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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
CHILDREN’S BUREAU

X --V

PUBLICATION No. 196

YOUTH AND CRIME

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
JAMES J. DAVIS, Secretary

CHILDREN’S BUREAU
''1

GRACE ABBOTT, Chief

YOUTH AND CRIME
A STUDY OF THE PREVALENCE AND TREATMENT OF DELINQUENCY
AMONG BOYS OVER JUVENILE-COURT AGE
IN CHICAGO

DOROTHY WILLIAMS BURKE

Bureau Publication No. 196

UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1930

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D, C,

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Price 35 cents

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CON TEN TS
v

B ound b y TE XA S B O O K B IN D E R Y, DALLAS, TEXAS

D a te

Page

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Letter of transmittal---------------------------------------------------- 7— ----------------------------General findings and recommendations----------------------- 1-----------1----------------------Purpose and method of study— ------------------------------------------------------------Trend of youthful delinquency in the United States as a whole---------Trend of youthful delinquency in Chicago----------------------- -----------------------Arrests__1----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Admissions to Cook County jail— --------------------------------------------------Boys’ court cases----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------Special provisions for dealing with boys over juvenile-court age in
the United States.,,__________________________ ___________________________
Chicago plan for dealing with boys over juvenile-court age-----------------Arrest and detention---------------------------------------------------------- --------------Study of cases--------------------------------------------------------------- -— — -------------Hearings______________________________________________________________ ~
Disposition of cases__<_______________________________ 'M--------------------Boys coming before the court______________________________________— —
Recommendations----------------------------------------------- 3$-------------------------------------Methods of dealing with boy offenders in Chicago---------------------------------------General organization of the municipal court----------------- ---------------------History and jurisdiction________________________________________ ____
Judges--------------------------------------------------------------------- 4--------------------- -—
Branch courts_______;------------------------------------ --------— ------------- - r -----Departments______________________________________ 1------------ ---------------R ecords____ ___________________________________________________ ________
Boys’ court branch of the municipal court----------------- ------- --------------------.Establishment_____________________________________________________ r-—
Jurisdiction------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Organization_______________ ,— .-------------------------------------- -j-----------------Social-service department------------------- ----------------------------------------------Psychopathic laboratory--------------------------------------------------------------------Conduct of cases______________ _______________________________________
Disposition of cases--------------------------------------------------- -----------------------Probation_________________ >_______________ _____________ — ----------------Criminal court and its associated agencies--------------------------------------------Jurisdiction and organization_______________________________________
Investigations by Cook County Bureau of Social Service-------------State’s attorney’s office___________________________________________ i—
Jail detention and bail________________________________ ______________
Method of conducting trials-----------------------------------------------------'-------Dispositions------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Institutions receiving boys on court commitment--------------------------------Cook County ja il------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------House of correction____________________ _____________ _____ __________
State reformatory___________________________ __________________________
State penitentiary------------------------------------------------------------------------------Parole_______________________________________________________________________
Study of 9 7 2 boys’ court cases________________________________________________
Selection o f cases and sources o f information------------------------------------ —
Offenses bringing boys before the court--------------------------------------------------Nature of charge_____________________________________________________
Type of offense-------- ----------------------------------------------------- s--------------------Offense as related to race and age---------------------------------------------------Jail detention---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------Disposition of cases_______________________________________________- — ------Nature o f disposition--------------------------------------------------------------------------Disposition and race------------------------------------------- m --------------------------Disposition and age------------------§1---------------- --------------------------------— %
Interval between charge and disposition--------------- ----------------------—

8 6 8 5 0 °— 30

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CONTENTS

Study of 972 boys’ court cases— Continued.
Characteristics of the boys--------------------------------------;-------------------------Race and nationality-------------------------------------------------------------------Age-------------------■— --------- ------------------------- -------------------------------------Residence and social status--------------------------------------------------------Employment— *-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Education_________________________________________________________
Mental statu s-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Previous delinquency records--------------------------- --------------- ---------------Previous a rrests--------------------------------------------------------------------------Juvenile-court record------------------------------------ -----------------------------Court record of boys who had reached 21— ----------------------------Institution and probation record-----------------------------------------------Court record after the offense studied----------------— -------------------------Probationary treatm ent---------------------------------------------------------------------Detailed studies of 82 boys--------------------- --------------------------------------------------Method of study and selection of cases--------------------------------------------Summary of histories presented----------------------------------------------------—
Characteristics o f the boys---------------------------------------------------------Home and neighborhood conditions------------------------------------------Early conduct problems-------------------------------------------------------------Treatment before court disposition--------------— —----------------------------Mental examinations and social investigations----------------------Treatment by police--------------------------------------------------------------------Disposition of cases------------------------------------------------------------ -------------Dismissals-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Probation-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Institutional c a r e ---------------------------------- ------------------------------------Status of boy at time of inquiry------------------------ -------------------Case problems presented--------------------------------------------------------------------Crimes of violence and injuries to persons-----------------------------Burglary--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Automobile larceny---------------------------- ---------------------------------------Other theft------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------Sex crimes and offenses------------------------------------------------------------Liquor-law violations-----------------------------------------------------------------Disorderly conduct----------------------------------------------------- ---------------Appendix A.— Extent to which cases studied represent entire group.
Appendix B .— Exclusions-------------------------------------------------------------------------

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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

U . S. D

L abor,
C h il d r e n ’s B u r e a u ,

e p a r t m e n t of

Washington, December 11,1929.
Sir : There is transmitted herewith a report on Youth and Crime:
A study o f the prevalence and treatment o f delinquency among boys
over juvenile-court age in Chicago. The report presents statistics on
the trend o f delinquency of boys o f this age from 1915 to 1925 as indi
cated by reports o f the police department, the jail, and the municipal
court. Analysis o f a selected group o f cases dealt with by the boys’
court branch o f the municipal court, which has jurisdiction over boys
17 to 20 years o f age, inclusive, and detailed studies o f 82 boys dealt
with by this court form the main body o f the report. It is hoped that
the material will afford a basis for more intelligent planning for the
needs o f this age group, which for the most part has not been reached
by the constructive forces represented by the juvenile court.
Dorothy Williams Burke was director o f this study and has written
the report under the general supervision of the assistant to the chief,
Katharine F. Lenroot. For generous cooperation throughout the
inquiry the bureau is indebted to Hon. Harry Olson, chief justice of
the Chicago municipal court; Hon. Francis B. Allegretti, who was
presiding in the boys’ court branch at the time o f the study; Miss
Mary R. Fugate, social-service secretary o f the boys’ court; Hon.
John W . Houston, adult probation officer; Dr. William J. Hickson,
then director o f the psychopathic laboratory; and other officials.
Respectfully submitted.
G r a c e A b b o t t , Chief.
Hon. J a m e s J. D a v i s ,
Secretary o f Labor.

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YOUTH AND CRIME
GENERAL FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
PURPOSE AND METHOD OF STUDY

Although the press and the popular magazines have had much to
say during the last few years, as they had a hundred years ago,1
about the problem o f youthful crime, accurate information has not
been available in the United States. Juvenile courts have kept their
records so differently that comparison o f one city with another as
to the amount o f juvenile delinquency which comes to the attention
o f the court has been impossible.2 Concerning young offenders above
juvenile-court age, practically no information even local in character
has been compiled. In order to throw some light on the extent o f
delinquency among young persons, the histories of such offenders,
the methods o f dealing with them, and the results obtained, the
Children’s Bureau undertook a study o f the cases dealt with by the
first court in the United States to concern itself exclusively with
young people between juvenile-court age and the age o f legal major
ity—the boys’ court branch o f the Chicago municipal court, which
has jurisdiction over boys 17 to 20 years or age, inclusive. Published
statistics covering a period of 11 years, supplemented by annual
reports o f the jail and the police department, indicated the extent
o f the delinquency problem among boys o f this age and the trend in
age distribution and types o f offense. The organization and policies
o f the court were studied, records o f the court and social agencies
were consulted for a selected number o f cases, and more intensive
studies o f a limited number o f boys were made through interviews
with the boys, their mothers, and other members o f their families.
The material for the study was gathered in 1926.
TREND OF YOUTHFUL DELINQENCY IN THE UNITED STATES AS
A WHOLE

The amount o f crime in a community or in the Nation is difficult
to ascertain. Crime statistics are kept variously and inaccurately
or are not kept at all. The most reliable figures for the United
States as a whole are those for prisoners in penal and reformatory
institutions compiled from time to time by the United States Bureau
o f the Census. In the past these figures have been gathered once
every decade either in connection with the population census, as from
1 See The Habit of Going to the Devil, by Archer Butler Hulbert, in the Atlantic
Monthly, vol. 138, No. 6 (December, 1 9 2 6 ), p. 804.
2 For an account of the plan for obtaining uniform juvenile-court statistics, in which a
number of juvenile courts throughout the country are cooperating with the United States
Children’s Bureau, see Sixteenth Annual Report of the Chief of the Children’s Bureau,
1928, p. 27,

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YOUTH

AND

C R IM E

1850 to 1890, or in special enumerations, as in 1904, 1910, and 1923.3
An annual census o f prisoners in Federal and State prisons and
reformatories has been undertaken recently by the Bureau o,f the
Census, and figures covering a few outstanding facts have been col
lected for 1926 and 1927i As a basis for future inclusion o f other
classes o f offenders in the annual census the Bureau o f the Census
has published instructions for compiling criminal statistics for use
by penal institutions, police departments, courts, prosecutors, and
probation agencies.4 The more detailed decennial investigations will
be continued.
Figures published by the Bureau o f the Census so far have been
based either on prisoners enumerated on a given date or on prisoners
committed during the year. O f the value o f these figures the bureau
states:
Data as to prison population on a given date are, however, o f little value as an
index of the occurrence o f crime or even of the number o f criminals convicted.
The size of the prison population is affected not only by the number o f convic
tions, but also by the length o f time offenders are imprisoned. * * *
On the other hand, statistics concerning the prisoners committed during a
definite period o f time afford a much better index o f criminality. For while
such statistics do not cover all crimes committed, nor indeed all persons con
victed of crimes, since many minor offenders are punished by fines only and
others are convicted but put on probation, the figures do measure with fair
accuracy the number o f crimes punished by death or imprisonment within the
period covered. Furthermore, any increase or decrease in the number of con
victions or in the amount of crime is, in general, followed by a corresponding
change in the number of commitments.5

The figures for male prisoners 18 years of age and over that are
available fo r the United States, beginning with the year 1880, are
summarized in Table 1, which shows the numbers o f male prisoners
by age period, the per cent distribution, and the ratios for each ago
group to 100,000 male population o f the same ages.
T a b l e 1.— Number of male prisoners 18 years of age and over in the United

States of specified age periods, per cent distribution, and ratios to 100,000
male population of the same ages in 1880, 1890, 1904, 1910, and 1923

Male prisoners enumerated on a given date

Age group

Total reported 18 years
and over__________
18-20 years ______________
21-24 years ___________
25-34 years ___________
35-44 years___________
45 years and ov er.............

June 1,1880

June 1,1890

Jan. 1, 1923

Num Percent
distri Ratio
ber
bution

51,500

100.0

357.5

71,375

100.0

6,114
11,480
19, 389
8,464
6,053

11.9
22.3
37.6
16.4
11.8

388.5
564.8
503.1
305.5
145.1

8,539
15,155
25,720
12,545
9,416

12.0
21.2
36.0
17.6
13.2

381.3 100,657

100.0

296.1

453.1
602.3
502.0
338.5
171.5

10.8
20.2
35.4
19.6
14.0

404.4
552.1
411. 5
267.8
121.2

10,872
20,337
35,677
19,711
14,060

nf
Conditions in the United States as Reflected in Census Statistics
of Imprisoned Offenders, p. 5. U. S. Bureau of the Census. Washington, 1926.
I°| t™ ctlons £or Compiling Criminal Statistics, U. S. Bureau of the Census. W ashing-

■Wfooers, 1928, p. *

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GENERAL

F IN D IN G S

AND

R E C O M M E N D A T IO N S

T a b l e 1.— Number o f male prisoners 18 years o f age and over in the United

States, etc.-— Continued

Male prisoners committed during the year
1904

Age group

1910

1923 »

Num Percent
Num Percent
distri Ratio
ber 2 distri R atio8 ber
bution
bution
Total reported 18 years
and over___________ 126,195
18-20 years________________
21-24 y e a rs...........................
25-34 years____ ____ _______
35-44 years____________. . . . .
45 years and over...................

12,577
20,324
38,398
28,533
26,363

100.0

543.9 374,795

10.0
16.1
30.4
22.6
20.9

572.7 31,287
703.5 56,390
616.8 116,456
585.6 89,842
375.5 80,820

Num Percent
distri R atio4
ber
bution

100.0 1,265.2 304,579
8.3
15.0
31.1
24.0
21.6

1,142.6
1, 532.0
1,473.9
1,460. 0
883.3

27,138
47,226
91,406
75,737
63,072

100.0

895.8

8.9
15.5
30.0
24.9
20.7

1,009. 3
1,282.1
1,054. 4
1,029.0
543.8

* I n tim a te Dasea on com m itm en ts for 6 m o n th s as sh ow n in 1923 census of prisoners
. ^ elu sive of those committed for nonpayment of fine.
* Based on 1900 census.
4 Based on 1920 census.

Figures showing age distribution ate available for prisoners enu
merated on a given date only for the years 1880, 1890, and 1923, and
figures for prisoners committed during the year for 1904, 1910, and
1923. The 1923 figures, however, are estimates based on figures for
the first six months o f the year. Differences in types o f prisoners
included in the census enumeration make it difficult to compare the
figures for different years, especially the population ratios. The
censuses o f 1880 and 1890 included prisoners in military and naval
prisons, those in hospitals and asylums for the insane, and also per
sons awaiting trial, persons held as witnesses, and debtors, all of
whom were excluded from later census. These groups account for
12 per cent o f the total number o f prisoners in 1880 and 14 per cent
in 1890.
The number o f male prisoners 18 years o f age and over per 100,000
population o f the same sex and age increased from 1880 to 1890 but
was lower in 1923, even when allowance is made for difference in
inclusion.
The 1904 census omitted prisoners committed for nonpayment o f
fine, a group which constituted 58 per cent o f all prisoners com
mitted m 1910 and 53 per cent of male prisoners committed in 1923.
I he number o f prisoners committed and the ratio per 100,000 popu
lation as reported for 1904 would have been at least doubled i f such
prisoners had been included. The inclusion o f such prisoners would
probably have given a ratio for the age period 18 to 20 slightly in
excess o f the 1910 figure. A slight element o f difference between
the 1910 and 1923 figures is the fact that persons 18 years o f age and
over committed to institutions for juvenile delinquents were included
in 1910 but not in 1923. The number o f commitments per 100,000
population in 1923 for each age period was considerably lower than
the corresponding ratio for 1910.6
P6f 10<t?0.0 population in 1924 was 39
W ave b v E ll e n C iS t t i r in > r h ì
of Crime in Relation to the Crime
S n c Ä a y 19^'6 p i ’ 1 Th Annala o f the A m encan Academy o f Political and Social

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Y O tfT H

AND

C R IM E

Both among prisoners enumerated on a given date and among
those committed during a year the proportion in the lower age group
appears to have decreased slightly. Thus in 1880, 11.9 per cent o f
the male prisoners 18 years o f age and over were between the ages
o f 18 and 21 years, as compared with 10.8 per cent in 1923. Among
those committed during the year the percentage in the 18 to 20 year
group was slightly larger in 1923 (8.9) than in 1910 (8.3) but smaller
than in 1904 (10). In general slight decreases are shown also for the
21 to 24 year group.
In all age groups there was not only a relative decrease but an
actual decrease in males committed to penal institutions in 1923 as
compared with 1910. The number o f males 18 to 20 years o f age
committed in 1923 per 100,000 population o f the same sex and age
was 11.7 per cent less than in 1910. This decrease, although smaller
than those for some o f the higher age groups, is nevertheless
substantial.
Undoubtedly the growth o f the probation system, which has been
especially marked since 1910, accounts for part of the decrease in
commitments to institutions. Without accurate information con
cerning arrests and convictions it is impossible to determine defi
nitely the trend in delinquency and crime. Institution commitments,
therefore, are only one o f the indexes o f the extent of crime which
should be available. For the period 1910 to 1923 they indicate in
all age groups a decreasing number o f delinquents and criminals
committed to correctional institutions.
TREND OF YOUTHFUL DELINQUENCY IN CHICAGO

