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to the jail and the following is the story in his own
words:
The boy knew me, for he had been a chronic little
truant, and there may have been woise things, but
they may be left unsaid, for it was the boy, and
not the “things” we were trying to redeem. A
boy is worth ten thousand times more than anything
he steals, yet I knew a ten-year-old boy who stole
a bicycle in the old days and ten times more labor
and money were expended to recover the wheel
than the boy.
I sat down in the cell on the iron floor and put
my arm around the boy. I told him how much I
thought of him, and how I despised the bad things
he did. Yet what could I do if he did not help me.
I might help him, but I could not carry him; I would
always be his friend, but he was getting both him
self and me in trouble if he “swiped things,” for
if I should let him out and he “swiped things”
again, would not the officer say that the judge made
a mistake in not sending “that kid to “The State
Industrial School,’ where he would not have a
chance to swipe things?” Then they would say
both the judge and the boy should be in jail. How
could he expect a judge to keep his job if his boys
did such things? He saw the point, and, standing
upright there in the cell, the light of his eyes
speaking better than his words, the earnestness of
his promise to “stay wid yer, Judge,” as he tear
fully declared he should never get me into any
trouble and we would both keep out of jail.
And so I almost tearfully accepted his proffered
protection, and out of the jail we walked together
into the now raging storm. A child with no father
and a mother, however noble, who un
der such handicaps and difficulties tries
to perform the functions of both, gen
erally fails to perform that of either. Is it a won
der then that the child is not “brought up in the
way he should go?” Is it the child’s fault? If
not, why, then, the jail and degradation?
The boy returned to school. He brought good
reports for over two years, and with . them he
brought joy and gladness. One day his mother came
to tell me that Harry was a changed boy. “Judge,”
she said, with tears in her eyes, “I never knew
just why Harry changed so much till one day I
was ill and he had been so sweet and kind that I
asked him how it was he had become good for the
judge, and looking up into my face with a tear in
his eye, he said: “Well, mother, you see it’s this
way, if I ever gits bad or swipes things again the
judge—the judge—will lose his job, see ? An ’he is
my friend—he is—an’ I’m goin’ to stay wid him.”
Loyalty, responsibility, trust, confidence and
love—all the ennobling instincts of the soul—were
there, and these were played upon, rather than
hate, fear, despair and gloom. That they responded
sweet and pure, clear and true, the boy and the
mother knew. And God knows and I know, and
thus to know is one of the sweetest joys of life.
From this little incident it will be easy to see
that the boy offender is “not a criminal and should
not be treated as such”—this principle may be
said to be the basis of the whole Juvenile Court
System—a system perfected as it were, by Judge
Lindsay in Denver, boasts similar courts in Chi
cago, Indianapolis, New York and many other
cities and efforts are on foot to establish a like sys
tem in numerous states.
No Philanthropic Movement of the New Century
is of more value or lasting import than this present
day interest in saving our boys; in the uplifting of
the degenerate youth and rescuing them from crim
inal surroundings as well as from criminal courses.
There has come a growing recognition in America
that reformatories are more potent for good than
prisons, and it has been proven that it is better
for the state or city to expend a few hundreds to
lead a youthful offender to better thinking and purer
living than to condemn him to consort with harden
ed criminals and eventually cost the state thous
ands of dollars for his prosecution and support.
One yields good citizens, the other confirmed crim
inals, to say nothing of the expense.
Judge Lindsey has surely sown the seed of this
The Golden Age for May 3, 1906.
reform movement from one end of the country to
Lie ether as he hrs addressed private audiences,
c.uls, legislatures and organizations of all sorts
in the interest of his great work.
His remarkable success is due to the fact that
he has the lespect of the boys under his care—he
meets them on a common ground of friendship and
comradeship—Jack the newsboy and Bill the boot
black, formerly the terrors of their neighborhood,
are now, like “Harry” of whom Judge Lindsey
tel.s, respectable, law abiding citizens.
Hie judge goes arm in arm with these boys to
places of amusement and entertains them at his
own looms. It is said in Denver that Judge Lind
sey, to the amusement of an entire court room, once
interrupted at the hearing of an important case in
winch thousands of dollars were involved, to listen
to the plea tor aid from one of “his boys” who
had suffered some injustice through a policeman;
the newsboy’s request was granted before the hear
ing of the case was resumed!
Judge Landsey was first induced to take up this
work by hearing a youthful malefactor tell of his
trial tor a first offense. It seems that this trial
consumed about ten minutes in time and
No Chance was Given the Boy to “Make Good,”
but a heavy sentence was passed on him and months
were to be spent among confirmed criminals, which
probably meant the ultimate ruin of the boy bim
self. The hearing of evidence and the final decision
in this case probably occupying almost as few min
utes as it has taken to tell the incident.
Judge Lindsey has found but few of the youthful
criminals are moral degenerates— most of them hav
ing been the helpless victims of evil environments
and lack of parental control.
