The Sunday Oregonian., July 29, 1906, PART FOUR, Page 38, Image 38

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THE SUNDAY" OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, JULY 29, 1906.
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OFFICERS OF JXTWSUJE COURT.
Arthur L. Fraxer. Judge.
Marlon R. Johnson, cnlef probatlom
officer and clerk.
Mrs. M. G. Daft-gen and H. H. Hair
ley, probation officers.
W. O. Nlaley, -master Detention
Home. (
Mrs. W, O. Nlsley, matron Detea- .
tlon Home.
S. D. White, truant officer.
HERE to nothing in all this world
that la bo worthy of love, of
reverence and of service ai the
body and soul of a young child." In the
framing and operation of the Juvenile
Court law these worde of Q. Stanley Hall
were accepted, approved and acted upon.
One year ago last month the first ses
sion .of the Multnomah County . Juvenile
Court ' was held by Judge - Arthur I
Fraier, and up to date 1000 children have
felt the beneficent influence of this fine
Institution. There have been 615 actual
cases tried before the tribunal, and many
of these included several offenders, some
as many as Ave children. The records of
the court show 800 names, and there have
been fully 200 children investigated and
warned whose names " not appear. . In
addition to this grathj ing result, the
number of delinquent parents who have
been dealt with summarily Is large.
And what is of more importance, pray
tell, than the-little children of a. city?
What more materially affects the future
of a community than the present care
and training of its citizens to be? Is not
the innocent, misguided child who has
grown Into a youthful criminal through
inexcusable neglect and improper environ
ment even more needful of love and kind-'!
ness than the more fortunate child of a
perfect home life? Is there any who will
.deny that the prevention of crime is
better than the punishment of crime com
mitted through lack of prevention?
In the first year of its existence the
Juvenile Court has accomplished more
than it ever expected, and the results
are most satisfying to Judge Frazer and
his faithful staff of officials and to the
many public-spirited, generous citizens
who made (he tight for the passage of the
law and "have supported the work through
out the year In many ways.
Supervision of the conduct and morals
of children is the parent' most important
duty, but the community and state, as
well as the parents, have an interest in
the proper restraint and training of chil
dren. Where there are no pasents, or
but one parent who must of necessity be
away at work most of the time and so
leave the child to Bhift for itself, or
where parents are criminal or vicious
themselves, careleas. indifferent, weak or
Incompetent, or through some mistake
or mismanagement have lost control- of
the child; or where the child Is a moral
pervert and has an insane tendency to
commit crime, it is the duty or the state
either to take the place of the parents
or to supplement the work of the parent
while the child Is young, because only at
such times Is reformatory work effective.
This 1b the reason for the existence of the
Juvenile Court.
Previous to the establishment of the
Juvenile Court the number of young boys
and girls present In the Police Court and
jail was roost noticeable, and there they
associated with older, hardened prisoners
and learned ther lasting lessons of crime.
'i here is no more of that now. for all
under the age of 17 appear before Judge
Fraier and are given the opportunity to
talk the matter over with him in friendly
manner. I believe in the power of friend
ly counsel." says the Judge, and his fine
work has proven the efficacy of this
method of procedure. It Is only in rare
Instances that the court punishes a. juve
nile offender for his first offense. In 49
cases out of 50 he tells the Judge -all
about It when they have their friendly
talk, for Judge Fraser has a way about
him which Invites the confidence of boys
and Rlrls. And if he getB hold of them
just after this first offense he can make
them so genuinely sorry and ashamed of
what they have done that the probation
officer who take them in charge has
practically no trouble with the case. It
Is in the bad home surroundings that the
probation officer meets with trouble. The
children of this community have come to
understand that their misdemeanors will
be dealt with through the court, and the
effect of this knowledge is shown in the
great improvement In the conduct of
those who were hitherto considered bad
and ungovernable. Especially in the
schools has the good Influence of the
court's effective work been felt, the en
forcement of the state truancy law being
WW T JUDGE FRAZER JWD HIS ATSOCIATEf
HAVE DONE TO REFORM PORTLAND YOUTH
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particularly advantageous to both teach
ers and parents, to say nothing of the
pupils themselves.