Statistics o f the boys’ court showing the trend o f delinquency
among boys over juvenile-court age in Chicago are available since
its establishment in 1914. In this study the records for 11 years,
1915 to 1925, were canvassed. Statistics o f arrest and detention also
were obtained for these years from the police department and from
the county jail. These latter figures will be presented first and will
be followed by the more complete analysis made possible by the
boys’ court figures.
Conclusions regarding the trend o f delinquency and crime are
difficult to draw both because o f the shortness o f the period and
because o f the W orld War, which meant the withdrawal o f large
numbers o f adult males from the civilian population and undoubt
edly influenced the conduct o f young and old. Practically all types
o f figures show low numerical incidence o f crime during the years
o f active participation in the war. W ith the exception o f boys’
court cases, they also all indicate increase in the numerical inci
dence in the last few years. The ratios o f arrests o f males to popu
lation have also increased in recent years, both for males 21 and
over and for males 16 to 20. The increases for adult males follow
the year 1920; the increases for boys 16 to 20 postdate the increases
for adult males by two years. Ratios o f cases disposed o f in the
municipal court exclusive o f the boys’ court mounted swiftly after
1920. Prior to that year the tendency was downward. W ith slight

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GENERAL. F IN D IN G S A N D

R E C O M M E N D A T IO N S

fluctuations cases o f boys 17 to 20 disposed o f in the boys’ court, on
the other hand, show a definite downward trend from 1915 to 1925.7
So far as possible the figures here given are confined to males and
are classified by age periods. The age classes used by the different
branches o f the Chicago and Cook County governments are slightly
dissimilar, but the figures fall into two general age groups: Adult
males and younger males.
Adult males commit the greater proportion o f crime and delin
quency in Cook County and Chicago, as shown by the annual figures
from available sources. Less than 12 per cent o f the total arrests
o f males in any year are arrests o f boys 16 to 20 years o f age, and
only 2 to 6 per cent o f the total cases in the municipal court are
cases o f boys 17 to 20 disposed of in the boys’ court.
On the other hand, 16 to 26 per cent o f the admissions of males
to the Cook County jail were admissions o f boys under 21 years o f
age. The outstanding characteristic o f the ratio for admissions
to jail for both age periods is variability ? which suggests differences
in the policy o f the court from time to time rather than real differ
ences in the type o f crime committed or ability o f the individual
to provide bond. The figures in regard to jail admissions are o f
particular importance on account o f the bad conditions that have
been reported in the Cook County jail,8
ARRESTS

The number o f arrests, by age and sex, have been obtained from the
annual reports o f the police department o f the city o f Chicago for
the years 1915 to 1925, inclusive.
(Table 2.) During this period
the annual number o f arrests o f both sexes varied from 87,197 to
264,494. In no year prior to 1923 did the total arrests exceed 135,000,
but in 1923 the total was 181,980, and 242,602 and 264,494 arrests
were reported for 1924 and 1925, respectively.
•
^ar ^ e larger proportion o f persons arrested in Chicago, as
m other cities, are males. Arrests of males have accounted for 87
to 93 per cent o f the total arrests during the period under considera
tion. The annual number o f male arrests has varied from a mini
mum o f 79,730 in 1920 to a maximum o f 246,719 in 1925. Conversely
the arrests o f females have represented from 7 to 13 per cent of the
total arrests, and the number has varied from 7,467 in 1920 to 17,775
in 1925.
5
The great majority o f arrests, both o f males and o f females, are
o f persons 21 years o f age and over, This age group accounts for
more than 90 per cent o f the arrests o f each sex. Practically no
persons under 16 are reported arrested, as such persons are subject
to the juvenile court and their detention is not recorded as arrest.
The figures o f the police department most closely approximating
the boys’ court jurisdiction are those for males 16 to 20 years o f age.
Arrests o f boys o f this age period represent 6 to 12 per cent o f the
total arrests o f males in any one year. The maximum proportions
(11.4 and 11.8) are shown in 1918 and 1919. Although the number
o f boys under 21 are sometimes disposed o f by utispecialized branches of the
c°u rt, but Die great majority of such cases are disposed of by the boys’ court.
Cook County JaU made by the Chicago Community Trust in 1922
ai,r1f c^ on ° * Dr. George W . Kirchwey. A new ja u was under construction at
the time o f the survey and was occupied Feb. 15, 1929.

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YOUTH

AND

C R IM E

o f arrests in both age periods has increased in recent years there has
been a practically constant decline in the percentage o f total arrests
o f males represented by boys 16 to 20 years o f age, the minimum (6
per cent) appearing in 1925.
T a b l e 2 . — Number of arrests for all offenses for both sexes and males and

females of all ages and number and per cent o f total arrests in the age
period 16 to 20 years, for both sexes and each s e x ; Chicago, 1915-1925
Arrests for all offenses
Female

Male

Both sexes
Year

114,625
104; 535
129', 270
105,632
9i; 457
87,197
117,719
132,290
18i; 980
242', 602
264,494

Total

10,919
8,212
10,928
11,657
10,636
8,574
9,486
9,027
11,340
15,625
16,341

9.5
7.9
8.5
11.0
11.6
9.8
8.1
6.8
6.2
6.4
6.2

Number Percent

Number Percent
1915 .......................
1916
1917 .......................
1918........................
1919 ........................
1920
.................
1921..........................
1922 .........................
1923 .......................
1924..........................
1925..........................

16-20 years

16-20 years
Total

99,954
93,255
115, 585
95,236
82,988
79,730
107,164
120,444
169,614
225, 523
246,719

9,736
7,402
9,586
10, 862
9,829
7,904
8,656
8,210
10,484
14,331
14,858

9.7
7.9
8.3
11.4
11.8
9.9
8.1
6.8
6.2
6.4
6.0

14,671
11,280
13,685
10,396
8,469
7,467
10,555
11,846
12,366
17,079
17,775

1,183
810
1,342
795
807
670
830
817
856
1,294
1,483

8.1
7.2
9.8
7.6
9.5
9.0
7.9
6.9
6.9
7.6
8.3

i Compiled from the annual reports of the police department, city of Chicago.

The arrests o f females 16 to 20 years of age represent similarly
about 8 per cent o f the total arrests o f females, but the decline in the
proportion o f total arrests which is evident for boys does not appear
in the percentages for girls.
The ratios o f arrests for all offenses to 10,000 males o f thé same age
are shown for males 16 to 20, males 21 years o f age and over, and
males o f all ages in Table 3 and the graph on page 8. The ratios
generally show declines from 1915 to 1920. Following 1920 increases
are evident, the highest ratios (1,362 for boys 16 to 20 and 2,392 for
males 21 and over) having occurred in 1925. Low ratios are found
for males 21 and over in 1918, 1919, and 1920. In analyzing total
arrests in Chicago from 1910 to 1921 Miss Edith Abbott attributes
the decline in 1918 in large part to the absence o f large numbers of
men from civil life on account o f the war and the employment o f
those remaining at high wages, and the decline in 1919 and 1920 to
the effects o f prohibition.9 Increases in the ratios for adult males
begin abruptly in 1921 and are continuous from then on, but definite
increases for boys o f 16 to 20 aré not shown until 1923. Since 1919
the ratios for boys have been well below those for males o f the higher
ages. The ratios for males o f all ages include boys under 16 in
addition to the age groups under discussion. Since boys under 16
are seldom arrested their inclusion in the population base reduces the
ratios materially. The curve is practically identical with that for
males 21 years o f age and over, since the numbers of arrests of boys,
amounting to only 6 to 12 per cent o f the total, are insufficient to
influence its general characteristics.
? Abbott, E d ith : Recent Statistics Relating to' Crime in Chicago. Journal of Criminal
Law and Criminology, vol. 13, N o .-3 (November, 1 9 2 2 ), pp. 334, 335.

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G E N E R A L F IN D IN G S A N D

R E C O M M E N D A T IO N S

TA®7tE Sr ~NumA)eT of y r r ^ t s of males o f all ages and specified age periods for
1919-19^5^ ° nd mtl0S to 10’000 male population of the same a ges; Chicago,

Males of all ages
Year

Arrests
Popula
tion 1
Number

1915.
1916.
'1917.
1918.
1919.
1920.
1921.
1922.
1923.
1924.
1925.
i

Males 16-20 years

Ratio

1,249,615
99,954
799.
1,276,506
93,255
730.
1,303,195 115, 585
886.
1,329,883
95,236
716.
1,356,572
82,988
611.
1,383, 260
79,730
576.
1,409,948 107,164
760.
1,436,636 120,444
838.
1,463,856 169,614 1,158.
1,492,066 225,523 1, 511.
1,518,754 246,719 1,624.

Males 21 years and over

Arrests
Popula
tion J
Number
89,736
91,667
93,583
95,500
97,416
99,333
101,240
103,166
105,120
107,146
109,063

Ratio

Arrests
Popula
tion 1
Number Ratio

9,736 1.085.0 797,467
90,202 1,131.J
7,402
807.5 814,628
85,838 1,053.7
9,586 1.024.3 831,660 105,978 1.274.3
10,862 1.137.4 848,692
84,349
993.9
9,829 1.009.0 865,723
73,137
844.8
7,904
795.7 882,755
71,800
813.4
8,656
854.9 899,787
98,478 1.094.5
8,210
795.8 916,818 112, 217 1,224.0
10,484
997.3 934,189 159,121 1.703.3
14,331 1.337.5 952,192 211,159 2.217.6
14,858 1,362.3 969,223 231,833 2,391.9

ir°“ f
reports of police department, city of Chicago.
Estimates as of July 1, supplied by U. S. Bureau of the Census.

It is evident then that total numbers of arrests for both males and
temales o f all ages and specified age groups have increased in the past
lew years; that the arrests o f males 16 to 20 years o f age represent
i ooo
ProPortion o f the total arrests or males and that since
lyJJ these percentages have been well below the pre-war propor
tions; and that while the ratios o f arrests o f males to population o f
same age and sex have increased generally in recent years the ratios
tor arrests o f boys began to increase two years later than the ratios
arres^s.ror males o f 21 years o f age and over. It is obvious that
the great increases in the numbers o f arrests in Chicago during these
years have been essentially among males o f the older ages.
Statistics of arrest are not entirely reliable indexes o f the amount
o f cnme m a community. Such statistics not only are kept inaccu
rately but are influenced by other factors than the number o f offenses
committed. Thus an increase in arrests may be due to the increased
efficiency o f the police in making arrests or to the use o f the “ dragnet system in which wholesale arrests are made without adequate
evidence o f guilt.10
ADMISSIONS TO COOK COUNTY JAIL

The Cook County jail is used principally as a place o f detention
tor persons awaiting trial after preliminary hearing. Boys who are
kept in custody before arraignment in court are held in police stationSj for which no statistics are available. A fter arraignment i f
the case is continued or i f the boy is held for the grand jury on a
felony charge, he is either released on bond or committed to the
county jail. The numbers received in the jail would be valuable
indexes o f the amount o f delinquency and crime in the community
i f a constant policy in regard to release on bond were maintained.
1 here as no certainty, however, that a single policy has prevailed in
Cook County during the period under consideration.
Receiit Statistics Relating to Crime in Chicago. Journal of Criminal
Law
iW A nd Criminology, vol. 13, No. 3 (November, 1 9 2 2 ), pp. 333, 33 4 .

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Statistics o f admissions to the Cook County jail during the period
1915 to 1925 obtained from the superintendent of the jail are shown
in Table 4 and the graph on page 10. More than 90 per cent o f the
persons received in the jail were males. The total number o f males
R A T IO O F A R R E S T S O F M A L E S O F A L L A G E S A N D O F S P E C IF IE D A G E P E R IO D S
F O R A L L O F F E N S E S T O 10,000 M A L E P O P U L A T I O N O F T H E S A M E A G E S ; C H I
C A G O . 1 9 1 5 -1 9 2 5

admitted each year varied between 8,078 in 1919 and 12,135 m 1925.
Males 21 years of age and over constituted 74 to 84 per cent o f the
males received each year, and males under 21 constituted 16 to 26
per cent o f the total male admissions.

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The ratios o f admissions to population for males under 21 are well
below those for males o f all ages and males 21 and over. The form
o f the curve for males o f all ages (see graph, p. 10) is similar to
that for males 21 and over, as these admissions make up the bulk o f
the total. The curve for males under 21 suggests an upward trend
throughout the period, and the curves for males 21 and over and
males o f all ages suggest increases since 1920. The irregularity o f
the curves seems to reflect frequent changes in the policy o f the court
toward release on bond rather than any definite trend o f crime or
delinquency.
T a b l e 4 . — Number o f males o f all ages and specified age periods received in the

Cook County jail, and ratios to 10,000 male population of the same a g es; Cook
County, 1 9 15 -1 9251
Males under 21 years

Males, all ages
Reoeived in jail

Year

Popula
tion 2

1915.........................
1916........... .............
1917_____________
1918-........- .............
1919_____________
1920.-.....................
1921_____________
1922........................
1923........... .............
1924--....................
1925........................

1,404,913
1,436,597
1,468,281
1,499,965
1,531,650
1,563,335
1,595,019
1,626,703
1,658,387
1,690,071
1,721,755

Num
ber 3
8,944
.8,290
10,359
8,674
8,078
8,335
10,164
9,389
9,632
10,651
12,135

Received in jail
Popula
tion 2

Ratio

63.7
57.7
70.6
57.8
52.7
53.3
63.7
57.7
58.1
63.0
70.5

Males 21 years and over

512,095
524,508
536,921
549,834
561,746
574,159
586,572
598,985
611,397
623,810
636,223

Num
ber 3
1,447
1,529
1,873
1,666
2,111
2,036
2,145
1,751
1,786
2,657
2,503

Received in jail
Popula
tion 2

Ratio

28.3 892,818
29.2 912,089
34.9 931,360
30.3 950,631
37.6 969,904
35.5 989,176
36.6 1,008,447
29.2 1,027, 718
29.2 1,046,990
42.6 1,066,261
39.3 1,085,532

Num
ber 3
7,497
6,750
8,484
7,005
. 5,965
6,295
8,019
7,638
7,846
7,994
9,632

Ratio

84.0
74.0
91.1
73.7
61.5
63.6
79.5
74.3
74.9
75.0
88.7

1 Compiled from unpublished figures supplied by the superintendent of Cook County jail.
2 Estimates as of July 1 supplied by the U. S. Bureau of the Census.
2 Includes males for whom age was not reported.
BOYS’

COURT CASES

Information concerning cases o f delinquency and crime disposed
o f in all criminal branches of the municipal court and in the boys’
court (the branch o f the municipal court having jurisdiction over
boys i f to 20 years o f age) has been obtained from annual reports
and unpublished figures supplied by the municipal court for the
years 1915 to 1925. (Table 5.)
From 2 to 8 per cent of the total municipal-court cases were dis
posed of each year in the boys’ court, the annual number o f boys’
court cases varying between 6,583 and 9,297 during the period under
consideration. Cases of boys 17 to 20 years o f age constituted 6.3
per cent (in 1919) to 1.7 per cent (in 1925) o f the total number o f
municipal-court cases and 92.8 per cent (in 1917) to 64.8 per cent
(in 1924) o f the total number of cases in the boys’ court. In 1925
they represented 71.3 per cent of all the cases in the boys’ courf.
The other cases in the boys’ court are those in which older persons
or girls above juvenile-court age are involved in cases o f boys 17 to
20, and some cases of boys just over 21 as well as cases o f boys under
17 brought to the court by mistake. Cases of boys of the ages speci
fied are sometimes disposed o f in the unspecialized branches o f the
municipal court, and thus are included in the figures for adult cases.

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Ratio to 10,ooo population

R A T I O O F M A L E S O F A L L A G E S A N D O F S P E C I F I E D A G E P E R I O D S R E C E I V E D IN
T H E C O O K C O U N T Y J A I L T O 10.000 M A L E P O P U L A T I O N O F T H E S A M E A G E S ;
C O O K C O U N T Y , 1 9 1 5 -1 9 2 5

1915 1916 19171918 191919201% ) 1922192319241925

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R E C O M M E N D A T IO N S

The number o f cases disposed o f annually in the criminal branches
o f the municipal court, including the specialized courts, varied from
103,150 in 1920 to 317,352 in 1925. Before 1923 the annual number
o f cases disposed o f in the municipal court was well below 200,000,
but the 1923 figure was 219,705. The total for 1924 exceeded this by
60,000, and the total number o f cases in 1925 was almost 98,000 in
excess o f the 1923 total. This means an increase o f 208 per cent in
1925 over the minimum of 1920.
T

5 . — 'Number of cases disposed o f in all criminal branches of the municipal
court,'num ber disposed of in boys’ court, number of cases of boys 17 to 20
years of age disposed, of in boys' court, and percentage of cases in each court
that w ere oases of boys 17 to 20 years o f a g e; Chicago, 19 15-19251

able

Year

191/5
____ _____ ______ ____
1916
__________________________
________ ____ __________
1917
1918
______________________ 1919
____________ _______
1920
________________________
1921
_______________________
1922
______ _________________
1923
___________ _________
1924
. _____________ _______
1925.............................................. - ................

