To prove to skeptical ones that many Milwaukee children are prevented from attending school because they have no shoes, Chief Truancy Officer Bert Hall arranged an exhibit in the office of shoes taken from the feet of several of these small paupers.

In the entire lot not one pair had a complete sole, while many were entirely free from bottoms. Several pair were In such condition as to be useless for protection or comfort.

ST. LOUIS.

An employment agency has been started by Officers of the Juvenile Court in behalf of the wards of the court. There were recently 648 boys in charge of the court and on probation and the greater part of those probationers are unable to find work themselves, and the plan of an employment agency conducted by the court in their behalf first was suggested by former Judge Williams when he was in charge. Rogers N. Baldwin, chief probation officer under Judge Allen, has been active in furthering the project, and

recently the first steps were taken to make the venture a reality.

The offices will be in the juvenile court, and H. M. Fullerton, assistant probation officer, will be in charge.

Budapest, Nov. 3, 1908.

Editor Juvenile Court Record. Honorable and Dear Sir:-Many thanks for your letter of the 17th. I have only now received copies of the "Juvenile Court Record" for this year and the "Origin of the Illinois Juvenile Court." I shall study them with the greatest interest and hope to learn much from their perusal. We are convinced that the American ideas on this subject are the leading ones of the world and we wish to imitate your methods. Our juvenile courts have begun their work here, so I shall with your permission from time to time beg for information on such points of difficulty as may arise. I hope to study the working of your system in America itself as I intend to visit the International Penitentiary Congress of Washington in 1910. I hope then to have the

JUDGE H. L. McCUNE, Pres.

Mrs. W. W. SMITH, Treas. The club now has 900 memberships, which pay $5 a year each, making a dependable income of $4,500 a year.

The county owns a farm a few miles out of the city, worth $8,000, on which many street waifs are given a home and employment. A boys' boarding house is also conducted in the city, and a similar establishment for girls is about to be opened.

"Out of the hundreds of boys who come before the juve nile court," said Judge McCune," and there were 1,600 last year-not over one per cent are incurably bad." Judge McCune keeps the boys on parole as long as there is a chance of reforming them, and when it is necessary to confine a boy he is put in a house of detention where he is not thrown with other criminals.

JUDGE LINDSEY IS RE-ELECTED Tremendous Vote Given Denver Juvenile Judge Against Great Odds.-Ran independent.

By an ovrwhelming vote, Judge Benjamin B. Lindsey, juvenile judge of Denver, was re-elected at the recent elections. His vote was over 32,000 of 65,000 total votes cast, running far ahead of tickets along party line divisions.

His was a victory of great proportions for clean citizenship. He was forced by the party bosses to run "independent." He beat the party leaders in a whirlwind campaign lasting only three weeks.

Although he received 32,000 non-partisan votes-an expression and testimonial of confidence never accorded before to any Denver candidate-about 3,000 ballots intended to be cast for Judge Lindsey were thrown out as defective by the 'election boards. With election officers aligned against him, the tremendous majority accorded the great juvenile magistrate attained unheard-of proportions.

The republican and democratic candidates ran about even with 15,000 votes to 17,000, respectively. Against that puny vote, the 32,000 ballots given Judge Lindsey loom up as an expression of the endorsement of Denver's juvenile court administration.

Politicians had opined that Judge Lindsey's chances of re-election were about 1000 to 1 shot, not only on account of party organizations, but the bitter fight waged on him personally by corrupt party leaders. He was the object of hatred and defeat by both parties. Another difficulty surmounted by Lindsey's adherents was that attending the scratching of the Colorado ballot. But it did not happen just the way predictions presaged,

Hearings were given Judge Lindsey in churches and women's clubs, every decent citizen making his candidacy a personal question.

His term of office is for four years from January 1, 1909.

The twentieth annual meeting of the society was held on Wednesday, Nov. 24, 1908, 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 last annual meeting were read and approved.

Reports from the president, financial secretary, treasurei, departments of Office, Child Labor Bureau and Children 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.

