by the state of Illinois. From the first of January, 1899, when the legislature met which enacted the measure popularly known as the Juvenile Court Law, until the first of July, 1899, when that law went into effect, 332 boys between the ages of nine and sixteen years were sent to the city prison. Three hundred and twenty of them were sent up on the blanket charge of disorderly conduct, which covered offenses from burglary and assault with a deadly weapon to pick- ing up coal on the railway tracks, building bonfires, playing ball in the street, or "flipping trains," that is, jumping on and off moving cars. The fines imposed, as the following table shows, varied from less than $5.00 to $500 and were "laid out" at the uniform rate of 50 cents a day. NUMBER OF BOYS SENT TO THE BRIDEWELL FROM JANUARY I TO JUNE 30, 1899, AND THE AMOUNT OF FINE IMPOSED UPON THEM Amount of Fine Number of Boys No fine 3 Under $5 1 1 and under $10 13 $10 and under $15 Si 5 and under $20 $20 and under $30 $30 and under $50 $50 and under $70 29 24 81 7' $70 and under $90 47 $90 or over 52 a Total 332 a 5i of these 52 boys were fined $101.50 each and one was fined $500. The first of the two following tables shows that nearly half of these boys were under fourteen and that, while in a small num- ber of cases their fines were paid and in a large number of cases the boys were pardoned by the mayor, the great majority served terms varying from a few days to nine months. It is of interest that the one nine-year-old boy served between three and four months. Of greater interest, however, is the second table, which shows that one-third of these boys had been committed before, some of them as many as six times. 2 INTRODUCTION AGE AT COMMITMENT OF THE 332 BOYS SENT TO THE BRIDEWELL FROM JANUARY I TO JUNE 30, 1899. BY DISPOSITION OF CASE Final Disposition AGE AT COMMITMENT 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Released without serving time by Mayor's pardon Payment of fine Order of court 4 2 9 i >7 3 i? 4 23 10 i 6 8 '6 18 4 6 9 i 9 i 8 i 15 12 I I >3 15 7 7 i Suspension of sentence . Served sentence of Less than i month i to 2 months . 2 to 3 months . 3 to 4 months . 4 to 5 months . 2 6 7 7 I 3 3 3 4 4 13 i 4 5 u 6 months . 6 to 7 months . . . 8 to 9 months . 4 i 3 6 13 6 i Total .... 18 20 48 56 60 57 72 Total Per Cent 103 36 2 31.0 10.8 0.6 3 0.9 36 58 2 10.8 '7-5 0.6 41 12.4 I 0.3 47 2 14.2 0.6 I 0.3 332 IOO.O AGE AT COMMITMENT OF I I I BOYS SENT TO THE BRIDEWELL FROM JANUARY I TO JUNE 30, 1899, WHO HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN COMMITTED Number of Times Pre- viously Committed AGE AT LAST COMMITMENT Total Per Cent 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Once Twice .... Three times Four times i 3 4 2 7 2 '7 6 3 I i 3 II 3 4 15 6 5 i 67 25 8 8 2 60.4 22.5 7-2 7-2 0.9 1.8 Five times Six times .... i i Total i 3 6 9 26 20 19 27 II I IOO.O The alternative to imprisonment was discharge. But dis- charge did not mean, under conditions then prevailing, escape from demoralization. Children who were brought to court were 3 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME again and again "let off" by the police justices who dreaded to send them to the Bridewell; and as may be seen from the first table, many of those who were found guilty and sentenced were later pardoned. Out of the 332 cases sent to the Bridewell during the first half of the year 1899, nearly one-third were pardoned by the mayor. These pardons, usually an alderman's favor, depended upon "pull" at the city hall rather than upon the merits of the case. But the significant fact which must not be overlooked is that, even if "let off" by the justice or pardoned by the mayor, no constructive work was done in the child's behalf. He was returned to the same surroundings that had promoted his delin- [quency, in all probability to be caught again and brought before another justice who, knowing nothing of the previous arrests, would discharge or fine him again as seemed wise at the moment. That is, whatever was done in the case was necessarily done with little or no relation to the child's history or surroundings. Not only in Cook County but throughout the state of Illinois these conditions existed. Boys were kept in "lockups" and jails in the company of adult prisoners, under circumstances which were a guaranty of ruined character, and were "let off with a scolding" by the justices because a jail sentence, however well deserved according to the law, was so manifestly bad for the boy. For years a number of public spirited citizens in Chicago and throughout the state, representing numerous organizations of men and women and various religious beliefs, had felt deep concern over these conditions. Finally, as the culmination of long effort, there was enacted the law of 1899, drawn by Hon. Harvey B. Hurd. It was entitled a Law for the Care of Depen- dent, Neglected, and Delinquent Children. Certain provisions affected local Illinois conditions, but the features which have attracted universal attention have been, of course, those of general application the recognition of the delinquent child as a ward in chancery and not as an accused or convicted criminal, the separate court for children's cases, and the system of probation. Doubtless none of these provisions was an original conception, but the combination of a separate court, a separate place of detention for children, the abolition of fines 4 INTRODUCTION and the system of returning the child to his home and providing probation officers to help him there, was probably new, and was certainly unprecedented in a city as large as Chicago.* Undoubtedly, the spectacular quality inevitable in a court assembling the neglected childhood of a city of 2,000,000 inhabi- tants was an element in securing interest for the Chicago court; but the rapid adoption of similar methods in other parts of this country and abroad was an almost simultaneous expression of a slowly matured, popular conviction that the growing child must not be treated by those rigid rules of criminal procedure which confessedly fail to prevent offenses on the part of adults or to cure adult offenders. Obviously, the new method of dealing with neglected chik dren should take into account not an isolated child, but a child in / a certain family and amid certain neighborhood surroundings, / and a judge should base his action upon the value or the danger to the child of his surroundings. Hence this study inevitably deals with the families to which the children belong, or, too often, with the broken and disfigured fragments of those families. As the material gathered from the court files, the probation * The material equipment and facilities of the Cook County Juvenile Court are now a three-story brick building on Ewing Street, Chicago, which contains on the first floor a court room very simply arranged and so small that only those immediately interested in a case can appear before the judge or hear the proceedings; the offices of the clerks, probation officers, and attorney of the court; the clinic, in which each child is examined by a physician before hearing; and the necessary waiting rooms for the public, officers, and children. On the second and third floors are quarters for temporary care known as the detention home, with separate pro- visions for four classes of children, (i) dependent girls, (2) dependent boys, (3) de- linquent boys, and (4) delinquent girls, together with living accommodations for the superintendent. At present the Juvenile Psychopathic Institute, a volunteer society, also has offices here free o{ charge. This society carries on the work of ex- amining children who there is reason to believe are defective or abnormal, and, in general, places itself at the service of the court. For further description of the Juve- nile Psychopathic Institute and of the school in the juvenile court building, see Hart, Hastings H.: Preventive Treatment of Neglected Children, pp. 282-284. Russell Sage Foundation Publication. The superintendent of the detention home is a trained nurse. She is a civil service appointee as are the physician, the women attendants, and the men guards. Although the children are there only for short periods, usually from a day to a week, it has been found a most effective method of providingorderand a good moral atmosphere to keep them in a school room. The Chicago School Board, recognizing that these are for the most part school children and under the com- pulsory education law, provides public schoo 1 teachers. The greatest care is taken with the food and personal hygiene, and with the organization of the service. 3 5 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME officers' records,* the interviews with probation officers, and from the investigators' visits slowly took form, the histories of these "delinquent" families became so compelling in their interest, so luminous yet so baffling, that it was determined to print in the ap- .^-pendices a series of these brief biographies in the belief that such compressed but faithful records should be preserved.! They will bear many interpretations, but we believe that primarily they show -^ with a new emphasis the importance for weal or woe of the family / unit. The waywardness of the sons and of the daughters goes back to the same causes, is indeed of the same stuff, but with differ- ences of manifestation due to the fact that each child follows the line of least resistance. One sees again and again in the histories of the delinquent boys reference to an older sister gone wrong, just as in the histories of the girls sent to the State Training School at Geneva, the brothers frequently appear as delinquents. The family histories show groups of children whose difficul- ties are assigned to some one principal cause, although they are seldom or never unmixed with various elements, which are con- sidered under the headings of the separate chapters. In addition, certain figures emerge through all the classi- fications. Of these none is more often met and certainly none can be more appealing than that of the working mother. Into her lap ill fortune has poured calamities that have crowded out her children. First come all the causes that take away the support of * This study was possible only because of the approval and co-operation of the various officials in charge of the Chicago Juvenile Court: Hon. Richard S. Tuthill, presiding magistrate, Joseph R. Bidwell, Jr., clerk of the Circuit Court, and Hon. William Busse, president of the board of Cook County Commissioners. The probation officers and the clerk of the court aided in every possible way, often at considerable personal inconvenience. Hull-House generously allowed the use of an office there while the field work was being carried on. All schedules were sub- mitted to Mr. John Keren, of the federal census bureau, and Mr. Ethelbert Stewart, of the United States Bureau of Labor, and their advice was invaluable. Hon. Julian W. Mack and other friends who have read the following pages have given comment and suggestion which have helped to make the inquiry what it is. Mrs. Ophelia Amigh, superintendent of the State Training School for Girls, at Geneva, Illinois, wjjose intelligent and warm-hearted interest in those who came under her charge impelled her to co-operate in this inquiry, was of indispensable assistance. To Dr. Graham Taylor, president of the Chicago School of Civics and Phi- lanthropy, and to Miss Breckinridge and Miss Abbott, directors of its Department of Social investigation, I wish to express my appreciation of the generosity which has permitted a mere associate to write this prefatory note. f See Appendices IV and V, pages 267 and 314. 6 INTRODUCTION the breadwinner: death, too often due to industrial accident or disease, wages below a living standard, lack of work, illness, drunk- enness, desertion all these either temporarily or permanently compelling the mother to be also the breadwinner.* The children, as the phrase goes, "get ahead of her" because there is no one to look after them in the hours when they are not in school. To one familiar with poor neighborhoods, with the records of charity offices and of the juvenile court, there can be no question that a mother cannot be expected to succeed in the duty of keeping her house and children while she uses up in earn- ing money time and strength all of which are needed to discharge the more fundamental duty. Doubtless some women of excep- tional ability do so succeed, but that does not affect the many cases of heroic failure. These paragraphs, together with the chapter which deals with the school, f make a vivid presentation of the fact that many boys are far from possessing that primary tool for earning a living in this country, a decent command of the English language, whether this lack may be chargeable to causes within or without the child's mind. In the selected histories of the families of boysf who have been obvious failures and who are now in Joliet, Pontiac, the Bride- well, and other places of detention, we find drunkenness, poverty, indecency, cruelty, demoralizing childish work at selling papers and at other unskilled, irresponsible occupations, sickness, insan- ity, nagging and beating, coarse bullying, fathers' and mothers' quarrels in brief, there is no phase of family misery which is not illustrated in this fearful picture of a bad child's progress. On * In Chapter V, The Orphan and Homeless Child (Table 19, p.Qi), it is shown that out of the 14,183 children who came into the Chicago court during the years between July i, 1899, and June 30, 1909, 14 per cent of the boys and 18 per cent of the girls had lost their fathers; 9 per cent of the boys and 13 per cent of the girls had lost their mothers. That is, of the children who had lost one parent, over 50 per cent more had lost their fathers than had lost their mothers. Figures as to mothers who have living husbands but who are obliged to work more or less steadily are not always attainable, but they are certainly a considerable additional element. Compare Morrison, W. Douglas: Juvenile Offenders, p. 139. New York, D. Appleton and Company, 1897. In the five years between 1887 and 1891 the number of chil- dren committed to English industrial schools who were dependent upon the mother constituted 20 per cent of the inmates. t Chapter VIII, p. 126. JSee Appendix IV, p. 267. THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME the other hand, nothing is more touching than the many cases in which the boy returns spontaneously and unaccountably from waywardness and settles down to the heavy pull of supporting the family into which he was born, under the very circumstances which seemed to have provoked his rebellion. If a boy's will is the wind's will, and the period of wilful adventure must have its gusty way, it is quite as true that the wind often quiets, and the young worker comes meekly under the family yoke and shows the finest proof of fealty to the family by bringing home his pay envelope unopened. It is not so easy to speak of his elder sister's return, and we are still too unused to regarding her waywardness as of like quality with his, however different its manifestation a difference which increases so inexpressibly the difficulty of her return to orderly living, yet which, as a few of the histories show, does permit her return also to hard, thankless toil under the parental roof. Of course there is a mysterious innate tendency to steadiness as the child grows up, and an invincible goodness which emerges at last triumphant over the perils of youth in persons of certain vigor; otherwise these sad pages would contain a far more des- perate record than they do of the comparatively few members of the family groups in whom goodness was not invincible. Important as are the immediate services of a juvenile court to the children who are daily brought before it for protection and guidance, because the family protection has broken down and there is no family guidance; painstaking as are the court's methods of ascertaining the facts which account for the child's trouble, his family history, his own physical and mental state; hopeful as are the results of probation; yet the great primary service of the court is that it lifts up the truth and compels us to see that wast- age of human life whose sign is the child in court. Heretofore, the kindly but hurried public never saw as a whole what it cannot now avoid seeing the sad procession of little children and older brothers and sisters who, for various reasons, cannot keep step with the great company of normal, orderly, protected children. Arnold Toynbee said, "If West London could know East London there would be no East London"; and so in time, we may believe, the picture presented by the juve- 8 INTRODUCTION nile court will by repeated emphasis so impress itself upon the mind of the town that new safeguards will be found for adequately protecting the most precious possession of the town its young life. The results of this investigation lack that precise definition which is comforting to the reforming spirit. The study shows that there are many elements combined in uncertain numbers and quality, some, not all, discernible, none answering absolutely to quantitative analysis. The question would be comparatively simple if it could be considered one alone of better income for the family, save in certain defined groups; for instance, in those groups which include widowed mothers incompetent to rear their children even if they had time. While the study gives reason for going forward in the direc- tion already taken it shows no cure-all. It makes the question of youthful delinquency very searching and subtle, not to be solved by any court or system of institutions, or probation, or other wise contrivances attempted as substitutes for wholesome, orderly, decent family life. These contrivances wholly restore some chil- dren, partly restore others, and sometimes fail; but they never seal up the sources of delinquency. Never before has the setting of the child in his family and city been made part of the statement of his overt disobedience to law; never before has this picture been submitted to a court of law, instead of the facts technically recognized as legal evidence; never before has the judge been free to dispose of the child solely with a view to offering him the best chance of wholesome life without regard to previous offenses. Is it not plain that such a court to be effective must be pro- vided with very different facilities from those of jails and prisons, with officers of a different experience from that of sheriffs and bailiffs? In the particular court under consideration these facil- ities are still meager. Public money for such boarding-out of children as Scotland and Massachusetts have long carried on with brilliant success, is absolutely lacking. Institutions are painfully inadequate, whether public or private. They are almost without exception crowded, overgrown, and incapable of affording proper classification. The excellent staff of probation officers 9 and the many devoted volunteer agents, private agents or agents of voluntary societies, in the service of the court give their efforts un- stintingly and succeed in restoring many children and many fami- lies. Yet as this volume shows, we must remember that they are called upon in too many instances to deal with conditions of so baf- fling a complexity as to have been regarded heretofore as beyond human reach. Of course, failure is the frequent result. As soon as the public provides the equipment obviously essential we shall see a growing effectiveness in the care by the court of the children under its direction. /But the great and memorable fact must re- main, that all children need for successful rearing the same condi- tions: homes of physical and moral decency, fresh air, education, recreation, the fond care of wise fathers and mothers. These es- sentials curtailed at any point, the degree of human wastage grows with the curtailment. No institution, no probation system, no orders of court, can instantly produce from chaos these essentials. After reading some of the children's histories published in the appendices, the reader may be tempted to exclaim with horror, " The juvenile court is a failure," though if his eye had first fallen on another group his comment would have been one of approval ; but such comment in either case misses the point. For the first time in history a court of law, the so-called juvenile court, reveals a great social situation and thereby bestows the greatest aid toward social justice which this generation comprehends the truth made public. 10 CHAPTER I DESCRIPTION OF THE INQUIRY THIS inquiry into the work of the juvenile court was under- taken in the hope that two ends might be accomplished: (i) a better understanding of the needs of all children, based upon a more exact knowledge of the conditions surrounding the special group studied; (2) a more intelligent judgment .with reference to the possible usefulness of the juvenile court in serving children, and the lines along which that institution should be developed. The court deals under the statutes with three classes of children:* (i) dependent or neglected children, that is, children who. are destitute or homeless; (2) truant children, children who have not attended school as the compulsory education law re- quires; and (3) delinquent children, children "who violate any law, who are incorrigible, who knowingly associate with vicious persons, who are growing up in idleness and crime, who knowingly frequent a disorderly gaming house/' The three groups are brought into court by different proc- esses, for different causes, and are supposedly in need of different kinds of treatment. It is clear, however, that no hard and fast lines can be drawn between them. Some children will be brought in first as dependent or truant and afterwards as delinquent; others are at the same time both dependent and delinquent, or truant and delinquent, or truant and dependent; while still others are so affected by experiences which have come to them without fault on their part that, although technically dependent, they are in fact not fit companions for children who have no corresponding knowledge of wrongdoing, and must be treated as if they were themselves delinquent. This difficulty of classification manifests itself in the tables presenting the lists of offenses for which delin- * See Illinois Revised Statutes, chap. 23, sec. 169, and chap. 122, sec. 144. 1 1 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME quent boys and girls are brought to court.* In these tables truancy and dependency are included as if they were delinquent charges, a seeming confusion which is due to the fact that children are some- times committed to a delinquent institution and therefore treated as if they were in fact delinquent, when the charge in the court record may be only " lack of care," " death of mother and drunken father," "desertion of father and drunkenness of mother," or some similar charge against the home. But children who have been so criminally neglected, even if they have themselves committed no offense, are often contaminated by their surroundings. For this reason it sometimes becomes necessary to place them in institutions with delinquent children in order to protect other dependent chil- dren, whose experiences have not been demoralizing. This ap- parent confusion in classification becomes therefore an evidence of the effort made by the court to treat children according to their needs, unhampered by any arbitrary system of definition or classifi- cation. 4 Although no clear line can in fact be drawn between any two of these groups of children who are brought before the court for purposes of treatment, they are, as has been pointed out, distin- guished in the juvenile court law, and the delinquent group as de- fined in the statute was selected as the first subject of the inquiry.! This group was selected in part because of the peculiar interest at- taching to the problems of offending children in relation to our judi- cial and penal system, and in part because, while the situation of the delinquent child is a more striking and obviously appealing one, the problems presented to the court by the offenses of delinquent chil- dren are not so fundamentally difficult as those presented by the poverty and helplessness of the dependent group. It was clear at the outset that a study of the delinquent wards of the court would divide itself into three parts: (i) a discussion of the court in its legal and constitutional aspects; * Table 5, p. 28, and Table 7, p. 36. t It is hoped that at a later date corresponding studies of the dependent and truant groups may be presented. The law applied at first to "children under six- teen not now or hereafter inmates of state institutions, or any training school for boys or industrial school for girls or some institution incorporated under the laws of this state except * * * ." Session Laws of Illinois (1899), p. 131. In 1905 the age limit was altered to seventeen for "male children" and eighteen for "female children." Session Laws (1905), p. 152. 12 DESCRIPTION OF THE INQUIRY (2) a study of the conditions from which delinquent children come, together with an analysis of the problems presented to the court by these conditions; (3) a detailed account of the adminis- trative questions connected with the organization and procedure of the court. The present volume deals only with the seomo^of these lines of inquiry; that is, the court in its relation to the families and homes from which its delinquent wards have come. A study of the court in its legal aspects, with a presentation of the authorities and principles underlying this apparently novel invasion of parental right on the part of the community and its assumption of the duties hitherto laid solely upon parents, is presented in the first of the appendices in this volume. It may be said here, however, that there is nothing novel in the assumption by the state of the care of the weak and defenseless, among whom the children that become wards of the court may surely be counted. 1 1 should also be said that although the parent, and especially the father, was in earlier times allowed very great power, he was never under English or American law held responsible for exercising that power in behalf of the child. The only novel features characteristic of the court are, first, the ability to carry into practice principles long recognized and, second, the formulation of new principles of parental duty which bring the legal conception of the rights of parents into accord with the legal principles governing all those instances in which the community allows one individual the exercise of any compulsory control over the person and conduct of another. In a community which has abandoned slavery as a possible human relationship, power exercised by one person over another must be exercised in behalf of and for the benefit of that other, and the community must always be able to judge whether or not it is in any particular instance being so exercised. A means of thus judging and standardizing this exercise of parental power has been devised by the creation of the juvenile court. With this statement regarding the selection and limitation of the subject, it becomes important to describe in detail the sources of information and the methods employed in the investi- gation, in order that the results may be correctly understood. The court records themselves constituted the initial body of data and '3 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME served as the starting point and basis for the whole inquiry.* With the approval of the county officers and of the judge then sitting, the records of all the delinquent cases handled by the court from July i, 1899, the date of its establishment, to June 30, 1909, the close of its first decade of work, were transcribed and tabulated. Data were obtained from these records as to the number, nationality, and age of the children brought into court each year and the disposition which was there made of their cases. These records, however, furnished very little information concerning the child's family and home; and the occasional statements regarding the health, employment, or school record of the children were too fragmentary to be of value. It was therefore decided to visit the homes and talk with the parents of a large group of children in order to obtain such data as were necessary for a more detailed and thorough study of the conditions surrounding the delinquent children of the court. It was obviously impossible to visit the homes of all these children; but it was thought that a representa- tive group could be obtained out of the whole number by selecting * A word should be said as to the investigators of whose services the depart- ment availed itself. As the judge of the court believed that the information secured by them could be made of immediate use in determining certain questions affecting the children whose families were interviewed, the investigators were appointed pro- bation officers during the period of their connection with the inquiry. It should be explained, however, that the investigation was carried on by the Department of Social Investigation of the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy. The in- vestigators were, therefore, primarily chosen as students. They proved to be, in the main, sympathetic and tactful young persons, whose approach was, in general, successfully made because they kept in mind that the ultimate interest of all con- nected with the inquiry was the good of the children, rather than the success of the investigation in a narrower sense. Many helpful acquaintanceships were thus begun, and many occasions for neighborly service offered themselves. Among the students who have had some share in the work of collecting and tabulating the material used in this volume, special mention should be made of the work of Estelle B. Hunter, who was first associated with the inquiry as a field in- vestigator, but upon whom we afterwards depended for the most tedious and labori- ous parts of the work of tabulation. To Miss Hunter credit should also be given for the maps which accompany this volume. To Anne S. Davis for special work in connection with the obtaining of probation schedules and their tabulation, and for work on the court records; to Gertrude E. Murrell for work on the Geneva records and for the difficult task of gathering family schedules for delinquent girls; to Jessica Foster for a great deal of faithful and necessarily tedious work in connection with the transcription and tabulation of the court records; and to Stella Packard for a large share of the tabulation of the probation schedules, especial credit should be given. It is a further pleasure to express our appreciation of the work of Grace P. Norton and Maud E. Lavery, who have given invaluable assistance in preparing this volume for the press. 14 DESCRIPTION OF THE INQUIRY for this more intensive study those of the children brought to court during a single year.* The year 1903-04 was selected for this pur- pose for several reasons. The court had had four years in which to develop its methods of dealing with the child both within and with- out the court room. Four yearsf had elapsed since the children to be investigated had become wards of the court, so that in many in- stances the effect of the guardianship of the court and the care of the probation officers could be observed and to a certain extent esti- mated. It was hoped that by approaching the members of the child's family and by interviewing the probation officers who had been in intimate contact with the child, all possible views of the work of the court might be obtained. Such facts as pressing pov- erty, unfamiliarity with the needs of childhood in a great city, the cupidity of parents who preferred the purchase of a house to the education of their children, family dissension, degradation in the home, the possible shortcomings of the school system, the lack of playgrounds in congested neighborhoods, were seen to be of primary importance in interpreting the offense of the child and in setting out the problem to be handled by the court. The special relation of the parents to the court; their attitude towards the probation officer who is, in effect, an official foster-parent; the extent of their co-operation with the officer in the past and their suggestions as to other possible sources of aid, were deemed of real significance. It was also thought that their view of the manner in which the work was being organized in its early years would be well worth obtaining. It was of course recognized that in some instances an inquiry in- volving a personal interview by an outside investigator with the parent or child might interfere with the work of the probation * The reason for selecting all the children brought in during a given period arbitrarily selected, rather than an arbitrarily selected percentage of those coming during the entire period, was that if a sufficiently long period were taken and a year was believed to be sufficiently long more completely representative facts could be obtained than by taking every tenth, twentieth, or fortieth child. For example, the children often come in groups, and to have taken one out of every 10, 1 5, or 20, might have resulted in allowing a large proportion of the gangs to escape attention. t The year extended from July i, 1903, to June 30, 1904, and unless otherwise stated this is the year selected for all the special investigations. It should perhaps be recalled that although the court records used in the inquiry cover a period of ten years the family schedules were collected in 1907-08, eight years after the establishment of the court. The year 1903-04 was, therefore, at the time when it was selected, the middle year. 15 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME officer. I n all cases of doubt, therefore, the question as to whether a visit to the home should be made or not was left to the decision of the officer.* Neither the Family Schedule nor the Probation Schedule provided evidence as to the child's own judgment upon his experi- ence or its causes. Nor did it seem practicable, since a volume on truancy was planned at the same time, to make a thorough study of the child's educational opportunities here. In the hope of securing some evidence, however, both as to his educational opportunities and as to his present educational and industrial situation, a School Statement was prepared to be filled out by the child whenever possible.f It was realized that an attempt to discuss with the members of a family an episode which might be recalled only with chagrin was a difficult undertaking. The utmost regard was of course shown for the feelings of those approached, and while in the great majority of cases both father and mother welcomed an opportunity to discuss the misfortune which had befallen their child, in a few instances objection was made, and the investigator withdrew. The plan of approach in the sequence of questions was developed wholly with the desire of making plain to the parents the interest felt in their individual child not only as a representative of many others who might be more effectively protected in the future, but as one to whom the investigation might possibly render a direct service. For example, one practical result of the inquiry was the release from probation of a consider- able number of boys who were found to be no longer in need of supervision but into whose cases the court, because of pressure of work, had been unable to go. A study of the offenses for which girls were brought to courtj * The total number of boys brought in during the year 1903-04 was 1087. Schedules were secured from the families of 584 of these boys. Of the others, the great majority had moved away from Chicago or had moved into some other section of the city so that they could not be traced; a considerable number were genuinely homeless boys who had no families to visit (see Chapter V, p. 93). In a few cases the boy had died; in a few other cases, the probation officer advised that no attempt should be made to visit the home either because the boy had married or because for some other reason a visit seemed unwise. t For facsimiles of the schedules used in the investigation, see Appendix VI, P- 333- J See Chapter II, pp. 35-38. 16 DESCRIPTION OF THE INQUIRY showed that the great majority of them were surrounded by over- whelming perils besetting their virtue, and it became apparent that the question of the conditions which make possible such offenses as the court records indicated on the part of little girls constitutes a problem of great importance. In the organized vice of our cities there may exist a situation which is apparently beyond the possibility of other forms of investigation than those based on careful records kept during long periods of time by duly constituted medical and police authorities. But the things that happen to little thirteen, fourteen, or fifteen-year-old girls may, and indeed must, be looked into; and the surrounding circumstances of the abnormal relationships entered into by them are pressing subjects for interested and sympathetic inquiry. In spite of the urgent need for such an investigation, peculiar difficulties were encountered in using the family schedule for delin- quent girls. Those who were not fully informed as to the purpose and methods of the investigation feared lest the reputations of some of the girls might be injured by the visits of the investigators. Because of such objections it became necessary to devise some other method of obtaining information regarding the homes and families of these delinquent girls. The plan therefore of visiting the homes of all the girls brought into court during the year 1903-04, as was done in the case of the boys, was abandoned. A source of information which was believed to be free from any objection, was the State Training School for Girls. Here, it was hoped, the histories of the girls who were still in the institution might be obtained and visits made to the homes from which they had been committed, without the slightest fear that their reputa- tions would suffer by the inquiry. With the consent of the superin- tendent of the school, an investigator was admitted to residence and allowed to secure all possible data from the records, besides being given the opportunity of making the acquaintance of the girls and of learning as much as was possible of their personal histories.* *At the time of the investigation there were 361 girls in the institution. These girls had, of course, been committed at different times and from different parts of the state. One hundred and eighty-five were from Cook County (Chicago) and 176 were committed from other counties. Schedules were obtained relating to the delinquency of all these girls, but family schedules were secured for only 1 57 Chicago girls. 17 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME The relationship established between the investigator and the girls was in most instances a pleasant one, and a further inquiry into 'their home surroundings became possible. Although the investigator endeavored to interview all the girls in the insti- tution, no attempt was made to visit any homes outside of Chicago. Family schedules were secured for 157 Chicago girls. Since these covered a group which was not only special but very small, the data are not presented in tables as comparable with the data obtained from the boys' schedules. From the beginning it was understood that, in an inquiry like this, it would be impossible to obtain an adequate idea of the relation between delinquency and any subnormal or abnormal physical or mental conditions.* The family schedules, however, furnished a considerable number of cases in which mental weakness was suggested as the explanation of the child's offense; cases, for example, in which according to the mother's statement the boy was "weak in the head" or "silly" or "weak-minded," or in which the probation officer designated him as "mentally defi- cient." Such cases furnish the basis of a claim for much greater care in the selection and training of abnormal and subnormal children by the schools and by such other agencies as may reach them in time to save them and their families the pain and humili- ation of being summoned to court on a delinquency charge. While an attempt has been made to utilize the most service- able methods of presenting the material gathered, it should perhaps be explained that those who have had the inquiry in charge have realized constantly that the most important considerations could not be reduced to percentages, and a brief summary of the facts Jn the case of each child for whom reasonably complete data were obtained was, therefore, prepared in the form, not of a "family monograph," but of a brief "family paragraph." Constant reference is made to these paragraphs in the following chapters, and while the publication of the entire number was impossible, they seemed so full of interest and significance that a considerable * This problem can be dealt with only by the psychological and medical expert, and the need of such expert treatment has since been met by the establish- ment in Chicago of a Juvenile Psychopathic Institute that is endowed for a study of this problem, which is planned to cover a period of five years. See note in the Introduction, p. 5. 18 DESCRIPTION OF THE INQUIRY number of those in which the information was most complete or illuminating will be found in appendices to this volume.* And, finally, before passing on to a presentation of the statistical material and a discussion of the results of the inquiry, it seems necessary that some further word should be said about the juvenile court itself, which will make more clear to the reader the essential nature of the problem to be set forth in the following chapters. It has already been pointed out that the present volume deals with the delinquent child in his relation to the home and family surroundings, and that no attempt will be made here to discuss the considerations which led to the establishment of a court for offending children. The investigation has been rather a study of the difficulties presented to the modern industrial and commercial city by the presence of childhood and the "spirit of youth" in its crowded tenement districts. This problem as it presents itself to the court is that of discovering how far it may be safe to leave the children brought before it under supervision in their old surroundings, or how far the conditions from which they have come as delinquent boys and girls are irremediable and necessitate their removal to new conditions. It may appear that one service, if not the great service, of the juvenile court is that of laying bare such needs of the young as have not been met and of making plain the consequences to the individual child, and to the group in which the child is the most important member, of the failure to meet those needs. In undertaking to supervise and to standardize the care of children within the family group, or, when separation from the family is found necessary, without the family group, the court undertakes as difficult a task as has ever been attempted by the community through any agent. To perform this task adequately there is required a clear understanding of the principles underlying sound family life; a familiarity with the various ideals of family relationship dominant among the different national groups; the ability to distinguish between the conditions resulting from poverty and misfortune and those which are the outcome of degraded and immoral living; the willingness to make use of all co-operating * Appendix IV, p. 267, contains the family paragraphs for 100 boys, and Appendix V, p. 314, the histories of 50 girls. 19 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME agencies; the patience necessary to devise and execute a wise and well thought out plan looking toward the saving of the child with his family, if possible; without, and sometimes in spite of, his natural guardians, if necessary. Great wisdom, intelligence, patience, devotion, and tact are evidently required of the court and its agents. Careful administrative methods must be devel- oped, while the largest flexibility must be permitted in dealing with the families of children who have come under its guardian- ship. Obviously such delicate and important machinery can be perfected only after a considerable time; and not until experi- ments, perhaps marked often by failure, have been tried again and again, can the best method be finally selected. The court and its agents will inevitably be awkward at first as they are called upon to deal with new and unfamiliar situations. Moreover, from time to time as new situations develop and new tasks present themselves, the present resources of the court will appear to be pitifully inadequate. But it is only as the court tries to make full use of its opportunities that its lack of equipment becomes evident. And this evidence of poor equipment is, therefore, only an evidence of better endeavor. In the following pages, then, may be expected evidences of the court's newness; of its need of wisdom based upon longer experience; of its lack of adequate equipment for its task. As the wrongs to children often take on hideous shapes, much that is painful and revolting must be faced when the foul conditions out of which delinquent children sometimes come are uncovered; and there must be expected descriptions of degrading situations, too often deliberately overlooked; detailed accounts of the effects upon the family group of misfortune, incompetence, and lack of intelligence; as well as the setting forth of the simple inability to meet alone, under present-day conditions, the requirements and responsibilities of family life. 20 CHAPTER II THE WARDS OF THE COURT s OF first importance in this study is the question: Who are the delinquent wards of the court? The number of chil- dren who are or have been under its supervision, their ages and their offenses, are facts which must be ascertained as a necessary preliminary to any discussion of the relation of the juvenile court to the delinquent children under its care. The following table shows the number of delinquent children brought to court each year during the first ten years of its existence. TABLE I. NUMBER OF DELINQUENT BOYS AND GIRLS BROUGHT TO COURT EACH YEAR FROM JULY I, 1899, TO JUNE 30, IQCK) NUMBER OF CHILDREN Year Boys Girls Total 1899-1900 1350 116 1466 1900-1901 1093 158 1251 1901-1902 ! IO5 '77 1282 1902-1903 1152 273 1425 1903-1904 -fcSy^ 229 1316 1904-1905 987 3'7 1304 1905-1906 1571 4i5 1986 1906-1907 1180 398 1578 1907-1908 930 321 1251 1908-1909 958 366 1324 Total . 11,413 2770 14.183 According to this table the number of children brought to court reached a high water mark in 1905-06. But there had not been a steady increase each year up to this point nor was there a steady decline in the years following. A disproportionately large number of children seem to have been brought in during the first year of the court, a circumstance explained no doubt in part 3 21 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME by the eager hopes which centered upon the new method of treat- ment for delinquent children. The number declined during the two following years, increased substantially during the fourth year, declined again in the fifth and sixth years, and increased very markedly during the seventh year because of a change in the law which will be explained later. This increase was not maintained, however, and the number fell off during the next year and declined again in the following year, so that the number of children brought in during the ninth year exactly equalled the number brought in during the second year; and although there was a slight increase during the tenth year, the total number of children brought in during this last year of the decade was smaller by 142 than the number brought in during the first year of the court's existence. While it is impossible to account for all these fluctuations in the number of children brought to court from year to year, some of the changes are not difficult to explain. The decline after the first year was due in part to the establishment of the Chicago Parental School for truant boys, which was opened in 1901 by the board of education and which had been authorized by the legisla- ture two years earlier. During the first year of the court there was no special institution for the care of truants, and it was necessary to bring in as delinquent and send to delinquent institutions all boys who were seriously truant. The parental school was only for boys; and no similar provision was made for truant girls. The table shows that the number of girls increased slightly during the second and third years and, with the number of boys, substantially during the fourth year. This increase in the number of delinquent girls, however, had no connection with the failure to provide for truant girls; it was due in part at least to the growing knowledge of condi- tions responsible for delinquency among girls and to increasing skill on the part of the officers of the court in seeking out girls who had fallen under the influence of these conditions. The decline during the fifth year affected both boys and girls, but in the sixth year the decline was due to a falling off in the number of boys alone. The number of girls had increased during the latter year from 229 to 317. The increase in the number both of girls and of boys, but es- pecially marked in the case of boys, during the seventh year (1905- 22 THE WARDS OF THE COURT 06) is directly traceable to the change in the juvenile court law which was made in 1905, and which extended the juvenile court age to seventeen for boys and eighteen for girls. Before this time only children under sixteen years of age could become wards of the court, and this change in the law was responsible, as the following tables show, for an increase in the number of older children brought in after this time. A study of these tables, however, which give the ages of the children brought in each year, makes it clear that the increase of 59 per cent in the number of boys during this year, an increase which seems to have been general in all ages, was by no means due entirely to the change in the law; for the influx of sixteen- year-old boys does not account for more than half of the in- crease. A further explanation seems to be found in the feeling of special confidence in the judge then sitting* and a growing feeling of dependence upon the court. A common belief seems to have been spreading through the community that any child, more especially any boy, whose conduct demanded supervision or * It seems important at the beginning of this study to place certain facts regarding the personnel of the court at the service of the reader. During the first five years of the court's existence, that is, from July 5, 1899, to June 30, 1904, Richard S. Tuthill was the presiding judge. During the spring of 1904, Judge Julian W. Mack assisted Judge Tuthill and later became Judge Tuthill's successor, sitting until June 30, 1907, when Judge Tuthill was returned to the court. He sat until September, 1908 and was succeeded by Judge Merritt W. Pinckney. Timothy D. Hurley was chief probation officer from the time of the court's establishment until January, 1904. He was succeeded by J. J. McManaman, who served during the year 1905. Henry W. Thurston served from January i, 1906, until September 30, 1908, and was succeeded by John H. Witter. Until the beginning of 1905, the staff of probation officers consisted of six policemen in plain clothes, assigned to juvenile court duty, 36 volunteer workers, 14 agents of societies interested in the care of children, 21 officers of the Compul- sory Education Department, and six probation officers maintained by philan- thropic organizations interested in the establishment of the court. The expense of a paid staff was assumed by the county at the beginning of 1905, and since that time there has been a staff of 37 probation officers in addition to 30 officers from the police department and a few volunteers. It may also be of interest to know that during the first five years the court sat in the county building. For two years a temporary building was occupied, and the court was then moved (August 7, 1907) into the beautiful court building which includes a detention home administered by county officials and a school conducted under the auspices of the Chicago Board of Education. See Thurston, Henry W.: Ten Years of the Juvenile Court of Chicago. Tbe Survey, Vol. XXIII, pp. 656- 666 (Feb. 5, 1910). See especially p. 657, "A Corps of Probation Officers" and pp. 661-664, "Some Successes Gained." 23 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME TABLE 2. DELINQUENT BOYS BROUGHT TO COURT EACH YEAR FROM JULY I, 1899, TO JUNE 30, 1909. NUMBERS AND PERCENTAGES. BY AGE Age NUMBER OF BOYS BROUGHT TO COURT DURING THE YEAR Total Per Cent 1899- 1900 1900- 1901 1901- 1902 1902- 1903 1903- 1904 1904- 1905 1905- 1906 1906- 1907 1907- 1908 1908- 1909 I : 9 10 n 12 13 14 11 : 17 8 37 103 45 207 209 274 298 27 n 14 48 83 142 145 152 225 251 9 9 10 4' 89 98 75 154 230 282 8 6 12 58 87 124 153 '74 222 2 5 8 35 I I 21 I 30 75 9 I 136 193 253 267 21 I I 6 5 ii 38 78 94 153 162 1 86 220 '9 2 19 8 20 54 82 140 208 218 238 286 290 6 21 13 34 47 112 124 I6 3 1 66 229 264 4 24 2 4 18 43 70 99 109 159 187 215 5 I 18 2 7 32 70 85 132 166 23 * 206 7 13 49 a IOO 365 719 1090 1485 1666 21 19 2516 1094 26 4 1 80 0.4 0.9 3-2 6 i 9.6 13.0 14.6 18.6 22. 9.6 0.2 O.O 1.6 .8 : Not re- ported I 36 13 9 Total 1350 1093 1105 1152 1087 987 157' 1180 930 958 11,413 IOO.O a Of these 49 children, 45 were seven years old, 3 were six, and i was four. TABLE 3. DELINQUENTGIRLS BROUGHT TO COURT EACH YEAR FROM JULY I, 1899, TO JUNE 30, 1909. NUMBERS AND PERCENTAGES. BY AGE NUMBER OF GIRLS BROUGHT TO COURT DURING THE YEAR r>-- Age 1899- 1900- 1901- 1902- 1903-1904- 1905- 1906- 1907- 1908- Total rer Cent 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 I ' 3 i i I . , 6a 0.2 8 i 4 5 i 2 '3 0.5 9 I 4 3 i 7 4 4 i 2 27 0.9 10 2 5 7 10 3 4 7 5 3 5 5' 1.8 n 3 8 3 9 5 12 10 5 7 8 70 2.5 12 6 6 7 17 9 '7 20 16 n '3 122 4-4 13 17 15 '9 25 21 27 30 16 9 23 2O2 7-3 14 . 3i 33 35 3' 41 48 66 58 34 53 430 '5-5 15 37 63 67 73 56 86 98 76 77 94 727 26.3 16 . '3 '3 24 7> 60 60 99 '34 94 90 658 23.8 17 i 5 1 1 23 28 46 65 72 77 64 392 14.2 18 2 i 7 I i I 2 '5 0.5 Not re- ported 3 3 2 3 4 5 10 9 6 12 57 2.1 Total 116 158 177 273 229 3'7 4'5 398 321 366 2770 IOO.O a Of these 6 children, 2 were seven years old, 3 were six, and i was five. 24 THE WARDS OF THE COURT discipline would be benefited by coming under the care of the court and the influence of the judge. The error of this view was, of course, apparent to the judge, who urged in every way and at every opportunity the adoption of preventive measures, the importance of exhausting other methods of treatment before bringing the child to court, and the use of the court only as a last resort. The very substantial decline in the number of children brought in during the two following years, a decline which was, like the increase during the preceding year, much more marked in the case of boys than of girls, can no doubt be attributed in large meas- ure to the change of policy advocated by the judge. Although this decline did not continue, the increase during the succeeding year was so slight that it seems to demand no special explanation. At- tention has already been called to the significant fact with regard to the number of children brought in during this year, that the num- ber was smaller than it had been during the first year of the court's existence. This was true in spite of the increase in population during the decade and in spite of the change in the law which had brought a larger number of children under the jurisdiction of the court. The effect of this change in the law which was made in 1905 can be better understood after a study of Tables 2 and 3, which show the ages of the boys and girls brought to court during each year of the period studied, and which indicate a marked increase in the relative numbers of older children brought in during 1905-06 and the years following. In 1899-1900, the first year of the court, 1 53 boys, 1 1 per cent of the total number, were ten years old or younger; in 1908-09, the tenth year of the court, 41 boys, only 4 per cent, were of these ages. In 1899-1900, on the other hand, 326 boys, only 24 per cent, were fifteen or older, while in 1908-09, 45 1 boys, 47 per cent, were fifteen or older. While the change in the law is no doubt largely responsi- ble for the relative increase in the number of older boys, the de- crease in the number of younger boys is certainly to be explained in part by a tendency to call such young children dependent rather than delinquent. The table for girls (Table 3) shows a correspond- ing increase in the number of older girls brought in during the 25 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME latter part of the decade. In 1899-1900, 53 girls, 46 per cent, were fifteen or older, and in 1908-09 the number had increased to 248 girls, 68 per cent. The number of girls ten years old or younger was of course very small, 3 in the first year and 9 in the last year of the decade. Throughout the whole period the number of girls ten or under was never more than 8 per cent of the total number brought in during the year. TABLE 4. DELINQUENT BOYS AND GIRLS BROUGHT TO COURT DUR- ING THE TEN-YEAR PERIOD FROM JULY I, 1899, TO JUNE 30, 1909. TOTALS AND PERCENTAGES. BY AGE A .* NUMBER PER( IENT Age Boys Girls Total Boys Girls 7 or under .... 8 9 49 IOO 365 7IQ 6 13 27 El 55 i'3 392 77O 0.4 0.9 3-2 63 0.2 0.5 0.9 i 8 n IOOX) 1485 70 122 1160 1607 9.6 n.o 2-5 4.4 13 14 11: : : : : : 1666 2119 2516 1094 26 202*"" 430 727. 658^ 3Q2 1868 2549 3243 1752 418 14.6 18.6 22.O 9 .6 O.2 7-3 '5-5 26.3 23.8 14.2 18 . . . . . . Not reported. ,8* 15 57 19 237 O.O 1.6 o-5 2.1 Total .... 11,413 2770 14, '83 100.0 IOO.O If the ages of boys and girls be examined together an inter- esting contrast will be observed. Table 4, which for convenience presents only the totals from the two preceding tables, shows that more than two-thirds of all the delinquent boys brought into court are from twelve to fifteen years of age. Relatively few sixteen-year-old boys are brought in, and boys who are seventeen or over are not under the jurisdiction of the court. On the other hand, a relatively large number of girls, 1050, or 38 per cent, are brought in at the ages of sixteen and seventeen. This difference is in part due to the fact that signs of waywardness in the girl do 26 THE WARDS OF THE COURT not appear until she is older, since, as later tables of offenses will show, this waywardness almost invariably takes the form of im- morality. With the boy, there is more hope that he will "settle down" when he goes to work; with the girl, work often means the beginning of temptation. Moreover, the treatment of the court is as yet less adapted to the older boy than to the younger boy, whereas for the girl whose whole future life is imperiled, the only hope is to remove her entirely from influences that threaten destruction and to place her in an institution until the critical years are past. Next in importance to the question of the age of these delinquent children is that of the offenses which have been the cause of their being brought to court. Tables of offenses are given separately for boys and girls,* and, although the relative numbers brought in on the different charges do not vary much from year to year, it has seemed best to present the separate totals for each year. It appears from Table 5 that the offenses of more than half of the delinquent boys who were brought into court during the decade were violations of the rights of property. Incorrigibility is the offense next in importance to stealing; and these two offenses, together with disorderly conduct and malicious mischief, consti- tute the "charges" upon which 95 per cent of the delinquent boys are brought into court. In attempting to ascertain -the precise "acts or facts" included under these blanket terms, an examination of the court records showed that the terms stealing, burglary, larceny, attempted burglary, or attempted larceny, all of which are grouped together under stealing, covered a great many different offenses connected with the taking of property. For example, the property taken varied greatly in form and value, from the newspaper at the door to merchandise worth several hundred dollars from a store. One hundred dollars taken from a house, merchandise from a candy store, twenty-five dollars' worth of wood from a basement, lead pipe cut from a building, coal and grain from cars, zinc and copper valued at $200 from a railroad shanty, are among the offenses classified under the head of stealing as involving a violation of property rights. In order * See Tables 5 and 7, pp. 28 and 36. 27 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME to understand more correctly the precise offense of the boy who is brought to court for stealing, a more careful study was made TABLE 5. DELINQUENT BOYS BROUGHT TO COURT EACH YEAR FROM JULY I, 1899, TO JUNE 30, 1909. NUMBERS AND PERCENTAGES. BY OFFENSE NUMBER OF BOYS BROUGHT TO COURT DURING THE YEAR Offense Total Per Cent 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 -00 -01 -02 -03 -04 -05 -06 -07 -08 -09 Stealing a 645 528 522 596 555 549 80 1 691 544 364 5795 50.8 Incorrigibility . 261 205 220 234 220 196 307 205 47 483 2478 21.7 Disorderly conduct 274 241 247 163 172 189 281 153 64 67 1851 1 6.2 Malicious mischief 61 58 6 7 105 82 32 >34 84 92 25 740 6.5 Vagrancy . 33 28 18 22 31 20 2o| 31 53 9 265 2.3 Immorality Dependent charges b II 18 3 7 7 7 8 21 M 4 14 9 30 10 3> 3 25 Q 35 2 178 90 1.6 0.8 Truancy c . 53 13 3 5 2 4 5 o o O 8s 0.7 Miscellaneous of- fenses d 37 10 14 ID '9 II 20 8 16 8 '59 1.4 Total . '393 1093 1105 1170 1099 1024 1608 1206 950 993 11,641 IO2.O Counted twice . 43 18 12 37 37 26 20 35 228 2.0 Total . 1350 1093 1105 1152 1087 987 1571 1180 930 958 11,413 IOO.O a All offenses which involve either the taking or the attempt to take property are grouped together under the term "stealing" in this table. b These are the charges referred to on page 12; e. g., drunkenness of parents, lack of care, etc. The 90 boys brought in on these charges should not be confused with the boys who after having been dependent wards of the court are brought in on bona fide delinquent charges. c The marked decrease after 1900 in the number of boys brought to court as delinquent on a charge of truancy, is explained by the fact that a parental school for truant boys was established in 1901, and after that it was necessary only in ex- ceptional cases to commit them to institutions for delinquent boys. d This total includes 65 offenses other than those specified and 94 offenses not reported. of the charges for the last two years of the period studied, and Taole 6 was prepared to show the kinds of stealing which were most common among these juvenile court boys. 28 THE WARDS OF THE COURT TABLE 6. SPECIFIED OFFENSE OF 908 DELINQUENT BOYS BROUGHT TO COURT ON THE CHARGE OF STEALING, BETWEEN JULY I, 1907, AND JUNE 30, 1909 Offense Number of Boys Stealing from railroad 258 Stealing money 193 Stealing "junk" 134 Shoplifting 55 Breaking into empty buildings 54 Stealing from parents 45 Stealing, i. e., driving away, a horse, motor, or bicycle ... 58 Stealing candy, fruit, gum, or tobacco 58 Stealing pigeons, ducks, chickens, etc 25 Stealing newspapers 19 Miscellaneous thefts 9 . Total 908 The first two items in this table, "stealing from the rail- road" and "stealing money," cover a great variety of acts per- formed under widely different conditions, and fail therefore to give a very definite idea of the child's real delinquency. Comment will be made later upon "stealing from the railroad" as one o f the many kinds of acts suggested by the proximity of a crowded tenement district to unfenced and often inadequately guarded railroad property. Stealing money cannot be reduced to definite terms, but covers the taking of any sum, from a small amount, perhaps appropriated while employed as a messenger, to sums of considerable value taken from the tills in shops and offices into which the boys have broken. Stealing junk or finding something which can be sold as junk is the boy's easiest way of obtaining spend- ing money. While this often means only a judicious hunt through alleys and garbage cans, yet when this hunt fails, depredations frequently result. In this way boys are brought in for stealing bicycles and selling them as junk; and still more common is the raid on the empty house from which the lead pipe can be cut to be sold as junk, or the cutting of a telephone cable under the side- walk^ It should be noted, too, that the empty house offers an especially tempting field for the exploits of the "gang." Breaking into empty buildings is closely related in its adventurous aspect to "driving away" the horse or the vehicle left standing in the street. The taking of candy, gum, pigeons, and similar articles of special value to the small boy, is of course much less serious than those 29 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME acts described as shoplifting, and is, in fact, closely related to the long tolerated privilege which the country boy enjoys of "swiping" melons and pumpkins in neighboring gardens. Without mini- mizing the dangers into which the boy may be led, it seems clear that a considerable number of these acts are not vicious, but are performed in a spirit of harmless adventure and without adequate realization of their possibly serious consequences. Passing on to a description of the other terms which appear in the table of charges, it appears that "malicious mischief" is used in the court records to designate such offenses as destroying a railroad switch, throwing stones at a man and calling him obscene names, cutting the top of a grocery wagon, throwing stones at a teamster on his wagon, pulling up planks from the sidewalk, beating down the door of a house with a hatchet, "cut- ting rope from a flag pole and tying it across the street so that a man was knocked from his wheel, " breaking into a basement but not stealing anything, throwing stones at trains, setting fire to barrels of crockery in a business place, and other acts which seem equally miscellaneous and equally difficult to classify. " Incorrigibility," a word apparently coined of despair, is used to cover such misdemeanors as loitering about the streets and using vulgar language, receiving money embezzled by another boy and running away with it, refusing either to work or to go to school, roaming the street late at night, going upon the roof of a building and throwing stones at passers-by, riding on railroad trains, keeping bad company, refusing to obey parents, and stay- ing away from home. In many instances in which the child is classed as incorrigible or disorderly, appeal is made to the court to support a parental authority* which should rest on early dis- * For example, the court records show that during the period 1907-09, 65 boys had been brought in for stealing from their parents or for different specific offenses (other than disobedience) against them. That is, while the common charge against the incorrigible whose mother or father brings him to court is that he "will not obey his parents and will not work," or "will not obey and go to school," or "loiters about the streets and will not obey"; in 65 cases, the parents asked the court to punish the boy for some specific act such as stealing money from them, being abusive to them or to some other member of the family, borrowing money in the father's name, and other similar offenses. There are, of course, cases in which the parents or relatives with whom the boy lives bring the boy to court without just cause and ask to have him sent to an institution in order that they may escape the burden of his support. It is scarcely necessary to say that the court is constantly 30 THE WARDS OF THE COURT cipline and essential justice; and sometimes the court is asked t6 maintain standards of filial duty which, while possibly still in accord with the law of parental right, are adhered to with difficulty where the industrial organization of which the child becomes a part deals with children as individuals and not as members of the family group.* Nor can one escape the opinion, when the child is young and the parents confess or complain that they cannot control him, that in the absence of such mitigating circumstances as will be later referred to, they, not he, deserve to be disciplined and possibly placed on probation as delinquent parents. The offense described as "disorderly conduct" in the court records covers such acts as climbing the structures of the elevated railroad, starting a fight with another boy on a street car, loafing on the street corner, shooting bullets from a revolver on the street the day before the Fourth, "attempting to strike his mother and threatening to shoot his brother for interfering, besides smashing a window," assaulting a boy and creating a disturbance, earning money and then running away and spending it, staying away from home five weeks without parents' consent, wandering about down- town streets without lawful occupation, being afraid to go home, " refusing to obey his mother, giving her only what he pleases from his pay, and when she refuses him spending money, taking it from her by force, " throwing stones at the actors in a West Side music hall, calling a neighbor names, and a large number of other offenses varying greatly in seriousness of character. And, finally, among the delinquent wards of the court there are the children charged with " vagrancy," or running away. The vagrant child is one who stays away from home without the mother's consent, sleeps under the station platform several nights, or sleeps in a wagon; he may also be found sleeping in a hallway, on guard against this danger and ready to deal severely with those who attempt to use it in this way. * The right of the parents to the child's wages and its bearing on delinquency is discussed in a later chapter. Incidentally, it may be said, that the exercise of the parental right to claim the child's wages is of very doubtful industrial value, since it takes from the employer an effective means of inducing the child, through a prospective increase, to improve his industrial efficiency. There may be slight in- fluence toward better work in the offer of an added dollar a week, if the dollar goes wholly toward meeting the many unsatisfied needs of a family such as is represented by the child worker. 31 in a basement, or in an empty house several nights, and then is too afraid of his father's whipping to go home. While an offense of this character is most frequently called -"vagrancy" in the court records, it may also constitute a "disorderly conduct" charge, or even incorrigibility. It should be noted with regard to the act of misconduct recorded against the child in court, that the terms used are often quite misleading, for it is not at all uncommon to find a series of different terms applied to precisely the same act. For example, in the case of four boys who broke a till and divided the money found in it, the ten-year-old boy who broke the till was charged with larceny, two of those who received a share of the spoil were called incorrigible (they were ten and thirteen) while the fourth (a fourteen-year-old boy) was called disorderly. The disposition, however, was the same in each case; all four boys were put on probation. This detailed statement of the offenses charged against the delinquent boys of the court is necessarily brief, for, although their acts may be classified into a small number of groups, there is found throughout the eleven thousand and more cases an end- less variety in the actual offenses committed. It is believed, how- ever, that a sufficient number of examples has been given to show the nature of the charge that has brought the dishonest or incor- rigible or disorderly or vagrant boy into court.* One other point should be noticed in connection with this discussion of offenses the responsibility of the railroads for delinquency among boys. Care- ful analysis of the charges against the boys brought in during the last two years of the period studied showed that 326 were charged with various offenses against the railroads, 48 were brought in for stealing grain, 56 for stealing fuel, 1 54 for taking various forms of merchandise from freight cars, and 68 for such miscellaneous offenses as loitering on the railroad tracks, throwing a switch, de- stroying a switch, throwing stones at trains, setting fire to freight cars, breaking into cars, putting cartridges on the tracks, breaking signal lights, tearing down a fence in a railroad yard, loafing in the railroad station, "flipping trains," and a few other similar charges. * For a list of cases which gives not only the court charges but the actual offenses of the boys, see Note i at end of this chapter, p. 48. 32 THE WARDS OF THE COURT Getting on and off trains while they are in motion becomes a fine art, denoted by the term "flipping," a word now well estab- lished in the vocabulary of delinquency. It is an art practiced by boys and girls alike in neighborhoods in which parallel bars are scarce, and girls with long and eager legs may become adept at it. In the process of acquiring the art, however, the child endangers his own life and limb and incidentally threatens an inconvenient accident on railroad property. There is no question of the serious danger involved in using railroad tracks as a public playground, and the community has the right to demand that, in the interests of safety, railroad tracks should be elevated, fenced, and adequately guarded. The process of elevating the tracks has gone on slowly in Chicago, and the court records indi- cate not only that the tracks are not properly guarded, but that there is no settled policy on the part of the roads in regard to the children who are tempted by the presence of this unguarded prop- erty in their neighborhood. Great laxity at one time is followed by undue severity at another, and the effect cannot fail to be de- moralizing. After a period of indifference, a change of policy is in- augurated which means the arrest of many restless boys in the neighborhood. With reference to the irregular attempts at dis- cipline on the part of railroad guards, comments by probation officers are sometimes illuminating; as, " J was not really a delinquent; he was merely one of the large number of boys brought in from district when the railroad detectives suddenly deter- mined to enforce the law." One factor of obvious importance which presents itself here is the problem of the gang, for many of these delinquent boys have offended in groups. Upon this subject the court records throw very little light. They show that the word "gang" is used without any definite significance to describe combinations of many kinds, varying from the loosely formed or even accidental group to the well knit organization. The so-called gang also varies greatly in size, and the records seldom give any definite idea either of its real size or of its personnel. Sometimes the gang is cosmopolitan in membership and includes boys of several different nationalities, but more often its members are of the same nationality, or the same race, prob- 33 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME ably because from the same neighborhood. Thus, eight Polish boys are brought in for placing ties across the railroad tracks; five Bohemians are caught breaking into a house; and three little colored boys aged nine, ten, and eleven are brought in for making a raid on a candy store. The gang is sometimes organized under the rule of a "king" who is usually described by resentful mothers, whose boys are suffering from his control, as a "big, bullying boy who tries to run everybody on the street." The presence of a gang in any neighborhood is always offered as an adequate explanation of the delinquency of any one of its members; and it becomes customary for the mother of every member to blame her own boy's badness upon the badness of the other mothers' sons. Sometimes, however, the blame can be fairly well determined. In the case of one gang nearly all the boys came from good homes and fairly favorable conditions and every mother blamed the "bad boy" of the neighborhood; and all the boys found one appearance in court quite enough except one poor fellow who is now in the state penitentiary serving a life sentence. This boy had no mother and only a nine-year-old sister to care for him; his father beat him, and his home was so degraded that he had never had a chance to do well. He had been the "king of the gang" in the neighborhood, had persistently avoided going to school, and did not learn to read until after he went to Joliet. The resentment of the mothers of the other boys in this instance was evidently justified. The gang is a local institution,* and is usually designated by the name of a street, or a neighborhood, or a district; as, the Halsted Street gang, or the Englewood gang. It does not mi- grate from its habitat, and so there is always the possibility of * The daily newspapers recently contained a "gang" story so significant as to be worthy of record. In the history of the life of Eddie Fay, "king of burglars," on the occasion of his recent capture, the following facts were given among others: "Fay was born in 1876 at Thirty-third and Wallace Streets, where his father, now dead, ran a saloon. He attended the Healy school at Thirty-first and Wallace Streets. The boys at the school were divided into two crowds, the Twenty-ninth Street gang and the Thirty-first Street gang. With Fay in the latter gang were Willie Yaeger, who later shot a man in the Twenty-second Street district; Pat Flaherty, who was implicated with Fay in the Superior robbery; Micky Gleason, now serving a ten-year sentence in Munich, Germany, for bank robbery; Vincent Shevlin, serving a term for manslaughter in New Jersey; Johnny Shevlin, who is also ' wanted/ and others." 34 THE WARDS OF THE COURT escaping from its influence and control by flight. A frequent remark made to the investigator by the mother of a delinquent boy who had come back to the fold was, " after he was in court we moved to a new neighborhood to get him away from the gang, and he settled down all right." It is clear that the larger offenses of burglary and larceny and the other more serious depredations are committed by boys in groups, but often the purely mischievous acts are likewise manifestations of the spirit of the gang. In fact, there is scarcely a type of delinquent boy who is not associated with others in his wrongdoing. The little vagrant may sometimes sleep alone, but we are sure that he does not pass the days alone. The twelve-year-old beggars may beg alone, but the begging child is really dependent rather than delinquent. The boy who is brought in because he will not give in all his wages undoubtedly wants to spend them in social ways. The impression made by a study of the actual reasons for bringing boys into court is that the delin- quency is in many instances distinctly one of a social character and is due to the organization of a little group whose purpose may be harmless enough but whose social effort is misdirected. Turning from the offenses of the delinquent boy to the question of the delinquent girl, some quite different problems present themselves. In Table 7, the terms which are used in classi- fying the girls' offenses are the same as those which were used in the corresponding table of boys' offenses, but the offenses covered by these terms are very different. Stealing, of course, continues to indicate the taking of property; but the forms of stealing change. The girl is most frequently charged with shoplifting or stealing from the person by whom she is employed. She seldom makes stealing a form of recreation, as the boy does who breaks into empty houses or attempts a raid on a store or a freight car. Examples of the kind of offenses which are called "disorderly" or "incorrigible" in the case of the boys have already been given. These words, however, have an entirely different meaning when applied to the girls. Perhaps the most frequent charge against the incorrigible girl is that she has been "staying away from home or going out at night in company with vicious people." Sometimes she refuses to stay at home and keeps a room in a disreputable 35 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME quarter of the city; she attends tough dances and does not come home until two or three o'clock in the morning; she associates with vicious persons, refuses to work and brings money home without working; goes away and stays for days, is strongly suspected of being immoral, uses vulgar and obscene language; she is on the streets day and night, stays out with a rough crowd of boys until TABLE 7. DELINQUENT GIRLS BROUGHT TO COURT EACH YEAR FROM JULY I, 1899, TO JUNE 30, 1909. NUMB.ERS AND PERCENTAGES. BY OFFENSE NUMBER OF GIRLS BROUGHT TO COURT DURING THE YEAR To- Per Offense tal Cent 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 -00 -01 -02 -03 -04 -05 -06 -07 -08 -09 Stealing J9 26 43 46 40 4i 67 63 46 26 417 15.0 Incorrigibility . Disorderly conduct . 39 25 55 21 50 15 99 17 98 24 123 18 154 27 142 19 191 12 "! 1186 184 42.8 6.7 Malicious mischief . 2 i i 4 0.2 Vagrancy . 3 3 O.I Immorality 24 42 59 100 61 124 151 160 58 92 871 31-4 Dependent charges a 9 10 8 10 6 ii 12 8 13 3 90 3-3 Truancy I i o.o Miscellaneous offenses 2 I 3 O.I Offenses not given . 3 I 2 5 J II 0.4 Total . 116 158 177 273 229 317 415 398 321 366 2770 IOO.O a These are the charges referred to on page 12; e.g., drunkenness of parents, lack of care, etc. The 90 girls brought in on these charges should not be con- fused with the girls who after having been dependent wards of the court are brought in on bona fide delinquent charges. three o'clock in the morning; or she stays out all night and "admits that one night she stayed at a hotel with a young man."* In general, the incorrigible or disorderly girl is one who "has a bad * It has seemed worth while to give an additional list (see Note 2 at end of this chapter, p. 53) containing more detailed examples of the kinds of offenses included under the terms "incorrigible" and "disorderly." A study of these ex- tracts from the court records will make clear the necessity for grouping these girls with those who are more specifically described as "immoral." 36 THE WARDS OF THE COURT reputation in the neighborhood," one who has been going with bad company and staying away at night. No explanation of the term "immorality" is necessary. Every effort is made to protect the good name of such girls as are brought to court, and in consequence they are, for the most part, charged with being " incorrigible" or " disorderly." The word "immorality" is never used in the petition or the statement of the case if it can be avoided, and when it is used it is probable that the experience of the girl has not been either an isolated or an accidental one. A careful study of the case histories of the girls brought into court during the first ten years showed that 209 girls had frequented or had been inmates of houses of prostitution, and 1 1 7 others had al- ready resorted to the use of rooming houses of a low, immoral character.* It has already been explained that the offenses dis- guised in the court records under the terms "incorrigibility" or "disorderly conduct" are in substance much the same as those plainly described as immoral. If we add to the 871 girls charged with immorality the 1370 who were called disorderly or incorrigible, we have a total of 2241 girls whose delinquency is in substance actual or threatened immorality. That is, more than 80 per cent of the delinquent girls are * The following table which shows the ages of these girls is of interest: NUMBER OF GIRLS TAKEN FROM Age Houses of Prostitution Low Rooming Houses Total 9 years i i 2 10 I i 2 1 1 r I 12 4 2 6 13 6 3 9 14 36 ~~~R$~ 55 i; 58 39 97 16 53 34 87 17 45 16 61 18 3 i 4 Not reported 2 2 Total 209 117 326 37 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME brought to court because their virtue is in peril, if it has not been already lost." To put it another way, in less than 20 per cent of the cases is there a first charge not involving imminent moral danger. Moreover, even such incomplete reports of home condi- tions as are contained in the court records show that in a large num- ber of these cases when the girl is charged with some offense like stealing or running away, which is apparently free from moral peril, there is in reality grave moral danger in the conditions under which she lives.* The subsequent treatment of these girls who have be- come familiar with irregular relationships if they have not actually experienced them, is a very difficult problem. For it is obvious that even if, because of the conditions surrounding her home life or the failure of the school or of the city to guard her, the girl herself should be held blameless, yet if she has had intimate knowledge of vice or of vicious persons and of vicious conditions, she is not a safe companion for the child who is still ignorant and innocent. If she has, because of vicious inheritance and low suggestion, become a source of temptation, as in the case of twelve-year-old Annie who had already "lived the life of a prostitute," not only is there slight hope of so rebuilding the body and spirit that they may follow clean ways of living and thinking, but there must be recognized the possibility of both spiritual contagion and physical infec- tion. With the understanding then that the terms describing the charge may bear a different meaning when applied to boys and to girls, the following table, which presents a summary of the charges upon which the two groups of children were brought into court during the first ten years, may be interesting and not mis- leading. From this table it appears again that while more than half, 5 1 per cent, of the boys are brought in for the violation of property rights, only 1 5 per cent of the girls are brought to court for similar offenses. On the other hand, 31 per cent of the girls, in contrast with 2 per cent of the boys, are brought in for actual immorality, while if those girls who have been in real danger are * Since in most instances the court records contain no detailed statement regarding home conditions, no complete list can be given. In 1 18 cases, however, the facts were given as stated here. 38 THE WARDS OF THE COURT grouped together, the immoral with the incorrigible and the disorderly, they constitute 81 per cent of the whole number.* TABLE 8. DELINQUENT BOYS AND GIRLS BROUGHT TO COURT DUR- ING THE TEN-YEAR PERIOD FROM JULY I, 1899, TO JUNE 30, 1909. TOTALS AND PERCENTAGES. BY OFFENSE NUMBER PER CENT Offenses Boys Girls Boys Girls Stealing . . . . 5795 417 50.8 15.0 Incorrigibility 2478 1186 21.7 42.8 Disorderly conduct 1851 184 1 6.2 6.7 Malicious mischief 740 4 6.5 O.2 Vagrancy 265 3 2.3 O.I Immorality 178 871 1.6 31.4 Dependent charges . . . . . 90 90 0.8 3-3 Truancy 85 i 0.7 o.o Miscellaneous offenses .... 159 3 1.4 O.I Offense not given ii o.o 0.4 Total 11,641 2770 IO2.0 IOO.O Two offenses 228 2.O Total a 11,413 2770 IOO.O IOO.O a This is, of course, the correct total, after subtracting the number of cases counted twice because of the double charge. The number of cases in which the boy was charged with a double offense is an evidence of the inapplicability of the old criminal terms and ideas to the new conditions which the juvenile court was trying to create. In many cases the boy brought in as delinquent had committed an act which could be described by the term stealing or burglary, but this actual offense was perhaps only an occasion for getting hold of a boy whose associates and conduct in general were of such a character as to render it highly desirable that the boy should be brought under the care of the court. In such cases there would be the double charge of stealing and incorrigibility, or stealing and disorderly conduct, or immorality and incorrigibility. With the girl, however, if a specific offense other than immorality could be named, no specific mention of the latter charge appears in the records. In general it is true that in the court records the least possible is said with reference to the occa- sion for bringing the girl to court. Evidently such differences in offense must lead to differences in treatment. The following table has therefore been prepared *This will remind many readers of the case of "The Jukes," in which the women members of the family were harlots, while the men were thieves. That is, if the community be taken as the unit, the lines of sex delinquency are drawn in much the same way as in this family. 39 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME in order to show what disposition was made of the cases of all the delinquent children brought in during the decade. TABLE 9. DISPOSITION OF CASES OF ALL CHILDREN BROUGHT TO COURT BETWEEN JULY I, 1899, AND JUNE 30, 1909 NUMBER PER CENT Disposition of Case Boys Girls Boys Girls Continued indefinitely or dismissed 1928 278 16.9 IO.O Put on probation 6770 1039 59-3 37-5 Committed to institutions a . 2430 1416 21.3 51.1 Held to the Grand Jury or Municipal Court 95 2 0.8 O.I Other disposition 34 0.3 o.o Disposition of cases not recorded . 156 35 1.4 i-3 Total 11,413 2770 IOO.O IOO.O a Number of boys committed to each institution: John Worthy School .... 1957 Chicago Parental School ... 40 St. Mary's Home (Feehanville) 1 . 117 Glenwood 69 St. Charles School for Boys . . 123 Junior Business Club .... 83 Institutions for dependent boys . . 41 2430 Number of girls committed to each institution: House of the Good Shepherd 609 Chicago Refuge for Girls 371 Illinois Training School for Girls (Geneva) . . 333 Illinois Industrial School l 45 Chicago Industrial School l ..'... 22 Societies, hospitals, and institutions for dependent girls 36 1416 1 These institutions are nominally for dependent children. When the other institutions are crowded, however, if the child's delinquency is not so serious as to threaten the morals of the school, the apparently delinquent child is committed to one of these. Such a disposition often occasions real ambiguity as to the proper classification of the child. This table shows interesting differences in the method of deal- ing with the boys and girls who are brought to court. In the first place, the proportion of boys whose cases are dismissed,* or con- * "Dismissed" means that neither the conduct of the child nor the home conditions justify the court in assuming jurisdiction. 40 THE WARDS OF THE COURT tinued indefinitely,* is larger than of girls. The reason has already been given in the less serious character of the offenses of the boys and in the greater unwillingness to bring the girls into court. In many instances the distracted parent or the vexed neighbor may feel that bringing the boy in will do him no harm and may " give him a good scare." The boy, too, suffers from his connection with a gang for whose really serious offenses he may be found not to be responsible. The girl, on the other hand, is not a member of a gang, and her family are reluctant to acknowledge or expose her waywardness. For similar reasons there is a striking difference between the propor- tion of boys and girls put on probation. While it appears that 59 per cent of the boys who come into court for the first time are re- turned to their homes under the care of a probation officer and only 2 1 per cent are sent to institutions, with the girls these proportions are almost exactly reversed 5 1 per cent are removed from their homes and committed to institutions and only 37 per cent are re- turned to their parents or guardians. The girl is not brought into court until her environment has been proved too dangerous to be rendered safe by the services of the probation officer. She is in peril which threatens the ruin of her whole life, and the situation de- mands immediate action; her only hope of rescue seems to lie in prompt removal from her old surroundings and associates. The delinquent boy, on the other hand, is frequently only a trouble- some nuisance who needs discipline but who, as the probation officer so often says, is "not really a bad boy" and "with a little watching he is sure to come out all right." With this difference in the seriousness of the first offense and in the method of treatment after their first appearance, it is not difficult to understand why the "repeaters" are more numerous among the boys than among the girls. A table is given showing the number of times each delinquent child was brought into court during the first eight years, from which it appears that while only 20 per cent of the girls appear before the court more than once, 32 per cent of the boys are " repeaters." * While neither institutional care nor the services of a probation officer seem to be demanded by the seriousness of the case, the court retains jurisdiction and can exercise control at any time. 41 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME TABLE IO. NUMBER OF TIMES DELINQUENT CHILDREN WERE BROUGHT TO COURT DURING THE EIGHT-YEAR PERIOD FROM JULY I, 1899, TO JUNE 30, 1907* NUMBER PER CENT Aggregate Number of Times in Court Boys Gfrls Boys Girls Once . 6425 1660 67.9 79-7 Twice . Three times 1725 686 354 53 18.3 7-2 17.0 2-5 Four times . 34 i 13 3.6 0.6 Five times . 159 2 i-7 O.I Six times . 54 I 0.6 O.I Seven times 28 0.3 Eight times. 9 O.I Nine times . 4 o.o Ten times . Eleven times I o.o Not specified 33 0.3 Total 9465 2083 IOO.O IOO.O . a Since the children who have been more recently brought to court have had as yet little time to repeat, the figures for the first eight years seem more significant alone than with the data for the ninth and tenth years added. The question of the persistent "repeater" is obviously a very serious one, but a detailed discussion of it belongs more properly within the scope of the volume which deals with the de- linquent child and the court. In connection with the large proportion of girls who do not return 80 per cent as compared with the 68 per cent of boys who are never brought in after their first appearance it should be remembered not only that their offenses are more serious and that they are more often sent to institutions, but that they are retained in these institutions for longer periods, and have no such chance as the boys have to "get into trouble again." While we should not be too sanguine as to the meaning of the figures which indicate that in the cases of 68 per cent of the boys a second appearance in court is avoided, it is evident from the family and probation schedules that the experience in court was often a most salutary lesson which needed to be learned only once. Frequently we meet the statement, in substance if not in precise form, in the family schedules: "He was put on probation and was never in court again"; or " His mother says he has been a 42 THE WARDS OF THE COURT good boy ever since"; or, as in another case, "The boy was much humiliated by being taken into court. He didn't intend to steal, but his only way of getting spending money was by taking things to a junk dealer"; or, "His mother says that his experience in court frightened him badly and he has been very straight ever since." While no attempt will be made in this volume to discuss the court from the institutional point of view, it seems important to note here certain obvious facts relating to its general policy. It appears, for example, that often when several children are brought in together for participating in a single experience, some of the members of the group will be put on probation, while others are at once committed to institutions, in spite of the fact that all alike seem to have been guilty of the same offense. Thus, when three boys were brought in for " breaking into a basement, though they did not steal," the eleven-year-old Polish boy was charged with attempted burglary and sent to the John Worthy School, while his twelve-year-old American and thirteen-year-old Polish com- panions were charged with malicious mischief and put on proba- tion. Again, in many cases when several children are brought in separately charged in identical terms as delinquent, they receive wholly different treatment. In fact, .the whole theory on which the court is established makes it clear that the act committed by the child is, from the point of view of the court in determin- ing what is to be done with him, of slight importance. The weighty questions are, how did he or she happen to commit this offense; and, are the circumstances which lead to this wrongdoing such as to indicate the probability of a repetition; and if so, can the conditions unfavorable to the child be so altered as to give him a fair chance without removing him from his home, or must he be placed in a wholly different environment? If the latter course be necessary, few alternatives to the institution present themselves. It is evident, too, that the judge is limited not only by the legal principles which must guide his decision but by the lack of material resources at his command. When the detention home is full and the institutions are 43 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME overcrowded,* the court is helpless before the problem of a girl brought in by a frightened mother who wants her sent away because she has been staying away nights and refusing to tell what she has been doing. In the absence of proper facilities for caring for her, the judge can only send her home under the promise that she will try to get back her old job in a depart- ment store and be more careful about her comings and goings, though he can see by the "smart way" in which the hair is done and by the angle at which the cheaply trimmed hat is placed, as well as by other unmistakable evidences, that the way of that girl through the department store is as plainly downward as if his own feet felt the beginning of the descent.f If the parents wish to be rid of their boy or are evidently degraded and unworthy, an institution for delinquent boys may be better for him than his home, although he may have committed very slight offenses. At another time, when there is reason to be- lieve that the institution is not wisely administered, it may seem best to leave him in the midst of the extremely unfavorable sur- roundings of his own home. Only on the supposition that the court must often select for the child the least harmful surround- ings, can the disposition, in many cases, be understood. What is done may seem futile; the alternative, however, may have seemed positively harmful. In no case, however, can the court act wisely except on the * The following is the list of institutions which are available to the court in disposing of delinquent children, together with the number that may be cared for at any one time: Girls Illinois Training School for Girls . . . 400 Chicago Refuge for Girls House of the Good Shepherd Boys St. Charles School for Boys . John Worthy School 100 500 400 400 In the case of the Illinois State Training School for Girls, Mrs. Ophelia L. Amigh, superintendent, informs us that there is no special rule as to the number that may be committed from any one county but usually more than one-third are wards of Cook County. Officer Peckham of the St. Charles School for Boys tells us that at the present time there are about 150 boys there from Cook County; and that, in general, 40 per cent of their number are from this county. t For a recent confirmation of this statement, see Judge Pinckney's Testi- mony, Appendix II, p. 222. 44 THE WARDS OF THE COURT basis of adequate information regarding the child's home sur- roundings and the attitude of the parents to the child's delinquency. And as it is essential that the judge should have adequate knowledge of the physical and spiritual condition of the home before he can understand the problem of any individual child, so in attempting to understand the larger problem of delinquent childhood, it has seemed important to set forth such facts as could be learned re- garding the home circumstances of the whole group of children who are called delinquent. In the following chapters an attempt has been made to set forth these facts; and it is believed that whatever judgment may be later formed as to the work which has been carried on by the court, it will appear as an institution having incalculable value as a means of uncovering those misfortunes and wrongs of which our city children, big and little, good and bad, are the victims. In these chapters it will appear: (1) That many of the children suffer from a lack of parental care and discipline because the parents are strangers in a strange land and cannot foresee the dangers to which the children will be exposed, nor train them to resist temptations which appear in novel guise, nor protect them in the hour of real trial. (2) That many have suffered from neglect because of the poverty of the family, and that some have been sacrificed to undue family thrift. (3) That many have been deprived of full parental care as a result of the death or illness of one or both parents, and that in the case of many children this misfortune of orphanage has brought other misfortunes in its train. (4) That many delinquent children have been the victims of confused family situations or of degraded and brutalizing homes. (5) That many have been neglected by the schools and have been allowed to grow toward maturity without any adequate equipment, either of a cultural or of an industrial character; and that in no small number of cases they are without even a fair knowledge of the English language. In connection with this neglect by the schools, attention may be called to the fact that the church as an organization fails lamentably in what would seem to be its peculiar concern, the 45 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME moral well-being of the youth under its care. There are, of course, schools maintained for delinquent children by the Roman Catholic Church, such as the House of the Good Shepherd, and there are church homes for dependent children who in many cases are in danger of becoming delinquent notably St. Mary's Training School at Desplaines (Feehanville) and the Angel Guardian Orphan Asylum. There are, too, a few clergymen to whom children have been paroled, and the Federation of Protestant Churches has supported, since January i, 1910, an officer for the purpose of finding homes for semi-delinquent boys and girls who are brought under the notice of the court. It is significant, however, that in very few instances was improvement attributed by any one ques- tioned during this inquiry to the effort of a representative of any church. (6) And, finally, it will appear that throughout the whole story runs the thread of civic neglect by the city and of its lack of intelligent care for this priceless treasure of the youth in its midst lack of clean, wholesome, upbuilding recreation, lack of supervision when supervision spells largest freedom, lack of ade- quate training, lack of provision for the separate instruction of those handicapped mentally or physically, the complaisant failure to prevent the exploitation of youth in employments which sap the moral and intellectual fiber, the presence of vicious amuse- ments, and the handing over of.jthis age when love of adventure is strong, this age of questioning and of emotional growth, to com- mercial interests hostile to youth as they are hostile to the best life of the community. In the following chapters many cases will be cited in which the court has been able to lift children out of such conditions and to counteract through the devoted watchfulness of its officers and agents the evil influences which had been at work. But obviously there must appear many cases in which no institu- tion could restore to the child already demoralized the chance of sound living and the right to good citizenship of which he has been forever deprived.