Cases of boys 17 to 20 years disposed
Number of
of in boys’ court
cases dis Number of
posed of in cases dis
Per cent of Per cent of
all criminal posed of in
total cases total cases
branches of boys’ court3 Number disposed of disposed of
municipal
in boys’
in munici
court3
court
pal court
130,971
123,873
149,268
124,397
111, 276
103,150
162,190
184,362
219,705
279,960
317,352

8,700
6,583
7,738
7,697
9.297
7,698
8,553
8,486
6,927
8,884
7,591

7,500
6,081
7,183
6,943
6,976
5,764
6,940
6,818
6,103
5,760
5,409

5.7
4.9
4.8
5.6
6.3
5.6
4.3
3.7
2.8
2.1
1.7

86.2
92.4
92.8
90.2
75.0
74.9
81.1
80.3
88.1
64.8
71.3

i Compiled from the annual reports of the municipal court of Chicago, 1915-1924, and unpublished figures
for 1925 supplied by the court.
3 The number of cases disposed of in 1926 was 324,444, and in 1927, 296,082.
8 The number of cases disposed of in 1926 was 5,970, and in 1927, 6,920.

Cases o f delinquency o f boys 17 to 20 decreased numerically from
7,500 (the maximum) in 1915 to 5,409 (the minimum) in 1925. The
percentage that cases o f boys 17 to 20 constituted o f all cases dis
posed o f in the municipal court shows a definite downward trend
throughout the period under consideration except during 1918, 1919,
and 1920, when unusual factors entered into the situation (see p. 6).
The annual ratios o f cases o f boys 17 to 20 to 10,000 males o f these
ages and the annual ratios o f cases disposed o f in the municipal
court, exclusive o f the boys’ court, to 10,000 persons (males 21 years
o f age and over and females 18 years of age and over) are shown in
Table 6. (See also graph p. 13.)
A downward trend is evident for cases o f boys 17 to 20 throughout
the period under consideration. The maximum ratio (1,053.3) ap
pears in 1915, the minimum (625) in 1925, and the total decrease
during the 11-year period amounts to roughly 41 per cent. In the
ratios for cases disposed o f in the municipal court exclusive o f boys’
court cases the minimum ratio (534) appears in 1920 and the maxi
mum (1,578.4) in 1925. The 1921 ratio exceeded the 1920 by 58 per
cent, and the ratios each year following 1921 show percentage in
creases over the preceding year amounting to 12 to 25 per cent. The
ratio o f 1925 was 196 per cent in excess o f that for 1920.
Thus cases o f boys 17 to 20, on the whole, have decreased in num
bers and in their ratio to population of the same age and sex. On
the other hand, the total cases in the municipal court have greatly
8 6 8 5 0 ° — 3 0 —=— 2

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increased, and the ratio of cases in the municipal court, exclusive of
cases in the boys’ court, has almost trebled since 1920.
T a b l e 6 . — 'Number of ca ses1 disposed of in the criminal branches of the munici

pal court ( exclusive of boys’ court)
lation 21 years and over and female
ber of ca ses1 of boys 17 to 20 years
of cases to 10,000 male population o f

Year

1915............................................
1916................. - .......................
1917...........................................
1918...........................................
1919________________________
1920__________ _______ ______
1921..........................................
1922...........................................
1923 _____________ _____ ___
1924...................... ............ ........
1925_____________ ___________

and ratio of cases to 10,000 male popu
population 18 years and o v e r ; and num
disposed of in the boys’ court, and ratio
the same aye period; Chicago, 1915-1925

Male pop Cases disposed of in
ulation 21
criminal branches of
Cases of boys 17 to 20
years and
years disposed of in
municipal court (ex- Male pop
over and
c l u s i v e of boys’ ulation 17
boys’ court
female
court)
to
20
years2
population
18 years
Number
Ratio
Ratio
and over3 Number
1,614,679
1,649,427
1,683,912
1,718,397
1,752,882
1,787,367
1,821,852
1,856,337
1,891,509
1,927,960
1,962,444

122,271
117,290
141,530
116,700
101,979
95,452
153,637
175,876
212,778
271,076
309,761

757.2
711.1
840.5
679.1
581.8
634.0
843.3
947.4
1,124.9
1,406.0
1,578.4

71,203
72,735
74,256
75,777
77,297
78,818
80,339
81,859
83,410
85,018
86,538

7,500
6,081
7,183
6,943
6,976
5,764
6,940
6,818
6,103
5,760
5,409

1,053.3
836.0
967.3
916.2
902.5
731.3
863.8
832.9
731.7
677.5
625.0

1 Compiled from annual reports of municipal court of Chicago, 1915-1924, and unpublished figures for
1925 supplied by the court.
2 Estimates as of July 1 supplied by U. S. Bureau of the Census.

Offenses charged.

Under the Illinois law a felony is an offense punishable by death
or by imprisonment in the penitentiary.- Other violations! o f State
laws are misdemeanors.11 Cases brought under city and park ordi
nances are called quasi-criminal offense.12 In the 11 years 1915 to
1925 more than half the cases disposed o f by the boys’ court were
quasi-criminal cases, one-fourth were felonies, and not quite one-fifth
were misdemeanors. The greatest divergence from this average was
in 1925, when the number o f felonies nearly equaled the number o f
quasi-criminal offenses and formed 36.4 per cent o f the total. In
1920 also the proportion o f felonies was high (34.5 per cent o f all
cases). In the years following 1920 the percentage o f felonies de
clined, being exceptionally low in 1923 and 1924. Since 1924 the
proportion o f felonies has increased. How much o f this increase is
due to a real change in the crime situation and how much to a change
in method o f dealing with it can not be determined.13
The smallest percentage o f quasi-criminal offenses in the history o f
the court (39.7) occurred in 1925, and the largest percentage (62.7) in
1915, the first full year o f the court’s operation. The percentage o f
misdemeanors varied from 13 in 1919 to 23.9 in 1925. (Table 7.)
11 111, Rev. Stat. ( Smith-Hurd’ s ) , 1927, ch. 38, secs. 585, 586.
12 This term is used also for illegitimacy cases which are dealt with in the delinquency
branch of the municipal court.
13 The 1926 figures show a smaller number but an even larger proportion o f felony
charges. O f the 5,970 cases reported, 39.6 per cent were felonies, 33.1 per cent were
misdemeanors, and only 27.3 per cent were quasi-criminal offenses. In 1927 the total
number o f cases was 6,920, of which 51 per cent were felonies, 29.3 per cent were mis
demeanors, and 19.5 per cent were quasi-criminal charges.
(Figures furnished by the
office of the clerk of the municipal court.)
It is possible that as a result o f the recent
emphasis on severe treatment fewer felony charges have been reduced to lesser charges in
the last three years than was the practice in former years. The great decrease in quasi
criminal charges may have been due not only to this policy but also to a change in prac
tice in regard to the filing o f charges. The practice o f the judges with reference to
arraignment varies, some judges ordering charges filed in all cases and others in some
cases directing that no charges be filed.

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.R A T I O O F C A S E S D I S P O S E D O F IN C R I M I N A L B R A N C H E S O F M U N I C I P A L C O U R T
(E X C L U S I V E O F B O Y S ’ C O U R T ) T O 10.000 M A L E P O P U L A T I O N 21 Y E A R S A N D O V E R
A N D T O F E M A L E P O P U L A T I O N 18 Y E A R S A N D O V E R , A N D R A T I O O F C A S E S O F
B O Y S 17 T O 2 0 Y E A R S , I N C L U S I V E , D I S P O S E D O F IN B O Y S ' C O U R T T O 10,000
M A L E P O P U L A T I O N O F T H E S A M E A G E S ; C H I C A G O , 1 9 1 5 -1 9 2 5

2,000
_

1,500
£
0

/
1,000

r
r m4

CL.

V
....n

Q~
O

o
o
cf

~ *
k
+
w
f

500

J l ■■ ! it c r iminlal'b
e«celijsive> o f
m 1nbc)ys’ cour
y e a r*3

%
0

1od

100

che<5o f nnurii cipaIcou
•J3
5 COu rt, all (
aae 5 o f boy.3 17 ■bo 2:o -

1915 1916 191719181919 192019S1192219231924-1925

T a b l e 7 . — Type o f offense in cases disposed o f in boys’ court, 1915 -1 9251

Cases disposed of in boys’ court
Year

Total

Number
1915
................................
....... ............ - ..........
1916
1917
.............................
1918
....... ...................
1919
....................................
................. ...........
192Ò
1921
......... ................. .
1922
.............................
1923
.........................
1924
......................
1 9 2 5 -..........................................

8,700
6,583
7,738
7,697
9,297
7,698
8,553
8,485
6,927
8,884
7,591

Misdemeanors

Felonies

1,782
1,475
2,005
1,907
2,800
2,652
2,383
2,187
1,300
1,952
2,764

Quasi-criminal
offenses

Per cent Number

1,465
1,390
1,607
1,396
1,206
1,152
1,506
1,475
1,598
1,964
1,815

5,453
3,718
4,126
4,394
5, ^yi
3,894
4,664
4,824
4,029
4,968
3,012

20.5
22.4
25.9
24.8
30.1
34.5
27.9
25.8
18.8
22.0
36.4

16.8
21.1
20.8
18.1
13.0
15.0
17.6
17.4
23.1
22.1
23.9

Per cent
62.7
56.5
53.3
57.1
56.9
50.6
54.5
56.8
58.2
55.9
39.7

1 Compiled from annual reports of the municipal court of Chicago, 1 9 1 5 -1 9 2 4 , and un
published figures for 1925 supplied by court.

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Analysis o f charges during the 11 years under consideration shows
no significant increase m any one class, maintained over a period
o± years. Offenses against public health and safety of the grade of
misdemeanor, under which are included violations o f automobile and
traffic regulations, were practically unknown before 1920. (Table 8.)
T a b l e 8.— Class o f charge, by type of offense, in cases disposed of in boys’ court

1915-1925 1

Cases disposed of in boys’ court
Charge

62.6
61.3
63.0
60.7
61.0
64.8
68.9
61.1
63.8
65.1
60.7

1,018
867
1,037
907
825
703
781
814
886
1,058
1,021

69.5
62.4
64.5
65.0
68.4
61.0
51.9
55.2
55.4
53.9
56.3

3.3
4.2
3.0
4.8
6.6
7.1
3.1
3.6
2.8
2.8
2.1

Other

Per cent

1,116
904
1,264
1,158
1,708
1, 718
1,642
1,337
829
1,270
1, 677

287
278
23:
37(
615
546
265
307
195
252
157

Number !

___________ 2
551 30.9
.................... 5
45( 30.5
.................... 5
590 29.4
.................... 7 620 32.5
.................... 0
934 33.4
.................... 2 808 30.5
___________ 3 645 27.1
........................................
7
759 34.7
.................... 0 379 29.2
___________ 2 554 28.4
___________... i
919 33.2
Misdemeanor:
1915
....................
164 11.2
1916
....................
217 15.6
1917
....................
173 10.8
1918
....................
162 11.6
1919
....................
125 10.4
1920
....................
87 7.6
1921
....................
145 9.6
1922
.
145 9.8
1923
....................
149 9.3
1924
....................
208 10.6
1925..
.
183 10.1
Quasi-eriminal:
1915
....................
1916
___________
1917
___________
1918
___________
1919..
....................5,291
1920
___________3,894
1921
___________4,664
1922
___________4,824
1923
___________I
4,029
1924
....................:, 968
1925
....................1,012

Percent

24.5
26.9
29.7
26.8
27.2
31.4
28.3
25.3
24.8
26.2
35.5

Violât inf Offenses
prohibi against
tion and public
gamblinf health
and
laws
safety
I N um ber 1

2,134
l, 77:
2,301
2,065
2,533
2,42]
2,42E
2,15]
1,715
2,328
2,698

P ercent 1
1

M) 71, 8.2
S3 66' ID.:
8
76i 9.!
7 782 10.2
7 1,052 11.4
8
891 11.0
<3
79C 9.2
«
90- 10.7
7
52S 7.6
4
762 8.6
1 1,102 14.5

Disorderly
conduct
and va
grancy

Number

t-4

Sex
Sense

1 Percent

Offenses
against
property

Percent

Crimes oi
violence
and injual
ries to
persons
Number

Year and type of offense

Total:

1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
19 21.....
1922
1923
1924
1925

....................
....................
....................
....................
....................
....................
....................
___________
....................
....................

Felony:

1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925

* ^ouipueu irom annual reports ol
for 1925 supplied by court.
i Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1 l.C 4,216
0 .£ 2,744
3.4 3,176
5 .e 3,347
8 1.6 3,878
6 1.2 2,921
9 1.7 3,999
7 2.6 4,262
5 2. 5 3,660
2 3.5 4,481
3 4.0 2,712

48.5
41.7
41. (
43.5
40.7
37. 9
46.8
50.2
52.8
50.4
35.7

921 10.6 336 3.9
697 10.5 371 5.6
53S 7.0 465 6.0
715 9.3 376 4.9
721 7.8 343 3.7
512 6.7 307 4.0
799 9.3 128 1.5
607 7.2 88 1.0
575 8.3 79 1.1
544 6.1 205 2.3
446 5.9 173 2.3

8
1
5
3
9
5
7

3.3
2.1
2.8
1.2
1.8
2.1
2.0
i 2.4
3 4.8
l 4.1
3.5
.3
.8
1.4
1.0

.8
I .9

1.3
2.2
4.0
3.0
6.2

57
90
95
106
109
70
49
38
29
47
70
30
14
5
39

4
1
1
4
3

2.0
1.0
2.8
.4
.3

206
172
131
.2 159
.2 129

111 0 fi
13.7 274 18.2
11*7
8.2 319 20.0
8.1 334 17.0
7.1 274 15.1

.5 4,186 76.8 287 5.3 920 16.9
.5 2,730 73.4 278 7.5 692 18.6 .
4.5 3,171 76.9 231 5.6 538 13.0 .
.2 3,308 75.3 370 8.4 708 1 6.1 .
1.7 3,873 73.2 614 11.6 715 13.5 .
.8 2,917 74.9 546 14.0 401 1 0.3 .
1.8 3,998 85.7 59 1.3 525 1 1.3 .
1.7 4,262 88.3 135 2.8 340 7.0
1.2 3,659 90.8 64 1.6 256 6.4
3.5 4,477 90.1 93 1.9 210 4.2
3.1 2,709 89.9 28
.9 172
.

