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IT IS WISER AND LESS EXPENSIVE TO SAVE CHILDREN THAN TO PUNISH CRIMINALS

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OBJECTS OF
OF THE JUVENILE COURT RECORD

The object of the JUVENILE COURT RECORD is to disseminate the principles of the Juvenile Court throughout the United States, and, in fact, the entire world.

When the Juvenile Court was first established the sociologists of the entire country stood by watching anxiously the outcome of this new departure in child-saving methods. It was realized that a medium was needed whereby the results accomplished by the Juvenile Court might be set forth in an intelligent manner. The JUVENILE COURT RECORD stepped into the breach and has devoted its pages exclusively to news of the various juvenile courts. As a result of the publicity thus given to the foundation principles and routine work of the Cook County Juvenile Court other States have passed juvenile court laws, and bills are being prepared in nearly every State in the Union to be presented at the next sessions of the Legislatures of the various States providing for similar legislation.

The foundation thought and idea of the Juvenile Court law is that children should be kept in the home to the greatest extent possible. The child's own home is preferred by the Court, but in lieu of that it is intended that any good home where proper care and training will be given shall be provided for the child. The State, in assuming its relationship as the guardian of the

rights of the child, assumed a serious responsibility. Every child has a right to education and physical care. Primarily, this duty, lies with the parents. This obligation should be enforced wherever possible. The family is the unit of society, and most of the evils of society arise from demoralized homes. It is the duty of the State to co-operate with the family as long as possible and help hold it up. If, however, for any reason the family fails, then a new home is necessary until such time as the family may again be brought together. If the family proves recreant and abdicates its functions altogether, it is the duty of the State to secure as nearly normal conditions for the children under its care and custody as may be in its power. The home is the normal place for a child's education and training.

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The fact that children are to be placed in homes presupposes the idea that some agency will be at hand to find a childless home for a homeless child. To the limit of its resources the JUVENILE COURT RECORD assists in finding homes for the homeless, helpless little waifs drifting about the country. little unfortunates need an advocate, and the JUVENILE COUR RECORD acts in this capacity, standing side by side with them, pointing the way to a brighter, happier life, where the weeds of evil will be choked out of existence and the flowers of hope will bloom in their place.

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Simon Guggenheim has donated $20,000 to establish baths and a swimming pool for the boys of the Denver Juvenile Court. This amount has been pledged by the millionaire smelter to Judge B. B. Lindsey.

Judge Sweeney of Newark, New Jersey, after a Conference with Miss Mary Philbrook announced that he would hold a Session of the Juvenile Court every Saturday morning. All of the cases of this character will be tried at this Session.

The Atlanta Juvenile Court has been operating under a municipal ordinance and has abundantly demonstrated its practical efficiency and great moral good, and it might be well for cities to copy after Atlanta, where they cannot get a State law.

Judge Caldwell of the Cincinnati Juvenile Court has made a call for volunteer Probation Officers, and he hopes in a short time to have the names of many good citizens on the roll of the Court, ready to aid in looking after the children without recompense. As soon as enough volunteer officers can be secured, the Judge will divide the City into Districts so that the work can be simplified.

JUVENILE CRIME IN NEW YORK.

Clerk of the children's court in New York city, E. K. Coulter, writes from the abundance of his official experience of certain surprising and unpleasant facts. The article appears in the current issue of the North American Review. Mr. Coulter says that 86 per cent. of the youthful wrongdoers brought before that court were either born abroad or are of foreign parentage.

This is a correlative of the fact shown in recent years by the different character of our immigration. We have been receiving more aliens from Southern Europe, and from races which are of a lower moral and physical standard, than the majority of immigrants in the past. Another factor in juvenile crime and wrongdoing is the environment in which the children are brought up. The parents are poor-many of them in deep poverty. They herd together in the cheapest living quarters they can find in the city-that is, in the tenements. They work in sweatshops, live in squalor, and evade the requirements of the school laws, that they may have the earning of their children at the earliest possible age.

The result is, the foreign colonies of the metropolis are festering plague-spots, where the children become habituated to vice and crime, and by this environment naturally drift into criminal courses. The nature of the problem which confronts the city is clear; a practical remedy is more difficult. The class of East Side foreigners are wedded to city life; they know nothing of rural existence and would need instruction in every phase of country work. The remedy must be a change in the conditions of their lives in the city itself; but how is that change to be accomplished successfully?

In a Good Home.

CHILDREN'S COURT FOR ENGLAND.

A conference on separate Courts of justice for children, convened by the Committee on Wage-Earning Children, was held in November at the London County Council Education Offices, Victoria Embankment. Mr. A. J. Mundella presided.