There are two distinct classes of chil
dren under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile
Court, known as dependents and delin
quents. A dependent child is one that is
homeless, abandoned, on public support.
or whose home Is unfit for. it to remain,
in on account of the cruelty . or depravity
of - its parents or guardians. Under the
head of delinquency, which is equally
broad in its interpretation, comes incor
rigibility, idleness, crime and persistent
truancy. All minor offenses are also de
linquencies. But while the court pays
strict attention to both classes, the un
fortunate child who has not had a chance
to grow up under favorable circumstances
Into a useful citizen interests it more
than the delinquent. A dependent ' case
was before the court only recently which
well Illustrates this class. Judge Fraxer.
through his officers, received report of a
whole family of children in a neighboring
village who were being brought up in
most unfavorable surroundings, and he
decided to visit the place and hold a ses
sion of court there, several other cases in
the locality also needing his attention.
The mother of the nine children had been
notified to appear In court with them; but
did not do so on account of illness, so
His Honor decided to dd a little probation
work and visit the home In person. In
two rear rooms of a miserable old build
ing, which had chicken pens on the rick
ety porches,' be . found their home. One
bed, si cot and a bunch of rags on the
floor constituted the sleeping accommoda
tions of nine people, all In one close room,
and It was learned that two of the chil
dren slept outside in drygoods boxes. The
mother amounted to nothing and the fa
ther was a drunkard. The entire family
existed on the small wage of a 16-year-old
boy. The vile surroundings In which
these children were being raised Is almost
beyond description, but. thanks to the de
pendent clause of the Juvenile- Court law,
all of these children are now in good
homes, living as they should live and re
ceiving educations and proper training.
As is naturally to be expected of such
parents, they do not -seem even to' miss
them. ... .
To further illustrate a dependent case,
can be mentioned that or little Frankie,
who was shipped to Portland entirely
alone. An only child, it was agreed when
the parents separated, that each should
have him at stated periods. The father
married first, and although making $5
a day, the new wfe ruled that the boy
be sent to his mother. Then the mother
married a minister up the country, and
after a short-while the godly man decided
that it was not his place to support the
child of another man, so the . lad was
shipped to Portland. He wandered about
Scowtown for several days alone, . living
out of garbage barrels and sleeping under
wharves. Finally aNnotherly woman took
him in and notified the Juvenile Court.
There have been innumerable cases of
irresponsible and immoral parents who
were adjudged Incapable of properly car
ing for their children, although in af
fluent circumstances. The court positive
ly wilt not permit child, to be brought
up in the presence of immoral . prac
tices, and the frequency of these cases
would startle the average citizen.. There
have been many unprintable cases be
fore the court, and many times It has
been learned, too late, that little girls
of tender age have become victims of
these unnatural surroundings. It may
be said that the real work of the Juve
nile Court begins when the probation of
ficer takes charge of a case. The officer
visits the home, school and Sunday-Behoof
of the probationer, takes personal inter
est in all his childish affairs, and begins
the work of gradually changing his en
tire character. Each month the child
brings his school report to the Judge,
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O&A TICW OFFICE I?
and Is encouraged and praised as the
markings deserve. The mother Is ' cultl'
vated by the, officer and she is tactfully
Instructed in the proper care and training
of a delinquent child; and frequently the
home is greatly improved through the
Influences and friendly counsel of the of
ficer.
So it will be seen that probation work
means more than having a child report
weekly. It means to teach the young
charges of the court many useful things;
to give them higher Ideals; to form new
companidns: to really want to do right:
not to be idle, but to become useful and
a help to parents and teachers. To pre
vent . children from becoming criminals,
rather than to punish them for so being.
is the prime object of juvenile work, and
here in Portland this is being accom
plished.