3.2
6.1
4.7
5.6

3.9
2.6
2.1
1.7
2.2
2.4
2.5

16.9
20.2
23.0
19.3
19.4
20.6
3.2
3.0
3.0
7.3
5.1
.6

.1
(2)

.3
.3

court of Chicago, 1915-1924, and unpublished figures

G E N E R A L F IN D IN G S A N D

R E C O M M E N D A T IO N S

Probably in the latter part o f the period offenses o f this nature have
been dealt with as misdemeanors, under State law, which earlier
were dealt with as ordinance violations. However, the total number
o f offenses o f this class (both misdemeanors and quasi-criminal o f
fenses) decreased markedly in the 11 years— from 921 in 1915 to 446
in 1925. Many boys under 21 years o f age may have been dealt with
in the automobile branch o f the municipal court without inquiry re
garding age. Violations o f prohibition and gambling laws, including
both misdemeanors and quasi-criminal offenses, decreased from 287
in 1915 to 157 in 1925.14 It may have been that many persons who
had violated these laws were charged with less definite offenses, such
as disorderly conduct, which formed a somewhat larger percentage
o f the total from 1921 to 1924 than in earlier years. Crimes o f vio
lence and injuries to persons, and offenses against property, were
more numerous in 1925 than in any other year, but there is no indi
cation o f a gradual increase in preceding years. The percentage o f
sex offenses and crimes increased slightly in 1925, though the number
o f these cases was highest in 1924; the lowest percentage o f these
offenses was 0.6 in 1918, and the highest 4 in 1925. ^(Table 8.) The
percentage o f robberies, which ate included in crimes of violence,
fluctuated from year to year, except for slightly higher percentages
in 1919, 1920, and 1925. (Table 9.) The percentage of burglaries
showed little significant change during the period, but larceny
charges increased somewhat in 1925.15
T

able

9 . — Specific charge in cases disposed of in boys’ court, 1915-1925 a

Cases disposed of in boys’ court
Specific charge
Year
Total

Robbery

Burglary

Larceny

Violating
Violating automobile
liquor laws regulations

Disorderly
conduct

All other

Per
Num Per Num Per Num Per Num- Per Num- Per Num- Per Num- cent
cent
ber
cent ber cent ber cent ber
ber cent ber cent ber
1915.
1916.
1917___
1918--.
1919
1920
1921
1922-—
1923...
1924--.
1925

6.8
506
6.5
425
7.1
549
582
7.6
9.2
855
___________
10.1
774
___________
7.1
609
___________
8.3
707
4.9
336
5.8
518
867 11.4

627
414
548
568
798
708
739
659
334
491
577

1,226
1,107
1,416
1,200
1,362
1,275
1,215
1,123
1,061
1,519
1,710

14.1
16.8
18.3
15.6
14.6
16.6
14.2
13.2
15.3
17.1
22.5

3 (6)
53 0.6
66 1.0
133 1.6
109 1.4

(6)

4 0.1
.1
,6
111 1.4
157 1.8
142 1.7
265 3.8
241 2.7
195 2.6

4,121
2,716
3,171
3,296
3,855
2,849
3,943
4,231
3,654
4,459
2,707

47.4
41.3
41.0
42.8
41.5
37.0
46.1
49.9
52.8
50.2
35.7

2,219
1,921
2,054
2,047
2,421
1,981
1,887
1,571
1,211
1,523
1,426

25.5
29.2
26.5
26.6
26.0
25.7
22.1
18.5
17.5
17.1
18.8

« Compiled from annual reports of the municipal court of Chicago, 1915-1924, and unpublished figures
for 1925 supplied by court.
b Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.
u Compare The Courts and the Prevention o f Delinquency in Annual R eport and P rocpedines o f the Twentieth Annual Conference o f the N ational Probation Association, 1926,
9 (N ew York, 19 26), in which increase in misdemeanors and lesser offenses i si f i WHnn
to such new crimes as automobile-traffic violations and offenses against the prohibition
d

la? 6- Robberies and burglaries form ed in 1926 about the proportion noted in 1925, tout the
n ro n o rtio n o f larcenv charges increased. ' In 1926 robberies constituted 11.1 per cent o f
theP5,979 cases reported, burglaries constituted 7.6 per cent, and larceny charges 30.4 per
cent. (Figures furnished by office o f the clerk o f the municipal court.)

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YO UTH AND CRIME

Dispositions made.

The large number o f cases disposed o f on severe charges in 1925
was accompanied by an unusually small number of discharges and
by more severe treatment as evidenced by a larger proportion of
convictions16 than in preceding years, a large number o f cases held
for the criminal court, and an increase in commitments to institu
tions. The other years when felonies formed an unusually large per
centage of the offenses, 1919 and 1920, also showed more cases held
for the grand jury. (Table 10.) Both the proportion o f serious
charges and the dispositions would be affected by the policy o f the
judges regarding the filing o f complaints. (See footnote 13, p. 12.)
The number o f serious charges would be relatively great and the dis
charges relatively few under a judge who refused leave to file com
plaints that appeared to be unjustified, whereas the proportion of
serious charges would diminish and the discharges would increase
under a judge who allowed all complaints to be filed.
T

abus

10.— Disposition in boys' court, by type of offense, of cases disposed, of,
1 9 15 -1 925a
Cases dealt with in boys’ court

Com
mitted
to insti
tution
Number

Per cent

Fined

Per cent

Percent

1Number

Percent

Held
Placed
for grand on pro
bation
jury
Number

|Percent

Non
suit

j Number

Percent

|Number

Dis
missed
Nolfor want prossed
of prose
cution
|Percent

Percent

Number

Total

Dis
charged

Number

Year and type of
offense

[ Number

Disposition in boys’ court

Total:
901 10.4
730 8.4 43 0.5 162 1.9
523 6.0
761 8.7
1915................ 8,700 5,580 64.1
576 8.7 712 10.8 419 6.4
596 9.1
668 10.1 52 .8 34 .5
1916................ 6,583 3,526 53.6
658 8.5
1917................. 7,738 3,587 46.4 1,124 14.5 60 .8 12 .2 1,058 13.7 590 7.6 640 8.4
7 .1 1,141 14.8 400 5.3 378 4.9
571 7.4
614 8.0 23 .3
1918.................. 7,697 4,554 59.2
432 4.6 52 .6
1,764 19.0 814 8.8 570 6.2
3 «
553 5.9
1919.................. 9,297 5,100 54.9
8 .1 1,477 19.2 655 8.5 513 6.7
671 8.7 188 2.4
450 6.0
1920................. 7,698 3,727 48.4
4 ( > ) 1,444 16.9 414 4.8 620 7.2
582 6.8 108 1.3
700 8.2
1921...... ........... 8,553 4,681 54.7
851 10.0 62 .7 91 1.1 1,189 14.0 469 5.5 560 6.6
520 6.2
1922................ 8,486 4,735 55.8
762 11.0 43 .6 27 .4
426 6.1 594 8.6 338 4.9
646 9.3
1923................. 6,927 4,091 59.1
6 . 1 919 10.3 695 7.8 222 2.5
790 8.0 15 .2
770 8.7
1924.................. 8,884 5,467 61.5
4 .1 1,492 19.7 778 10.2 505 6.7 1,001 13.2
1925.................. 7,591 2,579 34.0 1,192 15.7 40 .5
Felony:
1,782
901 50.6
452 25.4
395 22.2 34 1.0
1915
l' 475
216 14.6 43 2.9
576 39.1
640 43.4
1916
2.2
45
1,058
52.8
2
,
005
15.4
594
308
29.6
1917
1,141 59.8
372 19.5 21 1.1
1,907
373 19.6
1918
45
1)764
712
25.4
279
1.6
63.0
10.0
2’ 800
1919
1) 477 55.7
392 14.-8 182 6.9
2, 652
601 22.7
1920
1,444 60.6
381 16.0 97 4.1
2)383
461 19.3
1921
1)189 54.4
374 17.1
566 25.9 58 2.7
1922
2, 187
2.9
'426 32.8
1
,300
579
44.5
38
257 19.8
1923
919 47.1
522 26.7 12 .6
499 25.6
1,952
1924
1,492
844
.7
54.0
30.5 18
2)764
410 14.8
1925
Misdemeanor:
9
59.2
127
8.7
30 2.0
431 29.4
.6
1915
1,465
868
495 35.6 41 2.9
131 9.4
9 .6
330 23.7
384 27.6
1916
1,390
52
3.2
339 21.1
452
l) 607
253 15.7 15 .9
28.1
1917
496 30.9
332 23.8 58 4.2
127 9.1
1, 396
2 .1
547 39.1
330 23.6
1918
60 5.0
387 32.1 50 4.1
449 37.2
7 .6
253:21.0
1919.................. 1)206
o Compiled from annual reports of the municipal court of Chicago, 1915-1924, and unpublished figures
for 1925 supplied by court.
» Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.
16 Including cases placed on probation, fined, and committed to institutions.

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GENERAL FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

T a b l e 10.— Disposition in toys' court, t y type of offense, of cases disposed of,

1915-1925— Continued

Cases dealt with in boys’ court

M isdemeanor—
Continued.
1920.............
1921.................
1922..................
1923-................
1924_____ ____
1925...... ...........
Quasi-criminal:
1915...... ...........
1916..................
1917_____ ____
1918__________
1919..................
1920.................
1921-................
1922...............
1923.................
1924..................
1926..................

1,152
1,506
1,475
1,598
1,964
1,815

285 24.7
559 37.1
555 37.6
591 37.0
713 36.3
506 27.9

5,453
3,718
4,126
4,394
5,291
3,894
4,664
4,824
4,029
4,968
3,012

4,260 78.1
2,502 67.3
2 , 783 67.5
3,634 82.7
3,939 74.4
2’ 841 73.0
3,661 78.5
3,806 78.9
3^243 80.5
4,255 85.6
1,663 55.2

99 8.6
112 7.4
161 10.9
104 6.5
194 9.9
243 13.4
208
321
277
115
93
180
89
124
79
74
105

3.8
8.6
6.7
2.6
1.8
4.6
1.9
2.6
2.0 1
1.5
3.5

6 .5
11 .7
4 .3
5 .3
3 .2
22 1.2

487 42. 3
317 21.0
349 23.7
421 26.3
539 27.4
446 24.6
162 2.9
34 .9
12 .3
7 .2
3 .1
8 .2
4 .1
91 1.9
27 . 7
6 .1
4 .1

217 5.8
138 3.3
77 1.8
427 8.1
168 4.3
97 2.1
1?0 ? 5
173 4 3
156 3.1
33? 11.0

Com
mitted
to insti
tution
Number

Per cent

Fined

Per cent

Number

Held
Placed
for grand on pro
jury
bation
Number

Per cent

Percent

Non
suit

Number

Percent

Dis
missed
Nolfor want prossed
of prose
cution
Number

Per cent

Number

Total

Dis
charged

Number

Year and type of
offense

Number

Disposition in boys’ court

40
59
6.2
36
2.0
3.9

229 19.9
418 27.8
314 21.3
419 26 2
476 24 2
527 29.0

493 9.0
378 10 ?
597 14.5
3?0 7 3
529 10 0
467 1? 0
531 11.4
468 9, 7
980 6 9
183 3 7
434 14.4

330 6 t
266 7 2
319 7,7
241 5 5
300 5. 7
230 5 9
282 6 0
215 4 5
227 5 6
294 5 9
474 15.7

46
89
92
58
39
71

Discharges varied from 64.1 per cent o f all dispositions in 1915
to 34 per cent in 1925. The unusually large proportion in the first
year may be due partly to the fact that no cases were reported as
placed on probation during that year. The next largest percentage
o f discharges was 61.5 per cent, in 1924. The low point in dis
charges occurred in a year (1925) when the percentage o f cases
placed on probation (10.2 per cent) was the highest o f any year since
1916. The percentage o f cases dismissed for want of prosecution
was highest in 1925 (15.7) and lowest in 1919 (4.6) , but even with
this increase in 1925 the proportion (50.3) of the total cases dis
charged or dismissed (including cases nol-prossed and nonsuited),
was smaller than in any other year. Nolle prosequis and nonsuits
together never reached more than 2.5 per sent (in 1920) and were
as low as 0.3 per cent (in 1924).
The use o f fines appeared to have undergone no marked change,
the percentage o f cases in which fines were imposed ranging from
4.9 to 8.4, except in 1924, when the percentage was only 2.5. These
figures include only cases in which a fine was imposed and paid at
once. Cases in which a fine was imposed and not paid, the offender
being committed to an institution to serve out his fine, are included
in the municipal-court statistics with other commitments. In 80
o f the 972 cases selected for study by the bureau, fine was the only
disposition made. In 25 o f these cases the fine was paid at once ;
in 55 the boy served out a sentence in lieu o f payment o f the fine.
These figures would indicate that the total number o f cases in the

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YO U TH AND CRIME

boys’ court in which fines were imposed was more than twice as
great as the number shown in official records.
The number o f institutional commitments is increased by the in
clusion o f cases serving out fines, usually in the house o f correction.
In all but 3 o f the 10 years in which probation was reported the
number o f commitments to institutions exceeded the number placed
on probation. Institutional commitments formed less than 10 per
cent in every year except 1925 when they were 13.2 per cent o f all
dispositions. Commitments to the house o f correction ranged from
5.8 per cent in 1919 to 13.1 per cent in 1925. The jail sentences were
negligible (never more than 0.2 per cent) and have been combined
with other institutional commitments in Table 15 (p. 82) .17
There had been no sustained tendency toward a decrease or increase
in the proportion o f convictions; that is, cases disposed o f by commit
ment, by imposition o f a fine, or by placing on probation. This pro
portion was highest in 1925, when it reached 30.1 per cent. In 1916
and 1917 the percentages o f convictions were 26.3 and 24.5, respec
tively. In other years the percentages o f convictions varied from
14.7 per cent in 1915 to 22.8 per cent in 1923. The cases held for
the grand jury, however, must be considered in connection with con
victions. The lowest percentage held or convicted was 25.1, in 1915.
In all but 3 o f the 11 years more than 30 per cent were held or
convicted.
I f the figures are averaged for the 11-year period more than half
(53.4 per cent) of the felony charges disposed o f by the boys’ court
were held for the grand jury, the rest being discharged or dismissed
without trial. In nearly half (46.3 per cent) the misdemeanor cases
the defendants were discharged or dismissed; in a fourth (25.5 per
cent) the defendants were placed on probation (more in the earlier
years than since 1920); and in a fourth (28.3 per cent) they were
committed to a correctional institution or fined. In the misdemeanor
cases there were more than six times as many sentences as fines. In
four-fifths (79.8 per cent) o f the quasi-criminal offenses during these
years the cases were discharged or disposed o f without trial; in a
sixth (16.2 per cent) the defendants were fined or committed to cor
rectional institutions for nonpayment o f fine; and in only 3.9 per
cent were the defendants placed on probation. In each year except
1919 and 1925 the probation cases comprised not more than 5.8 per
cent o f all quasi-criminal cases disposed o f; the largest proportion
was 11 per cent in 1925.
SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR DEALING WITH BOYS OVER JUVENILECOURT AGE IN THE UNITED STATES

It is a generally accepted principle that offenders under 16 years
or age should be dealt with by courts as wards o f the State rather
than as criminals. A ll but two States (Maine and Wyoming) have
juvenile-court laws providing such treatment for children under that
age, with exceptions in some States in cases o f serious crimes. For
young persons above this age court treatment varies. The feeling is
developing that treatment different from the usual criminal procep r i m i ^ rpa°««^e n ^ .^ aSmI10it+ Pre|crlbed as a penalty for violations of ordinances (quasicnm inal cases) and commitments in these cases were made only for nonpayment o f fines.

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GENERAL FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

dure should be extended to young people o f the next age group.
This tendency shows itself principally in two ways: First, the exten
sion o f juvenile-court jurisdiction to higher ages; and, second, the
assignment o f cases involving these young persons to other specialized
courts.
The committee on juvenile-court standards appointed by the Chil
dren s Bureau recommended an age limit under which the court
might obtain jurisdiction in children’s cases not lower than 18 years.18
Nearly half the States meet or exceed this standard in regard to boys,
with certain exceptions. The juvenile court is given jurisdiction over
boys under 18 in 21 States,19 including 1 State (Alabama) in which
jurisdiction over those between 16 and 18 years is discretionary with
criminal courts, and 1 (Maryland) in which jurisdiction extends to
boys under 20 years in certain counties. Five States (Arkansas, Cali
fornia, Iowa, Michigan, and Nevada) give the juvenile court jurisdic
tion up to 21 years, but in Michigan jurisdiction above the age o f 17 is
limited to wayward minors.20 In one (Arkansas) the court has ex
clusive jurisdiction only if a minor is arrested without a warrant,
having jurisdiction concurrent with criminal courts over persons
under 21 arrested upon a warrant; in one (Nevada) the juvenile
court may exercise jurisdiction over persons between 18 and 21 years
only i f the criminal court waives jurisdiction and the consent o f the
minor to the juvenile-court proceeding is obtained; in the other two
States (California and Iowa) the juvenile court and the criminal
courts have concurrent jurisdiction over persons between 18 and 21
years o f age. The juvenile court also has concurrent criminal juris
diction over minors under the age o f 21 years in the largest city o f
another State (Denver, Colo.), where delinquency jurisdiction terminates at 18 years. One o f the two States with no juvenile court law
(W yoming) also shows a tendency toward a high age limit, as a
delinquent child is defined as a person under 21 years o f age. In
Maryland (Allegany and Washington Counties and Baltimore city),
the juvenile court has concurrent criminal jurisdiction up to 18
years though delinquency jurisdiction terminates at 16 years.
State laws in Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, and
Pennsylvania have made some provision for specialized treatment o f
minors over juvenile-court age by courts other than juvenile courts.
In Boston and Springfield, Mass., and in Buffalo, N. Y., certain cases
ox minors are heard in domestic-relations branches o f municipal
courts.21 In Pittsburgh, Pa., cases o f persons between 16 and 21
ington V1923 C° Urt Standards’

t s s & M r a ft ja ; »
m inw s ” rteflmwi

S. Children’s Bureau Publication No. 121.

f f "

V “" » - V s ^

W ash-

s i T S n l 6:

1927 save the juvenile court jurisdiction over “ wayward

In Detroit space for a court room and offices was rented in a down-town office buildine
police headquarters, where persons charged with being wayward minors were d<?
tained, if necessary and kept separate f
f
o
m
o
t
b
e
*
S
t
f
e
officers were employed in this department of the juvenile court. The usual iu veS iW rS ,rt
Pr^ClnU B „ f ft ? /° A 1r ed- i,nsW
iona,l £acilities ^ e re reported to b i inadequate.