* The presentation of such cases would be over- whelming, were it not possible to point to a newly awakening realization of the omissions of the past and of the task which * For a striking comment on this situation, see Judge Pinckney's Testimony, Appendix II, p. 208 ff. 46 THE WARDS OF THE COURT lies before us in the immediate future. It is believed that the facts we give fully justify the creation of the court, since through them it is seen to be the great uncoverer of wrongs to childhood; and as the wrongs are uncovered, remedies inevitably suggest themselves, and such facts as may seem to be an evidence of weakness on the part of the court are in fact a plea for increasing its forces and strengthening its influence. 47 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME NOTES TO CHAPTER II NOTE i. This list, giving not only the court charges but the actual offense ir a series of boys' cases taken just as they came, is offered in the hope that it may throv further light on the discussion in this chapter. (See footnote, p. 32.) Nationality Age Charge Real Offenses Disposition Norwegian . 12 Incorrigibility Followed six-year-old boy Probation home and took $1.00 from his pocket. Has stolen from parents. Irish 13 Incorrigibility Stole bicycle valued at $20 Continued* from a man's home. Said he bought it for $3.00 from a boy. German 15 Incorrigibility Ran away; found sleeping Continued in buildings down town at 12:30 a. m. Won't obey father. English . 14 Assault Struck a boy on head with a Probation broom and killed him. Conflicting stories. Italian . 13 Assault Fought a boy, and after Probation being separated by some one, drew a knife and stabbed boy in shoulder. American 16 Incorrigibility While engineer and porter John Worthy in five-cent theater he blew School top off boiler by turning on water. $30 damages. German 9 Incorrigibility Stole two rugs valued at Probation $9.00. Sold them for 50 cents. Not a normal boy. American 12 Incorrigibility Won't attend school. Ex- Continued pelled from two. Father cannot control him. Bohemian 16 Incorrigibility Entered bedroom and stole John Worthy $25 watch. Stayed away School from home five months. Polish . . 15 Incorrigibility Mother says he is disobe- John Worthy dient, uses vulgar lan- School guage. Stays away from home. Swedish 14 Stealing Stole studs, pins, etc., from Probation custodian with whom he had been one week. *That is, held under the immediate jurisdiction of the court, subject at any time to summons to reappear, but not placed on probation. 48 THE WARDS OF THE COURT NOTES TO CHAPTER II. (Continued.) Nationality Age Charge Real Offenses Disposition ierman H Incorrigibility Parents want him to be a Continued baker. He wants to be an electrician. Parents said they could not control him. He says father is cruel to him. 'olish . . 15 Incorrigibility Has run away from home John Worthy seven times. Parents say School he is incorrigible. Colored . H Incorrigibility Lazy, smokes cigarettes; John Worthy impudent and a nuisance School to himself and everyone else. ierman 15 Stealing Broke into workshed used John Worthy as a store room and stole School clothes. loumanian . 15 Incorrigibility Stayed away from home two Probation weeks. Found down town at 12:30 a. m. American 15 Incorrigibility Mother cannot control him. Continued Won't work. Stays out nights. lussian 10 Incorrigibility Stole watch fob valued at Probation 75 cents from department store. American 14 Incorrigibility Stays out nights and is wholly incorrigible. John Worthy School talian . 16 Carrying con- Carried concealed weapons. Dismissed cealed weap- ons Jthuanian . 15 Incorrigibility Runs away, stays out nights, Continued has stolen money from parents. 3 olish . . H Stealing Broke seals on freight cars Dismissed and stole grain. Herman H Stealing Stole coal from the railway. Continued Bohemian ii Stealing Stole $10 from father and Probation stayed away for several days. Bought friend pair of rubber boots, leggings and pair of trousers, and then went home. Polish . . 16 Incorrigibility Answered to another boy's Probation name and took his wages, rff ^. XT /~ > y~ k -M vrt m r >4o ' **' ^ v-.omp 75 I74j 345 128 J ^79 302] (92.7%) (88.1%) (90.5%) Total for whom information is given . . . .372 362 734 Data in the family schedules relating to parents' age, at im- migration, presented in Table 14, show that out of 372 foreign born fathers and 362 foreign born mothers for whom this informa- tion was secured, 93 per cent of the fathers and 88 per cent of the mothers passed the first fifteen years of their life in the countries from which they immigrated, and that 47 per cent of the fathers and 35 per cent of the mothers did not come over until they were twenty-five. TABLE 15. NUMBER OF FOREIGN BORN PARENTS a (OF 280 DELIN- QUENT BOYS) FROM OTHER THAN ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES WHO WERE ABLE TO SPEAK, READ, OR WRITE ENGLISH Number of Parents Fathers Mothers Unable to speak, read, or write English 42 79 Able to speak English but unable to read or write . 98 115 Able to speak and read English but unable to write 21 27 Able to speak, read, and write English 117 59 Total for whom information was given b . . . 278 280 a These data relate of course only to the parents who came from non-Eng- lish-speaking countries. b The total number of foreign born parents from non-English-speaking countries was 344; in 66 cases, therefore, information as to their knowledge of English could not be obtained. Similarly in the case of 69 mothers no report was obtained. One result of this late immigration which presents an addi- tional obstacle in the way of adjustment to American life is the failure to learn English. From a study of Table 15, which shows the number of parents able to speak, read, or write English, it appears that 42, or 1 5 per cent, of the fathers and 79, or 28 per 63 * THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME cent, of the mothers about whom information was obtained spoke only their native tongue and knew no English at all, while a very considerable number of the others, although able to speak brokenly, could neither read nor write. With so many cases of late immigration among the parents, it is to be expected that a considerable number of children should be themselves foreign born; but unfortunately the court records do not furnish any data on this point. Such information was ob- tained, however, for those boys whose families were visited by the in- vestigators, and the schedules show that 65 out of 584 were born in Europe. The limitations implied in the fact that the child is not even of American birth can be better understood perhaps in the later discussion of the problem of the school in relation to the needs of the immigrant child. The great majority of our more recent im- migrants are from countries where education is limited in scope and is still in large measure the privilege of a few;* and it is necessarily difficult for them to realize its importance in a country where it is both free and compulsory. It is clear, how- ever, that there must inevitably be from time to time pathetic cases of foreign born children brought to court as delinquents who were really in every sense dependent. There is, for ex- ample, the case of two little Italian boys who were brought to court for stealing some berries from a wagon on South Water Street. One of the boys had no home and had never been in school. His parents still lived in Italy, and he had come over with an older brother, who was not a good man and took no care of him. The other boy had come over with his poverty stricken parents and was one of four children living in a miserable home. He was, however, little better off than the boy who came alone. The family had immigrated when he was ten years old, neither the father nor mother could speak English, and this boy did not go to school until he was thirteen. The father was a common laborer, usually un- * The report of the Commissioner General of Immigration for the year ended June 30, 1910 (see Table VI I, Sex, Age, Literacy, etc., p. 20), showed that the largest number of immigrants of any single racial group coming during that year were the 192,673 South Italians, 172,608 of whom were fourteen years of age or older, and of these 5 1 .8 per cent were unable to read or write in their own language. Next in numbers were the 128,348 Poles with 118,550 over fourteen, of whom 35 per cent were illiterate. In the next largest group, designated as "Hebrew," there were 84,260, with 62,391 over fourteen and 28.8 per cent illiterate. 6 4 THE CHILD OF THE IMMIGRANT employed, and the family lived in one room. If these children of illiterate immigrant parents cannot be placed in school soon after their arrival in this country, the way to delinquency through de- pendency is sure to be open to them. One of the most important facts to be noted with regard to the foreign group with which the court is concerned is that it is also a rural group. The most casual observation in the court room gives the impression that the parents who stand with their children before the judge are country people. And this impression is confirmed by the data in the family schedules,* which show that 64 per cent of the fathers and 69 per cent of the mothers of delinquent boys, whose place of residence before immigration could be learned, lived in the country or in very small towns, and that only about one-third of the parents came from what they called cities. The answers to the questions asking for the occupations of the parents before immigration threw further light upon this point. The family schedules showed the employment before immi- gration of 194 fathers of delinquent boys, and of these 95, or 49 per cent, had been farmers or farm laborers in the old country. And what was of equal importance as further evidence of the diffi- culty of adjustment, was the fact that in no single instance was any one of these men engaged in a pursuit connected with agri- culture in this country. The rural habit of thought which the immigrant brings with him naturally manifests itself in many ways. Country people * These data, which are presented below, are not altogether trustworthy, since it was sometimes difficult to find out just what kind of a community the European place of residence had been. In general it was easy to ascertain if they had lived in the country but it was hard to distinguish between the city and the small village; investigators felt that the village was often glorified into a city. In so far, however, as the table is inaccurate, it presents an understatement of the number who lived in the village and country and the inaccuracy does not therefore vitiate the point made in the text. PLACE OF RESIDENCE City Country or Small Town Parent Number Per Cent - Number Per Cent Total Father. . . 123 36 215 64 338 Mother . . 102 31 225 69 327 Total . . 225 34 440 66 665 6 5 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME are on the whole less adaptable than city people, less flexible, and less accustomed to responding to a large variety of stimuli. New forms of neighborly relationship, new forms of property, new forms of social intercourse, are more slowly understood in their full significance. It is clear then that in these foreign groups there are numer- ous influences at work which tend to delay the process of Ameri- canization; and this delay must in many cases have serious conse- quences for the children of the family. The point of view of the parents with regard to much that is considered essential to the proper up bringing of the child often remains singularly un-Ameri- can. For example, the immigrant child frequently suffers from the fact that the parents do not understand that the community has a right to say that children under a certain age must be kept in school. It seems, for example, unimportant to the Italian peasant, who as a gloriously paid street laborer begins to cherish a vision of prosperity, whether his little girls go to school or not. It is, on the contrary, of great importance that a sufficient dower be ac- cumulated to get them good husbands; and to take them from school and put them to work is, therefore, only an attempt to help them accomplish this desirable end. In cases of this sort the pro- bation officer proves an invaluable friend to the girl or boy whose parents do not understand how necessary education is to the child. Thus, one boy who came from a clean, pleasant home of eight rooms, whose father was a baker owning his house and earning a good in- come, was brought into court at the age of twelve for breaking into a store and stealing, and was put on probation. When he was thirteen he was confirmed and his parents thought that he ought to stop school and go to work, although they did not need the money. He was brought into court again, this time for truancy, and was again put on probation. He was paroled to one of the proba- tion officers, and her relations with the boy were very friendly. According to the schedule, " the parents were bitter against the officer at first because she compelled the boy to go to school, but afterwards they saw that it was for the boy's own good." Not only in the matter of compulsory education, but in many other ways, the slow Americanization of the parents reacts injuriously upon the children. Obviously, many things which are 66 THE CHILD OF THE IMMIGRANT familiar to the child in the facts of daily intercourse, in the street, or in the school, will remain unknown or unintelligible to the father and mother. It has become a commonplace that this cheap wisdom on the part of the boy or girl leads to a reversal of the usual relationship between parent and child. The child who knows English is the interpreter who makes the necessary explan- ations for the mother to the landlord, the grocer, the sanitary inspector, the charity visitor, and the teacher or truant officer. It is the child again who often interviews the "boss," finds the father a job, and sees him through the onerous task of "joining the union." The father and mother grow accustomed to trusting the child's version of what " they all do in America" and gradually find themselves at a great disadvantage in trying to maintain parental control. The child develops a sense of superiority towards the parent and a resulting disregard of those parental warnings which, although they are not based on American experience, rest on com- mon notions of right and wrong, and would, if heeded, safeguard the child. In the case of a little Italian boy who was first brought into court at the age of nine and has developed into a persistent "repeater," appearing there fairly regularly once a year ever since, the child was described as undersized and underfed, without care or discipline. The record, however, also shows that the mother, a home "finisher" who had been deserted by her husband, could speak no English and was very dependent on the boy, who in turn was "very bossy" with her although he gave her all his wages. It is clear that family friction often results from the differ- ence in understanding between the foreign parent and the American child, and that many times the waywardness of the child grows out of such misunderstandings. A little Russian boy, who also developed into a repeater, was first brought to court because he had stolen a dollar from his father's vest, and his father said that he had stolen other small sums at different times. The comments made in his case were that the family did not understand the boy and taunted him with having been arrested. It is of interest, however, that according to the record "the mother speaks very little English and thinks that in America boys want to be men too soon, and that the parents ought to control them until they get to be twenty years old." 67 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME Often the parent, because he has failed to understand his new surroundings and has been unable to adjust himself, cannot appreciate fully the perils that surround his child or adequately protect him from such as are apprehended. To understand the circumstances which are bringing many of these children into court, to see things if possible as they see them, there should be especially kept in mind the fact that it is difficult for peasants from Southern Europe to adjust their rustic standards to the con- ditions of life in the tenement quarters of one of our great cities. For these immigrants who have not yet parted with their European habits of thought and life, there must be special difficulty in appreciating different forms of property where conditions are in some respects analogous to those prevailing in the old country. There, in a rural district, when a wagonload of farm produce passes by and drops vegetables or fruit or grain, the articles left along the road are abandoned, and the road being public, no trespass is committed by one who goes along and picks them up. Or, after the harvesters have gone over the field, if the peasants go along to glean, they are welcome to what they gather. There was, too, in the older days, the common of estovers, or right to take the wood from the lord's land for repair or fuel. It is, therefore, obviously difficult for these children or their parents to understand why the sweepings from the empty freight cars should not be appropriated to feed the chickens or pigeons at home; or why coal dropped from uncovered cars should not be car- ried home. On the railroad tracks, however, trespass is committed by anyone who goes upon them for purposes not connected with the business of the company; and if a boy or a number of boys, in the absence of all facilities for play, find there not only the desired space, but the excitement growing out of the sense of being on forbidden territory, they are not only endangering their lives and limbs, but committing a legal wrong, even if the nature of it is not clear to them. Coal left on sidings in uncovered cars, grain left to be un- loaded, unguarded cars loaded with valuable freight left where groups of little boys can readily gain access to them, make depre- dations easy. By such means a constant and often irresistible temptation is offered to these simple people, who are pressed with 68 THE CHILD OF THE IMMIGRANT need, unintelligent as to their new surroundings, and confused with the problems of a crowded neighborhood through which, or in the the midst of which, the great conveyances pass or linger in tan- talizing suggestion of a plenty in which the tempted may not share. If one studies the old European peasant background of the lives of our recent immigrants, it is not difficult to understand why their children should be brought to court in disproportionately large numbers as delinquent boys and girls. If the immigrant parents in leaving the old for the strangely new home have not come to new standards of right and wrong, they have come to such new conditions of life and work, to such new relationships, that confusion of the old standards may easily result. Even the old simple virtues seem to lead to disaster; thrift often means sacrific- ing the children's education, and parental discipline after the European fashion alienates the affection of the Americanized child. It is, of course, never possible to say to what extent the child's experience may bear on his delinquency, but when the parents are thus unable to adjust themselves to their surroundings, when the child becomes a precocious and an unnatural family interpreter or spokesman, and the normal restraihts are in large measure removed, the child has no instructor, no guide, no guardian in the intricate relationships thrust upon him. The appearance in court, which often seems to be his mis- fortune, may not infrequently be the child's salvation if the proba- tion officer is able to lead both the child and the family to a better understanding of what the community is at once asking of them and offering to them. The probation officer is also of special ser- vice in helping to keep the immigrant child in school. It has already been pointed out that the problem of getting the children of newly arrived immigrants into the schools is one of pressing im- portance. Those children especially who are near the age of four- teen, will, unless their parents or guardians are promptly made to understand the compulsory education law, lose what is perhaps their only chance of schooling, and what is certainly their best chance of initiation into American life, and their best introduction to those new conditions with which they must become familiar. 69 CHAPTER IV THE POOR CHILD: THE PROBLEM OF POVERTY CHILDREN who do wrong may be found in homes of every economic and social grade. We are dealing here, how- ever, only with those children who become wards of the court, and our inquiry is concerned, therefore, with the families that may be said to form the court's constituency. Children in families of great wealth may be guilty of much more serious offenses than are the children of the poor; but the offenses of the latter bring them more quickly within the reach of the law. Moreover, as will appear in the discussion, poverty in itself is often a direct and compelling cause of delinquency. A study of the family schedules which were obtained for the children brought into court during the year 1903-04 seemed to indicate that the court dealt with families from four large economic groups. We have called these (I) very poor families, (II) poor families, (III) families in fairly comfortable circum- stances, and finally (IV) families whose homes apparently were quite comfortable. We did not find any families that we could call "wealthy," so we omitted a fifth division which would have included families of that class. No attempt has been made to subdivide these groups, for none of the returns as to employment or earnings were verified, and it was felt that the data in hand were not of sufficient detail and accuracy to warrant a more elaborate or exact classification.* A discussion of the character- istics of the families which we have placed in these different groups will make the method of classification more intelligible. We set no standard of income or earnings to make a dividing line between * Any attempt at a classification of families on the basis of economic condi- tions must inevitably recall the classification used in Booth's Life and Labour of the People; and it is needless to point out that our data obtained on the basis of a single visit by the investigator, even when supplemented, as was often the case, by the probation officer, were not sufficiently complete to permit the use of the 70 THE POOR CHILD the groups, but we were guided rather by such items as the kind" and amount of work done by the father, the standard of living as ' indicated by the kind of house and particularly by the number of rooms in which the family lived, and by the question of whether or not the mother was obliged to become a supplementary wage- earner. In general, the family in Group I, the class of "very poor families," was not supported by the father, and was not, there- fore, a normally self-sustaining family. In dealing with this group the court may be said to have dealt with the unfortunate or the degraded. In many cases the father was dead or ill, and the mother had become a wage-earner in order to keep her home together. Since she was probably not only so overburdened as to be physically unfit, but industrially incompetent as well, her only recourse was a resort to some kind of make-shift work, usually going out to wash or clean by the day, or to scrub office buildings at night.* In a considerable number of cases, destitution had come because the father had deserted the family, or because he was a drunken loafer in the class of "won't works." Under any of these circumstances it is clear that a family will frequently be unable to maintain itself even with the help of the mother's earnings, and assistance must be obtained from outside charitable sources. The families in Group 1 1 have been called poor, although they were normally self-sustaining; that is, the father was able to bear Booth classification which, it will be remembered, was a very elaborate one, com- prising two subdivisions for each class as follows: Class A. Lowest Class; Semi-criminal These two classes constitut- Class B. Casual Earnings ing the very poor. Class C. Irregular Earnings These two classes constitut- Class D. Regular earnings ing the poor. Class E. Ordinary Standard Earnings These two forming the corn- Class F. Highly Paid Work fortable class. Class G. Lower Middle Forming the well-to-do class. Class H. Upper Middle In contrast with this division into eight groups, we were obliged to confine ourselves to a simpler and less exact classification because of the less accurate in- formation in our possession. It may, however, be said that in general our Group I would include roughly the Booth Classes A and B, Group II would include Classes C and D, Group III Classes E and F, and Group IV Class G. As we have indicated, there were no families in Class H. * For further discussion of the working mothers see Chapter V, pp. 95-97. 71 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME the burden of support but there was a hard struggle while the chil- dren were small, to make both ends meet. The father was usually an unskilled laborer whose earning capacity was low and whose work was irregular. I n most cases the home was poor and crowded, though often decent and even cheerful. The neighborhood was frequently poor and congested, offering temptation in the form of low theaters and saloons, and almost certainly without suitable places for recreation. The families in Group 1 1 1 we have described as fairly com- fortable. The most typical family was that of the skilled artisan, regularly employed at good wages. The homes of this group were in better neighborhoods and were often clean and attractive. Very few delinquent girls not one-tenth of the total number and only about one-fifth of the delinquent boys came from this group. Of Group IV little need be said. These families in comfort- able circumstances did not contribute 2 per cent of the children dealt with by the court. It is, indeed, scarcely necessary to point out that the children belonging in this group are children with r opportunities for education and varied recreation, children to whom much care and attention are given. Their offenses are easily con- cealed from the neighbors and the public authorities, and they are disciplined in the home instead of through the court. The results of this classification are shown in the following table, which gives the number of families in each economic group. TABLE 1 6. CLASSIFICATION INTO ECONOMIC GROUPS OF FAMILIES OF 584 BOYS AND 157 GIRLS FOR WHOM FAMILY SCHEDULES WERE OBTAINED Economic Croup BOYS GIRLS Number Per Cent Number Per Cent Group I. Group II. Group III. Group IV. No Home \. 223 221 124 10 6 38.2 37-9 21.2 '7 I.O 108 33 12 2 2 68.8 .21.0 7 .6 -3 '3 Total 584 1 00.0 57 IOO.O 72 THE POOR CHILD This table shows an almost equal number of boys in Groups 1 and II. Out of a total of 584 boys, 223, or 38 per cent, come from very poor families, while 221, a number almost equally large, come from families which we have called poor.* A few families were not placed in any group because the child had no real home but had lived with different relatives or friends. A striking fact which appears in the table is that in general, the families of the delinquent girls are of a lower grade than are those of the boys, but attention must be called once more to the fact that the girls whose family circumstances are referred to are institutional girls, the girls who were in the State Training School when this investigation was undertaken. There is reason to be- lieve, however, that they constitute a fairly typical group. The girls who are sent to institutions are undoubtedly from families of a lower grade than those who are paroled, for commitment to an institution shows that the court does not believe that the family can be trusted any longer to safeguard the girl. ' When it is remem- bered, however, that the majority of those who come into court are immediately sent to institutions, it is clear that the families of institutional girls are more nearly typical of those of the whole group of delinquent girls than might at first seem to be the case. It is of interest that the table shows that a much larger percent- age of the girls than of the boys come from the two lowest economic groups, and that 69 per cent of the girls as compared with 38 per cent of the boys are from the very lowest group, the group in which degradation and poverty go hand in hand. A correspondingly small percentage of girls come from the higher groups (III and IV), 9 per cent as compared with 23 per cent of the boys. That is, as families rise to a higher economic group it is clear that the daughters are better protected than the sons. x In connection with the fact that so large a proportion of the girls belonged to families in the two lowest groups, it should also be * Although questions regarding the wages and occupations of different mem- bers of the family appear on the schedule, no tables of employment or earnings are given in this chapter. The data collected were obtained by investigators who paid only a single visit to the home, and in no case were these data verified by inquiries made of employers, and in only a few cases by interviews with the man himself. Moreover, it was a year of "panic" and it was found impossible to make any trust- worthy estimate of the normal regularity of the work. 73 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME recalled that in general the offenses which bring girls into court are more serious than those of the boys. In 80 per cent of the cases the delinquent girl is one whose morals are endangered,* and the supposition is, that this condition of peril to her virtue would not normally exist except where the family is either degraded or lives under great economic pressure By way of summary, then, it may be said that in Groups I and II the court deals with the problem of poverty, and that in round numbers nine-tenths of the delinquent girls and three- fourths of the delinquent boys come from the homes of the poor. Sixty-nine per cent of the girls and 38 per cent of the boys come from the lowest class, the "very poor," the class in which there exists not merely destitution, but destitution accompanied by degradation, or destitution caused by degradation. Since the delinquent children are in so large a proportion the children of the poor, it becomes imperative to examine some- what in detail the possible relation of poverty to juvenile delin- quency. Perhaps the most striking single effect of poverty that seems to have a direct connection with delinquency is the heavy burden of pecuniary responsibility which the child helps to bear. It is the normal thing in Groups I and 1 1 for children to leave school and go to work at fourteen. But many of them begin to work much earlier. The little boys who sell papers out of school and are brought in for loitering about the news alleys at unseemly hours, or for stealing newspapers to sell; those who become mes- sengers and are unable to resist the temptation to keep some of the money which passes through their hands, are familiar figures during the court sessions. f The list of employments of 416 of the boys brought into court during 1903-04 shows 233 cases of employment as newsboys, messenger, errand, wagon, elevator, cash, and office boys,J "blind-alley" occupations which so often lead more or less directly to delinquent paths. * See p. 37. t Sometimes it is not the newsboy, but the customer, who is really responsible for the delinquent act. It has been, for example, quite common for men to take up a paper from a newstand and leave a transfer in payment. The boy is, therefore, driven in turn to the business of "selling transfers." Of course, not all of the transfer sellers are newsboys, but only too frequently they are. J The list of occupations in which 416 delinquent boys brought to court had 74 THE POOR CHILD Sometimes the early employment is the result not of poverty but of that difficulty, already discussed, which the immigrant family finds in adjusting itself to its new environment. Illiterate themselves, the parents are unable to understand the importance of education and see no reason why they should not have the profits of their children's labor. More than one case is recorded in which a probation officer interfered with some foreign parents who clung stubbornly to the theory that a child must leave school and "find a job" as soon as he is confirmed, without any regard to his age or fitness for work.* And there are, too, many indirect ways in which the necessity for work or the dread of it while the child is still very young, may make him a delinquent boy. Among the family schedules may be found many illustrations of such hardship endured by the child that open rebellion was an almost inevitable result ; there is, for example, the record of the little German boy, the eldest of eight children, whose parents were "very strict with him" and compelled him to work even when he was ill and unable to do so; the case of a Polish father, who is said to have been "very mean to the children and anxious to have them work as early as they could"; the story of an Italian immigrant family in which the twelve-year-old boy was brought to court for stealing from stores and wagons, and of whom the record says that the " boy sold papers when he was a little fellow been employed is given below. In 136 cases the same boy had had more than one of these occupations. Newsboys 48 Messengers 27 Errand or wagon boys . . . 108 Elevator boys 15 Cash or office boys 35 "Teaming" , 100 Tailorshop 7 Stock yards 19 Miscellaneous factory work 193 Total . . .552 Counted twice 136 Total 416 * For an interesting discussion of this practice of putting their children at work, even when the parents could afford a longer school life, see Report on Con- dition of Woman and Child Wage-Earners in the United States, Vol. VII, pp. 57, 58. United States Bureau of Labor. (Senate document 645, 6ist Cong. 2d sess.) 75 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME and was beaten if he did not bring money home"; the account of a Bohemian boy who was " miserably cared for at home and who had work held over him threateningly all the time." Of great interest, too, in this connection, are the cases in which the boy is sent out to look for work, and finding the quest adventurous, pretends to be employed and obtains carfare from his mother under the pretense of going to his "job" while he is still roaming the street. Thus an Italian boy was brought in by an indignant mother, who had given him carfare and lunches for five weeks, only to find that no pay envelope was forthcoming to reimburse her. A boy of six- teen was brought in by an Irish parent on the charge of incorrigi- bility. The evidence submitted was that for two weeks the boy had received money for carfare and lunches because he said he was working, and then, when pay day came, and he should have turned in his wages, he ran away. Young girl delinquents are even more helpless victims of early employment. Illustrations of this fact are almost super- fluous, they are so well known. For example, four of the girls whose family histories were obtained had "worked out" from the time they were twelve years old. Details of their undoing cannot be given here, but they came into court at the ages of fifteen and six- teen, all on immoral charges and with their health ruined. The un- protected position in which these little servant girls find themselves is discussed in a later portion of this chapter, but it may be said here that the cases given above are fairly representative in illustrating the dangers which threaten them. Typical of a considerable number of cases of another sort is that of a young German girl who began to work in a factory when she was fourteen, and who seems to have been a good girl until she got out of work. While she was making the rounds " down town " in search of a new job, she fell into the habit of going into department store waiting rooms for warmth and rest and to read the newspaper advertisements. This, with a large number of young girls, is the beginning of the end. When this girl was sixteen she was arrested with several companions who were in the habit of visiting waiting rooms with the object of meeting men and going to rooming houses for immoral purposes. 76 THE POOR CHILD Many other cases are given of young girls whose employ- ment seems to have been the direct cause of their wrongdoing. There is the record of a young Roumanian girl who immigrated without her parents and who was assaulted by a man on her way home from work; of a young German girl, a good worker, who was kept late every other night in the store where she was employed. It was easy to let some one "take her home" on these nights, but when she was tired and overworked it was not easy to resist the temptation that followed.* But poverty sometimes leads to delinquency in much more subtle ways. There are, for example, the young girls who grow im- patient with hard work. One such girl had been employed with her mother in a laundry and was considered a good worker, but the home with seven children was crowded, and life must have seemed very hard at times. Suddenly she ran away to live with a girl friend. She tried to support herself by working in an office, but finally went to a house of prostitution where she was found by an officer. Somewhat similar, perhaps, is the case of a young Jewish girl whose father was dead and who was helping to support the family of seven children under quite hopeless circumstances. The mother was in delicate health, the children were sickly, and they lived in a poor, miserable place over a stable where a horse was kept. The girl worked very hard in a factory, giving her mother everything she earned, but finally, as if she had thrown up her hands in a sudden impulse of despair, she became quite reckless and im- moral. She earned money first by going to low rooming houses, and then, at the age of fifteen, to a house of prostitution. Work in department stores or other storey ' down town" seems to be responsible for a very large nurmber of cases of delin- quency among girls. The number of cases in which the mother says of the daughter who has been brought to court, " She was a good girl till she went to work down town in a store," is in fact too long to cite. The records of the Geneva girls showed that working in a "store" was much more dangerous to the city than to the country girl, which would seem to indicate that it was * A case which is more exceptional and which is not, therefore, cited, is that of a girl who worked in a restaurant and was led astray by a Greek who married her and forced her to support him by leading the life of a prostitute, when she was only fifteen. 77 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME rather the perils associated with down town than the occupa- tion itself. The following table shows the occupations of the girls for whom records were obtained at the State Training School: TABLE 17. OCCUPATION BEFORE COMMITMENT OF l8l a GIRLS (jj FROM COOK COUNTY AND 104 FROM OTHER COUNTIES) SENT TO THE STATE TRAINING SCHOOL Places of Employment Girls from Cook County (Chicago) Girls from Other Counties Total Domestic service Factories . ... Stores . ... Restaurants Offices . ... Laundries . .... Miscellaneous 3i 3i 25 4 5 4 4 84 8 3 19 I 2 I H5 39 28 1 6 5 Total Counted twice 104 27 118 '4 222 4' Total 77 104 181 a The occupations of 76 girls who had worked could not be learned. The 53 other girls (i i of whom were under fourteen) who were interviewed had never worked. There are several points of interest to be noted in this table. The first is the large number of girls who have been domestic servants. Many of the girls who are sent out to service are pitifully young and ignorant. Cases of twelve-year-old girls who have gone out to work and then " gone wrong" have been mentioned, and there are many others who are only fourteen, fifteen, or sixteen years old when they are sent out unprotected into strange homes. These little girls, from the very fact of their being so young and so untrained, find only the most undesirable places, where they are household drudges, exposed to temptation, separated from their own families, and only too often with no protection substituted for that which their families might have supplied.* * The records of the country girls furnish many illustrations of the extreme peril to which the young girl is subjected when "bound out" or employed in house- holds in which no adequate protection is afforded by the mistress supposedly in loco parentis. We have, therefore, some shocking records of the little maid abused by the boarder, the farm hand, or even by a member of the family group. See Appendix V, p. 314 ff. 78 THE POOR CHILD The prominence of the restaurant in the places of employ- ment of the "country" girls is another interesting fact, which seems to support the point made in connection with department store work in the city. In the country or small town the store is a place of real merchandising and is too small to allow of that degree of division of labor which permits the use of the young girl; the cheap restaurant, on the other hand, is a place of which most respectable members of the community are quite ignorant, and is characterized by all the perils which in a city are associated with a down town job. Frequented by irresponsible patrons, lacking dignity and offering for the most part only unskilled work of a character analogous to domestic drudgery, the restaurants of the small towns are responsible for the downfall of a considerable num- ber of young girls every year. Attention should be called to the number of Chicago girls who had had more than one kind of employment. Some had tried two, three, and four different kinds of work, no one of which required skill or offered opportunity for training; in fact the whole group seemed to be unskilled. Some, however, were worse than unskilled and were truly of the casual group; casual as to their work and more or less casual in their attitude towards all living. For a few, there were allurements in the attraction of the "big business" and the profitable enterprise. Pansy, for example, a fourteen-year-old motherless girl whose father introduced her to the headquarters of organized vice, cherished the ambition of be- coming the keeper of an immoral house. It is, of course, quite possible to prevent the wastage that comes from the "child's hunting a job," and still more from the haphazard choice of wor^k. Attention may be called here to the important work of this character that is being done by the school authorities in Germany and in England. In London, juvenile advisory committees, appointed by the London County Council and the board of trade, work hand in hand with the juvenile de- partments of *fre~" labour exchanges" to see that children who leave school go into suitable trades.* The schools co-operate by sending * See the Report on After-Care and Juvenile Employment, issued by the London County Council (No. 5443). The purpose of the juvenile -advisory com- mittees is given as follows: "(a) To see that the children on leaving school enter, as far as possible, the trades for which they are best suited. This involves a knowl- 79 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME to the committee, whenever possible, the children who are leaving school to go to work. After consultation with the parents, great care is taken to find an opportunity for the child to learn a trade instead of allowing him to follow the line of least resistance through a blind-alley occupation into casual unskilled employment. The committee assumes a kind of industrial guardianship over the child, who is thus protected not only from exploitation by the employer, but also from exploitation by the family to a considerable extent. ! Pioneer work in this field has also been successfully carried on for several years by the Apprenticeship and Skilled Employment Asso- ciation in London. At present a well-organized committee con- nected with this association is at work in a large number of districts in that city. It is not possible in a brief note to give any adequate account of these committees, of the careful and systematic record of places which is kept, of the constant supervision of the commit- tee's "wards," of the admirable handbooks they have issued,* and of the other intelligent and well-organized work that is done. Although so many of these children work very hard while they are young, they work, not for themselves, but to make a con- tribution to the family support. In Group I and Group II it is a characteristic of family discipline that children "turn in" their wages to the mother. The " good " boy or girl is the one who gives edge of the child's educational qualifications, physical condition, and his own and his parents' wishes as to employment, (b) To see that children who enter 'blind alley' employment qualify themselves when possible to undertake other work by attendance at evening continuation schools and classes, clubs and similar societies, (c) To provide for each child who is in need of advice and guidance, a friend who will endeavor to keep the child in touch with healthy ideals and pursuits and watch over his industrial progress." The final sentence of the memorandum should also be quoted: "As this system is perfected the parents of all children should have the opportunity of obtaining expert advice as to suitable openings, while the future of every child will be a matter of active concern to those who have been interested in education." For further information on this subject, which is easily accessible, see Keeling, Frederic: Labour Exchange in Relation to Boy and Girl Labour. London, King, 1910. Greenwood, Arthur: Juvenile Labour Exchanges and After-Care. London, King, 1911. See also, Finding Employment for Children who Leave the Grade Schools to go to Work. Pamphlet. Published by the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy. * See Trades for London Boys and How to Enter Them, and Trades for London Girls and How to Enter Them, compiled by the Apprenticeship and Skilled Employment Association, Denison House, Vauxhall Bridge Road, S. W. See also, Bradby, M. K. : The Work of an Apprenticeship Committee (leaflet, 8 pp.), and Suggestions to Skilled Employment Committees Newly Starting (leaflet), as well as the Annual Reports of the Association. 80 THE POOR CHILD his pay envelope unopened to his mother. Spending money is given back to the child as the needs of the family or the generosity of the parent dictate. Out of 265 boys for whom information was obtained, 171 "gave in" all their wages, 76 gave in part of what they earned, and there were only 18 who kept their own pay.* This question of the control of the mother over what the child earns is often a source of much ill feeling between them. Some interesting cases occasionally appear in court which are traceable either directly or indirectly to this cause. An Irish mother, for example, brought in her boy of sixteen claiming that he was incorrigible. She supported the charge by saying that he was only giving her "what he pleased" of his pay; that when she re- fused him spending money he took it from her by force. It must not be overlooked that in many instances it is not simple poverty, but undue frugality, or even avarice, that is respon- sible for the attitude of the parent to the child's wages. One very common form of saving which frequently works a hardship upon the children is the purchase of a home, a practice pecu- liarly common to the foreign groups. Among the families of the delinquent boys whose homes were visited, it was found that 148! out of 584, one-fourth of the whole number, claimed to own the houses in which they lived. In many cases, of course, the property was heavily mortgaged, or they were making the purchase by the instalment plan and all the family savings went to meet the necessary payments. This "land-hunger" of the * An interesting example of the parent's accepted right of control over the child's earnings is found in a story told by a Hull-House resident. A neighbor of the House once remarked quite casually that it was very hard for a mother to know how to "do right" by her children, especially about their wages. Her neighbors, she said, complained that she was spoiling her children because she always told them how she spent their money; but she said she thought they had a right to know so long as they were good and "turned in" their wages every week. To the mothers in the foreign colony in which she lived, this departure from established custom was a dangerous precedent. Children not only had no right to spend any of their own earnings, but must not even be told how they were spent. t The nationality of these 148 "owners" is as follows: American, 13; Colored, i; Bohemian, 14; English, 4; German, 41; Irish, 32; Italian, 7; Polish, 19; Russian, 3; Scandinavian, 4; Others, 10. Total, 148. About four out of every 10 "delinquent families" among the Bohemians, Germans, and Poles, own the houses they live in. These figures will not seem unduly large to those familiar with the customs of the foreign groups. For detailed discussion, with statistics relating to several foreign neighborhoods in Chicago, see the American Journal of Sociology, January, July, and September, 191 1. Bi THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME European peasant, as it is sometimes called, reacts upon the children in many ways. Not only does it mean that they go to work early, giving all their small earnings over to their parents with no allowance for recreation or small personal expenditures so dear to the heart of the young girl or boy, but often it means that the mother goes out to work and leaves the house and the children uncared for, that the home is overcrowded, and that the children are encouraged to pick up wood and coal a practice which so often leads to petty depredations. One German family, after a struggle of years, succeeded in paying for the home, but the family history shows how much the mother had sacrificed to obtain this satisfaction. She was said to "encourage the children to bring stolen things home, such as coal, chickens, food, etc." One of the little boys was brought into court when he was nine years old, charged with stealing all these things, but it was the mother, of course, who really needed to be put on probation. In the case of a Polish family with 10 children, one of the boys became a delin- quent ward of the court because he had been "sleeping in barns" for six months. Upon investigation it was found that the family had been living in a small rear apartment of three rooms, in a tene- ment which they were trying to buy, and in which they had kept the smallest and least desirable apartment for their own use in order to reduce the mortgage by renting the others. In another case, where the family economized in a small way by always getting grain from empty freight cars for their chickens, they had paid for their home in spite of the fact that the father was only a poor lum- ber yard laborer, earning $3.00 a week through a large part of the winter. The family were extremely frugal, never spent any money except for absolute necessities, and had no amusements or recre- ation of any sort. The cases of young girls who are exploited by parents who want to buy a home or who are avaricious and miserly, are almost too pitiful to record. A German girl was taken out of school and put in a tailor shop when she was very small. Her father was dead, her grandfather was miserly, and her mother cared too much about buying her house. She had always made the girl work very hard, took all she earned, and was cruel and exacting. When the girl was fifteen she ran away, worked in the office of a cheap 82 THE POOR CHILD hotel, became immoral, and was sent to Geneva. The mother is interested in her now only because she hopes to get the girl back so that she can have her wages again. A probation officer to whom a young Jewish girl was paroled became convinced that the parents were encouraging the girl to be immoral. She worked in a candy factory, earning $6.00 a week. Her parents took all she earned and constantly urged her to "earn more, earn more." She then followed the footsteps of an older sister who had been sent to Geneva five years earlier. A more shocking example, perhaps, is that of a young girl, one of 10 children, of English parents. She had worked in a box factory, and when she was fifteen had three fingers so badly injured that she was not able to work for a time. Her mother said she could not stay at home unless she earned money to pay for what she ate. The girl was found by an officer in a house of prostitution, where, she said, both her mother and the keeper were trying to make her stay. As one reads the family histories of these young girls who have been brought to court, many other cases come to light of ex- ploitation by avaricious parents. There is the story of the little Polish girl whose parents " sent her out to work every day and were very cruel to her"; the German girl with thrifty parents whose father was "very hard on her" and finally told her to stay away from home, so that she could go to see her mother only when her father was away; the girl with respectable, prosperous German parents, who gave in most of her wages, but whose father would allow her no amusements and very little money and had, she said, not spoken a kind word to her in five years; the little Jew- ish girl who sold matches on the street and then sold herself, and whose mother wanted her released from Geneva so that she could "help earn"; the Norwegian girl who worked out when she was twelve and gave all her wages to her mother; the Ger- man girl who at the age of fifteen could neither read nor write, although she was born in America, and whose mother desired her release because her wages were still "needed at home" these are all more or less typical cases of the way in which eco- nomic pressure may, if accompanied by ignorance, or degrada- tion, or avarice, exploit and victimize young girls. 83 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME In attempting to trace the relation between poverty and child wrongdoing, we find the working mother a factor of impor- tance. It is not easy, however, to make any exact statement regarding the extent to which the mothers of delinquent children are gainfully employed; for the assumption always is that the mother is a housewife, and unless careful inquiry is made she will TABLE l8. OCCUPATIONS OF WORKING MOTHERS OF IO3 DELIN- QUENT BOYS AND 65 DELINQUENT GIRLS BROUGHT TO COURT DURING 1903-04 MOTHERS OF DELINQUENT BOYS MOTHERS OF DELINQUENT GIRLS, GENEVA CASES (COUNTRY)* Occupation Number Occupation Number Washwomen . 45 Washwomen 3' Scrubwomen . 19 Scrubwomen 14 Laundry work 7 Hotel work 4 Keeping lodgers 7 Selling cigars 2 Seamstresses . 7 Farm work 2 Restaurant work 2 Dressmaking 2 Cook I Manicuring . I Midwife. I Nursing . 2 Nurse . I Keeping boarders 2 Actress . I Canvassing 2 Stockyards . I Keeping a grocery I Janitress 3 Prostitute . I Factory work 3 Factory work I Selling papers i Clerks . 2 Total . . . . .65 Postmistress . I Tailor shop . I Total 103 a These are the mothers of Geneva girls from outside of Chicago. The total number was 153; one was in the poor house, 19 had abandoned their homes and nothing was known of them, 36 were dead and their occupations, if they had had any, were unknown; 65 were engaged in the various occupations indicated in Table 1 8; and the others seem to have been housewives exclusively. Similar information regarding the mothers of Chicago girls could not be obtained. be counted as having no other occupation. The data* obtained from the court records show that only 71 1 out of a total of 8557 mothers of delinquent boys were employed in any other capacity than as housewives, but in the more detailed inquiry regarding the families of the boys of 1903-04, 103 working mothers were found in * These data were tabulated only for eight years, 1899-1907; the 8557 is the total number of mothers who were alive when these boys were brought to court. 84 THE POOR CHILD the 584 families for which schedules were obtained. Even in this latter inquiry there is reason to believe that in many cases the occu- pation of the mother was not ascertained by the investigator, and if allowance be made for this possibility of incomplete schedules, and if the number of cases in which the mother was dead be subtracted, it seems a safe and reasonable conclusion that at least one-fourth of the mothers of delinquent boys have been obliged to do some kind of gainful work in order to supplement the family income. It has been said that 103 working mothers of delinquent boys were found. Eighteen of these were not working at the time the in- quiry was made. Of the 85 who were at work, 46 were widows, 5 had been deserted, 4 were separated from their husbands, 1 7 were the wives of men who had low wages, and the husbands of 1 3 others were unemployed. Table 1 8 is of interest as showing how un- skilled most of their occupations were. More than half of these " delinquent mothers " are washwomen or scrubwomen, which means hard work with low earnings. Infor- mation with regard to their earnings was secured for only 65 of the 103 working mothers of delinquent boys. Of these, 20 earned less than $6.00 a week, 29 between $6.00 and $8.00, and 12 between $8.00 and $10 a week. That is, 61 of the 65 earned less than $10 a week and 49 less than $8.00. Half of these women had five or more children.* * It has already been explained that the earnings of the different members of the families visited were not verified by the investigators. The following table presents the earnings of the working mothers as the mothers reported them: NUMBER HAVING Weekly Earnings Three Children or Less Four Children Five Children Six Children So^n or More Children Total Working Mothers Less than $6 4 3 7 3 3 20 $6 and less than $8 . 8 6 5 2 8 29 $8 and less than $10 . 5 3 i 3 12 $10 or more I 2 I 4 Total 18 M 13 6 '4 65 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME The other significant fact shown by Table 18 is that nearly all the occupations involve working away from home. Seam- stresses, the women who do janitor work, and of course, some wash- women, may be employed at home, and keeping lodgers is exclu- sively home work. But those who take lodgers are for the most part women who keep low rooming houses, and the case of the mother who " always had a loafing crowd of boarders about the house, who had a very bad influence on the boy," shows that the child is not safeguarded even by the presence of his mother. More exceptional is the case of another mother who ran the dining room in a large boarding house and who " brought the boy into court and asked to have him sent to the John Worthy School because she was too busy to take care of him." Exposed to special and great temp- tations are the children of scrubwomen who clean offices at night and leave their homes unguarded. For as the streets grow more fascinating when the lights along "the avenue" make the cheap theater and the low resort more attractive, and night casts its spell of excitement everywhere, so in a greater degree do the dangers multiply for the boy or girl who wanders there. It is not, however, merely by the employment of the mother or of the child that poverty is related to delinquency. More directly connected with the fact of delinquency among boys and girls are those circumstances of poverty which lead children to the kind of stealing which is described in the chapter dealing with the foreign customs of many of these families of the court.* There is no question in this chapter of children who are taught to beg or to pick pockets, whose parents teach them crime and immorality and take the profits for themselves. f For we are dealing here with the relation between simple poverty and delinquency, and while such degradation is usually accompanied by poverty, it does not charac- terize the normal lives of the poor. It has already been explained that a considerable number of children are arrested each year for stealing when neither they nor their parents are bona fide thieves or pickpockets. The children who throw coal off the cars and pick fuel off the tracks, who sweep the "empties" to get grain, are most of them from normally poor families who feel that the * See Chapter III, The Child of the Immigrant, pp. 68-69. t See Chapter VI, The Child from the Degraded Home, p. 105. 86 THE POOR CHILD railroad tracks are in a sense public property to be resorted to by those whose necessities are great. Quite simple and direct is the story of the poor ignorant Polish boy whose family immigrated when he was thirteen and who has never learned to read or write. While the stepfather was ill with pneumonia, the family had no food nor fuel, and the children almost starved to death. It is not strange that under these circumstances this oldest boy was sent to the railroad tracks nearby to find something to burn. He was found and brought to court for trying to carry off some grain doors which the railroad company valued at 50 cents each. He was never in court except for this one offense. He and his brother have worked steadily ever since, and have supported the entire family of nine children. A similar case was that of a fourteen-year-old boy arrested for breaking seals on a freight car. The boy's mother was trying to take care of 1 1 children by washing, and the family were going without food and coal. The boy had been habitually sent out to find what he could about the tracks, and a friendly police- man, because he knew the family were in need, had often said, "All. right, go ahead." A less friendly "copper," however, saw only an offense demanding an arrest, and so the boy became "delinquent." Another Polish boy who was brought in when he was twelve years old for stealing coal, had been sent by his mother to get it from the tracks " because everyone did," and because not to save in this way was evidence of lack of thrift. Another Polish boy caught "stealing coal from the railroad and taking it away in bags" was one of 15 children. What wonder if the family in learning to be frugal had over-reached the mark! But it is clear that these children in Groups I and II are, because of their poverty, the victims not only of family but of neighborhood conditions.* Attention has already been called to the long list of boys who commit offenses against the railroad. In some cases which have just been referred to, their offense of stealing fuel is probably due to their poverty, but wherever people live close to accessible railroad tracks, children, boys * For a further discussion of the relation between neighborhood conditions and delinquency, see Chapter IX, p. 150. THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME especially, are almost certain to become in some measure delin- quent. To many of these boys the "tracks" are their most tempting playground. With few opportunities for recreation near, and with no money to purchase those which are far away, the railroad adds the longed-for variety and excitement which normal youth demands of life. Stealing rides, building fires, and even more, that "loitering on the tracks" and along the high- way into the great unknown which is often charged against delin- quent boys, are but the means of satisfying a healthy boyish desire for play and adventure. It should also be noted as one of the less direct influences of poverty on delinquency, that children in poor families are frequently handicapped physically and mentally. And this in- heritance of a feeble body or mind makes it difficult for the child to get on in school or to work like the normal child. The little boy, and there are so many like him, of whom the record says, "He was not very bright, and never could learn at school," has in a poor neighborhood every opportunity of passing through truancy and idleness to delinquency. The little girl, and there are so many like her, who is said to be not very bright, is so easily victimized when she is still very young and slowly learning. By reading through the family paragraphs one finds no small number of children with special weaknesses or disorders; but added to these are many others, in fact so many that in most cases no mention of the fact is made, like the little boy who was brought into court at the age of eleven "ill nourished, sick,- and pale," and who later, when he tried to work, seemed "to have no ambition." Such chil- dren of course have neither the mental nor the physical strength to resist temptation when it comes. In conclusion, it may be said again that such data as we have gathered show that the delinquent children in our court belong to families in which the struggle to make both ends meet is more or less acute. The extent to which they are also children of degradation is discussed in another chapter. Care has been taken to differentiate poverty from vice and crime. For this reason the child brought to court for begging is not considered here; such a child comes almost invariably from a home in which a more vitiating element than poverty is to be found. Nor have any ex- 88 THE POOR CHILD amples been selected in this chapter from the group of cases in which the child when first brought to court was adjudged depen- dent. For although in a few cases the poverty in the home may have been the cause of the dependent charge, in nearly every such case there is some accompanying fact of degradation which has been in the first instance responsible for the poverty and which is the true reason for the appearance of the child in court. By way of summary, attention may be called once more to the fact that in a large proportion of cases the child who is brought into court is the eldest in a large family of children and that he must often carry a heavy share of the responsibility for support- ing the family. While he is still only a little boy he is obliged to leave school and go to work, usually at some low grade occupation which offers many temptations to go wrong. Week by week his pay envelope is handed unopened to his mother, and he takes it as a matter of course that all his small earnings must be used for family necessities and that he has no right to keep as "spending money" any part of what he earns. It has also been pointed out that these delinquent boys and girls are many of them neglected children of working mothers, and their homes are for the most part in congested neighborhoods which offer few facilities for play and many opportunities for wrongdoing. A study of the homes and families of these children shows much more clearly than any tables of statistics how easily pov- erty in itself brings these children to the court. It is not merely by such direct means as stealing fuel from the tracks, or sleeping under a house to escape the discomforts of an overcrowded home, that poverty brings its children into court. When we see all the wide background of deprivation in their lives, the longing for a little money to spend, for the delights of the nickel theater, for the joy of owning a pigeon, or for the glowing adventure of a ride on the train, it is not hard to understand how the simple fact of being poor is many times a sufficient explanation of delinquency. 89 CHAPTER V THE ORPHAN AND THE HOMELESS CHILD: THE PROBLEM OF MISFORTUNE IT HAS been shown that many of the children dealt with by the court come from homes separated by habits of thought and language from much of our American city life, and that into this life the children are often forced to enter in a peculiarly solitary fashion. It has also been shown that many come from homes of poverty. Neither of these groups, however, presents to the court a problem of such difficulty as is presented by those children who come from homes not merely strange or poor but broken; the children who are fatherless, motherless, or wholly orphaned; the children who are virtually, if not nominally, homeless. For the immigrant child, the probation officer may prove the necessary friend and guide; for the child from the home in which poverty is a factor in promoting delinquency, the probation officer may secure relief, find work, alter conditions of employment, or in some other way succeed in putting the family on its feet; but for the child who has lost one or both parents or has been deserted or abandoned, the problem is that of providing a substitute for the family life which is needed, and of performing the extremely difficult task of super- vising the new group of which the child has been made a member. While this misfortune of being motherless or fatherless may make it easy for children in any social stratum to " get into trouble," the loss of either father or mother is much more serious for the children of the poor. Such substitutes for parental care as can be provided are usually too expensive to be enjoyed by those of limited means.' It is therefore closely related to the fact of de- linquency that the orphan children of the court come, for the most part, from families in which the misfortune of death is 90 THE ORPHAN AND THE HOMELESS CHILD accompanied by extreme poverty, and that' in many cases the misfortune is directly traceable to conditions of vice or crime or degradation in the home. So far, then, as the court's wards are concerned, the problem of the orphan child is usually more than a problem of simple misfortune; it is rather a problem of children left wholly or in part unprotected in tenement homes or in neighborhoods where many temptations are offered that are not met by those in more favorable surroundings. The following tables, which present such data as could be obtained from the court records and from the family schedules con- cerning the parental condition of the children of the court, show how large a proportion of them have been deprived of the advan- tages of normal parental care. TABLE 19. PARENTAL CONDITION OF DELINQUENT CHILDREN BROUGHT TO COURT BETWEEN JULY I, 1899, AND JUNE 30, 1909. (DATA FROM COURT RECORDS.) BOYS GIRLS TOTAL Parental Condition Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per ber Cent ber Cent ber Cent Father dead ... 1557 13.6 494 17.8 2051 '4-5 Mother dead. 1013 8-9 353 12.7 1366 9.6 Both parents dead 349 3-i '73 6-3 522 3-7 Separated or divorced 1 66 '5 109 3-9 275 1.9 Father deserted . . 181 1.6 99 3.6 280 2.O Mother deserted 95 .8 '9 7 114 .8 Both parents deserted "7 I.O 34 1.2 '5' I.O One or both parents in prison . 15 .1 9 3 24 .2 One or both parents insane or in institutions a 3 3 15 .5 45 3 Neither parent immigrated b . 1 1 2 '3 .1 Total abnormal . ... 3534 31.0 1307 47.1 4841 34-1 Total apparently normal . 7543 66.1 1428 51.6 8971 63.3 Parental condition not reported 336 2.9 35 i-3 37' 2.6 Total number of cases 11,413 IOO.O 2770 IOO.O 14,183 IOO.O a In four cases the fathers were in an old soldiers' home, mother was in the Home for the Friendless. b One or both parents still "in the old country." 91 In one case the THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME In Table 19 it appears that 31 per cent of the delinquent boys and 47 per cent of the delinquent girls before their appearance in court had lost one or both parents by death, desertion, imprison- ment, or similar misfortune and that they had not had the benefit of the wholesome discipline which normal family life affords. TABLE 2O. PARENTAL CONDITION OF 584 DELINQUENT BOYS AND 157 DELINQUENT GIRLS BROUGHT TO COURT DURING 1903-04. (DATA FROM FAMILY SCHEDULES.) BOYS GIRLS TOTAL Parental Condition Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per ber Cent ber Cent ber Cent 116 IQ.Q 19.1 14.6 ! Mother dead 57 y y 9 .8 32 20.4 BWV 89 I2.O Both dead 25 4-3 7 4-5 32 4-3 Separated or divorced 12 2.O 12 7-6 24 3-2 Father deserted .... 21 3-6 '3 8.3 34 4-6 Mother deserted .... 2 3 I .6 3 4 Both deserted a (or one deserted and one dead or insane) 10 7 15 9-6 25 3-4 One parent in prison b . . . 2 3 7 4-5 9 1.2 One or both parents insane or in institutions 5 9 3 1.9 8 I.I Neither parent immigrated . 3 5 i .6 4 .6 Total abnormal .... 253 43-3 121 77.1 374 50.5 Total apparently normal . 33' 56.7 36 22.9 367 49-5 Total number of cases . . . 584 IOO.O '57 IOO.O 74i IOO.O a This includes 16 cases in which one parent had deserted, when the other was dead or insane, as follows: 1 1 cases, father deserted and mother dead; 4 cases, mother deserted and father dead; i case, father deserted and mother insane. b In five cases the remaining parent was dead or deserted, as follows: three cases, father in prison and mother dead; one case, mother in prison and father dead; one case, mother in prison and father deserted. c In one case the father was in an old soldiers' home. The further data gathered in the family schedules for 1903-04 indicate that the figures in Table 19 understate rather than over- state the extent to which the court's wards have been orphaned. Thus Table 20 shows that among the children from whom this more detailed information was secured, 20 per cent of the boys instead of 1 4 per cent were fatherless, and i o per cent instead of 9 per cent were 92 THE ORPHAN AND THE HOMELESS CHILD motherless; and among the girls 19 per cent instead of 18 per cent were fatherless, while 20 per cent instead of 1 3 per cent were mother- less. In addition to the homes broken by death are those in which divorce, separation, or desertion have left the children practically orphaned. Here again the more accurate data from the family schedules show a larger number of children deprived of parental care than do the court records. According to Table 20 only 57 instead of 66 per cent of the boys, as indicated by Table 1 9, and only 23 instead of 52 per cent of the girls, belonged to apparently normal families. It is also significant that there were 75 homeless boys in this 1903-04 group who had no families to be visited and who are therefore not included among the fatherless or motherless chil- dren for whom family schedules were secured. Of the danger which must be faced by the child wholly or- phaned and left alone and in poverty in a great city, little need be said, but a few cases should perhaps be cited. There is thirteen- year-old colored James, for example, fatherless and motherless, who was used by an older man in a bold attempt at burglary, was arrested, put on probation, but disappeared wholly from the knowl- edge of the court and cannot be traced; and twelve-year-old Robert, who, after the death of his parents, is charged with cutting another boy and committed to the John Worthy School for eight months, then put on probation, paroled to the manager of the acro- batic troupe of a great circus organization, six months later again brought into court charged with loitering about street corners in bad company, committed to an institution for dependent boys, and after his release wholly lost track of. Fourteen-year-old orphan Charles was first placed on a county poor farm, then became the ward of a children's aid society, was placed successively in four different homes, and was finally brought to court as incorrigible and was committed to the John Worthy School. ' It is evident that the young girl who is orphaned or aban- doned in the city may easily become delinquent. It may be in- teresting, however, to note the following fairly typical cases, taken from the long list of girls with no real homes who come into court year after year. Such cases show what a device for gathering in fragments of humanity the court may prove when once adequately equipped with agents to discover those in need of protection, and 93 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME with the means of training and safeguarding those who have been found. Dorothy, a seventeen-year-old German girl, fatherless and motherless, was the unmarried mother of an eighteen- months-old baby, which she had left in a " Home." She was arrested twice within ten days, once in a "notorious saloon," once in a "bad hotel." She said she had been "on the street " ever since her mother died, but was quite willing to go to an institution. Amanda, a fourteen-year-old German girl, lived with Mrs. M., whose eldest daughter was immoral and whose eldest son drank and took advantage of Amanda. It was recognized that the child was not vicious but wholly un- trained, and after being brought into court for immorality, she was committed for nine months to the House of the Good Shepherd. After her release she was placed in an unfor- tunate home, but after being put in another home where she has the care of two small children she seems to have im- proved enough to be permanently released from probation at the age of seventeen. Mary, a fifteen-year-old girl, fatherless and motherless, frequented the company of vicious persons and was said to be "a wilful wanderer in streets and alleys." She was com- mitted to Geneva, where she completed the eighth grade. After Hfcr release she completed a high-school course and is now teaching. Myda, a sixteen-year-old girl whose parents are dead, came from a country town to Chicago to give birth to an illegitimate child. She refused to divulge the name of the father of her child or to care for the child. She was not vicious, bi't weak and irresponsible, and had no home and no one to care for her. Carrie, a girl whose parents died when she was about six years old, was committed at the age of nine to Geneva and was later released. At the age of thirteen she was brought into court for immorality and committed to the Erring Woman's Refuge. Grace, a Norwegian orphan, sixteen years of age, had been dancing in Oriental scenes in cheap theaters and sleeping in empty flats. She was committed to Geneva for immorality. Pearl, a motherless girl of seventeen whose father lives in a country town, lived in different rooming houses in com- 94 THE ORPHAN AND THE HOMELESS CHILD pany with one man for a number of weeks, and was for three weeks in a house of prostitution. Pearl, a thirteen-year-old motherless girl whose father lives in Michigan, lived with a prostitute sister in whose house she was assaulted by a man to whom her sister claims to be married. The number of children who are wholly orphaned is very much smaller than the number of those who have lost only one parent; but even this slighter misfortune is a heavy one, as the surviving parent usually proves quite incapable of playing the part of both father and mother. Whether it be the father who attempts to carry the burden of training and care along with the burden of support, or the mother who adds the responsibilities of wage- earning to those of the home, the result will probably be disastrous to the children. But of the two, the loss of the wage-earner is ap- parently the more serious because for him no substitute can be found, and if the mother is compelled to support the family, the home is either confused by becoming a work place or neglected because of her absence. Among the 1 557 fatherless boys who have come into court as delinquent are many children of working mothers. There is, for example, the case of the nine-year-old Irish boy whose father died when he was only four years old. The mother supported herself and five children by washing and managed to keep the bare home clean and sweet. But she could not at the same time take care of her three boys and keep them off the railroad tracks. The result is that one is in Pontiac,* another has been in the John Worthy School, and this lad of nine is brought into court a second time for offenses connected with the railroad. He is said to be "fond of his mother and always good to her." In the case of a Norwegian boy, one of four children, who had a good home in a very poor neighborhood, there was a sirpilar situa- tion. The father died; and while the mother was away washing, the boy got in with a bad gang. To be sure, when the mother married again, the stepfather was watchful and even severe; but it was too late, and the boy is now in Pontiac. There are many cases of delinquent girls who, when they were * The state reformatory. 95 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME too young, were obliged to share with the mother the burden of family support. There is the case of a Russian Jewish family where the father died leaving seven small children. The mother worked out by the day, trying to support them; the home was miserably poor, dirty, and disorderly. The oldest daughter also worked hard, giving all her wages to her mother, but by the time she was seventeen she had been in court, and in Geneva, twice. In another case, a mother who was left with six children tried to take care of them by washing and cleaning. The oldest girl, who was allowed to go to work in a department store, became "very im- moral" before she was sixteen, and was sent to Geneva by the court. Many similar cases of fatherless girls whose mothers worked, may be found not only in the family paragraphs but in the histories given in the court records. Some of these seem much more un- fortunate, but perhaps for that reason less typical, than those which have been given. There is Lena, for example, a fourteen-year- old German girl whose father is dead and whose mother is a scrubwoman. The girl slept in hallways and toilet rooms, was brought into court on the charge of immorality, and committed to Geneva. After being released she was returned to the court charged with soliciting men on the street at night, and was again committed to the institution. Another case is Roslyn, a colored girl, whose father was dead and whose mother was a domestic ser- vant without a home for the girl. Left alone and unguarded she went with bad company, was brought in as immoral, and com- mitted to Geneva. Two other colored girls are Laura and Ger- aldine, sisters, fifteen and sixteen years of age, whose father is dead and whose mother is a laundress. The mother, who was away during the day, soon found the girls uncontrollable, and asked that they be taken in charge by the court. Almost inevitably the fact that the mother goes out to work I means that the home is cheerless and untidy and that the children have every opportunity to stay away from school and live that life of the streets which is at once so alluring and so demoralizing. A long record of cases like the following might be given to show how direct is the line of descent from the working mother to the delinquent child: "The mother took in washing and had a hard struggle for years; . . . was not able to look after the children THE ORPHAN AND THE HOMELESS CHILD properly"; "the boy had never had proper home care; he was kept out of school to deliver washing for his mother"; the mother " has always been away from home all day, and the children have been left to look after themselves"; the mother "went out to work and left the children in charge of a neighbor, who did not treat them properly"; "while the mother was a widow working away from home, the boy got in with a bad gang"; "the mother supports the family by washing; . . . the boy is said to have very little care at home"; after the father's death "the mother had to go to work, and there was no one left to look after the family"; "the mother supported the family by washing and cleaning; the children were left alone all day." It is clear then that, in the family where the father's death is accompanied by poverty, disaster to the children may easily result.' In families in this class, the loss of the father is likely to be more disastrous than the loss of the mother. That is, of course, quite unlike the situation in the ordinary well-to-do family where the father's death does not mean any material change in the family resources, and where the children probably suffer more from the loss of the mother, who is the more intimate parent. But in the poor home, when the father dies, the entire income of the family is suddenly cut off and not only is there the difficulty involved in a radical readjustment of the standard of living, but there is in effect the loss of both parents, for the mother if she' must earn money is no longer able to perform her real duties. That is, when the father dies, there is no other way of providing a new wage-earner than for the mother to give up her household duties and make a brave effort to do work for which she is not trained. On the other hand, when the mother dies the father may secure a housekeeper, one of the older children may succeed in taking the mother's place, or a woman relative may be at hand to tide over the interval until the probable remarriage. If, however, these substitutes for the mother's care are not found, or if the father deserts his motherless children, or fails to provide the necessary supervision, the children are likely to come to grief. There is, for example, the case of the boy who, after his mother died, became the family housekeeper, getting the meals for his father and brothers. When the boy became a ward of the court the father said "a little boy could not 97 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME possibly be good all the time when he had had no one to look after him from the time he was eight years old." Or, there is the case of the boy who was allowed to run wild after his mother's death, the family were in very comfortable circumstances, but the house- keeper did everything she could to keep the boy out of the house; he became a truant, then incorrigible, then a forger, and is said to be "still bad." Or, there is the home in which after the mother's death there was a frequent change of housekeepers, so that the boys were not "made to mind"; the older brothers were uncared for, the little sister was backward, and the youngest boy was brought into court at the age of eleven for stealing. Again and again, too, one finds in the court records the case of the girl "whose mother is dead and whose father is unable to control her." Frequently the girl is only thirteen or fourteen, but her father thinks she is "associating with immoral persons" and feels helpless about saving her. Sometimes the father is distinctly at fault, as in the case of Julia, a thirteen-year-old Danish girl, whose mother was dead and who had the care of a very poor home, an attic of three rooms. The father spent his money for other things and gave the girl only 10 cents a day for food; she was poorly clad and found to be undernourished. She was tried in another home, but was later brought into court on the charge of stealing; she was said to be " a liar, rebellious, and uncontrollable." Or, there is the similar case of Ethel, a sixteen-year-old girl, whose mother is dead and whose father gave up the home and went to live in a boarding house where the landlady was willing to have the girl around, but was unwilling to assume any responsibility for her. The girl soon became wayward, was brought into court first on the charge of being immoral and having visited a house of prostitution, a second time as incorrigible, and a third time as a vagrant. In connection with the effect of the mother's death and of neglect by the father, notice should be taken of some of the many cases of girls who have been abandoned. They are obviously to be classed, so far as their circumstances are concerned, with the homeless girls who have become delinquent, but in the court records their histories show them to be definite cases of abandon- ment. Some specific notes of these motherless girls whose fathers have completely abandoned them may be useful. The cases THE ORPHAN AND THE HOMELESS CHILD which follow are those of girls for whom no family schedule was secured, but whose stories are told in some detail in the court records. Daisy, a seventeen-year-old motherless girl whose father abandoned her, had been living for two years in a house of prostitution. Mary, another motherless girl abandoned by her father, was brought by her brother into court because he could not control her. Emma, a fifteen-year-old motherless girl whose father has abandoned her, frequents wine rooms and dance halls. Annie, seventeen years old, motherless, whose father has never immigrated, wanted to see the world and ran away with a theatrical troupe. She was arrested on the street in an intoxicated condition, and was committed to the House of the Good Shepherd. Vera, an Italian girl of sixteen whose mother died when the girl was three years old, lived with her father in Cali- fornia until two months ago, when he sent her to Chicago. A charitable society found her a home, from which she es- caped; she then stayed at the Young Women's Christian Association until the superintendent turned her over as in- corrigible. She was committed to Geneva, but is now keep- ing house for her father in a western city and seems to be doing well. Minnie, a seventeen-year-old girl brought to court on the charge of larceny, was motherless and abandoned by her father, and had got in the habit of " staying out late nights." Reference has been made to the probable remarriage of the surviving parent; and the stepmother or stepfather as a factor in the life of the delinquent child is undeniably important. It is not to be suggested that the presumption is against the skill and affec- tion of the step-parent; but the possibilities of misunderstanding will be readily admitted, and many cases are found in which the friction that has developed is detrimental to the children of the family. The problem, however, is not one of misfortune, but is rather one of confusion in the home, and as such will be discussed more fully in a later chapter.* The situation of the orphaned child may seem to be mitigated * See Chapter VII, p. 115 ff. 99 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME when there is a relative able and willing to serve in the capacity of a guardian. Sometimes, however, in the absence of wise control, the possession of such relatives is by no means an unmixed blessing. The relatives are often old and irritable and out of sympathy, pos- sibly resenting the care of the child at this unseasonable period of life when the burden of child-rearing should be laid on younger shoulders. If the boy or girl stays away from home and refuses to obey there is almost inevitably doubt and friction and a final resort to the authority of the court. In the case of one boy who had a good home, but who had lost both parents, he and his sister were claimed by a stepmother, two aunts, and a grandmother. The children lived with the grandmother most of the time, but soon grew very wild. The girl has been in the House of the Good Shepherd twice and is there now; the boy, at the age of fourteen, was brought into court as a vagrant and put on probation; later he became a messenger boy, .then ran away from home, and is now in a reform school in a western city on a charge of grand larceny. Another boy lived with his grandmother, who tried to care for him after his mother's death. She was a kind but incapable woman, and although he was dutiful and gave her regularly all his meager wages, the home was evi- dently unpleasant, and he became a vagabond, running away and sleeping under sidewalks. In another case the uncle and aunt, while possibly well-intentioned, were most severe to a little eleven- year-old orphan boy who was left in their care. He met with an accident after which his leg had to be amputated. Later he was brought in as incorrigible and put on probation; and after three years he was again brought in as incorrigible and sent to the John Worthy School. Other cases of children who have fallen into the hands of relatives unfit to be guardians are found in the histories of the de- linquent girls. Two motherless Geneva girls, for example, be- longed to a family of four children left to the care of an old grand- mother. The father was a drunkard who neglected the children and criminally abused one of the girls, the grandmother drank, the house was very dirty and ill-kept, and an aunt who lived with them had a very bad temper and quarreled continually. Helen, a seventeen-year-old orphan, lived with her grandmother who, 100 THE ORPHAN AND THE HOMELESS CHILD she said, persecuted her and who was obviously unfit to have the care of a young girl. Helen was brought in as incorrigible and committed to the House of the Good Shepherd. Annie, a Polish girl, fifteen years of age, whose father killed first her mother and then himself, lived with a sister who neglected her or was quite unable to care for her, and who finally brought her into court in a shocking physical condition, on the charge of incorrigibility because she kept disorderly company. To be classed with the wholly orphaned are those cases of peculiar misfortune in which although only one parent is dead, the surviving parent is quite unfit to care for the children. In the court records a long list of such cases is to be found in which the child is practically abandoned or homeless, and although delinquent, so obviously the victim of misfortune that the fact of delinquency needs no other explanation. There is, for example, eighteen-year- old fatherless Mary, whose mother has been sent to the house of correction, who herself is simple minded, and having become preg- nant is brought in on the charge of disorderly conduct. Jennie, a fourteen-year-old fatherless girl, whose mother is a paralytic at Dunning,* having escaped through a window from the convent where she had been put, is brought into court as incorrigible. Anna, a girl fifteen years of age, whose father is dead, had lived in a house of prostitution since she was twelve years old. She was committed to Geneva and showed great improvement ; but after her release she became the mother of an illegitimate child. Agnes, a fatherless American girl whose mother is an invalid, was brought into court at the age of thirteen as a vagrant because she would not work and slept in vacant buildings. She was committed first to an institu- tion for dependent girls, later paroled to her mother, and brought into court again on the charge of disorderly conduct and sent to Geneva. In many of the cases which have been given, the misfortune has been caused by, or is accompanied by, degradation and vice. There are the cases of the death of the father or mother following intemperance which had already so demoralized the family that there was little hope of ever reclaiming any of the children. There are, too, the cases of suicide which have sometimes followed other * The Cook County Almshouse near Chicago. 8 101 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME evils in the home. In the family of one delinquent girl, the father, when crazed with drink, committed suicide; the mother had a doubtful reputation among the neighbors but married again; one brother was not very bright; one girl had St. Vitus' dance and seemed weak mentally; and while the stepfather has been good to the girl, there is little hope of saving her. In another case, the mother had committed suicide and the children had no care; the father was a drunkard with the cocaine habit, so vulgar and so in- decent in the home that the girl's morals were thought to be in danger and she was brought into court. The family was destitute and had been a public charge for years; one boy was in the pa- rental school, one in the John Worthy School, and one girl in Geneva. In a large number of cases where the court records state that the child is fatherless, the father is really not dead, but has deserted the family. In the case of 21 girls out of 157 for whom family schedules were obtained the father had deserted.* In many of these cases his presence had been a constant source of demoraliza- tion in the home, and it was not a serious calamity when he finally deserted and abandoned all responsibility. This might even seem to be for the good of the home, but only too often the family was demoralized beyond hope of recovery. Such cases are to be found in the histories of both delinquent boys and delinquent girls. A long list of cases might be given in which such facts as the fol- lowing appear from the family histories. A family of 13 children; father a drunkard who de- serted them; mother scrubs and cleans; "a very poor, dirty, and crowded home." Family" very degraded"; father, a drunkard, criminally abused two little daughters (who later became delinquent wards of the court) and then deserted the family to avoid prosecution. Mother married again, but stepfather also drank and was so abusive that wife and children left him. Father, a man of bad habits, deserted; mother drank; she said girl had inherited unfortunate tendencies from father. * See Table 20, p. 92. The 21 cases of desertion include not only the cases under " Father deserted " in Table 20, but the cases under " Both deserted " in which the father had deserted and the mother was dead or insane. See the first note to Table 20. I O2 THE ORPHAN AND THE HOMELESS CHILD A family of fourteen children, six of whom died; father was immoral and cruel to his wife, and very unkind to his children; he deserted, leaving family to charity; the girl left home because of ill treatment and became immoral. Father, professional gambler, utterly irresponsible, deserted his family; one boy was always "wild" and one girl went to a house of prostitution. Father and mother, both shiftless begging people who will not work; father periodically deserts family, who were all in Home for the Friendless at one time and who are often destitute and a public charge. Father is now in old soldiers' home and three of the children are in a soldiers' orphan home. A family of six children, one girl delinquent; home dirty and untidy with two beds in parlor; mother has a bad reputation, drinks habitually and always has the house full of men. Father deserted at one time, and family has been helped by a charitable society constantly for two years. A family of seven children; father, an habitual drunk- ard, supposed to be a fruit peddler but really a common tramp; deserts periodically but always comes back; very brutal to wife and children when he is at home, and re- sponsible for demoralization of two older girls; family a county charge and on records of three relief societies. A very degraded home; father drunken and immoral, abused girl's mother shamefully before her death; criminally abused girl when she was only seven and then abandoned her. Girl brought to court at the age of twelve on charge that she was "growing up in crime." And more cruel often than the death of the body is the passing of the mental powers, leaving the physical frame tenanted with strange spirits, so that the home is inevitably either confused by the presence of the demented member or shadowed by the con- sciousness of the reason for his absence. There are a number of instances in which it is probable that both insanity or mental weak- ness and delinquency are effects of a common cause, or joint evi- dence of degraded habits of living. In the following cases, for example, it appears that desertion, vice, and brutality accom- panying insanity greatly increase the tragic consequences to the child. 103 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME Lillie, a German girl, seven years of age, whose father, now dead, is said to have been as near a brute as a human being could be, whose mother is insane, and whose sister is abnormal, was brought in as incorrigible and immoral. Vera, a seventeen-year-old girl, whose father's address is unknown, and whose mother is insane, found employment as a barmaid in a concert hall, and afterwards became a prostitute. Rosie, a sixteen-year-old Russian Jewess, whose mother is in the hospital for the insane, and whose father abandoned her, was brought into court on the charge of immorality. Annie, a fifteen-year-old girl, whose father was frozen to death and whose mother is of unsound mind, has two brothers who are imbeciles. She is herself feebleminded, and has been the mother of three illegitimate children probably the children of her imbecile brothers. It has been difficult in many cases cited to avoid the impres- sion that with misfortune there were found low standards of con- duct and either immoral practices or their consequences in physical, mental, or moral weakness. In many cases the evidences of deg- radation are not implied but explicit and obvious. To a con- sideration of them the following chapter will be devoted. In this chapter an attempt has been made to point out the possible con- sequences of a failure on the part of the community to make good as far as possible in the case of every child, the loss through death, desertion, or insanity of that parental care and nurture which should be the lot of all children. 104 CHAPTER VI THE CHILD FROM THE DEGRADED HOME THE PROBLEM OF DEGENERACY M ORE unfortunate even than the orphan child is the child from the degraded home the home where there are bru- tality, drunkenness, immorality, or crime, paralysis and insanity following vice, imbecile and weak-minded children, and the misery of filthy and overcrowded rooms. Under such con- ditions the body often suffers with the spirit, for the physical inheritance is frequently so poor as to render the power of re- sistance slight, and the danger of infection from tuberculosis and from the diseases resulting from immorality is great. The children in homes of this class present a most serious problem to the court. The question is not alone how to deal with them when they are found, but how to find them. There is unfortunately no sure method of reaching these children until it is too late for any treatment to prove efficacious. Although conditions may be shockingly bad, so long as both parents are alive and keep out of the reach of the law and the children go to school with a fair degree of regularity, there may be no occasion for an outside agent to enter the home. When a visiting nurse is unexpectedly called in or an appeal is made to a relief agency, when a truant officer calls, or a policeman or a probation officer has a reason for investigating because the children get into trouble on the streets, revolting but hitherto unknown conditions are revealed. The evidence that many of the court's delinquent children are victims of such degraded surroundings as leave little hope of saving either soul or body may be read in the family paragraphs. These children come in many instances from homes in which they have been accustomed from their earliest infancy to drunken- ness, immorality, obscene and vulgar language, filthy and degraded conditions of living. The data in the family and probation 105 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME schedules show, for example, that in the families of 107 out of 584 of the boys of 1903-04 there was habitual drunkenness indulged in by one or more members of the family. The number of families in which drunken habits prevailed was evidently much larger than these data indicate, because only in flagrant cases or in those in which the signs of drunkenness were quite obvious could any record of the fact be obtained. Further testimony on this point is to be found in the family histories of the delinquent girls. Among the 1 57 girls in the State Training School from Chicago, for whom family schedules were obtained, 31 were the daughters of drunken fathers, 10 at least had drunken mothers, 27 had fathers who were of vicious habits, 1 6 had immoral, vicious, or criminal mothers, while 12 belonged to families in which other members than the parents were vicious or criminal. In at least 21* cases the father had shirked all responsibility and had deserted the family. There were also among these girls 1 1 who were known to be illegitimate children or children who had been abandoned, and there were 10 who had been victims of gross cruelty. Forty-one had been in houses of prostitution or had been promiscuously im- moral, one having been "a common street walker" at the age of eleven. Four had sisters who had become immoral and had been committed to such institutions as the Chicago Refuge for Girls or the house of correction, while in seven cases two sisters had been sent to Geneva; nine had brothers who had been in such in- stitutions as the parental school, the John Worthy School, the Bridewell, the state reformatory at Pontiac, or the state peni- tentiary at Joliet. The worst cases of all are those of the delinquent girls who come from depraved homes where the mother is a delinquent woman, or from homes still more tragic where the father has him- self abused the person of the child. As a result of the interviews with the girls in the State Training School at Geneva, it appeared that in 47 cases the girl alleged that she had been so violated by some member of her family. In 19 cases the father, in 5 the uncle, in 8 the brother or older cousin had wronged the child for whom the community demanded their special protection. In addition * See footnote, p. 102. 