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The day book. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1911-1917, June 19, 1916, LAST EDITION, Image 12

Image and text provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

Persistent link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045487/1916-06-19/ed-1/seq-12/

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NINETY PER CENT OF JUVENILE
DELINQUENCY CAUSED BY
PARENTAL NEGLECT
Fully 90 per cent ofk delinquent
girl cases that come into the juvenile
court presided over by Judge. Mary
M. Bartelme are caused by parental
neglect.
Judge Bartelme said she had no
hesitancy in placing the figure that
high when she was asked by a Day
Book reporter to state, as a result
of her long experience in the court,
how much delinquency should be
placed at the door of the parents, as
was done by the jury in Portland,
Ore,, that found Mrs. Wm. Hodge
guilty of contributing to the delin
quency of her 15-year-old daughter,
whom she permitted to run out at
night and offered as her defense that
she prayed for the girl's safety.
"A mother who only prays for her
daughters safety has a parallel in
the story of the Chinese students,"
Judge Bartelme said. "The superin
tendent told three of the pupils who
lived across the street from the
school that she would take them to
the 2 o'clock train if they would be
on the steps of the school at 15 min
utes before 2, just sufficient time to
get to the station.
"She was kept busy until a few
moments later than she expected.
When she hurried out the students
were not in sight, so she rushed over
to the boarding house and found
them in a room. She asked them why
they weren't waiting on the steps.
" 'We saw it was getting late,' one
said, 'so we came here and prayed we
might make the train.'
" 'Do your praying while you are
running for the train,' the superin
tendent told them.
"I feel safe in saying that fully 90
per cent of delinquency of children
brought into this court is caused by
parental neglect Of course, we are
unable to go back of the parents to
their parents and ascertain the cause
of parental laxness, but there is no i
doubt of the lack of parental care j
"Children are not taught the sa
credness of home life. They look for
everything they want outside of the
home. They are out on the streets
at night instead of in the home. A
mother will say:
"I told my girl she could only go
to the first show.' The girl is quite as
likely to meet her temptation at the
first show as at the second.
"Girls have no home responsibili
ties. At one time the daughters of
the house cleaned the lamps and
washed down the stairs. Today chil
dren go outside of the home to wbrk
in factories and stores and home
becomes only a place to sleep in at
night.
"The girl should be given some
task, however light, and told it is her
task and she will be depended upon
to perform it always. It will give her
a feeling that she is needed. None
of us are very much good in a place
where we do not feel we are needed.
"There is too much self-gratification
permitted children. Their prin
cipal attitude seems to be that what
they want they must have. There is
a false standard of living that moth
ers permit and even encourage in
their children. The girl must have
silk stockings; she cannot wear a hat
that costs less than $5; she must
have high boots since they are the
fashion, though they may cost $6 a
pair.
"We are living on bubbles. The
parents live at a hysterical pace and
the children are given the same lib
erty. I sometimes grow cold as I lis
ten to the stories of night life that
girls tell who are mere children, and
l expect the mother at any moment
to rush forward and clasp the girl in
her arms to protect her, but the
mothers listen as though the girls
were not their flesh and blood, or the
stories appalling ones.
"Parental neglect is the cause of
an enormous amount of delinquency
among children and the parents are,
therefore, responsible for that delin
quency."

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