(see^ p .6^

21 ). wayward chlldren

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; in B oston and Springfield “ stubborn children”

YO UTH AND CRIME

years o f age, whether they be complainants or defendants, are dealt
with by the morals court.22 The juvenile court o f Waterbury, Conn.,
which is an independent court presided over by judges o f the city
court and served by the same clerk and probation officers as that
court, has jurisdiction over children under 16 years o f age. Cases o f
young defendants above that age in the city court are heard in the
court room used for juvenile cases. The boys’ court branch o f the
municipal court o f Chicago has jurisdiction over all types o f cases
except indicted felonies involving boys between IT and 21 years o f
age.
In 1923 the New York Legislature passed a law outlining pro
cedure regarding girls between the ages of 16 and 21 who might
be deemed “ wayward minors.” In 1925 boys o f similar ages were
included, and a fifth clause was added to the definition o f wayward
minors. The present law defines as a wayward minor any person—
* * * between the ages o f 16 and 21 who either (1) is habitually ad
dicted to the use o f drugs or the intemperate use of intoxicating liquors, or
(2 ) habitually associates with dissolute persons, or (3) is found of his or
her own free will and knowledge in a house of prostitution or assignation
or ill fame, or (4) habitually associates with thieves, prostitutes, pimps or
procurers, or disorderly persons, or (5) is wilfully disobedient to the reason
able and lawful commands of parent, guardian, or other custodian and is morally
depraved or is in danger of becoming morally depraved.

Such cases, involving offenses less than felonies or misdemeanors,
are brought before the magistrates’ courts. The law provides that
a wayward minor “ before commitment to an institution shall, so
far as practicable, be placed upon probation for a period not to
exceed two years,” or if not a fit subject for probation shall be com
mitted to a reformative institution for an indeterminate period not
to exceed three years.23 In Buffalo cases of wayward minors are
heard by the domestic-relations division o f the city court. Else
where they are disposed o f by the lower criminal courts.24
The misdemeanants’ division o f the municipal court o f Philadel
phia, established in 1915, hears cases o f incorrigible, runaway, and
vagrant boys and girls between 16 and 21 years o f age, o f women
o^ueeT)Wa^ erS re£ardless of age, and o f men pandering in the streets.
The Pennsylvania law relating to wayward minors, as amended in
1917, provides that the municipal court o f Philadelphia shall have
exclusive jurisdiction in “ all proceedings concerning, or trials o f
charges brought^ against all minors between 16 and 21 years who
shall disobey their parents’ commands, or be found idle in the streets,
and against all disorderly children,” and defines as disorderly “ all
children not under the age o f 16 years deserting their homes without
good and sufficient cause, or keeping company with dissolute or
vicious persons, against the lawful commands o f their fathers,
+V,«2
established by city ordinance in 1918. The ordinance confers upon
m n v h f f L S ? ? 1011
m . a.u cases *
* * against minors and against persons who
m ay be found to be engaged in or to be charged with keeping disorderly, bawdy, or assigna4 i ° i i ^ nse?i
* , * abuse or neglect o f fam ily *
*
See the Juvenile Court of
Allegheny ^County ^Pittsburgh), Report o f a Study by the National Probation Association,
a iii'
J/aws
1925, ch. 389, secs. 1 and 2, as amended by Laws o f 1929, ch. 106.
„ * ° r a discussion of the wayward minor law, see Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual
State Conference of Probation Officers, held in New York City, Dec. 7 - 9 , 1925, in the Nine
l s ok Manual Report of the New York State Probation Commission for the Year 1925, pp
,p.ee also Report o f Subcommittee of the Courts Committee of the Brooklyn Bureau
Charities on the Proposition W hether a Boys’ Court Should be Established in the
Borough of Brooklyn, Mar, 18, 1929,
v* «
v

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GENERAL FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

mothers, or guardians, or other person standing in the place of a
parent.” 25
Massachusetts courts have jurisdiction over “ stubborn children ”
under 21 years o f age, derived from an old law applying to rogues
and vagabonds, stubborn children, runaways, “ common drunkards,”
and a number o f other classes o f persons. Such persons may be
punished by commitment to a State reformatory or farm or to a
house o f correction or workhouse, fined, or discharged on entering
into a recognizance, with surety, for good behavior. The form of
indictment for a stubborn child, as specified in the law, is as follow s:
“ That A. B., a minor, during the three months next before the
making o f this complaint, was a stubborn child and stubbornly re
fused to submit to the lawful and reasonable commands of C. D.,
whose commands said A. B. was bound to obey.” 26 In the central
district o f Boston and in Springfield such cases are heard by domes
tic-relations courts. Elsewhere they are disposed of by the ordinary
courts of inferior criminal jurisdiction.
In Missouri minors between IT and 21 who commit acts that would
constitute delinquency if committed by a minor under IT (including
serious offenses) may be tried for misdemeanor in any court o f
record, including the juvenile court. A New Mexico law of 1919 gives
the district court exclusive jurisdiction over girls between 16 and 18
years o f age accused of felonies less than murder or o f misdemeanors,
but in 1929 certain offenses specified in the 1919 law were in effect
placed under the jurisdiction o f the juveline courts.26a
CHICAGO PLAN FOR DEALING WITH BOYS OYER
JUVENILE-COURT AGE

The Chicago juvenile court, which has jurisdiction over delinquent
boys under the age o f IT years, was the pioneer juvenile court in the
United States. Chicago has also been a pioneer in the development
o f specialized court treatment o f boys from IT to 20 vears o f age,
inclusive. The municipal court act o f 1905 centralized “in one court’
with various branches, inferior civil and criminal jurisdiction
throughout the city. A boys’ court branch was established by rule
or court in 1914. Its creation is an example o f what can be
accomplished without special legislation in reform o f judicial
organization.
The boys’ court has jurisdiction over misdemeanors and quasi
criminal offenses committed by boys o f the ages specified, and con
ducts preliminary examinations in felony cases involving boys o f
these ages, holding them for action by the grand jury. I f an indict
ment is returned such cases are tried by the criminal court. The
criminal court is composed o f judges o f the superior and circuit
courts, and does not have a separate division for younger defend
ants. The jurisdiction and procedure o f the boys’ court are the
same as those o f the other branches o f the court o f which it is a part,
but the study made by the Children’s Bureau showed that the
following characteristics distinguished it from the branch courts
having the usual criminal and quasi-criminal jurisdiction.
® £ a > La^ s of 1 913> No- 3 99> sec- 1]L> as amended by Laws of 1917, No 328.
M ass., Gen. Laws 1921, ch. 2.72, sec. 53, and ch. 277, sec. 79. p. 2828.
28a N. Mex., Laws of 1919, ch. 8 6 ; Laws of 1929, ch. 74.
f

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YO U TH AND CRIME

1. Segregation o f boys’ cases from other cases, eliminating asso
ciation in court o f boys with older criminals. This segregation,
unfortunately, had not been carried out in the police stations, where
the boys were detained pending arraignment, and it had been effected
only in part in the county jail, where they were held during con
tinuances or to await the action o f the grand jury and the criminal
court.
2. Some degree o f specialization o f judicial function as a result
o f the segregation o f cases. This _segregation enabled the judge to
become somewhat familiar with the special problems involved in
boys’ cases and to gain experience in handling them. However, the
frequency with which judges assigned to the court were changed—
three to seven times a year from 1919 to 1925— and the large number
o f cases dealt with by one judge— an average o f 50 cases a day, 27
o f these new cases, in 1924 and 1925—-greatly hindered the develop
ment o f constructive policies by the judge and lessened the indi
vidual consideration which each case should have had.
3. The beginnings o f social service in boys’' cases through the
social-service department o f the court and representatives o f three
private organizations working with it. The official staff o f this de
partment at thé time o f the study consisted o f only three workers,
all women, who were responsible to the clerk o f the court through
the deputy in charge o f the criminal department. No one was in
immediate charge o f the department, and the duties o f the workers
were dependent to a considerable extent upon the wishes o f the judge
who happened to be assigned to the boys’ court.
ARREST AND DETENTION

Boys arrested were taken to the police stations and booked in the
same manner as other arrested persons. The procedure as to ex
amination, commitment, and bail was the same as in adult cases.
The police department o f Chicago had no special officers assigned
to work with boys o f the ages under consideration,27 as it had for
work with boys o f juvenile-court age, and no separate places o f
detention were provided for them. In the police stations, where
they were held pending arraignment, they were subjected to asso
ciation with criminals o f all types. Statistics were not available as
to the length o f such detention, but instances o f detention for several
days before a charge was filed, in an attempt to obtain confessions,
were related by some o f the boys interviewed. This detention ap
pears to have been accompanied in some instances by brutal treat
ment on the part o f the officers.
County jail statistics show an increasing use o f jail detention for
boys pending disposition o f their cases. Boys o f 17 and 18 years
o f age were usually assigned to the top floor o f the jail, but accommo
dations there were not sufficient to provide for all boys o f these ages,
and segregation of the older boys was not provided. Study o f the
cases included in this inquiry indicates that many boys whose cases
were ultimately dismissed or discharged were held in jail while wait
ing disposition o f their cases. Negro boys were detained in jail more
27 In 1929 it was reported that tw o police officers were detailed to the boys’ court to
assist boys in finding employment.

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frequently than white boys, probably owing in large part to their be
ing less able to give bail. Unnecessary detention o f boys was partic
ularly unfortunate because o f the notoriously bad conditions in the
county jail. A new jail, however, with separate quarters for boys,
was under construction. (See p. 37.)
STUDY

CASES

Investigation of the home conditions and the boy’s history was
almost never made before the hearing, and only a small proportion
of the cases were continued for investigation by the probation depart
ment, which was inadequately staffed and had no officers especially
assigned to investigate and supervise boys’ cases only. A small
amount o f social information was obtained through interviews with
the boys immediately before the hearing. Records of social agencies
were not consulted. The staff o f three women in the social-service
department, supplemented by representatives of three private organi
zations, could not possibly assemble the information needed by the
judge as a basis for deciding what disposition would be most likely
to prevent further delinquency and crime. Study by the Children’s
Bureau o f the histories o f 82 boys dealt with by the boys’ court
showed only a very small number in which sufficient information had
been available to the judge to enable him to determine whether or not
the boy was in need o f constructive supervision.
It had been the hope o f those interested in the establishment of
the boys’ court and the psychopathic laboratory that much could be
accomplished through scientific study o f the mental condition and
emotional make-up of the boys. Because o f the small staff of the
laboratory and the need for its service in other branches o f the
municipal court, only a small proportion (not more than 15 or 16
per cent) o f boys’ court cases were referred to it for examination.27®
The results o f the study of those boys who were referred were made
available to the court only in the most general terms, except when
supplemental information was given orally. Unless the boy was so
defective as to be eligible for commitment to an institution for the
feeble-minded the findings o f the laboratory afforded little guidance
to the court in prescribing treatment. Even if a complete report o f
findings and recommendations had been made, it could have been
utilized only to a limited extent so long as the resources available to
the court for treatment, either through probationary supervision or
institutional care, were so far from adequate.
HEARINGS

Quarters for the boys’ court were inadequate for the work o f the
social-service staff, for the care of the boys while awaiting hearing,
and for the hearing.28 The judges endeavored to conduct the hear
ings in a more or less informal and direct manner, and to consider the
information at hand concerning the history o f the boy and the sugges
tions made by social workers. The attitude o f the boys themselves,
as indicated in interviews with the representative of the Children’s
Bureau, was that the court was a good institution and that the judges
a7a Since this report was written the psychopathic laboratory has been reorganized
under a new director.
.
88 In 1929 the boys’ court was occupying quarters in the new police building.

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YO UTH AND CRIME

intended to be fair and helpful. This was in marked contrast to
their attitude toward the police. The crowded condition of the
public court room, however, made it difficult to develop a procedure
different from that usually characterizing inferior criminal courts.
The treatment accorded the boys by the court attendants was for
the most part not noticeably different from that accorded older de
fendants in unspecialized courts.
Cases not o f the grade of felony were disposed o f fairly promptly.
In 72 per cent o f the cases studied that were not held for the grand
jury, disposition was made by the boys’ court in less than a month,
and in 47 per cent in less than a week. Long continuance o f some
cases was due to their assignment to private agencies for supervision
during continuance. In 65 per cent o f the cases held for the grand
jury the interval between the initiation o f the case and the final dis
position was two months or more, and in 40 per cent three months or
more.
DISPOSITION OF CASES

A large proportion (63 per cent) o f 948 cases studied, disposed o f
by the boys’ court, the grand jury, or the criminal court, were dis
missed or discharged. However, in 8 per cent the boys received in
formal supervision from private agencies after discharge or during
continuance, and in 1 per cent they were discharged as juveniles or
committed to the State institution for the feeble-minded. In 53
per cent o f the cases the boy received no supervision and paid no
penalty as a result o f his boys’ court experience. In 23 per cent
the boy was either placed on probation or received informal super
vision. Cases in which the boy was sentenced to an institution or
committed for nonpayment o f fine comprised 15 per cent o f the total,
and in 3 per cent fines were imposed and paid. The proportion of
negro boys committed to institutions was higher than the proportion
o f white boys, and as a rule they were committed for longer periods.
The large proportion o f discharges and dismissals raises the ques
tion whether unnecessary arrests were being made or whether boys
in need o f supervision were failing to receive it. Among the cases
studied intensively were several in which arrests appeared to be
unnecessary and unjustified. Several instances were also found of
boys discharged who were in need of constructive treatment o f some
sort. In some cases the boy felt that “ pull ” exercised by a gang
was sufficient to save him from any serious penalty for wrongdoing.
A large proportion o f the cases in which fines were imposed re
sulted in imprisonment for nonpayment o f fine. In only 25 of the
80 cases included in the study in which fines were imposed was the
fine paid.
In many instances charges o f the grade o f misdemeanor or quasi
criminal offense were ordered filed instead o f more serious charges.
This was done when the evidence was weak, and the practice may
also be accounted for in part by the lack o f jurisdiction of the boys’
court over felonies, which under the Illinois law include cases of
larceny if the property stolen is worth as little as $15.29
»111., Rev. Stat. (Smith-Hurd’ s ) , 1927, ch. 38, sec. 389. The increased proportion o f
felony cases in 1926 and 1927 may indicate that the practice of reducing charges was
becoming less common.
(See footnote 13, p. 12.)

