CHAPTER II RESULTS OBTAINED BY THE OPERATION OF THE JUVENILE COURT An old English adage reads that "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." Going a little further back in history, our Master said, "For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes." And so long ago that even tradition is unable to settled the date, the Book of Good Counsels advises us that "Good things come not out of bad things." Those interested in the Juvenile Court law have been more than gratified: they have been heartily enthusiastic over the results which have been brought about by the operation of the Juvenile Court. The highest hopes of the earnest people who framed the law have been more than realized, and the end is not yet in sight. The law is being interpreted day by day in a way that reaches right down into the heart of evil and promises to tear out, in time, the roots which cause the growth of bad citizenship. Inasmuch as Illinois was the first state to provide a court where children's cases might be considered apart from the civil and criminal cases of adult petitioners, the eyes of the whole world are fixed upon the Juvenile Court and definite results are eagerly sought for. Judge M. F. Tuley (deceased), said: "This is the greatest law ever enacted by the state of Illinois. I have such a high appreciation of the lasting benefits that must follow the judicious administration of this act, it would be with great reluctance that I throw anything in the way of its operation. I believe that it is effecting more good in this city and county than all that the Criminal court could possibly effect, and that it will effect more good in one year than the Criminal court can, by punishment, effect in ten years, or even twenty." Judge Tuley made this statement while the Juvenile Court was still in its first youth, before any definite results could be adduced as having been accomplished through the working of the court. A short time after Judge Tuley had expressed himself as favorably impressed with the theory underlying the Juvenile Court law, Assistant State's Attorney Howard O. Sprogle, who has watched the cases coming before the Cook County Grand Jury for years, spoke as follows regarding the results of the operation of the Juvenile Court as he had observed them in the Grand Jury room: "The effect of the Juvenile Court upon the number of cases coming before the Criminal court is very patent," explained Mr. Sprogle. "About 2,000 cases a year are handled by Judge Tuthill of children between the ages of ten and sixteen. Of this number, perhaps ten or twelve a year are sent to the Grand Jury by Judge Tuthill for indictment for the purpose of having them sent to Pontiac, when that institution seems to be the proper place for them. These ten or twelve cases which invariably come to the Criminal court from Judge Tuthill's court and from no other sources, are the only cases of youthful criminals handled by the Grand Jury. It would be safe to say that two hundred cases a year less are handled by the Grand Jury since the existence of the Juvenile Court than came under its notice before the new law went into effect. "Before the Juvenile Court was established, all cases of boys detected in crime came to the Criminal court in the regular course of events. Not less than fifteen cases of boys under the age of sixteen years came before the Grand Jury every month. The crimes usually charged against the lads were burglary, petty depredation upon freight cars, |