106 CHILD FROM THE DEGRADED HOME to these cases discovered at Geneva, the court records show that in at least 78 other cases the girl who was brought in as delinquent had been wronged in this way in 43 of these cases by her__own_ ^father. In families of this degraded type it is found, too, not only that the girl is victimized by her father but that she is often led to her undoing by^her mother or by the woman who has under- taken to fill a mother's place. It was found, for example, that in 189 cases where the girl was charged with immorality the mother or the woman guardian an aunt, a grandmother, or an older sister with whom the girl lived was implicated in the offense if not re- sponsible for it.* There is perhaps no more touching figure in the court room than the lost daughter of a lost mother; the girl who was born out of degradation and reared into degradation. It constitutes, there- fore, a pitiable and tragic record that in 18 cases the delinquent girl in the court was the child of a common prostitute, in 23 other cases the sister or aunt or woman guardian with whom the girl lived was a prostitute; in 44 others the girl's mother though not a pro- fessional prostitute was known to be immoral; while in 74 addi- tional cases the mother was described as a woman "of questionable morals" or "of doubtful character." If to this record we add the 189 cases already referred to in which the mother or guardian connived at the girl's wrongdoing, we are confronted by a total of 348 cases in which the court records show that the person under whose guidance the girl was growing up was obviously unfit to be entrusted with her care; that the girl brought in as delinquent had been in the custody of a mother or guardian who was known * Attention should be called to the fact that degraded and drunken habits of life are not the peculiar product of large cities.1 The personal interviews with the girls at Geneva who came from the^smalleFcities and rural communities lof the state, together with the statements in rne school records regarding the circumstances responsible for their commitment, show a degradation in family life which parallels that found in the homes of many of the Chicago children. Out of 153 of these country girls, 86 were the children of fathers with intemperate habits, and 13 had intemperate mothers. In 31 cases the girl's delinquency had been caused by her fathe^or some other relative. Although no accurate data can be presented, since the homes oFthese girls were not visited, the results of the investigator's interview cannot be read without a terrible impression of degraded inheritance and depraved surroundings. Surveillance must be even more difficult in the country and in the small town than in the city, where more crowded living conditions have at least the advantage of giving the protection afforded by the presence of neighbors likely to ascertain and report conditions that are seriously wrong. 107 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME to have low moral standards even if she was not actually a woman of loose morals. Statistics give no adequate idea of the extremely demoraliz- ing conditions found in the so-called homes from which many of these girls come. One delinquent girl, for example, was herself an illegitimate child born in the House of the Good Shepherd, taken by her grandmother to live in a demoralized home, and assaulted there by her father when only five years old. At ten she was brought to court as incorrigible; at eleven, found by an officer in a neglected condition sleeping on an ash box. Two delinquent girls who became common prostitutes were the daugh- ters of a mother who was described in the court records as "a common street walker" and who died in the county hospital; the father, the " black sheep" of a decent family, would not work, never supported his children, and was generally worthless and irresponsible. In these degraded homes it frequently happens, as in the case just cited, that several children from the same family go wrong. In one family of seven, the six living children were all bad. Three sisters were at one time all wards of the court: one had been twice committed to the Erring Woman's Refuge; one is still at Geneva; the other has improved and is now released on probation. Two of the boys were implicated in a robbery, and one of them was killed in the basement of a house which they were trying to enter; the third has " gone off and joined the navy." In another "delinquent family" of seven children, the mother died from the effects of drink, the father drinks heavily and has so bad a temper that the stepmother wants to divorce him. The step- mother's children are all right, but no one of the five children of the first wife has turned out well. The eldest girl, who has the cocaine habit and lives away from home, is believed to be leading an im- moral life; the oldest boy is an ex-convict, the youngest boy has been in the John Worthy School, and the two youngest girls were brought to court as immoral and sent to Geneva when one was eleven and the other thirteen. Illustrations such as these could be multiplied indefinitely. There is the German family, for instance, in which three brothers were living with a sister who had been wayward and immoral, and whose worthless, idle husband expected the boys to steal 1 08 CHILD FROM THE DEGRADED HOME grain and coal from the track. One boy was an epileptic, one had tuberculosis, and the third was sent to the John Worthy School as delinquent. In another case, a boy first a dependent, then a delinquent came from a drunken home where the father and mother had each sworn out a warrant against the other and where his two older sisters lived with their illegitimate children. In the similar case of a family in which two delinquent sisters were brought into court, their mother had probably died from the effects of intemperance, and their father was an habitual drunkard whom their stepmother was trying to divorce. In an Italian family of 14 children, in which the mother had married at fifteen, seven of the children had died and four had become truants and "incorrigible." In a Polish family of eight children in which one boy was sent to a dependent institution and one to the John Worthy School, the mother, who had married at sixteen, was de- scribed as a miserable, incompetent, degraded woman without moral standards, at one time living with five children in an old shed in which an uncle kept vegetables, and sending the children out to beg and to pick up refuse from garbage cans. Attention should likewise be called to the wretched physical conditions surrounding these degraded groups. The alley house, frequently reached through a dark passageway, the outlawed house, the overcrowded apartment, filthy rooms in which animals are kept and rags accumulate these furnish the setting against which the travesty of family life takes its course. For example, one delinquent boy whose father was a junk-dealer, brutal and drunken, lived in a rear tenement, decayed and unfit for human habitation, which could be reached only through a dark passage filled with water and rubbish. Another "delinquent family" lived in a condemned house in which three children had diphtheria. A girl from a disreputable neighborhood lived in a " home of four rooms, filthy and vermin infested; the family of nine had two beds." The following brief statements taken from a few of the family schedules are typical of the conditions which exist in a number of these homes. A low-grade home, dirty, with a pig kept in the house; mother drinks constantly; one boy is in the John Worthy School and a sister is in Geneva. 109 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME Very untidy home with rags and clothing all about; family has always lived in crowded neighborhood where there are many cheap amusement places. Home conditions are very unsatisfactory; house is in- fested with vermin; foster father insane. Russian Jewish family of seven children lives over a stable where a horse is kept and where the odors and filth are disgraceful; father died of tuberculosis, mother is in delicate health, one child has tubercular tongue, and another is suffering from goitre and is mentally deficient. Girl's father is in penitentiary; mother, who has a very bad reputation, keeps a low-grade rooming house in a ques- tionable neighborhood; mother is very cruel to children and brought one little girl to court at age of nine as incorrigible and immoral. Family of six children often a public charge; home never comfortable at one time family lived in a house so dilapidated that they paid no rent for it; mother died of tuberculosis; father is in old soldiers' home and some of the children are in a soldiers' orphan asylum. Mother insane at Dunning; father, an incompetent worker, and often drunk, lived with three children in rear cellar apartment, all sleeping in one bed and a drunken man lodger in the same room on a couch; one girl later committed suicide, one became immoral and was sent to Geneva, and the brother is in a dependent institution. Girl, one of five children; family lived in dirt and squalor, in a rear basement with pigs, goats, ducks, etc. ; home conditions very degraded; father is a rag picker and a confirmed drunkard, who always ate his meals by himself out in a shed. Nothing is known of this girl's father; her mother was a fortune teller, a very immoral woman who had disreputable men in the house day and night and was always intoxicated; lived in a three-room house; one bed for several people; house was always filthy. Of interest and importance in connection with the fact of degradation in the home is the possible relation between delin-' quency and dependency. In an earlier chapter* it was shown that in the cases of 90 girls and 90 boys the offenses with which they were charged were merely an evidence of dependency. That is, * See Chapter II, pp. 28 and 39. no CHILD FROM THE DEGRADED HOME although the court found it necessary to send them to delinquent institutions, the charge was "lack of care" or "immorality of mother" or "drunkenness of parents," or some similar charge which rather indicated shortcomings of the home and the parents than any wrongdoing on the part of the children. In a considerable number of cases, however, the child who is brought to court on a straight delinquent charge may have been in court before as a dependent. Table 21 shows that 201 boys and -169 girls who were first dependent wards of the court later became delinquent.* TABLE 21. NUMBER OF CHILDREN BROUGHT TO COURT AS DEPENDENT AND LATER RETURNED AS DELINQUENT Age NUMBER PER CENT Boys Girls Boys . Girls Under 10 years 10 years and under 14 Over 14 . 40 130 3i 24 8 2 56 19.9 64.7 15.4 14.2 52.7 33-1 Total 20 1 169 IOO.O IOO.O An example of cases of this sort is found in the stor of two delinquent boys who belonged to a family of seven children. The mother at one time was paralyzed as a result of excessive drink- ing, and the father, a laborer in the stockyards, not only drank to excess but was so brutal that the family were all afraid of him. The eldest child was an imbecile and paralytic, from birth. When all the other six children were still under fourteen, they were brought to court as dependent because of the "drunkenness of both parents and the demoralized condition of the home." They were released under probation but were brought in again six months later and paroled to an aunt. Four months later two of the boys were caught selling transfers, were brought into court * It should be pointed out that these totals represent an understatement and that all statistics for this group are necessarily incomplete. In many cases the delinquent child cannot be identified, owing to changes in residence, name, etc., as the same child who was once in court on a dependent charge. The table covers only the first eight years of the period studied, since few children brought in during the last two years have yet had time to be returned. I I I THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME again as delinquents, and put under the care of a regular probation officer. This officer from the beginning looked upon the boys as dependent rather than delinquent and worked to remove the demoralizing influences in the home. She watched the father and compelled the saloons to stop selling liquor to the mother. The father has become a fairly steady worker, and the two boys are both working and are the "main support" of the mother and younger children. Many illustrations might also be selected from the records of the dependent-delinquent girls to show how often delinquency is closely related to dependency and how frequently the delinquent child is a child from a degraded home. It should also be noted that the great majority of these children were under fourteen years of age when they were brought to court for the first time, and that the lack of care and protection in the home during these early years was undoubtedly in many cases directly responsible for the child's later delinquency. If to these totals in Table 21 we add the 90 boys and 90 girls who were brought in as delinquent on what have been called dependent charges, we have 291 boys and 259 girls whose delinquency is in some measure connected with the fact of dependency. The few illustrative cases which follow may help to make this clear.* Nora, a motherless girl of fourteen, whose father is a drunkard and abuses his children, sending them to the saloon for liquor as late as twelve and one o'clock at night, besides using vile language to them, was brought into court as dependent, paroled to an officer, and later returned as incorrigible. Grace, a thirteen-year-old child whose father is dead, whose mother is immoral, and whose stepfather has the cocaine habit, was brought into court first as a dependent, returned later as immoral, and committed to Geneva. Lulu, a thirteen-year-old girl whose father is insane and whose mother uses cocaine and is "an immoral woman of the streets," was brought in as dependent, returned later as delinquent. * The family paragraphs in Appendices IV and V furnish more detailed illustrations. The cases which are given here in the text are selected from a large number of additional cases in which the home was not visited by an investigator, but where the court record made the fact of degradation quite obvious. 112 CHILD FROM THE DEGRADED HOME Margaret, the ten-year-old daughter of a drunken father, was one of a family of eight children, supported by the mother's work as a laundress. An older sister was com- mitted to Geneva for immorality and Margaret was brought in first as a dependent and later as an incorrigible. Cora, a little Galician, was the child of drunken parents, the father an unskilled laborer, and the mother a rag picker; the child was kept out of school to mind her little four-year-old brother and do the housework while both her parents and her nineteen-year-old brother were away ostensibly at work. The home was frequented by drunken men and women. Cora was often on the streets at eleven o'clock at night, and was found sleeping under the sidewalk. She was first brought into court as a dependent and paroled to a married sister who was not able to keep her, and who returned her to court as delinquent. The fact that among the 2770 delinquent girls who were in court during its first decade 259 were called dependent, either expressly or by implication, when they were first brought in, is of very great significance. Such cases as have been quoted make clear the necessity for committing many dependent girls to insti- tutions designed for delinquent girls. They also make clear the reason why a larger proportion of dependents are found among the delinquent girls than among the delinquent boys; for such low conditions almost inevitably promote immorality, the consequences of which make the commitment of the girl essential as a means of protection. In conclusion, it may be pointed out that from the point of view of treatment the conditions from which these children come are quite different from the conditions surrounding the groups which have been discussed before. It has been shown that there are many instances where the lack of familiarity with city condi- \ . tions on the part of the child or the parents may be regarded as a f cause of delinquency, and that there are other instances in which the fact of misfortune explains with reasonable certainty, not only why the child is not good, but why she or he does the specific wrong thing resulting in the appearance in court. Very often, however, the connection is much more obvious, and, while the facts given as to the home cannot be regarded as immediately responsible for any act, they may be looked upon distinctly as obstacles to the 113 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME child's well-being, making delinquency almost inevitable. In families of this degraded type, not one child but an entire family of children may go to ruin, and the connection between such de- graded surroundings as have been described and the wrongdoing of the boy or girl can be seen to be much more obvious and imme- diate than in the case of the unfortunate child whose home, while uncongenial, unpleasant, or so very poor or crowded as to be even unfavorable, is still fairly wholesome. With reference to the treatment of such children, it should be said that such cases present the greatest difficulty which the court has to meet and perhaps at the same time its greatest oppor- tunity. Many times the evil conditions are not disclosed until all hope of regeneration is past. The time for probation is long gone by and it is even too late for the industrial or reform school to be effec- tive. If, however, the conditions which need reform are discovered while there is yet possibility of treatment, the opportunity of the court is unparalleled. Its action should be as swift and sure as it is intelligent and far-seeing, since there is no time to lose whpn the disintegrating and destroying forces of degradation are 'at work, and the child must often be promptly removed and given a new chance under more favorable conditions.* Such a policy doubtless requires great courage, analogous to that exhibited by the surgeon who performs a major operation. It also requires the acceptance and application of the principle that by neglect of parental duties, parental right may be forfeited. But the removal of the child may sometimes be only temporary, with the under- standing that as soon as the conditions in the home have been made decent, and the parents have shown themselves able to live decently, the child is to be returned to them, and the probation officer may be not only the discoverer of conditions which need reform, but the agent under whose guidance the family may be reconstituted. In many cases undoubtedly the whole family group can in this way be saved through the child; and, by enforc- ing the maintenance of a new standard of decency as the only condition on which the parents may retain or recover the boy or girl, a home may be made possible for the whole family group. * Fora valuable discussion of the attitude of the court towards the "rights" of degraded parents, see Judge Pinckney's Testimony, Appendix 1 1, pp. 238 and 245. 114 CHAPTER VII THE CHILD FROM THE CROWDED HOME: THE PROBLEM OF CONFUSION THE causes of neglect in the family thus far discussed have been the obvious ones of poverty, sickness, death, incapacity, family discord, and degradation. Other more subtle factors may influence the situation to the child's undoing. If the family is large, if the home is crowded, if the mother is distracted by the presence of many children and can give little attention to any one of them; if the burden of custody and discipline during her absence falls upon the eldest or upon the eldest at home; if there are relatives or lodgers lending -complexity to an already confused situation; if there is an unsympathetic step-parent and a mixed family of children, there is little hope that the nervous system of the child, started unfavorably on its career, will have its proper chance to mature into self-control, or the .character to develop into dignified manhood or womanhood. The question of the size of the family is an important one which often has much to do with the care and attention bestowed upon the individual child. In considering this question, however, it is necessary to know whether all the children are of common parentage; that is, whether there has been remarriage on the part of either father or mother. For it is clear that a larger number of\ children of the same parents will often give rise to a less confused situation than a smaller number not related to each other or related only by a single parent. It is interesting, therefore, that in 45 out of the 584 families of delinquent boys, for whom information was secured, the family group included children of different parents. Among the girls, the mixed family was found in 20 out of 1 57 cases. The following table shows the actual number of children in the families of the boys and girls for whom schedules were obtained. THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME TABLE 22. NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN THE FAMILIES OF 584 DELIN- QUENT BOYS AND 157 DELINQUENT GIRLS Number of Children in Family I 2 3 4 I 8 9 10 NUMBER OF FAMILIES OF Boys Girls 3 25 37 25 82 19 88 17 70 17 84 15 71 IS 43 4 28 6 '7 6 #& o/ NUMBER OF Children FAMILIES OF in Family Boys Gir/5 ii 15 i 12 8 i 13 2 i 14 4 i 15 2 16 O O 17 2 O 18 I I Total 584 157 From this table it appears that among the families of the delinquent boys, there were in 277 cases (47 per cent) six or more children, and in 122 cases (21 per cent) eight or more. Among the families of the girls, in 54 cases (34 per cent) there were six or more children, and in 21 (13 per cent) eight or more, a smaller proportion of large families than among the boys.* Nevertheless, some of the girls were members of very large families; one girl, for example, belonged to a German family where there were 18 chil- dren, and another to a Russian family where there had been 14. The question occurs whether in any considerable number of cases the place of the child in the family, that is, the fact of the child being the eldest or youngest, had any bearing upon his delinquency. It is obvious, for example, that in cases of poverty, where it is necessary for the mother to go to work, or where she is dead and the father is unable to pay a housekeeper, the eldest child may have to bear the burdens naturally belonging to the head of the family. It is likewise true, of course, that in the case of a marriage between very young persons, the eldest child may fail to receive the amount of discipline which would be given if the par- ents were more mature, and which may, in fact, be given to the younger children of the same family. It is of interest, therefore, that in 1 38 cases (24 per cent of the total number) the boy who was * Attention should be called to the fact that the girls' families appear to be disproportionately small because of the fact that an unduly large number of colored girls is included in this Geneva group and that these colored families have a very small number of children. Thus 18 of the 25 families with only one child were colored, and 13 of the 25 families with only two children were colored. Only 7 of the 43 colored girls came from families with more than three children. THE CHILD FROM THE CROWDED HOME brought to court was the eldest child in the family.* It has been shown that this often means a large number of younger brothers and sisters. If the father dies, this boy is the only person to whom the bewildered mother can turn for help, and he is often expected, even when very young, to help carry the burden of the family. An interesting case of this sort is found in the story told by a Swedish woman who had seven children and had lost her husband when the youngest child was five days old. She tried washing as a means of supporting the family, but she was greatly handi- capped and finally let the eldest boy, who was thirteen, leave school and go to work. He got into bad company, began to go wrong, and was ultimately brought into court. The mother thinks she is responsible for his delinquency because she put him to work when he was too young and too easily tempted; but she says that she and "the children needed his help so much." A similar case is that of the eldest boy in a Polish family of four children. The family had always been very poor and had always lived in a bad neighborhood. The father died of tuberculosis, and the mother tried very hard to support the family by scrubbing and washing. It was of course necessary for the boy to go to work as soon as he could get his working papers, but the men in tlmplace where he found a job were a rough, drunken crowd who had a very bad influence over him. The offense which first brought him into court was merely stealing a watermelon from a freight car, but he has now been sent to the county jail for a year on the charge of shooting a man in a quarrel. He had been working steadily up to the time of his arrest, trying to care for his mother and his three sisters. Or it may be that the child on whom the burden falls is not the eldest in fact, but the eldest available; that is, the eldest under working age when those over school age are already employed. In many instances the assumption of these responsibilities will * The following table shows the number of boys who were: Eldest child in family 138 Youngest child in family 70 Only child in family 30 Other cases . . . - 346 584 9 I 17 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME lead to a distressingly sobering effect upon the small housekeeper, but in others there will be results like those in a case already referred to where the little eight-year-old boy became the family housekeeper. In a similar case where the mother had committed suicide, the eldest child in the family, a girl who was later brought into court as delinquent, had kept house when only nine years old for the father and the younger children. The father, who drank, was a day laborer but worked irregularly; the little girl had the discouraging task of caring for a family which a shiftless father was unwilling to support, and before many years she also had shirked responsibilities. When she was fifteen years old her father and her grandmother brought her to court and said that she had been for some time "beyond control." She was sent to Geneva but ran away and is now supposed to be an inmate of a house of prostitution. On the other hand, of course, in the case of a family where the home is crowded, where the conditions either within the house or in the neighborhood are bad, there is less chance for training in the case of younger children than in the case of the older ones, because with the birth of each child the strain upon the family resources becomes greater, the opportunity of the mother to safeguard the child is lessened, and he is at the mercy not only of the older members of his own family but of the disorderly persons of the neighborhood. There are many illustrations among the family paragraphs of confused family groupings and overcrowded homes that chil- dren forsake eagerly for the wide freedom of the street. Year after year, ever since the establishment of the court, small boys have been brought in for such offenses as sleeping under houses, sleeping in hallways, sleeping in barns, in sheds, basements, and similar places. In many cases the child is trying to escape from cruel or brutal parents, but sometimes the simple fact of an un- comfortable, overcrowded home is undoubtedly the cause. The case of a Polish boy who was brought to court for sleeping in barns when the alternative was sharing a small apartment with a family of 10 has been referred to. An Irish boy nine years old was found sleeping under a house and was brought to court as a "vagrant." In his home there were n persons in a three- 118 THE CHILD FROM THE CROWDED HOME room apartment, and the space under the house must have seemed peaceful and spacious in contrast. A German boy, who was one of five children, was brought to court as "incorrigible" for sleeping under sidewalks. Both parents, however, were drunken and immoral, and the home in which he refused to stay was described as "four filthy rooms in the basement of a dilapi- dated old cottage." A little Italian boy was found sleeping in a haystack; he was one of six children; his father was paralyzed, and his mother had gone to live with her sister. In the home of a German family there were 17 children; the father drank heavily and finally died from the effects of drink; the mother, who could speak very little English, went out washing, and supple- mented the family earnings still further by adding boarders to the already overcrowded house. It is not difficult to understand why the boy preferred "sleeping out nights." It is undoubtedly the discomforts of home, quite as much as the "roving disposition" so often referred to, which create the semi-homeless little boys who, in the words of the court records, "wander the streets by day and sleep in barns at night." In an earlier chapter* it was pointed out that the problem of the step-parent was likely to be one of family friction and on that account its discussion seemed more appropriate here than in the chapter dealing with orphan children. Data furnished by the court records! show that in the case * See p. 99. fThe following data showing the number of children having either a step- father or a stepmother furnish interesting supplementary information regarding parental condition (see Tables 19 and 20 relating to Parental Condition of Delin- quent Children, pp. 91 and 92). DATA FROM COURT RECORDS Boys Girls Total number of children 11,413 2770 Number of children having a stepfather . 220 71 Number of children having a stepmother .152 70 Total number having a step-parent . 372 141 Per cent having a step-parent . . . 3.2 5.1 DATA FROM FAMILY SCHEDULES Boys Girls Total number of children 584 157 Number of children having stepfather . . 47 17 Number of children having stepmother 37 19 Total number having a step-parent . 84 36 Per cent having a step-parent . . . 14.3 22.9 IIQ THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME of 372 boys and of 141 girls, the natural parent after death or divorce had been replaced by a step-parent. Here again, how- ever, the actual numbers are much larger than the court records indicate, for in a large number of cases the fact that the parent is a step-parent is not mentioned, except when special inquiry is made. Data obtained from the family schedules show, therefore, that among the 1903-04 boy sand the Geneva girls for whom family schedules were secured, 84 boys and 36 girls had a step-parent; that is, the family schedules show that 14 per cent of the boys and 23 per cent of the girls had a step-parent in contrast to the 3 per cent and 5 per cent indicated by the data obtained from the court records. There are, of course, many cases* in which the fact of having a step-parent seems to have a very direct connection with the delinquency of the boy or girl. Two young Bohemian boys who belonged to a family of six children, lost their mother before they were ten years old. Just at the age when the boys most needed wise and careful guidance the father married a young girl. Soon they got in with bad companions and the youngest would never live at home. The situation was complicated by the father's suicide, and both boys became delinquent wards of the court and one is in the Bridewell now. Again, in the case of one boy, a "repeater" who had been sent to the John Worthy School three times, it was said that he "went to the bad" after the mother's death. His father married again but his stepmother was "pretty hard on him" and was "always finding fault"; he did not improve much under probation, and according to the schedule " the stepmother seems to think he never will." Another case of interest in this connection is that of a Bohemian family whose home is now broken up. The father was not poor; he was * The following case of a colored family in which the home was comfortable enough, but in which things were shockingly wrong after the stepmother came into it, is not quoted in the text, because the woman was criminal and the family is exceptional rather than typical. The father was a railway porter and earned good wages. After the mother's death, when the father paid a woman to care for the children, they got on very well. But he soon married again and the step- mother was very unkind to the children. They were often hungry and stole coal to sell it to buy food. One little girl, who was feebleminded, was burned to death and the stepmother held responsible. The two brothers, with a stepbrother, were in court at the same time. The younger brother had tuberculosis of the face and hands. The stepmother was particularly severe with the eldest boy and has not allowed him to stay at home for the last four years. 120 THE CHILD FROM THE CROWDED HOME a money lender (" banker") as well as a carpenter; but he was brutal and had injured the boy by kicking him when he was a little child. He married three times and this boy, the child of the second wife, was cruelly treated by the third wife. In another case, that of a Russian Jewish family, the father had had four wives and 12 children. The boy that was brought to court was one of six chil- dren by the first wife, who never immigrated but died in Russia when the boy was five years old. The boy's first stepmother also had six children, and for a time after her death the younger children were in the Jewish Home for the Friendless. The third wife was very cruel to all the children and the father divorced her. The father himself is very indifferent about the children, and although six of them have left home he does not seem to care, and says they " were never satisfied with any stepmother." _ A German family in which there are three sets of children is an illustration of a mixed family in which confusion prevailed although the home was " good enough." The girl who became de- linquent lost her mother when she was four. Both she and her older sister went wrong, and while the father and stepmother attributed the girl's downfall to the influence of a public amuse- ment place to which she went, it is significant that the stepmother could do nothing to hold either one of them. The court records also furnish a good many illustrations of cases in which the girl's relations to her stepmother seem to have had a direct connection with her appearance in court. A typical case is that of Mamie, a fifteen-year-old girl whose father was a German laborer and whose stepmother brought her into court as incorrigible because she went to dance halls and stayed away from home at night. The girl claimed that the step- mother ill-treated her and found fault because she spent her own money and did not turn in all her wages. A similarly typical case is that of Maggie, a fifteen-year-old American girl who had a third stepmother. The girl said she needed to get out of the home sur- roundings, and claimed that her parents had several times put her out of the house so that she had been compelled to seek a room elsewhere. Sometimes there is just general incompetence and shift- lessness, which manifests itself in domestic as well as in industrial 121 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME and other relationships. This may be illustrated by the case of an Irish-American family of four children; the father was out of work; the mother incompetent and shiftless; the home very dirty and dilapidated. The boy who was brought to court at fifteen was earning good wages and was the only one in the family who was working. Another illustration of the same point is a German family with eight children; the father a teamster, the mother not very intelligent, the home very crowded and dirty, the neighbor- hood rough. When the boy was fifteen he was arrested for stealing grain from freight cars, and although first put on probation he is now at Pontiac. Not very different is the case of a German family with twelve children, one of whom, a boy of fourteen, was brought into court for stealing grain. The father is a pipe fitter who earns good wages but who drinks and is often out of work. They have recently bought a six-room house but have a mortgage of $2000 to pay, and at the present time no one in the family is at work. The mother is shiftless and very lax in her control of the children, and the home is dirty and crowded. A more unhappy case was one in which there was not only lack of sympathy but in which the parents were evidently more interested in their dry goods store than in their children. The mother took charge of the store while the father went out to sell goods; they had had five children, three of whom had died of tuberculosis. The boy, who was brought to court three times, was "not on good terms" with his parents; the mother said he was "crazy" and refused to allow the younger brother to associate with him. The record says, "The mother cared more for business than for the boys." In the case of another boy, a "repeater" who had been in court four times, the father was a coal dealer and was said to "care for nothing but making money." He was so stern that the boys were afraid of him, while the mother was not very strong and "always too tired to take much care of the children." This boy, who was brought to court first for truancy at the age of nine and sent to the parental school, was brought in the fourth time when he was thirteen charged with being incor- rigible. His parents said that they could not control him, that he was thoroughly unreliable; and they were evidently relieved to have him sent to the John Worthy School. 122 THE CHILD FROM THE CROWDED HOME And then there are the pathetic instances of a complete lack of understanding or interest on the part of the parents though they may be efficient and conform with the formal requirements of their parenthood. There is the case of a German family of 1 1 children in which the boy who had been very bad and in court four times has now run away from home and the parents plainly " hope he will not come back." Or there is the case of another boy who came from what is known as "a good home" but who had been in the John Worthy School three times. The probation officer thinks that the boy has finally done well and that he v/ill be all right now that he is away from his old companions; but "there is no sym- pathy between the mother and son; the mother says that the boy is very bad indeed, that he was too proud to work and too good looking to do anything but wear good clothes." A Danish boy who was first brought to court at the age of twelve and then came in again repeatedly, was sent twice to the John Worthy School and once to St. Charles, although he had a "good home"; but during his mother's illness he became very wild and at this time when he most needed sympathetic care, the record states that "the father was hard on him and thought him 'a bad lot/' Similarly, a Russian boy who was in court three times and finally sent to the John Worthy School for a year, came from a clean, decent home, but the schedule showed that his parents, who were respectable, industrious people, "evidently did not understand the boy "and taunted him with having been arrested. Sometimes the parents may really dislike the child, as in the case of a German family with three children. The father was a carpenter but drank and gambled and was idle most of the time; the mother washed in a laundry and worked very hard. The father "did not like the boy," was unkind to him, and brought him into court saying he could do nothing with him, and finally refused to allow him to live at home. In studying the home circumstances of these children it seemed important to ascertain the age of the parents at marriage, since if parents are too young to assume the responsibilities of mar- ried life, the effect upon the training and discipline of the children will probably be harmful. Tables 23 and 24, on the following page, make clear the fact that this was the case in many instances. 123 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME TABLE 23. AGE AT MARRIAGE OF PARENTS OF DELINQUENT BOYS (DATA FOR 404 FATHERS AND 430 MOTHERS, FROM FAMILY SCHEDULES) FATHERS MOTHERS Age at Marriage Number Per Cent Number Per Cent Under 16 years 2 4 a 5-6 16 and under 18 7 '7 62 14.4 1 8 and under 20 3' 7-7 87 2O.2 20 and under 25 169 41.8 198 46.1 25 and under 30 137 33-9 44 IO.2 30 or over 60 14.9 '5 3-5 Total 404 IOO.O 430 IOO.O a The ages of these 24 mothers were as follows: 12 years old, i ; 13 years, 2; 1 4 years, 6; 15 years, 15. TABLE 24. AGE AT MARRIAGE OF PARENTS OF DELINQUENT GIRLS (DATA FOR 87 FATHERS AND 94 MOTHERS) FATHERS MOTHERS Age at Marriage Number Per Cent Number Per Cent Under 16 years 7 a 7-4 16 and under 18 2 2 -3 12 12.7 18 and under 20 6 6.9 23 24.5 20 and under 25 39 44.8 37 39-4 25 and under 30 20 23.0 1 1 11.7 30 and over 20 23.0 4 4-3 Total 87 IOO.O 94 IOO.O a The ages of these mothers were: 12 years old, i ; 14 years, i ; 15 years, 5. It appears from these tables that a considerable number of these children were under the care of very young mothers; 20 per cent of the mothers both of the boys and of the girls were married before they were eighteen, and many were younger than this; thus 6 per cent of the mothers of the boys and 7 per cent of the girls' mothers were under sixteen when they were married. 124 THE CHILD FROM THE CROWDED HOME The ages of the fathers are of course higher than those of the mothers, but it is significant that 9 per cent of the fathers both of the boys and of the girls were married before they were twenty. While it would be impossible to connect the fact of any child's delinquency directly with the fact that his parents were too young to rear him properly, yet there are cases to be found where the immaturity and youthful inexperience of the father or mother have undoubtedly been among the factors tending to deprive the child of the necessary training and guidance. There is, for example, the case of an Italian boy whose father was twenty and whose mother was seventeen when they were married. The boy was brought in first as incorrigible and later, on four different occasions, for stealing. His parents, however, did not "think stealing very bad," but were very light- hearted and "refused to take the charges seriously." There is the boy whose mother was married when she was twelve and was soon deserted; she came with her child to Chicago and tried to support herself by washing for a time, but she later married again. The boy became hopelessly delinquent; at ten he was brought into court as incorrigible, at eleven as disorderly, at thirteen for stealing. Again, in the case of a boy "whose parents both drank and whose mother kept a low rooming house," it is of interest to know that the mother was thirteen and the father seventeen when they were married and that four of the children had run away from home. It is not maintained that such unfavorable conditions as have been described in this chapter inevitably lead to delinquency. It is clear that the problem presented is much less serious than that of real misfortune or degradation, but although institutional care is less needed in such cases, they make equally plain the need of such care and oversight as the court alone can give. The probation officer frequently helps to bring order into the disorderly home and she can often give advice, not only about the children, but about the management of the house, which the mother sorely needs. In such families the officer who is faithful and patient, resourceful and understanding, soon comes to be re- garded not merely as an agent of the court but as a welcome friend. 125 CHAPTER VIII THE IGNORANT CHILD: THE PROBLEM OF THE SCHOOL IF the environment that has influenced these delinquent boys and girls is to be correctly understood, an inquiry into the relation between the child and the school is a necessary sup- plement to the chapters dealing with conditions in the home. It was not possible to obtain the data for a thorough examination of the school status of the children brought to court as delinquent, but such material as was collected is believed to be both interesting and important. Although the court record calls not only for the name of the school which the child has been attending, but also for the grade and the teacher's name, these latter items are very rarely given, and in a large proportion of cases there is no information whatever regarding school attendance. The record is left blank much more frequently for the girl than for the boy, and the pro- portion of cases in which there was an entire absence of informa- tion relating to the school attendance was so large for both the girls and the boys that this material in the court records had to be dis- carded as valueless. Because of the meager information furnished by the court records, and because it was considered inexpedient at that time to attempt an investigation of the actual school status of these children by visiting their former teachers and principals, a printed statement * was prepared with blanks to be filled out by the child himself under the supervision of the investigator when the family schedule was secured. This "school statement" asked for his present age, his age at beginning and his age and grade at leaving school, the school or schools attended in Chicago, the last grade attended, and finally a list of the studies which the child thought * For a copy of this form see Appendix VI. 126 THE IGNORANT CHILD had helped him most to earn money, with the reason for his choice of subjects. Out of the 584 boys for whom family schedules were obtained, 281 boys filled in the school statements. These latter have been attached to the paragraphs about the child's family as furnish- ing additional information of value.* The data furnished by the statements regarding the child's age at beginning and leaving school, the school, and last grade attended, have been tabulated. Some question may be raised as to whether these 281 boys are typical of the whole 584, and it should be pointed out that in general the 281 were the best rather than the worst boys in the group. The most illiterate made no attempt to fill out the sched- ules. And from the boys who are still in the John Worthy School, the state reformatory at Pontiac, the state penitentiary at Joliet, the house of correction, or similar places, and from those who have become permanent tramps and have been lost track of, no statements could be secured. It seems fair then to consider these 281 as the better half of the group. And, finally, before at- tempting a discussion of the school status of the delinquent boys attention must be called to the fact that only 5474, or 48 per cent, of the 11,413 boys brought into the juvenile court during the decade 1899-09 were of compulsory school age, that is, under fourteen; for 1903-04, the year selected for special study, 538, or 49 per cent, of the 1087 boys brought to court were under this age. Passing on then to the data furnished by the school state- ments, the important points to be noticed are the age at which these boys entered and left school and the progress they made as indi- cated by the grade reached. In Table 25, page 128, the data relating to the ages at which the boys of different nationalities entered school are presented, together with the totals for all nationalities. From this table it appears that 10 per cent of the boys who gave their age at beginning school had entered by the time they were five years old, 48 per cent when they were six, 25 per cent when they were seven, and 1 7 per cent not until they were eight or older; to summarize, 83 per cent of the boys entered school before * One hundred of these family paragraphs, many of them with the school statement attached, will be found in Appendix IV, p. 267. I2 7 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME TABLE 25. AGE AT WHICH 274 DELINQUENT BOYS ENTERED SCHOOL. BY NATIONALITY AGE Nationality 5 or younger 6 7 8 9 10 or older Total American a 16 6 I i 27 Bohemian 4 10 2 16 Colored a 4 j i I 2 12 English 6 a I 2 22 German 6 20 IQ I 56 Irish 6 ai IO I I I CQ Italian a 4 a 2 a 2A Polish c IO e a 32 Russian Scandinavian . . . Other I I 6 10 2 4 i 2 2 I 8 '3 14 Total 28 1*1 68 21 ia I a 274 a Per cent IO.2 47.8 24.8 7.6 4.8 4.8 IOO.O a Although 281 schedules were obtained, many of these did not contain all of the items asked for; thus only 274 boys filled out the blank asking for age on entering school, etc. they were eight years old. The nationality of these boys is given with their ages in this table because, while only 17 per cent of all the boys entered when they were eight or older, it is significant that when the data for each nationality are considered separately it appears that 33 per cent of the Italian boys, 33 per cent of the colored boys, and 53 per cent of the Polish boys entered at eight years or older, and are, therefore, considerably behind the average child in coming under school influence and discipline. It is quite probable that in the case of all these children who entered late, their earlier ^ears were spent in places where they had no oppor- tunity of attending school, and that the age at coming to Chicago and the age*~af entering school correspond closely. More important than the age at entering school is the ques- tion of how long they remain in school and what progress they are able to make while there. Data relating to both of these points were furnished by 262 of the 281 school statements and are pre- 128 THE IGNORANT CHILD sented in Table 26. A study of this table shows that the child's leaving school had apparently no relation to the fact of his having reached any particular standard. The great majority of these boys (190, or 73 per cent) left at the age of fourteen or before they had reached the legal age, no matter what grade they had reached.* For example, the 142 fourteen-year-old boys who left were in all grades ranging from the first to the eighth. It is very significant that 48 boys, 18 per cent of the total number, left school illegally before they had reached the age of fourteen in spite of the compulsory education law, that only 72 boys remained after the age of fourteen and of these only 31, 12 per cent of the whole number, stayed until they were sixteen. TABLE 26. LAST GRADE ATTENDED BY 262 DELINQUENT BOYS, AND AGE AT LEAVING SCHOOL Age GRADE Total Per Cent i si 2nd 3rd 40) & 6th 7 tb 8fb High Scbool 10 i i I 3 30 2 7 II 7 i 2 2 I 5 40 142 4i 3i 7 4 1.9 15-3 54.2 5-7 1 1.8 II 12 2 8 16 6 2 i 8 13 6 i 5 5 2 2 8 44 4 3 14 . . i 29 12 8 15 8 1 1 16 or over . ... i 2 Total 2 .8 9 3-4 4 34 13.0 60 22.9 58 53 2O.2 29 II. I 3 262 IOO.O Per cent 5-3 22.1 1.2 IOO.O A further study of the table shows that these children not ) only leave school early but make little progress while they are / there. Thus it appears that only three out of 262 boys ever f - * For a very interesting discussion of this subject, reference is again made to the Report on Condition of Woman and Child Wage-Earners in the United States, Vol. VII. Conditions under which Children Leave School to go to Work. United States Bureau of Labor. (Senate document 645, 6ist Cong. 2d sess. ) Washington, D. C., 1910. 129 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME reached the high school, that only 29 others ever reached the eighth grade, that 119 (45 per cent) did not get beyond the fifth grade, that 25 (9 per cent) failed to get beyond the third grade, that nine boys had never passed out of the second grade, and that two had never got out of the first.* The backwardness of these boys in school can perhaps be better understood by compar- ing the grades reached by them with the grades reached by children of the same age who have made a normal rate of progress. That is, the child entering the first grade at seven the compulsory school age should be in the second grade at eight, in the third at nine, and so on.f Allowing, however, one year for failure to pass or for a late start, he should be in the second grade at nine, in the third at ten, and in the next higher grade for each added year. In Table 26, the heavy zigzag line has been drawn to indicate this relation between age and grade; the numbers above the line represent the boys who have passed on at the normal rate of progress, as thus described. All the numbers below the line represent boys who have failed to make such progress. But to say that 188, or 72 per cent, of the total number of boys had fallen below this line of progress is to give too favorable an impression of the situation, for such a statement fails to give any idea of the extremely back- ward condition of many of these boys. Eighteen of the boys in the first, second, and third grades, for example, were fourteen or older; of the sixteen-year-old boys, one was in the first grade, two were in the third grade, two in the fourth, three in the fifth, eight in the sixth, and although fifteen were above this grade, only two were in high school, where the normal sixteen-year-old boy belongs. Another method of ascertaining how far these delinquent boys were behind normal boys of the same age when they left school is to compare the grades which they reached with the grades reached by all the children who left school in a given year to go to * It is perhaps of interest that no American boys were in the lowest groups. The nationality of the boys in the first and second grades was as follows: German, i ; Irish, i; Italian, 3; Polish, 5; Colored, i. The immigrant child suffers not only from the fact that his parents have as yet failed to adjust themselves to the idea that the community has a right to say that children under a certain age must be kept in school, but also from the handicap of trying to use a strange language. t Ayres, Leonard P.: Laggards in Our Schools, p. 38. Russell Sage Foun- dation Publication. New York, Charities Publication Committee, 1909. 130 THE IGNORANT CHILD work. The reports of the Chicago Board of Education do not make possible such a comparison for every year but they furnish statistics for the year 1909 which show the grades last attended by the children who were given age and school certificates during the year.* From these figures it appears that only 28 per cent of the boys who took out working papers during the year 1908-09 had failed to reach the sixth grade, and only 12 per cent had stopped before they reached the fifth grade, whereas Table 26 shows that 45 per cent of the delinquent boys were below the sixth grade and 23 per cent were below the fifth. The small number of boys who remain in school after they have reached the age of fourteen means of course that the great majority are called upon to assume some of the pecuniary burdens of the family. It was pointed out in an earlier chapter that in a very large proportion of cases the delinquent boy is the eldest child in a large family and that the great majority of these families are poor. His slight wage-earning capacity must, therefore, be utilized at the earliest possible moment at which his age and school certificate can be secured and he can become a supplementary wage-earner with the sanction of the law. The temptation to evade the law is sometimes too great to resist, and the child is not only deprived of the slight educational requirement prescribed by the law, but is given perhaps a first lesson in law-breaking by parents who swear that he is fourteen when he and they alike know that he has not yet reached that age. It is obvious that the child thus deprived of opportunities is the child most in need of them. To many of these boys, however, leaving school means much more than a loss of opportunity. It means being placed in the way of great and varied temptations while the will is weak and the mind not yet intelligent. Work is not always easy to find, and desirable work which offers even a small amount of training and awakens ambition and interest is hopelessly scarce. Attention has already been called to the large number of boys who become messengers or errand boys, or enter some similarly undesirable occupation. The boy out of school at fourteen or the ages immediately following, is likely to be also a boy * See Report of Chicago Board of Education, 1909, p. 81. 131 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME out of work, or a boy in an occupation associating him with bad companions or offering other temptations to delinquency.* y It appeared in Table 2t that half the delinquent boys brought to court came at the age of fourteen or in the two years immediately following their withdrawal from school. If the provision in the state law which requires the compulsory school attendance of boys between the ages of fourteen and sixteen who are not working could be rigorously enforced, the number of delinquents would perhaps decrease during these years. J Ever since the year 1905, the de- partment of compulsory education in the city of Chicago has called attention in each succeeding annual report to the necessity for better means of protecting and disciplining boys between four- teen and sixteen, not merely because they become demoralized themselves, but because they encourage smaller boys to become truant and delinquent. It is, of course, a commonplace to say that until the enforcement of the law is made possible, these boys are on the high road to delinquency, and, in spite of six years of agi- tation, there is still urgent need of improvement in the facilities for dealing with them. The latest report of the superintendent of compulsory education issued in June, 1911, strongly emphasizes "the necessity for better provision for the correction and care of children between fourteen and sixteen years of age who are beyond parental control and who prefer idleness to school attendance or employment The only recourse under present condi- tions against a fourteen-year-old truant who has committed no * See pp. 74 and 79. Of special interest in this connection is the Report on Boy Labour by Cyril Jackson, in the Reports of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, Appendix, Vol. XX. Notice also recurring annual statements of the difficulty presented by such boys in the reports of Superintendent W. L. Bodine of the Compulsory Education Department, Chicago Board of Education. t See Chapter 1 1, p. 24. J An amendment to the law under which the parental school is limited to the care of boys under fourteen was urgently pressed upon the Illinois legislature of 1911 on this express ground by the superintendent of the compulsory education department. See Chicago Board of Education, Fifty-first Annual Report, 1905, in which the following statement appears in the report of the superintendent of com- pulsory education. "There are many idle boys between the ages of fourteen and sixteen on the streets of Chicago. . . . Many of these boys do not go to work because employers, as a rule, prefer a boy who has attained the age of sixteen years in order that they may have employes whose employment and hours are not regu- lated by the Child Labor Law. These idle street boys over compulsory education age, frequently encourage smaller boys to become truants and delinquents." 132 THE IGNORANT CHILD other offense than truancy, is to charge him with incorrigible or delinquent conduct and ask his commitment to the John Worthy School or St. Charles. The former is a prison school where the worst type of delinquent boys is sent. St. Charles has not sufficient capacity to provide for urgent delinquent cases."* Coming finally to that part of the school statement in which the boy attempts to tell which studies have helped him most "to earn money" there is some unique and interesting material. It is, obviously, information which does not lend itself to tabulation and which cannot even be summarized in definite and precise terms. But these poor attempts at writing show much more vividly than any statement of the number of years which the boys spent in school, or of the grades which they reached, the poverty of their equipment. Although any attempt to classify these statements is difficult, some are sufficiently alike to be discussed in groups. There are, first, the statements belonging to the most handicapped boys; the boys who, while they are able to make the figures to fill in the blanks left for age and grade, fail in the attempt to write a single word. The names of the schools, or of the studies, which they tried to write are alike illegible; in a few cases the boy has scrawled his own name, which the blank does not call for, as if in a brave attempt to show that he could after all write something. For example, two Italian boys of seventeen and twenty who were in the second grade, and a German boy of nineteen who thought he was in the third, seem unable to write any word at all; another nineteen-year-old German boy and a colored boy of fifteen can write only their names; while * Chicago Board of Education. Fifty-seventh Annual Report for the year ending June 30, 1911, p. 138. Report of Superintendent Bodine of the compul- sory education department. Further quotation from this report may be of inter- est. "The social waste in a boy's life between fourteen and sixteen often deter- mines his future career and citizenship," writes the superintendent. "Many employers do not want a juvenile employe under sixteen years of age; they can- not become apprentices. Principals do not care to have the irregular attendance of the fourteen-to-sixteen-year-old pupil who alternates between school and work so much, seeking employment. These older boys influence younger ones and herein lies a great handicap to truant officers. It accounts, in a large measure, for the increase in truancy in some districts, although many of the fourteen- to-sixteen-year-old boys are repeatedly taken from the streets, and some remain in school. There is no central juvenile employment agency, and conditions could be better if one were established, to expedite the employment of boys and girls as soon as possible after they secure their age and school certificates." 10 ,33 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME four Polish boys, one fourteen years old, two eighteen, and one nineteen, can scarcely write a word that can be read, though the attempts which they made seem to indicate that they believed themselves able to write. In this latter group belong also two Bohemian boys, seventeen and twenty years old, a German boy of nineteen, a Danish boy of fifteen, a Norwegian of nineteen, and a seventeen-year-old Irish boy who was born in this country. In another group are the statements of 25 boys who are slightly better off in that they are able to write a word or two, and in a few cases to attempt a labored excuse for a sentence. One would hesitate, however, to say that they were able to write. The eighteen-year-old boy who says "i can to rede" and the boy of nineteen who says "It habs me Count" are typical of the small number who attempted the difficult question regarding the studies which had " helped most." In the next large group, which includes the majority of the remaining schedules, the boys can write and put several words together but the wretched spelling and still more wretched writing give evidence of such extreme ignorance that it may be fairly called illiteracy. This is evidenced also by their poor attempt to tell which studies have helped them and how. A Polish boy of twenty, who had been sent to the Polish School by his parents who themselves can speak no English although they have been here seventeen years, says, "Writeing and Reading" have helped him because " If i can write and Read i can go in the World and make a ezey living." The boy had worked for an upholsterer, but when seen by the investigator had been idle for two months. A similar case is that of an Italian boy whose father speaks very little Eng- lish and his mother none at all although they have been here twenty years. This boy attended what he calls a " Pucilc," evidently meant for public, school and enumerates " Reading Writing Geoghy and Aricits" because "they made me get my School Certifat." The boy was one of a family of five children and seven grandchildren and the certificate which gave him the right to work for them was indeed a thing of value. A poor Polish boy whose father has been insane ten years and who has evidently shared his mother's struggle to " bring up the family," reached the fourth grade in a parochial school and writes in pathetic detail that " Reading and Retmetic" 134 THE IGNORANT CHILD have helped him most because " Reading helps me find work by reading in paper and Retmetic helps me count my hours I put in and count my Celary." Many other similar examples might be given: A boy of seventeen who attended school seven years and was only in the second grade when he left selects " Reeding, Ritting, and Conting" because " I codont get no work if I coudont Reed or Rite or spell." Another seventeen-year-old boy who also was in school seven years says he was only in " i room" grade in what he describes as the "Parofial Scool." He enumerates "reading and riting" because when i am at home and have nothing to do i read and rite." Still another, seventeen years old, who is a varnisher in a pool table factory, says, " Reading, writing (because) in worke, it helps me." More interesting, perhaps, are the statements which explain in what special way the boy has used his studies or found them helpful. Thus the eldest of two Polish boys who run their father's coal and hack business, and support the family of 10, says briefly, " Rhitmetic" because " I have figure Coal Bills and Carriage Trips" ; and the younger one, aged seventeen, finds that "Arithmetic, Reading Wrighting" were all helpful " Because I figure the Weights of Coal." An Italian boy who is the sole support of a family of eight and who is a machinist's helper finds arithmetic most useful and says in explanation " I after use a ruel." One boy who began to attend school when he was ten and went to work at thirteen does not specify which studies helped him, but says, as if in explana- tion of all things, " We needed the money to Spend on Shoes." An Irish boy of eighteen specifies "Reding" and his explanation is " I am a Cook." Another boy does not select any special studies but says, " I was driving a coal wagon and the lesson learned me to give right change back and read the names and addresses." It is, however, a point of further interest that some of the boys say quite definitely that the school struggle was not worth while, and they can find no word to say regarding the usefulness of any study. Thus, one who was eighteen years old says briefly, "No studies held me I dont ned them"; and another, who is also eighteen, comments very plainly, " None of studies have helpt any to Earn my money." One boy who is now nineteen but who was 135 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME kept in school until he was sixteen and had reached the sixth grade says with like certainty, "There is Know studies which have helped me (because) I am a painter." An Irish boy, eighteen years old, who works in a barber shop, left school when he was thirteen and writes, " I done hard work which did not Rezure (re- quire) School." An Italian boy who is only fifteen cannot say that he has been helped in any way but writes in explanation " I work with my hand." There are, of course, among these school statements a few written by boys who could write well not placing the standard of writing among boys higher than it should be! but these, like the cases of boys who come from comfortable homes, are infre- quent exceptions. Taken as a whole, the statements show clearly that the majority of these delinquent children when they left school to go to work were handicapped children, knowing prob- ably how to read, but writing with the greatest difficulty, if at all. But the school statements do not in themselves complete the story of the ignorant child. Some account must be given of the 303 boys out of the 584 whose families were visited, but who did not fill out the "statement." A considerable number of these boys were away from home, in institutions, "out West," in the army or navy, and in some cases the family wished to conceal from the boy the visit of the investigator because they did not wish to revive the memory of his court experience. But in other cases, of which the number is unquestionably larger than the schedules show, the boy was not able to read or write and did not, therefore, return the school statement at all. Some account of these totally illiterate boys must be given in order to supplement the testimony that is furnished by the school statements. Far more ignorant than the most ignorant boy who attempted to scrawl a few figures or a misspelled word on the schedules is the boy who cannot read or write at all. Such a case, for example, is that of the Polish boy nineteen years old who is unable to read or write, who attended school but who did not get beyond the first grade. His mother says " he did not go more than one day a week." A similar case is that of an Italian boy sixteen years old, born in this country, who began to go to school when he was ten " but did not go much," and who can neither read nor write. He now owns a paper route 136 THE IGNORANT CHILD and " wants to save his money to go to night school." There is also the case of a German boy of nineteen who cannot read or write; another Italian boy who, when he was brought to court at the age of thirteen, had never been to school at all; an Irish boy of nine- teen who is said to be a good worker and " good to the family but so illiterate that he can scarcely read or write." A Polish boy who did not come to this country until he was thirteen, went to school only until he could find work. He is now seventeen and unable either to read or to write. A Swedish boy was scarcely able to read or write when he was eighteen, but he has since been attending night school. A Polish boy of eighteen who was born here is unable to write. An Irish boy of sixteen cannot write. An Irish boy eighteen years old is a carpenter and has recently been earning $25 a week, but he cannot write at all and asks his sister to write for him when necessary. It seems unnecessary to mention any other similar cases, but the facts about two Bohemian boys, both of whom had brutal fathers, should perhaps also be given in this group. In one case the father refused to allow the boy to attempt to fill in the schedule, saying that the boy had had " no schooling." The boy had had a very poor record when he was taken out of school at the age of eleven and was perhaps "mentally deficient," but the record showed that the father had refused to allow any of the children to go to school. I n the case of the other boy, even when he lived with an aunt, the father would not let him go to school if he could help it, and falsified the child's age certificate to make him work. Those who know the boy say that he probably would have done well in school if he had been allowed to attend. This list of cases has been given somewhat in detail in order to emphasize the fact that the school statements by no means tell the whole story of ignorance and illiteracy. There is undoubtedly a very considerable number of other boys whose records would be much the same if they could be obtained. Such illiteracy as is re- vealed by the school statements is unquestionably typical of the condition of the boys who are brought into court. It should be noted here that the machinery for preventing the illiteracy shown by the school statements had been tardily set in motion. The child labor law of 1903 had been passed and was in operation for 137 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME the first time in the year 1903-04 when these boys were brought into court. This law not only provided that children under four- teen years of age could not be gainfully employed during school hours but that no child between the ages of fourteen and sixteen could be so employed unless he had first received an age and school certificate approved by the superintendent of schools; and during this year, these provisions were supposedly in force.* The school certificate then, as now, required not only a statement regarding the date of the child's birth sworn to by the parent or guardian, but also a statement by the teacher and principal of the school that the child could "read and write legibly simple sentences." This law also provides that " in the case of a child who cannot read at sight and write legibly simple sentences" a certificate may be issued provided the child is attending an evening school and his attendance there is certified weekly. And it is further provided that, when the evening schools are not in session, "an age and school certificate shall not be approved for any child who can- not read at sight and write legibly simple sentences." This law unfortunately does not provide that the child must be able to read and write "in English/'f and although there are very few cases in which it happens that a child is able to read and write in some other language when he is not able to do so in English, an opportunity of evading the law exists since the child's claim to proficiency in a foreign language is not easily tested. It is significant in this connection that of the 281 boys from whom school statements were obtained, 140 were under fourteen years of age and 1 1 1 others were under sixteen when brought to court, so that 251, or nearly nine-tenths of them, came under the * See Illinois Revised Statutes, chap. 48, sec. 20, for the law, and the Fiftieth Annual Report of the Chicago Board of Education (1904), pp. 43-47, for a state- ment by the superintendent of schools as to the methods of enforcing this law. t It is of interest that the most recent report of State Factory Inspector Davies says, in discussing the subject of Prosecutions Under the Child Labor Act, "if certain other restrictions were placed in the law, it would greatly add to the efficacy of the measure; for instance, as the law now stands it permits the employ- ment of children who may merely be able to read and write legibly simple sentences in any language, and I believe that it should be amended so that children under the age of sixteen, who are unable to read and write English and pass an otherwise simple educational test, should not be permitted to work." Sixteenth Annual Re- port of the Factory Inspector of Illinois, 1908, p. XVI. I 3 8 THE IGNORANT CHILD provisions of this law* and were not legally entitled to their "work- ing papers" unless they were able to " read and write legibly simple sentences." Yet of all the school statements handed in, only one, that of a boy who left school at twelve and who says " I go to night school every night" contains any record of the attendance at evening school prescribed for illiterate children before the issuing of the school certificate. Any explanation of this illiteracy among delinquent boys must fall under one of two heads: (i) either the boy did not go to school, or (2) he was so handicapped that he made little or no prog- ress while there, or (3) he may have been able to read or write some foreign language, and therefore not truly illiterate. This last expla- nation could have applied to so few cases that it may be disregarded since the boy was urged to fill out the statement in any language. On the first point, irregularity of attendance or non-attend- ance, there is much to be said. The great majority of these boys had spent their entire school life under a compulsory education law. In 1899 the year in which the juvenile court was established, a compulsory education department was already in existence in Chicago and a law providing for the establishment of a parental school for truant boys had been passed. In the year 1903-04, along with the new child labor law which has been described, a new compulsory education law was being enforced. This law not only extended the period of required attendance to the whole school year, but it made possible the better enforcement of the law by providing for the punishment of parents whose children were kept out of school. During this year, therefore, the compulsory educa- tion department sent 1060 warnings to parents and prosecuted 307 * The following table showing the ages at which these boys were brought into court is of interest: Age Q. . Number of boys i IO .:: :.: .3 II . 27 12 . 35 13 .. . 57 14 66 15 . 45 16 . . . ; 2O 18 I Total.. . 287 139 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME who did not comply.* The parent who kept a child out of school to deliver washings, to "mind baby," or to "keep house while mother was away working," could be punished by fine and impris- onment if the offense were continued. Just how far failure to attend school is an explanation of illiteracy it is not possible to say; there is no question, how- ever, of there being a close connection not merely between truancy and illiteracy but between truancy and delinquency. And while only 64 of the delinquent boys who came into court during the year 1903-04 were charged with truancy as well as with some other delinquent offense,f the detailed histories of the cases kept on file in the court records show that 1 17 other delinquent boys "would not go to school" although not charged specifically with truancy. That is, in a very large number of cases the boy's parent or guardian or the probation officer or some one familiar with his habits knew that he had been staying away from school although he had escaped being brought to court for this offense. The following table shows for 1903-04 and for another and more recent year, 1907-08,^ the ages of all the delinquent boys who would not go to school, whether they were charged with tru- ancy in the court records or not. This table shows that in 1903-04, 181 boys, and in 1907-08, 1 20 boys "would not go to school." It should be noticed, how- ever, that the table includes boys of all ages from seven to sixteen, although the compulsory school law requires attendance after the age of fourteen only when the child is not working, and it is well known that no practicable method of enforcing this law has yet been found. But for the boy who is supposed to be attending school, irregular attendance is as demoralizing above the age at which attendance can be enforced as for the one below it. Looking, however, only at the children under fourteen, namely, children of the compulsory school age, it appears that even these incomplete data show that in 1903-04, 166 boys under fourteen, 34 per cent of all * See the Fiftieth Annual Report of the Chicago Board of Education (1904). Report of the Compulsory Education Department, p. 41. t Fifty-eight other boys brought in during this year as delinquent had been in before as truants. J This is the most recent year that could be selected, since the records for 1908-09 were not complete at the time of writing. 140 THE IGNORANT CHILD the delinquent boys of this age brought to court during this year,* and in 1907-08, 87 boys under fourteen, one-fourth of the total number under this age brought to court during the year, were in need of discipline for persistently staying out of school. TABLE 27. DELINQUENT BOYS WHO " WOULD NOT GO TO SCHOOL" DURING THE YEARS 1903-1904 AND 1907-1908. BY AGE a NUMBER OF BOYS 1907-1908 i 3 Age 7 1903-1904 2 8 4 18 10 31 n 31 12 43 13 . . 37 14 6 15. . 6 ,6 i No reoort . 2 17 12 4 120 a It is obviously a matter of some difficulty to compile such a table, since in many cases the evidence indicates a prolonged absence from school although the fact is not specifically mentioned. Such cases, however, were never counted unless the evidence seemed unmistakable. Thus, three boys who could neither read nor write were not counted because although they were also probably truant, there is no evidence other than the fact of their illiteracy. On the other hand, nine boys who had been staying away from home several weeks at a time and unquestionably staying away from school, were also included in the list although not called truant, for the record of their adventures showed that they had been off on a prolonged "larking" expedition with no possible chance to go to school. b Of these 181 boys, three were kept at home by parents to carry washings and do similar "chores," one had never been in school, and one had "always been a truant." There were, then, in 1907-08, at least 1 16 of the delinquent boys under sixteen and 87 under fourteen, or one-fourth of the total number under fourteen brought to court during this year, who were staying away from school. This percentage for 1907-08 is smaller than that for 1903-04; that is, 25 instead of 34 per cent. Some of the 1903-04 boys, however, were charged with truancy, not when they were first brought to court but when they were re- turned later on a new charge. Similarly, many of these 1907-08 boys will be returned to court again, and if their entire histories could be read four years from this time, there is every reason to believe that a very considerable number of them would later be * See Table 2, p. 24. THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME described as "refusing to go to school." Either percentage, how- ever, is sufficiently large to show a striking connection between truancy and delinquency among boys. It is significant that in the more recent year there is a large number of truant boys at the ages of fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen. Attention was called in an early part of this chapter to the fact that the great majority of boys who become wards of the court leave school and go to work when they are fourteen; that they are often out of work as well as out of school; and that they are given special opportunities, as it were, to become delinquent. There is, however, as has been said, a possible explanation for illiteracy other than a failure to comply with the compulsory edu- cation law. The boy may have been handicapped by a poor mind or a poor body which no amount of patient attendance at school could cure. There are the children who are the victims of St. Vitus' dance; the epileptics; the boys described as mentally de- ficient, or weak-minded; and finally, the poor backward boys de- scribed as "not very bright" or "dull and slow," such as a Dutch boy who was never able to get out of the kindergarten and is said by his mother to be "weak in the head." This boy is now sixteen and has tried to work with a construction company, but his mother thinks he will never be able to work satisfactorily. Or there is the case of a German boy who never got beyond second grade at school and was thought mentally deficient. He has not been suc- cessful in work either, and the probation officer thinks he will always be a " half-witted tramp. ' ' Many examples of such cases are cited in the list given at the end of this chapter,* which also shows the limitations under which the court labored in regard to the treat- ment of these children. As there is no institution in the state in which epileptic children can be cared for and only one institution, and that crowded, for feeble-minded children, the judge could make use only of those institutions provided for normal children. f In turning from the delinquent boy to the delinquent girl, data bearing upon the question of school status were more difficult to obtain. It will be recalled that family schedules were secured only for those girls who were in the state training school in the summer of 1908, and since many of these girls had been in Geneva * See p. 147. f See Judge Pinckney's testimony, Appendix II, pp. 243-244. 142 THE IGNORANT CHILD for a considerable period of time, school statements from them similar to those obtained from the boys would have had little value as their content would have been materially modified by the train- ing already given through the school at Geneva. It was found, however, that the Geneva records contained some interesting in- formation regarding the school status of the girls at the time when they became wards of the school. These data were state- ments obtained from every girl at the time she was committed to the institution regarding the amount of schooling she had had or the last grade she had attended before she came to Geneva. The data presented in Table 28 were obtained from a study of these records for the five years from July i, 1904, to July i, 1909, and show the ages of 705 delinquent girls when they entered the school, together with the grades they had last attended. TABLE 28. LAST GRADE ATTENDED BY 705 DELINQUENT GIRLS BEFORE THEIR COMMITMENT TO GENEVA, AND AGE AT TIME OF COMMITMENT Never GRA DE T<7 Per Age School nt and 3rd ,{tb 5 tb 6tb Tib Sib High School / ota I Cent 8 or under a . . . i i i 3 .4 Q . . 2 2 4 .6 10 8 ?, 4 i 7, 17 2-4 ii 3 5 1 1 2 I 22 3-' 12 i 6 Q 10 Q 5 49 6q 13 7 Q 13 12 20 6 3 i 71 10. 1 14 3 8 10 iq 18 IS 16 8 2 2 101 14.3 15 5 6 16 31 31 31 24 IS I 1 I 171 24.3 16 A a IQ 23 25 23 12 I I 2 122 17.3 17 or over 6 4 2 18 23 26 30 2O 12 4 145 2O.6 Total 20 43 SQ i?6 I2O 120 104 58 37 Q 705 IOO.O Per cent 2.8 6.1 8-4 17.9 17.0 l8-3 14.8 8.2 5-2 >-3 IOO.O a The one girl under eight, who was six years old, was also the one in this group who had never been in school. She is therefore not counted. 143 sV tf THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME This table does not show as did Table 26 (page 1 29) for boys, the age at which the girl left school. In a number of cases the girl was in fact attending school at the time of her commitment, but as 539 girls out of the 705 (76.5 percent) were fourteen or over, and so beyond the compulsory school age, some had left school altogether; a few as the table indicates had never been to school. The table, therefore, does not indicate the divergence from what would be the normal rate of progress in school ; for some of the sixteen-year-old girls may have left school at the age of ten or twelve. It does, however, make possible a comparison with what might be called the degree of advancement contemplated by the compulsory school law 'and that actually attained by these girls. That is, in contrast to Table 26 in which the number of boys below the line had failed to make normal progress in school, Table 28 shows below the line, the girls who at the time when they entered Geneva were below the standard for girls of their age who had been kept in school. The normal sixteen-year-old girl should be in the high school, and the fact that 1 20 girls of this age had, according to the table, never reached the high school shows that they were below the normal standard whether they were still in school or not. Out of 705 girls who re-/ ported their school grade, 635, or 90 per cent of the whole number, y were below the black line. Here, again, the table gives no ade- \ quate idea of the extreme cases which are found. Twenty of these girls, eighteen of them over fourteen, had never been in school at all ; 43 other girls, whose ages ranged from eight to seventeen, claimed that they had been to school but had not got out of the ; first grade. Although the delinquent girl seems then to be more illiterate than the delinquent boy, the explanation of this illiteracy is not on the face of it so evident. It was pointed out that there were two primary causes of backwardness among the boys: (i) a large num- ber of them were truants, who had been to school very irregularly, and (2) many of them were so handicapped physically or mentally that they made little progress in school even if they attended regu- larly. With regard to the first point it appears that the number of truant girls is insignificant compared with the number of truant boys. In 1909-10, the superintendent of compulsory education 144 THE IGNORANT CHILD reported 3482 truant boys and only 132 truant girls.* It is prob- ably true, however, that truancy is less easily detected among girls than among boys, since the latter are more conspicuously dis- orderly when absent from school. Certainly girls are kept at home much more frequently than boys to help with the housework and to care for the younger children, and, even if not officially desig- nated " truants," their attendance at school is none the less irreg- ular and uncertain, and, in turn, unprofitable. With regard to the second reason for lack of progress at school, the physical or mental handicap, little comment is necessary after a reading of the girls' "family paragraphs" to which reference has already been so frequently made. As with the boys, there is' evidence in a considerable number of cases of subnormal develop- ment; and the presence at Geneva of feeble-minded or mentally deficient girls who were committed to the institution because of immorality shows a need for a better system of protecting these unfortunate children. It should also be added that not only was a larger proportion of poor homes found among the delinquent girls than among the boys, but a larger number of these were homes in which there was not only poverty but degradation, and from such homes a greater degree of illiteracy must be expected. In attempting to summarize the conclusions from such data as have been presented regarding the school status of these boys and girls, it may be said briefly that in the great majority of cases the delinquent child is also an ignorant child, and in a large number of cases an illiterate child. This is obviously due in part to the fact that many of these children enter school late and leave when they are still very young, some of them before they have reached the age of fourteen and are legally entitled to their working papers, and nearly all the others as soon as they reach this age. Their illiteracy is explained in part by the fact that during the short period when they are supposedly attending school, * The number of truant boys has been correspondingly in excess of the num- ber of truant girls in other years. In 1908-09, for example, there were 2942 boy truants and only 112 girls; in 1907-08 there were 3294 boys and 119 girls; in 1906-07, 3004 boys and 266 girls. It is of interest that a statement by the superintendent of compulsory education during the last year, called attention to the fact that though conditions were normal among boys, there had been an increase in truancy among girls and that the records of the juvenile court showed an increase of delinquency among girls during the same time. 145 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME they attend very irregularly, and in part by the fact that while they are in school they are so handicapped mentally or physically that they make little progress. That the schools are trying to meet the needs of the delinquent child and to remove such causes of delinquency as illiteracy and truancy is evidenced in many ways: by constant improvement in the methods of enforcing the compulsory education and the child labor laws; by the establishment of ungraded classes or subnormal rooms, to care more satisfactorily for the dull or backward child; by the vacation school, which provides a healthy substitute for the street in the summer; and finally by the manual training cen- ters, which are referred to so touchingly in the school statements of those boys who said that the "studies that helped them most" were, as they expressed it, "work with hands." Even the chil- dren can connect instruction in these centers quite definitely with that lifelong work with the hands which is sure to be their portion. And finally, it should not be forgotten that these illiterate children are also, many of them, children of illiterate and degraded parents, and that upon the home, rather than upon the school and the court, must be placed the true responsibility for the ignorant child. 146 THE IGNORANT CHILD NOTE TO CHAPTER VIII MENTALLY DEFECTIVE BOYS BROUGHT TO COURT AS DELINQUENT No list which was at all complete could be compiled of the delin- quent boys who were also subnormal, or mentally defective. In fact it is now recognized that the question of a child's mental condition can in many cases be determined only after the child has been carefully examined by an expert. It has seemed worth while, however, to present the following 43 cases of boys who were obviously "peculiar" or "queer" or "weak in the head" or "feeble-minded" and were so described by parent or proba- tion officer. The statement of the disposition made of their cases indicates the more or less accidental and haphazard method of treatment inevit- able when the resources of the court are limited and when there is lacking even the machinery for discovering the degree to which the child's intelli- gence differs from the normal intelligence, and the bearing of that differ- ence upon his treatment. The list is given in this form rather than in the form of a tabular statement because the latter would suggest completeness and exactness in a way that would be distinctly misleading. (1) Eleven-year-old German boy in court three times; put on pro- bation the first time, then sent to the John Worthy School, and later placed on probation again. (2) Fourteen-year-old German boy in court once; put on proba- tion. (3) Fifteen-year-old German boy in court twice; sent to the John Worthy School both times. (4) Swedish boy in court three times; sent to the John Worthy School the first time, then placed on probation, and later sent to the John Worthy School. (5) Eleven-year-old German boy in court twice; sent to the John Worthy School both times. (6) Eleven-year-old Canadian boy in court twice; put on proba- tion the first time; then sent to the John Worthy School. (7) Ten-year-old English-American boy in court once; sent to the John Worthy School. (8) Ten-year-old German boy in court twice; put on probation the first time; then sent to the Chicago Parental School. (9) Fourteen-year-old Irish boy in court once; put on probation. (10) Thirteen-year-old German boy in court four times; put on probation the first two times; then sent to the Chicago Parental School the last two times. 147 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME (11) Boy, nationality unknown, an epileptic, in court once; put on probation. (12) Thirteen-year-old Italian boy, in court two times; put on pro- bation; then sent to the John Worthy School. (13) Twelve-year-old Polish boy in court three times; put on pro- bation; then sent to the John Worthy School, and later sent to St. Charles. (14) Thirteen-year-old American boy, in court twice; put on pro- bation; then sent to the John Worthy School. (15) Fourteen-year-old German boy, no record. (16) Thirteen-year-old German boy, in court three times; paroled the first two times; then sent to the John Worthy School. (17) Thirteen-year-old German boy, in court once; sent to the John Worthy School. (18) Twelve-year-old Dutch boy, in court once; sent to Glenwood. (19) Fourteen-year-old Irish boy, in court once; placed on proba- tion. (20) Twelve-year-old Irish boy, in court three times; sent to John Worthy School the first two times, then placed on probation. (21) Eleven-year-old Irish boy, in court three times; sent to John Worthy School, then fined, and later sent to the John Worthy School. (22) Twelve-year-old Polish boy, in court four times; was fined, then sent to the John Worthy School the last three times. (23) Eleven-year-old American boy in court once; placed on pro- bation. (24) Fourteen-year-old Polish boy, in court once; sent to John Worthy School. (25) Fourteen-year-old American boy, in court three times; was fined, then sent to Glenwood, and later sent to St. Charles. (26) Ten-year-old Bohemian boy, in court three times; placed on probation each time. (27) Ten-year-old Polish boy, in court four times; placed on pro- bation each time. (28) Sixteen-year-old Irish boy, in court twice; sent to the John Worthy School both times. (29) Fifteen-year-old Irish boy, in court twice; placed on proba- tion each time. (30) Fourteen-year-old Swedish boy, in court twice; sent to the John Worthy School; then placed on probation. (31) Fourteen-year-old German boy, in court four times; sent to John Worthy School each time. (32) Fourteen-year-old German boy, in court four times; sent to 148 THE IGNORANT CHILD John Worthy School, then fined, later placed on probation, and then sent to Dunning. (33) Fifteen-year-old Irish boy, in court twice; placed on proba- tion; then sent to the Bridewell. (34) Fourteen-year-old Italian boy, in court three times; sent to the John Worthy School the first two times, then sent to the penitentiary. (35) Fourteen-year-old Irish boy, in court three times; placed on probation, then sent to the John Worthy School, later sent to St. Charles. (36) Fourteen-year-old boy, nationality unknown, in court once; placed on probation. (37) Twelve-year-old Irish boy, in court four times; placed on pro- bation, then sent to the John Worthy School, again placed on probation, and later sent to the John Worthy School. (38) Fourteen-year-old Irish boy, in court five times; placed on probation, sent to John Worthy School, placed on probation, sent to John Worthy School, and then sent to Pontiac. (39) Eleven-year-old German boy, in court four times; placed on probation, sent to John Worthy School, again placed on probation, and then sent to John Worthy School. (40) Fifteen-year-old German boy, in court once; placed on proba- tion. (41) Twelve-year-old Polish boy, in court three times; sent to Chicago Parental School, then to John Worthy School, and later placed on probation. (42) Eleven-year-old colored boy, in court once; placed on proba- tion. (43) Fifteen-year-old boy, nationality unknown, in court twice; both times was placed on probation. 149 CHAPTER IX THE CHILD WITHOUT PLAY: THE PROBLEM OF NEIGHBORHOOD NEGLECT IT became clear, as a result of the analysis of the economic status of the "delinquent family," that the great majority of delinquent children, boys and girls alike, came from homes of poverty. In homes of this class children are given fewer facilities for recreation than are the children of the well-to-do, and they are, therefore, more subject to neighborhood influences. For this reason it seemed important to ascertain from what districts of the city the delinquent children had come, in order to trace any possible con- nection that might exist between neighborhood conditions and the wrongdoing of the boys and girls. The one simple and direct method of determining how far any special neighborhood might be "feeding" the court was to locate quite accurately, by blocks, the homes of all the children brought into court as delinquent during the first ten years of its existence. In attempting to do this a map of the entire city proved so unwieldy that it was thought best to exclude the wide out-lying districts, which are so sparsely populated that few children have come from them. The first, or " delinquency," map shows, therefore, the location of the homes of all the delinquent children who became wards of the court from 1899 to 1909, except the few from the very remote parts of the city. A study of this map makes possible several conclusions with regard to "delinquent neighborhoods." It becomes clear, in the first place, that the region from which the children of the court chiefly come is the densely populated West Side, and that the most conspicuous centers of delinquency in this section have been the congested wards which lie along the river and the canals. It should be explained that the West Side is the most densely populated section of the city a large tenement and 150 THE CHILD WITHOUT PLAY lodging-house district lying between the two branches of the river and between wide and unsightly stretches of railroad tracks, and enclosed by a dense, semicircular belt-line of manufacturing and commercial plants. The condition of these West Side wards will, however, be better understood after a study of the "congestion" map on the following page, which shows the relative density of population in the different wards as indicated by the population statistics from the Thirteenth Census.