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GENERAL FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The percentage o f cases placed on official probation was low (15
per cent o f those studied). Information obtained in this inquiry
from the boys and their parents indicated that, although some o f
the probation officers understood boys’ problems and were dealing
with them effectively, the majority o f the boys on probation received
supervision o f only the most routine kind.
The adult probation department was under the control o f the
judges o f the circuit, superior, and municipal courts, who appointed
the chief probation officer. H alf the other probation officers were
appointed by the judges o f the circuit and superior courts, for the
county, and half by the judges o f the municipal court, for the city.
Probation officers were not subject to civil service, though at the
direction o f the judges examinations had been held for officers ap
pointed for the county. Salaries were fairly adequate, with the
exception o f those paid the first and second assistant chief probation
officers ($2,820 and $2,712, respectively, in 1927). These officers
should receive compensation sufficient to attract and hold super
visors experienced in the direction o f case work. The chief proba
tion officer did not have full authority over the members o f his staff.
Specialized probation service had not been developed for the special
ized branches o f the municipal court. The number o f cases under
the supervision o f each officer (averaging 127 for officers assigned
to court duty as well as to supervision of probationers) was much
larger than the standard generally agreed to be desirable (a maxi
mum o f 50 cases to each officer). Under these conditions it was
impossible in most cases for probation officers to give adequate
attention to the problems o f conduct and social adjustment presented
by boys under supervision. The records kept by the probation de
partment did not give an adequate picture o f the problems involved
or the work done.
Besides the jail, the institutions to which boys might be sentenced
were the house o f correction, in which boys were partly but not
wholly separated from older men; the reformatory, which received
boys and men under the age of 26 years and which provided for
separation’ o f those under and over 21 years; and the penitentiary,
to which boys 18 to 20 years of age convicted o f certain major
felonies might be committed. Institutional commitments were in
the main short-term commitments to the house o f correction, which
was not equipped to give boys the constructive training that they
needed. Among the boys whose cases were studied some seemed to
have profited by a very short commitment, o f one week to 80 days.
A constructive institutional program of school work with vocational
value, recreation, and wise discipline, appeared to be needed, how
ever, for many o f the boys. No institution was available for the
long-time care of boys of borderline mentality or with emotional de
fects and confirmed delinquent habits.
The cases studied in which boys had been committed to institu
tions showed little or no constructive help given by parole officers
after discharge.
BOYS COMING BEFORE THE COURT

From the records of the courts and the social agencies, assembled
for 972 cases, involving 909 boys, dealt with by the boys’ court in

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YO UTH AHD CRIME

1924 and 1925, and from an intensive study o f 82 o f these cases
considerable information was obtained concerning the boys and their
needs, as well as concerning the methods used in dealing with their
problems.
Although only 14 per cent o f the boys appearing in court whose
race was reported were colored (all negroes except one), this is a
large percentage in view of the small proportion o f negroes in the
total population o f Chicago. More than three-fourths o f the boys
(77 per cent) were native born themselves, but more than half (57 per
cent o f those reporting race and nationality) had immigrant parents.
The proportion o f foreign born in the total population in 1920 was
30 per cent.
Three-fifths o f the 909 boys were under 19 years o f age. Nearly
all the boys had lived in Chicago at least two months, and nearly
all were unmarried. The families o f more than half the boys (53 per
cent) were known to at least one social agency.
Fifty-seven per cent o f the boys in court were reported to be
living with their own parents, and 5 per cent with one parent and
a step-parent. Twenty per cent were living with one parent only,
a_nd 18 per cent were living elsewhere, half o f them rooming and
the others living with other relatives or in their own homes, as a
few were married.
Few o f the boys were attending school at the time o f their offense,
and practically all were or had been at work. However, 36 per cent
o f those for whom employment status was reported were unemployed
at the time o f their offense. More than two-thirds (68 per cent) o f
the boys reporting school grade had completed the sixth, seventh,
or eighth grade; 24 per cent had attended high school; and 8 per cent
had completed less than six grades.
Information in regard to mental status at the time o f the offense
was available for only 107 o f the 909 boys. O f these, 47 were classi
fied by the psychopathic laboratory as low, middle, and high grade
morons—that is, as under 12 years o f age mentally—and 18 as high
grade borderland morons. The mental age o f 42 ranged from 12
to 15 years or above. In regard to emotional defect all the 107 boys
were classified by the psychopathic laboratory o f the municipal court
as suffering from some form o f dementia praecox. It is probable
that the term dementia praecox was used by the psychopathic labora
tory to include degrees o f emotional defect or instability which in
other clinics would not have been classified as definite deviation from
the normal.
O f the 909 boys, 75 per cent had not been dealt with officially by
the juvenile court and 25 per cent had delinquency records in the
Chicago juvenile court. (See p. 98.) Forty-two per cent had been ar
rested in Chicago before the offense studied and after they had passed
the age o f juvenile-court jurisdiction. The record of delinquency is
not complete, however. Forty-seven per cent had neither juvenile nor
other delinquency records, so far as was known; 28 per cent had rec
ords only when beyond juvenile-court age; 11 per cent had juvenile
records only; and 14 per cent had both juvenile and other court
records.
Study o f the records o f 220 of the 250 boys who had reached their
twenty-first birthday before the date o f the Children’s Bureau study

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GENERAL FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

(May 31,1926), and who thefèfore fó t the four yeàrs ^rèceditiè tristi
birthday had been within the agé jurisdiction o f the boys* couVt
showed that two-thirds (67 per cent) were repèàtèrs: Only 20 pèr
cent o f this group had been in the juvenile courf fo t delih<piehÓyÌ
Juvenile-court records Were somewhat ffiorè frequent among the bòyk!
who were repeated offenders in the boys’ court. T h u s o f the 're
peaters 24 per cent had ' histories o f delinquency as children which
brought them officially before the juvenile court, whereas o f the nqnrepeaters Only 12 per cent had such jUVenile-dehnqueriòy recÓrdsl
O f the boys who wete brought before thè hoys’ òótiit and' had
juvenile-court records 48 per cent o f those
obtained concerning the disposition o f the last Òàsé in the' juVèhile
court had been committed to an institution, 21 per cent had been
placed bn probation, and the cases o f 27 pelf cent had been; disihi^edj
dropped, Or continued generally: This is a lar|*e propóirtioii o f fail
ures for boys with experience in institutions for juvenile delihquèfiis,
especially in view o f the fact that institutional commitmèhts' Kirhied
only 28 pet cent o f all dispositions Of cases by the j;ùyèMle^Obdirt
during the eight years before 1924. !/ B to eriima&& nq&i a yo
Neither can insfitutioidtiircqhah^i^nfn.bf' oldèr tìòys bè còrtóidèrèd
a generally successful method o f preventing further delinquericièS^
for,' in spite o f their incarceration dririhg àt léast part o f thè àtibs(è-4
quent period, a larger proportion1o f bojrs sent to institutions fOr the
offense studied were rearrestéd than o f boys givèri other trèatinéiitl.1
The' fact that commitments are mòre probable in cakes o f the more
serious offenders who would be most likely to commit further offends
doubtless accounts in part fOr this showirig. Nevertheless, it is^Significant that 30 péri bèni o f thè bòyè sent tò instittitioris were rèàr-*
rested, as ' compared with 20 pe'V! cent of those given1other disbòV
sitions. V
iriH urriBinoyaq m e •iaoigoioxic
It is evident that in formulating further pidfis for thè trèa,tmeht o f
delinquents oVer juVehile-cOurt age in Chicago boys o f 17 and 18 miist
be especially considered, forithey appear ih edurt ih larger humbers
than boys o f 19 and 20. , The, proportions o f serious offenders among
the older and the younger boys appear tó bè approximately the
same. About a fourth o f the boys o f each age under 20 arid a soirie-'
what larger proportion o f boys 20 years o f age were charged withfelonies^ Preventive methods should have a major part in the treat
ment o f boys o f 17 to 20 years o f age because o f the large number who
apparently come into conflict with the law for the first time during
these years. For many o f these boys the formative period o f their
life did not end with the age limit fixed by the juvenile court law.80
The case histories show a comparatively small proportion o f whardu
ened criminals” among any o f the groups dealt with by the boys’
court. Like all other members o f the human, family, these boys had
their own particular problems and needs. Complicating factors in(
the delinquencies o f many o f them were broken homes ; poverty ; lack
o f intelligent and sympathetic guidance at home ^difficulties in school ;
shifting o f jobs, with more or less unemployment; bad companions,1
including gang affiliations ; and, in . a considerable; number o f i in-'
stances, mental dullness ranging down to definite mental defect, and
80 Healy, William : The Individual Delinquent, p. 178.
86850°— 30------3

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Boston, 1915.

Y O U T H A N D C R IM E

emotional instability. The court experience o f some o f the boys was
more or less accidental, or their delinquency was a passing phase in
their transition from boyhood to manhood. Among these were boys
with good homes, fair education, and promising vocational adjust
ments, as well as boys who were hampered by family problems and
bad environment.
RECOMMENDATIONS

T o deal with the conduct problems that these boys present, the
single “ remedy” o f speedy and certain justice, with severe penalties,
frequently advocated by those who are concerned about the so-called
41crime wave,” is clearly not sufficient. On the contrary, the facts
assembled indicate the need for such individual study and scientific
treatment as constitute the basis o f juvenile-court work. This does
not mean that a sentimental policy o f leniency is recommended. The
study showed that under the present system two-thirds o f the boys
were discharged or their cases dismissed with nothing more severe
than a warning or, at most, a period of informal, friendly super
vision by a representative o f a private agency. I f more were known
about the boys and the causes o f their delinquencies, doubtless the
number o f discharges would be reduced and the numbers placed on
probation or committed to institutions would be increased, especially
if resources for constructive treatment and guidance in the commu
nity under probationary supervision or in institutions were available.
Any plan for more adequate organization o f Chicago’s resources
for dealing with delinquent boys in the later period o f adolescence
should be based upon careful examination of the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court, the boys’ court, and the criminal court, the organiza
tion o f the courts and the various departments (social service, proba
tion, laboratories for psychological and psychiatric study) available
to them, the policies and methods o f the police, detention facilities,
and facilities for institutional care. Organizations engaged in work
which tends toward the prevention o f delinquency and crime should
also be considered.
\
The more important changes suggested by the findings or this study
are as follow s:
1. Jurisdiction of juvenile court and boys’ court.

As boys 17 and 18 years o f age form the majority o f boys coming
before the boys’ court a large part o f the problem might be met by
extending the age jurisdiction of the juvenile court one or two years
and at the same time increasing the resources available to the juvenile
court for probationary supervision and institutional care o f older
boys. Nearly half the States extend juvenile-court jurisdiction to
boys under 18 years o f age or to a higher age. (See p. 19.) .
The Chicago juvenile court has power to waive jurisdiction and
permit a child tc be tiied under ordinary criminal procedure,31 and it
would seem that this provision would safeguard the interests o f the
public adequately for the 17-year group, as it does for the group
under 17. O f the 17-year-old boys included in the study 26 per cent
were accused o f offenses o f the grade of felony. O f the 26 boys o f
this age included in the 82 cases studied intensively only 4?, or 5 could
be said to show confirmed tendencies toward criminality, which the
a ill

Eev. Stat. (Sm ith-Hurd’s ) , 1927, ch. 23, sec. 199.

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GENERAL FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

juvenile court might not be equipped to handle. I f jurisdiction were
extended to include 18 years, juvenile-court jurisdiction over boys of
this age might be made concurrent with that o f criminal courts, as in
California and several other States.
Taking 17-year-old boys out o f the boys’ court would decrease the
number o f boys’ court cases 25 to 30 per cent and increase the
number o f juvenile-court cases 33 to 40 per cent.32 Concurrent juris
diction over 18-year-old boys would still further increase the volume
o f juvenile-court work and decrease the volume o f boys’ court work.
Such a change should not be proposed to the legislature without
careful study of what changes in the juvenile-court program and
resources would be needed, and assurance that increased appropri
ations to provide for the expansion would be forthcoming. Con
sideration should be given to the additional judicial service that
would be required, the additions to the probation staff that would be
needed, the problem o f providing detention care for boys 17 and 18
years o f age, the age limits o f the institutions to which the juvenile
court commits delinquent children, and the possibilities o f providing
additional institutional facilities for their care.
I f it should be found inadvisable to transfer to the juvenile court
part o f the jurisdiction o f the boys’ court, through raising the age
jurisdiction o f the former, the boys’ court might be developed into
a court with both, equity and criminal jurisdiction over boys o f the
ages dealt with at present, so that either procedure might be used
at the judge’s discretion. Such a change was recommended by
Dr. George W . Kirchwey following his survey of the Cook County
jail. “ The next step is to transform this tribunal (boys’ court)
into a boys’ court o f unlimited jurisdiction in cases o f crime or
delinquency, with the protective and correctional powers now ex
ercised by the juvenile court.” 33 Such a transformation would in
volve the provision o f an adequate staff and the development o f
resources for detention care and institutional treatment approximat
ing those at the disposal o f the juvenile court.
I f clothing the court with full equity jurisdiction, including power
to deal with boys who are incorrigible or beyond the control o f their
parents or guardians, in addition to those charged with violations
o f laws or ordinances, is not deemed feasible at the present time, a
less far-reaching change would be to add to the existing criminal
jurisdiction o f the boys’ court jurisdiction corresponding to that
under the “ wayward minors ” acts o f New York and Michigan and
that exercised by the Philadelphia municipal court with reference
to incorrigible, runaway, and vagrant boys and girls. (See pp.
19, 20.) At the present time a few parents unable to control their
sons bring them to the boys’ court and prefer charges o f disorderly
conduct; but the number o f such cases is few, and it is not desirable
that “ disorderly ” charges should be made in these instances.
It would also be desirable to give the boys’ court concurrent juris
diction with the higher courts m felony cases involving boys under
21. This would merely provide for the boys’ court the power which
seems to have been contemplated for the municipal court as a whole
by the provision o f the law for transfer o f cases from other courts.
82 So many juvenile-court cases are adjusted out o f court that doubtless few er 17-yearold boys would reach the juvenile court fo r official hearing than now reach the boys’ court.
83 T he Survey o f the Cook County Jail, p. 38.

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YO UTH AND CRIME

(See p ; 36.) In considering this proposal careful examination
shoulcf be made o f the constitutional questions 'involved and the
provision fori jury trials that would be necessary,
2. Organization of boys’ court.

.asifiia ri9i*JO IBisvss o n e eixrioiilBvJ

Whether or not the boys’ court is relieved o f eases o f boys under
18 or 19 years o f age it should be made a' inôre effective instrument
for dealing constructively with the boys who will remain within its
jurisdiction^ Among the outstanding needs o f the boys’ court are
the follbiving: . xf •
J9B . Py
. “ . J
(à j Assignment o f one or more judges to give full time to the
hours’ Oourt for à period o f years. * I f the present jurisdiction o f the
court & retained and jurisdiction over wayward minors added the
services o f at least two judges w ill be needed. For success in this
cburt the judges must be‘interested in the special problems o f boys o f
this âge and familiar with the methods o f dealing with them de
veloped' by the social wôrker and the psychiatrist. It is only through
Ibhg; assignments to the boys’ court cthat the judge can become
familiar With the problems he deals with and the work o f cooper
ating agencies and institutions, and develop stable policies o f organi
zation arid procedure.
.
- 9 r r,
:
(5) Quartets 34 for the court that will make possible—
; J ( 1) Hearings ;in a small room that Would accommodate only
those legitimately concerned in the Case, ‘ P
' ;, ; ;
• -, , (2) Waiting rooms separate from the Court room for boys
; , awaiting hearings who are ôut oh bond, as Well Us provision o f
' adequate quarters for boys in Cüstôdyi Boys, parents.,: and Wit
nesses should be in the court room only during the time When
their own cases are heard. ./• . ..
r.
.
' -r*r
> t r (3) Office space for the social-serYiCe staff sufficient to provide
privacy during interviews With boys, families, and complainants.
(c) An investigation service Which will pfovide jthe judge with
information as to the court record, early ,childhood, education, fam
ily and neighborhood conditions, employment j record, habits and
. associates, recreation, and the circumstances under which the offense
Was committed .f5 . Knowledge o f the problems o f each individual
boy is essential for an intelligent decision as to what Will prevent
;R recurrence o f his a.ntisocial, conduct. Jt can be obtained only
through adequate investigation o f each case by à staff o f Well-trained
rsocial workers capable o f interpreting as •well as gathering facts
and o f fornuilating jplans for treatment for ?presentation to the
mdg^0\
g i^
taBToav bus vawagui aLdinrnooni oi
The investigation staff might be organized either in combination
With the social-service staffs o f other specialized branches o f the
municipal court, so that one department would serve the entire court
under one properly qualified director, with trained social investi
gators .assigned to the various branches, or under a probation de
partment authorized and equipped to give the boys’ court the serv
ices described.30 . At least the majority o f the members o f the staff
M See description o f new quarters op p. 48,
.
¿T ilg g g Probation and Delinquency, by Edwin J. Cooley, p. 59 (New York, 1927).
«« Investigation by the probation department o f cases in w hich there is no application
fo r probation would be possible only if provided fo r by rule o f court or by amendment o f
the probation law. See- -Ili., Rev. Stat. (Sm ith-Hurd’s ) , 1927, ch. 38, sec. 705 (1 ) (7 ) ;

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GENERAL FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

<j$.

