Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 8, 1959)
12 MAIL TRIBUNE, M.4fori, OrefM, Weaeeteay, April t, 1tS Judge Must Mave To Keaeh (Editor noter Irvinr Ben Cool er is Chief Justice of the Court of Special Sessions of New York City, one of the largest criminal courts in the world. Last year, it handled about 5,000 offenders be tween the ages of 1 and 19. This Is the last of three dispatches in which Judge Cooper presents his views on society's treatment of Juvenile delinquents.) By CHIEF JUSTICE ' IRVING BEN COOPER As told lo Jack V. Fox United Press International New York - (UPD - Let me take you into my court and show you what I mean when I say that every young person who has committed a crime must be given personalized at tention. Let me present overwhelm ing proof why a judge must have the whole life history of a young man before he can decide whether he has before him a human being who can be helped to a decent place in society or one whose anti-social pattern is so advanced that he must be put away for his Own sake and that of his fellow beings. . Permit -me to illustrate what I mean when I say the punishment must fit the per son as well as the crime. One morning not long ago two boys came into my court. Both were 18. One had been in New York only a short time from Puerto Rico. The other was a native New Yorker of Irish ancestry. We'll call them Salvador and Michael. Difference in Appearance What a difference in their surface appearance! Michael had a clean-scrubbed look. His white shirt and neat tie, his immaculately combed hair set off a face of alertness and intelligence. His demeanor was one of respect for the , court. Salvador stumbled in with head down. He wore a leather jacket and had the glossy ducktail haircut. He' was sul len. The crimes with which they were charged were very dif ferent, too. Michael had broken into a bakery shop with four other boys after a. party at which they had all drunk too much. They shattered the plate glass window and then, with by passers looking on, crawled in and out of the shop throwing pastry at one another and tak ing a small amount of money from the cash register. It sounded something of a lark. Distributors Plan Institute at Oregon Eugene -The 20th annual conference of the Oregon Re tail Distributors' Institute will be held at the University of Oregon May 3 and 4. Retailers from throughout the state have been invited to attend and discuss problems related to their fields. Among persons who will ad dress conference meetings 'will be Gov. Mark Hatfield, Chancellor John R. Richards of the state system of higher education, and Dean Richard W. Lindholm of the university school of business administra tion. CHILDREN HAVE 'RIGHTS United Nations, N.Y.-OJPD- Despite an objection from a Belgian delegate on an appar ent confusion m terminology, the Commission on Human Rights declared Tuesday that every child has the right to "compulsory education." NO RECOURSE Chicago (UPD Police told Boston Linwood, 52, they couldn't find a single law to help him. Linwood had com plained his car was the victim of a hit-and-run horse. fl S3 V j Silvertone 4x6 9 Srv-'S 'H ' ' Portraits I . (Proper EDecosnon in Salvador and another Puer-1 to Rican boy had been picked up by police officers in the streets. Both were found to be carrying evil -looking switch blade knives. The officer's testimony showed clearly they were preparing to use them in a gang fight. , Which of those boys was the greater menace to society? Which stood a fair chance of being turned into a decent citizen? From the facts stated above, it would certainly ap pear to be Michael. But what a difference be neath that surface! Our probation department investigated both boys thor oughly. Neither had a crimi nal record that would have been ordinarily available to a judge. But this is what a thorough inquiry showed: Michael had a background that was savage and vicious. He had been in Children's Court for robbery and sexual abuse of younger boys in his neighborhood. The home from which he came was a night mare of parental irresponsi bility. His two older brothers were in prison. Parents in Court Salvador had not been in trouble before. He had done fairly' well in school. From responsible people in his neighborhood, includinga clergyman, testimony was given illustrating the kindness the mild young man had shown. His parents, although unable to speak English and quite frightened, were in court