* These statistics show that for the entire city the average population per acre was 19.7. Six of the West Side wards, however, had more than 70 people per acre,f and, as one would expect, the largest numbers of delinquent children are found in the areas of greatest crowding. The Seventeenth Ward, a crowded Italian and Polish district, has a density of 97.36 per acre; the Nineteenth Ward, the crowded immigrant section in which Hull- * Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910. Bulletin, Population: Illinois, p. 1 1. t The following table will be of interest in this connection. It should be ex- plained that this table together with the congestion map and much of the discussion relating to conditions of the West Side wards appeared in one of a series of articles on housing conditions in Chicago. See The West Side Revisited. American Journal of Sociology, XVII, pp. i ff. [RELATIVE DENSITY IN WARDS HAVING 50 OR MORE PEOPLE PER ACRE Ward Division of City Average Number of People per Acre 97.36 90.66 81.52 80.79 77-'4 70.00 55-40 53-37 53-50 51.48 5'-37 Seventeenth Nineteenth Sixteenth Tenth Twentieth Ninth Twenty-third Fifteenth Second Eleventh Twenty-second West Side West Side West Side West Side West Side West Side North Side West Side South Side South Side North Side It r should be made clear that the area of the wards from which the statistics for average population per acre were computed, was in every case the gross area, including the streets and alleys. If the net area were taken, the true density would be found to be much greater. In 1901 the net area was computed for the 44 blocks in the district east of Hull-House (Ninth and Nineteenth wards) and the 10 blocks in the Sixteenth Ward, and it was found that one block contained 457 people to the acre, another 412, seven others between 300 and 400. A recent recanvass showed that there had been little or no change in the population of this area during the last decade. MAP OF CHICAGO Showing density of Population by Wards Wards having Less than 30 people per acre 30 people per acre and less than 40 40 per acre and less than 50 50 per acre and less than 60 70 people per acre or more 152 THE CHILD WITHOUT PLAY House is situated, has 90.66 per acre; the Sixteenth Ward, a Polish neighborhood, has a population averaging 81.52 per acre; and the Ninth and Tenth Wards, which include the "Ghetto" and the poor district about the lumber yards, have a density of 80.79 and 70 per acre. These are, with a single exception, the West Side wards that contain the largest numbers of delinquent chil- dren. The single exception to this seeming relation between delinquency and congestion on the West Side is the Fourteenth Ward, which contains the Negro quarter of the northwest side. Like the other large Negro districts of the city, this is not a district characterized by overcrowding, but it has all the other features of poor and neglected neighborhoods. In no wards are there found greater dilapidation and poorer sanitary conditions within the homes than in the wards where the houses are rented to Negro tenants. Moreover, it must not be forgotten that in Chicago as in many other cities the Negro quarters are located in sections of the city which have been relinquished by the white population as un- desirable residence sections. While the West Side furnished the largest quota of delin- quents, there are, of course, other centers of delinquency across the river. These are chiefly the Italian quarter of the Twenty-second Ward on the North Side; the First and Second Wards which together include the district of segregated vice and a portion of the so-called "black belt" of the South Side; and such distinct in- dustrial communities as the districts near the steel mills of South Chicago and near the stockyards.* Attention has already been called to the fact that offenses against railroad companies bring a considerable number of boys into court each year; and such offenses take on new significance after a study of the first, or "delinquency," map, which shows how many "delinquent homes" are near the railroad tracks. The temptation that the tracks offer to the boy has already been ex- plained. Not only grain for the chickens and coal are to be found in the "empties" and along the tracks, but pieces of iron and wire, which may be sold as "junk" and which mean, therefore, the price of an afternoon at the theater or some other longed-for treat. The tracks also offer to the more daring the chance for a bonfire or for * South Chicago, unfortunately, does not appear on the "delinquency" map. 153 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME "flipping" trains, an almost irresistible temptation in a crowded neighborhood where there is so little provision for sports or rec- reation. It is, of course, especially characteristic of the poor and con- gested wards of the city that they have few parks or playgrounds; and in no other group of homes are the private facilities for recrea- tion so slight as in these crowded tenement quarters. To test the extent to which the delinquent child was also a "child without play," a count was made of the number of boys in the special year 1903-04 who did not live within accessible distance, that is, within half a mile,* of any public place of recreation. The homes of 832 of these boys were locatedf and it was found that only 449 of them, or 54 per cent of the total number, had opportunities for recreation or play. In this year (1903-04) eight wards of the city (the 2nd, 4th, 8th, gth, loth, i ith, 22nd, 24th) had no park area; of these the Eighth is South Chicago, the Second is in the so- called "black belt" and is still without a park, and the others are all river wards. The movement in Chicago towards the establishment of parks which are real recreation centers began with the appoint- ment of a special park commission in 1899, but it was not until the following year that the first appropriations from the general cor- porate funds of the city were made for its work. The children who were brought into the court during the early years of its history were, therefore, only too certainly children who had grown up without any suitable provision for play. When the juvenile court was established in 1899, there were besides the six chief parks, some 15 small parks, squares, and triangles; these were for the most part, however, small green oases, with a few shaded benches, valuable indeed, but furnishing * This distance was somewhat arbitrarily selected and used for all parks and playgrounds that were in existence in 1904. According to the superintendent of playgrounds of the Special Park Commission: "The percentage of attendance ac- cording to distances from each ground shows that 71 per cent of those who use the play centers live within a radius of one-quarter mile and 89.5 per cent live within a radius of a half-mile. It has been proved that few children will walk more than a half-mile to a playground. This means that play centers should be established every square mile in populous districts." Annual Report, Special Park Commis- sion, Chicago, 1907. f This count was made on another map on which the homes of only the 1903-04 boys were located. 154 THE CHILD WITHOUT PLAY no recreation facilities. Indeed, it may be truthfully said that there was at this time neither a public playground nor a public bathing beach in all Chicago. Moreover, such parks as existed were located chiefly in the well-to-do sections of the city, which furnish a compar- atively small quota of children to the court. It has already been said that the largest numbers of these children come from the river wards of the West Side. Of these seven wards, three had no park area at all ; in one there was a [tract less than an acre in extent a scrap of lawn with a few broken benches, known as "loafer's garden";* two others had each a little open space of four or six acres. In fact, only one of the seven wards had a real park.f These seven wards, therefore, with an area of more than 5,000 acres, with a population of nearly 400,000 people, were prac- tically without any playground area, and it is from these seven wards that the delinquent children have chiefly come. Perhaps the meager recreation facilities in the past will be better understood in contrast with the improved conditions of the present. For it is of interest that the community has at last recognized the need of a "place to play" and has made great progress in the last ten years towards meeting this need. There are now, for example, four public bathing beaches and 37 recreation centers, 1 7 of which are equipped with attractive "field houses," in different parts of the city.J * Bickerdyke Square before its reconstruction. t This was the Eighteenth Ward, with 17 acres known as Union Park. The following statement of the area, population, and park area of these wards is taken from the table facing page 132 in the Report of the Special Park Commission (1904) on the Subject of a Metropolitan Park System. Ward Park Area Ward Area Ward Population \6 4.03 800 65,869 17 0.94 720 68,639 18 ...17-37 640 33,568 19 6.14 640 53.514 9 o 640 55.256 10 o 640 57.158 II O II2O 60.537 28.48 5200 394.54I J In January, 1912, there were eleven recreation centers under the jurisdic- tion of the South Park Board, three under the West Park Board, two under the Lincoln Park Board, two under the Special Park Commission. There are in addi- tion the four bathing beaches which have been mentioned, and the large parks, which offer certain facilities for recreation especially to be enjoyed when a half 155 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME These field houses might perhaps be described as the club houses of the people. They are provided with indoor gymnasiums and shower baths for both boys and girls, indoor playrooms for children, "branch" reading rooms and library stations of the public library, small rooms to be used as regular meeting places for clubs of all sorts, and large assembly halls for public dances and dramatic per- formances, festivals and wedding celebrations, and all sorts of public meetings. Outdoors there are playgrounds with pools for wading or swimming in summer, and for skating in winter. In 1899, when the court was established, none of these places of recrea- tion existed. In 1903-04 only seven had been opened. Two charges of neglect may be made against the community in the past. First, it failed to provide the children in its midst with opportunities for clean, well planned, and wholesome play; second, it failed to supervise the play with which they provided themselves, so that there should be reasonable safety from peril to life, limb, and morals. Play is now recognized as an essential element in the preparation for a vigorous physical and social maturity, and the demand for a rational amount of recreation should, perhaps, like the thirst for beauty, be satisfied through facilities provided by community effort instead of by individual earnings. It was pointed out in a former chapter that the very terms of the charge on which the child is brought into court often indicate social effort, misdirected unfortunately, but still social. The " gang, " which is frequently responsible for the offenses of its members, presents a social phenomenon of hopeful significance and promise when once understood and utilized. In the past, however, its members have had no other education in the fine duty of fol- lowing a leader than seeking adventure on the tracks, in the streets at night, in the unguarded shop or house, and then finding them- selves not heroes but delinquent boys in court and finally perhaps pitiful inmates of the John Worthy School. The offenses committed by the girls suggest less clearly than or whole holiday is available. Besides the field houses now in operation, sites have been selected for five new ones on the West Side. These centers represent an ex- penditure already made of at least $i 3,000,000, with an annual expenditure for maintenance of approximately $1,000,000. These have been enjoyed during the past years by persons in about the ratio of 60 men or boys to 40 women or girls. I 5 6 THE CHILD WITHOUT PLAY those of the boys the social interest or group activity, and yet the social claim is as imperative with the girl as with the boy and, if denied, avenges itself by sanctions more fearful. The girl, too, must seek and find her adventure; she must give notice that she is here.* There must be the time of veiled exhibit and subtle invitation; there must be opportunity for acquiring skill in management by managing the smaller or the larger social circle; the new 'desires and secret longings with reference to which she is given no dig- nified instruction find unlimited gratification in the paths opened before her by the commercialized recreation and the vice of the city. Nowhere, in workshop, theater, or city street, by day or night, has there been supplied to her the sense of friendly super- vision, which while guarding and restraining yet leaves her free, because at the same time it guards and restrains those who might injure her. The essentials of satisfying play suggest themselves at once; muscular effort, giving exercise to the growing body; associated effort, giving facility in social relationship; effort directed towards a purpose demanding preparation and planning, giving scope to the developing human need of consciously seeking an end; the presence of a certain degree of real or apparent risk, giving oppor- tunity to the growing demand for a chance to show his prowess in the case of the boy, or a chance for service in the case of the girl. For all these claims the public playground or recreation center is now attempting to make careful provision; but the street, the narrow alley, the railroad tracks for too long offered a sorry substitute, and the commercial interests were not slow to seize the opportunity neglected by the city. We have had the perilous adventure found in the gang's undertaking to "beat the cop" who if he were present would surely "pinch" the crowd; the excitement provided by the "nickel theater ";f the stimulant supplied by the cigarette and alcohol. * Addams, Jane: The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets, Chapter III. New York, The Macmillan Co., 1909. t Until recently the films shown in these theaters were not censored, and the pictures were frequently demoralizing and helped to make crime attractive to the children who attended. The Juvenile Protective Association ultimately succeeded in securing the establishment of a censorship which has been effective in suppressing the more offensive films. In 1911, the Association estimated as the result of a careful investigation (see pamphlet on Five and Ten Cent Theaters; two investi- 157 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME For the girl, everywhere unsupervised, there is unregulated play in early childhood. Later in life she has the cheap theater; the cheap but brilliantly lighted restaurant; the dance hall, con- nected with the saloon, where she and her escort pay 5 cents for the privilege of dancing a certain time within a charmed circle en- closed in ropes;* then, too frequently, the rooming house of low order with the companion of her choice; and then possibly the final step of promiscuous intercourse either in the house of pros- titution or as the result of solicitation on the street. In discussing the delinquency map, attention was not called to the large number of dots in the Eighteenth Ward not a signifi- cant fact in discussing "delinquent homes" for this is not chiefly a region of homes, but one of low resorts and rooming houses. The children brought in from this ward are largely girls, and for the most part girls who have already had the experience of a life of commer- cialized vice. While comparatively few delinquent girls actually come from the segregated "west side levee," the number who are found in that debatable territory which hangs like a fringe on the so-called "levee" district and which is honeycombed with vice is so large as to be truly appalling. That such conditions can exist gations by the Juvenile Protective Association of Chicago, 1909 and 1911) that nearly 32,000 children attended the five- and ten-cent theaters daily. There are about 300 such theaters in Chicago, many of them in undesirable localities. "The theater itself is often situated next door to a saloon or a transient rooming house. In fact, it is so often in the same building with the latter that the phrase 'A Five Cent Theater Hotel' has become current." The Association rightly demands that the theaters "should be encouraged and supported, but freed from all objectionable features and made an agency for wholesome recreation, culture, and education, rather than for vice, disorder, and delinquency." * In a recent report issued by the Juvenile Protective Association as a result of an investigation of the public dance halls of Chicago, it was estimated that as many as 86,000 young people attend the dances in a single evening. It was pointed out that these public dance halls "are largely controlled by the saloon and vice interests. The recreation of thousands of young people has been commercialized, and as a result hundreds of young girls are annually started on the road to ruin, for the saloonkeepers and dance hall owners have only one end in view, and that is profit. . . . One condition is general. Most of the dance halls exist for the /salepf liquor, not for the purpose of dancing, which is of only secondary importance. TDnThllnar'W and ninety halls had a saloon opening into them, and liquor was sold in 240 out of the 328 halls, and in the others except in rare instances return checks were given to facilitate the use of the neighboring saloons." At present in Chicago, it is said that the dance halls are "places where decent young people are too often decoyed into evil and where mere search for pleasure so easily leads into disgrace, disease and crime." See Our Most Popular Recreation Controlled by the Liquor Interests; a study of public dance halls, by the Juvenile Protective Association of Chicago. I 5 8 THE CHILD WITHOUT PLAY as fourteen-year-old children resorting either to rooming houses or to houses of prostitution, is an indictment of the community as frightful as the fact of their betrayal by the fathers and brothers is of unregulated family life.* It has been pointed out that these children are poor, that many, especially of the girls, belong to the lowest economic group, and in perhaps the largest numbers to the degraded class. Both boys and girls, and especially girls, are the victims of neighborhood conditions. They have likewise been shown to be ignorant chil- dren. Their play would be lacking in all the ingenuity that might come as the result of hearing well-selected stories, or of constructive effort in the line of applying theories given in school. They are at the mercy of the environment to whose suggestion they are aban- doned, and of their own impulses which are never so wayward, so irrational, so perilous, if not guided, as at this time of bewilder- ment and questioning. "To fail to provide for the recreation of youth is not only to deprive all of them of their natural form of expression, but is certain to subject some of them to the overwhelming temptation of illicit and soul-destroying pleasures. To insist that young people shall forecast their rose-colored future only in a house of dreams is to deprive the real world of that warmth and reassurance which it so sorely needs and to which it is justly entitled."! * To the perils of unregulated and unsupervised recreation on the part of the girls, whether the recreation be in city, small town, or country, the interviews with 263 girls at the State Training School give convincing testimony. See intro- ductory statement in Appendix V, p. 314. Many of these girls had their initiation into irregular sex experiences while at play when very young; 38 were ten years of age or under and described their first companion as a "playmate." To a large number of girls the first irregular relationship came as an incident to such forms of recreation as going to the theater, to picnics, to skating rinks, walking in the park, or "buggy riding"; in a few cases the girl was going to or from church. The stories told by these girls of the way in which they entered into careers of wrongdoing make it clear that the city street, the park, and the country road are equally in need of supervision if the young and ignorant are to be allowed to pass their time on them. A study of these schedules also threw light on the fearful substitutes to which the girls had turned in the search for recreation or a little spending money. It appeared, for example, that some girls had yielded to tempta- tion in order to obtain a small sum of money, one, two, or three dollars; while to others candy or theater tickets had been the reward. A further and very illuminating discussion of this whole question is to be found in Addams, Jane: Anew Conscience and an Ancient Evil. New York, The Macmillan Co., 1912. t Addams, Jane: The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets, p. 103. New York, The Macmillan Co., 1909. 159 CHAPTER X THE CHILD FROM THE COMFORTABLE HOME: THE PROBLEM OF THE UNMANAGEABLE BOY IN the preceding chapters we have considered in succession different conditions in the home or in the neighborhood which have seemed to explain in some measure the delinquency of the children who have been brought to court. There still remain, however, some more baffling cases in which none of the untoward conditions that have been discussed seem to be present cases of children who have become delinquent in spite of kind and sympa- thetic parents and good homes. The table of economic groups which was given in an earlier chapter* showed that only one-fifth v of the delinquent boys and one-tenth of the delinquent girls came from what may be called "fairly comfortable homes," that is, homes we have placed in Group III; and that not 2 per cent of the children came from the wealthier homes of Group IV. It will be re- called that the most typical family in Group III was that of the "skilled artisan who was earning good wages and was regularly employed." The homes were often pleasant as well as clean and .decent, and were seldom in poor neighborhoods. The figures which have been given do not mean that the children of the poor are more seriously delinquent than the children of the well-to-do, but rather that the offenses of the latter do not easily bring them within reach of the court. Bad children in good homes are for the most part disciplined at home or " sent away to school," while bad children in poor homes get into the juvenile court and are frequently sent to the John Worthy School or to some similar in- stitution. The problem of the delinquent child from the comfortable home is, then, so far as the court is concerned, a comparatively small one and almost exclusively a problem of the boy. Some of * See Chapter IV, p. 72. 1 1 60 THE CHILD FROM THE COMFORTABLE HOME the families in this group, however, although they may be in good circumstances when the child is brought to court, were at one time very poor, and the child's delinquency may, of course, be related to an earlier condition of poverty. In some of the cases, for example, a widowed mother has remarried, and the stepfather is well-to-do and good to the children, but they may have been much neglected owing to the mother's effort to support the family during her widowhood. Moreover, in some of the homes in which the pe- cuniary circumstances are satisfactory, there are cases of degrada- tion, incompetence, or orphanage, which place that particular family in one of the groups already discussed. When all deduc- tions are made, however, there still remain a few children, almost entirely boys, who come from good homes and have good parents, and whose delinquency does not seem to be in any way attribut- able to neglect. This brings us to the indisputable fact that the bad boy is not necessarily the product of poverty or misfortune. Even in the most respectable families, there are boys who find the amusements provided by civilized life very dull and who must occasionally fare ..forth to feed the gnawing spirit of adventure. It is of course too much to hope that on these occasions they will always be able to escape the delinquent paths which lead to the juvenile court and beyond. There are also those more difficult cases both of boys and of girls who may be said to have marked tendencies to vicious ways, some of whom must inevitably be brought to the court for extra parental discipline. The offenses charged against these children from good homes are chiefly those which suggest the unmanageable boy that every mother knows. The "flipper" is much in evidence, and there are many such "larking" offenses as breaking a Chinaman's window; "being with some other boys who broke street lamps and let out oil"; stealing watermelons from a freight car; entering a church and destroying the key of the organ; selling transfers; shooting craps; knocking down signs in front of Chinese laundries; taking locks from a basement door; "always fighting, and neighbors wished it stopped"; stealing apples from a freight car; building a fire on the railroad tracks; breaking a slot machine; taking waste from an axle box; calling neighbor a scab (gang of four boys); throwing 161 * THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME snowballs at another lad (mother says "all boys get into a fight sometimes") ; "fighting with other boys and father could not make him go to school." There are many cases of what may be called adventurous stealing, such as stealing a bathing suit; stealing a tent; stealing chickens; stealing linseed oil barrels with a gang of boys; robbing a man and carrying a loaded revolver; "carrying a wrench intending to hold up people"; breaking into a store, church, or house with other boys; stealing canned goods; breaking seals on railroad cars and stealing things of various sorts, brass, copper, wire, a brass handle from a passenger coach, and occasion- ally, but more rarely, grain, and even coal. A further word with regard to the stealing among boys in this group should perhaps be added. Examples have been given of the kinds of thefts committed, and it is clear, after a careful study of offenses committed by boys in Group III, that much of the stealing is either taking "junk" or grain from the railroad or some- thing similar which can be sold for spending money, or stealing as an incident to some adventurous exploit such as breaking into a house, or robbing a man. There are a few cases, however, that must be regarded as serious. There is the case, for example, of a boy who was the terror of the neighborhood. At one time he had six or seven stolen bicycles in the basement of the apartment house in which he lived, and he regularly stole dogs to get rewards. At the age of fourteen the boy was brought into court as incor- rigible. His morals were bad; he would not attend school, stole from stores, and could not be controlled. He was finally sent to a school in the East, where he was put at mechanical work. He has turned out to be a very good machinist, is living in a suburb, work- ing in a machine shop, and studying hard. In this case the boy was one of seven children, the family lived in a comfortable apartment, and the father was well-to-do. There were two untoward circumstances in the family: the boy's own mother was dead and his father is reported to have been a professional gambler and bookmaker. Neither of these circumstances, however, seems to explain his bad conduct, for his stepmother was very kind and his father seems to have been good in the home. There is another case of a similarly bad boy with a home only slightly less favorable, who also turned out well. He was accused 162 THE CHILD FROM THE COMFORTABLE HOME of stealing rugs and carpets from a hotel and was sent to the John Worthy School for six months. At the age of fourteen he was brought in again, charged with breaking into a barn and stealing a revolver; this time he was put on probation; but the next year he was sent to the John Worthy School accused of loitering around the railroad tracks, throwing stones at passenger trains, breaking windows and signal lamps. It should be added that this boy's school statement is an especially intelligent one and that he is now working in a garage and pays his board at home. A similarly interesting case, though one in which the outcome is still uncertain, is that of an American boy whose father was once a western farmer but is now a post-office clerk in Chicago. The boy had two older brothers, who were both wards of the court and who belonged to a "gang that made stealing and robbery their pastime, " and unquestionably their influence had much to do with his delinquency. At the age of thirteen, this boy was in court on the charge of "disorderly conduct" because he had become asso- ciated with a "gang" that had led "an assault" on the boys of another school; at fourteen he was brought in again for assaulting a boy at school and trying to take away his watch; at sixteen he with three other boys was charged with breaking into several stores and stealing $50 worth of goods. Within a year, he came in for a fourth time, charged with stealing candy and cigars worth $40; and finally, a fifth time, at the age of seventeen, he was brought in again, charged with setting fire to a garbage can and burning a back porch. This record in a good many ways is a typical one, beginning with the trouble at school and going on through so-called "burglaries" with a gang until the final act of wrongdoing which threatened most serious consequences; for the house might only too easily have gone with the back porch. The interesting part of this record, however, is the story of the boy's progress under probation. Each time when he was brought into court he was put on probation, for he had a good home and good parents who were eager to do all that they could to co-operate with the court in the discipline of the boy. He was, at different times, under the care of two regular probation officers who finally solicited the aid of a "friendly visitor" with very good results indeed. In one of her recent reports she says the boy "has been working for 163 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME three months at the , and a month ago was given charge of the vault there. He has been attending night school and that he may pass he has been meeting me down town at the noon hour, twice a week, that I might help him with his grammar. He is inclined toward adventure and twice this winter he has been camping on the dunes in a small tent. He has given up his old companions and the new ones are of a distinctly better type. One of the best things about him is that he has a real interest in the city and would make an earnest fight for good politics if such an oppor- tunity were clearly presented to him." Her final comment, how- ever, is of interest, " I don't vouch for this boy's future unless he is given some cause which is worthy to arouse his loyalty and en- thusiasm." It may be of further interest to quote from the pro- bation schedule that " the friendly visitor has been deeply interested in this boy and has taken him to the theater, to lectures, to parks, and other places of amusement. The boy goes to her every week, though she does not require it." In some other cases where the boy was considered very bad or had committed at least one serious offense, certain conditions in the home that have been described in the earlier chapters, were so unfavorable as to seem to explain his delinquency. Such is the case of a boy who had already been in police court for stealing a valuable gold watch and was sent to the John Worthy School for seven months. There is no reason to think that he has since turned out badly, although his present whereabouts are un- known. The boy came from a thoroughly demoralized home although the family lived in a very good house, which they owned, in a respectable neighborhood. The mother had died of tubercu- losis. The father, who inherited property and was well-to-do, was a drunkard; and for several years after the mother's death the children had no one to care for them and were "worse off than beggar children." Out of 1 1 children, nine died of tuberculosis, and the only other one living, besides the boy who came to court, was insane. Another boy who came from a comfortable but demor- alized home belonged to an American family in which the father, a stea4y,jmdw^rking j ,j'espectable man, was a fireman, "earning good money." The mother, however, was a drinking, quarrel- some woman who "had a bad name in the neighborHood" ; the 164 THE CHILD FROM THE COMFORTABLE HOME home, although well furnished, was dirty and disorderly. The children are all said to be "wild"; the father himself put one daughter in the House of the Good Shepherd, one boy has joined the army, and still another is a ward of the court. In another case a little Polish boy from a Group III home seemed to be very bad. He was first brought to court at the age of twelve for breaking into a candy store and a flat and was sent to the John Worthy School; he came into court again at the age of thirteen for breaking into and "burglarizing" three different places and was sent to another institution for delinquent boys. In the following year, however, he again broke into a store, was brought to court and this time put on probation. Although the boy lived in a comfortable home (seven rooms with "steam heat and bath") at the time when he was brought to court, the family of 1 1 had formerly lived in four rooms. The parents spoke very little English in spite of the fact that they had been in this country twenty years. This boy was "not very bright," his eyesight was poor, he was "very nervous" and had been threatened with St. Vitus' dance. An older brother, who was brighter than this boy, had had a very bad influence over him and had been sent to the Bride- well for leading him astray. In this case probation did a great deal for the boy. The officer sent a friendly visitor to the home who visited the boy often. She has helped him in school and tried to provide better opportunities of recreation for him. She has done much to make the family understand and sympathize with him. The parents like her and she has been an important factor in improving conditions in the home. A classification of all the offenses committed by the boys in this "comfortable group," which is presented in Table 29, on the following page, makes possible an interesting comparison with the earlier table of charges for all the boys brought into court.* It is interesting to note that a larger proportion of these boys came in for disorderly conduct, and a smaller proportion for in- corrigibility. That is, by comparing this table with Table 5, it appears that while 5 1 per cent of all the boys came in for stealing and 47 per cent of these boys have committed this offense, 22 per cent of all the boys were charged with "incorrigibility," but only 12 * See Table 5, p. 28. 12 165 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME per cent of these boys are so charged ; 1 6 per cent of all the boys were charged with "disorderly conduct," which is the offense of 28 per cent of these boys. The difference in the condition of the homes might lead us to expect this. The boy from these "better-off" families who gets into court has been off with his gang stealing or committing some disorderly act which relieves the monotony of life, and which he probably would not have committed alone. On the other hand, the proportion of cases is fewer in which the parents cannot control the boy, and the percentage of incorrigibles is lower than it is for the group as a whole. The incorrigible boy is most frequently an evidence of lack of discipline at home, and these parents are able to give more time and thought and perhaps greater intelligence to the management of their children than can be given in the poorer families. TABLE 29. OFFENSES OF DELINQUENT BOYS FROM COMFORTABLE HOMES (i. ., IN GROUPS III OR IV *) BROUGHT TO COURT DURING 1903-04 Offense Number Per Cent Stealing 63 47.0 Incorrigibility. . . . '. 16 11.9 Disorderly conduct . 38 28.4 Malicious mischief. . 5 3.7 Vagrancy 3 2.2 Immorality i .8 Dependent charges. . Truancy 8 6.0 Total 134 100.0 a See Chapter IV, p. 72. It is also an evidence of greater protection at home that the boys of this "comfortable group" are older when they are brought into court than the boys in the other groups. Of these boys, only 43 per cent came into court when they were thirteen or under, while the table giving the ages for all boys showed that 48 per cent were thirteen or under; and while only 27 per cent of the well-to-do boys were twelve or under, 33 per cent of all the boys were in this age group. 166 Age Number i 10 6 ii 10 12 16 ia . . 20 14. . 37 IE.. 34. Total . , . 124 THE CHILD FROM THE COMFORTABLE HOME TABLE 30. AGES OF DELINQUENT BOYS FROM COMFORTABLE HOMES (z. e., FROM GROUPS III OR IV) Per cent .8 4.8 8.1 12.9 16.1 29.9 27.4 1 00.0 In these better-grade homes which, it must be remembered, are for the most part not yet in the social stratum in which the proffered help of the court would be resented, an intelligent under- standing of the work of the probation officer is usually found, and a willingness to co-operate on the part of the parents. In many of these cases such records as the following occur: "The mother feels that the officer did the boy a great deal of good," "the officer had the co-operation of the mother in everything," "the mother says the officer was always friendly and helpful," "the mother thinks it was good for the boy to be under the care of an officer," " the mother thinks the officer's services were helpful," "the officer received the co-operation of the parents in everything she did for the boy," " the parents were always in sympathy with the court's work and helped the probation officer all they could," "the mother speaks well of the officer's services." In one case, which is in a measure typical, the probation schedule states that "although the mother could speak no English she always received the officer kindly and was ready to carry out any suggestion he made," and the family sched- ule showed that the mother, in turn, spoke with sincere apprecia- tion of the officer's services. "The boy," she said, "was always glad to see the officer, who was very friendly." Lack of intelligence on the part of the parents in these homes is likely to show itself in too great leniency rather than in the semi- brutal treatment sometimes found in Tower-grade homes, which often results in the boy's appearance in court on an incorrigible charge. Thus, in the case of one boy, an only child, who was delicate when young, the probation officer thought that the mother "spoiled the boy and always tried to shield him from punishment"; the 167 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME officer could control the boy "only by threats, as he thought that people who talked kindly were dead easy." There are a good many other cases in which equally indulgent parents are indicated. Thus, in one case the "mother thinks the boy is perfect"; in another, the officer believes "the parents are too lenient with the children." In still another case the parents insisted that the presence of the boy in court was only the "officer's spite work"; the boy, they said, "had never given any trouble except getting married six months ago at the age of eighteen." In a similar case, the mother is sure the boy has always been a good boy and that it is "a mistake that he was arrested." It is impossible in the cases of the "comfortable group" as it was for the whole group of delinquent boys, to ascertain how far "gang influence" may have been responsible for their delinquency. But with these boys, even more than with those from the lower- class homes, the gang seems to throw a halo of good comradeship and security over the wrongdoing. In many cases the boy is un- doubtedly tempted to steal or to undertake some high sounding feat of daring, such as " holding up a man with revolvers" or " breaking into a house," which he would never have thought of attempting by himself. The boy who would never steal alone, is quite ready to steal with his gang, and the gang leader is not a common law- breaker in the eyes of his followers, but a glittering hero who has helped them to live in days of splendor. An interesting case in point is that of a young American boy who, with his gang, " stole ice cream from a Greek." This boy who " had 1 1 dishes as his share" undoubtedly well deserved the penalty of the four months of institutional life which followed, but the 1 1 dishes would scarcely have been enjoyed without an admiring circle of followers. There are, indeed, many cases in which the offense as described in the court records would be quite unintelligible with- out the important qualifying words " being with a crowd of boys." It should be pointed out here, perhaps, in conclusion, that in the preceding chapters no attempt has been made to charge up against the home or the community all the offenses of the delin- quent children of the court. It is only too obvious that, when all the explaining is done, there remain a considerable number of bad boys 168 THE CHILD FROM THE COMFORTABLE HOME who cannot be explained away.* Sometimes a mother seeks to excuse the wrongdoing by saying she is sure the boy is "not quite right"; but probation officer and teacher, who are more disinter- ested, insist that he is only subject to violent fits of temper and that he will be improved by residence in the John Worthy School or in some other disciplinary institution. The mother is right in knowing in her heart that the boy is not really bad and in feeling sure that he will come out all right, but she is bewildered and frightened at what must seem to her a calamitous result of his bad conduct. There has, of course, never been a time when restless groups of boys did not live in a golden age where watermelons and apples grew only to be " swiped," and where breaking windows and knock- ing down signs figured as glorious achievements. In the immortal adventurous days of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, every member of their pirate band escaped the juvenile court, but they are the correct prototypes of many of the boys with whom we have to deal not only in this group, but in families of every social stratum. It may be well, by way of summary, to recall the description of the ingenious leader of that historic gang: "Not bad, so to say only mischievous. He warn't any more responsible than a colt. He never meant any harm and he was the best hearted boy that ever was." * Many of these cases are of peculiar interest to the psychopathic expert who, by a careful analysis of the family history and by an elaborate testing of the child's sense and nerve peculiarities, can sometimes detect the abnormal conditions which are manifesting themselves in a persistent and apparently inexplicable way- wardness. For the scientific study of just such cases as these the Juvenile Psy- chopathic Institute has recently been established. See footnote, p. 5. 169 CHAPTER XI THE COURT AND THE DELINQUENT FAMILY: SOME ASPECTS OF THE PROBLEM OF TREATMENT IN the foregoing chapters an attempt has been made to de- scribe those conditions surrounding the children of the court that may have a bearing on their delinquency. The statute classes together as terms capable of a single definition "dependent" and "neglected," but we believe that the delinquent child appears in this study as likewise a neglected child neglected by the home, by the school, and by the community. It is also evident from the facts which have been presented that the unit with which the court really deals is not the child but the family. It remains for us now in this final chapter to set forth briefly some of the problems of the family as they are presented to the court. The court is an instrument by means of which the community attempts to direct and supervise the care of the de- linquent child. Obviously the possibilities of successful care of the child by the court depend largely upon conditions in the home and the neighborhood, and so long as the child is left within the home or withdrawn only temporarily from it, the court deals with the child only by dealing in some measure with the entire family group. Looking at these "delinquent" families from the point of view of the court they fall into several classes. There are first, those in which the conditions within the home are favorable and in which the parents understand the child's delinquency and either appeal to the court to support their authority or, when they do not take the initiative themselves by bringing the child into court, are quite willing to co-operate in the measures taken for his welfare. This is a hopeful and fortunately a numerous class so far as de- linquent boys are concerned; and it includes homes from every eco- THE COURT AND THE DELINQUENT FAMILY nomic stratum. In these families over and over again the mother's comment to the investigator was that little Bill or John had not been "really bad" and that "getting into court gave him such a scare that he straightened up at once and the officer did not have to come very long." It is clear that in cases like this where the home is good and the parents merely need to have their own policy with regard to the child given the temporary support of a coercive authority, there is no "family problem" before the court. The family becomes only a most valuable co-operating agency. In a different class, however, are those homes in which the parents wish to co-operate, but in which the conditions in the home or the neighborhood make co-operation impossible. The figure of the widowed or deserted mother who goes out to work looms large in this group. Although she is intelligent enough to know what a good home is and does her best to maintain one, the condition of her misfortune renders her most strenuous efforts futile. In the families in this group, the spiritual power is greater than the pe- cuniary resources. They are poor because the breadwinner may have been disabled or because there may have been illness or accident or other misfortune. In these homes the ideals are good, but misfortune leading often to economic pressure seems to neces- sitate the sacrifice of the children. This class presents a difficult problem to the court and one that can never be adequately dealt with except by such effective co-operation between the court and the organized public and private charity of the city as will keep the competent working mother at home, lighten the economic pressure that is exploiting the child, improve the neighborhood conditions that are promoting delinquency, or move the family to safer quarters. Until this co-operation is perfected the court must remain handicapped. There are many cases in which the court, recognizing the good intentions of the family, puts the child on probation without having the resources to alter the conditions which are really re- sponsible for the child's presence before the judge. Sooner or later, however, because of these conditions, the child is returned to the court and committed to an institution, while the family cir- cumstances remain unchanged. After a brief time he is returned to the delinquency-promoting conditions from which he originally 171 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME came, is later returned again to the court, returned to an in- stitution, returned again to his family, and then the vicious circle begins all over, not only for the boy but for his younger brothers and sisters. The court returns the child to the home, because the essential Tightness of the intentions of the family is recognized and because the only alternative to the home is an overcrowded institution, which may soon turn the child out to make room for the "next case." It is not a choice between the poor home and the ideal institution, but between the home that seems bad and the institution that is surely worse. In a third class of families, which presents a still more dif- ficult problem to the court, there is no question of economic pres- sure or unlooked-for misfortune. In these families the child is being sacrificed or exploited because his needs either are not prop- erly understood or are wilfully disregarded. Unlike the families in the first class, these neither seek nor welcome but rather resent the relationship of the court to the child; unlike the second class, the spiritual rather than the material conditions are unfavorable. The father while not " brutal" is often extremely severe, the mother too little concerned with the care or training of the children. Here the sense of parental right is strong and the court is regarded as a trespasser and interloper. In dealing with families of this type, the coercive power of the court is exercised over the parents rather than over the child. While no poverty exists, there are often crowded conditions of living because lodgers are taken either to share the rent or to add to the fund for purchasing the house. In short, homes of this type are uncomfortable for the child and often unsafe. Here the chief function of the probation officer is to expound to the parents the standard to be maintained for the child and if possible to enforce that standard. A fourth class, though not a large one, is interesting and should be noticed. It includes families again not poor nor out- wardly degraded, whose homes seem comfortable, so that it is not easy for the court to contemplate removing the child. There often are marital difficulties, occasionally divorce; or a diseased spot in the family life may be discovered; but sometimes the character of the delinquency and the fact that none of the children or none of the girls in one case escape the taint, is the chief 172 THE COURT AND THE DELINQUENT FAMILY evidence of a degeneracy evidently far gone in the family life, which is like a fruit of fair exterior but rotten at the core. For children from homes such as these little can be done except to place them in institutions and postpone the day of their complete undoing. In the treatment of such cases, until further light is thrown on the subject by the researches in biological and psycho- logical laboratories, the court must act feebly and on the whole blindly. Finally there remains the class in which are found only the dregs of family life, and here action must be sure as it should be swift. For here are found drunkenness, immorality, crime, filthy and degraded homes homes below any acceptable standards of cleanliness, of decency, and of competence. In these homes the court finds only opposition in the intentions of the family and insurmountable difficulties in the way of maintaining right con- ditions of living. Here the right of family life has been forfeited and that privilege should be denied by the court. As a major operation is undertaken by a surgeon, amputation should be resorted to in these cases and the child promptly and perma- nently removed from the contaminating influences. Thus it may be said that so far as the family problem before the court is concerned, the homes fall, broadly speaking, into two large divisions, the one containing those homes in which the care of the court can be exercised in co-operation with the family, the other those in which it can be exercised only in opposition to the wishes of the family, and in which the family is antagonistic to the standards that the community has set for its children. From this it is evident that there must be developed a much finer discrimination in judging of the rights of parents. To the competent parent all aid should be given; of the competent parent the efficient performance of parental duties should be demanded. Over the inefficient,* careful supervision should be exercised. To the well-intentioned, aid should be rendered by the use of such agencies as the school nurse, the visiting housekeeper, the truant * In the future, cases of positive parental wrong or gross incompetence can be dealt with under the wise statute which supplements the jurisdiction granted to the juvenile court by the added power of the municipal and circuit court over those who contribute to the child's wrongdoing. (111. Rev. Stat., chap. 38, sec. 42hb.) 173 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME officer, and the sanitary inspector; to the degraded parent no con- cessions should be made.* When there are evidences of drunkenness or vicious and im- moral living, complete separation is probably the only safeguard. To accomplish this, the machinery of the court for dealing with dependent children should be rendered strong enough and skilful enough to discover conditions unfavorable to child life at a very early period, and the staff of probation officers should be efficient, well equipped, and thoroughly grounded in the principles of relief and of sound family life. After such an analysis, attention need not be called again to the difficulty and delicacy of the task set before the court, nor need reference be made to the dignity, insight, intelligence, patience, and thoroughness that should characterize its agents. When one compares the equipment of the court with its undertaking, it is not surprising if the court has in some respects failed of perfect service. But however much, because of inadequate equipment, it may have fallen short in other respects, it has not failed as a means of exhibiting the wrongs of childhood, nor need its services in this capacity be limited to Chicago alone; for after all, if the needs of neglected children in Chicago are made clear the needs of neglected children everywhere can be better understood. In studying the treatment of delinquent children in Illinois, it becomes apparent that the juvenile court should be strengthened in its relation to other courts that it may take cognizance directly or through the probation officers of charges brought against chil- dren everywhere and of other controversies, of whatsoever kind, affecting their interests and well-being.f When that is accom- plished we shall have in fact, as we have long had in name, a parens patriae, an agent through whom the parenthood of the community can be brought to bear upon the orphaned condition of any needy boy or girl. * For an admirable discussion of this difficult question see Judge Pinckney's testimony, Appendix II, pp. 237-238 and 245. t A large number of cases involving children, for example, are heard in the municipal and circuit courts under various statutes, the most important of which is the "contributing to dependency of children" statute which makes it a misde- meanor for anyone to help in any way to render a child dependent, neglected, or delinquent. (111. Rev. Stat., chap. 38, sec. 42hb.) 174 THE COURT AND THE DELINQUENT FAMILY The suggestion may not be out of place here that any real substitute for the care of the natural parents will contain the ele- ments of both the paternal and maternal character, and will involve, when the machinery of the court is fully developed, the representation of the maternal and the paternal in the final decision as well as in the supervision of the child under pro- bation. It is obvious to any thoughtful student of the problem under consideration, that eventually men and women acting to- gether will have to arrive at a final decision as to what is to be done with each child, and will have to be jointly entrusted with the control of the children from day to day. One can but remember that the community has been very slow in giving the mother "equal powers, rights, and duties" with the father in respect to their children* and in observing that, though the large majority of probation officers are women, the final disposition of the case lies wholly in the hands of a man. Nor can one fail to realize that, even when the judge is a genius at understanding the child, or devotedly kind and genuinely sympathetic, there is often the need not merely of advice from a woman, but of deciding power exer- cised by a woman. f In the chapters of this book, attention has been called to the need of strengthening the child labor law and some other laws for the protection of children. More important however than new legis- lation is the enforcement of such laws as have already been passed. Orders recently issued by a Chief of Police to the members of his forcej in which he exhorts them to watch for violations of those * Illinois Revised Statutes, chap. 64, sec. 4. f In connection with this apparently radical statement it is of interest that among the recent recommendations by Judge Pinckney is that of a "woman judge to pass upon and hear in private the life histories of unfortunate young girls." Chicago Record-Herald, April 25, 1912. % It seems worth while to reproduce here orders issued by the Chief of Police of Chicago at the request and suggestion of the Superintendent of the Juvenile Protective League, May 13, 1909. WATCH FOR VIOLATIONS OF LAWS GOVERNING THE PROTECTION OF MINORS Office of the General Superintendent of Police Chicago, May 13, 1909. To all Members of the Department: Your attention is called to the following communication from the Juvenile Protective League: (i) Officers will watch pool rooms with reference to violations of Section 168 of the Revised Municipal Code of Chicago, which provides that billiard and pool- 175 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME sections of the municipal code which relate to the protection of mi- nors, and to regard themselves as guardians not of the law, but ' 'of the children who go upon the streets, into stores or public places unattended," indicate an extraordinary realization of the necessity of a new kind of protection which will make all public places safe and decent. A strong plea is presented for the adaptation of the school curriculum to the actual demands of industrial and commercial room keepers shall not allow minors under 18 years of age to play on their tables or be or remain upon their premises. Upon the first offense, you will warn the proprietors against further violations. You will arrest any proprietor guilty of a subsequent offense, or make complaint to the prosecuting attorney, order the boys off the premises and secure evidence for prosecution. (2) Officers will watch for violations of Section 1352 of the Revised Municipal Code of Chicago, which provides that intoxicating liquors shall not be sold, given away or delivered to minors. Upon seeing a child leaving a saloon with intoxi- cating liquor of any kind, you will take the name and address of the child, ascertain whether or not the liquor was got in the saloon and if it was, warn the proprietor or bartender against further violations. For a subsequent offense you will arrest the guilty person or make complaint to the prosecuting attorney and secure evidence for prosecution. (3) Officers will watch tobacco stores with reference to violations of Section 1439 of the Revised Municipal Code of Chicago, which prohibits the selling or furnishing of tobacco to minors under 16 years of age, except on the written order of the parents. You will take the names and addresses of such children to whom tobacco is furnished and upon the first offense warn against further violations. Upon any subsequent offense you will arrest the guilty persons or make complaint to the prosecuting attorney. You will prevent persons under 14 years of age smok- ing cigarettes on the streets and in public places in violation of Section 272 of the Criminal Code. (4) The officers will confiscate all slot machines whether to be played with pennies or coins of larger denominations, that are operated to be played upon by children, if such machines are devices of chance in violation of Section 912 of the Revised Municipal Code of Chicago. For any subsequent offense you will make arrests or make complaint to the prosecuting attorney. (5) Officers will prevent, as far as possible, boys and girls under 20 years of age entering hotels, flats, rooming houses or other places known to be used in part or exclusively for assignation purposes. (6) Officers will bear in mind that they are the guardians of children who go upon the streets, into stores or public places unattended. You will watch boys and girls while they are upon the streets or in the stores, and especially when they appear to be in suspicious or dangerous situations, and you will take care to afford them protection against abuse, cruelty or danger. (7) You will report at once any and all homes found by you or brought to your attention wherein there are conditions tending to contribute to the delinquency or dependency of the children, whether such conditions be the drunkenness, abuse, cruelty or neglect of the parents, sickness, lack of food or heat, or the insanitary con- dition of the house. Officers will carefully read and follow the above instructions. (Signed) GEORGE M. SHIPPY General Superintendent of Police The Daily Bulletin, Department of Police, City of Chicago May 14, 1909 176 THE COURT AND THE DELINQUENT FAMILY life, the multiplication of uses of the school buildings, the prolonga- tion of the school year by means of vacation schools, the establish- ment of continuation schools, the further development of indus- trial and trade training, and the perfection of the machinery for apprehending all truant children and securing their regular pres- ence at school, as well as the working out of some plan by which the connection between their school life and their working life may be economically and intelligently made. And finally it may be said that the most important lesson to be learned from any study of the juvenile court in its relation to the delinquent child is that the only way of curing delinquency is to prevent it. The juvenile court cannot work miracles unaided. It cries out to the community for the co-operation of all its citi- zens in removing the conditions which are feeding into the court thousands of delinquent children every year. As the community! comes to understand the obligation which rests upon it to abolishl the causes of delinquency, one may hope that new methods of con- servation will be devised to take the place of the old waste of child life. By such means may be builded a stronghold of good citizenship and noble, competent living. And when that strong- hold shall have been erected, into it will be found builded the lives of the neglected children, the little strangers, the orphans, the de- graded, poor, and ignorant ones, who have passed in and out before the judge of the delinquent children in Chicago; and through whose wrongs, laid bare by the machinery of the juvenile court, greater wisdom and greater gentleness have been acquired. 177 APPENDICES APPENDIX I LEGAL PROBLEMS INVOLVED IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE JUVENILE COURT* BY JULIAN W. MACK Formerly Judge of the Juvenile Court of Cook County, Illinois THE legal problems growing out of the establishment of the juvenile court have given rise to discussion and to some differences of opinion from the standpoint of constitutional law. It is desirable first to inquire into the distinctively novel features characteristic of the court and to determine whether their novelty is real or perhaps more apparent than real. It is a common conception that the state is the higher or the ultimate parent of all of the dependents within its borders. It is well known, too, that whatever may have been the historical origin of the practice, for over two centuries, as evidenced by judgments both. of the House of Lords and of the Chancellors, the courts of chancery in England have exercised jurisdiction for the protection of the un- fortunate child. It was believed for a time that this jurisdiction could be ac- quired only in case the infant had property. This doctrine has been rejected by the English court and was declared in 1892 to be wholly unsupported by either principle or authority.! * Acknowledgments are due for aid in the preparation of this paper to Mr. Bernard Flexner of the Kentucky bar, for the compilation of many authorities, and to Professor Ernst Freund of the University of Chicago Law School, for the summary of the law relating to parental obligation under the Common Law. t North J., in re McGrath, L. R. 1892, 2 Ch. 496. In re Spence, 2 Phillips 247, Lord Chancellor Cottenham said: "I have no doubt about the jurisdiction. The cases in which the court interferes on behalf of the infants are not confined to those in which there is property. This court interferes for the protection of infants, qua infants, by virtue of the prerogative which belongs to the Crown as parens pa- trice, and the exercise of which is delegated to the great seal." Again in Brown v. Collins, Mr. Justice Kay said: "Undoubtedly we use the words 'wards of court' in such a case in rather a special sense. In one sense all British subjects who are in- fants are wards of court because they are subject to that sort of parental jurisdic- '3 l8l THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME And the wellnigh unanimous doctrine of the American courts has been that parents' rights are always " subject to control by the court of chancery when the best interests of the child de- mand it."* Support was found for the contention that a property interest is essential to jurisdiction in the fact that, until comparatively recent times, the aid of the court in England was seldom sought, except when the child had an independent fortune; but, as was said by Lord Eldon, whose decree in the Wellesley casef was affirmed by the House of Lords :| " It is not from any want of jurisdiction that it does not act, but from a want of means to exercise its jurisdiction because the court cannot take upon itself the maintenance of all the children in the Kingdom. It can exercise this jurisdiction fully and prac- tically only where it has the means of applying property for the maintenance of the infant." In the supplying of this lack through public grants of money for institutions for the support, maintenance, and education of the children and in the enforcement of parental obligations, are found the constructive features of the legislation establishing the court and of other legislation upon which its administration depends. The common law knew certain parental obligations which are usually enumerated as the duty of maintenance, of protection, tion which is entrusted continuously to the Courts of Chancery Division. It may be exercised, as it has been in many cases, whether they have property or not." See in re Flynn, 2 De G. & Sm. 457; Brown v. Collins, L. R. 25 Ch. D. 56 In re Scanlan, L. R. 40 Ch. D. 200. In re Nevin, L. R. 1891, 2 Ch. 299; Barnardo v. McHugh, L. R. 1891, A. C. 388. In re W., L. R. 1907, 2 Ch. 557. In re H's Settlement, L. R. 1909, 2 Ch. 260. Several of these cases involved the question of the religious education of the child. * Miner v. Miner, 1 1 111. 43 (1849). "The power of the Court of Chancery to interfere with and control not only the estates but the persons of all minors within the limits of its jurisdiction, is of very ancient origin and cannot now be questioned. This is a power which must exist necessarily in a republican government. A jurisdiction thus extensive and liable, as we have seen, to enter into the domestic relations of every family in the com- munity, is necessarily of a very delicate and even of a very embarrassing nature; and yet its exercise is indispensable in every well governed society; it is indis- pensably necessary to protect the persons and preserve the property of those who are unable to protect and take care of themselves." Cowls v. Cowls, 2 Oilman (111.) 435 (-846). t2 Russ. i (1827). Ja Bligh N. S. 124. 182 ESTABLISHMENT OF JUVENILE COURT and of education.* The last named, however, was admittedly a moralf and not a legal duty, while the second was sufficient to serve as a defense in case of assault committed in defense of the child's person or to reduce murder to manslaughter if committed from the same motive. With reference to the duty of support, it may be said that probably by the common law of England the father was under a legal obligation to provide for the support of his child of tender years. This is the rule stated by English text writers and it may be deduced from the following propositions which are established by English cases: (1) The father who neglected to provide for his tender child, thereby exposing the child to starvation, was liable to criminal prosecution. J (2) If a child had independent means of support the father was yet under a primary obligation to provide for the child's sup- port out of his own means, and a special order had to be obtained from the court to allow the father to draw upon the child's means. It is true that the practice became gradually settled to reimburse the father for expenses incurred for his child, but this seems to have been a matter of practice and not of absolute right. (3) It is held in England that a wife, deserted by her husband, may charge her husband not only for expenses incurred for herself, but also for those incurred for her minor children. || This presup- poses that the father is liable fer the support of the child as well as of the wife. Irrespective of authority, it would also have to be assumed that the law would not give the father an absolute right to the earnings of the child if the father were not under an obligation for the maintenance of the child, and the right of the father to the earnings of the child is so well established that authorities in support of that right need not be cited.** On the other hand it should be considered (i) that there * Tiffany: The Law of Persons and Domestic Relations, p. 254. Schouler: Domestic Relations, Fifth Edition, sec. 251. f See Collins v. Cory, 17 L. T. 242, (1901). | Friend's Case, Russell and Ryan 20. ; Brown Chancery Cases [387]; 6, Ves. 425, 2 M. & K. 439. || 3 Q. B. 559. ** Schouler: Domestic Relations, Fifth Edition, sec. 252. I8 3 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME seems to be no English case where the father was held upon an implied contract to reimburse a stranger who had made the pro- vision for a tender child which the father failed to make; (2) that it is clear that the father had a right to disinherit his child and leave him to the parish.* It must also be presumed that the father had a right to emancipate his child if he had advanced beyond the tender age, and throw him upon his own resources, thus waiving the right to the child's "earnings, but on the other hand also being relieved from the duty to support the child. It must also be considered that at a relatively early period,f at the beginning of the seventeenth century, statutory provision was made for compulsory support of a child by a parent where the child would otherwise have been a charge upon the parish, and that this remedy would be likely to take the place of a common law remedy in many cases. There seems to be no authority clearly showing what the common law was before the enactment of this statute, and it is very natural that cases of this kind should not have come before the higher courts. From this statement it is evident that admitting a legal duty of maintenance and even perhaps of education, the sanctions were ]so slight as to render the father wellnigh irresponsible, while he possessed the right to the custody of the child's person and to appropriate the child's earnings. There has been, then, in the past, no effective control on the part of the community over the exercise of parental rights and the performance of parental duties, especially by those of limited financial means. And, at the present time, most of the children who come before the court are naturally the children of the poor. In many cases the parents are foreigners, frequently unable to speak English. These poor people have not been able to give their offspring the opportunities and supervision that many children enjoy. They often do not understand Ameri- can methods and views, the amount of education demanded by law or what the modern requirements for childhood are. In many instances the interests of the parents are apparently in conflict with those of the child. False testimonials as to the age of the child, sworn to in order that the child may be employed very young, when his earnings seem necessary for the support of the house- * 5 Ves. p. 444. f L. R. Statutes 43 Eliz. c. 2; 5 Geo. I c. 8. 184 ESTABLISHMENT OF JUVENILE COURT hold, evidence this. In not a few instances where the parent is a victim of greed or of degraded habits of life, his interests are actually in conflict with those of the child. Very often, however, what they need, more than anything else, is kindly assistance and in- telligent counsel, though sometimes there is necessity of forcing upon their attention the fact that the interest of the child is now a matter of concern to the state, and that the community and not the parent has the power to determine when the interests of the child are being ignored or inadequately protected. The juvenile court, inheriting the parental powers of the court of chancery, is the institution, and the probation officer is the agent, through whom these services can be rendered by the community to the weak, the ignorant, the greedy, or the degraded parent. These tasks are, of course, of a most delicate and difficult kind, and probation officers must be men and women fitted to per- form them. They should be characterized by tact, forbearance, and sympathy with the child, as well as by a full appreciation of the difficulties of the poorer class, and especially of the immigrants in our large cities. It should be noted, too, that while in most jurisdictions the juvenile court laws make provision for the dependent as well as for the neglected, the truant, and the delinquent child, some of the best workers in this field have objected to a court having any- thing to do with the strictly dependent child, the child whose parents must ask assistance merely because of poverty or misfor- tune. If friends or the church fail to supply the necessary help and the aid of the state is to be sought, it should be granted through poor law or relief commissioners. The remedy for the saddest cases that too often come before the court, the dependent children of a woman suddenly deprived of the support of her husband by death or disease and unable to bear her heavy burden unaided, is not the disintegration of the family through the adoption or board- ing out of the children, but private or public assistance that will enable the competent and worthy mother to keep her family together. The common criminal law did not differentiate between the adult and the minor who had reached the age of criminal responsi- bility seven at common law and in some of our states, ten in 185 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME others, with a chance to escape up to twelve, if lacking in mental and moral maturity. The majesty and dignity of the state de- manded vindication for infractions of its statute from both alike. The fundamental thought in criminal jurisprudence was not, and in most jurisdictions is not, reformation of the criminal, but punish- ment; punishment as expiation for the wrong; punishment as a warning to other possible wrong-doers. The child was arrested, put into prison, indicted by the grand jury, tried by a petit jury, under all the forms and technicalities of our criminal law, with the aim of ascertaining whether it had done the specific act nothing else and if it had, then of visiting the punishment of the state upon it. It is true that during the last century ameliorating influences mitigated the severity of the old regime; in the last fifty years, the reformatories have played a great and very beneficent part in deal- ing with juvenile offenders. They supplanted the penitentiary. In them the endeavor was made, while punishing, to reform; to educate the prisoner so that when his time should have expired he could go out into the world, capable at least of making an honest living. And, in the course of time, in some jurisdictions, the youths were separated from the older offenders in stations, jails, and workhouses; but generally in this country, the two classes were huddled together. What was the result of it all? Instead of the state training its bad boys so as to make of them decent citizens, it permitted them to become the outlaws and outcasts of society; it criminalized them by the very methods that it used in dealing with them. It did not aim to find out what the accused's history was, what his heredity, his environment, his associations; it did not ask how he had come to do the particular act which had brought him before the court; it put but one question, " Has he committed this crime?" Nor did it inquire, "What is the best thing to do for this lad?" It did not even punish him in a manner that would tend to improve him. The punishment was visited in proportion to the degree of wrongdoing evidenced by the single act; not by the needs of the boy, not by the needs of the state. And when some good women in a great city saw these lads of ten and twelve and fifteen in great numbers filling the county jail, receiving no training and no education, mingling with the adult 1 86 ESTABLISHMENT OF JUVENILE COURT criminals, the harlots, and the drunkards, both before and after trial, being daily contaminated physically and morally, they at first secured some measure of segregation; then they employed teachers for them and finally they influenced the board of educa- tion to establish a public school in the house of correction. Soon they said to themselves, " If this is good work, is it not better to keep these boys and girls away from this sort of a place altogether? Why is it not just and proper to treat these juvenile offenders as we deal with the neglected children as a wise and merciful father handles his own child whose errors are not discovered by the author- ities? Why is it not the duty of the state instead of asking merely whether a boy or a girl has committed a specific offense, to find out what he is, physically, mentally, morally, and then if it learns that he is treading the path that leads to criminality, to take him in charge, not so much to punish as to reform, not to degrade but to uplift, not to crush but to develop, to make him not a criminal but a worthy citizen." And it is these two thoughts the thought that the commu- nity is the final arbiter of parental rights and duties and the thought that the child who has begun to go wrong, who is incorrigible, and has broken a law or an ordinance, is to be taken in hand by the state not as an enemy but as a protector, as the ultimate guardian, because either the unwillingness or inability of the natural parents to guide the child toward good citizenship has compelled the inter- vention of the public authorities; it is these principles, to some extent theretofore applied in Australia and a few American states, which have been fully and clearly declared, in the act under which the Juvenile Court of Cook County, Illinois, was opened in Chicago on July i, 1899, the Hon. R. S. Tuthill presiding. Colorado fol- lowed soon after, and since that time similar legislation has been adopted in most American jurisdictions, as well as in Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, and the Australian colonies. Such legislation has often seemed very radical. "There was a time in the history of this House when a bill of this kind would have been treated as a most revolutionary measure, and half a century ago, if such a measure had been in- troduced, it would have been said that the British constitution was being undermined," exclaimed the Lord Advocate of Scotland, in 187 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME the course of the debate on the sweeping reformation and con- solidation of the laws relating to children, called the Children's Charter, which became effective April i, 1909.* In continental Europe and also in Asia, the American juvenile courts have been the object of the most careful study, and in these countries either by parliamentary or administrative measures, similar courts ha^e been established or at least some of their guiding principles en- forced. Juvenile court legislation in dealing with delinquent children has assumed two aspects. In Great Britain, New York, and a few other jurisdictions, the protection is accomplished by suspending sentence and releas- ing the child under the care of a probation officer, or, in case of removal from the home, of sending it to a school instead of to a jail or penitentiary. The criminal proceeding remains, however. The child is charged with the commission of a definite offense, of which it must be found either guilty or not guilty. If not guilty of the one certain act, it is discharged, however much it may need care or supervision. If guilty, it is then dealt with, but as a criminal. And this would seem to be true even under the New York statute of June 5, 1909, which provides that: "A child of more than seven and less than sixteen years of age, who shall commit any act or omission, which, if committed by an adult, would be a crime not punishable by death or life imprison- ment, shall not be deemed guilty of any crime, but of juvenile de- linquency only. . . . Any child charged with any act or omis- sion which may render him guilty of juvenile delinquency shall be dealt with in the same manner as now is or may hereafter be pro- vided in the case of adults charged with the same act or omission except as specially provided heretofore in the case of children under the age of sixteen years." This would seem to effectuate merely a change in the name of every crime or offense from that by which it was theretofore known, to the crime of juvenile delinquency. Beyond question, much good may be accomplished under such legislation, dependent upon the spirit in which it is carried out, particularly if, as the English act * Hansard Parliamentary Debates, 4th series, v. 186, p. 1251. L. R. Statutes 7 Ed. vii. 1 88 ESTABLISHMENT OF JUVENILE COURT provides, the conviction should not be regarded as a conviction of felony for the purpose of any of the disqualifications hitherto at- tached to felony. But in Illinois, and following the lead of Illinois, in most jurisdictions, the form of procedure is totally different, and wisely so. It would seem to be obvious that, if the common law could fix the age of criminal responsibility at seven, and if the legislature could advance that age to ten or twelve, it can also raise it to six- teen or seventeen or eighteen; and that is what in some measure has been done. Under most of the juvenile court laws, the child under the designated age is to be proceeded against as a criminal only when in the judgment of the judge of the juvenile court, the interests of the state and of the child require that this be done. It is to be observed that the language of the law should be explicit in order to negative the jurisdiction of the criminal courts in the first instance. In the absence of such express pro- vision the supreme court of New Hampshire recently upheld a criminal conviction.* On the other hand the supreme court of Louisiana has decided that a criminal proceeding against one within the age limit must be quashed and the case transferred to the juvenile court. f To get away from the notion that the child is to be dealt with as a criminal ; to save it from the brand of criminality, the brand that sticks to it for life; to take it in hand and instead of first stigmatizing and then reforming it, to protect it from the stigma; this is the work which is now being accomplished among the greater number of the delinquent children, through the court that repre- sents the parens patrice power of the state, the court of chancery. Proceedings are brought to have a guardian or representative of the state appointed to look after the child, to have the state inter- vene between the natural parent and the child, because the latter needs it as evidenced by some of its acts, and because the parent is either unwilling or unable to train it properly. Objection has been made from time to time that this is never- theless a criminal proceeding, and that therefore the child is en- * State v. Burt, 71 Atlantic Report 30 (1908). f State v. Reed, 49 Southern Reporter 3 (1909). 189 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME titled to a trial by jury and to all the constitutional rights that hedge about the criminal. The supreme courts of several states have well answered this objection. The supreme court of Pennsylvania has stated, that: "To save a child from becoming a criminal or from continu- ing in a career of crime, to end in maturer years in public punish- ment and disgrace, the legislature surely may provide for the salva- tion of such a child, if its parents or guardian be unable or unwilling to do so, by bringing it into one of the courts of the state without any process at all, for the purpose of subjecting it to the state's guardianship and protection. "The action is not for the trial of a child charged with a crime, but is mercifully to save it from such an ordeal, with the prison or penitentiary in its wake, if the child's own good and the best interests of the state justify such salvation. Whether the child deserves to be saved by the state is no more a question for a jury than whether the father, if able to save it, ought to save it. The act is but an exercise by the state of its supreme power over the welfare of its children, a power under which it can take a child from its father, and let it go where it will, without committing it to any guardianship or any institution, if the welfare of the child, taking its age into consideration, can be thus best promoted. "The design is not punishment, nor the restraint imprison- ment, any more than is the wholesome restraint which a parent exercises over his child. The severity in either case must neces- sarily be tempered to meet the necessities of that particular situa- tion. There is no probability, in the proper administration of the law, of the child's liberty being unduly invaded. Every statute which is designed to give protection, care, and training to children, as a needed substitute for parental authority, and performance of parental duty, is but a recognition of the duty of the state, as the legitimate guardian and protector of children where other guardian- ship fails. No constitutional right is violated."* The supreme court of Idaho, in one of the most recent deci- sions, thus refers to the juvenile court: " Its object is to confer a benefit both upon the child and the community in the way of surrounding the child with better and more elevating influences and of educating and training him in the direction of good citizenship, and thereby saving him to society and adding a good and useful citizen to the community. This, too, * Commonwealth v. Fisher, 213 Pa. St. 48; 62 At. 198 (1905). 190 ESTABLISHMENT OF JUVENILE COURT is done for the minor at a time when he is not entitled, either b> natural law or the laws of the land, to his absolute freedom, but rather at a time when he is subject to the restraint and custody of either a natural guardian or a legally constituted and appointed guardian to whom he owes obedience and subjection. Under this law the state, for the time being, assumes to discharge the parental duty and to direct his custody and assume his restraint. "It would be carrying the protection of 'inalienable rights' guaranteed by the Constitution, a long way to say that that guar- anty extends to a free and unlimited exercise of the whims, caprices, or proclivities of either a child or its parents or guardians, for idleness, ignorance, crime, indigence, or any kindred disposi- tions or inclinations."* Years ago, in considering the power of the court to send a child to the house of refuge, Chief Justice Gibson said: " May not the natural parents, when unequal to the task of education, or unworthy of it, be superseded by the parens patrice, or common guardian of the community? It is to be remembered that the public has a paramount interest in the virtue and knowl- edge of its members, and that of strict right, the business of educa- tion belongs to it. That parents are ordinarily entrusted with it is because it can seldom be put in better hands; but where they are incompetent or corrupt, what is there to prevent the public from withdrawing their faculties, held as they obviously are at its sufferance? The right of parental control is a natural, but not an inalienable one. It is not excepted by the declaration of rights out of the subjects of ordinary legislation/'f Care must, however, be taken not to provide for dealing with the child as a criminal. The city of Detroit, as the resulf of a decision of the highest court, lacked for a time a juvenile c0urt.J The supreme court of Michigan, following the cases cited and numerous others, over-ruled many objections urged agaftnst the constitutionality of the Detroit juvenile court act, but neverthe- less held it invalid, saying: "The statute, it is true, declares that the proceedings shall not be taken to be criminal proceedings in any sense; and yet by * Ex parte Sharp, 15 Idaho, 120, 96 Pac. 563. t Ex parte Grouse, 4 Wharton 9 (Pa.) (1838). t Robinsons v. Wayne Circuit Judges, 151 Mich. 315; 115 N. W. 682 (1908). 191 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME section 14 it is provided that if the child be adjudged a delinquent child, the court may place the case on trial, and impose a fine not to exceed $25 and costs, etc. This can have no other purpose than punishment for a delinquency, which means nothing less, or at least includes one who violates any law of this state or any city ordinance. " In the present case, however, this statute is a state law pro- viding for a penalty. A complaint, an arrest, and trial are author- ized, and, upon a determination, the imposition of a fine. It is difficult to conceive of any element of a criminal prosecution which may be said to be lacking. And, as section 28 of article 6 of the Constitution very plainly provides for a jury of twelve men in all courts of record in every criminal prosecution, the provisions for a jury of six for the trial of delinquents is in violation of this section." Further legislation in Michigan has now corrected this defect. In answer to the objection that the act has the effect of depriving a parent of the custody of his child in violation of his constitutional rights, the supreme court of Idaho says: " If the parent objects to the child's being taken care of by the state in the manner provided for by the act, he may appear and present his objections. If, on the other hand, he is not made a party to the hearing and proceeding, under all the recognized rules of legal procedure, he is clearly not bound by the judgment and none of his rights are precluded. "The parent or guardian cannot be bound by the order or judgment of the probate court in adjudging a child delinquent and sending him to the Industrial Training School unless he has ap- peared or been brought into the proceeding in the probate court."* The supreme court of Utah emphasized this requirement when it said: " Before the state can be substituted to the right of the parent it must affirmatively be made to appear that the parent has for- feited his natural and legal right to the custody and control of the child by reason of his failure, inability, neglect, or incompetency to discharge the duty and thus enjoy the right. " Unless, therefore, both the delinquency of the child and the incompetency, for any reason, of the parent concur, and are so found, the court exceeds its power when committing a child to any of the institutions contemplated by the act."f * Ex parte Sharp (supra). t Mill v. Brown 88 Pac. 609 (1907). 192 ESTABLISHMENT OF JUVENILE COURT It is, therefore, important to provide, as has been done in the most recent statutes, but as was not done in the earlier acts, that the parents be made parties to the proceedings, and that they be given an opportunity to be heard therein in defense of their parental rights. The supreme court of Illinois, however, struck a discordant note in its decision in a case releasing the child from the state training school for boys. Subsequently, however, it granted a re- hearing, and because of the discontinuance thereafter of the habeas corpus proceedings, rendered no final judgment in the case. In the original opinion, however, which we may, in view of the re-hearing, regard as retracted, the court, while upholding the constitutionality of the juvenile court law in the case of a child whose parents actively contributed to its wrongdoing, said : " If this enactment is effective and capable of being enforced as against the relator, the father of the boy, it must be upon the theory that it is within the power of the state to seize any child under the age of sixteen years who has committed a misdemeanor, though the father may have always provided a comfortable, quiet, orderly, and moral home for him, and have supplied him with school facilities, had not neglected his moral training, and had been and was still ready to render him all the duties of a parent. We do not think it is within the power of the General Assembly to thus infringe upon parental rights."* The answer to this, made by counsel on the argument on re- hearing, would seem to be conclusive. They said: "The boy incorrigible at home must be corrected by the State. Whether this correction be by fine, imprisonment, or com- mitment to school, is a matter which does belong to the legislature and not to this court to determine. " This law applies, with equal force, to the son of the pauper and the millionaire, to the minister's son (who is sometimes the wolf among the flock) as well as to the son of the convict and the criminal. The circumstances and disposition of the parents are not the test by which the state measures its power over the child; the right of the parent to retain the society and the services of the child is rightfully suspended when the parent is unsuccessful in keeping the child in a state of obedience to the criminal law of the * People ex rel. Schwartz v. McLain, 38 Chicago Legal News 166 (1905). 193 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME state; he cannot keep his child and allow him to continue to violate the law of the state without successful check or barrier thereon, just because he has a comfortable and moral home. "The manner in which the power of the state shall be exer- cised, and the extent to which the deprivation of the parent shall go, is a matter for the determination of the legislature, and the legislature by this act has confided it to a court of chancery, where the parental power of the state has been lodged and exercised from time immemorial." They quote, too, the passage heretofore cited from the deci- sion of Chief Justice Gibson, with this addition: "The right of parental control is a natural but not an in- alienable one. It is not excepted by the Declaration of Rights out of the subjects of ordinary legislation and it consequently re- mains subject to the ordinary legislative power which, wantonly or inconveniently used, would soon be constitutionally restricted, but the competency of which, as the government is constituted, cannot be doubted."* One more legal question remains. In a decision,! charac- terized by the supreme court of Michigan in the Robinson case (supra) as " now chiefly notable as an example of the vigor with which that which is not the law may be stated," the supreme court of Illinois released a child from the reformatory on the ground that the reformatory was a prison; that incarceration therein was necessarily punishment for a crime; and that such a punishment could be inflicted only after criminal proceedings conducted with due regard to the constitutional rights of the defendant. Whether the criticism be just or not, the case suggests a real truth, and one which, in the enthusiastic progress of the juvenile court movement, is in danger of being overlooked. If a child must be taken from its home, if for the natural parental care that of the state is to be substituted, a real school, not a prison in disguise must be provided.! * Ex parte Grouse, supra. f People ex rel. v. Turner 55 111. 280, (1870). t Mr. Herbert Samuels in introducing his excellent Children's Bill said (Hansard, 4th series, v. 183, p. 1434), in reference to that part of it which has to do with the juvenile offenders, that it is based on three main principles: "The first is that the child offender ought to be kept separate from the adult criminal, and should receive at the hands of the law a treatment differentiated to suit his special needs that the courts should be agencies for the rescue as well as the punishment of children. We require the establishment through the country of juvenile courts that is to say, children's cases shall be heard in a court held in a 194 ESTABLISHMENT OF JUVENILE COURT Taking a child away from its parents and sending it even to an industrial school is as far as possible to be avoided; and when the child is allowed to return home, it must be under probation, subject to the guidance and friendly interest of the probation officer, the representative of the court. To raise the age of criminal responsibility from seven or ten to twelve or eighteen, without providing for an efficient system of probation, would indeed be disastrous. Probation is, in fact, the foundation stone of juvenile court legislation.* separate room or at a separate time from the courts which are held for adult cases, and that the public who are not concerned shall be excluded from admission. "In London, we propose to appoint by administrative action a special children's magistrate to visit in turn a circuit of courts. Further, we require police authorities throughout the whole of the country to establish places of detention to which children shall be committed on arrest, if they are not bailed, and on remand or commitment for trial, instead of being committed to prison. . . . "The second principle on which this bill is based is that the parent of the child offender must be made to feel more responsible for the wrongdoing of his child. He cannot be allowed to neglect the upbringing of his children and having com- mitted the grave offense of throwing on society a child criminal wash his hands of the consequences and escape scot free. We require the attendance in court of the parent in all cases where the child is charged where there is no valid reason to the contrary, and we considerably enlarge the powers, already conferred upon the mag- istrates by the Youthful Offenders Act of 1901, to require the parent when it is just to do so, to pay the fines inflicted for the offense which his child has committed. "The third principle which we had in view in framing this part of the Bill is that the commitment of children in the common gaols, no matter what the offense may be that is committed, is an unsuitable penalty to impose. After consultation with many of their chief judicial and legal authorities, the government has come to the conclusion that the time has now arrived when Parliament can be asked to abolish the imprisonment of children altogether, and we extend this proposal to the age of sixteen with a few carefully defined and necessary exceptions." * As Charles W. Heuisler, judge of the juvenile court of Baltimore, has well said (Charities, XI: 399-401. Nov. 7, 1903): "The work of the children's courts must be done in the children's homes. No temporary veneer put upon the child by the most sympathetic judge, by reason of either counsel, suggestion, or threat, can be availing, if after the process the sub- ject is sent back alone, and again into the same experiences because of which his trouble was occasioned. The work must be carried into the home and the heart of the boy and of his people. Not the offense alone must pass under the observation of the court, but the temptation, the lack of opportunity, the bad examples, all the inducing causes of the offense must be discovered and when discovered rooted out. The youth must be ruled with kindness and suggestion; be made to understand the meaning of home and law and necessary discipline. He should be told that be he but a child today, he is the man of the coming morrow. His quickening in- telligence, his hopes, his ambitions must be appealed to, and his response is almost certain. "The voice of pity and compassion must reach him in his home, and reach his parents also in his home. Down to the very depths of that home must it go. The probation system must recognize that in the moral as in the material, the rain and the sunshine of pity and compassion are for the roots of the plant as well as its flowers." 195 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME But in all this, there is nothing radically new. Massa- chusetts has had probation, not only in cases of minors but even in cases of adults, for forty years; and several other states have pro- visions for the suspension of a criminal sentence in the case of adults, permitting the defendant to go free, but subject to the control of a probation officer. Wherever juvenile courts have been established a system of probation has been provided for, and even where as yet the juvenile court system has not been fully developed, some steps have been taken to substitute probation for imprison- ment of juvenile offenders. With reference to the actual court procedure and practice it should be said in the first place, that the number of arrests is greatly decreased. The child and the parents are notified to ap- pear in court and unless the danger of escape is great, or the offense very serious, or the home totally unfit for the child, detention be- fore hearing is unnecessary. Children are permitted to go on their own recognizance or that of their parents, or on giving bail. Pro- bation officers should be, and often are, authorized to act in this respect and to determine whether a summons must issue or the child be detained. If, however, it becomes necessary to detain the children either before a hearing or pending a continuance, or even after the adjudication, before they can be admitted into the home or institution to which they are to be sent, they are no longer kept in prisons or jails, but in detention homes. In some states the laws are mandatory that the local authorities provide such homes, managed in accordance with the spirit of this legislation. They are feasible even in the smallest communities inasmuch as the simplest kind of building best meets the need. In this building the court may be held, as is done in some of the larger cities. The jurisdiction to hear the cases is generally granted to an existing court having full equity powers. In some cities, however, special courts have been provided, with judges devoting their entire time to this work. If these special courts can be constitu- tionally vested with full and complete chancery and criminal juris- diction, much is to be said in favor of their establishment. In the large cities particularly, the entire time of one judge may well be needed. It has been suggested from time to time that all the judges of the municipal or special sessions courts be empowered to act in 196 ESTABLISHMENT OF JUVENILE COURT these cases, but while it would be valuable in metropolitan com- munities to have more than one court house, nevertheless it would seem to be even more important to have a single juvenile court judge, empowered, however, to appoint assistants or masters.* The personality of the judge is an all-important matter. The supreme court of Utah, commenting upon the choice of a layman, a man genuinely interested in children, pointed out that : "To administer juvenile laws in accordance with their true spirit and intent requires a man of broad mind, of almost infinite patience, and one who is the possessor of great faith in humanity and thoroughly imbued with that spirit. "The judge of any court, and especially a judge of a juvenile court, should be willing at all times, not only to respect, but to maintain and preserve, the legal and natural rights of men and children alike. . . . The fact that the American system of government is controlled and directed by laws, not men, cannot be too often or too strongly impressed upon those who administer any branch or part of the government. Where a proper spirit and good judgment are followed as a guide, oppression can and will be avoided. . . . "The juvenile court law is of . such vast importance to the state and society that it seems to us it should be administered by those who are learned in the law and versed in the rules of proce- dure, to the end that the beneficent purposes of the law may be made effective and individual rights respected. Care must be exercised in both the selection of a judge and in the administration of the law."t * The British government has adopted this policy for London. Mr. Herbert Samuels stated (Hansard, 4th series, v. 186, p. 1298) during the debate on the chil- dren's act: "It is impossible to bring all the children, witnesses, parents, probation officers, and other persons concerned into one central court. The best course will be to establish four places of detention in different parts of London. I hope it will be practicable in these places to provide rooms, without any additional cost or very small additional cost, which can be used as court houses. The children's magis- trate could visit in turn these four houses. . . . The result would be that a certain number of children would be kept over night sometimes, when they could not be released on bail; but all those that 1 have consulted agree that it is better to keep, if necessary, a small number of children in detention for one night than to forego the great benefit of having a special magistrate to deal with these cases." By the Colorado act of 1909 masters of chancery designated as masters of discipline may be appointed by and to act under the direction of the juvenile court judge. t Mill v. Brown, supra. 