assigned to the boys’ court should be men. .Appointments should be
made from eligible lists established through déipdetitiVëvé^^ràihafièli.
(d) Increased facilities fo t medical and psÿbhiàtric ^tudÿ|Th&kiiig
possible the examination, o f a lâfger proportioti Of boys and cohipléïle
reports, o f examination^,- With; récôihiûMd.atîohÿdbh tfèàtmèfitn Ih
eVei^dàèe'ïëfèrrëdV''1' 83^ -^tco. gril yd bedriossb abodtem eeigab
(^ U n o fficia l treatmèntbf casés fëfeTred by patenté, tëachërs^ ahd
others interested in boys’ problems, and o f minor cases for-whieh
the judge does not believe that official bourt aiétîon ‘ is ^iî^cëssàry.
Sùclî treatment would involve discussion o f problebië With bnys’/flielr
parents, and others concerned, and’ refereiice f o }àgeAciéé' é^Uif^péd to
deal -ÿd.th ..the’ 'pàntiduïa-r ,pfpblefik#p(ioëéDéè1(^;J'i)‘-)ü’î.ci
&
(f ) Reorganization o f the probation department ■so ! as $6 ^ ¥ e
special service to each specialized branch and to’ provide supervision
in accordance with standards of the; bè$t ptbb&tion^ ^brfe, sytith^^e
object o f helping to adjust the individual and sÔeiâhpr'dbleMs o f st'he
probationer.37 Under such a reorganization privatelagèfecfeâLOOtili
still be Utilized for the supplementary' ser^ices whi'eh thfeÿ ^afë1best
equipped td rendèt; rH*nym ^ d û riiL .Dsajsskn ad ion: hbo oriw ayod
Appointments to the probation department should be made SObjdet
to competitive examination, and definite fequiréménts asdO ’education
and experience should bè formulated. The chief prObatiOri ofBeér
should be competent to exercise leadership’ in community planning
for the treatment o f ptoblëinè o f delinquency an^-cHfibfe* A^^éllyâs
to establish policies and supervise the work o f the probatiofi-dëpaVtment. The subdivisions of the department ¡should -be direetedl by
persons competent to ¡ direct case work. , The probation; department
should be removed entirely from politics* and thé nhief probation
officer should be given full responsibility for the appointment? !and
discharge o f officers. ; The number, o f i probation officers; §houldi: be
increased* so that officers giving full time to the supervision o f {proba
tioners should not be required to supervise more than oO eases and
officers giving part time to this service should have proportijonateiy
fewer cases.
at.9moi{ no il noJab siiiie/iq boon a to iiali of lalimia
The records of the probation office should b qjn p recomplété-jsfio’sying for each case the problems involved, the treatment pfanned,.^iid
the results accomplished.
3. Policies and methods of police. .

grfT

' .fioitBsriiB’Qio ate •ofmriaD

Among the changes which should be made in police method^ p f
dealing with boys are; the following : 11<v btib iq ) j n o i t nacteCI ( &)
I. (a) Greater care should be exercised in making arrests^? nUnnecqssary arrests not only expose the boys'rto humiliating? expari®nQe§ibut
involve wasteful use o f public machinery?
( b ) Adoption o f a policy limiting the holding o f bpys ;ini jpPime
stations before a charge is made to the interval between, arresti and
the first session o f the court following arrest.38 According to the-law
there should be no “ unnecessary delay” after arrest beldre examina87 See Jnvenilé-Çoürt Standards, p. 5 (U. S. Children’s Büreàu Puhïi/catîeii N o. 121,
;
188 Detention before a1 charge is filed, f o r 1longer than /t h è ‘jjetiod indicated, iBillegSal.;.>-See
Beeley, A rthur Lawton, The B ail System in Chicago, p. 24. Thesis fo r degree « f doctor
o f philosophy, University o f Chicago, 1927. t; ' * ® » baiciim o gew lint, wan SÛT **
W a sh in g to n , 1923) ; page 57 o f this report ; and Probatiôh. an d Deliriqueïiéy, y*: 319 ft.

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YOUTH AND CRIME

tion by court.39 A stricter interpretation by judges o f the inadmissability o f a confession made under circumstances which would
interfere with its voluntary character would make the practice o f
holding boys for several days before taking them to court and “ thirddegree methods ” described by the boys, less useful from the point
of. view o f the police, and would therefore tend to reduce the
practice.40
#
(o)
Greater opportunity for release before arraignment. This
might be accomplished through wider use by police officials o f the
recognizance without sureties.41 It seems probable that this would be
a relatively safe procedure, as few boys o f the age under considera
tion disappear before the completion of their cases. O f the 1,499
cases studied the court remained in touch with the boy until the
case was disposed o f in all but 33 cases. Such a practice would re
duce the number o f boys held under undesirable conditions in the
precinct stations.
(d) Improved facilities for detention pending arraignment of
boys who can not be released. Arrangements should be made for
detention o f boys entirely separate from adults. A central place
o f detention would be preferable to the precinct stations in which
boys o f the boys’ court age group are now held. I f this is not feasible
separate quarters should be provided in certain o f the precinct
stations so that these boys can be protected from contact with older
offenders.
4. Detention in county jail.

Segregation o f boys from other prisoners and a program o f con
structive activities should be provided. Conditions in the ^present
county jail are notoriously bad. The completion o f the new jail will
solve the problem, at least in part. It is regrettable that a separate
building was not provided for boys, but the present plan for sepa
rate quarters in the new jail can and should be developed so as to
provide recreation, school, and other activities, and administration
similar to that o f a good juvenile detention home.42
5. Policies of boys’ court.

Suggested changes in the policies o f the boys’ court should be con
sidered in connection with recommendations previously made con
cerning its organization. The study showed the need for the
follow ing:
.
.
(a) Detention after arraignment kept at the minimum that public
safety and the interests o f the boys require. This study did not indi
cate that the increasing use o f jail detention o f boys was necessary.
Decrease in the amount o f detention could be effected by prompt
and thorough social investigation, upon which decision as to release
on personal recognizance or amount of bail required should be based.
39 111., Rev. Stat. (Sm ith-Hurd’ s ), 1927, ch. 38, sec. 660.
,
-a
a
40 in . Rev. Stat. (Sm ith-Hurd’s ), 1927, ch. 38 sec. 7 3 6 ; McKelvey, John J a y : Hand
book o f the Law o f Evidence, p. 183 (St. Paul, 1924).
. . 1n oo. . „
41 Compare Criminal Justice in Cleveland, p. 213 (Cleveland (O h io), 1 9 2 2 ) .
The
obtaining o f this bond (given at time o f arrest) ought not to be made unfairly difficult,
and the accused should not perhaps be required a t that time to find sureties w ho w ill
stand good fo r his appearance at all later stages o f the case.”
42 The new jail was occupied Feb. 15, 1929.

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GENERAL FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The personal recognizance (without sureties) 43 is used to some extent
in the boys’ court but could be utilized more safely and probably
more frequently if the judge had more information m regard to the
reliability o f the boy. Practice in the municipal court at present
standardizes the amount of bail according to the offense charged.
The judge has power, however, to vary the amount of bail required,
both in misdemeanor and in felony cases. It would be possible,
therefore, for the judge to vary the amount with regard to u the
personality, the social history, and financial ability o f the accused,
or the integrity and capacity o f his sureties.” 44 Jail detention might
be necessary for a few days during the process o f the investigation,
but the duration o f detention could be greatly reduced, both in cases
continued in the boys’ court and in those held for the grand jury.
(5) Dismissals and discharges without informal supervision to be
used only when the evidence does not show that the boy has committed
the offense charged or when investigation indicates that the boy’s
conduct and the conditions under which he lives do not present
problems coming within the scope o f the court. In every case the
facts revealed by the social investigation and the psychiatric study—
if the boy has been referred for examination— should be taken into
consideration.
(c) Imposition o f fine only after information has been obtained
concerning the financial circumstances o f the boy and his family.
A. large proportion of the cases in which fines are imposed result in
imprisonment for failure to pay fine. I f the boy is unable to pay
consideration should be given to the question o f the desirability of
institutional commitment, and boys unable to pay fines should in
some cases be^placed on probation and allowed to pay in installments.
(d) Selection o f persons for probation on the basis o f informa
tio n revealed by social investigation and, whenever possible, physical
and mental examination.45 The legal restrictions governing the type
o f person to be placed on probation should be removed, at least with
reference to offenses not punishable by death or life imprisonment.46
§ eY: f l a t . (Sm ith-H urd’s ), 1927, ch. 37, secs. 406-409.
*;T he B ail System in Chicago, p. 155.
.
P01^ , o f the probation bureau, court o f general sessions, New York Citv is
described as follow s by its c h ie f: “ Health, intelligence, m ental balance, industrial canacitv
temperament, habits, social attitude, and group relationships were a ll considered in PdeternoI th? delinquent could be adjusted by the probationary process
The
confirmed alcoholic, the drug addict, and the habitual crim inal were not considered suit
able fo r probationary treatm ent. The m ental defective in whom a n t iw ia i S + f T f
n0t beeome fixed was not excluded from consideration as a subject fo r rehabihtative measures in the comm unity.”
(Cooley, Edwin J „ New Goals in Probation in
Courts and the Prevention o f Delinquency, Annual Report and Proceedings o f ’the
ppre87-^’8 ) AnDUal ^ onierence o f tbe National Probation Association, New York, 1926,
51‘
lay does not perm it placing on probation i f the defendant has been
F f l ®
convicted o f a felony or o f petit larceny and embezzlement, and the offenses
fo r which a defendant may be placed on probation are limited.
(These lim itations anDlv
mainly to the crim inal court, which tries felonies.)
Seven States (Colorado M aryland
Massachusetts, New Jersey Utah, Vermont, and V irginia) do not lim it the type o f offense
Pey®ons ur|der the age o f 21 years may be placed on probation. Four others
Maine, and W est V irginia) permit probation fo r persons under 21
™ YnY,°d-e?®e except one punishable by death or life imprisonment. Only
restricted the use o f probation fo r persons previously convicted o f crime.
(Figures from a summary o f adult probation laws in effect in 1927, prepared bv the
o f DnhHraHnnb tVi1r^ i^ tStv,Clatl0ni-and
available to the Children’ s Bureau in advance
courtesy o f the association.)
The im portance o f vesting in the
SwmiLiui* discretion with reference to the use o f probation has been emphasized by a
h v^ rw ££ T ^ r w
-Seer. fo r example, The Development and Needs o f Probation Service,
™ iw iah l
Mh?-te’ \n ^ i oceedmgs o f the National Conference on the Reduction o f Crime,
called by the National Crime Commission, W ashington, D. C., Nov. 2 and 3 1927 n 140
and Probation in 1926, by Herbert C. Parsons, in The Courts and ^ P r e v e n t i o n o f DeNn?iwfaCiy ’p ^ n+ al ^ epori ?.nd Proceedings o f the T w entieth Annual Conference o f the
National Probation Association, 1926, pp, 129, 131, 132.

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YOUTH

A N D C R IM E

y ¡ fe) ; Determination of, length of probation by the needs o f each boy
and the; progress madeduring probation. I f ;the problems o f adjustri
m en t,have pot ,been solye,d,, at ¡the end o f the probation; ¡ period
originally >hxed application j should;,he made ,foi the ; court [>fo r an
extension o f the term o f probation.4! -tovoy/ oîI
-,

6. '¡Policies of criitiinal court.

^no|î)l

¡Bbys? cases should be given precedence in the Criminal court,''if
possible. 'Ijoiig delays such as occur at present are particularly
detrimental in the cáse o f young boy si ; Investigation o f cases o f boys
under 21, notv carried on' by the county bureau ' o f public tvelf strë',;
might well1be made by the officers o f a reorganized probation depart
ment authorized ’td make such investigations. Policies' as to dis-)
position o f cases similar 'to those-outlined for the boys’ Court should
be developed, • çod obi tad) wom.lon i wi> oocwfn rn on! ti h.w
bo«n
7, Fàéilitïés fbr institutional ¿are and for parole.

: mstitutional1facilities heededito meet thé needs o f the boys incjudq
at least four typfes o f institution : (1) An institution to which, boys;
may be comrilitted for very short periods, as a
when prolonged institutional training is not necessary ; (2) an insti-’
tution equipped to give c o n s t r u c t i v e . e d q c a t w n ^ b , / and
cháfácféf tràihihg; ?3 lfa n in^ifhU on'fo f hoys*.who, (after’ 'caffefpj.,
social and,psycniatric study, h ave been found to be defectivein intely
ligeiice or remotional jdhmopmçnt and to require çare fqr indetermmkfá period^ ; and (4)' a penal, institution, for the most serious
qffeùdefç.Vdmnaiif^
íphg ^erm^. ¡ « m
^rhd ' qhly institut!qns, |o whiçh boys can be ¡ committed for short
terjhda^e tpe fail and the hqusq qf çorrqçtion, to which adplts also are
rThe latter fecèiyqs P ^buei’s. sentenced fq r aslong., a
period as úrie year. It would be desirable i f a separate, house o f de
tention
proyided to cafe for boys pending arraign-,
hièut anq after arraimmgnt, and for boys committed for, short
pefíodsV
The State reformafory shPU.ld be developed so as to provide con
structive training, vocational as well as academief for boys who
uhdef. pfèseht Conditions would be ¡committed to the house o f corree-tion fo r:terms o f six months ;oroftè yèar, as well as for boys of the
types now committed to the reformatory. ■
Chicago, colifts have no institution of the third type available to
them, Several; o f the cases showed the need o f such an institution!:
which :would be similar in purpose and program to the Massachu
setts institution for, defective delinquents. The establishment o f an.
institution, o f this; kind in Illinois; has been urged frequently by,
persons interested in the problems o f delinquency.
The State, bènit’éntiâry, receives boys 17 years o f age and over con
victed o f certain specified felonies,' and boys 18 years o f age and over
convicted »o f felonies o f any class. Segregation >o f younger from :
oldeh ^tféoheïsj th ich iscárfiéd büf to à considerable extent, should

bebqdmtile^e?0

«'"j««!

'ffi'

<;f °to

¡otw noV»«

•« ’¡As tíñ^jrittiiy’ éxire^ibn' is ’ iieihiittèçt by la w /(I il., Rev. Stat, (Sipitb-Hurd’ s ) , 1927, eh."
a change in th e s t a t u t e w o u ld b e necêSâàry. I n s o m e càses fu rther exten
sions ’m ight' bé o f hn/inform al natürç.,
„ „ ‘.„¡j

S êŒ jS eéJ 7 9 0 ) ,

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GENERAL FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The parole department should be strengthened so as to make pos
sible intensive supervision and recreational and vocational guidance
in all cases.
8. Preventive work.

As in all studies o f delinquency and crime both the statistical and
the case studies showed the urgent need o f expansion and improve
ment in the work o f ¡agencies, dealing with behavior) prphhRn^ iij/their
early stages and o f recreational and ;character-forming agencies in
the community. Among these agencies are schools, boys’ clubs and
srecreation centers, child-guidance clinics, family-welfare-; societies,
.protective agencies, and .
j uvenilq ;courts, , ionim k it inam ! e yii
9. Girl delinquents above juvenile-court age.
IfKfiomurn edi to
*' The present report deals only with the delinqhent -bt$F Qt$é& r6 i
girls!under 21 years are not segregated ' iii the municipal •M tO Tf In
working out a program for the treatment o f *delinquency;ë f !hiinots
above juvenile-court age earefül study o f the heeds :of giirls and the
present organkatiOn for dealing with them should M Mâdepv. I f the
age jurisdiction o f the juvénile coiift is raised/’girls!;as' well'h^ boys
should be' included, and if equity jurisdictionishould ;be?g iy eh to the
boys’ court a corresponding division *for girls, Whifch might w ell1be
under the same general direction* should be provided*11p d b ¿tefliBga

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METHODS OF DEALING WITH BOY OFFENDERS IN
CHICAGO
Chicago has without special legislation provided specialized-court
treatment for minors above juvenile-court age, under the section
o f the municipal court act authorizing the establishment o f branch
courts. The boys’ court branch o f the municipal cour^deals with
municipal-court cases involving boys from IT to 20 years o f age.1
Unlike most of the other courts in which a beginning has been made
in providing specialized treatment this court has no power to deal
with young people charged merely with general waywardness, incor
rigibility, or association with undesirable persons, as these classes
are not provided for under the Illinois law. A definite criminal or
quasi-criminal charge, such as “ disorderly conduct,” must be brought
against a boy or a girl of this age i f court action is desired. Chicago
has no special court for girls over juvenile-court age (18 years).
Girls and women charged with sex offenses are dealt with by the
morals court, a branch o f the municipal court.
GENERAL ORGANIZATION OF THE MUNICIPAL COURT2
HISTORY AND JURISDICTION

The municipal court o f Chicago was established by an act o f the
State legislature, approved by the governor on May 18, 1905, and
adopted by the voters of the city of Chicago on November 7, 1905.
The first session was held December 3, 1906. The chief justice has
been reelected several times so that throughout the history o f the
municipal court there has been only one chief justice. He has bfeen
responsible to a great extent for the development o f the court.
The municipal court is a court o f iecord—that is, its acts and
proceedings are recorded and it has power to fine or imprison for
contempt— with jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases. It
has original and unlimited jurisdiction o f all misdemeanor cases
and o f prosecutions for the violations o f municipal ordinances.3
Jurisdiction was given it by statute in piactically all classes o f cases,
civil or criminal, at law or in equity, transferred from other courts,
but an early decision o f the State supreme court held that a certain
case was not legally transferred.4 In felony cases, in practice, juris1 In Illinois the juvenile court has jurisdiction over delinquent boys under 17, and ju ris
diction once obtained may be exercised until the boy is 21. (Rev. Stat. (Sm ith-Hurd’s ) ,
1927, ch. 23, sec. 190.)
2 In addition to inform ation obtained at first hand by representatives o f the Children’s
Bureau the principal sources fo r this section are 111., Rev. Stat. (Sm ith-Hurd’ s ), 1927 (ch.
37, secs. 356, 357, 359, 363-365, 369-371, 375, 376, 385, 414) and the annual reports of
the municipal court. Sources other than these will be specified in footnotes.
' ,
* Park boards in Chicago are m unicipal corporations with power to pass ordinances, so'
that charges o f violations o f park ordinances,, as w ell as o f m unicipal ordinances, are heard
in the m unicipal court.
* M iller v . People, 230 111, 6 5 ; People v . Strassheim, 228 111. 581.