Mr. Crooks, M. P., moved a resolution to the effect that it was desirable that legislation should be promoted to make section 4 (1) of the Youthful Offenders Act, 1901, obligatory, by which children could be sent to remand homes; and that it was desirable to make the remand home available for the period between arrest and appearence in Court, and to extend the time of the remand beyond the present period of one week. The resolution was seconded, and adopted by the meeting. Mr. T. Cornell submitted the following resolution:"That, in the opinion of this conference, any legislation to be promoted should make provision, as a compulsory measure, for the treatment of children, now liable to be brought to policecourts, in places separate and apart from the Court for adult cases."

Mr. Holmes (missionary at the North London Police Court) seconded the motion, which was unanimously adopted. -London Times.

VISITATION AND AID SOCIETY NOTES

JOHNNY R

Sent out to sell papers and beg by foster father.

Rescued and returned to mother by Visitation & Aid Society.

The sixteenth annual meeting of the society was held_on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 1904, in the office of the society. The meeting was called to order at 8 p. m. by the president, T. D. Hurley. The minutes of the August meeting and the last annual meeting read and approved.

Reports from the president, financial secretary, treasurer, departments of Office, Institution, Children, and Library were submitted, read and referred to the auditing committee with power to publish.

A vote of thanks to the contributors, the police department and the press of Chicago was unanimously passed.

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All of the institutions in Chicago, both Catholic and nonCatholic, have extended to us during the year kind and courteous treatment, and in all cases have willingly received children on our recommendation. As chairman of the children's committee I cannot commend these worthy institutions too highly to the general public for their support and assistance.

You will readily understand the great part our society takes in the work of the Juvenile Court when I state that, while there are 30 societies represented in the court, more than one-half of the petitions filed in dependent cases tried by the court were filed by representatives of the Visitation and Aid Society. The fact is apparent that the society is maintaining its position as one of the principal, if not the principal, child-saving societies in Cook County.

As heretofore we have extended to St. Mary's Training School, St. Vincent's Infant Asylum and the House of the Good Shepherd the use of our office during the past year. A representative from these institutions is to be found daily at our office, where persons interested in having children placed in these institutions may make arrangements with the officers of these institutions.

In all cases before a child is placed in these institutions the application is investigated from our office and a complete record of the case is obtained and filed in our records.

In submitting this report I am at a loss to find words to convey a proper idea of the work that has been performed during the year by the officers of our society in the children's department. Statistics cannot give a complete account of the work performed. Thousands of homes have been visited, relief afforded in many cases to sickly, delicate mothers, children placed in school, medicine and medical aid obtained, hospital assistance secured, transportation furnished, advice and counsel given to careless parents, the aid of the Juvenile Court invoked to compel parents to do their duty toward their children, and hundreds of other acts of mercy performed. Throughout the year our rule has been with all our work to keep the family together if possible, and in this we have been most successful. We can truthfully say now at the close of our year that many homes have been made brighter, many families kept intact that otherwise would have been separated and many children have been placed in school and are receiving a good education as a result of our work. Respectfully submtited,

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JAMES F. BOWERS, Chairman.

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Committed to St. Mary's Training School....... St. Vincent's Infant Asylum....

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Applications disapproved or referred to other societies.

All committees are appointed, meetings called and general information distributed from the office. Communication is maintained with all the police courts, and the Juvenile Court, and children and cases of destitution are taken in charge and given immediate assistance. During the business hours of the day four police officers, assigned from the police department, assist in the work of the society. They render invaluable service to the society.

Our requests for hospital accommodations, transportation rates and general assistance are always responded to by all persons and institutions to whom we apply.

Respectfully submitted,

T. D. HURLEY,
Chairman.

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DEPENDENT CHILDREN.

The society during the year filed in the Juvenile Court 48 per cent. of all of the dependent petitions. The importance of this work will be at once appreciated when it is stated that there are 30 different societies and institutions represented in the Juvenile Court. In addition to the foregoing the society is recognized by the Juvenile Court and Child Saving Societies of this city as one of the most influential and powerful societies connected with the work.

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School a special officer from the Police Department, to care for the boys that are arrested by the Police Department and also an officer assigned to the House of the Good Shepherd and St. Vincent's Infant Asylum, to care for the waifs and delinquent girls that are committed to these institutions. These two officers supervise the cases appearing in the Juvenile Court that are subjects for the above institutions, and attend to the placing of children in the institutions and the release therefrom. The history of all children in the institutions are carefully compiled by these two officers and regular visits are made to the homes of the guardians of the children in the institutions. In this way we have been enabled to compel parents who are able to provide for their children to establish and maintain homes instead of compelling the charitable public to care for, and maintain these children at public expense.

REPORT OF TREASURER.

I respectfully report that during the year commencing Sept.

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