When it can possibly be avoided Judge
Frazer will not send a boy to the Reform
School, and it is only -as a last resort
that a sentence, of the kind Is pro
nounced. The worst ' cases which come
before him are consigned to the Detention
Home on East Salmon street. In charge
of Master W.. O. Nlsley and Mrs. Nlsley,
the matron. - The magic -influence exer
cised over the most hardened cases by
this mild-mannered, quiet man makes an
interesting chapter In the history of .the
Multnomah Juvenile Court. In speaking
of Mr. Nlsley and the Detention Home,
Judee-Tazer says: -
- "The boys sent to this Detention Home
on probation are nearly always - boys
whose parents are unable to control them
at home and whose teachers have entirely
failed to control them at school. ' Gen
erally they have been expelled from
school, sometimes for the second or third
time. 8ome of them have seemed to be
beyond the hope of betterment, and
have been- prevented from sending them
to the-Reform School on several instances
.r.iviTTF:.
TJ3UANT OFFICER.
by the tears and pleadings of Mr. Nlsley.
He is quiet and unassuming, but not one
of those bud boys has stayed there three
days without fairly loving him, and I
have yet to learn of one who at the end
of a week xiid not resolve vto lead an up
right lite, -and entirely 'cut out' all bad -,
practices. These boys in Mr. Nisley s
care are all loath to leave the Detention
Home, and many tiave -clung to him and
cried- when their terms were up and they. -had
go home.
"What is Mr. NIslev'a method? Why,
kindness and genuine interest in the boys.
coupled with nrmness and insistence upoa
proper conduct. He talks with them.
counsels them, helps them with their les- -sons,
gives them manual training in his
workshop, plays baseball with them and :
teaches them to be manly and honorable, .
whether- at work or at play. Boys who
nave, rwiii mnardfiiv rnw mi rrnm srnnn
and who have actually received markings
of only 50 or 60 In scholarship or deport
ment, when living under his supervision
bring home cards marked 90 and 100. And
the best of it Is that he arouses in their
i n j i A .in .-J . 0a tha tw. .
good conduct continues, after they leave
him.
'Now these were bad boys some of .
them were considered the scourge of
their neighborhoods. Of others it-was
saia mat iney wuuiu uibui Ktuuxo any
schoolroom in which- they sat. when
hunting a location for the detention home .
great trouble was experienced. - for no
neighborhood wanted such bad boys har
bored near its environments. But 'Nis-
ley's boys-' as they are generaly called.
have become very popular, and there are
frequent applications for boys who want
to work always promptly filled, too.
Doesn't his work amply demonstrate the
advantage of proper training and control
of boys?
"I would like to add," continued His
Honor, "that the quarters at the present
detention home are much too small. We
need more ground and more room. At
present we have only the use of one lot
for a garden, while the boys could easily
cultivate an acre or more of vegetables.
On Surfdays the boys who have been dis
missed and sent home return for a day
and are always heartily welcomed by both
Mr. and Mrs. Nlsley, who give their entire)
time and attention to their .visitors and
wards- But there are times that the
small house will not hold them all, and
the grounds are uncomfortably crowded,
too." ....
It will not. be amiss, while discussing
Officer Nlsley, to tell of the very efficient
work done by all of the court staff, and
of Judge Frazer himself. After 4 o'clock,
when all other officials and clerks have
quit their desks and left the building, the
daily session of the Juvenile Court' be
sins., and week in and week out. without
a cent of compensation, this admirable
man devotes himself to the child prob
lem, counseling, advising, reproving, di
recting, as the case may demand. Until
o'clock and sometimes 7, the Judge and
bis probation officers are to be found hard
at work in the chambers west of the Cir
cuit Court rooms, ami hear the misde
meanors of Portland's child citizens are
related and explained; are excused-and
punished, and corrected. And what a va
riety of misdemeanors there are, too
tind how difficult it is to deal with some of
them!
You whose children are safely tucked
In bed at g o'clock each night, and,
who always know Just where they are
and what they are doing through the
day, will scarcely believe that organ
ized bands - of burglars and horse
thieves, whose bandit members have.
(Concluded on Pag 48.)