14 197 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME The decision but emphasizes the dangers that beset the path of the judge of the juvenile court. The public at large, sympa- thetic as it may be with the work, and even the probation officers who are not lawyers, regard him as one having almost autocratic power. Because of the extent of his jurisdiction and the tre- mendous responsibility that it entails, it would seem to be essential that he be a trained lawyer, thoroughly imbued with the doctrine that ours is a "government of laws and not of men." He must, however, be more than this. He must be a student of and deeply interested in the problems of philanthropy and child life, as well as a lover of children; he must be able to understand the boys' point of view and ideas of justice; he must be willing and patient enough to search out the underlying causes of the trouble, and to formulate the plan by which, through the co-operation of many agencies, the cure may be effected. In some very important jurisdictions the vicious practice is indulged in of assigning a different judge to the juvenile court work every month or every three months. It is impossible for these judges to gain the necessary experience or to devote the necessary time to the study of the new problems. The service should under no circumstances be for less than one year, and preferably for a longer period. In some of our cities, notably in Denver, the judge has discharged not only the judicial functions, but also those of the most efficient probation officer. Judge Lindsey's love for the work, and his personality, have enabled him to exert a powerful influ- ence on the boys and girls that are brought before him. While doubt- less the best results can be thus obtained in such a court as exists in Denver, lack of time would prevent a judge in the largest cities from adding the duties of probation officer to his strictly judicial functions, even were it not extremely difficult to find the necessary combination of elements united in one man. The problem to be determined by the judge is not, " Has this boy or girl committed a specific wrong?" but "What is he, how has he become what he is, and what would best be done in his interest, and in the interest of the state, to save him from a down- ward career?" It is apparent at once that the ordinary legal evidence in a criminal court is not the sort of evidence to be heard in such a proceeding. A thorough investigation, usually made by 198 ESTABLISHMENT OF JUVENILE COURT the probation officer, will give the court much information bearing upon the heredity and environment of the child. This, of course, will be supplemented in every possible way; but this alone is not enough. The physical and mental condition of the child must be known, and it is, therefore, of the utmost importance that there be attached to the court, as has been done in a few cities, a child- study department, where every child, before hearing, shall be sub- ., ject to a thoroughly scientific psycho-physical examination. The child who must be brought into court should, of course, be made to know that he is face to face with the power of the state, but he should at the same time, and more emphatically, be made to I feel that he is the object of its tender care and solicitude. The ordinary trappings of the court room are out of place in such hear- ings. The judge on a bench, looking down upon the boy standing at the bar, can never evoke a proper sympathetic spirit. Seated at a desk, with the little one at his side, where he can on occasion put his arm around his shoulder and draw the lad to him, the judge while losing none of his judicial dignity, will gain immensely in the effectiveness of his work. It need hardly be pointed out, however, that it is of far greater importance to keep children out of any court, than to bring them into the juvenile court. In many communities, the influence of the probation officers in their immediate surroundings has been such that they have become arbiters of the petty disputes and quarrels that in former years brought not only the children but their parents into conflict and into court. The object of the juvenile court and of the intervention of the state is, of course, in no case to lessen or to weaken the sense of responsibility either of the child or of the parent. On the con- trary, the aim is to develop and to enforce it. Therefore, it is wisely provided in most of the recent acts that the child may be compelled when on probation, if of the working age, to make restitution for any damage done. Moreover, the parents may not only be compelled to contribute to the support of the children who are taken away from them and sent to institutions, but since the Colorado act of 1903, they, as well as any other adults, may be made criminally liable for their acts or neglect contributing to a child's dependency or delinquency. In most of the jurisdictions 199 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME which have established separate juvenile courts, as well as in some of the others, all criminal charges affecting children, which are brought against adults, are tried by the juvenile court judge. In drafting legislation of this kind, however, it must not be overlooked that if criminal proceedings are brought against the adult, his con- stitutional rights must be carefully safeguarded. Following gen- eral principles such penal acts are strictly construed and therefore in the recent case of Gibson v. the People,* the Colorado supreme court limited the application of the act of 1903 to the parents and those standing in a parental relation to the child. Colorado, in 1907, however, as well as several other states, expressly extended the scope of such statutes so as to include any person whether standing in loco parentis or not. The supreme court of Oregon f has construed such legislation to refer only to misconduct not otherwise punishable. Kentucky, in 1908, followed by Colorado, in 1909, has enacted a statute providing for the enforcement of parental obligations, not in the criminal but in the chancery branch of the juvenile court. A decree not merely for the payment of support money, but for the performance or omission of such acts, as under the circum- stances of the cases are found necessary, may be enforced by con- tempt proceedings. ^ Valuable, however, as is the introduction of the juvenile | court into our system of jurisprudence, valuable both in its effect upon the child, the parents, and the community at large, and in the L___great material saving to the state which the substitution of proba- tion for imprisonment has brought about, it is in no sense a cure-all. Failures will result from probation just as they have resulted from imprisonment. But more than this; the work of the juvenile court is, at the best, palliative, curative. We take these little human beings that are going the downward path and we try to save them and to some extent succeed from going farther down. But that is not the most important task. The vital thing is to prevent them from reaching that condition in which they have to be dealt with in any court, and we are not doing our duty to the children of today, the men and women of tomorrow, when we neglect to destroy the * 99 Pac. 333 (1909). f State v. Dunn 99 Pac. 278 (1909). 200 ESTABLISHMENT OF JUVENILE COURT evils that are leading them into careers of delinquency; when we fail not merely to uproot the wrong, but to implant in place of it the positive good. " We want to say to the child," declared one of the speakers in the course of the debate on the Children's Bill in the House of Commons, " that if the world or the world's law has not been his friend in the past, it shall be now. We say that it is the duty of this Parliament, and that this Parliament is determined to lift, if possible, and rescue him; to shut the prison door and to open the door of hope."* * 1 86 Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, 4th ser., p. 1262. 2O I APPENDIX II TESTIMONY OF JUDGE MERRITT W. PINCKNEY (Given before the Cook County Civil Service Commission, November 22, 23, 1911.) DURING the autumn of 191 1, the chief probation officer of the juvenile court was placed on trial by the Civil Service Commission of Cook County on charges of alleged in- competence preferred by the chairman of the county board.* Dur- ing the course of the trial Judge Merritt W. Pinckney, who has served as judge of the juvenile court since September, 1908, was called upon to testify. His statements with reference to the history of juvenile court legislation in Illinois, the methods and practice of the court in Cook County, the resources available, the limitations endured, and the lines of development to be followed, were so wise, so accurate, and so sympathetic that his consent to the publication of his testimony was sought. Parts of the examination! or cross- examination which had to do with merely personal matters or had some other purpose than the setting forth of simple facts with reference to the court, are omitted as irrelevant. It is believed that in Judge Pinckney's testimony we are enabled to present a unique statement as to the achievements of the juvenile court to- gether with the strongest possible plea for the further development of its resources and the extension of its activities. Q. Judge, would you make a preliminary statement to the Commission, briefly, about the state of the law with regard to juvenile offenders and dependents prior to the juvenile court act? * It is only fair to say that these charges were not sustained by the evidence, t This examination was conducted by the attorney for the defense, Mr. Al- bert M. Kales. 2O2 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY A. In order to explain the law affecting the children of the state, a statement should be made first with reference to the treat- ment of juvenile dependents prior to July i, 1899, and second with reference to the treatment of juvenile offenders up to the same date. The condition of dependents in Cook County prior to July i, 1899, was deplorable. Their condition after that date was much im- proved. (Prior to July i, 1899, the state exercised neither super- vision nor care over any, excepting those who came under the in- dustrial school act for girls passed in 1879* and the training school act for boys passed in 1883.* These acts were substantially amended in 1885 and embodied all the law relating to dependent children. The condition of dependent children in Cook County prior to July i, 1899, may be well illustrated by a statement made before the joint committee of the House and Senate sometime in March, 1899, when the bill that afterwards became the juvenile court law was being considered. A prominent citizen of Chicago stated that he was the superintendent of a society having in its control 20,000 dependent children who would be known as dependent children now and that, so far as state supervision was concerned, he could take those children down to the lake and come back alone without any questions being asked, if it were not for the fact that in drown- ing them he might be held for a crime. This statement was made to the judiciary committee of the legislature at that time and it was not contradicted. Until a child had committed an offense against the state, the state of Illinois exercised neither supervision nor care over him save through the industrial school and the training school acts, except so far as the court of chancery assumed juris- diction over dependent children as it did from time to time. The chancery court intervened generally to adjust property rights and intervened also in some cases in which other courts could not take jurisdiction. When the child had offended against the majesty of the state, the child was classed as a criminal, and then the state became interested in the child. That was the first supervision and care exercised under the law. Second, as to children called "delinquents" since the passage * For these laws as at present in force see Illinois Revised Statutes (1909) chap. 23. 203 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME of the juvenile court law, and "criminals" prior to its enactment, the state of Illinois, as we look back upon it now, while ahead of other states in the Union, was, to put it mildly, rather slow, in passing laws intended to improve the conditions surrounding that class of children. In 1845, when Illinois had been twenty-seven years a state, it was enacted that an infant under the age of ten years should not be found guilty of any crime or misdemeanor. The legislators at that period, although they may have understood something about human nature, evidently knew little about crim- inology, if they could fix a criminal responsibility upon a child of ten years and one month of age, or of any age over ten; and yet conditions improved little in this state from 1845* until 1874. In the latter year the criminal code was adopted, which still provided that a child under ten could not be found guilty of any crime or misdemeanor, thus declaring inferentially that any child over that age could be found guilty; and children were convicted under this law. Twenty-five years more elapsed before the state and the legislature awakened to the fact that it was wrong to call a child just past the age of ten years a criminal, and the juvenile court law was passed in 1899,! raising the limit of criminal responsibility to the age of sixteen. In 1907 that age was raised to seventeen for boys and eighteen for girls, with the further proviso that, when a child once came within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, the court should have and retain custody and guardianship until the child reached tjie age of twenty-one. That law has been said by a great jurist! now dead, to be the best law ever enacted by the state of Illinois, effecting as it did more good in one year than the crim- inal court by its punishments could effect in twenty. So much for the evolution of the law. As to development in the practice and procedure, it may be said that the practice was as follows: When a child, having offended by violating a state law, was arrested, the state demanded the same vindication and repara- tion from him as from an adult of twenty-five. For example, if a child of twelve years of age who had stolen an article worth $i 5 was * Illinois Revised Statutes (1909), chap. 38. Criminal Code, sec. 283. t See Illinois Revised Statutes (1909), chap. 23, sections 169-190c. J Judge Murray F. Tuley. 204 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY arrested, he was put in jail or admitted to bail, as the case might be; indicted before the grand jury; asked to plead to an indictment that he did not understand; arraigned as common adult criminals were then and are now arraigned; was tried before a petit jury of twelve men; arid, if they decided that he had violated the law, the child was treated as a criminal and was subjected to whatever penalty the statute provided. Attention should also be called to the development in pro- vision for the custodial care of the delinquent child. Before July i, 1899, when a twelve-year-old child was arrested, that child was put in jail in company with adult criminals, robbers, thieves, and murderers. He was called a criminal and treated as such whether he was finally so adjudged or not. Before trial, then, even if he were not guilty, he had been contaminated morally, mentally, and physically by association with adult criminals. Before 1891, if he was found guilty he was sent to the state penitentiary. In that year the state decided that there should be a boys' penitentiary, and as a result the state reformatory was established at Pontiac, to which boys were sent after July i, 1891 . Such was the practice with regard to the custodial care of children up to 1899. Since that time the child has not been put in jail. He is brought in by his parents, the case is heard often without restraint of the child's liberty, and if the child is found not guilty, or if he is found not to be a delinquent because you would not consider or treat him as a criminal he goes home with his parents. He is attended at the trial by his parents, and often by all his family. If he is found to have violated some section of the juvenile law, he is sent to a school or to a farm, or taken care of on probation, or committed to an institution. A result of the legislation of 1899 and 1907 is that the juvenile court takes exclusive jurisdiction of children, boys under seventeen, and girls under eighteen, and stands in relation to the children not as a power, demanding vindication or reparation, but as a sorrow- ing parent anxious to find out and remove all the causes of de- linquency and to reform the child. The law as enacted in 1899 includes in its application de- pendent, neglected, and delinquent children. Q. How are dependent and delinquent children in the county 205 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME brought into the juvenile court at the present time, and how are they discovered? A. They are generally brought in by their parents on sum- mons; occasionally, though very rarely two or three times out of a hundred on warrant. Sometimes when a warrant is issued, it is done at the request of the parents. At other times warrants are issued by order of the court in the necessities of the case, when the child does not appear or is liable not to appear. They are dis- covered chiefly as the result of complaints sent in by outsiders, and of reports to the juvenile court from members of its probation de- partment. The outsiders are usually neighbors in the vicinity of the child's home. Sometimes relatives, collateral relatives, who think that the father or mother is not taking proper care, or, when the father and mother are dead, that other relatives are not taking proper care, make complaint to the complaint department of the court. The complaints are investigated before the child is brought into court. In many instances, investigation shows that it is not necessary to bring the child into court. No police work is done by probation officers, because, if a probation officer is afterwards to visit the child's home and to have the care of the child or to exercise any influence over the parents, it would be bad policy for that officer to act as a policeman and thereby incur the enmity and unfriendly feeling of the very people he desires to help. Q. What is the relation of the police force of the city or county to the bringing in of complaints of juvenile offenders? A. The members of the regular police force of the county seldom bring children directly into the court. The duty of the police, under instructions from the juvenile court and the proba- tion department, is to report to the probation officer for the district in which the regular city policeman operates; and through the regular probation officer the matter is brought into court. Some- times a city policeman finds children wandering on the street at night or he may find emergency cases where no one is present to look after a child. He then brings these children directly to the detention home and leaves them there in the care of the super- intendent who is in charge of the home, instead of taking them to a jail or to a police station to be locked up. The duty of the police- 206 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY man when such a child is brought to the detention home is to specify in writing the nature of the trouble, the name of the child, the name and address of the parents, and the occasion for bringing the child to the detention home. Q. Do all the complaints result in the child's being brought into court? A. I think not more than 25 percent of the complaints made result in the children being brought into court. These investiga- tions take a great deal of time and strength; but in my opinion it it better that ten mistakes be made through the sending in of un- necessary complaints or ten unnecessary investigations followed out, than that one girl should be lost to good citizenship and go to the red light district through our inactivity. I would rather have my probation officer do extra work and make extra trips than have one out of fifty girls or one out of fifty boys go wrong or fall by the wayside for lack of active and earnest effort in looking after their interests. In some cases it is necessary to bring the father and mother and the children into my chambers on conference day, and the difficulties are adjusted in that way. Or, if the complaint is not well founded, it is dismissed and the person'who made it is in- formed that there is no reason for bringing the children into court. That is, many cases are settled in my chambers, so that they do not become court cases; and many cases are settled out of court. The older probation officers, who have had considerable experience, talk the matter over with the parents and consult me or the chief pro- bation officer; and a decision is reached so that the officer can settle it without any court trial. With reference to the disposition of these cases, it should be said in the first place that there are very few cases that are dis- missed. There are few cases brought into court in which something cannot be done for the child by the friendly visitation of a proba- tion officer. There is, therefore, very rarely an actual dismissal of a case. The great bulk of the cases are continued. This disposi- tion by continuance is made upon hearing the case, if it becomes evident to the court, after hearing the probation officer's report and any testimony submitted by the relatives or those interested on either side, that it is not necessary even to place the child on trial. All that the youngster, girl or boy, needs is a little fatherly 207 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME advice, and a lecture, if you please, sometimes fairly severe, warning the boy that he must do differently or the girl that she must do differently, and that the repetition of the practice that has brought the child into court will inevitably mean that he would either be put on probation or sent to an institution. The effort is, so far as my practice has been in the juvenile court, not to make a record against a child until it is absolutely necessary. Q. What is the usual order of probation, or placing the child on probation? A. I shall first state the practice with dependent children. The statute provides three orders under which dependent children may be placed. First, there is the order for friendly visitation, or rather a continuance of the child at home, subject to the friendly visitation of a regular probation officer. Second, if the parents consent or if they are unfit and improper guardians of the child, the court may appoint some reputable citizen guardian of such child and order the guardian to place the child in some suitable home. The third order provided for by the law is the order of commitment to an institution, when a child is committed instead of being placed on probation. Those are the three general orders. The orders for delinquent children are very similar, with one exception. The person to whom the child is sent instead of being called a "reputable citizen" is called by the statute "a proper per- son." I could never quite see the distinction. That is, under the statute the child may be subject to the friendly visitation of the probation officer, or, if delinquent, paroled to a proper person, or, if dependent, to a reputable citizen, or be committed to an institution. And I might add one other provision of the law. It is provided* that the court may, at its discretion, dismiss the pro- ceedings instituted against a delinquent and hold the child over to the criminal court for the jurisdiction of that court. That is very seldom done, but it is sometimes necessary. A child, a boy especially, sometimes becomes so thoroughly vicious and is so repeatedly an offender that it would not be fair to the other chil- dren in a delinquent institution who have not arrived at his age of depravity and delinquency to have to associate with him. On * Juvenile Court Law, sec. 9. Illinois Revised Statutes (1909), chap. 23, sec. 177. 208 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY very rare and special occasions, therefore, children are held over on a mittimus to the criminal court. The statute also provides for the appointment of a guardian with authority to appear and consent to adoption. Such an order for the appointment of a guardian is about half way between the probation order and the commitment order. It has some of the elements of both. It is not quite so strong as a commitment order, in that it does not restrain the liberty of the child as the commit- ment order does, and it is stronger than the probation order be- cause of the added supervision and authority given to the guardian over the child, as compared with the authority of the probation officer. This order only nominates a guardian with authority to appear and consent to adoption. No child can be adopted even after the entry of that order, unless a proper petition has been filed in one of our other courts, courts of record, and a state of facts established under our adoption act that will authorize the peti- tioner to take the child for adoption. There are six causes on which the child can be adopted. I should also refer to the power possessed by the court to enter an order to commit a child to a hospital when the child is suffering from a disease. Q. Referring to the order placing the child on probation subject to the friendly visits of a probation officer, what is that usually called? A. Simply the ordinary order of probation, where the chief probation officer or a member of his staff whom he may from time to time designate, visits the child and reports the child's condition and the way in which he is carrying out his probation. These are the cases of which the probation department takes charge. Q. Who are these reputable citizens, Judge, who are placed in charge of children by orders of the court? A. \ do not know that I can add anything to the obvious meaning of the word " reputable" as it is used in the statute. As a matter of fact, the number of reputable citizens whom I use to any extent is limited to about five. Now and then, however, some particular case may come to the court in which the parents are desirous of having some prominent citizen of their acquaintance appointed who knows the son or daughter and in whom the parents 209 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME have confidence; and I appoint that person as a " reputable citizen" to take charge of the child. That is not the usual case, however. Those of whose services I most commonly avail myself, are, nam- ing them in the order most used, I should say, Father Quille and Father Leddy of the Working Boys' Home on Jackson Boulevard, Mrs. Shannon for the girls, Mr. Colby of the Illinois Children's Home and Aid Society, and Mr. Detloff. None of these, except Mrs. Shannon, who is a regular pro- bation officer as well as a reputable citizen, is paid by the county. They all, however, have commissions as probation officers, the four men being volunteer probation officers. Q. Will you describe the character of the work done by the four men mentioned as volunteer probation officers as well as reputable citizens? A. The boys' home on Jackson Boulevard is well known. We have at the head of that institution Father Quille, with a very able assistant, Father Leddy. Father Leddy this is a Catholic institution has seldom if ever since I went to the court in 1908 missed a day at court during the sessions, except at such times as he was away on vacation, when Father Quille took his place. When I first went there, Father Quille attended the court ses- sions; but his duties in the Working Boys' Home became such that he was required at the institution, and Father Leddy then at- tended the court. These two men place children in private fami- lies. They have a wide experience and a wide acquaintance among Catholic families who are ready at their request to take Catholic boys into their homes. I always feel very confident when a child is placed with them that that child will be properly handled. I might add this, if I may be allowed to preface with my own experience in a way. I found upon going to the juvenile court, after I had been there less than six months, that there were a great number of what I call semi-delinquent boys and girls, not bad enough to be sent to a delinquent institution and yet too bad to be sent to a dependent institution. Those children 1 felt would not be properly handled and cared for, if they were committed directly to a delinquent institution where they were to associate with older delinquent children and older offenders, in many instances re- peated offenders; and so I evolved a plan for handling those chil- 210 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY dren by giving them an opportunity to improve without commit- ment. I turned to the section of the juvenile court law that gave me the right to select reputable citizens to do that work. That was the only relief offered to those children, and under that law and under those sections I have selected these people, to whom I have referred as reputable citizens, to handle this class of children. The cases paroled to them, then, are usually cases of semi-delinquent, sometimes dependent, children, who are to be placed in homes and are to be given an opportunity to make good without being sent to institutions. Of Mr. Colby, whose work I have observed since December, 1908, 1 should say that the character of his work, too, is good; and I might add that during the current year Mr. Colby has shown in the general handling of his cases an ability such as I have not yet recognized in any other officer who has dealt with delinquent chil- dren. During the current year he has handled something like 1 13 children of this class. He has been necessarily in touch with me often in this work, because, through the kindness of some men, bankers and others, interested in this work in Chicago, money has been placed in one of the large banks here in my name as trustee with authority to draw on it to pay the expenses of the transporta- tion of these semi-delinquent boys and girls when Mr. Colby places them, with the consent of their parents, on farms in Cook County and in adjoining counties. I should like to say that the report on these children for the current year shows that about 75 per cent of them have made good in every particular. And of the remainder, their cases are at least very hopeful; they are not considered bad children at all. He has reported one instance of a boy who is now and has been for some time earning $25 a month, who was looked upon as very delinquent a boy whom apparently nobody could handle. There are five at this time earning $20 a month. There have been as many as ten earning $10 a month, and Mr. Colby re- ported one boy in particular who, during the time he had him under his control on a farm in this state, had turned over $250 to his mother, and after her death had paid all the expenses of her burial. Now understand that in these cases where children are paroled to our "reputable citizens" under the law, I should say that 95 per cent and perhaps a larger percentage are so placed with the consent 21 I THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME of the parents, and that the father and mother remain in touch with the children, knowing where they are, receiving reports direct from Mr. Colby, and also in many cases visiting the farmers with whom the children are placed. Q, What is the character of Mr. Colby's treatment of cases of that sort? A. The treatment of any delinquent boy or girl is more or less a matter of a personal equation. You are dealing withajiuman soul and not with a piece of merchandise. You cannot define or lay down any set of rules by which you can say to the officer, "You have to do thus and so with a child." That "personal equation " is what makes a poor or a good officer. 1 1 can be deter- mined only when the officer comes in actual contact with the child. That is all I can say about it. You understand that as much as I do. As a general rule, Mr. Colby places nearly all the children paroled to him on farms in the country. Mr. Detloff, who is a German citizen living out among a population of German farmers, handles a class of cases a little different from those handled by Mr. Colby. He takes boys whose only resource is work with their hands. They are laborers; they have to work hard; and he places them and keeps them employed and looks after them on farms. When I come to the place where I seem obliged to commit a child to an institution, and the mother and father are there, and I am still reluctant to give up the hope of not making a record against the boy, I say to the father and mother, "Are you willing that I should place this boy on a farm, give him a job through the winter or through the summer, or for a year, if necessary?" When they say "yes," I introduce them to Mr. Colby or Mr. Detloff, as the emergency of the case may de- mand, and with their consent the child is sent to one of these places in charge of Mr. Detloff or Mr. Colby. If I am in doubt whether or not it is possible for the boy to make good under those conditions, I tell him, " Under no circumstances run away," although some of them do. " If you are not satisfied with the farm or with the home in which you are placed, report to Mr. Colby or to Mr. Det- loff, and he will make a change for you and give you another place; but don't run away. Report to them first. Of course, if you cannot get to them, come directly to the court." 212 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY If they find it is not possible to make it go, or if possibly they do not like the family, they are brought back by Mr. Colby or Mr. Detloff, and I change the order which has been made. Some- times a boy is brought in after he has been out in the country for a year, and his mother, even if she has received money from him right along, may still want him back in Chicago in spite of the bad en- vironment from which he had been taken. Sometimes I listen to the mother, although I should keep the boy on the farm, and say, "All right, my boy, I will give you a trial at home now, and see, after having had a lot of good air and a lot of experience out in the country, whether you can stand up against the old environment and your old associates. If you can, all right." Then I release him from the probation order or the condition of parole and let him go back home. Q. What is done by the court with regard to requiring a re- port from these reputable citizens whom you named, especially the four who are not regular probation officers? A. No report is required by the court from these reputable citizens. I have always thought the act meant that when a child is placed in the hands of a reputable citizen the citizen should be of such standing and character as to be able to handle the problem of the custody and welfare of that child. I could not, of course, say to a regular probation officer, " I have paroled a child to this or that reputable citizen; you go and look the situation over, make inquiries, visit the child and the home, and find out whether or not the reputable citizen handles that child properly." No reputable citizen in Chicago would take it upon himself or herself to do this work under such conditions. The result would be an interference by others with the control by the "citizen." Then, too, people with whom children are placed are especially sensitive about hav- ing probation officers coming to their homes and making inquiries. It attracts the attention of the neighbors and usually has a bad effect on the case. This means, of course, that the reputable citizens become responsible for the homes selected. If perchance, the court should select a citizen who proved to be not worthy and not reputable, the onus would probably fall upon the court, because the selection is left to the discretion of the court. And yet, as I said before, there can be no specific requirements other than that 15 213 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME the home should be the home of people who are fit to be entrusted with the custody of children of people who are honest, moral, of good Christian training, and of good reputation. ******** We also parole children to citizens who are officers of institu- tions. We have an institution known as the Angel Guardian Orphan Asylum, and another, St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum; there are also the Louise Home and others. In those cases it is the custom, at the request of the institutions, instead of making a commitment direct to the institution, to make the order to the individual who is president or superintendent of the institution. The State Board of Public Charities act and also the Board of Administration act passed in 1909 provide for the visitation of all charitable institutions in this state by representatives of the two boards respectively, and the certification of those institutions that are deemed fit and proper custodians of children. They are looked upon thereafter as accredited institutions to which the ju- venile court may commit children. Besides this, the juvenile court law provides* that a report of these institutions may be asked for by the juvenile court. There is also a provision, as far as Cook County is concerned, that the county judge shall appoint a visitation committee, which shall visit these institutions. Under this authority in the juvenile court law I have sometimes required reports from institutions. If complaint is made of the conduct of an institution, the person making the complaint is asked to file by petition or otherwise a specification of his charges. The superin- tendent is then summoned, or a notice is served by the juvenile court on the institution, and an investigation is made and testi- mony heard; and the court acts according to the developments in the case. I might say, further, that it has been frequently my province to call upon the state agent, Mr. Virden, who is now the agent of the Board of Administration and who was the agent of the State Board of Public Charities, to investigate certain institu- tions to which my attention had been called, for the purpose of determining for me whether or not the institution is creditable and whether or not the court should send children to it. Mr. Virden has always promptly attended to these cases. I do not, however, * Sec. 96. Illinois Revised Statutes (1909), chap. 23, sec. 1776. 214 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY place the matter of inspection in the hands of the probation de- partment, because that department has no authority in the matter. It should be noted that the industrial school for girls act and the manual training school for boys act cover that situation fully. As has been said, one was passed in 1879 and the other in 1883, and the only visitation relied upon under those separate acts was by the State Board of Commissioners of Public Charities, and, since that has been abolished and the act creating it repealed, by visitors authorized under the Board of Administration act passed in 1909. A distinction should be made between the power of visitation and the power to require reports, because under the juvenile court law I have a right to demand a report, but none to insist upon a visitation by my agent or by the probation department or by any- one connected with the juvenile court. The probation depart- ment therefore has nothing to do with these cases where the child is placed on probation to a reputable citizen who is also an officer of one of these accredited institutions.. The order is then prac- tically an order of commitment, because, as in the case of St. Vin- cent's Orphanage, the child is in the absolute custody and care of the Orphanage. The same is true with the Angel Guardian's Home; and also with the Louise Home. While it is in name a probation, it is in effect a commitment to an institution. The only difference between this order and a commitment to an insti- tution is that it gives a little more latitude to the officer named, as to whether or not the liberty of the child may or may not be re- strained by the custody and care of the institution. If I may explain a little further, the difference between pro- bation and commitment is this: Probation, according to the mean- ing of the word, is the act of proving; that is, the child becomes, or is thought to be, delinquent, and the mother and the father say, and the child says, "Give me another chance, Judge, and I will be all right; I will do the right thing; I will never do this again." The child is then sent home on probation to "prove" his character. It is the act of " proving" whether that child can make good or not. That is probation. Commitment turns over to the institution to which the child is sent the custodial care of the child. This applies both to delinquent and to dependent children. For instance, St. 215 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME Vincent's is a dependent institution, and instead of committing the child to the institution I commit him to Mr. Ryan, a reputable citizen, the superintendent. The same is true with regard to the Angel Guardian Orphan Asylum. Sister Bertina handles the child and is the guardian of the child. In effect, in both cases the child goes to an institution, but there is a little more latitude given in handling the child. Q. What has the probation department to do with these reputable citizens who are officers of the accredited institutions? A. Nothing. The probation department has nothing to do with them. I might add this, that after some experience in the juvenile court I had taken up with Mr. Witter and discussed with him the plan of having these reputable citizens who were the heads of institutions report to the probation department about these children distinguishing, bear in mind, the "reputable citizen" order as against the commitment order, because I did not consider that I had any right to require reports from institutions to which children were committed under the law, but I did feel justified in asking for a report from these reputable citizens. I wanted to see if we could bring this about without friction after nine years' practice in the court during which no reports were required. It had to be brought about slowly and with the consent of the indi- viduals, because if they were to refuse I felt that I could not en- force it. Q. Has anything been done along that line? A. Yes, we have taken it up, I should say, with one or two institutions, and are trying to bring it about now. Q. Does it require their consent and co-operation? A. Practically and legally it does. I do not think that I could enforce it if I were to try to force them to do it, except that I could discontinue committing children to those institutions that refused to report. Q. As to the order for the appointment of the guardian that you have mentioned, with a right to consent to adoption, are there any particular persons or institutions usually selected as such guardians? A. Yes. In cases of that kind the order is generally to the institutions, and it provides for the appointment of the superin- 216 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY tendent or some officer designated by law to act as guardian to the child. This order is between an order of commitment and an order of probation. It is not called an order of commitment in that it does not restrain the liberty. It is more an order of probation be- cause it gives a person authority over the custody and care of the child, not given by an ordinary probation order. Whenever a child is given to an institution for adoption, the institution desig- nates the officer it desires to have named as guardian, and the court consents. I should also say in that connection that in more than half the cases the consent of the parents is given; generally the consent of the parents is secured because the question of religion comes in. In the case of an illegitimate child, the mother is the only one required by the law to consent. Q. What has the probation department to do with these guardians after they have been appointed? A. Nothing either in law or in practice. Q. You spoke awhile ago of another form of order which was that of commitment to an institution. Will you name some of the principal institutions to which you commit children, and the sort of children these institutions take? A. Yes. I can name them very readily because there are only five to which children can be committed. St. Charles School for Boys, at St. Charles, is a state institution to which delinquent boys of any religious belief may be sent. The Geneva School for Girls is a state institution to which delinquent girls are sent, re- gardless of the religious belief of their parents. In the city we have the John Worthy School for boys, which is an institution supported by the citizens of Chicago, where boys are sent regardless of re- ligious belief. Then we have two institutions to which delinquent girls are sent. One, a Catholic institution to which all Catholic girls are sent except those who under certain circumstances are sent to Geneva, is the House of the Good Shepherd; the other is the Chicago Refuge for Protestant girls. Those five are the only institutions to which delinquent children are sent by the juvenile court. For dependent children there are neither state nor county institutions. Nor are there any city institutions, so far. They are all semi-private. You understand that under the law the court 217 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME when called upon must send a child to an institution controlled by persons who are of the same religious belief as the parents. Speak- ing first of the Catholic institutions, there are the Chicago Indus- trial School for girls at Desplaines (Feehanville), and St. Mary's Training School for Boys at the same place. Dependent boys and dependent girls who are Catholic are committed to those two in- stitutions, generally speaking. The Protestant school for boys is the Glenwood Manual Training School Farm in the southeast por- tion of the county near Chicago Heights. Dependent girls of the Protestant faith are sent to the Illinois Industrial School at Park Ridge. In addition to these institutions there are many others to which dependent boys and girls, Protestant and Catholic, are committed by the juvenile court. ******** Q. What is meant by accredited institutions? A. Accredited by the State Board of Administration, certi- ficates having been issued to these institutions after visitation by the Board of Administration. This is done under the Board of Administration Act of 1909, which superseded and took the place of the Board of Charities Act. The provision for the appointment of a board of visitation by the county judge applies also to these institutions. Q. Can the court make investigation by visitation of them? A. The board appointed by the county judge and also the Board of Administration under the state law can send visitation committees and representatives to these various institutions to visit and inspect. It is the duty of the Board of Administration to issue annually a certificate accrediting these institutions to the people at large and to the juvenile court as proper institutions. Q. To what extent have you the power to visit and inspect and the power to demand reports from this class of institutions? A. The power is not very broad, as those reports can be made by affidavit and be within the law, or officers can be brought in and called upon to answer charges made or testimony offered. It is only when a complaint comes to me about an institution that I can exercise the authority under the law to call for a report. When the Board of Administration has issued a certificate an- nually accrediting that institution to me, I feel that prima facie, 2lS TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY I am justified in sending the children there without further inquiry or investigation on the part of the court. Q. Do I understand that this power of the court is under that section of the law which says a judge may reopen the case of each child committed? A. No. Q. Is it under that section? A. No, an entirely different section. Q. Does it empower the court to this extent, that you can issue an order to a certain institution of this character that you want a monthly report or that you want a semi-annual or annual report, something of that kind? A. No, I do not do that. Q. You have only the power to do it in specific instances? A. In specific instances. For instance, if there is a complaint that the institution is unworthy, that the superintendent of that institution is not a fit person to be appointed guardian of the chil- dren, then under the law I call for a report from that institution, as full a report as I deem necessary in order to get the facts and determine whether it is a proper institution and whether the guar- dian named is fit. It is, however, only in special cases that I have such authority. Q. Not as a general proposition of administration? A. Not as a general proposition of administration. That is not the law, because it apparently provides for two plans of investigation. One is by the state board and the other is by the county court committee to visit these institutions and report if they find anything wrong. I will, however, read section 96, of the juvenile law as amended in 1907, which is applicable to these cases. "The court may from time to time cite into court the guar- dian, institution, or association to whose care any dependent, neglected, or delinquent child has been awarded, and require him or it to make a full, true, and perfect report as to his or its doings in behalf of such child; and it shall be the duty of such guardian, institution, or association within ten days after such citation, to make such report either in writing, verified by affidavit, or verbally under oath in open court, or otherwise as the court shall direct; and upon hearing such report, with or without further evidence, 219 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME the court may, if it see fit, remove such guardian and appoint another in its stead, or take such child away from such institution or association and place it in another, or restore such child to the custody of its parents or former guardian or custodian." That is, under this section I can demand a report on the evi- dence heard and testimony before me as to the character and fitness of an institution to have the care of children. If the court thinks that the institution is not a proper institution to have the custody of the dependent or delinquent child, or that the superintendent who is named as guardian is not a fit person, I can not only remove the child but I can call the attention of the State Board of Control to the situation, and they can act in the case of the institution, although I myself have no authority. I could, however, prevent the sending of any more children to that institution. Q. Is it your judgment, Judge, that that section is not broad enough for you to exercise, say, through some of the agents or officers of the court, administrative jurisdiction over those places? For instance, it says that "the court from time to time." Suppose you should consider as from time to time once a month? A. I do not think that is the proper construction; I have not so construed it. Q. Your construction is that you are only to act in specific instances? A. Yes, when it has been brought to my attention by the father, the mother, or the relative consenting or not consenting or objecting to a child's going to an institution. If members of the family should come in and make complaint that a certain institu- tion is not a proper institution; that the superintendent, who is named as guardian, is unfit to act as guardian; I could then call for a report and could determine what should be done in this specific instance. If it were called to my attention on investiga- tion that the institution was an institution to which children should not be sent, I could refuse to commit them there. My idea is that I should submit a report of the matter to the State Board of Con- trol and ask them that the certificate accrediting the institution to the court be withdrawn. I have done this in the case of two insti- tutions, to which certificates have been refused. Q. Judge, if a specific instance is called to your attention as 220 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY you have just stated, under section 96, in regard to an institution to which you have committed a child, you can compel that insti- tution to report, can you not? A. Yes. Q. Do you believe that you have a right in order to determine whether or not they were making a correct report to you, to send one of your probation officers there to ascertain those facts? In other words, you are not compelled, are you, Judge, under this section ge, to take alone the words of the testimony, if you please, the evidence that may be furnished you by the institution itself? Might you not take it into your hands and send probation officers there to determine those facts in addition, under that section? A. No, and I will give you my reason for my construction. If you are familiar with the industrial school act, which has been declared constitutional by our supreme court, you will recall that the act provides not only that the custodial care and guardianship of the children shall be with these institutions until the children arrive at the age fixed by the statute, but also that the institution shall have the right under the law to place the children out and control their liberty and their custodial welfare up to the age of twenty-one, in so far as it does not conflict with the apprenticeship law. It is just this language of the act that leads me to the construction I have given this section. The industrial school act for girls no- where in its sections provides for the recall of one of those children. The manual training school act for boys in 1885 was so amended that the last section provides for the restoration of the boy to his parents. That was the only exception made in either of these two acts by the legislature, whereby, after a child was once given to one of these institutions, he could be recalled and restored to his parents. Since I have been in the court, I have, notwithstanding opposition, insisted upon the restoration of boys under that act, and I have always felt that the industrial school act for girls should be amended so as to give the same right to girls. My construction is based on all these laws taken together. Q. Do you think that you have overstepped your rights, Judge, when you have insisted on the restoration of the boys? A. No, because the last section of the manual training school act provides that this shall be done, but the industrial training 221 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME school for girls act nowhere says that it can be done. That is why I say, in construing section 9, that at the same time that you con- strue the juvenile court law you have to construe the other two laws, one of which was passed in 1879 and the other in 1881, be- cause the supreme court has decided that they are constitutional. And there is no provision in any one of them whereby you can recall the girls who have been placed in the industrial school. The distinc- tion between them is a legal distinction as between girls and boys. Q. You stated a moment ago that you could refuse to commit children to any institution if you wished to. A. Yes. Q. Isn't that legal power limited by the fact that the number of institutions is limited? A. Yes. I am confronted with that situation very frequently and especially with full institutions. The institutions are full and there may be no opportunity afforded for the receipt of the child; and then I am absolutely helpless. And I have from time to time been obliged to send the child back to the old environment and the old home. This happens in the case of girls who should be taken care of by the state of Illinois, because they are wards of the state who have violated the laws of the state; and no provision has been made by the state to take care of them. Under the conditions which have existed during my term of service in the juvenile court, I have seen as many as eight or ten girls waiting to be taken in at Geneva, while Geneva, which is a state institution, refused to take them in because the institution was full. ******** Q. Tell the Commission how frequently the children, whether delinquent or dependent, are placed in these institutions with the consent of the parents. A. So far as the dependents are concerned, the great bulk of the children are sent to institutions at the request of their parents. Q. Are they subject to the visitation of the parents? A. Yes. In visiting the children, however, they have to conform to the rules of the institutions by going on visiting days. ******** Q. When children are recalled from an institution what is the process? 222 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY A. They are either placed on probation or released per- manently. Q. What is preliminary in the way of practice and procedure, may I ask, to their being recalled? A. A petition is filed for the release, or in many cases the representative of the institution voluntarily brings in the child and asks the court to have him released. Q. Is any notice required? A. It is always the practice to have the mother or somebody present in court to receive the child. In such cases there must be notice, because it is necessary under the law to give the institutions ten days' notice to come in for hearing. We could not even compel them to come in and consider a release under ten days. Q. What is the practice with regard to a change of order in the case of the appointment of a guardian with the right to consent to adoption? A. There would have to be a petition for rehearing and notice to all parties; that is, to all parties who are of interest and to all over whom the court must have jurisdiction in order to enter the original order. Notice must be given to the parties to reconsider that order or to change it in any way. ******** Q. Passing now, Judge, from the order which you make with respect to the custody of the child to the question of the release of the child; what are the orders for such release? A. As I say, it is either a release on probation, or a permanent release. And a release granted by the juvenile court is designated as being a release "with improvement" or "without improvement." That is the practice. There is no legal definition of that kind, but the juvenile court and probation department have put all the per- manent releases under the head of those with improvement and those without improvement. Q. Is there any special day set for hearing such releases? A. Yes. The time set is the afternoon of the third Wednes- day in each month. After I had been in the court some time, the chief probation officer, Mr. Witter, brought to my attention the fact that the releasing of children had been greatly neglected. And after a great deal of trouble, because we did not have enough 223 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME help at the time, we finally established a plan, chiefly through Mr. Witter' s efforts, by which we consider releases on the afternoon named. The officers from the various districts on this day bring in cases that they think should be permanently released. Where it was thought by the court that a child once placed on probation, who had made good for a long period, perhaps one year or two years, as the case may be, should be encouraged by a perma- nent release, his name has been wiped off the slate. Those cases have been brought in until I am glad to say there are no back numbers. Q. What proportion of the releases are "with improvement" today? A. Well, from my experience in the court I should say from 85 to 88 per cent. Q. What is the process of marking them "with improvement"? A. On the afternoon of the day set, the case is brought in by the probation officer from his or her district, and the facts are set out before the court and before the chief probation officer and the situation fully explained. If the court after the explanation sees the necessity or advisability of permanent release, the child is per- manently released by the court, and the order is entered so that a child can say, " I was once in the juvenile court but I have been permanently released from it." Q. Is there at that time a general review of the child's case? A. There is simply a summary, not a general review, by the probation officer of the facts in the case, showing why the boy or the girl should be released. Q. What does this percentage of releases with improvement indicate with regard to the work of the probation department? A. It indicates that they are doing good work not pretty good, but good work. And I may say that the only source of relief which a judge of a juvenile court has, is that when he sees the boys and girls brought into court after several years' probation, he finds that 85 to 88 per cent of them have improved and are going to make good citizens. If it were not for that, we should feel, as in fact we do sometimes, as if we wanted to quit the work, leave the bench of the juvenile court and go back to the other court to try cases relating to personal property and personal liberty. I wish 224 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY that some of you would come over there and sit through it awhile. You know when you sit through a whole year in the court and realize that within those twelve months 4100 children have come into that court, a great mass of children from the highways and byways of this big city, from the streets and the alleys, you will oftentimes wonder why there are any of them who are not criminals. That is the only satisfaction the court can get, it is the greatest satisfaction. It makes it possible to live over there and carry on the work. I could preach a sermon here if you wanted to listen to.it. In the state of Illinois, you know, they have been pursuing the policy of trying to insure the building after the fire. That is a fact. For a century this great republic of ours has been doing just that. They have studied belated measures, trying to cure the disease after the disease has eaten away the vitality of the youth. Why do they not study causes and prevention? Until we use pre- ventive measures, it is all just simply palliative, nothing else. You cannot go to an insurance company and get a building insured while it is burning, can you? Then why should it be possible to try to make good citizens out of bad boys? We must study these matters, go back to marriage and divorce and such questions as that, study the influences around the children and try to make them live decent lives. Then you will have good citizens instead of four or five thousand boys and girls coming annually into the juvenile court. You know that I feel very deeply on this subject. When I remember what it has been necessary to do over there and what they are all trying to do, and see the good they are trying to do, it seems too bad that people do not wake up and do away with the conditions which make delinquents. We sleep peacefully for fifty years and then we suddenly wake up and say, Oh my! Oh my! It was not until 1891 that we had a reformatory. Before that time we sent children down to the state penitentiary. The establishment of the reformatory was the first step and it was in the direction of genuine reformation. Reformation meant punishing them to bring about reform punishment to pre- vent the repetition of the offense by the same child or by another child. That was the law and practice which held this great state for nearly a century. Now, we have found out that this is not the 225 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME proper course of action; we have found out that we ought to go down into the sources of the evil and study prevention; and you can do that only by finding out what is the cause of the trouble. You cannot manufacture a good citizen out of a vicious, depraved child, or a child brought up in vicious, depraved, and poverty- stricken surroundings. Q. Judge, what is the function of the detention home? A. The detention home was established under an act of the legislature, I think in 1907, giving the Board of Commissioners of Cook County in this particular case the right to establish a deten- tion home, where children could be kept instead of being sent to jail or to the police station pending trial. The children are held before trial and are held sometimes after trial, while a new home is being sought or until the institution is ready to take care of them. There are no probation officers in the detention home, and the pro- bation department has nothing to do with its management except to place such children there as cannot be provided for in other homes before the trial, and sometimes to leave them there until they can be placed in homes after trial. Q. Does the superintendent take the orders of the probation officers? A. Only to this extent. When a regular county probation officer or a regular city probation officer brings a child to the deten- tion home, the superintendent receives the child and tries to see that the child is properly attended to. Q. Do they obey your orders I mean the court orders? A. Yes, they obey. The institution, it should be noticed, is controlled by a certain code of rules and regulations laid down by the Board of County Commissioners, acting, in a sense I think, with the mayor of the city. The probation department has nothing to do with the way it is conducted, or what goes on up there. It is absolutely under the control of the board. Q. How does the court use the home in making its orders? A. When the home is used for the detention of children before trial, it is generally so used by the probation officer. I also use it in the same way occasionally. I use it sometimes during a trial, too, where a continuance is necessary. And once in awhile, after trial, when I know that it is necessary, for instance, to send a boy 226 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY out to St. Charles, and the superintendent of the institution in- forms me that he can not take the child for a week or ten days or maybe two weeks, 1 allow the child to stay meanwhile in the de- tention home. Then there are cases where children are kept there for unusually long periods, although those occur very rarely Such is the case, for example, when a young girl has been raped by some vicious citizen or vicious man, I do not want to call him a citizen; he ought not to be and I find that it is necessary to keep that child in the detention home under influences that will prevent such vicious men, depraved relatives, and defenders of the man that has caused the trouble, from getting control of the child and pre- venting the due process of justice and the prosecution of the man. Q. What is that danger, Judge? A. The use of money with the parents and the relatives, and the spiriting of the girl out of the city so that the court may be unable to get her when we want to prosecute the offender in the criminal court. Sometimes, when we have to send the child to an institution, they will get into the institution, as was done here re- cently, when they tried to perform a marriage through the bars of the room where the girl stayed. Marrying the girl under our law releases the offender from prosecution for the crime. Q. Was that one of the charitable institutions, Judge? A. It was one of our delinquent institutions. The parents left their little girl there and a justice of the peace came to perform the ceremony. It was only the night before that the plan was found out. Through Judge Kavanaugh the man was sent to the penitentiary. It is just that kind of game that we have to contend against. Out of fifty cases of rape, there are only a few men ar- rested. And if you allowed the girls to go home, there would not be one out of fifty who could be successfully prosecuted. Q. Are there many continuances? A. Oh yes, a good many of them. Q. And what are these continuances for? A. Sometimes, of course, one side or the other hasn't its witnesses; or the parties may not be there, or they cannot always agree on the time of trial. Then there are continuances for the purpose of subjecting the child to good influences. The case is continued for the sake of the child, who is put upstairs, under 227 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME the influences of the teachers and of the superintendent of the detention home. The child who has lied comes down after a continuance and tells the whole truth. The purpose of such a proceeding is to save the child. Q. I want to ask at this point, Judge, what the court does in regard to dispatching its docket so that children are not held under petitions or in the detention home any longer than they should be. A. Shortly after my going over there I established a rule in the probation department and with the superintendent of the home, whereby all probation officers when they take children to the de- tention home report back within from twenty-four to twenty-eight hours, and whereby the superintendent reports within twenty-four hours to the probation department when a child is brought in by the city police. Then the regular probation officer is communi- cated with and put into communication with the police, and the child is sent home to the parents. If these conditions are not complied with within forty-eight hours, the superintendent has orders to send the child home. Q. How many days in the week does the juvenile court sit? A. \ sit at the court five days. I am there also on Saturday forenoons ordinarily, cleaning up the business, getting out special matters and special orders and answering the correspondence of persons who want to know about particular cases. Five days I am holding court and trying cases. On Monday, early in the morning, I hear dependent cases that require a jury. During the last year, except occasionally when the dependent docket became congested, it was not necessary to use more than Monday and Thursday fore- noons for these, but recently I have been using sometimes as many as three days, and once, I think, as many as four days a week for dependent cases. Friday I use for truant children; the other days, except Wednesday afternoon, are for delinquent cases. On Wednesday afternoons, since September last, I have usually been able to have conferences, of late, however, 1 have not been able to devote Wednesday afternoons to conferences. Q. When do you begin sitting over there? A. In the morning I am there from half-past nine until twelve or one o'clock for forenoon calls. I take twenty minutes for lunch, and since September last have sat generally until five 228 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY or half past five o'clock. Monday night it is generally a quarter to six when 1 leave. Q. How many cases do you hear a day? A. Twenty-five or thirty. I propose to try twenty or twenty- five; that is, twenty new cases with five continued cases. You can start with that idea and give instructions to do that, but you cannot confine the daily call to that number. Q, What is the jurisdiction of the probation department as defined by the juvenile court act? A. The part of the juvenile court law passed in 1907 which defines the jurisdiction of the chief probation officer provides, first, that the probation officer shall make investigations as required by the court; second, that he shall be present in court to represent the interest of the child; third, that he shall furnish such informa- tion from time to time as the judge may require; fourth, that he shall take such charge of the child before and after trial as the court may direct. These four provisions are required by the amendment. Q. What are the investigations that you mentioned first? A. They are investigations, generally speaking, made by the probation department prior to the bringing in of the child or prior to the summoning of the parents to bring in the child. They are generally made on complaint sent to the complaint department by neighbors and acquaintances, as I have already said, to see if it is not possible to adjust the matter out of court; or, where a home is alleged to be unfit, to make it fit; or, where the parents are charged with being improper custodians, to see that they change their habits and become proper custodians, so that the case may not be brought into court. That is my interpretation of what is meant by the "investigation required by the court." Q. What rules does the court lay down in respect to the making of these investigations? A. There are no written rules; no definite rules other than that the officer should make an investigation covering the home, the parents, the child, the history of the parents of the child, and of the environment, and should ascertain the facts alleged in the com- plaint sent in by the neighbors or whosoever may make the com- plaint. After the complaint comes in, an officer goes out and makes the investigation at the request of or by the direction of the chief 16 229 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME probation officer; and when the facts have been ascertained, if there is any question as to whether the child should be brought in on the complaint, because there may be a difference of opinion be- tween the officer and the parties, the matter may be brought before me. If the chief probation officer cannot settle it, it is brought before me, and I pass upon the necessity of bringing the case to court. I find, too, that the opinion of the district officer as to whether or not the child shall be brought in on these complaints, is generally borne out on conference days when I come to investi- gate the matter personally with the children, in conference with their parents. Indeed, I have such confidence in many of the older officers, who visit the homes of the parents, assist in every way possible to remove the cause of dependency or delinquency, and make monthly reports to the head of the probation depart- ment, that I often feel like taking their opinion directly in the case. Q. What would you say as to whether or not this work of investigating has been improved since you were assigned to the juvenile court? A. I think it has, and it is natural that I should. I suppose that every judge thinks that he is doing things better than his pre- decessor did them; but that is a personal matter upon which I prefer to have somebody else pass. I do not mean to say that I have through my own efficiency or ability done any better work than my predecessors. I mean that the growth of the system, the experience acquired, solidifies the work and brings it more com- pactly before the probation department and the court. And through that experience of years, we are able probably to handle the work better than our predecessors. Q. As to the duty of the probation officers when a case is heard to be present in court to represent the interest of the child; is that required ? A. That is always required. I know of very few cases in which it is not. Once in a while a case is continued with the under- standing that if the child who has been a truant goes to school steadily for the next thirty days, or, when he is a working boy, if he remains steadily at work and does not run on the streets after his work, in order to prevent his leaving his job or leaving his school, it is arranged that he need not report back on the day desig- 230 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY nated with the officers; but if he communicates with the officer in the district and if the officer in the district sends me direct word that the orders have been carried out, I continue the case without the child's coming in. It also happens sometimes that the regular officer in charge of the case is not present at the hearing because he or she may be testifying in some other court, or may be away on his or her vacation, or for some other such reason. The case is then continued, unless the facts have been placed at the disposal of another probation officer who appears and reports for the one who is absent. Q. What would you say with respect to whether this re- quirement is satisfactorily fulfilled or not? A. It has been, sir. Q. Now, as to the duty of the probation officers to furnish to the court such information and assistance as the judge may re- quire? A. That has always been done. Since I have been in the juvenile court, I have had this view of the probation department and of the work and I have so expressed myself that if the pro- bation department had not the interests and welfare of the chil- dren at heart, the juvenile court could not do the work successfully. I have relied upon the department, and it has furnished me to my satisfaction all the information upon which I enter orders of com- mitment or orders of probation. In isolated cases, possibly, it has been shown by rehearings that there has been some mistake or some failure to provide sufficient evidence, or possibly it has appeared that the evidence that was presented at the former hear- ing was prejudiced evidence furnished by prejudiced or biased witnesses. That has been shown in some cases on a rehearing; but these cases have been few, especially if you consider the great number of cases that come to the court. Q. What rules does the court issue with respect to the fur- nishing of this assistance and information? A. There are no definite written rules furnished by the court. There are bulletins that the head of the probation department has issued. The practice I found in vogue when I went there and the practice now in vogue, is that the probation officer is given clearly to understand that it is his or her duty to furnish the court every 231 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME fact necessary for the court; not only to determine whether or not a child, a delinquent, has violated some law, because that is the smallest part of this work, but to furnish the facts from which the court may be able to determine the history of the family, their fitness to have charge of the child, the cause that brings about his delinquency, the character of the environment, of the associates everything necessary for the court to determine what to do with that child. As I said before, the mere fact of the violation of the law is the smallest part of the problem of the court. It is how to make a good citizen out of the child in the future and put an end to the conditions that cause the delinquency or the dependency. Q. Under what circumstances do you observe the work of the officers in this connection? A. The officers come before me in court in each case. When the case is brought into my court, unless it is a contested case, with lawyers on both sides or parties in interest on both sides, I seek as far as possible to keep the probation officers out of the case. I do not want them to seem to take sides or to be looked upon as tak- ing sides, as they would even if they merely stated the truth. I therefore try to get the facts from the witnesses as nearly as I can and not from the probation officers. Q. What have you to say in regard to the duties of probation officers in taking charge of the child before trial? A. That is the last provision of the law passed in 1907. It frequently happens where the child is a vagabond or a runaway. Again, the father and mother may both be dead. Often, too, the probation officer will find a family of children with the mother dead in the house; the father perhaps had died previously, or he may be absent. Somebody must look after the children. It is the duty of the officer to do this and he does; he looks after and takes care of the children. The usual course of procedure in such a case is to bring the children to the detention home, where under the care of the superintendent acting under the county board's instruction they are kept until the trial; but it frequently happens that these probation officers take the children to their own homes before trial. Q. Are there any rules issued by the court in respect to that? A. No, no, sir. As I have already said, this matter of the probation officer and the child is a personal equation. We are 232 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY dealing with human souls, not with pieces of mechanism. You cannot lay down a written rule that would be just and fair to all; you cannot lay down enough rules, if you spend your lifetime, to cover every individual characteristic of every child. Q. Now, as to the taking charge of the child after trial by the probation department? A. That of course happens in many ways in all the cases ex- cept those in which a child is committed to an institution, as I have explained. Frequently a child is returned to the home of the parents, subject to visitation. That means that the district officer in the district where the child lives is instructed to look after the child, to visit the home. Then the child may be placed in another home and there, also, the probation officers must look after the child and report to the chief probation officer monthly under the rules laid down. There is a bulletin that covers the way in which the officers shall make their reports upon visitations, the time spent, when they go to work, when they quit, and all that. Those are known as the rules of service. Q. What are the duties of the head probation officer as in- dicated by the statute? A. The only thing I remember to be indicated by the statute is that the chief probation officer shall have charge of the probation officers under the direction of the court. There are no definite written rules on the subject. It is as I have said, with this excep- tion, that since I have been there I have laid down certain regula- tions in addition to the rules already in practice, and have arranged for certain procedure in the handling of cases and for action by the district probation officers which I thought best for the welfare of the children. Q. Can you mention any of the directions of the court issued while you have been assigned as judge to the juvenile court? A. Yes. I think one of the first changes that I made over at the juvenile court was the establishment, through the assistance of the chief probation officer, of the conference days, of which I have spoken. I think that this was practically the first change of any vital importance, establishing Wednesday afternoon for the time when fathers and mothers and children could be brought, with those complaining against the children, to my chambers, and the 233 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME matter threshed out and adjusted so that it would not be necessary to make a record against the child. We find that the plan works so well that we have followed it through the entire year. Q. Does the head probation officer take any part in those conferences? A. Yes, nearly always. Sometimes, of course, the district officer in the absence of the chief probation officer comes in and lays the facts before me in my chambers, with the complaining witness and with the parents and children; but, nearly always, he is there or is instrumental in bringing them in. Q. What would you say, Judge, with respect to the satisfac- tory or unsatisfactory character of the head probation officer's work in that respect. A. \ considered it satisfactory, and it was satisfactory. I should also like to say that I found after being over there five or six months, perhaps less, that there was one side of child life with regard to which I was not getting satisfactory evidence. That was the psychological side. Shortly after I went there, I think in the winter time of my first term in the court, through the generosity of two citizens of this county a psychopathic institute was established, at the head of which, under the pay of private individuals, was Dr. William J. Healy, a well-known physician and neurologist, a man especially fitted to look into the psychology of the child. He stayed with me, or in my court room, where I could use him when- ever a case required, for about the first six months. Since that time his work has grown so that he has not been present in court except when sent for and when he has been called on to report on cases, or when I have asked him to look into cases with consent of the parents. Only those who have had experience with this work and have studied it will understand the necessity for some assistance of that kind. The judge is often unable in hearing a case, with oral testimony, having only a cursory view and examination of the child, to get at the seat of the difficulty and the cause of the child's trouble. That is especially true in the case of epilepsy or of any kind of mental disturbance which causes the truancy or delinquency of the child. You never can get at the true cause unless you have someone like Dr. Healy, able by examination to determine what is the true cause, and to report. He has often saved me from doing 234 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY what would have been the wrong thing for a child by his examina- tion of the child, and by his report on the child's condition; and he is helping the court today, gratuitously, so far as the county is concerned, in that work. Whoever goes to the court will find that he needs just such a man as Dr. Healy if he intends to do the proper thing for the welfare of the children in the court. Before I leave this subject, I should add one point more. Through the probation department, I first requested Mr. Witter to see that the officers communicated with the parents, and asked them if they would be willing to have the children examined by Dr. Healy, before trial, if possible; and when the children have come before me and I have not been able to determine what the real trouble is, then I have asked the parents and secured their consent, on a continuance, to have the child examined in that way, so that all this work done by Dr. Healy has been done in nearly every instance with the consent of the parents. It has now become so popular among the fathers and mothers that they come in and ask me to do this even before the children are brought into court. Q. Do you make any directions as to the bringing of children into the detention home? A. Yes. I found the detention home greatly overcrowded when I went over there in September, 1908, and it is a constant source of trouble now. Until changed by the order of the court, it was the habit, especially of the city policemen, instead of taking children to their own homes, to dump them into the detention home and leave them, any little fellow between eight and twelve years, and sometimes younger, that they happened to pick up on the street. I issued instructions through Mr. Witter, and told the department to see to it that these city policemen should in every possible case take these children to their own homes instead of bringing them to the detention home. I also urged upon the probation department that the first duty of the officers should be to see that these children went home instead of being held in the detention home, so that children should be held there only in extreme cases. Even with all that care, the detention home is overcrowded all the time, and the children are not taken care of as they should be because of the close quarters in the home. 235 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME Q. Have you made any direction in regard to the service of summons? A. Yes, I took that up with the officers and with the chief probation officer early in my term of service, directing that the usual process which the law contemplates, the service of a sum- mons, should be first tried; and that, except in extreme cases where it would be obviously ineffective, a summons should be used first. I also found that repeaters, some of whom had been sent to institu- tions, were released from the institutions to go home without hav- ing the record in court clear; that is, without bringing the child into court for the purpose of having the record of commitment vacated or the child released. And I directed, and it has been the practice ever since, so far as I know, that the probation department should make inquiries at the institution on the day on which the child is brought in again and require its representative in court to explain to the court why that child is away from the institution and why he has not been reported for release. You will remember that the institution has complete authority in disposing of children committed to it. Under both the industrial school act and the manual training school act for girls and boys, respectively, and under section eight of the juvenile court act, the very last part, under "guardianship, etc.," it is held that the institution can hold the child in the institution, subject to its by-laws and rules, and under the same law it has authority to parole or release. I have, however, authority to make this requirement because of a provision of the law which says that all parties in interest must be made parties defendant. When we file a petition, and a custodian, as shown by my record, is such a party in interest, that custodian must be made a party defendant in order to make the court record clear. I do not know whether if they refused I could make them come. But they could be defaulted, and then I should go ahead with my order and the court record would be clear. Q. Could you hold them in contempt if they did not comply with the summons as defendants in cases of that character? A. No, because, like all other defendants, they can default, and the law provides for the entry of the default. Then I have another reason. I do this not only to meet the legal requirements of the record but also in order to get all the information I can so 236 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY that I can know what to do with the child. He is a repeater, and I try to get that information through the agency of the institution. I have the statutory authority to do this under the Practice and Procedure sections, where it says that the parents, guardians, and custodians must be made party defendants. Otherwise they might cause us trouble, because the institution has placed the child on parole, and after I enter some order they might say, "Why, here, we only paroled that child for six months," and they might come and take the child away from the place where I had sent him. I prevent such possibility by default after summons, so that they are through with that child and I have the right to control. Q. Then in your opinion, Judge, there seems to be this break in the juvenile court's authority. You have all authority over the child when it is brought into your court until you make your final disposition or order directing the child into some institution. When it goes there, your authority ceases, except in special in- stances as you have said, under section ge. But when the child has gone out from that institution under some rule or law, and he is again found in trouble and brought into court, you can then cite that institution into court for the purpose of finding out why the child was let go? A. First for the purpose of making the record clear, so that whatever order I subsequently enter will be right. Q. Yes, for the purpose of making your record you think that you have a right to cite the institution in. In other words, from the statute your general authority apparently breaks when the child enters the institution and commences again for the purpose of keeping a record of the child when he is out of the institution? A. Yes. And 1 have always thought and so expressed my- self that the court ought to have the right to demand information or reports from these institutions as to what disposition they make of the child. There are, however, two sides to the proposition. My idea is this; that when a father, mother, and child are brought into the juvenile court, when it is found necessary for the welfare of the child and for the interests of the state to send the child to an institution, the father and mother if they are fit, not prostitute mothers, not drunken fathers, not parents that would disgrace the 237 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME children in the homes where they are placed, but fit fathers and mothers, at any subsequent date ought to be able to go to the juvenile court and say, "Where is my child?" and learn where their child is. The record ought to show that the child is either in an in- stitution where they could go and find him and see him, or else in the home where the child has been placed on parole by the institution. It should be remembered, however, that in 1910 there were more than 2500 delinquent children. Of those children, 1175 were so delinquent that they should have been placed somewhere away from their own homes. The delinquency of 75 per cent of these was caused by the incompetency and neglect of parents, parents who are absolutely unfit to look after their children. If you take a child from such parents, and do so justly, and if you place it in an institution, and the institution finds a good home for the child, would you think it right if yours was one of the families who had a nice boy or girl given to you by an institution, to have a drunken father stumbling over your doorstep, or a prostitute mother enter- ing at your door inquiring for that child? I think not. Homes could never be found for children under such conditions. So there are two sides to this proposition, and it has been argued pro and con. It is not an easy thing, and you cannot draw a line here and say for this child thus and so must be done, for that child thus and so. It is a personal equation again, this time with the parent or parents. The authority ought to be given to the juvenile court to exercise at the court's discretion, and when a father knocks at the door of the juvenile court and says, "Where is my child?" the court can ask: " Mr. Smith, how have you lived?" and " Mrs. Smith, are you in the red light district?" "Mr. Smith, are you a drunkard? If you are, the state of Illinois demands for the welfare of the child, which is its first and only interest and should control its actions, that you see that child no more." I stand for that. But on the other hand, I stand just as firmly for the proposition that after a child has been once taken from a fit father and mother through misfortune of poverty or other mischance, since that father and mother have the first natural right to the child, the child should be returned to the father and mother when they are fit and able to take proper care of the child. Such parents always get the child when they come to me, and I have made the institu- 238 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY tions, so far as the law gave me the right and authority, yield to the parents' demand. * * * ***** Q. What have you done, Judge, in regard to making delin- quents who have stolen make restitution? A. Well, I suppose that every judge sometimes does things he has not the legal right to do, but knows to be just and right. I have laid down and followed the rule and insisted that Mr. Witter and his officers follow the same rule, that whenever a boy is guilty of larceny, or what would commonly be called "guilty of larceny," or is a delinquent because of having stolen money or destroyed goods of a certain value, that boy must be required to work and earn the money and pay back, making restitution. And I have found no better way of making that boy take notice, change his habits, stop stealing, and work. In many cases he steals $20 to $30, and this means making him work two or three months and pay a dollar a week out of his wages, until the money he has stolen and spent at five cent theaters or nickel shows, etc., is all paid back. And while, as I say, I have no legal right to do that, I have done it, because I considered it the right and proper thing to do. The results are admirable. ******** Q. What is the practical method, Judge, by which you induce the delinquent boys who have stolen to make restitution? A. The practical method is for the boy to find a job. He is sent out to work, a job is procured for him, and he is required to pay so much a week to the man or to the woman from whom he has stolen this money until the restitution is made. And if he does that, and most of them do, he is nearly ready to quit being bad, quit being a thief. He has had a lesson that is an object lesson which he does not forget. He has had to take it out of his hard- earned money, his wages, and pay back what he has stolen and spent recklessly. If he does not do it, I bring him in, and as the case has been continued from time to time, I still have jurisdiction. Sometimes I send him to an institution. I cannot legally enforce it against him, of course, but the boy is generally very glad to do it. Q. What have you done with regard to eliminating the prosecuting spirit among probation officers, if that ever existed? 