to back up their son. I sent Michael to the El mira, N. Y., reformatory for three years the maximum sentence in such a case. I sentenced Salvador to a reformatory, too, but I sus pended his sentence and put him on probation. But first I gave him a warning: "Look here, young man. If you step out of line one inch, if you get into any more trouble, I'll deprive you of your liberty immediately. And remember I can put you in re form school any time before the end of three years from today. Takes Chance "I'm going to take a chance on you. But you won't get a second one. If you let me down,v if you get into bad company again you can ex: pect no more help frbm me. "You must report regularly to the probation officer. And I want to see you personally here in the court room in four weeks. I'll have a report on how you have behaved. It better be good." I sounded tough and. I meant it. But I can tell you right now that I will be very much surprised if Salvador doesn't justiiy the chance I took on him. I know because I have taken tfie same kind oi - cnance on tnousanas oi young people and very few in deed have let me down. Salvador has a lot going for him. His family, the church, the school where he was doing pretty well. And he will dis cover, as have thousands, that the probation officer is not a cop set to snoop on him but an older friend who may be the best source of guidance he ever had. Progress in Future Salvador 'is one whose ac tual progress lies in the fu ture. Let's examine a case where the results are in. Mary Crane came before my court about five years ago. She -had stolen several thou sand dollars from the cashier's cage where she worked ina department store. There was no question of her guilt. But what of the story behind it? Mary came from a low-me dium income family. Her Each attractively mounted Choice of proofs Complete mother owned a candy store. In her young girlhood, Mary suffered a polio attack which left one of her legs perma nently crippled. In the hospi tal, her mother admonished: "Don't think of it. Here's some candy for you." Candy became an obsession with the girl. It ruined her complexion in adolescence. Though only five feet six, she gained weight until she was 190 pounds. When she fell back a grade in school, she became terribly disappointed, got her mother's permission to quit high school and got the job in the department store. Gifts Gain Attention She found that she could gain attention, and something of a semblance of friendship, by giving gifts to people. Whenever a birthday came around on her floor of the store, Mary had a present ready. She showered her family with gifts. She took friends to the theater and to dinner. People wondered where the money was coming from. It was coming from Mary dipping into the cash ier's till but she spent noth ing on herself except taxi fare so that people wouldn't look at her crippled leg. Caught stealing a marked bill, Mary came before my court. Here is a transcript of what she told us later: Q. How did the judge who presided on that occasion im press you. What did you say to him? A. I said to him what I had been thinking - I'm frightened. Q. What did he say? A. Did n't like it. Did not like it! He did not like my defeatist at titude - an attitude that I had assumed, I think almost con sciously. ('Poor little me-help me.') Which is not really me. And that was a turning point. Not Like Criminal , Now let's turn to the tran script again about Mary's pro bation: Q. What was your reaction to your probation officer as you talked with her in her office? A. What impressed me most was that she did not make me feel like a criminal. It was her softness. She did not condemn. She did not pondone. It was her general attitude of non condemnation that impressed me most about her . . . the ease with which I could talk with her . . . her understanding and wish to help. Q. And you were con vinced that she was really on your side? A. Yes, absolutely. It was a real way tf friendli ness she created in that little office - a very little office. I felt her sincerity I was grate ful for that and for her rather large ability to understand. Q. And when you left, to go home you were greatly re lieved? A. . I remember saying to my Mama: "Mama, she's going to help me. She is so nice and I feel that something good is going to come out of all this" . . . And I began to look forward to my next visit. Mary came back all the way. She went to high school again