The following were re-elected directors for the term of

three years:

Chas. A. Mair,

R. J. Reynolds,

D. F. Bremner,

R. M. Prendergast, Mary Hummelsheim, Mrs. Robert Whelan, Jolin F. Barrett.

PRESIDENT'S REPORT.

To the Members and Friends of the Visitation

and Aid Society.

I herewith submit my report, as president for the year ending Septmber 1, 1908.

I am pleased to be able to report that the society during the past year was able to meet all the demands made upon it in its various departments.

CHILDREN'S DEPARTMENT.

Efforts were again put forth during the year to so interpret the law as to practically nullify the Industrial and Manual Training School Laws and prevent the institutions that are doing business under those law from paroling, discharging or otherwise releasing children. An order was entered in the Juvenile Court on February 2,

"That no child be discharged from any institution until an order for such discharge shall have been entered of record in said court, that a probation officer should thereupon be appointed and reports should be made from time to time by the child to the chief probation officer as to the conduct of such child as often, and as long as shall be by him deemed necessary."

If such an order were to remain in force, it would simply mean that the child saving institutions of the county, would be mere boarding houses, and the trustees and agents of said institutions mere appendages to the probation system of the Juvenile Court. Such an order would greatly interfere and impede the work of the institutions, especially in the placement of children in homes. There is no law or authority to sustain such an order.

Your president was retained by the St. Mary's Training School for Boys and the House of the Good Shepherd to have the order vacated. After argument and presentation of the authorities to the court, his honor, Judge Tuthill presiding, the order was set aside.

It was shown to the court that both the Juvenile Court Law and the Industrial and Manual Training School Laws provide that the institutions shall maintain parole officers whose duty it shall be to visit children as often as may be required, and report to the institution, and when called upon,

to the court.

It was also shown to the court that the Industrial and

Manual Training Schools exist and are governed by separate and distinct laws from the Juvenile Court Law; that these laws were enacted to specifically govern these institutions; that the Juvenile Court Law itself specifically provides that these various laws shall remain in full force and effect.

No argument was offered to support such an order but the claim was made that it was necessary to complete the probation work that all children coming into the Juvenile Court should be subjected to the probation system.

The institutions have no criticism or fault to find with the probation work. It is essential in certain cases, but it is possible that the system may be extended too far. We must beware of the danger that confronts us in drifting toward paternalism. The fact that a child has committed some slight offense, or has become wayward or that the home has temporarily been broken up, because of the illness or pover ty of the parents, does not necessarily mean that such children and such homes should be subjected to the constant visitation of court officials.

The institutions are, under the law, empowered and directed to look after all such cases that have been committed to them. We have not heard of any specific or glaring neglect of duty on the part of any of the institutions. Hence, the above order was wholly uncalled for. In as much as the Industrial and Manual Training School Laws have been held constitutional by our Supreme Court, it becomes a matter of great moment that all children committed to institutions existing under these laws should be in accordance with the laws.

While no doubt the Juvenile Court Law will be held constitutional by the Supreme Court, the fact remains that the two cases presented to the court were reversed because the law was not strictly followed.

There is no occasion for these various controversies as the law on the subject is clear and plain. It is to be hoped that in the future, before any order is entered effecting any of the institutions or societies, notice will be served on all the interested parties, so that they may appear and present their side of the case.

CHILD LABOR BUREAU.

The Child Labor Bureau which issues all child labor certificates for the parochial schools for the Chicago Archdiocese, was continued during the year. The clerk of the department is now supplied by the State Factory Inspector, thus relieving the society from this financial burden. The clerk of the department has been authorized by his grace, most reverend James E. Quigley, D.D., to issue certificates in the name of the Parochial Schools of the Archdiocese. All certificates permitting children that have attended parochial schools to work, must be issued by this department. We were able to adjust all difficulties during the year. The expense of the department is about $1,000 a year.

JUVENILE COURT.

Representatives of the society have been in attendance at each session of the Juvenile Court. A great majority of the dependent children are under the care of the society in one way or other before they are finally committed to the various institutions. In most of the special cases the society's officers were called into the case.