239 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME A. There is not much of that now. A new officer coming upon the force may get the idea that he must prosecute; that it is a part of his duty. That is soon taken out of the officer by in- struction. Especially if I find that spirit apparent at a trial, if the officer should testify as though he were in a way prosecuting the child, I let him see that he is not there for that purpose; that he is there to represent the interests of the child and the welfare of the child and to lay the facts, simply the facts, before the court. Q. What has the court done, Judge, with respect to promot- ing co-operation between the city probation officers, sometimes called police probation officers, and the county probation officers? A. To make that clear, I ought to say that we have, I think, something like thirty city probation officers paid by the city of Chicago. They are policemen, but they travel the district to which they are assigned in citizen's clothes without club or star. They are paid by the city. The way in which it came about that the city of Chicago, although not legally required to do so, furnished a quota of officers from the city police force to serve in the juvenile court as probation officers under commission issued by the judge of the juvenile court, was as follows: When Judge Tuthill first came to the juvenile court as judge, there was no provision made for paid probation officers, and the work was done entirely by volunteers. He soon found it impossible to do the work without the assistance of men and women whose business it was to go out into the high- ways and byways to make these investigations, and also to look after the children after they were placed in the homes. There was no way under the law by which these officers, if they gave their services, could be paid. On that account, he took it up with the mayor, Carter H. Harrison, and explained to him why as a judge of the court he thought that the city should supply to the juvenile court, officers from the police department who should serve as pro- bation officers. He called the mayor's attention to the fact that while acting as probation officers, they would still be policemen looking after the welfare of the citizens of Chicago and their chil- dren, and that in effect they would be doing police duty; and that therefore it was no more than right, since the great mass of children who are becoming dependent and delinquent in the city of Chicago 240 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY were necessarily a charge upon the municipality as well as upon the county, that the city should do its part, in furnishing employes or officers to take care of those children, both before and after the hearing. It took some time to convince the department of the city that this should be done, but the Honorable Mayor, when he under- stood the true meaning of the law and the needs of the case, ac- ceded to the request of Judge Tuthill. The judge then at the re- quest of the mayor called in the captains of the various police pre- cincts in Chicago and explained the law to them, the need of this kind of assistance, the kind of men wanted on the force; and after the matter was thoroughly understood, discussed, and digested, the practice was adopted of having about thirty officers from the city police department detailed to the juvenile court to do the work in connection with the county probation officers. That is how the city policemen, as they are called, came to take off their uniforms and leave their clubs and revolvers at home, put their stars under their vests, and as plain clothes citizens walk the districts in com- pany with the county probation officers and assist the juvenile court in doing its work. In the same way, a lawyer from the city department has been detailed. The judge was not able at first to get assistance from the county attorney's office. Mr. Deneen, who was formerly state's attorney, sent over to the court from the state's attorney's office as a representative of the children and of the state, an attorney, who acted for quite a while. He could not be there all the time, however, and again Judge Tuthill took the matter up with Mr. Harrison, who arranged with the city corpora- tion counsel's office to send over an attorney from that office to look after the work. That is the system that I found in effect when I went over there. Then we have a group of thirty-five county probation officers, beside the chief and the assistant, paid by the county. Now, through the assistance of the chief proba- tion officer, we get them together so that there is neither jealousy nor any spirit of antagonism among them. They work harmoni- ously, and they have an organization among themselves. ******** Q. Have you ever made any directions, Judge, with respect to police probation officers or city probation officers reporting to a 241 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME probation officer who already has charge of a child that the city probation officer has taken up again? A. Yes. The court arranged in cases in which a child came under his observation outside of the regular district very fre- quently children in an outlying district come down town and are found peddling gum, selling newspapers, etc. that the city pro- bation officer should take the child and report to the county pro- bation officer in the district in which the child lives. ******** Q. The court enters orders from time to time requiring par- ents to pay for the support of the child? A. Yes. Q. How are these orders enforced? A. They are enforced under my chancery powers. I think it is section 22 of the juvenile court law which provides that where the father is able to contribute to the support of the child, an order can be entered by the court requiring him to pay for the support of the child, and security may be demanded by the court; and if he does not comply with the order, he will be punished for contempt. That is somewhat of a joke so far as security is concerned, because not one in a hundred of the poor people who come to the court could furnish security if their lives depended on it. If they were to be hung or furnish security, you would have to hang them, be- cause there is no security which they can furnish. So the only re- course that a court has is to enforce the payment of this money under contempt proceedings, which every lawyer knows is a slow method. This means, first, that an order is entered for the father to pay perhaps four or five dollars a week for the child, or ten dollars a month for the child, to the clerk of the court for the use of the mother or of the institution to which the child is committed. You first have to wait thirty days to find out whether he is going to make the payment; then when he does not make the payment, it is necessary to enter a rule to show cause why he should not be attached for contempt. Notice must then be served. You can- not arrest him and bring him in and put him in jail; you must first serve notice on him that you are going to ask him to show cause why he should not be attached for contempt of court. In nine cases out of ten, when such notice is served, the man disappears from 242 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY the horizon. When you come to enter the next order, which is the rule to show cause within ten days, or any fixed time, he is not there, and you cannot get service on him ; or if he is there, and you get ser- vice on him, he disappears between that time and the time you issue the writ of attachment. And when you issue the writ of attachment, the officer hunts and hunts and does not find his man. That is the situation at the present time under this law. 1 1 is unsatisfactory, hard to handle, and while I have done everything I could since I went over there, starting out within three or four months to enforce these pay- ments so as to assist the county in defraying these expenses, I have not been able to do much, and find it an unsatisfactory proceeding. ******** Q. Do you know the way in which the force of probation officers is divided so that different groups specialize in different matters? A. The city of Chicago is divided into about twenty-six districts, and an officer is assigned to each one of those districts. This is necessary in order to avoid overlapping and confusion. That leaves officers who can do other work, and who are placed on special work. Mrs. Shannon, for instance, who through her con- nections and friends and acquaintanceships is especially adapted to placing children, chiefly girls, in Catholic homes, is used for that purpose; another woman, a probation officer, is at the head of the claims department; there is now or will be one at the head of the Funds to Parents act department, and there will have to be two or three officers assigned to special aspects of that work, because the work is so great that no person, however great his intellect or how big his physique, will be able to handle it all without able assistants directly under him. Q. How many cases pass through the hands of the court every year? A. I think this court was organized July 31, 1899, and the docket number shows that there are close to 39,000 new cases which have gone through the court. In 1910, which was an un- usually heavy year, we had over 4100 children in court. ******** Q. (Commissioner Greer.) I wish to ask you, Judge, if you want to state anything about the reforms needed in the juvenile court? A. There are a great many reforms that ought to be inaug- 243 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME urated there. I have tried to mention some of them. You, this honorable board and society in Chicago, could help the juvenile court very much. First, provision should be made for the care of the epileptics who come into my court, sometimes as many as three or five in a week. It is an outrage on a civilized Christian community to think of the hundreds of epileptics who have come into the court during the time that I have been there and fallen on the floor in the throes of their trouble, who are not taken care of. There is not an institution in the county of Cook, city of Chicago, state of Illinois, where they can be taken care of. That is the most serious trouble we have. These epileptics are turned loose on the street. Epileptic girls, at an age when they become delinquent, are susceptible to influences that other girls with mental capacity and strength of character can resist; but they fall, and you force the court to turn them loose to go back to the red light district. Epileptic girls who are delinquent are a positive menace to society. There is no place in God's world to send them. Then, secondly, you have a detention home that may have been big enough at the time it was built. Now it is wholly in- adequate. Give those poor children in the home a playground around the institution where they can go out and stretch their limbs and get a little breath uncontaminated by the air that they are inhaling in that institution. Do not any longer crowd eighty and one hundred children into corridors where they cannot move about without knocking elbows and heads together. You have, too, a court room in which it is wrong to ask anybody to sit who has any regard for health and life. I do not say this as a bid for sympathy. I had the former county board examine it through two of their experts in sanitation and ventilation, and they conceded that the building was put up without any method of getting out of the court room the vile odors and smells that ac- cumulate within the three and a half hours, or even an hour, during which court is in session. Give us a place in which we can sit and hold court and be healthy and well. Turn your attention to some of these things, and give us some assistance along these lines. Then, too, we need more help in the probation department. I shall be glad to take that up with you along lines that are con- structive not in a hasty, ill-advised way, but in a careful, construc- 244 TESTIMONY OF JUDGE PINCKNEY tive way. We must have it. I am in favor too of amending this law, if it can be done constitutionally, so that when children have been sent to an institution, the institution must report back to the juvenile court what becomes of those children, leaving it to the discretion of the juvenile court when in later years people come back to ask for their children, whether or not the place to which the child has been sent, or the family to whom it has been sent and with whom it is living, should be disclosed. I have always been in favor of that and I am in favor of it today, but there are limits. Consider the welfare of the child and the interests of the state of Illinois. The court should certainly have the power to say, when the mother is a prostitute or the father a drunkard or in the house of correction, that the little girl must not be disturbed in her future life by having such parents knocking at the door of the good home where she has lived the last eight or ten years. There are among my acquaintances young ladies who are adopted daugh- ters whose mothers are immoral and whose fathers are no good. Do you mean to say that it is for the welfare of the child under these circumstances to allow those parents to go and claim kinship? That is not the purpose of the law and that would never be right in any Christian community having at heart the interests of the child and the welfare of the state. It should, however, be within the discretion of the juvenile court. And the court, having once sent a child to an institution, should have a record there to know what has become of the child. Any institution that wants to safeguard the rights and welfare of the child conscientiously ought to con- sent to such an arrangement. We must also have relief along other lines. Perhaps you will find some judge after next July who can do all this work and handle it easily and without trouble and without breaking down his health. I hope that you can. But I say that it is unfair under the present system to ask one judge to do it all unassisted and that some plan or practice whereby some of the work can be taken off his shoulders should be devised. At one time I was in favor of having the court held in different districts. I am afraid that plan will not work out well. I believe in keeping in touch with the children and in personal relationships between the court and parents and children. You must have one man at the head and you must 17 245 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME figure out some system, some method whereby with one man at the head you can lighten this work. A plan might be worked out whereby the district officer here and there, or assistants to the judge, could eliminate a great mass of this work and only send up the most urgent and the most serious cases to the judge. Some- thing must be done, and that very soon. There are a great many other reforms which I think ought to be brought about. I think that we ought to have a home for semi-delinquent boys and girls. I think that it is a failure of the administration of the juvenile law to take a girl who has gone wrong once by some mischance and place her in the company of women and older vicious girls from the red light district. I insist that there ought to be a midway station between the girl at home on parole and the girl in the Chicago Refuge, in the House of the Good Shepherd, or at Geneva, where the girl can be given among her own kind that is, among other innocent, unfortunate girls an opportunity to turn away from the life that she unfortunately fell into, and to become a good citizen. That is a serious need; it must be met. It is the same with the boys, the semi-delinquent boys who are first offenders and not recidivists such boys ought not to be sent to the John Worthy School. With all respect to that great institution, managed well and conducted as properly as it can be conducted under present conditions, it is not the place for the semi-delinquent boy. As yet, there is no other place for him. Now, for the repeatedly delinquent girl; we must also have some place to send her. I turned back to their old environment and to their old associates, from 150 to 200 girls in 1910, not only to go to ruin themselves, but to drag down good girls and good boys by contact and association. There was no place to send them. The greafTraining School for Girls at Geneva, the only state institution that we have for Protestant delinquent girls, could take only 35 girls in 1910, and we had 475 delinquent girls that year in the juvenile court who needed institutional care. These are some of the things that need attention. Why, I have written about these needs and I have talked about them and 1 have made speeches about them, but no one pays any attention. Gentlemen, if you will turn your thought along these lines and help supply their needs, you will accomplish something for the cause of the children of Chicago. 246 APPENDIX III ABSTRACT OF JUVENILE COURT LAWS BY GRACE ABBOTT Special and partial provisions for the better and more humane care of delin- quent and dependent children were made from time to time by our state legislatures many years ago, but with the enactment of the Illinois Juvenile Court Laws in 1899 a new epoch was begun. This law, since modified and improved, has been the model for similar legislation in twenty-two other states Alabama, 1 California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wash- ington, Wisconsin and in the District of Columbia. Under the common law a child of seven 2 was regarded as responsible for his acts and was treated as a criminal in the charge, the trial, and the disposition made of him after trial. Under the new theory the child offender is regarded not as a criminal but as a delinquent, "as misdirected and misguided and needing aid, encouragement, help and assistance"; 3 he is kept entirely separate from the adult offender, and the probation system is used whenever practicable. These are the most important features of the new legislation which has been adopted in the states enumerated. A number of other states, of which New York, Maryland, and New Jersey are the most conspicuous examples, have en- grafted on the old criminal laws some of the conspicuous features of the new legislation, leaving, however, the old system still unreformed in its fundamental principle. The resulting confusion is best illustrated in New York. Prior to 1909, the child offender was regarded as a criminal and after conviction was released on parole or was fined for his offense. The court before which the juvenile delinquent was tried was, however, a separate children's court. In 1909 the Legislature took one step in advance by de- claring that a "child of more than 7 or less than 16 shall not be deemed guilty of any crime, but of juvenile delinquency only," 4 but in spite of this declaration children may still be fined for delinquency and ordinary criminal procedure is followed in the trial. 5 These and the various differences between the legislation in those states which have adopted complete juvenile court laws can be brought out only by a detailed statement of the various parts of the laws. 1 Alabama's law applies only to Mobile County. General act applying to trie state passed in 1907 was repealed the same year at a special session of the Legislature. 2 This was changed by statute in a number of states to ten years and in others to twelve. 3 This is the language of the law in Colorado (L. 1903, ch. 85, No. 12), Mo. (L. 1909, p. 431, No. 33) and Tenn. (L. 1905, ch. 516, sec. 1 1). The language of the Act establishing the Buffalo court is perhaps the most recent statement of this principle. 4 N. Y. B. C. & G's Consol. Laws 1909 p. 4095 Sec. 2186. * For example, smoking is a misdemeanor in a child punishable by a fine of from two to ten dollars. B. C. & G's Consol. Laws 1909 p. 2832 Sec. 486, Subdiv. 6. 247 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME I. THE COURT GIVEN JURISDICTION In a few states a special court is created which is given jurisdiction over juvenile offenders alone. 1 Most states have found, however, that it presented fewer legal difficulties to give to some court already established this special jurisdiction. In California, 2 Georgia, 3 Indiana, 4 Iowa, 5 Louisiana, 8 Minnesota, 7 Missouri, 8 Nebraska,* Oregon, 10 Utah, 11 and Wisconsin, 12 it has been given to the circuit or district court; in Illinois, 13 New Jersey, 14 Ohio, 15 Tennessee, 18 and Texas 17 to the circuit or county court; in Alabama, 18 Colorado, 19 Kentucky, 20 Kansas, 21 Michigan, 22 and Washington, 23 in the County Court. In these states it is unquestionably easier to secure an able man for judge of the Juvenile Court because of the dignity and prestige which go with those judgeships. When, as in California, 24 Connecticut, 25 Massachusetts, 28 Maryland, 27 New Hampshire. 28 1 D. C. 34 U. S. Statutes at Large 73. Colo. L. 1907 ch. 149 No. i (applies to counties or municipalities having a population of 100,000). Ind. L. 1903 chap. 237 sec. i (applies to counties having a city of 100,000). La. L. 1908 No. 83, sec. i (applies to parish of New Orleans). Mass. L. 1906 ch. 489 sees, i, 2 and 3 (Court of Boston). Mich. Local Acts, 1907, No. 684.sec. 2 (County of Wayne). Md. L. 1907 No. 325, No. 2 (applies to cities of 20,000). Mo. L. 1903 p. 213, No. i (St. Louis Juvenile Court). Utah. L. 1907 ch. 139, sec. i (In judicial districts containing cities of first and second class). 2 Calif. L. 1905 ch. 610 sec. 2 (Superior Court and Police Court also). 5 Ga. L. 1908 p. 1 107 (Superior Court). 4 Ind. L. 1903 ch. 237 sec. i (In counties having no cities of 100,000). 6 la. L. 1904 ch. 1 1 sec. i. La. L. 1908 No. 83 sees, i and 6 (Except in parish of New Orleans). I Minn. L. 1905 ch. 285 sec. 2 (In counties having population of 50,000 or more). 8 Mo. L. 1909 p. 425 No. 2 (In counties having a population of 150,000 to 500,000). ' Nebr. Compiled Statutes, 1909, No. 2796 sec. 2. 10 Oregon. L. 1907 ch. 34 sees. 2 and 3 (In counties having a population of 100,000 to 25,000). II Utah. L. 1907 ch. 139 sec. 3 (In counties not having cities of first and second class). 12 Wis. L. 1907 p. 127 sec. 2, No. 573 (Court of Record). 13 ///. Revised Statute 1908 ch. 23 sec. 170. 14 N. J. L. 1908 ch. 236 (Court of Common Pleas). 15 Ohio. L. of Apr. 24, 1908 sec. i (Court of Common Pleas, Probate courts and, where established, insolvency or superior court). 18 Tenn. L. 1905 ch. 516 sec. 2 (Any judge of any criminal, circuit, or county court). 17 Texas. General Laws 1907 ch. 65 sec. 2 (County and District courts). 18 Ala. Local Acts 1907 p. 363 sec. 3 (The Inferior criminal, the probate courts of Mobile County and the recorder's court of Mobile). 19 Colo. L. 1903 ch. 85, sec. 2. 20 Ken. L. 1908 ch. 67, sec. 2. 21 Kans. L. 1905 ch. 190 sec. i. 22 Mich. L. 1907 no. 325 sec. 2. 23 Wash. L. 1905 ch. 18 sec. 2 ("Superior Courts in the several counties"). 24 Calif. Penal Code 1906 Appendix p. 325. Also Superior Court. 25 Conn. L. 1905 ch. 142 sees, i and 4 (any criminal court). 28 Mass. L. 1906 ch. 413 sec. i (Outside of Boston). 27 Md. L. 1904 ch. 521. 28 N. H. L. 1907 ch. 125. 248 TOPICAL ABSTRACT OF JUVENILE COURT LAWS New York, 1 Pennsylvania, 2 and Rhode Island, 3 a police judge is made the judge of the Children's Court, the opposite effect is produced. In the states which have the better and more complete type of laws especial provision is made that the police court and justices of the peace are not to have juris- diction over those who come under the age fixed by the Juvenile Court Act. 4 In some of the states in which jurisdiction is lodged in the police, county, or circuit courts, the judges each, in turn, sit as judges of the Juvenile Court, but in California, 5 Illinois, 8 Michigan, 7 Minnesota, 8 Missouri, 9 Nebraska, 10 Ohio, 11 Oregon, 12 Pennsylvania, 13 and Wis- consin, 14 one of the judges is chosen by his associates to act exclusively as judge of the Juvenile Court during the judicial year. The judges of the Juvenile Courts of Denver, 1 Detroit, 18 New Orleans 17 and Rochester 18 are elected; those of Boston 19 and Balti- 1 N. Y. L. 1906 ch. 317 (Rochester) B. C. & G's Consol. Laws, 1909 p. 3836 sec. 487. 2 Pa. Purdon's Digest p. 188 sec. 50 (may try or if good of state or child demands it may certificate to Juvenile Court). 3 R. I. L. 1899 ch. 664 sec. i . (Jurisdiction of established courts left untouched. Only provision is that the trial of the children must be separate and apart from that of adults.) 4 Colo. L. 1903 ch. 85 No. 7. D. C. 34 U. S. Statutes at Large 73 sec. 8. ///. R. S. 1908 ch. 23 sec. 178. Ind. L. 1907 ch. 203 (Except when offense is punishable by death or life im- prisonment). Kans. L. 1905 ch. 190 sec. 1 1. Ken. L. 1908 ch. 64 sec. 5 (Except in case of felony). Micb. L. 1907 No. 325 sec. 6. Mo. L. 1909 p. 425 sec. 6 (Sec. 8 provides that any court may originate proceed- ings, but trial is to be in Juvenile Court). N. J. L. 1903 ch. 219 sec. i. N. Y. Charter of N. Y. City sec. 1418 (Must be transferred to children's court). Ohio. L. of Apr. 24, 1908 sec. 9. Ore. L. 1907 ch. 34 sec. 1 1. Tenn. L. 1905 ch. 516 sec. 6. Texas. General Laws 1907 ch. 65 sec. 5. Wasln. L. 1905 ch. 18 sec. 10. Wis. L. 1903 ch. 97 sec. 5 (When charged with crime punishment for which is imprisonment). 6 Calif. Penal Code 1906 Appendix 325. 8 ///. R. S. 1908 ch. 23 sec. 171 (In counties of over 50,000 population). 7 Mich. L. 1905 No. 312 sec. 2. 8 Minn. L. 1905 ch. 285 sec. 3. 8 Mo. L. 1909 p. 435 sec. 2. 10 Nebr. Compiled statutes 1909 Sec. 2796, 3 (In counties of over 40,000 popula- tion). 11 Ohio. L. Apr. 24, 1908 sec. i. 12 Oregon. L. 1907 ch. 34, sec. 2. 13 Pa. Purdon's Digest p. 57 sec. 2. 14 Wisconsin L. 1907 p. 127 sec. 573, 2. 15 Colo. L. 1907 ch. 149, No. 5 (Must have the qualifications of a district judge. Term is four years). 16 Mich. Local Acts 1907 No. 684 sec. 2 (Term four years). 17 La. L. 1908 No. 83 sec. 2 Term four years. 18 N. Y. L. 1906 ch. 317 (Court is, however, a branch of the police court). 19 Mass. L. 1906 ch. 489 sees, i, 2, and 3, Terms five years. Salary $3,000 per annum. 249 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME more ' are appointed by the Governor, of Washington, D. C., 2 by the president and in Utah s by the Juvenile Court Commission. II. EXTENT OF JURISDICTION A. AGE LIMITATION In the great majority of states the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court extends to children of 16 4 or 17 6 years of age. But in Illinois* and Kentucky 1 the limitation is for boys 17 and girls 18, in Louisiana, 8 Nebraska, 9 and Oregon 10 18 for both, and in Utah 11 19 for both boys and girls. B. DEFINITION OF DELINQUENCY In the earlier laws a "delinquent" child was defined as one (I) who had violated a state law or a city or village ordinance, or (II) who was incorrigible. Laws of this 1 Md. L. 1904 ch. 521 sec. i (Baltimore judge is an additional justice of the peace). 2 D. C. 34 United States Statutes at Large 73, sec. 2 (Term 6 years, salary $3,000). J Utah. L. 1907 ch. 139 sec. i (In judicial districts containing cities of the first and second class. The Juvenile Court Commission of Utah consists of the Governor, Attorney General, and State Superintendent of Instruction. (L. 1907 ch. 1 39 sec. i .) * Calif. L. 1907 ch. 427 sec. i. Ga. L. 1908 p. 1 1 sec. 7. la. 1907 Supplement to Code, Title III ch. 5~b sec. 254, 14. Kans. L. 1905 ch. 190 sec. 2. Md. L. 1904 ch. 521 Sec. i (Applies to Baltimore). M. L. 1909 p. 423 (Jurisdiction continues until child is 21). N. J . L. 1903 chap. 219, as amended by L. 1908 ch. 236 sec. i. N. Y. Penal Code 1908 sec. 291 Subdiv. 7; N. Y. City charter sec. 1418; i. 1907 ch. 755 sec. 470 (applies to Rochester). Ohio. L. 1904 p. 621 sec. 2 (applies to cities of more than 380,000). Pa. L. 1903 No. 205 sec. i. R. I. L. 1899 ch. 664 sec. i. Texas. L. 1907 ch. 64 sec. i. 6 Alabama. Local Acts 1907 p. 363 sec. i (Applies to Mobile County). Colo. L. 1903 ch. 85 sec. i. D. C. 34 U. S. Statutes at Large 73 sec. 8. Idaho. L. 1905 p. 106 sec. i. Ind. L. 1907 ch. 203 sec. 3 (Boy under 16 Girl under 17). Mass. L. 1906 ch. 413 sec. i (Children between 7 and 17). Mich. Local Acts 1907 No. 684 sec. i (Applies to Detroit) Public acts 1907. Minn. L. 1907 ch. 285 sec. i. (Applies to state generally.) Mo. L. 1905 p. 56 sec. i . (Counties having population from 1 50,000 to 499,999.) Mont. L. 1907 ch. 97. N. H. L. 1907 ch. 125 sec. i. Ohio. L. 1908 p. 192 sec. i. Okla. L. 1903 ch. 1 8 sec. i. Tenn. L. 1905 ch. 516 sec. I. WaA. L. 1905 ch. 1 8 sec. i. Wise. L. 1907 p. 127. ///. R. S. 1908 ch. 23 sec. 169. I Ken. L. 1908 ch. 67 sec. i. 8 La. L. 1908 No. 83 sec. 9. 9 Nebr. Compiled Statutes 1909, 2796 sec. i. 10 Ore. L. 1907 ch. 34 sec. I. II Utab. Compiled L. 1907; Title 16, ch. 9, sec. 720 sec. i. 250 TOPICAL ABSTRACT OF JUVENILE COURT LAWS type are still on the statute books in California, 1 Connecticut, 2 District of Columbia, 3 Georgia, 4 Maryland, 5 Massachusetts, 8 New Jersey, 7 New York, 8 Pennsylvania, 9 and Rhode Island. 10 Better laws make the definition much more inclusive so that the court will not be unable, because of any technical lack of jurisdiction, to place a child under the care of the court and its officers, if that seems to be for the best interest of the child. In addition to I and II already mentioned, as constituting delinquency, the law in Alabama, 11 Colorado, ""Illinois, 13 Indiana, 14 Kentucky, 15 Louisiana, 18 Michigan, 17 Minnesota, 18 Missouri, 19 Nebraska, 20 Ohio, 21 Tennessee, 22 Texas, 23 Utah, 24 and Wash- ington, 25 regards as a delinquent any child who (a) knowingly associates with thieves, vicious or immoral persons, (fc) absents itself from home without the consent of its parent or guardian or without just cause, (c) is growing up in idleness or crime, (d) knowingly visits or enters a house of ill repute, (e) visits or patronizes gambling houses, saloons, or bucketshops, (/) wanders about the street at night or about railroad yards 1 Calif. Penal Code 1906, Appendix p. 625 (includes only d). 2 Conn. L. 190^ ch. 142 sec. 3 (any minor arrested). 3 D. C. 34 U. S. Statutes at Large 73 sec. 8 (all crimes and offenses, not capital and not punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary; habitual truancy also). 4 Ga. L. 1908 p. 1 107 (A delinquent or wayward child is regarded as one who has violated some law). 5 M d. L. 1904 ch. 521 sec. i (Contains no special definition. Children charged with "crime" or "misdemeanor" are tried by Juvenile Court). 8 Mass. L. 1906 ch. 413 sec. i ("Delinquent" child is one who violates any state law or city ordinance. "Wayward" child is one who "knowingly associates with thieves, vicious or immoral persons, or is growing up in circumstances exposing him or her to lead an immoral, vicious or criminal life.") 7 N. J . L. 1908 ch. 236 sec. i (Adds to (a) and (b) "disorderly" and "habitu- ally vagrant" children). 8 N. Y. Penal Code 1908 Sec. 289 Subdiv. 8 adds "disorderly" children, those who desert their homes without good or sufficient cause, keep company with dissolute, immoral or vicious children and "ungovernable" children; those not susceptible of proper restraint by their parents or guardians, or who are habitually disobedient to their reasonable and lawful commands. ' Pa. L. 1903 No. 205 sec. i. "Incorrigible" child defined as one charged by its parents or guardians with being "unmanageable" and "delinquent" child one who violates any state law or city ordinance. 10 R.I. L. 1899 ch. 664 sec. i. 11 Ala. Local Acts 1907 p. 363 sec. i. tt Colo. L. 1903 ch. 85 sec. i. 13 Ills. R. S. 1908 ch. 23 sec. 169. 14 Ind. L. 1905 ch. 145 sec. i (In addition, any child who smokes cigarettes or loiters about any school building or yard). 15 Ken. L. 1908 ch. 67 sec. i (In addition, any child who is persistently truant). 16 La. L. 1908 No. 83 sec. 9. 17 Mich. L. 1907 No. 325 (In addition, any child who is persistently truant from school). 18 Minn. L. 1905 ch. 285 sec. i. v Mo. L. 1909 p. 423 sec. i. (In addition, any child who is habitually truant or one who "loiters or sleeps in alleys, cellars, wagons, buildings, lots or other exposed places.") M Nebr. Compiled Statutes 1909 2796 sec. i. Z1 Ohio. L. 1908 p. 192 sec. 5. 22 Tenn. L. 1905 ch. 516 sec. i. 23 Texas General Laws 1907 ch. 65 sec. i. 14 Utah. L. 1907 ch. 139 sec. 13 and in addition, any child who writes or draws anything vile, obscene or vulgar on any wall, fence, or building. 25 Was}). L. 1905 ch. 1 8 sec. i. 251 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME or tracks, (g) jumps on and off trains, (b) enters a car or engine without lawful au- thority, (i) uses vile, obscene or indecent language or is (/) immoral or indecent. In Iowa, 1 Kansas, 1 New Hampshire, 3 Oregon, 4 and Wisconsin, 5 the definitions are not quite so broad. III. PROCEDURE A. PETITION OR COMPLAINT In the general procedure prescribed for the Juvenile Courts the line of demar- cation can easily be drawn between those states whose legislation consistently regards the youthful offender as a delinquent and those whose legislation regards him as a criminal but treats him somewhat differently from the adult criminal. In the former group, the first step is the filing of a "petition" by any reputable person which is based upon his information or belief that the child named in the petition is delinquent. 9 In the District of Columbia the suit is begun upon information filed by the Corporation Counsel. 7 In Alabama, 8 Colorado, 9 Massachusetts, 10 Missouri, 11 Texas, 12 Utah, 18 and Washington, 14 the old word " complaint " is used. Pennsylvania provides that the court I Iowa, L. 1904 ch. ii sec. 2 Definition includes (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (i) of above. * Kans.L. 1905 ch. 190 sec. 2. Definition includes (a) (b) (c) (d) and (e) of above. 3 N. H. L. 1907 ch. 125 sec. i. Definition includes (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) and (f). 4 Ore. L. 1907 ch. 34 sec. i. Definition includes (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) and any child persistently truant. 8 Wise. L. 1907 p. 127 sec. 573 (i) definition includes a, b, c, d, e, f, k and any child persistently truant from school, but the Juvenile Court does not have jurisdiction over offenses punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary. * This is the law in Calif. Penal Code 1906 Appendix 625 sec. 3. III. R. S. 1908 ch. 23 sec. 172. Iowa L. 1904 ch. 1 1 sec. 3. Kans. L. 1905 ch. 190 sec. 4. Ken. L. 1 908 ch. 67 sec. 4. La. L. 1908 No. 83 sec. 1 1 called an "affidavit" instead of "petition." Mich. L. 1907 No. 325 sec. 5. Minn. L. 1905 ch. 285 sec. 4. Mo. L. 1909 p. 425 sec. 3. Nebr. Compiled Statutes 1909 Sec. 2796, 4. N. H. L. 1907 ch. 125 sec. i. Ohio L. 1908 p. 192 sec. 7 called "affidavit" instead of "petition." Ore. L. 1907 ch. 34 sec. 4. Tenn. L. 1905 ch. 516 sec. 3. Wise. L. 1903 ch. 94 sec. 3. 7 D. C. 34 U. S. Statutes at Large 73, 12. 8 Ala. Local Acts 1907 p. 363 sec. 5. (Information or complaint of probation officer, chief of police or county attorney.) 9 Colo. L. 1903 ch. 85 sec. 3. 10 Mass. L. 1906 ch. 413 sec. 3. II Mo. L. 1909 p. 425 sec. 7 (Regular prosecuting officer for the county or any probation officer may file complaint). 12 Texas L. 1907 ch. 65 sec. 3 filed by District or County Attorney, under the general law of the state. 13 Utah L. 1907 ch. 139 sec. 2. 14 Wasb. L. 1908 ch. 18 sec. 4. 252 TOPICAL ABSTRACT OF JUVENILE COURT LAWS may act when a petition is filed by a reputable person or when the Justice of the Peace, the District Attorney or the Judge of the Juvenile Court thinks the case in the interests of the child should not go to the Grand Jury. 1 Indiana makes complaint under oath necessary. 2 No provision is made for a special form of petition in states like Mary- land, New York, and New Jersey, where action must, therefore, be begun by a com- plaint the same as when the offender is an adult. B. SUMMONS OR WARRANT The substitution of the petition for the complaint is not as general as the sub- stitution of the summons for the warrant. In a large number of states the law pro- vides that after the filing of the petition or the complaint a "summons" shall be sent to the person having the custody or control of the child to appear with it in court. Notice to the parents, guardians or near relatives is also required in these states. Lest this, however, leave the court without authority to compel attendance, a pro- vision is added that a warrant may issue when service by summons is ineffectual or likely to be and failure to obey the summons may be treated as contempt of court. 3 The only provision in the District of Columbia is that the Juvenile Court shall have the same power to issue process for arrest, subpoena, etc. as other courts. 4 In Utah if the parent or guardian fails to appear after notice has been given, and defend his rights to the custody, control or guardianship of the child charged with delinquency, such rights go by default and the court disposes of the child as it finds, from the evidence, to be best. 6 Pennsylvania gives the judge authority "to make all necessary orders for compelling the production of such child and the attendance of parents."' Alabama 1 Pa. Purdon's Digest p. 1881 "51. 2 Ind. L. 1907 ch. 203 sec. i. 3 These provisions are found in Calif. Penal Code 1906 Appendix p. 626 sec. 5. Colo. L. 1903 ch. 85 sec. 6, p. 626 sec. 5. ///. R. S. 1908 ch. 23 sec. 173. Iowa L. 1904 ch. ii sec. 4. Kans. L. 1905 ch. 190 sec. 5. Ken. L. 1908 ch. 69 sec. 4. La. L. 1908 No. 83 sec. 1 1. Mass. L. 1906 ch. 413 sec. 3. (Does not mention contempt.) Mich. L. 1907 No. 325 sec. 5. (Summons issues only after investigation by the County agent and the court, after hearing his report, deems it for the interest of the public.) Minn. L. 1906 ch. 285 sec. 5. Mo. L. 1909 p. 425 sec. 4. (Failure to obey is contempt of court.) Nebr. Compiled Statutes 1909 Sec. 2796, 5. N. H. L. 1907 ch. 125 sec. 5. Ohio L. 1908 sec. 8. ("Citation" instead of "petition.") Ore. L. 1907 ch. 34 sec. 5. Tenn. L. 1905 ch. 516 sec. 5. Texas General Laws 1907 ch. 65 sec. 4. WasTo. L. 1905 ch. 18 sec. 5. Wise. L. 1901 ch. 90 sec. 5. 4 D. C. 34 U. S. Statutes at Large 73, 17. 6 Utah. L. 1907 ch. 139 sec. 3. * Pa. Purdon's Digest p. 1888 sec. 52, L. 1907 Act 298 sec. 4 provides that sheriffs and constables must aid in the service of process, etc. 253 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME provides that a warrant or capias may issue. 1 New York, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Connecticut have no special provisions for this, so the method of arrest usual in criminal actions is followed. C. TRIAL State constitutions carefully provide for the trial of persons accused of crime, but these provisions do not apply to the Juvenile Court procedure in those states in which the child is regarded not as a criminal but as a delinquent. In the case of the latter, the state, as parens patrice, is governed only by the consideration of what is for the best interests of the chi[d, and courts would undoubtedly sustain any procedure which had this end in view. It has been found best to make the trial quite informal so that an intimate, friendly relationship may be established at once between the judge and the child. To make this possible the laws provide in Indiana, 2 Iowa, 3 Kansas, 4 Kentucky, 5 Minne- sota, 6 Missouri, 7 New Hampshire, 8 New Jersey, 9 Ohio, 10 Oregon, 11 Washington, 12 and Wisconsin 13 that the court shall proceed to hear and dispose of the case in a "summary manner." In Utah the court is regarded as exercising equity jurisdiction and "may adopt any form of procedure which is deemed best suited to ascertain the truth in the particular case. The delinquent may be compelled to testify respecting his alleged delinquency and the court may hear evidence in the absence of the delinquent." 14 In contrast with this law New Jersey 15 and New York 16 require that the regular criminal procedure so far as applicable shall be used. In Michigan the regular criminal procedure must be used when the child is charged with felony. 17 To deprive an adult of his liberty without a jury trial would be regarded as a violation of the "due process" clause in the United States Constitution. While this provision is not interpreted as guaranteeing a jury trial to a child, in an abundance of caution, provision is usually made, even in states in which the law makes it very clear that the child is regarded not as criminal but as delinquent, for a jury of six when demanded by the child or when 1 Ala. L. 1907 p. 363 sec. 6. 2 Ind. L. 1907 ch. 203 sec. 3. 3 Iowa L. 1904 ch. 1 1 sec. 4. 4 Kan. L. 1905 ch. 190 sec. sec. 4. (under 16). Utah. Compiled L. 1907 Title ID ch. 12, 43 (under 17). 257 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME those over this age if confined in any institution where adult convicts are, must not be placed in the same buildings, yard, or inclosure with the adults. 1 The Alabama law provides that in Mobile incarceration shall take place only when necessary and that the child shall have the same right as the adult to give bonds for his appearance at the trial. 2 In Georgia the county must, upon request of the judge, provide a proper detention room or house separate from the jail. 3 In New Jersey an arrested child charged with any crime (except murder or manslaughter) or with being a disorderly person, or habitually vagrant or incorrigible, is committed to jail or the detention school or paroled to await trial at the discretion of the Judge. 4 The Mary- land law provides that in the absence of other suitable place the child may be held at the police station pending trial as heretofore or in some juvenile institution or "other suitable prison, instead of the Baltimore City jail." 5 Minnesota, Oregon, and New Hampshire make provision only that until trial the child may be retained in the posses- sion of the person having charge of the same or may "be kept in some suitable place provided by the city or county.* In the great majority of cases the child who is awaiting trial may be allowed to remain in his home under the care of his parents or guardians, but in some cases conditions are such as to render this impossible. The child must then be held by the state, but under such conditions that his reformation shall begin at once if possible. For this reason the place of detention is made a " home " or "school" instead of a jail. In California, 7 Illinois, 8 Kansas," Kentucky, 10 Michigan, 11 I Calif. Penal Code 1906 Appendix p. 630 sec. 17. Ind. L. 1907 ch. 203 sec. i. III. R. S. St. 1908 ch. 23 sec. 179. Iowa L. 1904 ch. 1 1 sec. 1 1. (If under 17 years of age). Mo. L. 1905 p. 60 sec. 1 6. Mich. L. 1907 No. 325 sec. 8. Miss. L. 1907 p. 133, 573, 9 (If under 16). Nebr. Compiled Statutes 1909 sec. 2796 sec. 1 1. N. H. L. 1907 ch. 126 sec. 15 (If under 17). N. Y. Penal Code 1908, No. 291 Subd. 6 (If under 16). B. C. & G's Consol. St. 1909 p. 763, sec. 92. Ore. L. 1907 ch. 34 sec. 12. Pa. L. 1903 No. 205 sec. 7 Age (not specified). R.I. L. 1899 ch. 664 No. 4. (Age not specified Juvenile shall not be trans- ported or confined with non-Juvenile.) Wise. Sup. to St. of 1898 Sec. 573 subdiv. 9. * Ala. Local Acts 1907 p. 363 sees. 6 and 7. 3 Ga. L. 1908 p. 1 107. 4 N. J. L. 1903 ch. 219 sec. i. L. 1906 ch. 27 sec. 4. 5 Md. L. 1904 ch. 521 sec. i. 8 Minn. L. 1907 ch. 285 sec. 5. Ore. L. 1907 ch. 34 sec. 5. N. H. L. 1907 ch. 125 sec. 5. 7 Calif. Penal Code 1906 Appendix p. 630, sec. 16. 8 III. L. 1907 p. 59 Nos. 1-17 (If 25 per cent, of the voters petition for the es- tablishment of a detention home it must be submitted to the voters and if a majority of those voting on the proposition vote for it, it must be established. L. 1907 p. 56 sec. 6. B Kans. L. 1907 ch. 177 sec. 7 (Provides for detention homes in counties having a population of 200,000 juvenile farms in those having 25,000). 10 Ken. L. 1908 ch. 67 sec. 4. (In cities of first and second class except those where the Board of Children's Guardians have already provided one, detention homes shall be established.) II Mich. L. 1907 No. 326 sec. 3 (County Board shall establish). 2 5 8 TOPICAL ABSTRACT OF JUVENILE COURT LAWS Minnesota, 1 Missouri, 2 Nebraska, 3 New Jersey, 4 Ohio, 5 Oregon, 8 Pennsylvania, 7 Tennes- see, 8 Utah, 8 and Washington, 10 the law requires or authorizes the county commis- sioners to establish such " schools, " " homes, " or " rooms " which shall not be connected with the jail, shall be in charge of a superintendent and matron "and shall combine as far as possible the function of home and school." The court may commit any child needing treatment to a hospital in Illinois 11 and Kentucky. 12 VII. FINAL DISPOSITION OF THE CHILD In the disposition of the child after trial, most of the states authorize the court to continue the hearing from time to time, leaving the child, under the supervision of a probation officer, in its home or in some suitable family or to commit it to some de- tention school or House of Reform or to any institution willing to receive it and having for its object the care of delinquent children. 13 In Connecticut, 14 the District of Co- 1 Minn. L. 1907 ch. 172 sec. i (County Board may with approval of the Judge establish). 2 Mo. L. IQOQ p. 428 sec. 12. (Duty of the county court to provide such a place). 3 Nebr. Compiled Statutes 1909 Sec. 2796, 22. 4 N. J. L. 1906 ch. 37 sec. i (County Board may establish). 6 Ohio. L. 1908 p. 199 sec. 30 (County Commissioners may upon advice of the Judge establish). * Ore. L. 1907 ch. 34 sec. 7 (In counties of more than 100,000). 7 Pa. Purdon's Digest p. 1880 No. 47. In cities of first and second class. 8 Tenn. L. 1907 ch. no sec. i. L. 1905 ch. 516 sec. 5. (County Court shall provide.) ' Utah L. 1907 ch. 144 sees. 1-7 (Counties having cities of first and second class may establish). 10 Wash. L. 1905 ch. 18 sec. 1 1. (Must provide suitable and separate rooms.) 11 ///. Revised Statutes 1908 ch. 23 sec. 177. 12 Ken. L. 1908 ch. 67 sec. 8. 13 Ala. Local Acts, 1907 p. 363 sec. 9. Calif. Penal Code 1906 Appendix 630^ sec. 15 and 630^ sec. 16. Colo. L. 1903 ch. 85 sec. 9. Ga. L. 1908 p. 1 107 (If offense is not punishable by death or life imprisonment). ///. R. S. 1908 ch. 23 sec. 178. Ind. L. 1907 ch. 203 sec. i. Iowa. L. 1904 ch. 1 1 sec. i. Kans. L. 1905 ch. 190 sees. 6 and 9. Ken. L. 1908 ch. 67 sec. 7. La. L. 1908 No. 83 sec. 17. Mass. L. 1906 ch. 413 sees. 5 and 8. Md. L. 1905 p. 60 sec. 1 6. Mich. L. 1907 No. 325 sees. 5 and 6. (Most of the above provisions.) Minn. L. 1905 ch. 285 sec. 5. Mo. L. 1909 p. 429 sec. 17. Nebr. Compiled St. 1909 sec. 2796, 9. N. H. L. 1907 ch. 125 sec. 15. Ohio. L. 1908 p. 194 sec. 12. Ore. L. 1907 ch. 34 sec. 10. Penn. Purdon's Digest, p. 1882 sec. 56. Tenn. L. 1905 ch. 516 sec. 8. Texas. General Laws, 1907 ch. 65 sec. 7. Utah. L. 1907 ch. 139 sees. 4 and 5. IVasb. L. 1905 ch. 18 sec. 8. Wise. Sup. to Wise. St. of 1898 sec. 573, 6. Subdiv. i (Hearing may be con- tinued only until child is 16). 14 Conn. L. 1905 ch. 142 sec. 4. 259 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME lumbia, 1 Indiana, 2 and Massachusetts, 3 the law allows the court to fine or imprison the child for the original offense or for violating the conditions of its parole. In Georgia, 4 Maryland, 5 New Jersey, 4 and New York, 7 the adoption of the more modern as well as the more humane method of handling delinquent children is left to the judge by pro- viding that the sentence may be imposed or suspended and the child placed on pro- bation or parole, while Illinois, 8 Massachusetts,* Ohio, 10 Oregon, 11 and Texas, 13 states which have adopted most advanced legislation, leave a loophole for a return to the old system by providing that the judge may order the child to be proceeded against and sentenced under the existing criminal laws of the state." VIII. PROBATION OFFICERS A. APPOINTMENT The laws of the various states providing for the appointment of probation officers are quite uniform. The chief officer is appointed by the court in all the states with the following exceptions California 14 by the Probation Commission; Rhode Island 15 by the State Board of Charities; Utah, 18 by the Juvenile Court Commission; in Rochester, N. Y., 17 by the Committee of Public Safety; Illinois, 18 Missouri, 19 and 1 D. C. 34 U. S. Statutes at Large 73 sees. 17 and 20. (Fines and penalties may be imposed.) a Ind. L. 1907 ch. 203 sec. 7. (For petit larceny and malicious trespass.) 1 Mass. L. 1906 ch. 413 sec. 9. (Fine of $5 for violation of the conditions of its probation. If not paid child may be sent to jail.) 4 Ga. L. 1908 p. 1107. 5 Md. L. 1904 ch. 514, "at any stage of the proceedings in the case of a minor who is charged with crime," the magistrate may suspend further action and place the minor in the care of a probation officer on such terms as he deems proper. e N. J. L. 1908 ch. 219 sec. 7. (Child may be committed to care of probation officer, to a school or institution or may be fined or imprisoned or both.) I N. Y. L. 1902 ch. 590 sec. 5. (New York City.) L. 1906 ch. 317 (Rochester). (Court may "impose or suspend sentence or remit to probation.") B. C. & G's. Consol. Laws 1909 p. 3832 sec. 486 subdiv. 5, 8, and 9. 8 ///. R. S. 1908 ch. 23, sec. 175. * Mass. L. 1906 ch. 413, sec. 1 1. (If child is over 14.) 10 Ohio. L. 1908 p. 202, sec. 39. (When charged with felony.) II Oregon. L. 1907 ch. 34, sec. 10. (When the child shall "be found by the court to be incorrigible and incapable of reformation or dangerous to the welfare of the community" to show "great depravity of mind" or be an "habitual criminal" it shall then be subject to judgment therefor, in the same manner as if he had been over the age of 18 years.") 12 Texas. General L., 1907 ch. 65, sec. 9. 13 While Georgia's juvenile legislation does not belong to the same class as the states just named, it contains a provision on this point, that a child over 10 may be committed to take his trial according to law, L. 1908, p. 1 107. 14 Calif. Penal Code, 1906 p. 629. (The Probation Commission is composed of six men or women appointed by the Court. Ibid., 627, No. 6.) 15 R. I. L. 1906 ch. 1360, sec. i. 16 Utah L. 1907 ch. 139, sec. 9. Judge makes recommendation to the Commis- sion. 17 N. Y. 1906 ch. 317. Additional ones without pay may be appointed by the police judge. 18 Ills. R. S., 1908 ch. 23, sec. 174. This applies only to counties having popu- lation of over 500,000. Court appoints in counties less than 500,000 population. 19 L. 1909 p. 428, sec. 1 3. 260 TOPICAL ABSTRACT OF JUVENILE COURT LAWS Wisconsin : provide that the appointment of all probation officers must be made from an eligible list determined by competitive civil service examination; and in Michigan 2 the County Agent of the State Board of Charities and Corrections, who is appointed by the Governor, acts as Chief Probation Officer and subordinates are appointed by the court. Subordinate or deputy probation officers are appointed by the court in all the states except Illinois, Missouri, and Wisconsin, where the entire service is on a civil service basis, 3 and Rhode Island, 4 where they are appointed by the Chief Probation Officers. B. NUMBER AND SALARY The number and salary of the probation officers in the various states differ with the regard in which the whole Juvenile Court movement is held by the state and with its wealth and population. Not all these differences are important, but some of them are rather significant. In Michigan, 5 New York, 9 Pennsylvania, 7 Texas 8 and Tennessee 8 the probation officers are not paid, at least not from the public funds. In California, 10 Idaho, 11 Indiana, 12 Kansas, 13 Missouri, 14 Nebraska, 15 Ohio, 18 and Washington " the maximum compensation is fixed by law. In Kentucky the law provides that the fiscal court may levy a tax not to ex- ceed one fourth of a cent on f 100 worth of property to meet the expense of the court and its officers. 18 In Illinois 18 and Missouri 20 the number of officers is determined by the court the salary in the former being fixed by the County Board, in the latter by statute. 1 Wis. L. 1907 p. 128, No. 573. Examination is conducted by the Civil Service Commission, p. 139, sec. 7. Officers may be removed for incompetence or wilful neglect. 2 Mich. L. 1907 No. 325, sec. 4. 3 Ills., Mo. and Win., supra. 4 R. I. L. 1906 ch. 1360, No. i. 5 Mich. L. 1907 No. 326, Sec. 4. The County Agent who acts as Chief Proba- tion Officer receives a per diem, the other officers nothing. 'Sec. iiaof the Code of Criminal Procedure provides for the appointment of probation officers by courts having jurisdiction of criminal affairs. There is no general probation laws for juvenile delinquents and in most cities the officers are paid by some private organization interested in the prevention of delinquency among children. 7 Pa. Purdon's Digest, 1882 Sec. 53. 8 Texas, Gen'l L., 1907 Ch. 65. 9 Tenn. L. 1905 Ch. 516, Sec. 7. 10 Calif. Penal Code, 1906 p. 628, Sec. 10. 1 Idaho. L. 1907 p. 63, Sec. 2. 2 Ind. L. 1903 ch. 237, Sec. 2. 3 Kans. L. 1907 p. 177, Sec. 13. 4 Mo. L. 1907 p. 427, Sec. 1 1. 5 Nebr. Compiled Statutes, 1909 Sec. 27966. 8 Ohio. L. 1906 p. 197, Sec. 22. 17 Wasl. L. 1907 ch. 1 10. (In cities of first class. Unpaid in others.) 18 Ken. L. 1908 ch. 67, Sec. 21. This applies to cities of first and second classes. Expenses have so far been met without levying a special tax. 18 Ills. R. S. 1908 ch. 23, Sec. 174. 20 Mo. L. 1909 p. 428, Sees. 9, 10, 1 1. 18 26l THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME In Colorado, 1 Massachusetts, 2 and Wisconsin s the number is fixed by the Court and the County Board; in Alabama 4 by law. C. DUTIES The duties of the probation officers, the law provides in almost all of the states having Juvenile Court Laws, shall be (a) to investigate any child to be brought before the Court, (V) to be present in court to represent the interests of the child, (c) to fur- nish such information as the judge may require, and (d) to take charge of any child before and after trial. 5 Utah, with the longest list of duties, adds to those given above that the officers must make complaint before the court of any case of delinquency coming to their knowledge, serve notices, and file complaints against parents contribut- ing to the dependency or delinquency of their children. 8 In Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island, where the probation system antedates the Juvenile Court, the placing of children on parole or probation comes under the regulations for offenders 7 generally. Congress has allowed the Judge to define the duties of probation officers in the District of Columbia. 8 1 Colo. L. 1903 ch. 85, Sec. 8. 2 Mass. R. S. ch. 217, Sec. 81. 3 Wise. L. 1907 p. 128, Sec. 573. (From two to five.) 4 Ala. Local Acts, 1907 p. 303, Sec. 8. (There is only one.) 6 These provisions are found in the following states. Ala. Local Acts, p. 363, Sec. 8. Calif. Penal Code, 1908 Appendix, p. 630, Sec. 14. Colo. L. 1903 ch. 85, Sec. 8. Conn. L. 1905 ch. 142, Sec. 2. (Does not provide for attendance at court.) Idaho. L. 1907 p. 231, Sec. 2 L. 1905 p. oo, Sec. 12. Ills. R. S. 1908 ch. 23, Sec. 174. Ind. L. 1907 ch. 203 Sec. 5 and 6. (Must also visit child twice a year.) Iowa. L. 1904 ch. 1 1, Sec. 6. Kans. L. 1905 ch. 190, Sec. 3. Ken. L. 1908 ch. 67, Sec. 3. La. L. 1908 No. 83, Sec. 1 1 and 13 (a b and d above). Md. L. 1904 ch. 514, Sec. i (except b). Mich. L. 1907 No. 325, Sec. 5 and 1 1 (a and d only) Minn. L. 1905 ch. 285, Sec. 6 and ch. 321, Sec. 2. L. 1907 ch. 342, Sec. 2. Mo. L. 1909 p. 427, Sec. 9. Nebr. Compiled Statutes, 1909 Sec. 2796, 6. Ohio. L. 1908 p. 198, Sec. 23. Oregon. L. 1907 ch. 34, Sec. 6. Pa. Purdon's Digest, p. 1882 Sec. 53 (b not given). Tenn. L. 1905 ch. 516, Sec. 7. Texas, Gen'l Laws, 1907 ch. 65, Sec. 6. Wash. L. 1905 ch. 18, Sec. 6. Wise. L. 1907 p. 130, Sec. 573. 6 Utab. L. 1907 ch. 139, Sec. 1 1. 1 Mass. R. S. ch. 217, Sec. 34, 35, and 36. N. H. L. 1907 ch. 125, Sec. 8. A/. /. L. 1906 ch. 74, Sec. 3. N. Y. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1908 Sec. i \a, 2. /?. /. L. 1889 ch. 664, Sec. 3 and 7. 8 D. C. 34 U. S. Statutes at Large 43, Sec. 4. 262 TOPICAL ABSTRACT OF JUVENILE COURT LAWS IX. CONSTRUCTION OF JUVENILE COURT LAWS Those states which have the more complete Juvenile Court laws add to the careful provisions for the trial and disposition of delinquent children which are made in order that they may be reformed and not punished, that the law shall be liberally construed for the protection of the child. 1 X. ADULT RESPONSIBILITY FOR JUVENILE DELINQUENCY Of all laws calculated to prevent delinquency among children, those that punish by fine or imprisonment the parents or other persons who contribute to such delin- quency are the most significant. 2 1 Calif. Penal Code Appendix, 1906 p. 630^, Sec. 20. Colo. L. 1903 ch. 86, Sec. 1 1. Ills. R. S. 1908 ch. 23, Sec. 189. Ind. L. 1903 ch. 237, Sec. 10. Iowa L. 1904 ch. 1 1, Sec. 16. Kans. L. 1906 ch. 190, Sec. 15. Ken, L. 1908 ch. 67, Sec. 18. Mass, L. 1906 ch. 413, Sec. 2. Minn. L. 1905 ch. 285, Sec. 14. Mo. L. 1909 p. 431, Sec. 23. Nebr. Compiled Statutes, 1909 Sec. 2796, 17. N. H. L. 1907 ch. 125, Sec. 19. Ohio L. 1908 p. 202, Sec. 40. Oregon L. 1907 ch. 34, Sec. 18. Texas Gen'l L. 1907 ch. 65, Sec. 10. Utah. L. 1907 ch. 139, Sec. 17. Wash. L. 1905 ch. 18, Sec. 12. 1 The following states have adopted legislation of this sort. Colo. L. 1903 ch. 94, Sec. i. L. 1907 ch. 155. (Allows $ i ooo fine or 12 months' imprisonment or both for causing delinquency.) Conn. L. 1907 ch. 69, Sec. i. (1500 fine or 6 months' imprisonment or both.) D. C. 34 U. S. Statutes at Large 73, Sec. 26. ($200 fine or 3 months' imprison- ment or both.) Idaho L. 1907 No. 63, Sec. i. ($500 or 6 months' imprisonment or both.) Ills. R. S. 1906 p. 717, Sec. 42 h b. ($200 fine or 12 months' imprisonment or both.) Ind. L. 1905 ch. 145, Nos. 2 and 3. (Fine $500 or 6 months' imprisonment or both.) Kans. L. 1907^. 177, No. i. ($1000 fine or one year imprisonment or both.) Ken. L. 1905 ch. 60, Sees. I and 2. Mass. L. 1906 ch. 413, Sec. 13. ($50 fine; 6 months' imprisonment or both; made a misdemeanor.) Minn. L. 1907 ch. 92, Sec. i. (1500 fine; 6 months' imprisonment or both.) (The Minnesota law is sweepingly drawn. It provides that any person who "by an act of omission or commission or by word, shall have encouraged, caused or contributed to. . . .the delinquency, dependency or neglect of such child.") Mo. L. 1907 p. 231, Sec. i. Nebr. Compiled Statutes, 1909 Sec. 2796. 20. ($500 fine or 6 months' imprison- ment or both.) N. J. L. 1905 ch. 160, Sec. i. ($1000 fine or 6 months' imprisonment or both. 263 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME Colorado, 1 and Kentucky 2 provide that this proceeding against the parent or responsible adult shall be on the "verified petition of a reputable resident ' and he shall be brought into court by a summons instead of by warrant as the other s ates provide. In most states when a person is convicted of causing or contributing to the delinquency of a child, the judgment may be suspended and the parent placed on probation to remove former conditions or causes, and upon his failing to do this, judgment may be entered. 8 XI. RELATION OF COURT TO INSTITUTIONS IN WHICH CHILDREN ARE PLACED After a child has been brought into court, and it has been found necessary or advisable by the court to place him in some institution, the states differ as to whether or not he then passes out of the control of the court. In the District of Columbia, 4 Applies only to parents who fail to use "due diligence" to prevent misconduct of child.) L. 1907 ch. 585, makes failure to keep children in school or not notifying authorities of inability to do so a misdemeanor. N. Y. Penal Code 1908 Sec. 289, Subdivision 3. (A misdemeanor and punish- able accordingly.) Ohio. L. 1908 p. 192, Sec. 23. ($1000 fine, 12 months' imprisonment or both.) Texas. L. 1907 ch. 109, Sec. i. ($1000 fine, 12 months' imprisonment or both.) Utah. L. 1907 ch. 155, Sec. i. (A stringent provision "any person over 18 years of age who by any acts, words or conduct, or by the omission to do something required by law to be done, aids, abets, encourages, contributes to, or becomes re- sponsible for the dependency, neglect, or delinquency of any juvenile" shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.) Wash. L. 1907 ch. 1 1, Sec. i. (|iooo fine or i year imprisonment or both.) Wise. L. 1905 ch. 1444, Sec. i. (1500 fine or i year imprisonment or both.) 1 Colo. L. 1909. 2 Ken. L. 1908 ch. 60, Sees, i and 2. 3 This is the case in Conn. L. 1907 ch. 69, Sec. i. Colo. L. 1903 ch. 94, Sec. i. D. C. 34, Statutes at Large, 73, Sec. 24. Idaho. L. 1907 p. 231, Sec. i. Ills. R. S. 1908 p. 717, Sec. 42 h b Ind. L. 1905 ch. 145. Sec. 3. (Judgment not to be suspended longer than 2 years.) Ken. L. 1908 ch. 67, Sec. 3. (May be released on probation for one year.) Kans. L. 1907 ch. 177, Sees. 3 and 4. Minn. L. 1907 ch. 92, Sec. i. Mo. L. 1907 p. 231, Sec. i. Nebr. Compiled Statutes, 1909 Sec. 2796, 20. (Same as in Ind.) N. J. L. 1905 ch. 160, Sec. 2. (Fine of not more than $100 or by imprison- ment for not more than six months.) ; Ohio. L. 1908 p. 195, Sec. 14. (Fine not less than $10 nor more than $1000 imprisonment 10 days or i year. Every day's contribution to be considered a separate offense.) Texas. Gen'l L. 1907 ch. 109, Sec. i. Utah. L. 1907 ch. 155, Sees. 3 and 4. Wash. L. 1907 ch. 1 1, No. i. Wise. L. 1905 ch. 444, No. i. (Same as in Ind. and Nebr.) 4 D. C. 34 Statutes at Large 43, Sec. 8. 264 TOPICAL ABSTRACT OF JUVENILE COURT LAWS ' Kansas, 1 Kentucky, 1 Minnesota, 3 and Missouri, 4 the law specifically provides that he may be discharged by order of the court only. In Ohio* he may be-discharged only by the authorities of the institution to which he has been committed and in Oregon 6 the court may change its orders only with the consent of the institution. The control or supervision of institutions or associations which receive children from the Juvenile Court is exercised by the State Board of Charities in Colorado, 7 Illinois, 8 Indiana, 9 Louisiana, 10 Massachusetts, 11 Minnesota, 12 Missouri, 13 Nebraska 14 and Ohio. 15 In Ken- tucky, 18 Tennessee, 17 and Oregon, 18 this supervision is in the hands of a board appointed by the Juvenile Court. In Maryland 19 probation officers are selected by the supreme bench to visit institutions and report on them to the court. In Idaho 20 they must be passed on by the Governor. In Texas, 21 Colorado, 22 and Louisiana, 23 the court may re- quire the institutions to make complete report as to the care, condition, and progress of the child. The Illinois law provides that the child may continue to be a ward of the Court after it has been placed in charge of any association or individual. 24 In Illinois, 28 Nebraska, 2 * and Ohio, 27 agents of the Juvenile reformatories must do probation work, reporting to the court conditions of the homes in which children have been placed. In Massachusetts, 28 Nebraska, 2 ' and Idaho 30 the school authorities are required to make reports, when requested by the judge, of children under the care of the court. 1 Kans. L. 1905 ch. 190, Sec. 10. 2 Ken. L. 1908 ch. 67, Sec. 7. 3 Minn. L. 1905 ch. 285, Sec. 7. 4 Mo. L. 1909 p. 430, Sec. 8. 5 Ohio L. 1904 p. 621, Sec. 9. (Cuyahoga County Court.) L. 1908 p. 192, Sec. 12. 6 Oregon L. 1907 ch. 34, Sec. 10. 7 Colo. L. 1903 ch. 85, Sec. 10. 8 Ills. R. S. 1908 ch. 23, Sec. 181. 9 Ind. L. 1905 ch. 237, Sec. 8. (Court may require report on an institution from the Board at any time.) 10 La. L. 1906 No. 83, Sec. 18. 11 Mass. L. 1906 ch. 413, Sec. 8. 12 Minn. L. 1905 ch. 285, Sec. n. 13 Mo. L. 1909 p. 430, Sec. 9. 14 Nebr. Compiled Statutes, 1909 Sec. 2796, 13. 15 Ohio L. 1908 p. 192, Sec. 13. 18 Ken. L. 1908 ch. 67, No. 19. 17 Tenn. L. 1905 ch. 516, No. 9. 18 Oregon L. 1907 ch. 43, No. 15. 19 Md. L. 1902 ch. 6 1 1, Sec. 886 B. L. 1904 ch. 614. 20 Idaho L. 705, p. 1 06, Sec. 7. 21 Texas L. 1907 ch. 65, Sec. 8. 22 Colo. L. 1903 ch. 85, Sec. 10. 23 La. L. 1908 No. 83, Sec. 18. 24 Ills. R. S. 1908 ch. 23, Sec. 177. 25 Ills. R. S. 1908 ch. 23, Sec. 180. 28 Nebr. Compiled Statutes, 1909 Sec. 2796, 12. 27 Ohio L. 1908 p. 192, Sec. 13. 28 Mass. L. 1906 ch. 489, Sec. 8. (Boston.) 29 Nebr. Compiled Statutes, 1909 Sec. 2796, 13. 30 Idaho L. 1907 No. 63, Sec. 3. (Truancy, delinquency, and incorrigibility reported by school authorities to court.) 265 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME CONCLUSION Juvenile Court legislation is still in the making. Yearly additions and modi- fications will make this abstract incomplete almost with its appearance. 1 To anyone who has studied the session laws of the past ten years it is evident that the tendency is to follow the leadership of Illinois and Colorado and enact legislation which con- sistently regards the child who has committed some offense as one who needs the especial guidance and protection of the state. Probably no juvenile court has done for this class of children in its community all that it is hoped will be possible, but public opinion is unanimous in its verdict that the theory which these courts are attempting to put into practice is a great advance over the common law doctrine and everything points to the ultimate abandonment of this older doctrine by all of the states. Hull House, 1910. 1 Since the above was written juvenile court laws have been enacted in Arkansas (Acts 1911, p. 166), Delaware (Laws 1911, ch. 262), Florida (Laws 1911, p. 181, ch. 6216), Idaho (Laws 1911, ch. 159, Art. XVII) and North Dakota (Laws 1911, p. 266, ch. 177). Laws already enacted have been amended in important respects in Illinois (Laws 1911, p. 126), Kansas (Laws 1911, p. 411, ch. 236), Kentucky (Acts 1910, p. 226, ch. 76), Michigan (Laws 1911, p. 448), Missouri (Laws 1911, p. 177), Nebraska (Acts 1911, p. 207, p. 272), South Dakota (Laws 1909, p. 421), Tennessee (Public Acts 1911, p. in; Private Acts 191 1, p. 1569), Utah (Laws 1909, p. 324? 191 1, p. 81), Virginia (Acts 1908, p. 619), Washington (Laws 1909, ch. 190; 1911, ch. 56), Wis- consin (Laws 1909, 573 fol.). 266 APPENDIX IV FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO THE DELIN- QUENCY OF 100 BOYS BROUGHT INTO THE JUVENILE COURT OF COOK COUNTY AT CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, BETWEEN JULY i, 1903, AND JULY i, 1904 IN the following pages are presented a series of short paragraphs, each giving a briefly summarized statement of all the facts that were gathered relating to the home and family as well as to the alleged offenses of 100 of the 584 boys for whom family schedules were obtained. The paragraphs selected are those which represent as wide a variety of cases as possible and within the various groups those in which the facts collected were most complete and inter- esting. It is believed that a study of these simple statements of fact will help the reader to see the delinquent child, as a human problem and not merely as an abstract question of social policy. The fact that these are grouped under different headings does not mean that we directly relate the child's delinquency to any one factor as a single cause. It is felt, however, that in presenting so large a number of cases, the reading of them will be facilitated and also rendered more illuminating if the histories which seem to have certain features in common are grouped together. The number presented is believed to be sufficiently large to enable the reader to test the conclusions that we have drawn in these chapters and to find the truth, if he wishes, quite independently of the writers' interpretation. I. IMMIGRANT PARENTS WHO HAVE NOT LEARNED ENGLISH i. A thrifty Italian family with fourteen children, seven of whom are dead. The mother was fifteen years old and the father thirty-three when they were married, and they immigrated two years later. They came directly to Chicago where they have lived for twenty years. They speak a little English but do not read or write it. The father now owns a little grocery store and they live in a comfortable six-room flat in a building that they own. The boy receives $3.00 a week, working for his father, and is permitted to keep his own money. When he was twelve 267 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME years old, he was brought into court as a truant and was sent to the Chicago Parental School for ten months. He refused to attend school because he did not like the teacher. One year later he was arrested for stealing and was sent to the John Worthy School for six months. The probation officer says, "Four members of this family have passed through a routine of truancy, incorrigibility in school, suspension, stealing from the father, and then they have become clerks in their father's grocery and settled down." The parents say the probation officer was a good man because he scared the boy into being good. The officer says he has not noticed any great improvement in the boy's character, but what there is, is due to the boy's independence in having his own money. 2. A thrifty, industrious Polish family with fifteen children, eight of whom are still at home, the youngest two years old. When they were married, the father was twenty and the mother twenty-four. They immigrated three years later. The father is a common laborer, but has a steady job in a big manufacturing plant. The home of six rooms is neat and pleasant. The mother, who has been in this country seventeen years, can speak no English. She did not think it was necessary for the boy to go to school and "kept him out" a great deal; otherwise the home influence was good. The probation officer thinks the boy's delinquency was due to his parents' ignorance of American customs. When the mother understood that in America it was wrong to let the boy pick coal from the tracks, she kept him away. At the age of eleven, he was brought into court, charged with stealing coal from the railroad and taking it away in bags; he was put on probation. The probation officer visited the home twice a month usually, and sometimes oftener. She advised the mother to keep the boy in school as long as possible; she visited the teacher to arouse her interest in the boy; and took the boy to the circus and picnics. The mother speaks of the officer as "a nice lady" whom she was always glad to see. The boy is working for a brewery, bottling beer, and earns $6.00 a week. For a year and a half he was a laborer in a foundry where he earned $4.50 a week. 3. A Bohemian family with nine children; one is married; one is a servant; this boy is in the John Worthy School; and the remaining six are still at home. Before immigration the father was a blacksmith, and the mother worked on a farm. When he was twenty-five and she twenty- three they married and came to Chicago. Although they have been here twenty-five years, the father speaks little English and can neither read nor write it. The father still practices his trade of a blacksmith but does not earn very good wages. They have a very comfortable home of four rooms, which they own free of mortgage. They also have a vege- table garden and chickenyard. The mother is very easy-going and says she thinks the father has injured the boy's mind by giving him so many hard slaps on the head. The father is very quick-tempered and severe. When the boy was twelve years old he was brought into court as a truant; and sent to the Chicago Parental School. One year later he stole a bicycle valued at $15; and was put on probation. Two months later he stole an alarm clock and lead pipe from an empty house; and was sent to the John Worthy School. The probation officer says the 268 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS boy is very spasmodic in all his habits; he would not report regularly, but she saw him two or three times a month. He is mischievous and easily led, went with bad boys and got into trouble. She thinks him sub- normal. 4. A poor, helpless Russian-Jewish family with seven children, three of whom died in infancy. The father was twenty-five years old and the mother twenty when they were married; the father had been in this country seven years and the mother had just immigrated. They speak very little English. They live in a very poor, four-room apartment. The father, who is a tailor, is now out of work but he does not earn more than $6.00 a week when he works and has never been able to support the family, who are now receiving some charitable assistance. This boy has tuberculosis. He worked in Colorado last winter and should be there now, but the mother does not know how to get along without his help because he is the only one of the children old enough to work. She used to go out cleaning, but for the last few years she has not been able to go away from home to work because the four-year-old child is feeble minded and has convulsions. When this boy was thirteen he was brought into court, charged with being the leader of three boys who were committing petty thefts; he was put on probation. When he was fourteen he was brought in again for resisting an officer; he was riding on the fender of a car and, when the officer ordered him off, the boy became abusive and used insulting language; he was again put on probation. He has been under the care of two different probation officers. The mother says that the officers were "a great help." 5. A Lithuanian family with eight children. The parents married when the father was twenty and the mother seventeen. The father, who is a laborer, immigrated fourteen years ago. The mother, who died re- cently, had been in this country only six years and could speak no English. The family have a poor, dirty home in a very poor neighborhood. The little ten-year-old girl is the only housekeeper, but the father gets the meals for the family. During the father's illness the family received county aid. The boy started to school at thirteen, after he had been here two years, and stopped at fourteen, in the second grade. The father says the boy is very bad and was incorrigible even in Europe. At the age of fourteen he was brought into court on the charge of stealing potatoes from a freight car and was put on probation. He has worked very irreg- ularly and ran away from home after his mother's death. 6. A Bohemian family with six children; two boys are married; two are in the John Worthy School; and two are still at home. The parents are decent and industrious people, who came to this country when they were both thirty-four, and have never learned to speak English. The mother has always continued to wear the old peasant costume, and the home, a very poor two-room apartment, looks very foreign. The father is a teamster; the mother took in washing at first but has given it up now. This boy was the first one in the family to go to school, and he did not like it. At the age of twelve he was brought into court on the charge of incorrigibility because he would not go to school, stayed away 269 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME from home, slept out nights, and associated with bad boys; he was committed to the John Worthy School. At the age of fifteen he was brought in again, charged with having stolen goods in his possession, he was found with chewing-gum worth $1.50 for which he could not account; he was paroled to a workingboys' home. He seemed as un- willing to go to work as he had been to go to school, and he is now in the John Worthy School again. 7. A Polish immigrant family with eleven children, three of whom died. The parents married when the father was twenty-eight and the mother eighteen, and immigrated seven years later. Neither father nor mother speaks English. The family live in a poor, crowded home of four rooms. The father is a common laborer in one of the plants of a well known company; two of the daughters earn small wages "work- ing out." When this boy was fifteen and in the second grade at school, he was brought into court, charged with stealing grain doors from rail- road cars. "Bad company" was the reason, the mother said. He was committed to the John Worthy School for nine months. On his release he was paroled to a police officer. The officer called at the home once a month, and the boy reported to him every two weeks. He worked in the steel mills for a time, but is now in the navy. 8. This boy is one of four children belonging to an Italian family, who came from Italy only eight years ago. The mother of these children died in Italy, but the father, who is a paper peddler earning from $3.00 to $4.00 a week, remarried before he came to this country. Neither the father nor the stepmother can speak English. The family lived with a cousin after they first came here but they now have a home of their own, a very poor, four-room apartment. When this boy was ten years old, he was brought to court for begging, and was sent to an institution for dependent children. He had been allowed to peddle papers when a very little boy and undoubtedly was encouraged by his stepmother to beg. At the age of eleven he was brought into court for fighting with other boys. He was sent to the John Worthy School for fifteen months. Two years later he was arrested for loafing about the docks and was put on probation. The boy is now running an elevator and earning $6.00 a week, part of which he gives to his father. He has had several positions of only a month's duration. He has been under the care of three different probation officers. The officer who knew him best says that his progress has been remarkable, considering his home surroundings. * School Statement. I am 77 years old. I left school when I was *It was explained in Chapter VIII (see page 126) that when the investi- gators were visiting the homes of these boys in order to obtain the family schedules, an attempt was made in every instance, when the boy himself was found at home, to have him fill out a "school statement." This statement asked for his age at beginning school together with his age and grade at leaving school, the schools attended, and the studies which had helped him most to earn money. These state- ments are attached to the family paragraphs because the information they contain does, in some cases, throw light upon the boy's conduct. The names of the schools are omitted in order to avoid possible identification. In Appendix VI one of these statements is reproduced in the boy's own handwriting. 270 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS 14. I was then in the 4 grade. I began to go to school when I was years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are I went to school to learn everything I could about because 9. A Bohemian family with seven children. The parents were married when the father was twenty-four and the mother twenty-three; they immigrated four years later but neither of them has learned to speak English, although they have been here twenty-one years. They have a poor home in a basement apartment. The father is a teamster earning $9.00 a week, and two daughters work in a tailor shop. At the age of twelve this boy was brought into court charged with arson and stealing; he and three other boys broke down a fence and set fire to it; they were also charged with stealing coal and jumping on moving trains; he was put on probation. At the age of sixteen he was brought in again charged with stealing; he broke the seal of a freight car and stole 30 bushels of corn valued at $i 5 ; he was again put on probation. The boy improved under probation and has worked well, although he has recently been in court again for stealing; he has worked in a tin shop, and for a picture company, and recently nine months in a stove factory, earning $6.00 a week. He "gives in" his wages. School Statement. I am 16^2 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 6 grade. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are manu- traing because [Boy unable to write enough to complete the statement.] 10. A German family with three children. The father was twenty- eight and the mother twenty-seven when they were married, and they immigrated three years later. The father is a laborer and rather intemper- ate. The mother was a paralytic, for years hardly able to drag herself about. She could speak no English and, being unable to see why the boy should go to school every day, was inclined to keep him at home to help her. The boy had an unusual opportunity for loafing on the street and got in with the "P Street gang." The mother died not long ago, and the boy is now living with one married sister, and the father with another. The boy is bright, a good worker, and is never out of work. When he was thirteen he was brought into court charged with malicious mischief. He was accused of entering a car and ringing up a fare on the register. He was put on probation. The probation officer to whom he was paroled did a great deal for the boy. He reported to her every week, and she visited the home twice a month, but the mother did not fully under- stand why she came. II. LOSS OF PARENTAL CARE THROUGH THE DEATH OF FATHER OR MOTHER n. This boy was an only child of American parents. The father is dead, and the mother, who was once a school teacher, owns some prop- erty in the country and the building in which they live; she rents the store in front and all the rest of the building, except three dark rear rooms. She has an ungovernable temper, at times verging on insanity. 271 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME The neighbors and the probation officer think that at times she is not in her right mind. She recently put some tenants out and one of them had her arrested for disorderly conduct. She threw eggs in court at the judge who fined her, and she is now in jail serving a thirty days' sentence for contempt. The boy was found at home alone with a dog. He was cooking his supper. He is fond of his mother and wanted to go to jail for her, or with her, but the judge would not allow it. At the age of thirteen this boy was brought into court, charged with malicious mischief. He was accused of throwing stones and breaking windows. He was put on probation under the care of a police officer who was always friendly with him. The officer went to see the boy often but the mother did not like any interference with her authority. The officer says the boy is a good boy now. The boy has had several different kinds of jobs, and when working has always given his mother his money. He was inspector in a large department store for awhile, and agent for a candy store, and errand boy at another department store, but is out of work now. He and his mother are going to the country when she comes out of jail. School Statement. I am ij years old. I left school when I was 16. I was then in the 7 grade. I began to go to school when 1 was 4 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Reading and Writing and Armithict because you can tell where you are and can be in touch with your people. 12. A Polish family with six children. The father was twenty- six and the mother was sixteen when they were married and they immi- grated two years later. Neither of them ever learned to speak English. The father is now dead and the mother insane. When the father died nine years ago he left $900 insurance, which the mother spent in one year. Two boys work in the stockyards now and support the other children. The sister keeps the house of four rooms clean and takes care of the three younger children. When this boy was twelve he broke the seal on a freight car and stole some grain for the chickens. He was sent to the John Worthy School for two years, and after his release was under the care of a probation officer who called at the home once a month at first and then less frequently. She was always friendly and tried to help the sister with the children. The sister says she was always glad to see the officer. The boy is now working irregularly in the stockyards. School Statement. I am 18 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was in the 4 grade. I began to go to school when 1 was 7 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are riding and writing because that will get me a job. 13. This boy is an illegitimate child of Irish-American parents. The mother is dead, and the father has never recognized him nor con- tributed to his support. The boy lived with his great-grandmother until he was five years old when she died, and an aunt with eight children took him to live with her. She lives in a very bad neighborhood; her home is bare and dirty; and her husband a man "wellknown to the police." The boy is said to have a mania for stealing; he was brought into court at the age of ten with eight other boys for breaking open a show 272 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS case and stealing five watches valued at $3.75 each; he was put on probation. Seven months later he was again brought in for stealing, and sent to an institution for dependent boys. The aunt says he was put on a farm when released and she does not know where he is. 14. This boy's mother died in Bohemia, and the father, then twenty-eight, brought the boy with him to this country. The father has been here seventeen years, but can speak no English. The boy and the father are very good friends. They live in two rooms, and the boy has always stayed at home and "kept house" for the father. He was left alone all day long with nothing to do. When he was fifteen he was brought into court for stealing $4.50. He was put on probation. One month later he was arrested for trying to steal at a large department store and was sent to the John Worthy School for ten months. He is staying with his father and keeping house at present; he has no other work. The boy was paroled to a police officer and then to a probation officer. The father thinks that the last officer had a good influence over the boy. The boy reported to the officer once a month. Although the boy is now twenty years old, he has worked only three months altogether, except, of course, at "housekeeping." School Statement. I am 20 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 6 grade. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are because . / worked in printing shop where I learned how to feed a goodro. 15. An American family with two children. The mother died of tuberculosis and the grandmother keeps house. They have a very poor home of three rooms in a poor and crowded neighborhood with no park nor playground near. The father, who is a waiter, earns very low wages and drinks a great deal. The grandmother is good to the two children but not very capable of taking care of them. The probation officer thinks she is mentally unbalanced. The boy used to work as a newsboy and an errand boy after school hours and always gave his earn- ings to his grandmother. At the age of eleven he was brought into court on a charge of incorrigibility because he ran away from school and slept under sidewalks; he was put on probation. He was brought into court again charged with truancy, and was again put on probation. At the age of fourteen he was brought into court again, charged with stealing a bicycle valued at $7.00; he was once more put on probation. The boy was under the care of a volunteer probation officer, whom the grandmother calls "a good, kind woman"; but when the boy's little sister had been seriously burned, the grandmother was very resentful because the officer insisted that she should have medical treatment. Since then the grandmother has not wanted an officer to visit the home. School Statement. I am 75 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 5 grade. I began to go to school when I was 7 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Reading because / use it in my trade and that is the sign painting trade. 16. A German family with four children, all of whom are at home except this boy, who is in the John Worthy School. The mother died 273 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME a good many years ago. The housekeeper, who was changed often, could not make the boys mind. The father is a baker, but does not earn very good wages; he has been immoral and a drunkard, although he is now improving. The home is always poor and neglected, and the children are uncared for. The older brothers do very unskilled work; a boy of twenty-two earns only $5.00 a week. The little sister is very backward in school and this boy was not bright nor fond of school. At the age of eleven he was brought into court for stealing a horse from a barn and also for taking a hammer; he was put on probation. Within a year he was brought in again charged with stealing; he, with a crowd of boys, took a blanket and shawl from a buggy; he was committed to the John Worthy School. At the age of thirteen he was in court, charged with disorderly conduct; he annoyed his teacher, used indecent language on the street, and stole; he was again put on probation. At the age of fourteen he was brought in on the charge of breaking into a house and stealing two coats valued at $12, and tools valued at $6.00; he was again committed to the John Worthy School, where he is now. He has worked in several different places, and always turned in his money. The pro- bation officer called on the boy twice a month when he was at home. The officer thinks that the boy is weak willed and that the discipline of the institution has been good for him. "The separation from home influences seems to have caused an improvement." 17. A Russian family with six children. The parents are both dead, but the children live with the stepmother, who speaks very little English. They have a wretched home, a five-room cottage, damp and dirty, in a very poor neighborhood near the city limits, surrounded by swamp and standing water. The stepmother keeps a boarder or two. The father was ill for a long time and could earn very little; he then be- came insane, was sent to the hospital, and died there. This boy had no home care nor attention. At the age of nine he was brought into court charged with stealing; he had broken into a house, with another boy, and stolen $14 and two rings valued at $15; the officer thought the boy gave the money to his parents. He was put on probation. At the age of ten he was again brought into court, charged with truancy, and was sent to the Chicago Parental School, where he is now. The step- mother knows nothing about him. The boy's older sister is at home, as are two small children, the boy's half-brother and sister. 1 8. An Irish-American family with three children. The parents were both born in America and were married when the father was twenty- four and the mother twenty-two. The father died insane. The mother was a janitress but is now working in a drygoods store. After the father died, the family went to live with the grandfather. The grandfather is now dead, but he left the home, which he owned, to them. The sister is a telephone operator, and the boy keeps house while the mother and sister work. When the boy was twelve he was brought into court for grabbing a pocketbook, and was sent to the John Worthy School for two months. At the age of fifteen he was brought into court again for attempt- ing to stab a boy during a neighborhood race war and he was put on pro- bation. He had three or four positions in the stockyards but did not keep 274 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS any of them more than two months. He keeps house now instead of going to work. He has been under the care of two different probation officers. The last officer, who visits the home once a month, says she has had no trouble dealing with the child. School Statement. I am 16 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 6 grade. I began to go to school when I was 5 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are reading writeing numbers because / had to do that to get the work as mail messenger. 19. A Russian-Jewish family with seven children. The parents have not immigrated, and this boy's only relatives in America are two brothers. He has lived with a married brother, who has no sympathy with him and who says the boy is a degenerate, that he was the youngest and was always petted and spoiled, and that he robbed his father in Europe. At the age of fourteen the boy was brought into court as incor- rigible, charged with not attending school, with keeping bad company, staying away from home, and being hard to control; he was put on pro- bation. At the age of fifteen he was brought in again, charged with stealing; he was committed to the John Worthy School. He was paroled to a home for workingboys, but the officer in charge of it says the boy spent most of his time "bumming." Several positions were found for him, but he never kept any of them very long. The boy was taken ill, and the officer took him to a hospital. After his recovery the boy went away, and the officer did not see him again. He is now in the state reformatory at Pontiac. 20. A Polish family with fifteen children, eight of whom are dead. The father and mother were both twenty-eight when they were married, and they probably immigrated the same year. The mother, who was the fath- er's second wife, is dead, and the present stepmother is therefore the third wife. The father is a retired harness-maker. The home, which they own, is neat, clean, and well furnished, and they have a yard with grass and flowers. They rent the upper floor of the house. The father said the boy became so unmanageable that it was necessary to take him to court when he was fifteen years old and have him sent to a reform school. The father said in court that the boy was incorrigible, he refused to work and could not be controlled; he was committed to the John Worthy School. When released, he was put under the care of a probation officer, who says she could reason with the boy and he did very well under her care. She visited the home twice a month. She says the boy wrote beautifully and had a talent for drawing, but the parents did not encourage him. The parents liked the officer. They said the boy did well as long as she visited him. When she stopped, "he quit his job." He worked in a picture-frame factory and went to school nights; then, one day, he drew two weeks' pay and left home. The father does not know where he is, but hopes that he will come back. An older brother ran away and never returned. 21. This boy was the only child of English-Irish parents, both of whom came to this country when very young, and both of whom died of tuberculosis. The father died when the boy was small, and the mother 275 died the year after the boy was first brought into court. He then went to live with his mother's sister, who had a comfortable home but whose husband had been twice arrested for larceny and had a bad influence over the boy. The boy was first brought into court when thirteen years old as a truant, and was sent to the Chicago Parental School. He was brought in again three years later and was paroled to a home for workingboys, but he ran away after one month. He was immediately returned to court charged with being one of three boys who held up a woman and robbed a man. He was sent to the John Worthy School for five months. The probation officer says the boy is fairly steady, but smokes a great deal and she thinks he inherited a weak will and a tendency to steal. He left Chicago three months before the investigator's visit and his aunt has not heard from him, but believes him to be on a farm. She thinks the boy has tuberculosis. He was a wagon boy at one time and was allowed to keep his own wages. III. WORKING MOTHERS 22. A Polish family with six children, one of whom is now married. The parents were both twenty years old when they were married and immigrated ten years later. The father, who was a tailor by trade, died insane ten years ago. The mother, who can speak no English, took in washing and had a hard struggle for years to care for the family. She kept the house clean but was not able to look after the children properly. When this boy was thirteen and in the fourth grade at school, he was brought into court for cutting telephone wires under the sidewalks and carrying away the wires to sell. He was put on probation and was never brought into court again. He was paroled to a police officer, who says the boy reported to him and never gave him any further trouble. He worked for nearly three years in a furniture factory, for five months in a spring factory, and he is now in a department store. School Statement. I am 18 years old. I left school when I was 13 years 7 months. I was in the jth grade. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Reading and Arithmetic. Because reading helps me find work by reading in papers and arithmatic helps me count my hours I put in and count my celary. 23. An American family with ten children, not however all belong- ing to the mother; three are her sister's and three her stepchildren. The father was thirty-five and the mother twenty-four when they were mar- ried. The father died of tuberculosis, and during his long illness, as well as after his death, the mother had to go out to work, and there was no one left to look after the children. The mother earns from $7.00 to $10 a week, cleaning. The home is very poor but clean. At the age of twelve this boy was brought into court by his mother as incorrigible, because she had to work and could not keep him off the streets. He had been expelled from two schools and had run away from an institution for dependent boys. He was returned to this institution and then sent to the John Worthy School for three months. When he was thirteen he was 276 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS again brought in as incorrigible and was sent to the John Worthy School again for a year and nine months; he was then transferred to the institu- tion for dependent boys and in three months was recommitted to the John Worthy School. The boy was first paroled to a police officer and later was under the care of a probation officer who called at the home every two weeks. The officer thinks the mother "did all in her power to make the boy do right." The boy is anxious to be released from probation, but the mother thinks it is very good for him to be under an officer's care. 24. An Irish family with four children, of whom this boy is the eldest. The mother was nineteen when she came to this country and twenty when she was married. The father died when the children were little, and the mother remarried. The stepfather drank, was unkind to the children, and did not support the family so that the mother has always taken in washing ever since the father died. The home has always been poor and untidy. One of the children was an epileptic and very difficult to take care of. When this boy was twelve years old, he was brought into court for breaking the seal on a freight car and stealing 50 pounds of mince meat; he was put on probation. The probation officer says he belonged to a bad gang, never had proper home care, and was kept out of school to deliver washing for his mother. He has never been in court again. He has worked as a wagon boy in a department store for five months, as errand boy for six months, in a milk depot for two months, and is now a pin boy in a bowling-alley. He gives all his wages to his mother. 25. An Irish family of seven children, five of whom died at birth. Both father and mother were twenty-four years old when they came to this country. The father is dead and the mother is a cook in a restaurant. The mother has gone out to work for thirteen years and has had a hard time supporting the family even with the county help which she had when the children were small. They lived in a very poor home of two rooms in a very poor neighborhood. This boy was first brought into court at the age of fifteen by his mother, because he would not work and because he was abusive to her and had struck her several times. He was sent to the John Worthy School for eight months. When he was seventeen he was brought in on the charge of disorderly conduct and put on probation for four months, but was finally sent to the John Worthy School for the third time. The boy was first under the care of a probation officer and was later paroled to a volunteer organization. The officers of the organi- zation got several positions for the boy, but he had a strong aversion to any kind of steady work. He is very deaf, however, and has had some trouble holding positions on that account. He has worked very irregularly and has had a variety of jobs. He was in a machine-shop for six months, in a harness-shop for three months, worked for a long time on a farm, and is now a lumber teamster. The boy's younger brother is also a ward of the court. School Statement. I am ig years old. I left school when I was 16, I was then in the 5 grade. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are reading and writing because / can read and find where I want to go. 19 277 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME 26. A Polish family with five children, of whom this boy is the eldest. The father, who worked in the fields before immigrating, came to this country at the age of thirty-nine, and the following year married a girl of fifteen, who had just come over. Neither of them could read or write English but both could speak a little. The father was killed crossing the tracks when the children were small, and since then the mother has worked as a scrubwoman. The family of six and the two lodgers live in three rooms on the fourth floor of a large tenement. The mother keeps the house clean, but the roof leaks and the rooms are often damp. The mother used to send the boys to get coal from the tracks "because every one did." When twelve years old this boy was arrested on a disorderly charge for stealing coal from freight cars and throwing it at railroad em- ployees. He was sent to the Chicago Parental School. The mother told the investigator that she saw other boys bringing home coal from the tracks and sent her boy to pick some up too, and he stole it. One year later he was charged with stealing from a freight car goods valued at $25; this time he was committed to the John Worthy School for six months. A year after his release he was brought in on a disorderly charge for throwing mud at store windows and was put on probation. The boy is not strong and is probably not normal mentally. The sister says he "has been crazy six times." At one time when he was believed to be temporarily insane, he was confined in the Detention Hospital. He cannot keep any position long. The probation officer says the boy smokes incessantly and she thinks he cannot improve because his mind is not normal. School Statement. I am 77 years old. I left school when I was 14 years old. 1 was then in the 5 grade. I began to go to school when I was w years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Reading and writting, because / worked in the printing offices as errand boy. 27. This boy was one of seven children, whose father was German- American and whose mother was Canadian. The father was thirty and the mother sixteen when they were married. The father was a railroad engineer but lost his position, he says, because his eyesight failed, but there is evidence also of intemperance. He has been working nights now and keeping house during the day while the mother is away washing. The children have been much neglected, with the mother away all day and the father asleep most of the time. The home is very poor and bare. When the boy was nine years old he was brought into court on the charge of incorrigibility; he was found loitering about the streets and his parents said they could not control him; he was put on probation. But within a year he was brought in again as a truant and charged with incorrigi- bility and was sent to the Chicago Parental School. The parents say he improved greatly after he had been at the Parental School. He has been under the care of a truant officer and he now attends school regularly. School Statement. I am 14 years old. I left school when I was . I was then in the 4 grade. I began to go to school when I was 10 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are . / never done any work. 278 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS 28. A German family with seventeen children, of whom twelve are dead and two married. The father was twenty-five years old and the mother twenty when they were married, and they came to this country nine years later. The father was intemperate and finally died from the effects of drink. The mother goes out washing but she can scarcely speak any English and can earn only about $3.00 a week. She has always had a loafing crowd of boarders about the house who have had a bad influence on the children. She brought this boy to court when he was fourteen and in the second grade at school, saying that he was sleeping out at night and that he would not work or go to school; he was sent to the John Worthy School for nine months. The boy was paroled to a probation officer, who thinks he could have been easily controlled had there been more affection at home. There seems to have always been a lack of sympathy between the mother and the boy, but the mother is very anxious for his wages. The boy worked for a year in a piano factory and then spent three years learning the printing trade. He is now working in a printing shop. 29. A Norwegian family with four children. The mother is American born. The ages of the parents at marriage were eighteen and seventeen. After the father's death, the mother did scrubbing and worked very hard indeed. The mother remarried when thirty- two. The stepfather is a mechanic in a tinshop, earning about $18 a week, and they now have a more comfortable home of four rooms. When this boy was fourteen he was brought into court for stealing 30 pounds of sausage. He was found to be a truant and was sent to the Chicago Parental School. When he was sixteen he was charged with stealing china worth $3.75; he was put on probation, and finally sent to a state school for delinquent boys. The boy was first paroled to a police officer, and then to a probation officer. The first officer never found the mother home when he called. The last officer called "just once," but the mother resented her coming and the officer could get no help from the home. The boy reported once a month. One summer the police officer took the boy camping. The boy improved a great deal. He sold papers for a while, then worked as office boy in a drug-store, and recently he has worked seven months as a helper in a foundry. The boy's older brother is also a ward of the court. School Statement. I am 77 years old. I left school when I was 16. I was then in the 7 grade. I began to go to school when I was 8 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are reading because / bad to read the names of the streets. 30. An Irish family with six children, one of whom is married. The parents came to this country when the father was twenty-two and the mother nineteen, and they were married three years later. The father, who was a structural iron-worker's helper, died when the children were small, and the mother used to scrub offices at night before they were old enough to help. The house of six rooms is clean, but the family on the whole are shiftless and happy-go-lucky. The mother was very un- truthful to the probation officer about the boy and was spasmodically severe in dealing with him. When he was fourteen he was brought into court, charged with flipping cars, and was put on probation. When he 279 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME was fifteen he was in again, charged with breaking open a peanut slot machine and stealing $i i worth of goods; he was once more put on pro- bation. Within a few months he was brought in again, charged with incorrigibility and flipping cars, and he was this time committed to the John Worthy School. He was under the care of a probation officer, who says she visited the home once a week but seldom saw the boy. She says she had very little help from the mother and could not rely on anything she said. The boy and the mother always quarreled over the boy's wages; both wanted what he earned. He began work at fourteen as a messenger boy, but he has never been a good worker and at present he is not working at all. A younger brother is also a ward of the court. School Statement. I am 18 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was .then in the 7 grade. I began to go to school when I was g years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Ariib- matic, Reading, Writing, Spelling because they are in use to me in my work. Reivet Heating. 