In many cases a confirmed “bad boy” has proven
only a victim to some physical malady and proper
medical care occasionally works wonders.
Another perfected plan of Judge Lindsey’s also,
is to give the boys, wherever possible, increased
physical comforts—to initiate them into the mys
teries of a bath, clean linen and other aids to re
spectability, which in many instances heightens
the boy’s self-respect and hence his moral sense.
A strict code of honor is observed among these
boys, and on this, too, Judge Lindsey worked with
good effect. It is indeed seldom that he regrets
his leniency for as in the case of “Harry,” the
boys “stand by the Judge.”
In appearance, Judge Lindsey is below medium
height, with a slight wiry frame and a face though
fresh and boyish, which bespeaks intellect and char
acter. When speaking of his pet project—the up
lifting and betterment of the street waifs of his
community and of the United States, his face kin
dles with enthusiasm. He is a most entertaining
talker both on the platform and as an after dinner
speaker. His wit adds largely to his success, and
this, as well as his perfect fairness, sympathy and
intelligent interest has endeared him to his loyal
band of boy followers.
The intellect of the average street boy as well as
his sharpness and adaptability renders him a fine
subject for reforms and in many instances the
street waif of yesterday becomes the able citizen of
tomorrow.
Y hile it is quite possible that mistakes are often
made under the new juvenile court regime, while
there are of necessity, some reforms only surface
deep, some confidences betrayed, on the whole the
movement is of immeasurable power and value, and
ot each child born amid evil surroundings it gives
an opportunity for noble manhood which, in other
days, was totally denied him.
But Judge landsey counts hearty supporters just
as he does his probationers among all classes in
Denver and if there is any degree it is indistin
guishable.
It is a remarkable fact that Judge Lindsey’s
court grew into being i n an unusual manner, He
worked out his plans, tested them, developed them,
had them all in practical operation, then went about
getting necessary legislation for the legal establish
ment of his Juvenile court.
A
News of the Week.
The senate committee on judiciary voted to report
adversely a bill to increase the compensation of
circuit and district court judges of the United
States. i
i
Walter Wellman, the newspaper correspondent
who will next June make an attempt to reach the
North Pole by dirgible balloon, sailed on the 24th
for Europe.
Dispatches received here from Reykjavik, Iceland,
state that three Iceland fishing boats sank during
the recent storm off the coast and that seventy of
the crew were drowned.
Because the Italian delegates to the Algerciras
conference did not support Germany the sufferers
from the eruption of Vesuvius are not to receive
any assistance from Germany.
Many Austrian Jews who are opposed to the sub
scription of any part of the Russian loan in Austria,
are holding meetings with the object of dissuading
their co-religionists from participating.
At the concluding session of the Alabama Med
ical Association at Birmingham, Ala., stringent
resolutions looking to a war upon tuberculosis in
the state were adopted by the organization.
The dowager-empress of China has sent a check
for $50,000 to the American legation. The sum is
to be used in relieving the Chinese who suffered in
the ’Frisco disaster. She has also forwarded
$20,000 direct to the Celestial residents of that
city.
A serious outbreak of the plague has occurred at
Jamu, in Kashmir, Northern India. There have
been many victims among the members of the palace
household and the imperial service troops. Two
hundred and eighty-five deaths occurred during the
past week.
A six hundred-foot steamer, christened the “J.
Pierpont Morgan,” by Miss Blanche Hanks, was
launched at the South Chicago ship yard April 21.
The vessel is the largest craft on salt water. She
is 56 feet in beam, 600 long and has 32 feet depth
of hold. Her capacity is 12,000 tons of freight.
Fraunces Tavern, where General Washington
hade forewell to all his generals after the close of
the Revolutionary War, is no longer to be a public
resort, and as Fraunces Tavern it will cease to ex
ist. The historic buildings at Broad and Pearl
streets will now pass into the Society of the Sons
of the Revolution.
The valuable Germanic library of the late Profes
sor Richard Heinzel. of the University of Vienna,
has been purchased by the George Washington
I niversity. The library contains about 7,200 vol
umes and pamphlets bearing on Germanic philology,
and a large number of works and periodicals in the
cognate branches, especially Anglo-Saxon.
The official program has been announced for the
international conference of growers and manufac
turers of cotton, which will take place at Washing
ton, D. C., on May Ist and 2nd. One of the main
objects of the convention will be to place the cot
ton situation upon a more stable basis and with that
end in view speculation has been set down as one
of the leading topics for discussion.
. M. Gaston Thomson, minister of marine, is tak
ing measure to check the sale of opium which pre
i ails in the seaport towns of France. Steps will
e taken to have the opium dens closed and legisla
tion passed to make the selling of the drug for other
t inn medical purposes a criminal offense. Reports
o the medical authorities in the seaport towns de
e are that the health of the population is being
seuously affected by the abuse of the drug among
all classes.