The officers of St. Mary's Training School, St. Vincent Infant Asylum and the House of the Good Shepherd, who were all appointed at the request of the society, are in daily communication with the Visitation and Aid office. Con

ferences are held with these, officers in reference to the work of the institutions. Many legal and complicated questions of fact are submitted to us almost daily, by these officers. We have directed the officers in such a way as to avoid all legal entanglements and controversies, not only the court but with the various persons and institutions interested in child saving work.

Two officers are assigned to the Visitation and Aid Society and perform the general work throughout the city, such as obtaining relief, medical aid and the transportation and other relief for dependent families.

VISITATION AND AID RECORDS.

The work of the Society in this department for the year was most satisfactory. Access to our records have been had from time to time throughout the year for information on various cases that have been in the court, and in the institutions during the past twenty years, and in practically every case we have been able to supply the needed information. We have at all times exercised great care and caution in compiling the records and files of cases and as a result, find them of great value. This information has at all times been cheerfully offered and supplied to the various applicants.

THE JUVENILE COURT RECORD.

We have continued to publish the Juvenile Court Record throughout the year. It brought a net revenue to the society. Its colums were used by practically every Juvenile Court Agency in the country, as also many persons interested in such work in foreign countries. There is a great need for such a paper as Juvenile Courts are being started throughout the world and they are in need of information in regard to the whole subject. Every mail brings letters of inquiry which are promptly answered and the needed information supplied.

We have every reason to believe that the paper will be as successful during the coming year as it has been in the past, and that it will be a source of much help to Juvenile Court workers. Respectfully submitted.

MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. The Board of Directors met in the Visitation and Aid office on Wednesday evening, Nov. 24, 1908, and proceeded to the election of officers for the ensuing year, which resulted as follows: President, T. D. Hurley; Vice-Presidents, John Cudahy, William P. Nelson, Hon. E. O. Brown, John A. Lynch, Hon. R. W. Clifford, D. J. Murphy, John M. Duffy, August Brosseau, C. H. Canby, J. Ward Amberg, F. M. Hushart, Geo. F. Featherstone. C, A. Paltzer, A. J. Ryan, M. A. Donohue, E. H. Roche, John E. Burns, Hon. Joseph P. Mahoney, Morris St. P. Thomas, James P. O'Connor, J. W. Dowd, Michael Cudahy, Wm. A. Amberg, Chas. A. Mair, John J. O'Heron, W. J. Hynes, P. Nacey, Z. P. Brosseau, John P. Byrne, T. J. Amberg, E. A. Beauvais, R. Ortmann, J. Ronan, W. P. Henneberry, D. F. Bremner, John B. Heeney, C. C. Copeland, M. W. Murphy, E. F. Carry, Wm. E. O'Neill, P. J. Geraghty, Dr. C. P. Caldwell, Patrick Garrity, Chas. H. McConnell, E. J. Nally, D. F. Bremner, Jr., J. B. Scott, Hon. Frances O'Neill; Treasurer, Jas. F. Bowers; Recording Secretary, Mary Hummelshein; Corresponding Secretary, May Herman; Financial Secretary, Esther J. Mercer.

MARY HUMMELSHEIN, Secretary.

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 chi dren'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, onehalf 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 society in Cook County.

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 submitted,

JAMES F. BOWERS, Chairman.

The work of a Humane Society in respect to the protection of children, or as originally named, a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, must be classed it seems to me somewhat as a protest against the non-action by the publicly constituted authorities of their duty regarding cases of alleged ill-treatment of childhood.

Perhaps this should not be put exactly as an arraignment of the pubile officers so much as, rather, that society is more and more appreciating its responsibility to mankind in

general and its relationships.

