[English] BOY SCOUTS AND CRIME. GREAT MOVEMENT A SWORN FOE TO DELINQUENCY.

BOY SCOUTS AND CRIME.

GREAT MOVEMENT A SWORN FOE TO DELINQUENCY.

CHICAGO JURIST'S STRIKING EVIDENCE.

CHICAGO, ILL., April 12th.

A prominent Chicago jurist recently asked a group of people discussing juvenile delinquency, "What percentage of boys be brought before me on charges of juvenile delinquency do you suppose is enrolled in the Boy Scouts?" writes Irene Kuhn.

His listeners made varying guesses, none of which was right, for the judge declared with satisfaction that not a single boy arrested and charged with delinquency had ever been enrolled in the Boy Scouts or had even thought about that great organization.

Undeniably, the Boy Scouts organization by providing an outlet for boyish energy which, misdirected or unguided, so often becomes what is commonly known as "badness" in boys, badness which leads them into court and eventually, although not always, into professional crime, has cut down juvenile delinquency with great sweeping blows. In Chicago alone, the rate of juvenile delinquency has fluctuated around a lower level since 1920 than ever before. The decrease in New York has been quite marked. The Boston figures show a marked decrease since the war years, except for a slight rise in 1923 and 1924, as compared with 1922. But the Boston rates for the years since 1920 are considerably lower than the rates for any previous years.

These figures, from compilations made by the United States Children's Bureau in Washington, are both interesting and encouraging. The decrease in juvenile delinquency, despite persistent claims advanced in an effort to convince the public that the youth of the land is being corrupted, is offered by the investigating bureau in recommending "sane and thoughtful consideration of the problem, rather than newspaper headlines."

A TEST OF PROHIBITION.

The period covered by the figures furnished is that between 1915 and 1924, inclusive, and in the case of some cities, the year 1925. This period embraces the years during which, it is claimed, prohibition has tended to lower the moral standards of American boys and girls and to make parents more careless in supervising and directing the conduct of the young. Fourteen cities are included in the survey. These are New York, Boston, Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Providence, Rochester, Richmond, St. Louis, Washington, Philadelphia and Seattle.

An editorial writer in the Christian Science Monitor, in commenting upon the foregoing, says:

"The showing, properly regarded as indicative of conditions throughout the United States should supply the answer to those enemies of prohibition who are insisting that disregard and disrespect for the law are combining to contribute to the delinquency of American boys and girls. The facts do not support any such specious contention. Indeed, they tend to repudiate it. The law is not destructive. It is constructive. Its greatest salutary influence is in the home. With the home freed from the baneful influences of the saloon, the boys and girls of the rising generation will make possible some way of suppressing the trade now carried on by bootleggers and smugglers."

Source:

1. Page 1, "Hong Kong Daily Press", Wednesday, 12th May, 15th Year of the Republic of China

   • 1st Day, 4th Lunar Month, Bing-yin Year

   • Wednesday, 12th May, 1926 Common Era

2. Page 5, "Hongkong Telegraph", Wednesday, 19th May, 15th Year of the Republic of China

   • 8th Day, 4th Lunar Month, Bing-yin Year

   • Wednesday, 19th May, 1926 Common Era