and graduated valedic torian. Today she has a profes sional job that points to the very top. ' ' Results Appalling We in New York are con siderably better off than most courts with similar jurisdic tion inour country. The bulk of our national population comes to court in the hope that justice will be done. Yet the results are truly appalling, primarily because of the pen-ney-wise,' pound-foolish oper ating budgets of our criminal courts. In the time it takes to hear a lawsuit between two giant corporations, important as it may be, my court will have JZTIJW Irflistory Cases vitally affected the lives of 150 young people and those close to them. If we have the facilities, so many of them can be per manently helped; so many can be removed from society and given the institutionalized treatment they must have. Crux of Problem Characteristically, Mr. Jus tice Cardozo - one of the truly mamrs spring millinery SALE! ALL NEW HATS IN NEW STYLES 1.00 to 3.88 mmmmmmm ' ' Here is a on ce-in-a -lifetime offer. Sate $5 on the big SaimorMte King-Size folding table. Offer good during April only. On May 1 the price goes bock to $14.95. This Somsonite table is a nationally recognized value at $14.95. At $9.95 it is en amazing buy. Yoe geh Chip rtent befcaa enamel finish Chile ml emntor toWi LOWER HALF PRffllfflGG LARGE 4-OZ. JAR . . . REG. $350 5 e This PROVEN salon formula is rich in whole, natural estrogen, the beauty building feminine hormone that imparts a "years younger" look. You'll see and feel the difference at once and the long range results are even more amazing! $1.25 Jpi nos tax NOW ONE AMAZING YOUR COMPLEXION CARES! Softens, deep cleanses, moisturizes at one time. Rinses off instantly with water. Protects against clogged pores, blemishes, blackheads. Leaves your skm radiant, moist, marvelousiy clean. great jurists of our land -pointed to the crux of the problem: "Run your eyes over the life history of a- man sentenced to the chair: There, spread before you in all its inevitable sequency, is a story of the rake's progress more implac able than any that was ever painted by a Hogarth. The Correctional School, the Re formatory, Sing Sing, or Dan nemora, and then at last the chair. The heavy hand of doom was on his head from the beginning. The sin,' in truth, is ours the sin of a penal system that leaves the victim of his fate when the course that he is going is writ ten down so plainly." mm Exdutlve Mty foicHnfl "SUde-teck" action Wipe-clean VMiyi vpfcoittM-cd FLOOR "lot coMfetH win utt nam PRODUCT WASHES AWAY 17) wash jt SPIC salesman's sample line SALE! FAMOUS MUNSINGWEAR LINGERIE . . . PRICE Reg. 69c to 39.95 Baby dolls, waltz gowns, peignoir sets, sleepcoats, panties, slips, half slips, bed jackets, vests, pajamas. Mostly size 34 and medium girls9 baby doll pajamas 1.00 Sizes 4-14 in delicate pastel drip-dry prints. Lace trimmed, puffed sleeve or sleeveless. BIG value at a tiny price! girVs novelty panties With nylon reinforcement. Rosebud print or plain col ors. Sizes 4-14. Fine denier nylon panties with lace trim. c4Qp Pastels or white. Sizes 4-14 men's, boys salesman9 s sample line SALE! FAMOUS MUNSINGWEAR SPORT SHIRTS AND UNDERWEAR Reg. 69c to 13.95 PRICE One only of many, many styles in knit shirts, sweater shirts and underwear ... all famous MUN SINGWEAR brand. Men's in size medium only. Boys' sizes 8 and 10 only. PEAR FESTIVAL DURING MANN'S "BIG SPRING SALE" sizes 39' At 100 all wool COATS Long and short coats in Tweeds, Plaids, Solid Colors and Checks. Big spring savings for you! VALUES TO 69.95 53.00 VALUES TO 49.95 42.00 VALUES TO 39.95 33.00 VALUES TO 29.95 25.00 viscose and silk SUITS 10.99 ORIG. 12.98 Unlined suit with fitted i jacket. Three - quarter sleeves. V-neckline. Fin ished with striped taf feta and matching bow. Just right for travel, w.o r k or . graduation. Can be washed with reasonable care." In navy, black, white or beige. Sizes 8-16 2-piece SHIRT DRESS 5.99 Rolled collar. Adjustable sleeves. The soft pleat skirt, the waist finished with a self belt and gold buckle. Lovely colors for spring and summer: Aqua, lavender, mint, light blue, beige, red and pink. Sizes 12-18 cotton knit T-SHIRTS 1.99 VALUES TO 4.98 Famous make cotton . knit T-shirts in .prints, stripes and a few plain colors. Many styles and colors to choose from. All hand washable. Sizes S-M-L Ay J 1 iKt Hf.1t e3f 7 h 7 j at flaststd- CAMCtAS Phone SP 2-5238 HO'OGBAPH MEDFORP 120 Eosi Mom Si MEDFOR o