The first Society of this kind was established in New York City in 1874 as a natural result of the finding by a missionary lady of a little girl who was brutally misused by the woman having her in charge, and a report of this case was made by a sick woman whose sufferings were added to by hearing the plaintive appeals of the little suffering child. After the caller had heard the story she repeated it to the then constituted public authorities, whose duty it was to carry into execution the laws of the state. Each one of these officials, including the representative justice of the peace. while acknowledging that there was great suffering and hardship, at the same time called her attention to the fact that the law did not empower them to take action to ameliorate this condition unless proceedings were begun by the swearing out of a complaint by some person having first knowledge of the facts.

From time immemorial crime has been detected by the officers whose duty it was to investigate and inquire as to its perpetration and perpetrator, but the presumed relationship of parent and child even where that relationship resulted in great suffering and injury to one of these, was not classed under the head of a crime, and consequently no effort was made to seek out and inquire the conditions surrounding these relations, unless some one directly interested should institute proceedings.

In 1874, then as a result of this case, the first Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was organized in the city of New York, through the efforts of Mr. Henry Bergh, that patron-saint of the cruelly-treated, and his legal advisor and warm personal friend, the Hon. Eldridge T. Gerry.

There already existed on the statute book laws governing the relationship of parent and child, guardian and ward, master and servant. Already ample legislation had been had for the protection of the domestic relations; hospitals had been provided for the sick and the maimed; asylums had been provided for the orphan; schools for the training of those requiring it, and aid-giving societies to succor the destitute. At that time there was no out-door agency, whose duty it would be to investigate and inquire into alleged abuses by these relations or where children were involved. Whether this affected purely physical suffering or moral degradation, the case was the same. To be sure there were laws on the statute books that provided for punishment after conviction for one who committed an assault upon any kind of a person and also to regulate other abuses affecting an individual. It was considered that the duty of the police ended when they detected and brought to punishment the thief, the burglar and other similar malefactors; if they preserved the public peace; if they protected public and private property, and their time was taken up wholly with these beneficial public employments. The case of abuse

of children by their parents, guardians and others were considered generally to be of such a character as not to come within the purvieu of the police power, and consequently, the new Society in its first publication found it necessary to explain to the public its reason for being and the work it hoped to accomplish. After reciting a list of all the institutions in the city and various parts of the state which already existed for the receiving and caring for children, it added: "All these and like existing societies who are employed in this grand and noble work, assume the care and control of their inmates only after they are legally placed in their custody. It is not within their province to seek out and rescue from the dens and slums of the city those little unfortunate whose childish lives are rendered miserable by the constant abuse and cruelties practised on them by the human brutes who happen to posses the custody or control of them."

This work the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children undertook and is carrying out. The first work of the Society was to seek the aid of the Legislature to provide adequate laws for the protection of and the prevention of cruelty to children. This work of the society has been carried forward even to the present day. The enforcing of the laws that were passed became a part of the Society's duties.

In the first publication, I find this statement: "The police and prosecuting officers of the people are necessarily engrossed in securing the conviction and punishment of offenders of a graver legal stripe; although ready to aid in enforcing the laws referred to when publicly called on to do so, can hardly be expected to seek out and prosecute those who claim the right to ill-treat children over whom they have apparent legal control; hence the child beaters live in comparative security; hence the children hardened by brutality and cruelty grow up to be men and women scarcely less hardened than their tyrants. The men swell the ranks of the 'degenerate classes', which imperil the public peace and security, and the women are lost-body and soul-often before they are women in age and maturity." The work of the Society thus generally laid out in some particular might possibly trend on some of the functions of other societies already existing and it was carefully stated that "so far from this Society interfering with the numerous Societies and institutions already existing and being referred to it is intended to aid them in their noble work." That is the statement the Society made when organized. As a result of this organization similar bodies were formed throughout the county and even have extended to foreign lands.

The work of the Society in New York City in 1875 is substantially the work of the Society to-day in that city and is really the work of all societies of similar character wher ever formed. Conditions, however, even in New York City have changed and instead of the society remaining only a prosecuting organization to inquire and actively rescue the child that was physically beaten or abused, it has broadened its work along other lines such as the prosecution of indecent and immoral results upon little girls, as well as boys, and in other ways has broadened the scope of its existence. This came naturally, the organization of the society in the (Continued on page 9.)