31. A German-American family with six children, of whom this boy is the eldest. The father was twenty-two and the mother seventeen when they were married. The father was a drunkard, and the mother supported the family for years by washing. Four years ago she got a divorce and has married again; the boy's stepfather is a decent, indus- trious man who works in the stockyards. The home is still untidy and un- attractive and the children are dirty. This boy's delinquency occurred when he was fourteen years old while the mother was working and was not able to care for the children. He was brought into court with another boy for stealing hams from a railroad car, and was put on probation under the care of an officer, who says she has never had any trouble with him. She called at the home every two weeks and always talked to him in the presence of his mother. The mother enjoys the officer's visits and thinks that they have a good influence on the boy. The boy is well behaved now and has a good work record. At one time he worked in "the Yards" but he is now employed by a railway company. He has always "given in" his wages. School Statement. I am 77 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 6 grade. I began to go to school when I was 5 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Figureing because It helps me to figure my time. 32. A Canadian family with three children. The father died a good many years ago. The mother supported the family by washing and cleaning, and the three children were left alone all day. The home was always very poor, and the family had county help for a long time. The two boys would not help the mother when they were old enough, and she is now living with the married daughter and working in a laundry. At the age of fifteen this boy was brought into court as incorrigible. He and his brother were said not to have proper parental care and to be sleeping in basements; he was put on probation. At the age of sixteen he was brought in again on the charge of stealing meat from the cars on the Illinois Central tracks to the amount of $25; he was committed to 280 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS the John Worthy School. He is now in the County Hospital with typhoid fever. He is a good worker when well. 33. An Irish family with eight children. The father was twenty- four and the mother eighteen when they were married, and they came to this country fourteen years later. The father is a common laborer, a shiftless drinking man, who has never been able to support the family. The mother did night janitor work for fourteen years, leaving the children with no one to look after them evenings. The home was neat and pleasant, but the family have always lived in a very bad neighborhood where saloons, pool rooms, low theaters, and dance halls offer every temptation. At the age of fifteen this boy was brought into court charged with stealing, and was put on probation. He had broken a window valued at $5.00, also a show case valued at $5.00, and had stolen two shirts valued at $1.00. Within a year he was brought in again, charged with disorderly conduct, having been arrested on the street, intoxicated; he was again put on probation. The police officer to whom he was paroled says that the boy tried hard to improve but "his old reputation was against him and he was always being arrested for anything that went wrong in the neighborhood." The boy reported every month until he grew too old. He is nineteen years old now. When the investigator visited the home he was in the House of Correction for two months as a result of being arrested in a rfotel with some girls from the country. The boy is a teamster and on the whole is a pretty good worker and good to the family. He is very illiterate, however, and can scarcely read or write. The mother says that a younger brother, who is now in the John Worthy School for the second time, "can't learn well" and hates to go to school, and that is the cause of his delinquency. Two sisters are now working and support the family. 34. This boy was one of five children with an American father and an Irish mother. The parents were married when the father was twenty-five and the mother twenty-two. The father, who died from the effects of a railroad accident, had been an iron-worker's helper earning good wages, but he drank, and the family never got on very well. After the death of the father, the mother went to work in a laundry. They lost their home on which they had paid $600 out of $1600; one of the children died; and the discouraged mother began to drink as her hus- band had done. Because of her bad habits the family were put out of several houses, and finally the court took the two younger girls and put them in a school for dependent girls. This boy was then twelve years old and, not having anyone to care for him, played truant, ran away, broke into a candy store at 2.30 a. m., and then slept in a barn. He was sent to the Chicago Parental School. Two years later he broke into a coal office and took $1.15 from the telephone box, one harness, and fifteen coal bags. He was sent to a state institution for delinquent boys. An older brother, who is a street laborer, recently had the mother arrested for drinking. IV. UNSYMPATHETIC STEP-PARENTS 35. An Irish family with three children. The boy's father died of tuberculosis on the same day the boy was born. He had been ill for 281 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME some time, and the mother worked as a seamstress almost until the day of the boy's birth. She had come to this country when she was twenty and was married four years later. The boy's stepfather is a drunkard and beats his wife and abuses the children. He works between sprees and has been a laborer in one establishment for many years, but does not support the family and was recently in the House of Correction. The mother kept a little candy and grocery store for a time but "gave too much credit" and was finally obliged to give it up. The family then lived in four rooms back of their store. The boy's older sister works regularly and earns $8.00 a week and "gives in" all of it. The boy's stepbrother, who is still in school, has always been delicate and was blind at one time. When this boy was thirteen, he was brought into court on the charge of stealing. He, with another boy, broke into a store and stole goods worth $10; he was also charged with staying away from home and sleep- ing out nights and not going to school. He was put on probation, but within a year he was brought in again as incorrigible; his mother said he was an idle bad boy, and that she could not control him. He was committed to the John Worthy School for eleven months. When released he was put under the care of a police officer who says he tried to co- operate with the mother and also tried to break up the boy's connection with a tough gang to which he belonged and to counteract the father's bad example. The officer says that the boy will never really improve unless he stays away from his stepfather and gives up the "gang" with which he has been associating. He says that the stepfather has always been cruel to the boy, and that the house was anything but a home, so that the boy stayed away from it as much as he possibly could. He used to steal the milk and bread from porches. The mother says that the officer did all that he could for the boy. She says the boy used to keep his wages from time to time and then disappear for several days, spending it all with a "tough crowd." A short time ago he spent $28, a month's wages, in this way, and has not been home since. He has been sleeping nights in a coal office where he works. His employer speaks well of him and says he is not a bad boy but "a rover by nature." He has had a good many jobs, chiefly as errand or messenger boy, but has never earned above $7.00 a week. 36. A Hungarian family with ten children. Both parents came to this country when they were children. The mother has been married three times, and this boy, who is the child of her second husband, was in an orphan asylum from the time he was nine until he was thirteen years of age. His relations with his stepfather have never been pleasant. The stepfather is a presser in a tailor-shop and makes very good wages, but is harsh and unkind. The boy is not staying at home now, he says he is nagged and scolded so much! He has always been inclined to steal, and when his mother took boarders he used to steal from them. He has an older sister who has been in court twice and is now in Geneva. When the boy was thirteen, he was brought into court charged with assaulting his stepfather with a pail. The stepfather and mother both said he was beyond their control and would not go to school. He was committed to the John Worthy School for four months. At the age of fourteen he was brought in again, charged with stealing $14 from a boarder. He was again 282 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS sent to the John Worthy School, this time for one year. When released he was put under the care of a probation officer, who says he co-operated with the school teachers and the principal. The mother also helped some, but the stepfather was too harsh. The boy kept one job for over a year, but has had nothing steady since. His former employer was interested in him, but became convinced that the boy was "unreliable." 37. A German family with four children. The mother is dead and there is a stepmother. They are industrious, quiet people and have a pleasant home. The father has worked fourteen years for one firm as a cabinet maker and earns $153 week. After the mother's death four years ago, this boy seems to have "gone to the bad." The boy and the father lived with a married sister for a time and no one exercised any control over the boy. The stepmother is pretty hard on him now and is always finding fault with him. He was very slow and indolent at school and was repeatedly sent home. At the age of fourteen he was brought into court with another boy on the charge of stealing three bags of oats and was committed to the John Worthy School. At the age of fifteen he was brought in again on the charge of incorrigibility. He would not go to school and he smoked cigarettes. He was again committed to the John Worthy School. At the age of sixteen he was brought into court for stealing from a railroad car and leaving home without just cause, and was sent to the John Worthy School for the third time. The boy was under the care of a police officer and two different probation officers. The police officer called at the home whenever he was in the neighborhood, and the other officers visited the boy at different times twice a month and helped him to get work. They were "very sorry for the boy, but did not know anything that could be done for him." The father and the stepmother do not think he has improved and the stepmother seems to think that he never will. He was recently in the House of Correction, but for the last two months has been working as a teamster, earning $12 a week. He says he is planning to buy a team for himself within a year. School Statement. I am 18 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 5 grade. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Reading Writing because / bad to read and writ out all of the work that would come in and the storage that we would take in. 38. A Polish family with three children. The mother died when the boy was very small; the father married again, and the two youngest children are the second wife's. The stepmother can speak no English. They live in a pleasant, well-kept, four-room apartment. The father, who has always been a day laborer, is a good, industrious man, but has no interest whatever in the boy; and the stepmother does not know and does not seem to care what has become of him. He has always lived on the streets, and when in school went with boys who were habitual truants. At the age of twelve he was brought into court for truancy, and was sent to the Chicago Parental School. Three years later he was brought into court on a burglary charge; he was sent to the John Worthy School for one year. The parents say that at about the time when they expected him back a policeman told them that the boy had been arrested for 283 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME grand larceny and had been sent to jail. They have not heard from him and have no idea where he is serving his sentence. He has never been under the care of a probation officer. 39. An Italian family with three children, this boy the eldest. The father was eighteen and the mother twenty-nine when they were married. The mother had just come to this country, but the father had been here ever since he was eleven years old. The mother died when this boy was thirteen years old and the father married again. The boy and his step- mother are not friendly. The family live in five rooms, but formerly had only two. The father, a street-sweeper, used to "go on sprees" but is more steady now, although he does not work as regularly as he did before the boy began to earn money. The father says he got rheumatism from working in ditches and that poor health keeps him out of work. He says the boy gambles and does not bring home all his wages. There is evi- dently ill feeling between them. At the age of fourteen the boy was brought into court, charged with malicious mischief; he was put on probation. At the age of sixteen he was brought in again, charged with stealing brass; he was again put on probation. The parents say that the probation officer was good to him. The visits of the officer varied accord- ing to conditions. He preferred to visit the home because of the boy's difficulty with his stepmother and did not have the boy report to him. He supplied the family with some clothing and provisions on several occasions and secured work for the boy. The probation officer says he is a "decent sort of a boy but works unsteadily"; "his temper and sense of injustice" caused by the attitude of his father and stepmother got him into trouble. The investigator thought the father seemed to regard him as a "vicious, unrelated creature," but was very anxious to get his wages. The boy sold papers for six years out of school hours before he was old enough to get a working certificate and earned about $3.00 a week. When he was fourteen he earned $4.50. More recently he earned $6.00 a week as shipping clerk in a printing office, but the last two months he has been out of work. He is very fond of cheap "shows" and he sings in front of saloons in the summer. School Statement. I am 16 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 5 grade. I began to go to school when I was 8 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Reading and writing because / was a shipping clerk. 40. An Irish family with four children. The father, who did not come to this country until he was twenty-three, is an assistant shipping clerk in a factory, earning $14 a week. They have a clean, good home of six rooms, which they own, but the stepmother is very nagging. This boy was brought into court at the age of fourteen by his parents, who said that he ran away from home and would not work or go to school. The father and the stepmother said they had consulted their clergyman as to what could be done to keep the boy in school and away from bad company, and he suggested the John Worthy School as a preventive measure. The boy was sent to the John Worthy School for three months and then was released on probation. He was under the care of a proba- tion officer who "performed her duty satisfactorily" according to the 284 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS father. She often called at the home and the boy reported to her every week. She thought him a good boy, misunderstood by the stepmother, and through her by the father. During their interviews she tried to bring about a better understanding between the parents and the child. Since the boy has been away from home he has written irregularly to the pro- bation officer. At one time he was a messenger boy, and later a lineman with a telegraph company. He is now on a farm in South Dakota. 41. A German-Jewish family with five children. The father has married again, and the four children of this marriage are the only ones at home. One of the others is in a home for crippled children, one is in Canada, one is in a home for dependent boys, one is in an institution for delinquent boys, and one ran away from home because he could not get along with his stepmother. The father was twenty-four when he immi- grated and the stepmother thirty-five, but they have lived in Chicago only seven years. They lived for a time in Canada and then in New York. They have a dirty apartment of four rooms on the second floor, rear, but use only two rooms and want to rent the other two. The father is a presser and could earn fair wages, but he works very little, drinks, and is cruel to the family, who are constantly dependent on charity. They have received aid from a charitable society, from a settlement, and from the county. The stepmother is a hardworking woman, who washes and scrubs in order to help support the family, but who has little interest in the children. She says, "A person can barely care for her own children. How can she care for or control strange ones?" When this boy was ten years old, he was brought into court for being out after midnight and was sent to a home for dependents. Later he was brought in on a truancy charge and committed to the Chicago Parental School, but the order was changed and he was sent to a hospital for treatment. Two years later he was sent to the John Worthy School on a charge of larceny and the next year he was in another institution for delinquent boys. After his release he was under the care of a probation officer, who says that the boy has been discouraging at all times. She went to see him every week, and found that the stepmother always had something bad to say about him; the father "was at least truthful." The boy has been in institutions the greater part of the last four years. The stepmother says that the probation officer is very good. A younger brother has had an equally bad school record, has also been in the Parental School, and is now in an institution for dependent boys. The probation officer says the step- mother declared she hated the children and that her only interest in them was due to the fact that they could earn when they were fourteen years old. The boy did well in a manual training class in a Jewish training school. School Statement. I am 20 years old. 1 left school when I was 13. I was then in the 2 grade. I began to go to school when I was 10 years old. [The boy could not write any words or sentences.] 42. The parents of this Polish boy were married when both were about twenty and came to this country a few years later. The boy's mother died before he was two years old, and the father remarried. The father used to get drunk and did not work steadily. He died when 285 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME the boy was about seven. The stepmother has remarried and the boy has no real home. The stepmother says the boy is "no good"; he would not mind his step-parents, and so they would not keep him. He boards, and the stepmother very seldom sees him. The stepmother says the boy has not improved and never will; she says "he will always be bad." The probation officer says he has done very well considering his chances in life. At the age of fourteen he was brought into court charged with as- sault; he, with two other boys, assaulted a man and robbed him of $1.00. He was committed to the John Worthy School for seven months. The boy was paroled to a police officer. The stepmother says the officer called to see the boy about four times and the boy reported to the officer once a month. The officer tried to get him to go to night school. The boy is now nineteen years old and was recently sent to the House of Correction on a burglary charge. He has worked a short time in several different places, beginning with a job as an elevator boy at $5.00 a week. His last position was a good one. He worked in a foundry as a core maker for eighteen months. School Statement. I am 19 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 4 grade. I began to go to school when I was 9 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Manual Taraing because rigthig [Boy unable to complete statement.] 43. This boy was one of two children of Italian parents who lived on a farm in Italy before immigration and came to Chicago when the father was twenty-six. When this boy was five years old, his mother died and his father remarried shortly after. The oldest boy could not get along with his stepmother and left home three years ago. There are six children by this second marriage, all at home. They have a comfortable five- room home. The stepmother thinks her boys should not work, although they are over sixteen. This boy has worked for his father, who is an electrician, for four years, and receives no wages. The boy is a Catholic, and his stepmother and the rest of the family have become Protestants. This is a constant source of contention. The stepmother says the boy steals, but the probation officer says they give him no spending money and he is not to blame, for he works faithfully and earns more than his clothes. When he was thirteen, he was brought into court on a vagrancy charge; the boy said his father was cruel to him; he was put on probation. The next winter his father brought him to court and charged him with incorrigibility, saying he was disobedient. He was sent to the John Worthy School for one year. Four months later the family charged him with refusing to work and not staying home nights. He was again sent to the John Worthy School for one year. The probation officer says the boy would be a straightforward manly boy if he received good home treat- ment. The boy has no bad habits and likes to read, but the father will not permit him to read anything but religious books, which do not appeal to the boy. The officer thinks that the parents have become religious fanatics. V. DRUNKEN PARENTS 44. An Irish-American family with twelve children, two dead. The mother was seventeen at marriage. The father is a steamfitter by 286 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS trade, but a hopeless drunkard who spends about nine months out of every twelve in the House of Correction. The mother scrubs and washes, but is quite helpless in attempting to care for so large a family. They live in a wretchedly poor home of four rooms. The probation officer says none of the children started with a fair inheritance of physical or moral strength. This boy's ambition is to be a prize fighter. The mother seems bewildered with her troubles and, if the boys will only work and give her their pay, she does not care where they live or loaf. The eldest son has left home; the second son is like the father and is now in the House of Correction; two other boys are wards of the court; a little girl of seven has tuberculosis. The family have been given some charitable assistance. At the age of twelve this boy was brought into court charged with stealing 1 1 gold rings valued at $30; the mother was unable to control him. He was committed to the John Worthy School for eight months. When he was thirteen he was brought in, charged with stealing grain from the railroad; he was again committed to the John Worthy School for eleven months. When he was fifteen, he was brought in again, charged with stealing brass from a coal company; and he was put under the care of a probation officer who called at the home frequently. She felt sorry for the whole family and helped them all she could; she provided the children with clothes that they might attend school. The boy left home a week before the investigator called. The mother said she had no idea where he was going; he simply did not turn up one evening and she heard he had "gone off" with three boys. She says the boys often do that and she sup- poses they are as well off as they would be at home. This boy gave his mother his pay when he had any. He was a delivery boy in a large department store for a year and worked as package boy in another de- partment store for a year and a half. 45. A Bohemian family with five children, one of whom is dead, one in the John Worthy School, and one has run away from home. The parents were married when the father was twenty-six and the mother twenty, and came to this country the same year. They can speak only a little English. They live in a poor home in a house that is old and damp; and they take occasional lodgers. The mother drinks heavily and has a bad temper. The father is a decent and hardworking man, a tailor, who did own his own shop, but has "gone down." He is now ill in the hospital, and the family are quite destitute. At the age of fifteen this boy was brought into court on the charge of stealing a suit of clothes valued at $10, and three pairs of trousers valued at $6.00. He was sent to the John Worthy School. At the age of sixteen he was brought in again as incor- rigible; he would not work and loitered on the streets with bad boys; he was again committed to the John Worthy School. The boy was paroled to a regular probation officer on his release. The officer says the boy has now run away from home. She feels that he has been the victim of bad home conditions and that there is little hope for him. He was a teamster, and his mother says he earned about $10 a week for a time but never brought his wages home. Later he joined the navy but was imprisoned for four months for some offense committed there. He was said to be "very large and overgrown" "overbearing, and tried to rule every- thing." He ran away with a circus two years ago, and the family think 287 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME he is in Texas. The mother says the John Worthy School did not do the boy much good, but she was glad to have his younger brother, who is now fifteen, sent there, because he could not get work and times were so hard. She seems to want to get rid of all her children. 46. An Irish family with three children of whom this boy is the eldest. The parents were married when the father was forty-eight and the mother twenty-six. The father had then been in this country more than twenty years, but the mother had come over more recently. The home has always been cheerless and unattractive. Both parents drink, and the mother is a "lazy, untidy, dirty, ignorant woman," who is not able to write. The father is a day laborer who sometimes earns good wages. This boy is not normally bright. At the age of twelve he left school to peddle papers with some other boys. He was brought in that same year for truancy, and was sent to the Chicago Parental School. After his release he would not obey his parents, but managed to keep out of court until three years later when he was arrested for throwing a rock through a plate glass window valued at $20. He was put on probation under the care of a police officer. The officer says that he tried to help the boy, but the mother was not truthful and would give no help, and that before long the boy ran away and joined the navy. Before he entered the navy the boy had a variety of "jobs" he worked in a ham house, as a messenger boy, and then at "a junction." 47. A German family with seven children. The mother is Amer- ican born. The father immigrated at the age of twenty-seven and came directly to Chicago, where he has lived for thirty-three years. The family were at one time fairly prosperous, but the father was ruined by drink. He used to own the saloon above which they lived, as well as a flour and feed store with a house in the rear, which they rented; but he drank ta excess, and five years ago lost all they had. Since then they have lived in a rented apartment, very neat and clean but barely furnished. The father has rheumatism badly and cannot work regularly. The mother takes in washing, but does not earn very much. One son has been para- lyzed since he was seven months old. At the age of nine this boy was brought into court as a truant and was sent to the Chicago Parental School. A year later he was brought into court for violating his parole and was again sent to the Parental School. At the age of eleven he was again brought into court for using vile language and encouraging boys to stay away from school. This time he was committed to the John Worthy School. At the age of twelve he was arrested for running away from home and attending school irregularly. He was put on probation first under the care of a special officer and later under a police officer. The last officer seems to have made a persistent effort to get the boy to do better and often went to visit the home and talk with the parents. Several times the officer secured work for the boy, which he would not take. He finally joined the navy, where he still is. 48. An American family with three children at home. The father is a waiter in a restaurant and works fairly steadily, but he drinks and is very quarrelsome. The mother is a hardworking woman, but has a 288 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS terrible temper. The oldest boy drank, gambled, was immoral, and is now in the state penitentiary serving a ten-year sentence. A sister of twenty-one drinks, and the family were put out of a flat building last year because of the girl's behavior. The father has always been very bad, and has supported the children in their wrongdoing. At the age of fifteen this boy was brought into court charged with breaking the peace; he was put on probation. At the age of sixteen he was brought in again, charged with loafing; he would not work, he said he "didn't have to"; he was again put on probation. Within a year he was brought in again on the charge of stealing a box containing a dress from a delivery wagon; he was put on probation for the third time. He was brought into court a fourth time, the third within a year, charged with burglary; he, with a man twenty-four years old, stole a cash register with $50 in it. He was sent to the John Worthy School and later transferred to another school for delinquent boys. The boy did not improve under probation. The probation officer feels that the parents were to blame for the boy's misconduct and that he might have improved if she had had their co-opera- tion. The parents felt very bitterly about the interference of the court and the probation officer. The probation officer called at the home a good many times but was admitted only once or twice when she took a police officer with her. The boy reported to the probation officer but once. She tried to send him to different places where he might secure work, but he would never go. The boy always said that he did not have to work because his father made a lot of money as a politician. The officer knows nothing of the family at present; they have moved every two or three months since the boy came into court. 49. A Polish family with seven children. The father was thirty and the mother twenty-nine when they came to this country and neither of them has learned to speak English. The family formerly lived in three rooms. They now have a very dirty, bare home of four rooms in a dark rear apartment back of a saloon. The father is a time-keeper and earns very small wages. They seem to be a low and degraded family; the mother and father both drink and constantly quarrel and fight. The mother is frequently drunk. When this boy was twelve years old he was brought into court charged with taking lining out of a freight car in order to sell it for junk. He was put on probation. The boy liked the officer to whom he was paroled and reported to him once a month. He has improved in spite of bad home surroundings and has been working in "the Yards" for two years. The boy's younger brother is also a ward of the court; another is away from home and the family say he is an "actor." School Statement. I am 16 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 2 grade. I began to go to school when I was 9 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are riten because [Boy unable to complete the statement.] 50. An Irish-American family with five children, four of them still at home. The father, an ex-policeman, has become a teamster. Both parents are intemperate, and the mother is an invalid and probably some- what feeble-minded as well. The home conditions have never been good, although the family seem to have always been self-sustaining. The 289 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME mother thought this boy was taught by his elder brother to use cocaine. When the boy was seven years old, he fell and hurt his back so severely that he was not able to go to school for several years. When he was thirteen and in the second grade at school, he was brought into court for stealing a buggy cushion; he was put on probation. The following year he was charged with breaking into a barn, and was sent to the John Worthy School for eight months. When he was fifteen, he was brought in charged with disorderly conduct and was put on probation. When he was sixteen, he was in court again, this time for stealing chickens, and was sent to the John Worthy School for one year and four months. The boy was first paroled to a police officer and later to a special probation officer, to whom he was very much devoted and who, the mother thinks, "has been the making of the boy." The officer feels, however, that the parents might have given more help and encouragement. She says the father objected to court interference, and the mother helped only when pushed to extremes. The boy has worked as errand boy for a year, giving his mother all his wages. He has worked in other places but not steadily. 51. An American family with eight children. At marriage the father was twenty-one, the mother seventeen years old. The mother is a shiftless woman who drinks and has the house full of carousing men and women. The father is a switchman, earning good wages. The family now live in eight rooms; formerly they had only six. The principal of the school and the probation officer say that home influences have always been and still are very bad. When the boy was twelve years old, he and two other boys were brought into court, charged with stealing cigars valued at $110 and i2> pounds of smoking-tobacco valued at $9.00; he was put on probation. The boy is now seventeen; he has worked as a delivery boy for a State Street department store, but during the last three months he has been working in a west side theater. He gives his wages to his mother. School Statement. I am 77 years old. I left school when I was 15. I was then in the .8th grade. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Writing, Reading, Arithmetic because I studied bard, 52. A German family with twelve children, of whom this boy is the eldest. The father was twenty-four and the mother twenty-two when they were married, and they immigrated a year later. The father is a pipe-fitter who should earn good wages, but who drinks and is out of work. The family have recently bought a six-room house, but have a mortgage of $2200 to pay. At present no one in the family is at work. The mother is shiftless and very lax in her control of the children. The home is dirty and crowded, and the boys in the neighborhood are said to be "a rough lot." When this boy was fourteen he was brought into court with another boy for stealing some grain from a freight car. He was never in court again. The police officer to whom the boy was paroled does not now remember about the case. The mother does not remember that an officer ever called. The boy worked for a time shovelling in a foundry seven days a week, but he is now out of a job. He always "turned in" his wages. 290 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS School Statement. I am 18 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 7 grade. 1 began to go to school when I was 6 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Arithmetic and Reading because they help me fell out affidavits. VI. SEVERE, CRUEL, OR BRUTAL PARENTS 53. A German family of seven children. Both father and mother are now dead, the home is broken up, and this boy lives with a married brother. The father, who was a milkman, became insane and was so abusive to the boy that he had to leave home. When he was fourteen he was arrested, with a boy who had a very bad record, charged with stealing a tent; he was put on probation. Three months later his father brought him in as incorrigible; the court however decided that the father abused the boy, and paroled him to a police officer to whom he reported once a month. The boy is not very bright, and has worked very irregularly. He worked in a candy factory for awhile, and drove a milk wagon for a short time. 54. A Bohemian family with six children. The mother died when the boy was very young, and the father committed suicide about two years ago. The father was supposed to be a tailor, but he was a drunken loafer, very cruel to the children. When this boy was eleven the father brought him into court as incorrigible, saying that he stayed away from home and slept out nights; the boy in turn claimed that his father beat him cruelly. He was sent to the John Worthy School for two months. Two years later he stole a box containing $4.00 from a store, and was again sent to the John Worthy School for two months. After his release his father died, and the boy went to live with a married sister and began to work in his brother-in-law's tailor-shop. He has changed jobs since then but seems to have been doing very well. At present he is working in a box factory and earns $6.00 a week. He was first under the care of a police officer and later a probation officer. The last officer says the boy did not have a fair chance until she took him from his home to live with his sister. School Statement. I am 77 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 4 grade. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. [Boy unable to fill out the other part of the statement.] 55. A German family with five children, of whom one died in infancy. The father was twenty-nine and the mother twenty-two when they were married, and they had both immigrated about five years earlier. The family live in a four-room cottage which they own and which is clean, light, pleasant, and comfortably furnished. The father is a watchman who works regularly, but five years ago had his leg cut off by a train so that he was unable to work for a year. During this period the mother took in washing to support the family. Both parents are industrious and intelligent, but the father is very strict and harsh. He beats the boy severely when he does wrong, and the boy is afraid to go home when his father is there. The mother says that the boy deceives her sometimes, but she is fond of him. She says that she and her husband often quarrel 291 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME about him, and the latter says he wishes the boy were dead. When the boy was five years old he was struck by a wagon, which passed over his head, and his mother thinks this "affected him." When he was eleven years old he was brought into court for stealing a pocket-book, while delivering a message at a house. His parents said that he also stole from them and that they could not control him. He was sent to an institution for dependent children. The court record is incomplete, but it appears that the boy has been in the John Worthy School twice, and is now there. The mother says he smokes, steals and lies; he used to take carfare and lunch money, pretending to have work, and then only "bummed." He was at one time under the care of a probation officer to whom he would not report. The officer visited the home once a month, and used all kinds of methods but could make no impression on him. The boy tried working in a machine-shop but had a finger cut off the third day he was there. He then stayed at home and did nothing for six weeks. After this he became a messenger boy. 56. A Polish family with five children. The father has been dead eighteen years. The mother died three years ago and the home was then broken up. After her husband's death she had married a man who was an iron-worker, who proved to be a very brutal and disreputable man. The mother owned the home and he "married her for what she had." The neighbors think he killed her by beating her. She is said to have been a drinking woman, and she and the stepfather were very cruel to the boy who went hungry and half clad. When he was fourteen he was brought into court, charged with stealing a pail of mincemeat valued at $2.40 from a moving car, and he was put on probation. When he was fifteen he was brought into court, charged with stealing seven pounds of scrap copper wire from a freight car, and he was again put on probation under the care of a police officer. The sister says the officer called to see the boy until the home was broken up, but the mother alone would have remembered how far he helped the boy. The boy has worked in a piano factory, a packing-house and a bakery. His present occupa- tion is unknown but he was in the House of Correction not long ago for drinking. His three sisters have married and his one brother is in the army. 57. A German family with eight children, the youngest six months old. The father was twenty-five and the mother eighteen when they were married, and ten years later they immigrated. The mother can speak very little English. They have a poor, crowded, and very dirty home. The father is very cruel and brutal, seldom works, and when he does work, spends all his money for drink. He has cared nothing about the children and when this boy was sent to the John Worthy School said, "Good enough for him." The mother and the boys, however, work hard. One boy earns good wages driving a garbage wagon. At the age of thirteen, this boy was brought into court accused of entering a store with a group of boys and stealing gloves valued at $13.75; he was put on probation. Within a few months he was brought in again, charged with disorderly conduct and incorrigibility. He stole a bicycle, sold it, and gave the money to his mother; he was again put on probation. At the age of 292 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS fourteen he was brought in again, charged with stealing, and was this time committed to the John Worthy School for eleven months. He was first paroled to a police officer; later to a probation officer. The last officer visited the home or. the school once a week. He would not allow the boy to report to him as it gave him an excuse to stay out nights. The officer tried to stir his ambition and make him look to the future. The brother says that the officer came to the house and gave his father "an awful scolding" and made him go to work. The boy is not very bright but is a good worker and very good to his mother and sisters. He is ill now, but at one time he drove a wagon for a tailor shop; later he worked six months in a spring factory; and after that in a candy factory. He "gives in" all his wages. 58. An Irish-American family with three children. The father, a day laborer, was a drunkard and never supported the family. His health is quite broken now, and he is in bed most of the time. The mother died of tuberculosis when this boy, who is the youngest child, was small. The father was so brutal to her that he hastened her death, and he was also cruel to the children and used to put this boy out of the house. The girl who became the housekeeper after the mother died is married now, and the father and the boy live with her in a four-room apartment. She is very good to the boy, and he is fond of her. An older brother is a drunk- ard and tramp and has been in the House of Correction. When this boy was fourteen, he was brought into court charged with stealing and vagrancy. He was accused of stealing coal from railroad cars and was found sleeping under a house; he was also a truant. He was sent to the John Worthy School for eight months. When released from the John Worthy School, he was paroled to a probation officer who became inter- ested in the family. She visited the home often, advised the sister, and tried to show the boy that she was interested in his welfare. She sometimes took him to the theater and the circus. The sister says that the officer was always like a mother to them and tried to get them any- thing they really needed. She always liked to have the officer call. The boy is working now, selling papers. He earns about $9.00 a week and gives what he earns to his sister. School Statement. I am 77 years old. I left school when I was 75. I was then in the 4 grade. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Reading Writeing and Arithmack because [Boy unable to finish the schedule], 59. A Bohemian family with ten children, two of whom are dead. The six oldest children were born in Bohemia and the family came to the United States eight years ago, when the father was forty-two and the mother thirty-seven. The father is a laborer earning very small wages and the family have always had four or five boarders. They are quiet, respectable people, well liked in the neighborhood where they used to live. They are now living on a farm in Wisconsin so that all this information was obtained from a former neighbor and the probation officer. The father was very strict and beat the boy severely whenever he disobeyed so that he often stayed away from home after some escapade because he 20 293 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME was afraid of his father. When eleven years old he was brought into court by his parents on the charge of incorrigibility ; they said he refused to go to school and would stay away from home weeks at a time. He was sent to the John Worthy School for three months, but within a year after his release he was brought into court for stealing a goat, and was put on probation. Four months later he was brought in for stealing from his mother, who said she could do nothing with him; he was sent to an institution for delinquent boys. He ran away and came home, telling his parents he had been discharged; but he was caught and returned. He escaped again, but went to his sister's instead of going home and was returned again to the institution. He was later brought into the Muni- cipal Court to answer to a charge of larceny brought by a railroad; he was held to the grand jury. He told the court he was almost eighteen, although records show him to be only fifteen. The probation officer says the boy is defiant and utterly incorrigible. She had him under her care for such a short time that she could do little for him. School Statement. I am 77 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 5 grade. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Dont know because VII. DEGRADED OR IMMORAL PARENTS 60. An Irish family with seven children, two of whom are married. They live in a damp, untidy home of four rooms. The mother was a small child when she immigrated but the father was nearly twenty. Their ages at marriage were not ascertained. Both parents formerly drank, quarreled, were accused of stealing, and both have been in the House of Correction. The mother is probably immoral. The family has, how- ever, come onto a more decent plane of living now, due to the efforts of the children. The father is a painter and makes good wages when he works. When this boy was nine years old he was brought into court for stealing fruit from a fruit-store. He had done this before but had not been "taken up" because he was so small. This time he was sent to the John Worthy School. He was brought into court again a year later be- cause he stole silk, and was put on probation. A month later he was brought in again for stealing coal from cars and was paroled to leave town and live with an aunt in the country. Two different officers have had the care of this boy. The last officer says she was "not very strict with him." Her work was chiefly with the family, for "the boy was better than they were." She visited the school as well as the home, and the boy reported to her frequently. The officer regards him as a promising boy, in spite of the bad conditions which have surrounded him. The mother states that the officer came often and she enjoyed her visits. The boy worked for several months, filling lamps on the ele- vated road. For a time he drove a grocery wagon; but he is now at home, out of work and without a trade. One of the boy's sisters has also been a ward of the court. School Statement. I am 75 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 5 grade. I began to go to school when I was 7 294 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Reading and spelling and writting. That I liked best because 61. The father of this boy came from a farm in Germany when twenty-two, and six years later married a German-American girl of eigh- teen, who was born in Chicago. They had five children, of whom this boy is the eldest. The family once bought an eight-room house, but the father died and they lost it. The mother later became a laundress and after- wards married an immoral, shiftless, drinking man, who worked irregularly in the stockyards and who has now deserted the family. They had two children. Their house is filthy, and the mother has a bad reputation. At the age of thirteen, soon after the death of the father, the boy was brought into court as a dependent and put in an institution for dependent boys to be kept until he could be placed in a home. After his mother remarried, however, he returned to her. When he was fifteen his mother brought him in, saying that he would not work or attend school and that he loitered around with bad boys; he was put on probation. The probation officer says the children are all trained beggars. The family have been helped by churches and by a charitable society. The officer says he visited the boy every two weeks, but the home influences were so bad nothing could counteract them, and the boy has not improved. Two of the boy's sisters were in a home for dependent girls but one of them has been "placed out." 62. An American family with five children. The parents were married when the father was twenty-one and the mother eighteen. They are a very low family, but have a clean, tidy home of four rooms. The father, a carpenter, is a heavy drinker, and the older sons drink. One son and his wife have just finished a jail sentence, he for highway robbery, and she for drunkenness; both have been repeatedly arrested for being intoxicated. Another son was a drunkard and never supported his family. Whenever one of the sons deserted his wife, his mother always allowed him to come and stay with her until he "got ready to go back." At the age of fifteen this boy was brought into court on the charge of stealing; he had stolen $42 from his parents, and they said he was going with a crowd of bad boys; he was sent to the John Worthy School. On his release he was paroled to a police officer and was never in court again. The officer says he called at the home about once a month, and that he found the whole family unreliable and got no help from them. In spite of the bad influences in the family, the boy improved under probation. He is now nineteen years old and is working as a steamfitter's helper. He has been married about a year but still lives with his parents. 63. An Irish-American family with nine children, of whom three are dead. The mother was twenty-eight and the father thirty-one when they were married. When this boy was nine years old, the father deserted the family, and the child was brought into court as a dependent and placed in an institution for dependent children. The father's desertion was only temporary and he is at home now and works as a day laborer. The family live in a four-room apartment, which is poorly furnished and dirty. The mother is a woman of questionable character, and two of the 295 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME girls in the family have been sent to an institution for delinquent girls. When the boy was twelve he was brought into court again for assault- ing another boy and trying to take money from him; he was sent to the John Worthy School, where he now is. The boy was never on probation. 64. A German family with seven children, of whom one is dead, and four are married. One of the married children, however, still lives at home. The father, who is now dead, was born in this country, and the mother immigrated at the age of thirteen. Their ages at marriage were twenty-four and twenty-one. They have a bare, cold, miserable home of four rooms. The family have a bad reputation for drinking and immorality. The father, who has been dead four years, worked in the stockyards, was a hard drinker, and would not support his family. The mother scrubs in office buildings and she and her daughters drink and are immoral. One girl who still lives at home has an illegitimate child with her. At the age of twelve this boy, who belonged to a gang, was brought into court charged with stealing; he, with two other boys, entered the basement of a church and stole manual-training tools and type; he was put on probation. Within a year he was brought in again on the charge of steal- ing; this time he, with two other boys, one of whom had been in court with him before, broke open a show case and stole five watches valued at 75 cents each; he was committed to a home for dependent boys. At the age of thirteen he was brought in a third time charged with stealing; he and the same boy who had been in court with him twice before stole five revolvers from a showcase; he was put on probation. Within a year he was in court again with the same boy, charged with stealing one and a half bushels of oats; he was committed to the John Worthy School. At the age of fifteen he was brought in a fifth time, charged with holding up several boys and taking away their money; he was put on probation. The probation officer visited the home regularly because, according to her statement, "there lay the real cause of the boy's delin- quency." The boy sometimes reported to the officer. The officer thinks that the boy has made no real progress under probation and she feels that there is no hope for the boy unless he gets away from the bad home influences. He has worked as a stock boy, and for three months as an express driver; at present he is working in a paint factory. He "gives in " his wages. 65. This boy was an illegitimate child of Irish-American parents. His mother was an immoral woman, and his stepfather kept a house of prostitution. The child had no home training and was brought up by his stepfather's housekeeper. When he was fifteen the stepfather brought him into court, saying he could not control him. The boy was sent to the John Worthy School for five months. The regular officer to whom the boy was paroled after his release went to see him every two or three weeks. The stepfather was not interested in the boy and the officer had the co-oper- ation only of the housekeeper, whom the boy did not like. The boy liked the officer but he did not seem to make much progress. The officer said he had a very violent temper and had never learned how to control it. The boy has been married nearly a year now and he and his wife are living with 296 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS her grandmother in two very dirty rooms. He does well only "by spells" and at times he beats his wife. School Statement. I am ig years old. I left school when I was 16. I was then in the 8th grade. I began to go to school when I was 8 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are my writ- ing and Grammar. 66. A German family with four children, all of whom have left home. Both parents were over twenty years old when they came to this country. Both drink and are illiterate and immoral. The mother speaks English only brokenly. The father never worked, and the mother used to take in washing to support the family and is now working in a laundry. The family did live in a four-room basement apartment, but now the father and the mother have only two rooms. The home conditions were always as bad as possible. At the age of fifteen this boy was brought into court charged with malicious mischief; he, with a gang of boys, broke windows in a private house with sling shots; the father was in the House of Correction and the mother could not control the boy; he was put on probation and was paroled to an officer, who feels fairly well satisfied with the boy's progress. She wonders that he improved at all "in such dreadful surroundings." She visited the home often, as the family needed more of her time and help than the boy. The boy reported only a few times. For two months he had worked in a saloon, and she obtained for him a position driving a milk wagon, in order to get him away from the saloon. He ran away three years ago, and the mother has not seen him since, although he is in Chicago; she has been told that he is a teamster. She says he never brought much money home when there, but ran away when he earned any. The boy's older brother would not stay at home, and his younger brother was frequently "in trouble." The boy's sister, twelve years old, has been in court as a de- pendent and is now in an institution for delinquent girls; so that none of the children are at home. The mother says she knows nothing about her sons and does not want the little girl who is in the institution. 67. An American family with four children. The mother died a good many years ago. The father was a very decent man at one time, a paper-hanger and in business for himself; but the mother was intem- perate and he gradually became demoralized, and since her death has "gone to the bad." The home is a very poor, untidy apartment of three rooms. The father had two different women living with him after the mother died, and one of them had a child, who has been kept in the family. A sister younger than this boy is probably immoral, and the younger brother is in an institution for dependent boys. At the age of fifteen this boy was brought into court charged with stealing. He, with five other boys, had stolen a horse and buggy and driven twenty-five miles out of the city. He was put on probation. The probation officer tried to per- suade the father to send the children to his family in another state, but he was unwilling to do so. She once brought the whole family into court on account of the.conditions under which they were living. The boy seems to be good in spite of bad home conditions. He has been working with his father as a paper-hanger, and his father keeps all that he earns. 297 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME School Statement. I am 20 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 7 grade. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are reading writting and spelling because / think I could get better work. 68. A Russian-Jewish family with five children, all at home, and all but one at work. The father was twenty-four and the mother twenty-three at the time of marriage, and they both had immigrated a year or two before. The father was a peddler, but he deserted several years ago. The children, however, are able to support the family so that the mother, who is a shiftless and scolding woman, does not work. One sister is said to be very idle and worthless, but at times she works in a department store. The family had assistance at one time from a charit- able society. The home of three rooms in a basement is dark, damp, crowded, dirty and poorly furnished. At the age of fifteen this boy was brought into court as incorrigible. He did nothing but loiter around, drink beer, and smoke. He was committed to the John Worthy School. When released from the John Worthy School he was put under the care of a probation officer. The officer went to the house every three weeks. She was always severe and firm with the boy, but the mother shielded him so that the officer could do nothing with him. The mother says that the boy was always angry when he heard that the officer had been at the house. The officer says that the whole family is lazy and shiftless, but she believes that the boy has improved. The mother thinks that the boy was dealt with very unjustly by the court and that he should never have been sent away. The boy has worked in several different places. He was at first an errand boy, later he tried "teaming" for different firms, and he then worked in a picture-frame factory for ten months. He is now driving a wagon for a clothing store. School Statement. I am ij years old. I left school when I was . I was then in the 6 grad grade. I began to go to school when I was 7 years old. The studies which have helped me to earn money are Nothing help me because / did ne it in my work. 69. A colored family with six children, four of whom are now living away from home. The mother was thirteen years old and the father seventeen when they were married. The father is a teamster, and the mother keeps a low rooming-house of seventeen rooms, which is filthy and dilapidated beyond description. They live in a neighborhood of low saloons and dives, and both parents drink. The boy, who is a good worker, is now employed in the stockyards, earning $6.00 a week. His teacher speaks well of him and so does the probation officer. The boy was brought into court when he was thirteen, charged with disorderly conduct, he and another boy were accused of stealing chickens. He was put on probation. The mother says bad friends, "Italians," got the boy in trouble and that the probation officer was good for him because she kept him "scared up." School Statement. I am 77 years old. I left school when I was 16. I was then in the 4 grade. I began to go to school when I was 12 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Reddy helped me best because / can read a new paper. 298 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS 70. An American family (probably Irish-American) with six children. One of the children is married; one girl is in a school for de- pendent girls; and this boy is in the army. The father is a fireman earning "good money," and he is steady, hardworking, and respectable. The home is well furnished but dirty and disorderly. The mother is a drinking, quarrelsome woman who has a bad name in the neighborhood, and the children are all said to be "wild." The father himself put the one daughter in a school for delinquent girls when she was eighteen. At the age of fifteen this boy, with two other boys, was brought into court by a police officer, accused of stealing two grain doors from the railroad. He was put on probation under the care of a police officer, who saw him only a few times. The officer says that the mother's bad health was responsible for the boy's delinquency. The boy worked for a time as a teamster and usually gave his mother his pay, but he has now joined the army. 71. A German family with five children, two of whom are dead. The boy is the youngest child. The father was twenty-four and the mother twenty-two when they were married. The mother had been in this country only one year, but the father had come over when he was a child. The father, who died of pneumonia not long ago, was a carpenter, and a cook on a lake boat, and finally the manager of a pleasure boat. He was a man of bad habits and, while he lived, there was much quarreling in the home, and his influence on the children was bad. As his earnings were very uncertain, the mother had to take in washing; she still washes and earns about $5.00 a week. She is a good, industrious woman and keeps the home neat and cheerful. When this boy was twelve years old, he and another boy were brought into court, charged with stealing grain doors valued at 70 cents from the railroad; he was put on probation. Within a year he was brought in again on the charge of entering the basement of a church and stealing manual training tools and printing type, and was again put on probation. He has been under the care of four differ- ent probation officers. The last officer says she went to see the boy once a month and the mother gave her full control over the child, but the father's influence was bad. The mother believes that probation officers are very necessary. The boy has greatly improved and has been given an honorable release. The mother says he is not a bad boy, but "he is such a good-hearted fool of a sheep that he would follow any one any- where." He has worked two years as a wagon boy for a department store and is now driving a milk wagon. The youngest brother is a ward of the court and is said to have decided criminal tendencies; an older brother was fined $7.00 for putting caps on street-car tracks. 72. A very low-grade Irish family with three boys, the eldest of whom died of blood-poisoning. The father was seventeen when he came to America, and the mother was nine; the father was twenty-five, the mother twenty-seven, when they were married. The father is a day laborer and has never earned good wages. He, the mother, and an aunt who lives with them, all drink. The father has been in the House of Correction. The mother sells papers and frequents saloons. When this boy was fifteen and in the sixth grade in public school, he was brought 299 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME into court for throwing stones at a car, and put on probation. But within two months he was brought into court again for throwing stones at a Jewish peddler. This time he was sent to the John Worthy School for a year. The boy is the father of an illegitimate child whose mother he has now married. He has never done anything but odd jobs and is now out of work, living in a house for which he pays no rent, and getting coal from the county. School Statement. I am 21 years old. I left school when I was 75. I was then in the 6 grade. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are because / have been labor and bad not used any Redding or Riling or Ritmitcb. 73. An exceptionally low-grade Russian-Jewish family with four children, three boys and a girl. The mother was married first at twenty- one and, after the father's death, married again, at thirty-seven, a man of the same age. Both the mother and the stepfather were foreign born, and both were immoral. The home has always been very bad indeed. The mother was burned to death and the stepfather abandoned the family, after criminally assaulting his stepdaughter, who is now in an institution for delinquent girls. The oldest boy is a delinquent and in an institution; the youngest, who is now in an orphan asylum, has bad moral habits. This boy has been in two different institutions for dependent boys and in the Parental School. When he was nine he was brought into court as an incorrigible; his mother could not keep him off the streets nor from flipping cars; he was then put on probation. The next year, when he was ten, he was brought in as a dependent and sent to an institution for depen- dent boys. The following year he was again brought in as incorrigible, his friends saying they could not control him; he was put on probation. When he was twelve he was brought in again as incorrigible, and was this time committed to another institution for dependent boys. The boy appears to be rather dependent than delinquent. He has been under the care of two different probation officers. The last officer says she visited the home frequently. She says the principal of the school co-operated with her but she had no help from the parents. The officer says this was one of her "hardest cases." After the mother's death the boy had at least half a dozen guardians, each interfering with the others and with the officer, and as a result the boy made little progress. The officer twice secured positions for the boy but he held them a very short time. VIII. VERY POOR, DIRTY, OR CROWDED HOMES 74. A German family with twelve children, five of whom died in infancy. The parents were married when the father was thirty-seven and the mother twenty-two, and they both immigrated a few years earlier. The family, who have always been desperately poor, have lived for eleven years in a basement flat of four rooms, entirely below the level of the street. The rooms are dark and damp, and the family have almost no furniture. The father is an unskilled laborer whose frequent "drunks" cause him to lose positions rapidly. He has not had "a steady job" for years, but now has a little work in a furniture shop at very low wages. The 300 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS mother is said to be good-natured and shiftless. She can speak no English although she has been here twenty-five years. The boy left school when twelve years old. He did not like school and has not found any position which suited him. His parents claim to be fond of him, but the mother says, "If he was only dead and buried, we could say, 'Well, anyway, I know where he is.'" The family have received aid from the county and from one of the settlements. The boy was brought into court at the age of fourteen for stealing a horse from a pasture and trying to sell it for $3.00; the case was dismissed. Two weeks later he was arrested in the act of stealing small articles from a dry goods store. He was sent to the John Worthy School for two months, when he was released to leave the city and go on a farm. He was never under the care of a probation officer. He worked in a printing shop for a year earning $6.00 a week, and on a farm for half a year for his board. His mother knows that he has had several other positions, but does not remember what they were. 75. An Italian family of nine children, of whom two are dead and one is an epileptic. The parents were married when the father was twenty- seven and the mother sixteen, and they came to this country about a year later. The mother speaks no English. They have a very wretched home of three rooms, dirty and miserably furnished; and the mother and children are dirty and half-clad. The father is a street-sweeper; one sister works in a date shop; the two oldest boys, aged seventeen and twenty, are not working now, but one of them used to help his father keep a "shine stand." This boy was brought into court at the age of eleven on the charge of incorrigibility, He ran away from home, stole money from his mother, and his parents said that they could not control him. He was committed to the John Worthy School, where he spent twelve months. Very soon after his release, at the age of twelve, he was in court again on the charge of larceny, but the case was dismissed. At this time he was still in the second grade at school. At the age of thir- teen he was again brought in on the charge of truancy, and was com- mitted to the Chicago Parental School. 76. An Irish family with seven children. The parents were foreign born, but their age at immigration could not be learned. They have a very untidy, shiftless, crowded home. Both father and mother constantly drink to excess. The father is a teamster but he is in poor health. The mother complains because one of the boys has brought his wife and child home to "live off the family." There are now eleven per- sons living in one apartment of three rooms. When this boy was eight years old, he was brought into court with two other boys for breaking into a grocery store. The court record shows that he was staying away from home and sleeping out nights; he was sent to the John Worthy School for four months. When he was nine, he was found sleeping under a house and was brought into court and again sent to the John Worthy School for ten months. He is not doing very well now. He was a mes- senger at the stockyards for a time, but is now out of work. The mother says she hates the court and everybody connected with it except the probation officer. The officer says the boy has improved but does not 301 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME have any help at home from his parents. "The parents needed more care than the child." The officer called at the home every week. She secured work for different members of the family and tried to help them in other ways. 77. A Polish family with five children, all of whom are still at home. The mother of these children is the father's second wife. Both parents came to this country after they were thirty and they speak very little English. The family have a clean but very poor home in a dilapi- dated tenement, which is damp because of the defective plumbing. The other people in the house are disreputable, drinking people. The yard is a sort of dump; the street, which has no sidewalk, is unpaved; and there are pools of standing water about. The father does not work and drinks a good deal. Two older brothers work in the stockyards. One of the children by a former wife has been sent to an institution for dependent children. This boy, who still goes to school, is said to be men- tally deficient and unable to learn. The father is very mean to the chil- dren and anxious to have them work as early as they can. At the age of twelve, this boy was brought into court, charged with breaking seals on freight cars and stealing merchandise; he was sent to the John Worthy School. At the age of fourteen he was brought in again as incorrigible; he would not go to school, and had a bad influence on his brothers. He was sent to the John Worthy School and later paroled. The boy was under the care of a probation officer but made no progress. The officer says that the teacher and the mother co-operated "heartily" but the father "only scolded." 78. A Russian-Jewish family with eleven children. The father was eighteen and the mother fifteen when they were married, and they immigrated ten years later. The mother speaks very little English. The father, who is a glazier, but who earns very low wages, used to drink a great deal but has better habits now. The family live in a very dirty, unsanitary apartment of six rooms, but, as three rooms are rented, they really have only three rooms for a family of twelve. One of the girls was married when fifteen years old and is now insane. When this boy was fifteen he was brought into court for stealing property worth $18. He was out of work at the time and evidently was trying to make money by stealing things and selling them. He was put on probation and has not been in court again. He has had various odd jobs and claims to have once saved $100, which his father took and did not repay. He left home once and went to Denver but returned because the family wrote that they would starve if he did not come back and help to support them. He is now working in a printing office. School Statement. I am 2/ years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 5 grade. I began to go to school when I was 7 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are-; Is pinting and worked for $2^ a week for 2 years. [Boy told the investigator nothing had helped him.] 79. A German family with five children. The father, who died eight years ago, owned a coal yard, which the mother has kept and man- 302 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS aged since his death. The family has a very unsavory reputation in the neighborhood. The eldest daughter, who is a domestic servant and is away from home, had an illegitimate child, whom she left with her mother. This boy and his older brother used to be bad and shiftless, but they are now much improved and are getting to be industrious. The family own their own home of four rooms, but it is very bare, in filthy condition, and greatly neglected. They live in an extremely poor neighborhood; all the sewers are open; the house is very near the railroad tracks; the sidewalks and fences are broken; the yard is filled with refuse; and everything on the premises shows neglect of long standing. The mother has been arrested twice for keeping the children out of school for insufficient reasons, and a younger boy was recently arrested for breaking into a car. At the age of twelve this boy was brought into court charged with break- ing into a car on the railroad and stealing four pairs of shoes; he was committed to the John Worthy School for five months. He now drives a coal wagon and helps manage the coal yard. The mother says that he plays cards for money in saloons and other places. 80. An Italian family with ten children, of whom six are dead. The parents were married at the ages of twenty-three and nineteen and came to this country four years later. The father is a laborer, earn- ing $9.00 a week. They have a very poor home, two rooms in an old tenement, in a poor neighborhood near the tracks and the river. The father and mother speak very little English. When the boy was thirteen, he was brought into court for running away, loitering in news alleys, and sleeping in hallways; he was put on probation. Within a few months he was brought in again, charged with vagrancy; it was said that he loafed and frequented saloons and questionable places; he was then sent to the John Worthy School. In spite of the efforts of the parents, the school, and the probation officer, the boy did not improve. The officer visited either the home or the school once a week. When the boy was not in institutions, he reported to the officer "occasionally." The officer was never very hopeful of the boy, because the home was so miserable and the parents so unintelligent. At the age of seventeen he was brought in on the charge of stealing an overcoat because he had not enough to pay for it, and this time he was sent to the state reformatory at Pontiac. The mother says that the boy stole because he was poor, and was sent to Pon- tiac for taking a five-dollar overcoat that he needed. The probation officer thinks that this sentence is unjust, but she believes the boy to be a degenerate. He has a tendency "to rove," and will not work long at anything. He has earned very little but has given all he earned to his mother. 8 1. A Bohemian family with eight children. Nothing is known of the boy's own father. The stepfather deserted the family, and the mother is very ignorant and incapable. The boy and an older brother now work in the stockyards and support the family. A sister, who is a graduate of the state school for the blind, is teaching. The family used to live in a very poor, damp, dark basement apartment. At one time when the mother was ill and would not go to the hospital, no provision was made for caring for the children and this boy began to loaf about the 303 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME streets with older boys who led him into trouble. A neighboring settle- ment has done much to improve conditions in the home and the family has been enabled to move to a decent, light cottage in a good neighborhood. When this boy was twelve he was brought into court, charged with stealing from a store shoe polish worth $50; he was put on probation. Within a year he was brought in again, charged with stealing a bicycle, and this time was sent to the John Worthy School for seven months. He has been under the care of two different probation officers. The last officer thought the mother was so ignorant that it was almost hopeless to appeal to her, but the older boys were helpful. The officer called at the home frequently, and the boy reported every week at first. The officer interested a society of ladies in the family, and they furnished clothes for the children. The mother says the boy does not think of the officer as anything but a friend because she never reminds him of her connection with the court. He is undersized which makes it difficult for him to secure employment but he has tried to earn money since he was eleven, and always gives his mother his wages. 82. A Polish family with nine children, one of whom is dead. The parents were married when the father was nineteen and the mother six- teen. They are both very foreign, although the father came to this country at the age of seven and the mother was born here. The father can read and write but little English; the mother not at all. They are a low-grade family with an extremely dirty home and dirty, ragged children. The father drinks and is very harsh and unkind. He is a teamster, but is out of work a great deal. In spite of this they are trying to buy the tenement in which they live, but it is mortgaged for $2500. An older brother and sister of this boy are wards of the court. At the age of twelve this boy was brought into court as incorrigible; he would not attend school, his parents could not control him, and he stayed away from home; he was sent to an in- stitution for dependent boys. Within a year he was brought in again on the same charge and was returned to the same institution; he ran away from the institution and was then sent to the John Worthy School. He was brought into court again, at the age of fourteen, on the charge of disorderly conduct; he cut lead pipes from a laundry, stole in his neighbor- hood, and lived away from home continually; he was again sent to the John Worthy School, where he is now. The boy was first paroled to a police officer then to a probation officer, and last to a volunteer officer. The officers did everything they could for the boy, but he did not improve. One of them says the boy is a "dope fiend," and another thinks that he is "not quite right." The mother says that the boy is "off in his mind" and that the father's treatment has made him worse. 83. These two boys belong to a German family with five children. When married, the father was twenty-four and the mother twenty-two. The father is a cabinet-maker and used to earn $12 a week, but is crippled with rheumatism now and unable to work. The mother earns a little by taking in washing. She speaks very little English although she came to this country when she was twelve. The home of five rooms is bare and poor and in an extremely poor neighborhood. The younger of these boys is epileptic and can seldom find work so that the older boy is prac- 304 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS tically the support of the family. These two boys, with another boy, first came into court at the ages of twelve and fifteen for breaking windows. The epileptic boy had had trouble in school and wanted to "pay teacher back" by throwing stones at the windows. They were put on probation. Within a year the epileptic boy was brought into court again for keep- ing bad company and for truancy. He was sent to a children's hospital society for treatment and was then put on probation. The probation officer who had charge of the boys visited the home every week for a year and tried to keep the epileptic boy under treatment and succeeded in keeping him at a hospital for six weeks. The older boy works steadily and gives all he earns to his mother. He began work at fourteen as an errand boy and he is now a teamster, earning $10 a week. He is a good worker and the probation officer thinks that he was never really delin- quent, only mischievous. School Statement. I am ig years old. I left school when I was /^. I was then in the 6 grade. I began to go to school when I was 5 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Arithmetic because it helps me out in my paids. 84. An Italian family with five children. The parents were married when the father was thirty and the mother twenty-three. The father immigrated two years after his marriage, and the mother followed him two years later. Neither the father nor the mother can speak English. The father who is now doing gang work in Montana earns about $10 a week, and the children are earning $i i, but they are likely to be out of work at any time. The home is very dirty and poor, and the mother is delicate. This boy first came into court at the age of eleven for stealing a purse from a department store; he was put on probation. When he was thirteen he came into court again because he had been one of four boys to rob a slot machine. He was again put on probation and has been doing much better since. The probation officer visited the family two or three times a week at first and, later, two or three times a month. While in school the boy reported to the officer every week, but when working, only once a month. The officer provided Christmas dinners for the family, sweaters for the boys, a doctor and a nurse during illness, and food and fuel for two winters. He also took the boy to camp one summer and got him several "jobs." The parents say they liked the probation officer because he always helped them out of their troubles. The boy liked to report at the officer's home; he said he always "had such a good time and it was so clean." He is now working in a factory, doing "odd jobs" and earning $4.00 a week. He has worked at several places but only for a short time in each place. School Statement. I left school when I was 75. I was then in the 4 grade. I began to go to school when I was 9 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are railroads because they pay more. IX. REPEATERS 85. An Irish family with eighteen children, eight of whom are dead. One boy is married, two are working, and there are three children in school 305 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME and three small children at home. The parents both came to this country when they were about fifteen years old, and were married when the father was twenty-one and the mother seventeen. The mother says the father was a teamster for one firm for twenty years and earned $2.00 a day, but was always "very stingy with the family"; he paid for rent and coal but never gave her enough for food and clothes. The father is now a motorman. The mother drinks, cares nothing for the father, and takes no interest in the children. The home of seven rooms, which has always been very slovenly and crowded, is on a poor, unpaved street. This boy belonged to the O Street gang. At the age of twelve he was brought into court, charged with stealing $50 from his mother; he was put on probation. Within a year he was brought in again, charged with stealing a watch from his father, and was sent to an institution for depen- dent children. At the age of thirteen he was in court again, charged with incorrigibility; he attempted to steal a pair of overalls and the next day assaulted the owner in the school yard; he was committed to the John Worthy School. At the age of fourteen he was brought in again on the charge of incorrigibility; the parents asserted that he was beyond their control, that he ran away from home, that he carried a revolver, and that his teacher could not control him; he was again committed to the John Worthy School, where he remained thirteen months. At the age of fifteen he was brought in once more, charged with holding up school children and taking their money from them; he was sent to another institution for delinquent boys. He was at different times under the care of a police officer and two probation officers. The family refused to co-operate with all of these officers, and the mother always shielded the boy. The last officer called to see the boy about once a month, but the boy refused to report to the officer. The officer thinks that the home and the neighbor- hood caused the boy's delinquency and that there is no hope for him. The boy has worked only three months and in that time he has had three positions. He never "gave in" his wages of his own accord; so his mother collected them. 86. An Italian family with five children. The parents were married when the father was twenty-seven and the mother was fifteen. They had both been in this country several years then but the mother has never learned to speak more than a very little English. They live in a poor, dirty, crowded home of five rooms, which they own. The father is now working on the city sewer, earning good wages. The mother says the boy has a dreadful temper and is "craze in de head." He has had a bad record in school. When he was twelve, he was brought into court, charged with assaulting another boy; he was sent to the John Worthy School. Within a year he was brought in again, charged with stealing gum and candy from a store; he was again committed to the John Worthy School. At the age of thirteen he was brought in again, charged with stealing from a showcase six mufflers valued at $3.00; he was put on probation. At the age of fourteen he was brought in again, charged with disorderly conduct, with being a truant from school and with shooting craps; he was put on probation. When he was fifteen years old he was brought in on the charge of disorderly conduct for loitering in poolrooms; he was again 306 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS put on probation. The boy's progress under probation was not very favorable. He was first paroled to a police officer and later to three different probation officers. The last officer had to "keep after him" all the time. At first he called every day at the home and the school, and made repeated efforts to hold the boy to his promises, but he was never very successful. The officer took the boy to camp one summer. The boy has worked for three months as a teamster and for four months has played in the band at one of the amusement parks. School Statement. I am 16 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 6 grade. I began to go to school when I was 5 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are my reading and numbers because if I could not read I would not know bow to get a job. 87. A colored family with one child. At marriage the father was twenty-nine, the mother twenty-four. They have a home of six rooms, which is neat and clean, and they are said to be quiet, decent people. The father, a hardworking man, is a salesman, earning fairly good wages. The mother has been paralyzed for five years, and the grandmother lives with the family and keeps house. At one time the mother used to help support the family by working out but she is no longer able to work. At the age of ten the boy was brought into court on a truancy charge, and was sent to the Chicago Parental School. A year and a half later he again played truant, and was put on probation. One year after this he stole a bicycle, automobile tire and lamp, and was sent to the John Worthy School for one year. Six months after his release he broke into a barn and forced open a trunk containing carpets valued at $50. He was hauling away the carpets and also a heating stove, when he was arrested and returned to the John Worthy School, where he is at the present time. He .was under the care of a probation officer who called at the home every week or two and found the mother "anxious to help." The officer secured jobs for the boy, but he would not work and seemed confirmed in habits of stealing and lying. He never stayed at any place more than two months. He held positions as an elevator boy, wagon boy and messenger boy, and was allowed to keep his own wages. His mother says that he is dishonest and lazy and that he gambles and smokes and has not improved in any way, although the probation officer has tried to help him. The mother says that the boy liked the officer and reported to her regularly. 88. A German family with eleven children, all of whom are still at home except this boy who has run away. The parents never mention him and say they are trying to forget him. The mother, who was seven- teen when she was married, came to this country when she was a little girl, and the father immigrated before he was fifteen. The father is a butcher's clerk, earning good wages. The family lived in a good home but in a very bad neighborhood during the period when the boy was in trouble. The parents finally bought a home in a quiet neighborhood in order to have better influences about the boy, but it was too late. At the age of fourteen the boy was brought into court on the charge of stealing a bicycle and then selling it for 50 cents; he was put on probation. At the age of 307 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME fifteen he was again brought in for stealing newspapers in front of stores; he was again put on probation. At the age of sixteen he was brought in as incorrigible, accused of stealing from a vacant building lead pipes and plumbing material valued at $400; he 'was again put on probation. He has worked but three weeks in his life. He was paroled to a police officer, who according to the parents "stood by the family through all their trials with the boy." The parents co-operated with the officer in all his efforts. The mother seemed to think the officer had some influence but it did not last. The boy is now in the House of Correction for the second time. He had left home before he was sent there last, and the parents evidently hope he will never come home again. 89. A Danish family with seven children. The parents were mar- ried when the father was twenty-three and the mother twenty-one, and they immigrated a year later. The mother and one child have died of tuberculosis, and the father now has this disease. The father is a foreman for an engineering company and earns good wages. The family did own a seven-room cottage, but they now board. The mother was ill for a long time, and the boy became "wild"; the father was always hard on him and thinks him a "bad lot." At the age of twelve he was brought into court on the charge of stealing; he had stolen $25 from a man and $3 from a grocery store; he was committed to the John Worthy School. At the age of thirteen he was again in court as incorrigible; he was staying away from home weeks at a time, sleeping in barns; he was again sent to the John Worthy School. At the age of fifteen he was brought in again on the charge of breaking into a freight car and stealing tobacco, three bottles of bitters, and paper napkins valued at $6.00. He was put on probation. At the age of fifteen he was in court again for incorrigibility and for stealing; he broke into a shed and stole a brass valve and tools valued at $10. He was sent to an institution for delinquent boys. The boy was first paroled to a police officer and then to a special probation officer. The police officer does not remember the boy. The special officer visited the home occasionally, and the boy reported once a week. The officer found the boy very friendly, and the sister says the boy liked the officer and did well while he was reporting to her. 90. An Irish family of six children, of whom this boy is the youngest. The father and mother were both over thirty-five when they left Ireland; the mother was nineteen when married. They are a very respectable family and have a very decent home of six rooms. At the age of thirteen this boy was brought into court charged with stealing $1.50; at school he was also said to be uncontrollable; he was put on probation. Within a year he was brought in again on the charge of disorderly conduct and not going to school ; he was again put on probation. At the age of sixteen he was brought in again on the charge of incorrigibility; his mother said she could not control him and that he "slept out"; he was again put on probation. Within a year he was brought in again on the charge of steal- ing gloves, an overcoat, and money from an express company; he was for the fourth time put on probation. He was brought into court the third time within a year on the charge of stealing a purse containing a small sum of money, and this time he was sent to the John Worthy School. The 308 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS boy and the police officer to whom he was paroled were on very good terms. The officer called whenever he passed the home and became well acquainted with the family, but the mother shielded the boy from him. The officer says the boy was "a deep schemer," was sly, and unwilling to work. The officer tried to persuade him to find a job and keep it. The family think that the boy is all right now. They say he is ashamed of his record and although he has had no job since he came from the John Worthy School, he is looking for one. Before this he worked for a time as an errand boy earning $4.00 a week and later in a box factory where he earned more. School Statement. I am 77 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 7 grade. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are reading and aritbemitic because if you were looking for a job who could read the want ads aritbemitic helps in counting your pay. 91. A Bohemian family of five children, of whom this boy is the eldest. The father came to this country when a child; the mother when twenty-two. They were married when both were twenty-four. The father speaks English fairly well but the mother very poorly. They have a very poor, bare, crowded home of four rooms, which the mother keeps neat and clean, although she does home finishing. The father is a butcher, and used to work in the stockyards, but he drinks, and does not work very steadily now. This boy was brought into court at the age of ten by a police officer, charged with stealing; he and two other boys had stolen several pocketbooks, ranging in value from 95 cents to $66; he was sent to the John Worthy School. At the age of thirteen he was brought in again, charged with stealing a Leghorn chicken valued at $15, and a China duck; he was put on probation. Within a year he was in court again, charged with disorderly conduct; he was accused of prowling around the school house, throwing snowballs at children, and stealing small articles in school; he was again committed to the John Worthy School. At the age of four- teen he was brought into court again on the charge of stealing; he was said to be implicated in stealing a pair of trousers from a clothing store; he was put on probation. He has spent fourteen months in the John Worthy School. He is just past fourteen, and is working as a wagon boy for a department store. The mother and the boy are good friends and the boy "gives in" his wages regularly. The boy has been under the care of two police officers and three probation officers. The last officer says she has no faith in the boy but does not permit him to know it. The parents are willing to co-operate but are unable to control the boy who is "one of the toughest boys in the neighborhood and an awful liar." 92. A German-Jewish family with four children. The father and mother were both twenty-four years old when they were married, and they came to this country about twenty years ago. Although the father has a good business, the family live in a very bad neighborhood, in four rooms back of their store. The home is dirty but comfortably furnished. The father is said to "care for nothing but making money," and he is so stern that the boys are afraid of him. The mother is not very strong, and is always too tired to take much care of the children. An older brother is 21 309 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME not very bright, and is so nervous that, according to the mother, the teacher will not allow him to attend school. This boy has always hated school and has always wanted to work and earn money. When he was nine years old, he was brought into court for playing truant, and was sent to the Chicago Parental School. Not quite two years later, he was brought in on the same charge and returned to the Parental School. Three months later he was charged with stealing; he and three other boys broke into a store and took groceries and confectionery valued at $45; he was then put on probation. One year and five months later he was brought into court as incorrigible; his parents said they could not control him and that he was thoroughly unreliable; he was sent to the John Worthy School, where he is now. He was under the care of a probation officer who called at the home once a month and found the parents willing to do anything she asked, but the boy only made trouble at home and at school, and "it seemed nothing could be done for him." The mother speaks well of the officer's services. 93. This boy was adopted when a baby and is the only child in the family. His foster-parents are both American. His foster-mother says he fell when a little boy and hurt his head, and she thinks it "weakened his mind," and that this accounts for his bad behavior. He is home only part of the time and goes "bumming" when he is there. There is a great deal of hostility between him and his foster-parents. The foster-father is a "politician" and always has good jobs, and they have a neat, attrac- tive home of four rooms. At the age of fourteen the boy was brought into court by a policeman as incorrigible; he was charged with keeping bad company, staying out nights and not attending school; he was committed to an institution for dependent boys. At the age of fifteen he was again in court on the charge of incorrigibility; his parents asserted that they could not control him, that he left home and slept in cheap lodging-houses; he was then sent to another institution for dependent boys. Within a year he was brought in again as incorrigible; his parents asserted that they could not control him, that he stayed away from home and that he was becoming entirely unmanageable; he was sent to an institution for delinquent boys. The boy has been a packer for a wholesale house, a cabin boy on a lake boat, and has "helped" on a farm, working a short time at each place. He was never put on probation by the court, but on his release from the last institution he was paroled to an officer belonging to the institution. This officer has called to see the boy but has never found him at home. School Statement. I am 18 years old. I left school when I was 77. I was then in the 8 grade. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are farming, Arithmetic because / have tried them. 94. A Polish family with six children. The parents were both about twenty-five years old when they came to this country, and neither learned to speak English. They have a poor and bare home of four rooms; the probation officer says "an awful house." The father works in a sausage factory but earns very low wages. He drinks and the mother is insane. An older brother was once in the state reformatory at Pontiac but the 310 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS family do not know where he is now. Three younger children are still at school, and one girl keeps house, while this boy works. At the age of fourteen this boy was brought into court by a policeman on the charge of disorderly conduct; he, with other boys, had broken into a store-room and taken a lot of empty bottles; he was put on probation. At the age of fifteen he was in court again charged with snatching a pocketbook from a woman; he was committed to the John Worthy School. At the age of sixteen he was again brought into court, charged with stealing copper wire worth $7.00, and was again committed to the John Worthy School. He has been in the John Worthy School fifteen months in all. The boy was paroled to two regular officers, but is now released from pro- bation. The officer found it difficult to help the boy because the father "fought every plan." The boy first went to work as a bottle filler in an extract factory; after this he worked in a machine shop four months and then in a twine mill; he is now working as a laborer in a foundry. School Statement. I am 18 years old. I left school when I was 14, I was then in the 6 grade. I' began to go to school when I was 8 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are dont know. X. MEMBERS OF GANGS 95. A Bohemian family with seven children, one of whom died in infancy. This boy is the eldest. The father and mother were both about twenty-one years old when they immigrated, and they were married a year later. The father works in a tailor shop as a coat presser but earns very low wages. He drank a good deal and formerly had the reputation of being lazy and letting his wife go out to support him by washing, but his habits have improved. The mother still works out part of the time, as the family are trying to pay for their five-room cottage which is mortgaged for $600. This boy was a member of a gang in a Bohemian colony which was demoralized by one very bad boy. When this boy was twelve he was brought into court charged with breaking a seal on a freight car and stealing apples worth $10. He was put on probation, at first under the care of a police officer, but later under a probation officer who visited the home every week, became a friend and counsellor, and secured help for the family when the father was "laid off." This officer said that one bad boy was responsible for the wrongdoing of this boy and the other boys in the gang. So far as the officer could learn they were all good boys with the exception of the leader. When the gang was broken up this boy was all right. He is working now as a driller for some brass works and "gives in" his wages. Before this he worked for six months in a brick kiln as a laborer. School Statement. I am 77 years old. I left school when I was 14. I was then in the 5 grade. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Arithmetic, Spelling, Reading and Writing because / could not get any employment with- out any education. 96. An Irish family with eight children. The father was twenty- six and the mother twenty-four when they were married, and they did not leave Ireland until four years later. They are very respectable, industrious 311 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME people and have a good home. The father is a building laborer and earns good wages when he is working. He drinks, however, and is said to be "very hard on the boys." This boy got in with the notorious E gang, which had its headquarters in a neighboring district. When he was fifteen years old he was brought into court by his mother, charged with incorrigibil- ityand staying out at night; he was put on probation. Within a year he was brought in again for flipping cars, and his mother asked to have him sent to the John Worthy School. According to the mother, the boy was never regularly under probation, but "out of friendship for the family, a police officer kept his eye on him" for several years. The officer visited him at his home and often talked with him on the street. He found the threat of the John Worthy School the only means of securing the boy's obedience to his parents. The boy improved for a while under probation and as a result of his stay at the John Worthy School, but his parents thought the gang influence destroyed the progress he had made. He worked in an automobile establishment for nearly a year, and then he gave it up and joined the navy. 97. A Canadian family with eight children, of whom two are mar- ried and one is dead. At the time of marriage the father was thirty-two and the mother twenty-six, and they came to the United States ten years later. The father is a carpenter, who is now too old to work. They had a very decent home of four rooms, but the family discipline was evidently very lax. The mother said she could never do anything with her boys after they were twelve years old. She was ill, however, and in the hospital for nine weeks just before this boy was brought into court. He was then fifteen. After his mother went to the hospital he got in with a gang of boys who broke into a house and stole $196 in money and jewelry worth $200. He was put on probation and never came into court again. For one year he worked intermittently as a teamster but he is now in Wyoming and doing very well on a ranch. He was paroled to a police officer who says that he does not consider the boy a real delinquent. The officer made only a few visits to the home, as he had so much confidence in the family's good influence that he preferred to leave the boy to his parents as much as possible. 98. A German immigrant family with eight children, four of whom died in infancy. The father was twenty-six and the mother twenty-one at the time of marriage, and they immigrated three years later. The father has regular work now as a car-cleaner, but the mother used to take in washing to help support the family. They are very industrious, respec- table people, and have a good home of four rooms. The parents say that when this boy was fifteen he was influenced by two older boys to leave his home; that after this "bum" he was afraid to come home and stayed away for seven weeks until he was brought into court charged with vagrancy. He and two older boys were accused of spending their time loitering around street corners and sleeping in toilet rooms. He was committed to the John Worthy School for two months and then put on probation. He was paroled to an officer who became a friend of the entire family. The boy reported to her every two weeks and she visited the home occasionally. Though the boy is now released from parole, he still goes to see her. The mother says he enjoyed going to the officer's 312 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO BOYS home, but she liked to have the officer call at the house for a friendly visit with her. The boy is bright and industrious. He has given up his former companions and is learning the jeweler's trade. He brings most of his money home but "buys his own clothes." School Statement. I am 77 years old. I left school when I was 14- I was then in the 6 grade. I began to go to school when I was 6 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are None of the studies help me to earn money because 99. A Bohemian family with three children. The two older sons have married, and this boy is the only child at home now. The parents married when the father was twenty-eight and the mother twenty-seven, and they immigrated five years later. The mother speaks no English and the father very little. They are hardworking, quiet people who have lived for nineteen years in a four-room house, which they now own. The father is a lumber-yard laborer. The boy did not "get on" at school and did not get beyond the fourth grade his parents think because he belonged to the L Street gang. At the age of fifteen his father brought him into court as incorrigible, claiming that he was idle, disobedient, untruthful, and that he loafed with other bad boys; he was put on probation under the care of a police probation officer. The officer visited the home several times and tried to make the boy go to work, but did not succeed. The boy worked for two months, several years ago, but has not worked since and says he never will again. The father seems to be either thoroughly discouraged or else very hard on the boy. He says the boy has never improved, that he is "getting worse all the time," that he has tried everything from beating to turning him out of the house, and wants him sent to the House of Correction to see if that will make him work. 100. An American family with three children, all boys. The mother died of tuberculosis when this boy, the youngest, was about three years old. They had no housekeeper, and the father, who drank heavily, paid little attention to the children and the home was poor and cheerless. One of the older brothers was in the John Worthy School once, but has been in no further trouble. This boy used to go with the A Avenue Gang, but says he finally saw that he. had to "cut it out." He was brought into court at the age of twelve for truancy and was sent to the Chicago Parental School. A year and a half later he was brought in again because he " used profane language to a policeman on a public highway" and was charged with disorderly conduct; he was put on pro- bation. The father and the brother felt that the Chicago Parental School did the boy "a world of good." They do not remember the probation officer, who says that she went to the home several times, but could get no satisfaction out of the father, and so did not accomplish much. The boy now lives with his employer, a green-grocer. He plays cards with his employer, goes to bed early, and spends most of his spare time in his room, where he says he has "everything fixed up to suit him." The boy has worked on a farm, as a delivery boy, and as a grocery clerk. School Statement. I am 77 years old. I left school when I was 75. I was then in the 6 grade. I began to go to school when I was 10 years old. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are Writing because / liked to do it. 313 APPENDIX V FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO THE DELIN- QUENCY OF 50 GIRLS COMMITTED TO THE STATE TRAINING SCHOOL AT GENEVA BY THE JUVEN- ILE COURT OF COOK COUNTY AT CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, DURING THE YEARS 1903 TO 1908 A series of brief paragraphs relating to delinquent girls, similar to those that have been given in Appendix IV for delin- quent boys, are presented in the following pages. These paragraphs attempt to summarize all the facts gathered which relate to the home circumstances of 50 delinquent girls, and the alleged offenses that brought them before the juvenile court. The stories are told briefly, but it is hoped in sufficient detail to bring clearly to light the conditions from which this tragic procession of young girls have come. It was pointed out in Chapter II that 80 per cent of the 2440 young girls who passed before the juvenile court during this first decade of the court's history were brought to court because of immorality; that large numbers of them, many of tender years, had been taken from the vilest haunts of vice, from low rooming houses and houses of prostitution. It has also been pointed out in several other chapters that in dealing with the delinquent girl, the juvenile court finds itself face to face with the problem of degra- dation. No one can study the conditions from which these so- called delinquent children have come without facing much that is painful and revolting, and in the "paragraphs" that follow appear many hideous facts. No attempt has been made to exclude pain- ful or shocking circumstances, because it is believed that in trying to solve this problem of saving the young girls who now go to ruin every year, the community is groping blindly; and all light that can be shed on the dark places in which these sad children are sometimes found but in which they so often perish without our knowledge, will lead towards their swift cleansing. During the summer months spent at the State Training School at Geneva, an investigator, who became friendly with these FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO GIRLS girls, obtained from 254 of them the stories of their first wrong- doing. Of these 254 girls, 101 alleged that they were at first the victims of force or fraud, but many of them confessed that later they continued voluntarily to lead irregular lives. This included also the girls who said they first yielded when they had been made drunk or after they had been drugged; it included also the 46 unspeakably horrible cases in which the girls were victimized by members of their own family,* by those who were their guardians, or by older relatives who should have been responsible for their welfare. In 74 cases, the girl's yielding to temptation was in- cidental to some form of recreation, unregulated childish play, unsupervised and unchaperoned dances, visits to a "show," late walks in public parks. In 52 cases the girl had been paid a paltry sum of money or given "gum and candy" as an inducement to consent to this heart-breaking ruin of her life when she was virtu- ally only a child at play. In 27 cases affection was given as the excuse. The large number of girls who alleged force or fraud as an explanation might seem incredible except for the fact that in the great majority of these cases their statements were confirmed by the records of the institution and the court. Painful as many of these stories are, we have felt that we had no right to omit any essential fact because it seemed too ugly to face; for we should be indeed recreant if we failed to uncover in so far as lies in our power the wrong conditions of which these children are the victims; as the community would in turn be recreant if it failed to take to heart the waste of young life which is here set forth. As the stories are largely stories of degraded conditions, and degradation means drunkenness, immorality, lack of cleanliness, irregularity of life, and low neighborhood associations, it is im- possible to find principles of selection on the basis of which these paragraphs might be grouped. They are at once too complex and too similar, and they are therefore presented in sequence and not, as in the case of the boys' histories, in classified groups. * In 78 additional cases from the court records the girl's companion was a relative or some one who occupied a position of responsibility to the girl, such as her employer, the brother of her foster-mother, the brother of her stepmother, the son or husband of her mistress, and others in similar positions. 315 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME 1. An American family with seven children. The father was twenty-eight and the mother sixteen at the time of their marriage. The father is a bricklayer who can earn $30 a week when he works; but he is a shiftless drunkard, idle most of the time, and even when working contributes nothing to the support of the children. The mother died twelve years ago when the last child was born, and the children now live with the grandmother, who is a good, hardworking woman employed as a janitress. She has always been fond of the children and tried to take good care of them. One of the sisters is a domestic servant and works faithfully. This girl left school at the age of fifteen when she was in the seventh grade to work in a department store. At first she always brought her wages home to her grandmother, but she was evidently wrongly influenced by a bad girl, who persuaded her to leave home and go to live in a cheap rooming-house. The grandmother had her arrested there when she was sixteen years old and brought into court. She was found to have been immoral and was sent to Geneva, where she remained nearly two years. She is now living with her grandmother again and doing well. 2. A German family with four children, of whom this girl is the youngest. The mother died when the child was born, but the home was not broken up until eight years ago when the father died. The father drank and was not good to the children. They were not sent to school and were neglected in every way. This girl began to work out as a domes- tic servant when she was only twelve, and at sixteen, when she was brought into court, she could neither read nor write. The probation officer thought her mentally deficient, and the Geneva investigator thought that she was not normally bright. She was first brought into court when she was fifteen after spending the night in one of the parks with a young man. She acknowledged that she had been immoral, and she was put on proba- tion. Within a year, however, she was arrested at half-past one in the morning, talking to some men, evidently for the purpose of immoral solicitation. She was held temporarily at the court on the charge of being disorderly and this time was sent to Geneva, where she has been for a year and a half. 3. A Danish family with two daughters and one son. The home is now broken up, and the father's whereabouts are unknown. The mother became insane and after she was sent to an institution the father lived with the three children in a rear cellar apartment. They all slept in one bed, with a drunken man lodger on a couch in the same room. The three children were brought into court as dependents when this girl, who was the second child, was twelve years old, and the court paroled them to their father. This girl had already been criminally assaulted by a neighbor. At the age of sixteen she was brought into court again as a delinquent, "running the streets, insulting people, and generally disturbing the peace." She was put on probation, but several months later it was discovered that she was immoral, and she was sent to Geneva, where she has been for a year and a half. An older sister was first taken care of by a good-hearted neighbor and married early, but committed suicide soon after. The brother has been put in a dependent institution. 316 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO GIRLS 4. An American family with three children, of whom this girl is the eldest. The mother died when the girl was five years old, and the father kept the children with him but moved about for nearly eight years from one boarding-house to another, and the children, of course, had no home care. He has only one arm and is now employed as a "tower man" on the railroad, but he has always had difficulty finding work. When this girl was thirteen the father remarried, and the stepmother's mother and sister came to live with the family. The stepmother has since had two children of her own, and as her mother and sister continued to live with her, there has been a complicated family group. The stepmother's relations with this girl have always been very unpleasant, and the pro- bation officer thinks that the stepmother has been extremely harsh and severe with her and that she easily got into bad company. When she was seventeen she was arrested for stealing $10 from her father; the court put her on probation for six months. At the end of this time she ran away from home and began a low rooming-house life. She was then brought to court and sent to Geneva, where she remained two years and a half. She was released about a year ago and was married, but began an im- moral life again and her husband left her. 5. A German family in which there were three sets of children, seven altogether. The girl's own mother, who was the father's second wife, died when the girl was four years old, and the father married a third time. The father was a common laborer with regular work and the home seems to have been comfortable enough, but there was probably a good deal of friction. An older half-sister had a disagreement with her second stepmother, left home, and "went wrong." This girl worked first as a clerk in a dry goods store. Her father and stepmother attribute her downfall to bad associates whom she met at a skating rink in a pleasure park, which they think a very bad place for young people. When she was fifteen years old, she was picked up on the street at two o'clock in the morning and brought into court as incorrigible. She was first put on pro- bation for a number of months, but would not stay at home, was immoral, and was finally brought into court again on the same charge and sent to Geneva, where she has been for only a few months. 6. This girl belonged to a family of four children with a Norwegian father and a Danish mother. The father died seventeen years ago, and the mother then married a Danish man. They have always had a fairly comfortable home. The mother was always very kind to the girl; the stepfather, however, was very severe with her and scolded her a great deal. She worked for a time in a shoe-string factory and always brought her money home. She then went to work in a restaurant as a waitress, and the mother thinks the girls she met there led her astray. She was ex- tremely pretty and attracted much attention. Her father became so hard on her that she finally left home and said she was going to live with friends. When she was sixteen, her mother brought her into court on the charge of keeping bad company. The girl was put on probation, but after one month she was found in a saloon with two men, and there is evidence to show that she was leading an immoral life in a low hotel. When the case was tried, several men were in court to pay her fine or 317 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME bail if any should be asked. She was committed to Geneva, where she remained a little over two years. She was paroled to live with a family who were very good to her and sent her to high school for two years. She is now married and seems to be getting on very well. 7. A German-American family with six children. The home is now broken up. The mother, who was always in delicate health, died of tuberculosis. The father, who had been married before, was an old soldier and had a small pension which he spent entirely on himself. He seldom worked or contributed anything to the support of the family but stayed in a soldiers' home from time to time, and the family was helped irregularly by a charitable society. The home was never comfortable and at one time the family lived in a house so dilapidated that they paid no rent for it. When this girl was sixteen years old, she was turned away from her home by her father, who said she was wild and profane and spent her time in bad company. She was brought into court, found to be immoral, and sent to Geneva, where she has been for three years. 8. A Russian-Jewish family with four children. The father, a junk-dealer, is able to support his family. The girl's mother -is dead, and the girl did not get on well with her stepmother. She did housework for a time, and then at the age of sixteen married a man who took her at once to a house of prostitution. When her parents traced her there, the keeper attempted to transfer her to another house, but while en route she escaped. The man was sent to the penitentiary. The girl went home, but the stepmother and the entire family were so unkind to her that she came into court and asked that she be sent to Geneva. After her return she got in with bad company and married a worthless man. Her health was broken, and she died when her first child was born. 9. Nothing is known about the father of this girl, but the reports are that he was a colored man. The mother is German and says she was thirty-five and the father thirty-one when they were married. They had five children. The home is very poor and dirty, and the neighbors complain about the family and say they use vile language and are dis- reputable. The mother does washing at home, one sister is a laundress, and two other sisters do only unskilled factory work, earning very low wages. The family have been helped at different times by a charitable society. This girl was regarded as subnormal and she did not get beyond the second grade in school. The mother complained that she had to be watched constantly to keep her away from "bad company." When she was eleven years old, she was brought into court charged with stealing a silk shawl worth $75. She was sent to Geneva, where she has been for five years. The mother wants the girl to come home so that she can work and bring in her wages. She says the girl has caused her a great deal of trouble and she now wants her to help. 10. An American family with three children, of whom this girl is the youngest. After her birth the mother became an invalid, con- tracted the morphine habit, and finally died of tuberculosis when the girl was ten years old. The mother's people are said to be a "bad lot," and one of her brothers is in the penitentiary. After the mother's death the 318 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO GIRLS father remarried, and there has always been a good deal of ill feeling be- tween the girl and her stepmother. The stepmother has been outwardly kind but has no affection for the girl and does not want her at home. The father is a machinist, earning good wages, and the stepmother keeps boarders and occasionally rents rooms. The girl was originally brought into court as a dependent when she was ten years old during the mother's illness, and was sent to a home for dependent girls, but ran away and came home again. At the age of twelve she was brought into court as a delin- quent for immorality; she was sleeping in barns and was said to be quite incorrigible. She was then sent to an institution for delinquent girls. At the age of thirteen she stole some money from her stepmother and ran away from home. The father notified the police, and they found her in the middle of the night on some doorsteps in South Chicago. She was in very bad physical condition. The father said that he could do nothing with her, and she was sent to Geneva, where she has been for over three years. 11. A Polish family with six children, living in a very degraded home. Both parents are intemperate and neither can speak English. When this girl was only eleven, the father came home drunk and criminally assaulted her. A few months later she was brought into court as a depen- dent and sent to a home for dependent girls, but she was later released to go back to her old home. The father and mother beat her cruelly, and at the age of thirteen she came in terror to the police station for pro- tection from her mother's abuse. She was sent to another institution for three months and again released to go back to her old home. When she was fourteen and went to work, her parents took all her wages and continued to beat and abuse her. She ran away from home and was then brought to court as an incorrigible delinquent. Her parents complained that she was keeping bad company and would not stay at home, and she was re- turned to the institution for two years. When she was sixteen she was in court again on the charge of trying to buy clothes with a forged check and was sent back to the same institution. At the age of seventeen she was found sleeping in hallways and was found to be very immoral. She was sent to Geneva, where she has been for several months. 12. A moral and industrious German family with seven children. The father was twenty-five and the mother twenty at the time of marriage, and they immigrated several years later. The father was a laborer in the building trades, earning about $12 a week. They seem to have had a good home. This girl began working in a factory when she was four- teen and seems to have been a good girl until she got out of work. While she was "hunting a new job," she got in the habit of going downtown to look for work and then going into department stores to get warm and rest. When she was sixteen, she was brought into court with several other girls who were in the habit of visiting department store waiting rooms and going to rooms with men for immoral purposes. She was sent to Geneva and after one year was paroled. She is now working as a bookkeeper and doing well. 13. An Irish family with five children, of whom this girl is the eldest. The father was thirty-four and the mother twenty-two at the time 319 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME of their marriage. The father is a janitor, earning about $10 a week. He formerly drank and deserted the family three times, but he has now reformed and the family are reunited. They are, however, very poor and during the last two years they have applied to a relief society ten times for aid. The mother used to work away from home doing housework, and this girl stayed at home and took care of the house and the younger children. At the age of fifteen she left home and lived for two weeks with a friend whose parents kept a disreputable rooming house, frequented by railroad men. The mother said that she was good and industrious until she ran away from home. The girl claimed that she had never been immoral, but, as she had been associating with disreputable people, the court sent her to Geneva. She has been there only a short time, but seems to be doing well. 14. An Irish-American family with six children living in a very poor and dirty four-room apartment. The mother was only eighteen at the time of marriage. The father deserted the family five times and is now living in an old soldiers' home. His wife says he does this because he is lazy and that he could work if he would. The mother is a tailoress but earns only about $3.00 a week. Both parents are shiftless, begging people, who have constantly sought aid from all possible charitable sources and are on the records of nearly every relief society in Chicago. At one time they were evicted and all went to a home for dependents. This girl was in a soldiers' orphan home from the age of seven until she was sixteen. Soon after leaving she was brought to court by her mother as incorrigible and immoral and sent to Geneva, where she has been for about nine months. The mother complained that she stayed out late at night, associated with vicious and immoral persons, and was "going to destruc- tion." Three other children are in the soldiers' home, and the older boys, who live with the mother, will not work. The mother complains bitterly about them, but she herself is a shiftless, quarrelsome woman who prefers begging to working. 15. A family of five children with a Canadian father and an American mother. The mother committed suicide, and this girl, who was then nine years old, kept house for the father and the younger children. They lived in a house that had belonged to the children's grandmother. The father was a day laborer, who worked irregularly, was a very shiftless man, and probably a drunkard. The children are scattered now, and none of them is doing very well. The two boys are both in institutions and one has been in court several times. One sister has been adopted. This girl was brought into court when she was fifteen years old by the grandmother and the father, who said she had been "beyond control" for two years and had become immoral. She was sent to Geneva, where she remained a year. Not long after her release she ran away and is now supposed to be an inmate of a house of prostitution. 16. This girl's father is German and her stepmother German-Amer- ican. The father was twenty-one at the time he married this girl's mother. She has one stepbrother. The father is a gardener in summer and a janitor in winter. The girl's mother died when she was very small and 320 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO GIRLS her relations with her stepmother have never been pleasant. The home has always been clean and neat. This girl went to live with her aunt for seven months, but the aunt brought her home, saying she could do nothing with her. The father and the stepmother brought her into court when she was twelve years old and in the third grade in school, saying that she stole from them, that she would not go to school, and was very immoral. They asked to have her sent away and the court sent her to Geneva where she has been for nearly three years. The father and the stepmother told the investigator that they did not think the girl was improving there and that there was little hope for her. 17. This girl is one of two daughters of Roumanian-Jewish parents who still live in Roumania. She came to this country to live with a sister, who was supposed to be a widow, but who, the girl says, was not a good woman. The girl had been in this country only a few months when a man followed her home from work, took her money, and assaulted her. The sister took all the girl's wages, and after a time the girl refused to live with her. When she was fifteen years old, the sister had her brought into court, claiming that she was leading an immoral life. She was under the care of the probation officer for only four days. The probation officer found that the girl did not intend to do right, and had her sent to Geneva, where she has been for nearly six months. 1 8. This girl is the daughter of a colored father and a white mother. At marriage the father was twenty-two and the mother seventeen. The father, a janitor, who sleeps at his place of work, has been arrested several times for stealing. The mother, a German, died of epilepsy. Several children died in infancy; four are now living. The home and the neighbor- hood conditions were always bad. This girl, who is not normally bright, was not sent regularly to school, and during her mother's life was entirely without care. She was brought into court at the age of fourteen as incor- rigible and put on probation for six months. Finally at the age of seven- teen, she was brought into court on the charge of immorality and stealing. She was sent to Geneva, where she has been for eight months. 19. A Russian-Jewish family with fourteen children, six of whom died in infancy. The father was seventeen and the mother sixteen at the time of marriage. The father, who was a cloakmaker, died three years ago of tuberculosis. He was immoral and cruel to his wife and deserted the family several times. The family has received a great deal of help from a charitable society. This girl left school while in the fifth or sixth grade to work in a laundry; she always "gave in" her wages. Her father was very unkind to her, and she finally left home because of his ill-treatment. At the age of seventeen she was brought into court by her mother, who claimed that she was staying out late at night and frequenting saloons. She said that she had been betrayed by a man who had promised to marry her. She was sent to Geneva and had remained there about two years when she was allowed to go home on parole. But she soon returned to an immoral life and finally became so ill that she returned to Geneva voluntarily. This time she has been in the institution about a year and will return home within a few days. 321 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME 20. A German-American family with seven children. The father was twenty-one and the mother seventeen when they were married. The father, who was a carpenter, was killed in an accident and left only a small amount of insurance for the support of the family. The mother was obliged to work very hard and kept a restaurant at one time, but she says the girls would not help her and she had to give it up. A charit- able society helped them for a while but now the two sons are able to support the family. These two girls worked downtown in department stores, and the mother believes that this demoralized them. One of the girls was brought into court when she was seventeen for leaving home and living in bad places. She was unquestionably immoral and was sent to Geneva. On her release she worked for a time in a department store but stole there and was returned to Geneva at the age of eighteen. She re- mained at Geneva about two years and has just been released. The other girl was brought into court by her mother when she was only thirteen. The mother complained that the girl was incorrigible, ran away from home, and stayed with immoral colored people. She was sent to an institution for delinquent girls, then released, and returned when four- teen. Six months ago, at the age of seventeen, she was also sent to Geneva. 21. This girl is one of a family of five children with a Norwegian father and an American mother. Both parents were twenty-three at the time of their marriage. The father was a salesman earning good wages, but he drank heavily and would not support the family. He finally deserted them ten years ago, and the home was broken up. The mother thought it best to put four of the children in institutions until some of them were old enough to work. The three girls were sent to a home for dependent girls, where they stayed several years, and one boy was sent to a home for dependent boys. The mother has always worked hard; she peddled "notions" for years but now she does scrubbing and cleaning. This girl worked out from the time she was twelve years old until she was sixteen, although she had completed only the second grade in school; she did not like housework and changed places frequently. She gave all the money she earned to her mother, who bought the girl such clothes as she thought best. The girl was first brought into court at the age of sixteen on the charge of immorality, which she admitted. She was put on probation and was sent for a time to a sanitarium. About six months later the mother said the girl had disappeared and asked to have a search made for her. She was found by an officer in a house of prostitution and was brought into court and sent at once to Geneva, where she has been for a year. A brother of the girl has recently been in the House of Cor- rection for drunkenness. 22. An American family with seven children, who came to Chicago from one of the southern states. The father was twenty-two and the mother twenty at the time of their marriage. The father died of melan- cholia. The mother believes that this girl has been the victim of adoles- cent insanity. Neither the mother nor any one of the children seems to have a good physical constitution. The mother formerly kept a grocery store, but the family are in better circumstances now. The brothers are 322 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO GIRLS pressmen in printing offices, and two of the children are married and living at home. This girl completed the eighth grade in the grammar school and attended a business college for a year. At the age of sixteen she became incorrigible, frequented saloons and dram shops, and when brought into court admitted her immorality. She was committed to Geneva where she remained fourteen months. She has now left Geneva and is married. 23. A German family with six children, one of whom is married. The parents were married when the father was twenty-nine and the mother twenty-four. The father, who has been dead six years, was a hod carrier. He drank heavily and always worked irregularly, earning small wages. The mother was a washwoman and earned from $5.00 to $6.00 a week until the children got old enough to work. One brother has been in the Chicago Parental School twice. This girl went to work at the age of twelve as "general help." As she was very incompetent, she of course had very hard places and changed them often. Later she went downtown to work as a cash girl in a department store, and the mother says this was "her ruin" because she associated with girls who taught her to be immoral. The mother says that the father had always been cruel to the girl before he died, and that the girl had a violent temper like his. The mother says she was afraid of the girl. When she was sixteen years old, the girl was brought into court by a police officer on the charge of keeping bad company and associating with immoral girls. She was put on probation but was brought in again six months later on the charge of staying away from home for three days and nights and returning in an intoxicated condition. She admitted that she had stayed at a low hotel in bad com- pany, and was committed to Geneva. She was released after two years, and is now married and seems to be happy and industrious. 24. This girl's parents were Swedish. The father is a drunkard, has the cocaine habit, and has always been very brutal to his wife and children. He worked as a fireman when sober and was a good worker, but he never supported the family; they were helped by a relief society for a good many years. The mother committed suicide about eight years ago be- cause she could no longer endure the misery of her life with her husband. Five years later this girl was brought into court by a probation officer as a dependent child and was taken away from her father because of his vulgarity and indecency, but was released under the care of a probation officer. She was later brought into court again on the charge of being out late at night, and was sent to a home for dependents from which she ran away twice. When thirteen years old she was brought into court as in- corrigible, acknowledged she had been immoral and was sent to Geneva, where she has been for six months. Both of her brothers have been wards of the court; one is in the John Worthy School and one is in the Chicago Parental School. The home is entirely broken up, and the father sleeps around in sheds or barns. 25. A Russian-Jewish family with five children. The father was eighteen at marriage and the mother twenty-one. The father is a ladies' tailor, who once had the habit of moving and changing his name with each move; but he now owns his own business and seems to be getting on well. Neither father nor mother takes proper care of the children. This girl 323 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME was allowed to sing and dance in five-cent theaters, and both proprietor and patrons had immoral relations with her constantly, giving her small sums of money in payment. At the age of eleven, the child became known as a common street walker and pickpocket. She was brought into court as incorrigible and immoral and sent to Geneva, where she has been for nearly a year. She is said to be a degenerate. 26. This girl was one of a family of four children, with an American father and a Dutch mother. The parents were married when the father was twenty-two and the mother seventeen. The home was not only poor and miserable but very degraded. The father was a steamfitter by trade, but he worked very little and was constantly drunk. He criminally assaulted this girl when she was only eleven years old, and also mistreated the younger sister. The mother discovered this and threatened to have her husband arrested, but he deserted to avoid prosecution. The children were then brought into court as dependents and sent to a home for depen- dent girls. The mother supported herself for a time by working as a prac- tical nurse but later went to live with her mother. The children were returned to live in their grandmother's home also. The grandmother did washing, and the family were helped by a charitable society, but lived in a very miserable way. A few years ago the mother married again, but her second husband also drank and was very cruel to her and to her children, and she 'finally left him. This girl worked in two different department stores for very small wages; she also worked in a factory for two months. At the age of sixteen she was brought into court by her mother as incorrigible. She had run away and there was evidence that she had been immoral; she was sent to Geneva, where she has been for six months. A sister was brought into court the following year, also upon the charge of incorrigibility and immorality. 27. A Polish family with four children. The father was twenty- seven and the mother thirty-two at the time of marriage. The father has learned to speak a little English, but the mother speaks only Polish. The father has steady work as a janitor. The mother drinks constantly and the home is not only poor and dirty but degraded. Two of the younger children go to school, but work out of school hours in order to contribute a dollar a month each to the family support. One boy is now in the John Worthy School. This girl was taught to pick pockets when she was small and she became very immoral as she grew up. She lived for a time with a married man, and then led a low rooming-house life. She was first brought into court at the age of thirteen for picking pockets, and was sent to an institution for delinquent girls, but was kept there only two weeks. She was on probation for two years, but was brought into court three times during the first year on the same charge. At the age of fifteen she was again brought into court on the charge of helping another girl steal $4.00. She was sent to Geneva for fifteen months. At the age of seventeen she was brought in for immorality, was put on probation for three months, and then sent to Geneva again, where she has been for the last six months. 28. A German family with five children. Both father and mother were twenty-one at the time of their marriage. The father was a police- 324 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO GIRLS man, but lost his position because of a row that occurred while he was making an arrest when he was probably drunk. He later deserted the family, but occasionally comes home in a drunken condition and is very cruel to his wife and children. The mother works hard in a tailor shop and is trying to support herself and the children and buy a home. She suffers from a blow on the head that her husband gave her in one of his visits. She is harsh with the children and has beaten them so much that they are in great fear of her. This girl was extremely irregular in her school attendance and only went through the second grade. She was put to work in a tailor shop when very young. The grandfather is miserly, and the mother cares more about buying her home than about anything else. She always took all that the girl earned, made her work very hard, and was cruel and exacting. When the girl was fifteen years old, she ran away and worked as an office girl in a cheap hotel. She became immoral and was brought into court and sent to Geneva, where she remained a little over a year. She has now been home for a year and a half and is doing well and giving her wages to her mother. 29. An American family with three children, living in a very low, im- moral neighborhood and in a dirty home. The father, who was a teamster, assaulted this girl and was sent to the penitentiary for life. The mother is a wash and scrub woman but she works very little. She is very immoral and lies about in alleys drunk a good deal of the time. The family has always received charitable assistance and has never been self-supporting. At the age of fourteen this girl was brought into court as dependent on the charge that her mother was taking her to visit winerooms and low saloons. The girl was evidently being used for immoral purposes and was sent to Geneva, where she has been for about three years and a half. 30. An Irish-American family with six children. Both parents were eighteen at the time of marriage. The father has been a cattle butcher in the stockyards for twenty years and can earn good wages, but he will not work. He deserted the family at one time, and during the last two years he has done so little for them that they have been almost con- stantly dependent on the help given by a charitable society. Two brothers work in the "Yards," one has run away from home. The mother has a bad reputation, drinks habitually, keeps a dirty home, and always has her house full of disorderly men. This girl, when fifteen, was taken by her mother to an institution for delinquent girls, but after a month the mother took her out again and brought her home. She then ran away and was arrested in the company of two young men who were taking her to a house of prostitution. The men were sent to the House of Correction, and the girl, who admitted that she had already been im- moral, was committed to Geneva with her mother's consent. 31. A Russian-Jewish family with eight children. The home, which was in a very poor neighborhood, was dirty and vermin infested. The father is an expressman earning good wages, but both parents are avaricious and encouraged the girl in wrongdoing so long as she brought her earnings home. She worked in a candy factory for a while but her parents did not think she earned enough money and wanted her to get more. When she was brought into court at the age of fifteen, she had 22 325 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME already become immoral, had rented a room for immoral purposes, and had before this frequented low hotels. She was first put on probation for six months, then brought into court again on the same charge and sent to Geneva. An older sister had been in court five years before for immorality and had been sent to Geneva. Both girls improved greatly at Geneva. The older one is married and doing well. This girl is still there. 32. A German family in which there are six children. The father was twenty-two and the mother twenty-six when they were married. The father is a janitor, drinks habitually and has a violent temper. The mother, who speaks English very poorly, does some washing at home. The home is clean, and except for the father's drinking, both parents seem thrifty and decent. This girl was first brought into court when she was fifteen years old on the charge of keeping company with older girls who were immoral. She was put on probation, but her father was very angry and told her to stay away from home. The father has always been "hard on the girl," the [mother says, and she thinks his anger "made her worse." She used to go to see her mother when the father was away. Within a year she was brought into court again, this time on the charge of entering a house and stealing $2.25. The petition also stated that the girl had been staying away from home and there were evidences of her immorality. She was sent to Geneva, where she has been for eight months. 33. This girl is the daughter of a German father and an Irish mother. The father was twenty-one and the mother nineteen when they were married. The father runs a machine in a stone yard and works regularly, but he drinks a great deal and is very "cranky" and quarrel- some with his wife. They have had ten children, of whom one is dead and one is living with an aunt. This girl worked in a factory for seven months, labeling cans, then she picked strawberries for a while, and afterwards worked for a time in a bakery. When she was sixteen, she was brought into court as incorrigible; she had been away from home for several months and was said to be sleeping in unfinished basements and asso- ciating with vicious persons. She had been connected with a larceny offense before this. She was first put on probation, but nine months later she was brought into court again on the charge of immorality and was sent to Geneva, where she remained about two years and a half. She has been at home now for seven months and is doing well. 34. A Russian-Jewish family with six children. The father was eighteen and the mother nineteen at the time of marriage. They lived in a very poor neighborhood, but the home of six rooms was neat and clean. The father was a leather-polisher and could earn good wages, but he was a hard drinker and stayed away from home days at a time, leaving the family destitute. They were helped at different times by two relief societies. This girl never worked, but when small was allowed to sing in five-cent theaters. She was brought into court as a dependent at the age of six, and sent to a home for dependent girls because of her father's drunken habits. At the age of eleven, she was brought in by a probation officer as delinquent on a charge of immorality, and was sent to Geneva. She had become a common pickpocket, was very immoral, attended five-cent theaters and sang in them. The parents upheld the girl and said she was 326 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO GIRLS "all right." She has been in Geneva nearly a year, and has been one of the most troublesome girls there. An older sister was also brought into court on the charge of incorrigibility and associating with immoral and vicious persons, but she was put on probation. 35. A German-American family with four children. The father was twenty-three and the mother eighteen at the time of marriage. The mother died thirteen years ago when this girl was born, and the father then deserted the children. Two of them were adopted by relatives and two by strangers. This girl was taken to live with an aunt, whose husband criminally assaulted the child when she was only eleven years old. The uncle was sent to the penitentiary, and the girl was given to another aunt, who did not like her. The husband of this aunt was a laborer at the stockyards, the aunt took in washing, and the family was very poor. The girl went to work as a domestic servant when she was only twelve years old, and the aunt complained because she could not keep the places that were found for her. At the age of thirteen the girl was taken from a house of prostitution in bad physical condition. She was brought into court and sent to Geneva four years ago. She is now on parole and seems to be doing well. 36. This girl's parents were Bohemian. At marriage the father was twenty-four and the mother twenty-one. The father was a drunkard and so immoral that the mother left him and came to America with her two children. They lived in a rear basement apartment of two rooms, and the mother did washing. The father came over after seven years, but soon deserted his wife, stealing all that she had. The mother then got a divorce from him, married another Bohemian, and has since had another child, who died. When this girl was twelve years old, she was brought into court by a probation officer for stealing. Her mother said she had been deceiving her and stealing money from her, and had been staying out late at night. She was sent to an institution for delinquent girls, but after three months was released on probation. This girl left school when she was fourteen and had finished the fifth grade; she worked out for a few months as a domestic and then worked in a candy factory and in a cigar factory. Before she was fifteen she was brought into court again on the charge of incorrigibility. Her mother complained that she stole from her as well as from her employers. She was sent to Geneva. 37. A German family with three children. The father was eighteen and the mother nineteen when they were married; they immigrated seven years later. The mother has never learned to speak English. The father is a gasfitter, earning about $10 a week. The mother worked in a restaurant for a time, but it is no longer necessary. She was always very strict with this girl without understanding her. The father was also strict, but neither knew anything of her associates nor attempted to control her beyond the home. She lived for a time with a married sister, but finally ran away and lived with a woman who kept a house of prosti- tution. She was first brought into court by her parents at the age of fourteen and was sent to an institution for delinquent girls because the parents said they could not control her and wished her placed in an insti- tution. When she was seventeen, her father brought her into court 327 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME again, complaining that she would not work, kept very bad company, and was immoral and incorrigible. She. was in wretched physical condition and this time was sent to Geneva, where she has been for nearly a year. 38. A Russian-Jewish family of six children. The father is dead and the mother has moved out of town. The father was a pawnbroker, and the family were wealthy at one time and lived in fashionable residence districts; they still are quite well to do. The four girls in the family were never allowed to attend the public schools but were sent away to private boarding-schools. The eldest girl is said to have been very wild and eloped when she was married. The two next younger girls are both in Geneva. The fourth daughter, who remains with the mother, is very peculiar. The parents seemed quite helpless in the bringing up of their children. The mother was very lenient with them when they first came from boarding-school and then suddenly became very strict and allowed them no privileges. The older of the two girls now at Geneva was im- moral with a young man who was a member of the same social group. The family first knew of her delinquency when at the age of fifteen she became pregnant. After her child was born, the mother appeared in court and had her sent to Geneva, where she has been for over a year. The younger girl was brought into court at the age of fourteen for incor- rigibility. She had begun to stay away from home for days at a time, was very wild, went to dance halls, was flagrantly immoral, and her parents had no control over her. She was put on probation, but returned to court two months later, and again four months later, and was finally sent to Geneva, where she has been for about six months. The two brothers have never been delinquent. 39. This girl was the only child of very respectable German parents. The father was twenty-six and the mother twenty when they were married. They are decent, industrious people, but the father is stingy and very domineering with his wife and daughter. He has never allowed the wife any voice in family affairs. The family lived in the rear of a good tenement which they own. The girl worked as a stenographer, but was allowed to keep almost nothing except carfare and lunch money. The father allowed her no amusements and very little money. When the girl was fifteen, she ran away from home. She was placed by her parents in an in- stitution for delinquent girls, although she had never been immoral. The girl said the father had not spoken a kind word to her for five years. When she was seventeen, she forged her father's name to a post office money order for $300, went to the nearest large city and spent the money freely, going to theaters and having a good time. She was ar- rested and brought into the municipal court, but was released to a children's aid society. She went into domestic service, but within a few weeks stole from the family and guests of the house. She was then brought into the juvenile court, and sent to Geneva. She has run away from Geneva, and her whereabouts are unknown. The parents say she is unlucky rather than bad, but they are unwilling to take her back. 40. An American family with six children. The father was twenty and the mother twenty-three at the time of their marriage. The father 328 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO GIRLS seems to have been the black sheep in a decent family. He was a sign- painter but did not work and never, supported his family. The mother was a low sort of woman who neglected her children in every way. She is said to have been a "common street walker" and there is one illegiti- mate child in the family. The mother died of cancer in the county hos- pital. The father deserted the children after the mother died and was generally worthless and irresponsible. While the mother was in the hos- pital, this child who was then fourteen was brought into court as incorri- gible. She was released and put on probation, to live with a married sister. The girl would not stay with the sister as the court directed, grew to be very immoral, and was finally sold on the levee. When fifteen years old, she was taken from a house of prostitution by the police and held temporarily in the county jail; she was brought into court charged with immorality and was sent to Geneva, where she has been a little less than six months. An older sister, who was married, left her husband and was a common prostitute for a time. The three brothers were at one time in a home for dependents. Two of them have gone to live with the father, who recently remarried and now lives in the country. One is in an insti- tution for dependent boys. 41. This girl's mother and father were German. The mother, who is now dead, was the father's third wife, and after her death he married again. The father has had eighteen children. This girl had one sister who has "gone bad" and is not allowed to come home. The father is a "handy man" in a saloon, earning very low wages. The present wife had a store, and the father helped her in the store and lived with her for a year before they were married. This girl is not normally bright. She had immoral relations with the boys in the neighborhood and was con- sidered a contaminating influence in school when she was quite small. At the age of twelve she was brought into court, acknowledged her im- morality, and was sent to Geneva where she has been for two years. 42. A colored family in which both mother and father had been married before. The mother had six children from her former marriage; the father one. This girl is the oldest of three children of this marriage. The family came from the country about six years ago. The father is a foreman in a stable, and the mother goes out washing. The father is very severe with the children, beats them a great deal, and threatened to kill this girl because of her misbehavior. They have always been very much afraid of him. The home was clean but crowded; and the neigh- borhood was very disreputable. This girl left school when she was fifteen and in the seventh grade, and took a position at housework. Finally when she was sixteen, she was brought into court on the charge of stealing from her employer. She was put on probation, but in a short time she was again accused of stealing and of being immoral. At her father's request she was arrested and brought into court from a low rooming house, and was sent to Geneva, where she has been for nearly a year. She had been in several different immoral places and had been transferred from one to another, so that her parents traced her with difficulty. 43. This girl is the older of two children of American parents. The father was twenty-three and the mother twenty-one at the time of 329 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME marriage. The father was an electrical engineer, but never worked and was evidently a worthless person. He deserted the family seven years ago, just before the birth of the second child, and has recently been in the penitentiary. After his desertion the mother received charitable assis- tance for two years and most of the time went out to work, leaving the children in charge of a neighbor, who did not treat them properly. The mother has a very unsavory reputation and now keeps a low-grade room- ing house in a questionable neighborhood. She used to beat the children cruelly, and she wants to get rid of the younger child, whom she asks to have put into a home. She brought this girl into court at the age of nine, saying that she was incorrigible, stayed away from home, and was out late at night. The child has never finished the second grade but has been examined by the child-study department and is said not to be subnormal. When she was brought into court, there was evidence of her immorality with the boys of the neighborhood; and the court sent her to Geneva, where she has been for almost two years. 44. A family of Polish Jews with thirteen children. The father was twenty-one and the mother twenty at marriage. The father, who had been a lawyer in the old country, became a drunkard, and deserted the family six years ago. The mother has tried to take care of the children since then by washing and cleaning. They lived in a poor, dirty, crowded home and were forced to apply to a charitable society for aid. This girl worked for several years in different cheap department stores and was afterwards an artist's model. She got into bad company and then became very immoral. At the age of sixteen she was brought into court for incorrigi- bility and was sent to Geneva nearly a year and a half ago and is still there. 45. A decent, industrious Swedish family with eight children, of whom this girl is the eldest. The parents were married when the father was twenty-three and the mother twenty-one. Both parents have constantly suffered from ill health. The father was a fireman at one time, and they owned their own home and were "pretty well off." They lost the home under a mortgage while the father was ill, and not long after- wards he lost his job and they have had hard times ever since. He could get only unskilled work after this and earned very low wages, so that the mother had to go out washing and cleaning. When the mother was work- ing away from home she had to leave the children alone. This girl left school at the age of fourteen, when in the sixth grade, and has worked ever since. She had several places as a domestic servant and then was a department-store clerk. She began to be very difficult to manage. She was not good to her mother and neglected her when she was ill. It was said she frequented skating-rinks where she met immoral people. When she was eighteen years old, she was brought into court as incorrigible and committed to Geneva. The mother says that the girl got into bad company while at work and that she had never been troublesome before. She has been at Geneva for nearly a year. 46. A German family with seven children. The father was twenty and the mother eighteen when they were married. Both parents were intemperate. The mother died seven years ago, probably as a result of excessive drinking, and the father, who has remarried, is so worthless 330 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS RELATING TO GIRLS and drunken and has such a violent temper, that the stepmother wants to divorce him. The present home is a comfortable one in a good neighborhood, but both house and furniture belong to the step- mother. The stepmother brought these two girls into court when the younger one was eleven and the older one thirteen. They were said to be incorrigible and to be guilty of continued immorality. They were both sent to Geneva, where they have been for three years. These girls have an older sister, who has the cocaine habit and is not a good girl; she does not live at home. An older brother is an ex-convict; a younger brother is a ward of the court and at one time was committed to the John Worthy School. The stepmother says that her children, two boys, are good, but that her present husband's children are all bad except for one fifteen-year-old boy. 47. A Canadian family with two children. The father was nine- teen and the mother sixteen at the time of marriage. The father deserted the family and came to the United States, but the mother followed him with her two children. They were divorced later, and the father took the children and went to live with his brother. The mother supported herself, probably by leading an immoral life, but she is now remarried and has a comfortable home. The father drank and did not look after the children, and the relations between the aunt and this girl were very unpleasant. The girl became immoral and earned money in this way. She had had two illegal operations before she was brought into court. She was then seven- teen years old and in the eighth grade at school. The special charge against her was that she had been found in disorderly company with a revolver on her person. She was known to associate with the lowest characters. She was committed to Geneva, and after she had been there two years she was released. She is now on parole and is believed to be doing well. 48. A German-Jewish family with seven children. The father was twenty-three and the mother twenty at the time of their marriage. The father is an habitual drunkard, and has never supported the family. He deserts periodically but always comes back and promises to do better. He is supposed to be a fruit peddler but is really a common tramp, very brutal to his wife and children when he is at home, and is guilty of crim- inally assaulting the two older daughters. The mother, who speaks English slightly, is a poor hardworking woman. She has always tried to support the children and still takes in washing. During a period of nearly twenty years the family has been helped at different times by the county and by three different relief societies. The older sister of this girl is very immoral, steals from the mother, and abuses the younger children. She was at one time in a refuge. This girl did well in school, but at the age of fifteen she was sent to sell matches on the street, and a man took her to a house of prostitution and kept her there two weeks. She was found by a policeman and was brought into court and sent to Geneva, where she has been for nearly eight months. 49. A Russian-Jewish family with five children. The father was thirty-eight and the mother nineteen at the time of marriage. They came to this country when this girl was ten years old. The mother has never learned to speak English. They have a very untidy home and have 331 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME always lived in a very congested neighborhood where there are many cheap amusement places. The father, who is now an old man, this girl, and one of her sisters have worked in a tobacco factory. This girl, who completed only the third grade at school, was brought into court at the age of fifteen as incorrigible, because she was staying out very late at night, going to dance halls, and associating with vicious persons. She was a menace in the neighborhood because she was also leading other young girls astray. She was sent to Geneva. The parents did not seem to understand the misfortune that had befallen the girl and were not very much interested in what became of her. They merely said she was "all right." After about a year and a half at Geneva the girl was returned to her home. She has been working steadily and seems to be a "good girl." 50. A German family with five children. The father was twenty- six and the mother twenty-four when they were married, and they came to this country before the birth of this girl. The father, who was a stone- cutter by trade and drank heavily, died nine years ago, and the mother has had a hard time taking care of the family. She used to go out washing and tried to support the family in this way. The children have not helped her as much as they should. One of the sons is like the father and drinks heavily and is so abusive when drunk that he is not allowed to stay at home. At the age of fifteen this girl could neither read nor write. Her mother brought her into court when she was fifteen, charging that she was incorrigible and spent her time loitering about the railroad tracks in bad company. She admitted that she had been immoral and was sent to Geneva, but after she had been there two years her mother asked to have her released because her wages were needed at home. The girl, however, has not worked well; she has had several places as a domestic servant and has tried factory work since her return, but shows an incli- nation to go back to her old habits. She gives her mother all her wages when she works. 332 APPENDIX VI COPIES OF SCHEDULES USED IN THE INQUIRY* Instructions to Investigators You will probably best introduce yourself to the families by remembering the following facts: 1. The sole purpose of this inquiry is to serve the interests of neglected children. 2. You have been appointed a probation officer because this purpose is recognized by Judge Tuthill the Juvenile Court, and he will use the facts upon these schedules in determining whether an order of charge from probation should be entered in cases still open. 3. While the fact that you are a special probation officer should be stated to the child and parents enever probably helpful in establishing a good understanding, and while the dignity and value to the ild of such formal discharge by the court should be emphasized; yet it must be constantly borne in nd that your success in filling the schedules depends upon your courtesy and tact and respectful con- eration and not upon your authority. Try to engage in conversation which follows in rather close order the succession of the questions on j schedule. The order of these questions has been arranged with a view to the natural and easy de- opment of a conversation disclosing the facts sought. For the field work. SCHEDULE I is to be completed with Schedule II and Schedule III. SCHEDULE II is to be filled by the investigator from the information obtained by visit to the home 1 interviews with the child, parents and other members of the family or neighbors from whom it is .cticable to secure information. : SCHEDULE III is to be filled from information obtained from probation officers or employers. In visiting employers do not say anything reflecting upon the child concerning whom you wish to inquire, and only if necessary to your purpose state that he is or has been a ward of the Juvenile Court, in no case stating his offence, but merely indicating that you have been directed to learn of his progress. The questions are divided into two classes; (a) Those like i, and 17 to 26 on Schedule 1 1 which are be answered by direct quotation or observation without any expression of opinion by investigator and Those like 27, 28, 64 and 68 which necessitate an opinion from the investigator. In answering questions under (b) the investigator will state as far as possible facts forming basis for opinion as well as opinion itself, e. g. in answering No. 28, specify such particulars as stoppage of drains or water supply, leaks in plumbing, foul or insufficient closets, uncollected garbage, dirty alleys or street. Do not say without details "sanitary conditions poor." In obtaining answers to such questions as 23, 64, 65, 66, your success depends especially upon your tfulness. To aid in securing specific answers to i and 67, parents may be asked if being newsboy, or selling at (ht, staying in News Alley at night or doing any work away from home at night was bad for boy. School Statement It is especially important to secure the School Statement in every case filled out by the child inde- idently in the presence of the investigator. The purpose of this statement is to obtain a clear indication of the child's command of the English guage. In answering 2 and 3 persuade him to put down all he will. If he can't do more have him te "don't know" or in some way secure an attempt at written words. Do not allow him to sign name. If child can't write English but can write some other language have statement filled out as he can. Keep the statement when filled with schedule to which it belongs and at the first opportunity insert C No. in space at top. If he has attended night school since going to work have him state what he learned and whether he nks it helped him. * It has been thought best not to publish copies of two schedules dealing with the Delinquent '1 where Delinquency Involves Sex Relationship. Anyone engaged in a similar inquiry may obtain l>ies of these schedules from the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy. 333 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME SS W o B] ca u u. u s < z NOIAVdnOOO 334 3SVD dO AUOJLSIH SCHEDULES USED IN THE INQUIRY Name of Investigator Case Number . SCHEDULE II FAMILY I Comments of parents on child's progress under probation? 2 Present habits of child industriousness, dutifulness, reading, drink, gambling, morality, drugs, tobacco?.... 3 Reciprocal attitude of parents and child? (e. g. Who spends the child's wages?). Recreation 4 Present associates? 5 Present amusements? 6 Belongs to what gangs, clubs, societies, if any?. 7 Special recreation facilities within reach of child, good and bad?. 8 In what respects were these features different in the past?. Relation to Probation Officer 9 Did child visit probation officer, or probation officer visit child? 335 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME 10 Frequency of each kind of visit? 1 1 Which better, and why? 12 Material aid, if any, secured for child or family by probation officer? 13 Work secured for child by probation officer? 14 Pleasure outings secured for child by probation officer? 15 Additional comments of parents on services of probation officer 16 Record of child in other courts and institutions. (Record on Schedule I) Dwelling I? 18 '9 2O 21 22 23 24 25 26 DATE Back or Front? What How many Rooms? How many Stoves? Closet Loca- tion? Tub? Rent How much? Owned by Family? Amount of Mort- gage? How much Sub-Leti a. 1900 *b. c. At present * Write here the date of child's first appearance in court. 27 Note condition of present dwelling as to cleanliness and furnishings 28 If sanitary conditions of house and neighborhood are notably bad, specify particulars. 29 If morals of house and neighborhood are notably bad, specify particulars 336 SCHEDULES USED IN THE INQUIRY Family 30 3' 32 33 34 35 Years in Years in Age at Speak Write Read U.S. Chicago Marriage English English English i. Father / 2 17 ^ T/A/i " (fr c\j) 9. Mother 7 "/"' , 16 Where in U. S. besides Chicago have father or mother lived and for how long in each place?.. 17 Did father and mother live in city or country before coming to U. S.?. I- (8 Occupation of father before immigration [9 Occupation of mother before immigration .-. \o If there has been sickness, consumption, accident or special distress in family at different times, note its character, whether incidental to employment, and its effect on earnings and family comfort Is there known insanity, epilepsy, feeble mindedness, or other nervous disorders among near relatives or members of the family? Specify What membership among members of family in insurance or benefit societies, or unions? 13 What relief has there been, at what dates and from what sources benefit societies, unions etc.?.... 337 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME Present Family Status 44 Family Relation- ship F.M.B.S. 45 Age Last Birth- day 46 Living with Family 47 Industry 48 Occupation 49 How long has child worked? 50 Earn per week 51 Amt. con- tributed to family per week 52 Cause of Death a b c d e f h i j. .. k 1 53 What members of family worked and what their occupations in* (Record on Schedule I.) 54 What members of family worked and what their occupations and incomes in 1900, if at such date they differed from both the present and* 'Insert date of child's first appearance in court. Child School history, past and present, last grade, dates and record? (Record on Schedule I.) (School statement to be made out by child in presence of investigator.) 55 Employment History Dates 56 Industry 57 Occupation 58 Duration of occupation 59 Hours of beginning and ending labor per day 60 Hours of beginning and ending labor per night 61 No. of weeks per year of night work 62 Usual earnings per week a. Present. b. c. d e f. g. While at School h. 338 SCHEDULES USED IN THE INQUIRY 63 Has child had any injury or illness due to employment or accident? Give particulars. 64 What are the habits of the members of the family as to drink, gambling, immorality, indus- triousness, reading, amusements, etc.? 65 Note in what respects these habits differed in the past. 66 Criminal record, if any, of other members of the family?. 67 What were the strongest influences in making the child a delinquent? a. In Father's opinion b. In Mother's opinion c. In Investigator's opinion 68 What were the strongest influences in the improvement of the child's conduct?. a. In Father's opinion b. In Mother's opinion c. In Investigator's opinion 339 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME Name of Investigator Case Number.. SCHEDULE III PROBATION 1. Comments of probation officer on child's progress 2. Present habits of child industriousness, dutifulness, reading, drink, gambling, morality, drugs, tobacco? 3. Record of child in other courts and institutions. (Record on Schedule I.) 4. What were the usual dealings of officer with child during visits or interviews?. 5. Co-operation of probation officer with parents, school, church, employer? 6. Did child visit probation officer, or probation officer visit child?. 7. Frequency of each kind of visit? 8. Which better, and why? 9. Material aid or benefits, if any, secured for child or family by probation officer? 10. Work secured for child by probation officer? 340 SCHEDULES USED IN THE INQUIRY 1 1 . Pleasure outings secured for child by probation officer?. 1 2. Has child been under care of regular, volunteer or police probation officer?. 13. Probation officer's attitude towards child?.... 14. Reciprocal attitude of parents and child? (e. g. Who spends the child's wages?) Recreation. 15. Present associates? 16. Present amusements? 17. Belongs to what gangs, clubs, societies?. 18. Special recreation facilities within reach of child, good and bad?. 19. I n what respects were these features different in the past? Habits and Health. 20. What are the habits of the members of the family as to drink, gambling, im- norality, industriousness, reading, amusements, etc.? 21. Note in what respects those habits differed in the past. 341 THE DELINQUENT CHILD AND THE HOME 22. If there has been sickness, consumption, accident or special distress in family at different times, note its date, character, whether incidental to employment, and itsi effect on earnings and family comfort I 23. Is there known insanity, epilepsy, feeble mindedness or other nervous disorders among near relatives or members of the family? 24. Criminal record, if any, of other members of the family. 25. What in the opinion of the probation officer were the strongest influences in making the child a delinquent? 26. What in the opinion of the probation officer were the strongest influences in the improvement of the child's conduct? 27. What is the child's record with his present or latest employer?. 342 SCHEDULES USED IN THE INQUIRY SCHOOL STATEMENT. 1. I am I \S yean old. I left school when I vas Uf- / was then in the grade. I began to go to school when I was tf years old. 2, In Chicago I haoe attended the AtLttL - < schools. 3. The studies which have helped me most to earn money are 343 INDEX INDEX ABANDONMENT. See Desertion ABNORMAL CHILDREN: relation to delinquency, 18, 160, 161, 169, 172, 173, 199 ACCREDITED INSTITUTIONS. See Insti- tutions ADDAMS, JANE, 157, 159 ADJUSTMENT TO CONDITIONS of Ameri- can life: problem for foreigners, 55-57, 62-69 ADMINISTRATION BOARD. See Board of A dministration ADOPTION OF CHILDREN, 209, 216, 217 AGE CERTIFICATE. See Working Papers AGE LIMIT in Juvenile Court Law, 12, 23, 25 AGE OF BOYS: brought to court, 1899- 1909, 24, 26; brought to court not entitled to working papers, 139; entering and leaving school, 128, 129; from comfortable homes, 167; previously committed, 3; sent to the Bridewell, 3; truant, 141 AGE OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY, 185, 189, 195, 204, 205 AGE OF GIRLS: brought to court, 1899- 1909, 24, 26; at time of commit- ment to institutions, 143 AGE OF PARENTS: foreign born, at immigration, 63; at time of mar- riage, 123-125 AMIGH, OPHELIA, 6, 44 ANGEL GUARDIAN ORPHAN ASYLUM, 46, 214, 216 APPRENTICESHIP AND SKILLED EMPLOY- MENT ASSOCIATION, London, 80 BAD BOYS: criminalized by old methods of dealing with their offenses, 186, BAD BOYS (Continued) 187; who cannot be explained away, subjects for investigation by Juvenile Psychopathic Institute, 160, 161, 169, 172, 173 BATHING BEACHES, 155 BIDWELL, JOSEPH R., JR., 6 BLIND-ALLEY OCCUPATIONS, 74, 80 BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION, 218-220 BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION ACT, 1909: provides for accredited institutions, 214-216 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF PUBLIC CHARITIES, 215 BOARD OF CONTROL, 220 BOARD OF EDUCATION, 2 BOARD OF PUBLIC CHARITIES ACT, 214, 218 BOARDING-OUT CHILDREN, 9 BOOTH CLASSIFICATION, 70-73 BOYS: between fourteen and sixteen, problem of, 131, 132, 138, 140, 141. See also Bad Boys; Delinqiient Chil- dren; Unmanageable Boy; and other general headings BRIDEWELL: age of boys at commit- ment, 3; fines imposed upon boys, i, 2; its failure to improve condi- tions, 1,4; number of boys sent to, 2; previous commitments to, 3 BUSSE, WILLIAM, 6 CHANCERY COURTS: jurisdiction for protection of children, 181, 182, 189, 194, 196, 197, 200, 203 CHARGES. See Offenses 347 INDEX CHARITIES BOARD. See Board of Public Charities CHICAGO INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, 40, 218 CHICAGO SCHOOL OF Civics AND PHI- LANTHROPY, 6, 14, 80 CHILD LABOR LAW: establishment of, 1903-04, 137-139; restrictions which would add to the efficacy of the Act, 138, 175 CHILD-STUDY DEPARTMENT: connected with the Juvenile Court, 199. See also Juvenile Psychopathic Institute CHILD WAGE-EARNERS: eldest or young- est, effect in relation to delinquency, 116, 117; employments of boys, 74, 75; employments of and dangers to girls, 76-81; exploitation of, by avaricious parents, 81-83, 184-185; girls as wage-earners, 96; heavy burden of responsibility, 74, 116, 117; parental right to child's wages, 31, 80-83, 89, 183-185 CHILD WITHOUT PLAY: relation to delinquency, 150-159 CHILDREN. See Delinquent; Dependent; Neglected: Truant CHILDREN'S BILL, ENGLISH, 194, 201 CHILDREN'S CHARTER, ENGLISH, 187, 188 CHILDREN'S HOME AND AID SOCIETY. See Illinois Children's Home and Aid Society CHURCH: as an organization fails in moral care of the young, 45, 46 CHURCH HOMES: for dependent chil- dren, 46 CITY PRISON. See Bridewell Civic NEGLECT: largely responsible for delinquency, 46 CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION: testimony of Judge Pinckney concerning the Juvenile Court, 202-246 CLASSIFICATION OF CHILDREN according to statute law, 1 1 CLASSIFICATION OF FAMILIES into eco- nomic groups, 70-74, 170-173 COLORED RACE. See Negroes COMFORTABLE HOME. See Unmanage- able Boy COMMITMENT denned, 215, 217 COMMON LAW: fixes age of criminal responsibility, 185, 187; parental obligations under, 182-185. See also Criminal Jurisprudence COMPULSORY EDUCATION: evasion of law tends to delinquency, 131-133, 142; failure of foreign parents to understand, 64, 66, 69, 130, 139, 184; legal school age, 127-133; necessity for better provision for boys between fourteen and sixteen, 132, 133; new law enforced, 1903- 04, 138-140; punishment for par- ents who evade the law, 139. See also School Attendance CONGESTED DISTRICTS, 150-153, 158; map, 152 CONTROL, BOARD OF. See Board of Control COOK COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, 6 COUNTRY LIFE: degraded conditions of, 107 COURTS. See Chancery Courts; Juve- nile Court; Police Court CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE: fundamental thought not reformation, but pun- ishment, 186, 203 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AGAINST CHIL- DREN, rulings of supreme courts: Colorado, 200; Idaho, 190; Illi- nois, 193; Louisiana, 189; Michi- gan, 191, 192, 194; New Hamp- shire, 189; Oregon, ^200; Pennsyl- vania, 190; Utah, 192, 197 CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY, AGE OF, 185, 189, 195, 204; raised in 1907, 205 CROWDED HOME, relation to delin- quency: ages of parents at mar- riage, 123-125; cruelty of parents, 1 20, 121; incompetence and shift- lessness, 121, 122; mixed families, 119-122; place of the child in the family, 116-118; size of family, 115, 116; step-parent, a cause of friction, 119-121; unsympathetic parents, 122, 123 348 INDEX DANCE HALLS, 158 DEGRADED HOME, relation to delin- quency: child a victim of degraded surroundings, 101-105, 106, 108- 110, 113, 114; conditions result in immorality of girls, 108, 113; dependency due to, no, 112; par- ents rights subject to control of court, 114, 173, 178-188, 194, 199; physical surroundings wretched, 109, no DELINQUENCY MAP: showing location of homes of delinquent children, 150 DELINQUENT CHILDREN: are also neg- lected children, 170; condition prior to enactment of juvenile court law, 203; court's definition, ii ; custodial care of, 205, 221; methods by which they are dis- covered and brought to court, 206, 207; not criminals, 4, 203-205; period covered by court records, 14; selection of groups for special study, 15; support of child by parent, method of enforcing, 242. See also Dependent-delinquent; Semi-delinquent DELINQUENT CHILDREN, STATISTICS, 1899-1909: ages for each year, 24, 26; ages of parents at marriage, 124; disposition of cases, 40; number brought to court each year, 21 ; number of children in families, 116; number of girls taken from immoral resorts, 37; number of times children were brought to court in eight-year period, 42; offenses each year, 28, 29, 36, 39; place of child in the family, 117 DENVER JUVENILE COURT, 198 DEPENDENT CHILDREN : condition prior to enactment of Juvenile Court Law, 1899, 203; court's definition, ii ; institutions for, 40; methods by which they are discovered and brought to court, 206, 207; no public institutions, but semi-pri- vate, 217; question of the juris- diction of Juvenile Court, 185 DEPENDENT-DELINQUENT CHILDREN: statistics, in; typical cases, 112, DESERTION, 91, 92, 98, 102 DESPLAINES:- Chicago Industrial School for Girls, 218; farm school, 46 DETENTION HOME, 5, 198; directions as to bringing children into, 235, 236; duty of police to take delin- quent child to, 206, 207; function of, 226-228 DETROIT JUVENILE COURT, 191, 192 DISORDERLY CONDUCT: defined, 31 EARNINGS OF THE CHILD. See Child Wage-earners ECONOMIC GROUPS: classification of families, 70-74, 170-173 EDUCATION, COMPULSORY. See Com- pulsory Education EMANCIPATION TO THE CHILD: father's right to give, 184 EMPLOYMENTS. See Occupations EPILEPTIC CHILDREN: no state institu- tion for care of, 142, 244 ERRING WOMAN'S REFUGE, 108 FAMILIES: classification into economic groups, 70-74, 170-173; family the unit with which the court deals, 170, 172, 174; girls' families of lower grade than those of boys, 73; number of children in, statistics, 115, 116; two broad classifications, 173 FAMILY: not the child, unit with which the court deals, 170, 172, 174 FAMILY HISTORIES: show importance of family unit, 6; value of, in court's decisions, 5-10 FAMILY PARAGRAPHS, 18, 19, 267 ff., 3 i 4 ff. FAMILY SCHEDULE, 16-18; copies of, 333 FARM SCHOOLS: Desplaines, 46; Glen- wood, 218 FEDERATION OF PROTESTANT CHURCHES 46 349 INDEX FEEBLE-MINDED CHILDREN: girls com- mitted to Geneva, 145; list of boys brought to court as delinquent, 147-149; only one institution for their care, 142 FEEBLE-MINDEDNESS: relation to illit- eracy, 142, 144, 145 FIELD HOUSES, 155, 156 FINES: imposed upon boys sent to Bridewell, i, 2 FLIPPING TRAINS, 32, 33 FOREIGN CHILD: problem of adjust- ment to conditions of American life, 55-57, 62-68, 184, 185 FOREIGN COLONIES, their relation to delinquency: attitude toward prop- erty rights, 68; child's sense of superiority to parents, 67, 68; compulsory education not under- stood, 64, 66, 184; failure to learn English, 63, 184; rural habit of thought, 65, 66; separateness of life and ideals, 55-64 FOREIGN NATIONALITIES. See Na- tionality FOREIGN PARENTS. See Parents FRIENDLY VISITOR, 163-165 GANG PROBLEM, 33-35, 41, 156, 168 GENEVA STATE TRAINING SCHOOL. See State Training School for Girls GIRLS: country girls, perils of their occupations as compared with those of city girls, 77-79; dangers of public dance halls, 158; depart- ment stores, dangers of, 16, 77; dependent delinquent, 111-113; domestic service, dangers of, 78; early employment, victims of, 76; homeless girls who are delinquent, typical cases from court records, 93-95; illiteracy worse than that of boys, 144; immoral resorts, 37; means used to protect girls' repu- tations, 37, 38; methods of secur- ing information relating to de- linquent, 16, 18; occupations be- fore commitment, statistics, 78; offenses, problems presented in dealing with, 16, 17, 35-38, 44-47; school status of delinquent, 142- GIRLS (Continued) 145; temptations to delinquency due to conditions of employment, 77~79> to depraved homes, 106- 108; testimonies as to beginning of irregular relationships, 159; unregulated amusements, results of, 157, 158; wage-earners, 96. See also Delinquent Children, Sta- tistics GLENWOOD MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL FARM, 40, 218 GROUPS, ECONOMIC: classification by. See Economic Groups GUARDIAN: appointment of, 209 HEALY, DR. WILLIAM J., 234, 235 HOMES: effort of poor to purchase, work hardship to children, 81-83. See also Crowded Home; Degraded Home HOUSE OF CORRECTION, 127 HOUSE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD, 40, 44, 46, 217 HOUSEKEEPER, VISITING, 173 HULL-HOUSE: its assistance in the investigation, 6; its situation, 151, iS3 KURD, HON. HARVEY B., 4 HURLEY, TIMOTHY D.. 23 IGNORANT CHILD. See School Attend- ance ILLINOIS CHILDREN'S HOME AND AID SOCIETY, 210 ILLINOIS INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, 40, 218 ILLINOIS STATE TRAINING SCHOOL FOR GIRLS. See State Training School for Girls ILLITERACY: a contributing cause of delinquency, 45, 64, 65, 75; girls more illiterate than boys, 144; relation to truancy and feeble- mindedness, 136-142, 144 IMMIGRANTS. See Foreign Colonies 350 INDEX IMMORALITY OF GIRLS: ages and num- bers taken from immoral resorts, 37; dangers of public dance halls, 158; means used to protect girls brought to court on this charge, 37, 38; testimonies as to begin- nings of irregular relationships, 159; unregulated amusements, re- suits of, 157, 158 INCORRIGIBILITY: defined, 30, 35 INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS ACT, 203, 215, 221 INDUSTRIAL SCHOOLS. See Chicago; Illinois INSANITY AND DEGRADATION in the home, 103, 104 INSTITUTIONS: accredited, 214-216; available to the court in disposing of delinquent children, 44, 217, 218; number of children committed to, 1890-1909, 40. See also names of institutions INVESTIGATION OF JUVENILE COURT RECORDS: methods pursued, 15- 18; period covered, 14, 15; prac- tical results, 16; purpose, n, 19; selection and limitation of ma- terial, 12, 13 INVESTIGATORS OF JUVENILE COURT RECORDS, 14, 73 JEWISH HOME FOR THE FRIENDLESS, 121 JOHN WORTHY MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL, i, 2, 40, 44, 217; a prison school for worst type of delinquent, 133 JOLIET PRISON, 7, 127 JUDGE, CHILDREN'S: basis of his de- cisions, 19; desirability of having judge give entire time to juvenile court, 196; many cases settled in judge's chambers, 207; nearness to children in court room, 199; personality important, 197; prob- lem to be determined by, 198; qualifications necessary, 197, 198; woman judge desirable, 175 JUKES FAMILY: a celebrated family of criminals, 39 JUNIOR BUSINESS CLUB, 40 JUVENILE COURT: basis of judge's de- cision, 19; classes of children dealt with, ii ; differences in method of dealing with children brought into court, 40; difficulty of its task, 19, 20, 174; disposition of cases of all children brought to court, 40, 207-211; equipment and facilities, 5, 9, 23, 43, 44; establishment, conditions which led to, 1-4; foundation principle, 187; general policy, 43; great primary service, 8, 19, 35 ; institutions available to the court in disposing of de- linquent children, 44, 217, 218; jurisdiction over children until twenty-one, 204, 205, 221; legal problems involved in establish- ment, 181-201; novel features, 13, 181-210; number of boys and girls brought to court, 1899-1909, 24; number of cases handled, 243; object, 199; officers, 6; reforms needed, 243-246; relation to other courts, 174; release of children from, 223-225; substitutes for natural parental care should con- sist of both paternal and maternal elements, 175; time given by judge to the work of, 223, 229 JUVENILE COURT LAW: age limit, 12, 23, 25; amended, 1907, 219; criminal responsibility and pro- cedure in various states, 188-200; development in practice and pro- cedure, 204-246; enacted, 1899, 2, 4, 187; includes dependent, neglected, and delinquent chil- dren, 205; institution to which children are sent must be of same religious belief as parents, 218; protection, how it is accomplished, 1 88; report may be asked for from accredited institutions, 214- 216; special features, 4 JUVENILE COURTS OF AMERICA : studied and adopted by other countries, 188 JUVENILE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION: secured censorship of plays in cheap theaters, 157, 158 JUVENILE PSYCHOPATHIC INSTITUTE : for study of abnormal cases, 5, 18, 169, 172, 173, 199; value of its work, 234 35' INDEX KALES, ALBERT M., 202 KOREN, JOHN, 6 LEGAL PROBLEMS involved in establish- ment of Juvenile Court, 181-201 LINDSEY, JUDGE BEN B., 198 LONDON: children's magistrate, 195; juvenile courts, 197; supervision of children leaving school to enter trades, 79, 80 LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL: Juvenile Advisory Committees appointed by, 79 LOUISE HOME, 214, 215 MACK, JULIAN W., 6, 23, 181 McMANAMAN, J. J., 23 MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL. See John Worthy Manual Training School MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL FOR BOYS ACT, 203, 215, 221 MAPS OF CHICAGO: showing density of population by wards, 152; showing location of homes of delinquent children (folder), 150 MENTALLY DEFECTIVE BOYS. See Feeble-minded Children MINORS: police orders for protection of, 176, 182 MOTHER: community slow in giving her equal rights with father, 175; de- linquent, 106, 107 MOTHER, WORKING: earnings, 84, 85; her necessary neglect of children, 6, 82, 86, 89, 95^97, 171; occupations, 84, 85; physical and industrial un- fitness, 71; statistics, 7, 84, 85 NATIONALITY: of delinquent boys, and age at which they entered school, 128; Jof foreign born parents, 60, 61 NATIVITY OF PARENTS: statistics, 57, 59, 61, 62 NEGLECTED CHILDREN: court's defini- tion, ii NEGROES: families, size of, 116; popula- tion, 56, 57, 59, 61, 62; quarters, location and sanitary conditions, 153 NEIGHBORHOOD NEGLECT: relation to delinquency, 150, 159, 170, 171 NICKEL THEATER, 157, 158 NURSE, SCHOOL, 173 OCCUPATIONS: boys, 74, 75; girls, 76- 79; London's supervision of chil- dren leaving school to enter trades, 79, 80; working mothers, 84, 85 OFFENSES: of boys and girls brought to court, 1899-1909, 28, 29, 36; of boys from comfortable homes, 161- 166; nature of charges which bring children into court, 31-39, 74; number of children brought into court, 28, 29, 36, 39; number of delinquent boys from comfortable homes, 166; property rights, com- parison of boys and girls for vio- lation of, 38, 39; selected list of charges for which children are brought to court, 48-54; statistics, 28, 29, 36, 39, 1 66; terms used in describing misdemeanors, 27-33 ORPHAN AND HOMELESS CHILD, relation to delinquency: desertion by par- ents, 91, 92, 98, 102; half-orphan- age? 95-99> insanity or crime in- creases the danger to the home, 103; parental condition, statistics, 91, 92, 119; re-marriage of either parent, 99, 100, 119-121; substi- tute for family life, problem of, 90; unfit relatives, 100; unfitness of surviving parent, 101-103 PARENTAL CARE: delinquency caused by lack of, 90-101 ; substitutes for, should consist of both paternal and maternal elements, 175 PARENTAL CONDITION of delinquent child, statistics, 91, 92, 119 PARENTAL DUTY AND CONTROL: inade- quate, 30-32, 45; legal aspect as to support, maintenance, protection and education, 182-185, 195; new principles of, 13, 173 352 INDEX PARENTAL POWER OF THE STATE, 181, 182, 185, 187, 189, 194, 199 PARENTAL RIGHTS: country slow in giving mother equal rights with father, 175; discrimination of the court in judging, 173; superseded by the authority of the court, 114, 178-188, 194, 199; wages of child, 31, 80-83, 89, 183-185 PARENTAL SCHOOL: for truant boys, 22, 28, 40, 139 PARENTS: ages at marriage, 123-125; age of foreign, at immigration, 63; apparent inferiority to the child, 67, 68; failure to understand compul- sory education, 64, 66, 69, 130, 139, 184; nativity, statistics, 57, 59, 61, 62; number of foreign, understand- ing English, 63; rural people, 65. See also Step-parent PARK COMMISSION, 154 PARKS: areas of, in seven congested wards, 155; establishment, 154 PAROLE OF CHILDREN: to citizens who are officers of institutions, 214-218; on farms, 212, 213; semi-delinquent children paroled to reputable citi- zens, 211 PHYSICAL AND MENTAL CONDITION OF CHILD : responsible for delinquency, 88 PINCKNEY, JUDGE MERRITT W., 23; tes- timony before Cook County Civil Service Commission, 1911, 202-246 PLAY: essentials of satisfying, 157 PLAYGROUNDS: recreation facilities fur- nished by, 155-157 POLICE: duty under instruction of Ju- venile Court, 206, 207, 241: orders for protection of minors, 175, 176 POLICE COURT: jurisdiction over chil- dren prior to 1899, i PONTIAC REFORMATORY, 2, 7, 127 POPULATION: congested districts, 150- I S3> J 58; density by wards, statis- tics, 151; foreign, number of na- tionalities represented, 55, 61; map showing density, 152 POVERTY, relation to delinquency: ex- ploitation of the child by avaricious POVERTY (Continued) parents, 81-83, J 84, 185; hardships of the child wage-earner, 74-81; physical and mental condition of the child, 88; working mother, 84- 86 PRISONS. See names of prisons PROBATION: denned, 215; keynote of Juvenile Court legislation, 195-199; practice with dependent and delin- quent children, 208-213, 215 PROBATION DEPARTMENT, 216, 217; jurisdiction of, 229; taking charge of child after trial, 233 PROBATION OFFICERS: chief officer tried on charges of incompetence, 202; cooperation between city and county officers, 240; division into groups for special work, 243; duties of head officer, 233-235; duties of, in taking charge of children before trial, 232; duty of being present in the court, 230; duty to furnish in- formation and assistance to judge, 231 ; influence of, in petty disputes, 199; paid staff , expense assumed by county, 1905, 23; parents' appre- ciation of services, 167; qualifica- tions, 174, 185, 212; volunteer, character of work done by, 210-213 PROBATION SCHEDULE, 16, 42 PROPERTY: INTEREST OF CHILD: as es- sential to jurisdiction, 181, 182 PROPERTY RIGHTS: comparison of boys and girls for violation of, 38, 39; inability of immigrants to under- stand American ideas, 68; responsi- bility of poverty for violation of, 86-88 PROSTITUTION: ages and numbers of girls taken from immoral resorts, 37; dangers of public dance halls, 158; means used to protect girls brought to court on charge of im- morality, 37, 38; testimonies of girls as to beginnings of irregular relationships, 159; unregulated amusements, results of, 157, 158 PSYCHOPATHIC INSTITUTE. See Juve- nile Psychopathic Institute 353 INDEX RAILROAD PROPERTY: trespass against, a legal wrong, 68 RAILROADS: their responsibility for de- linquency, 32, 87, 88, 153 RECREATION: relation to delinquency, IS4-IS9 RECREATION CENTERS: establishment and relative frequency of, 154; number of, 155 RECREATION FACILITIES, 155-157 REFORM INSTEAD or PUNISHMENT: growth of the idea, 186 REFORMATORIES: importance of, in dealing with juvenile offenders, 186; regarded as prisons by Illinois, 194. See also Pontiac Reformatory REFUGE FOR PROTESTANT GIRLS, 40, 44, 217 RELEASE OF CHILDREN from the Ju- venile Court, 223-225 REPEATERS, 41, 42, 67, 120, 122 REPUTABLE CITIZENS: as guardians of the children, 208-211; semi-delin- quent children paroled to, 211 ROOMING HOUSES: ages and numbers of girls taken from, 37 RURAL COMMUNITIES: degraded condi- tions in, 107 RURAL STANDARDS OF THE IMMIGRANT: a factor in adjustment to American standards, 65, 68, 69 ST. CHARLES SCHOOL FOR BOYS, 40, 44, i33, 217 ST. MARY'S TRAINING SCHOOL FOR BOYS, 40, 46, 218 ST. VINCENT'S ORPHAN ASYLUM, 214, 216 SANITARY INSPECTOR, 174 SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, relation to de- linquency : age at which boys leave school, statistics, 129; age, legal, 127-133; boys' own estimate of help received, 133-136; girls, school status of, 142-145; length of attendance, 128-131; nation- ality and age at which boys entered SCHOOL ATTENDANCE (Continued) school, statistics, 128; rate of prog- ress during,, 128, 130, 143, 144; re- quired attendance, period of ex- tended, 139; truancy, its connec- tion with illiteracy and delinquency, 140-142, 144. See also Compulsory Education SCHOOL CERTIFICATE. See Working Papers SCHOOL NURSE, 1 73 SCHOOL STATEMENT: data furnished by, 127-145; requirements, 126 SCHOOLS: in House of Correction, 187; in Juvenile Court building, 5, 23. See also School Attendance SEMI-DELINQUENT CHILDREN, 210, 211 STATE TRAINING SCHOOL FOR GIRLS, GENEVA, 6, 40, 44, 73, 217; investi- gation of family histories, 17 STATISTICS. See List of Tables, p. ix STEALING: methods used to secure resti- tution, 239; serious offense of the boy from the comfortable home, 161-165. See also Offenses STEP-PARENT: as a factor in life of delin- quent child, 99, 100, 119-121, 161 STEWART, ETHELBERT, 6 SUBNORMAL CHILDREN: relation to de- linquency, 1 8 SUPPORT OF CHILD BY PARENT: legal aspect, 183-185; method of enforc- ing court order, 242 SUPREME COURT RULINGS. See Crim- inal Procedure Against Children TABLES. See List of Tables, p. ix TAYLOR, DR. GRAHAM, 6 THEATERS, NICKEL, 157, 158 THURSTON, HENRY W., 23 TOYNBEE, ARNOLD: Quoted, 81 TRADES. See Occupations TRAINING SCHOOL FOR BOYS. See John Worthy Manual Training School TRAINING SCHOOL FOR GIRLS. See State Training School for Girls 354 INDEX TRUANCY : relation to illiteracy and de- linquency, 137-142; statistics, 141 TRUANT CHILDREN: court's definition, ii ; Parental School established for care of, 22, 28, 40, 139 TRUANT OFFICER, 174 TUTHILL, JUDGE RICHARD S., 6, 23, 187 UNMANAGEABLE BOY from the comfort- able home: ages of boys, 167; gang influence, 168; indulgent parents and lack of discipline, 166-168; in- explicable cases, 160, 161, 169, 172, 173; offenses of delinquent boys, 161-166; probation and friendly visitor helpful means of dealing with, 163-165, 167; statistics, 166; unfavorable conditions in the home, other than pecuniary, 161, 162, 164, 165, 172, 173 VAGRANCY denned, 31, 118, 119 VICE, ORGANIZED: situations requiring investigation, 17 VISITATION COMMITTEE: for the investi- gation of institutions, 214 WAGE-EARNERS. earners See Child Wage- WAGES OF CHILDREN: parental right tb control of, 31, 80-83, 183-185 WAGES OF WORKING MOTHERS, 84, 85 WARDS OF THE COURT: defined, 181 WITTER, JOHN H., 23, 202, 216 WOMAN JUDGE: desirability of having for juvenile court, 175 WOMEN: influenced Board of Education to establish school in House of Cor- rection, 187; secured reformatory methods of dealing with youthful offenders, 183, 184; secured segre- gation measures, 187 WORKING BOYS' HOME, 210 WORKING MOTHER. 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