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METHODS OF DEALING W IT H BOY OFFENDERS IN CHICAGO

diction is limited to preliminary examinations, cases in which prob
able cause is found being held for the grand jury, and later, if a
true bill is returned, tried in the criminal court. Thus the trial
jurisdiction o f the municipal court extends to all offenses punishable
by fine or imprisonment elsewhere than in the penitentiary. This
jurisdiction includes quasi-criminal actions, bastardy cases, proceed
ings for the prevention o f crime, proceedings for the arrest, examina
tion, commitment, and bail o f persons charged with criminal offenses,
and proceedings pertaining to seaTches and seizures o f personal prop
erty by search and search warrants. Territorially, jurisdiction is
confined to the limits o f the city o f Chicago.
In the municipal court criminal and quasi-criminal cases, other
than felony and illegitimacy cases, are tried without a jury unless
the defendant declines to waive his constitutional right o f trial by
jury. In felony and illegitimacy cases the defendant must be tried
by court and jury.5 Municipal-court cases are final in the sense that
there can be no new trial in another court. Appeals and writs
o f error are taken direct to the appellate or supreme courts as from
other trial courts o f record in Illinois.
JUDGES

In accordance with the act o f the legislature and by act o f the
city council the municipal court has 37 judges. A ll judges are
elected for 6-year terms, 12 associate judges being elected every two
years and the chief justice every sixth year. The salary of the chief
justice is $15,000 and o f the associate judges $10,000. A chief
justice or associate judge o f the municipal court o f Chicago must
be at least 30 years o f age and a citizen o f the United States, and
must have resided and been engaged in active practice as an attorney
and counselor at laW or in the discharge o f the duties o f a judicial
office in Cook County for five years next preceding his election, or in
one oT the other during that time, and at the time o f his election
must be a resident o f the city o f Chicago. The court has no stated
terms, but must always be open for the transaction of business.
BRANCH COURTS

The municipal court is divided into branch courts, which exer
cise the powers vested in the municipal court. Each branch court
is presided over by a single judge. In 1924 and 1925 there were 35
branches— 16 handling civil cases, 17 handling criminal cases, and
2 handling both civil and criminal cases. In addition a criminal
night court was held. O f the 19 criminal branches 12 were, un
specialized courts in the various districts into which the city has
been divided, and 7 were specialized courts held in or near the mu
nicipal building. Among these specialized courts were the automo
bile court, the domestic-relations court, the morals court, and the
boys’ court. The chief justice assigns the associate judges to the
branch courts from time to time as he may deem necessary for the
prompt disposition o f the business o f the court. The branch courts
must be open for business every day o f the year except Sundays and
5 Constitution o f 1870 o f Illinois, Art. II, secs. 5, 9 ; H arris
Rev. Stat. (Sm ith-H urd’s ), 1927, ch. 17, sec. 4.

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People, 128 111. 585 :

YO U TH AND CRIME

public of general holidays, and a judge must be in attendance at legist
thr§£ bo^rSj^aeh day.
j
9ff+ ai bsi-ri
9 ÌdjìiÌ8im ia 893U9h o lia o t

d epar tm en ts«

; Departments o f the court include thé office o f the clerk an cl the
ha ilin g 'office,, which perform the usual duties o f such bifides o f a
çop ÿ, n Deputy"bailiffs are, assigned, to duty in each branch Court,
^he. cierk o f court is' elected for: a 6-year term, at a salary during
1,904.;
and ' X926 o f $9,000 a yéari The clerk’s office is dividedinto departments under1tfiè chief, deputy clerk, the assistant, deputy
qlefk? diyil departipent, ‘afia the ^ssisiant deputy cîérk,Jcriihipal
department. These and all deputy clerks are appointed by the
clefk* (jb y are not spbjecf in c iv il service. ,
r ' +iTgC)m 3-Ap1 ^
;,. T h e.soçjal-serviqe; workers are under the clerk o f the court; they
arei ^ sigh ed tof¡the...dciù^stic-reiatións court,fthe morals court,' and
" ìiììoo uèdioiifi ni if.hi w m n 9H' n rcl
fnT^e. only; published. rebuiremepts’ fo f deputy Clerks were promul
gated by the court in 19Ó8 : Requisite aDÌlity,. consisting o f a fair
education and ,$tplity to do the work efficiently ; ^requisite character,
consisting o f honesty, good habits^and good reputation; devotion of
whole time to the court ; and a bond o f $500.
9TB F.sgbnj; ÌIA

.ægbui T8 jREicoitpS ' ÌBqióinnm affi Lb

I .ffhe £following records are kept in the municipal court (t)
dgily record 'for.-each branch, carrying the cases assigned for the
day ; and .(g);. a reeppd, for each case,,called fhe “ half-sheet.” The
daily .rècord; sheet shoiws: docket ¡number, name.bf defendant, charge,
plea,) disposition,; fines, costs, amount paid at hearing, and ^whether
defendant was taken into custody. ; ¡ T h e s e g h e e t a , ^ i n h o b k s ,
one.for each branch. ; uThe u half-sheet ” contains the hjstory o f the
Case,, usually ;haying the following items : Title and nhniber o f case,
planner, rpf commencing proceedings ,(by complaint or by in,forma;tion), kind:of ’offense charged,jdate or offense,, date o f complaint or
information, plea, disposition other thaii by trial, mode o f trial (by
court or by ju ry), verdict, character o f sentence, appeal and result,
institution to which sentenced, whether fine was paid on date case
was -diSpoked o f ,;period o f Commitment fornonpaymenU o f fine,: and
date o f release : from imprisonment i f by vacation o f sentecce. The
fourth ?aftfiuaTf^jbft o f thb court mentions (pp. 54 and 55) a few
bther items- concerning the history o f the case, and the follo wing
social: data :;?Age’, sex;; Color, race, birthplace, birthplace o f parents?
conjugal conditions; education^ ocèupatlohycitibënship, and? previous
cotivigtionsi ‘ These db not appear on the boys’ court records Iat the
present' time- except: in the social-setvice index. Each half-sheet ia
placed in a folder with other “papers in the case, and all are kept as.
LriditidUal’ case filesv " Copies are made o f each hai f-sheet in: preliniinary ahd icritninal cases], and these copies become the official court
rOCordfe andare^ bound in: books, one>fot eàch kind o f action;) doiiB’id
Di« StatemfentSf based on. Information from the office o f the clerfe <ò f court and o n anpuaì
appropriation bills òf the city o f Chicago, as well as the State statutes and thè. annual.

feporrs'oTthg'court... ......

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METHODS OF DEALING W IT H BOY OFFENDERS IN CHICAGO

BOYS’ COURT BRANCH OF THE MUNICIPAL COURT *
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odi

ESTABLISHMENT

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F
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The. boys’ court was opened on, April 1,. 1914., ; The Juvenile p ro
tective >
•Association and interested persons had urgedj the ; organic
zation o f such a branch; court in order to segregate boys .acçuseçl
o f violating the law from older and hardened offenders^ Organiza
tion of. the court \vas delayed in the hope that a psychopathic
laboratory might be attached to it, ..
;) fIfì0ifr gtnerrrn'oi?
JURISDICTION

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The boys’ court .has jurisdiction Over the same classes o f cases as
the, other criminal branches o f the municipal court. Boys charged
with misdemeanors and quasi-criminal offenses are tried by it. 'Boÿâ
charged with felonies are given a preliminary examination, ' and if
probable cause is found they are held for the grand jury. Although
the coiift is designed for boys under 21, it may try an adult: (man
or woman) if he is involved in a case with boys under 21. : Sòme
boys just over 21 years are also>tried in this branch. On the other
hand, some cases o f boys from IT to 20 years o f age do not reach
the boys’ court but are disposed of in other branchés;to Which -they
have been brought, sometimes doubtless through ignorance o f the
boys’ ages. No record is kept o f the nuimber o f such cases which are
not transferred. Jury cases are transferred for trial to the ju tÿ
branch o f the municipal courtsvoci ori) io Irismflaiidisiaei edi ooriiS
Judges.

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ORGANIZATION

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-S-rrf f t g t »

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, A t the time o f this study (1926) judges were assigned toLtte
boys’ court, ns to other branches o f the court, every three months ¡or
at irregular interyals when circumstances, made reassignments ; ad
visable. Often one judge had, been.reassigned several: times. : In
1921, for example, one judge was on the boys’ court bench for six
months and parts, o f two other months, with an interval o f only
part o f a month bet ween ; „during the remaining period o f approxir
mately five months, five judges occupied the bench, one for a whole
month and parts o f twQ monthsj ahdfhe others for. shorter periods.
The judge Who had: served in tb^ ^uys.’ ^uurt during the last fqW
weeks o f 1024: continued there for, m ore. than half o f . 19.25, being
relieved only twice by other judges for periods shorter , than , a
month. After this, there was >ah assignment o f another judge for
parts o f two months* andfthen a more permanent assignment o f >a
judge who remained for the last three months and more o f the calen
dar year. In the period, o f almost 12 years of. the existence o f ?thé
branch (through 1025), 34 names appear among the assignments, to
the branch. Many o f these were assigned several times. The nuiaber o f judges assigned each year varied from :two in .1918 fo eight
i n Ï922, “ 7 "
i:.:; v :„ „ 3
v ; ; v . : r h , J
7 In addition to information obtained at first hand by representatives Of th e’ Children's
Bureaju the principal sourç.es for this ,section are the annual, reports o f the municipal
court. Sources‘ Other than these reports will be specified in footnotes:
s, Annual Report, ,Jjavenile Protective Association, 1012-4.8, p. ÏULe Chicago, Ï1L ’ ( Î *

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YO U TH AND CRIME

The frequent change o f judges to which the boys’ court, as well as
other specialized branches o f the municipal court, had been sub
jected, had prevented specialization by the judge. Under the
old theory o f the law the judge decided guilt or innocence and a
punishment—the same usually for all— followed. Under an organi
zation like the boys’ court he must decide on the guilt or innocence
o f the boys, but should also determine which o f the kinds o f possible
punishment or “ treatment ” will help the individual boy most and
thus prevent a career of delinquency and crime. Frequent reas
signments mean that the judge does not have the opportunity to
learn what are the problems o f these boys, the resources o f the city
for aiding them, and the results of the different types o f treatment
given. Moreover, a judge who knows his term in this branch is
temporary can not take the steps to organize and develop the work
that would be feasible if he could look forward to years instead o f
months o f service.
Staff.

Aides to the judge in the work o f the court were the usual bailiffs
and clerical staff, the clerks assigned to the social-service depart
ment, the psychopathic laboratory o f the municipal court, and the
adult probation department, serving the municipal and the criminal
courts o f Cook County.
SOCIAL-SERVICE DEPARTMENT

Organization.

Since the establishment o f the boys’ court the clerk o f the munic
ipal court had assigned to it persons employed as members of his
staff but designated as serving in the social-service ^department.
These workers had not been assigned from other positions in the
clerk’s office but were selected from outside the clerical department.
Their qualifications had not been laid down, and no examinations
had been held nor list o f eligibles maintained. A t the time
o f this study the staff consisted o f three women. One had been there
since the establishment of the boys’ court in 1014 and was known as
the social-service secretary. The two others, a negro woman who
supervised a number o f negro boys and a woman who spoke Polish
and often acted as interpreter in cases involving Slavic-speaking
people, had been in the social-service department from one to two
years. No one was in direct charge o f the department, but each
officer was responsible to the deputy clerk in charge o f the criminal
department. Little coordination o f work was possible under such
conditions. The exact duties o f each worker were dependent to a
considerable extent upon the wishes o f the judge who presided over
the court.
Three private organizations had representatives at the boys’ court
regularly—the Jewish Social Service Bureau, the Chicago Feder
ation o f Churches, and the H oly Name Society. These workers re
ferred to their organizations cases which appeared to require follow
up care, and supervision was given by paid workers or by volunteers.
Duties of staff.

The principal duties of the social-service workers were as follow s:
(1) To keep a card index of cases o f boys 17 to 20 years o f age, (2)

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METHODS OE DEALING W IT H BOY OFFENDERS IN CHICAGO

to interview boys in order to obtain the information called for by
the card index, and (3) to furnish this information to the judge.
Occasionally, it was said, the judge requested an investigation by
the social-service department before the disposition o f a case. This
was not the practice at the time of the Children’s Bureau study.9
Occasionally, also, complaints o f parents or others in regard to idle,
unruly, or intractable boys were brought to these workers, and efforts
were made to correct the situation without court action. A t the
direction o f the judge the social-service workers made appointments
for the examination o f boys at the psychopathic laboratory and re
ceived reports from it. Investigation and supervision o f boys
during continuance o f their cases were often assigned to the repre
sentatives o f the three private agencies at the court. Even when
cases were officially discharged the boys were sometimes placed under
the informal supervision o f these private organization workers, be
ing told by the court to report to the worker for a certain length o f
time—six months or a year, or for an indefinite period.
Methods of work.

The principal contact o f the social-service department with the
boys was by means o f interviews, which were held before court
opened in the morning. They were the only means of furnishing
information to the judge at the first hearing o f a case.
Boys out on bond were interviewed at the rail separating the main
part o f the court room from the judge’s bench. The interview, al
though often pleasant, was businesslike, and no attempt was made
to induce confidence. It was necessarily short, as 25 to 35 new cases
a day had to be disposed o f in little more than an hour. Not only
was the time too short for more than a perfunctory question-andanswertype o f interview; but the general confusion of the court room,
as people arrived and as police and social workers and privileged
visitors passed from the public part o f the room through the gate
immediately beside the table over which the interview took place,
would hinder any attempt to do more thorough work.
Boys in detention were interviewed by the social-service secretary
in the social-service room. This room was more private, but even
here interruptions and distractions were frequent as all the various
social or volunteer workers at the court used it as their office. A
small room leading into the social-service room was used by several
officers o f the court not connected with the social-service department.
The same rush was necessary as in the interviews with boys out on
bond, in order that all the boys might be interviewed before the
hearing. No attempt was made to verify the boys’ statements, and
no use was made of the social-service exchange either at the time o f
the interview or after the hearing.
In addition to being interviewed by the court worker each boy was
interviewed before he appeared in court by a representative o f one
o f the three private organizations, according to his race or religion.
The type o f interview varied with each society. The information
sought by the representative o f the federation of churches was similar
9 The value o f investigation before the disposition o f cases is shown in the story o f
Henry Cameron, p. 122, who was arrested because o f a mistaken identification and dis
charged after an investigation by a representative o f a private agency during continuance
o f the case.

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YO U TH AND CRIME

to that sought by the court worker, but in. addition information was
requested as-to the ehurch connection o f the boy or o f his family.
The; representatiYe' o f the Jewish Social Service Bureau made a more
complete inquiry. : Facts obtained by the social-service department
o f the court were taken from its records to avoid repetition o f ques
tioning, and the interview was supplemented by information from
records, in the Jewish Social Service Bureau and by information from
iemployers, family, and other sources used in case-work investigations.
, I n .the tew unofficial cases observed during the weeks spent in the
iSOcial-service office, the efforts, o f the workers were confined to talk
ing with, the boys and pointing Out to them the possibility o f a jail
sentence. A member o f the staff stated that such unofficial treatment
sometimes included putting a boy in the ‘‘ bull pen ” where the boys
in detention await their turn in court, or; putting on handcuffs to
make more realistic the threat that the boy was going to be “ sent
( awayj” 1 Efforts. were also made to ùassist boys who Iwere stranded
away from home. When the judge so directed letters were written to
the families o f these boys, and arrangements were made for *their
return home. Occasionally efforts were made to find lodging and
employment for boys who could not be returned to their homes.
•Thekwork done after the hearing was determined by the boys’
court1judge. He was responsible for the policy o f the social-service
department so far as that was not established ' by the clerk’s office,
rAs no one person was in immediate charge, pf the, department the
members’ o f th e.staff worked; sopiewliat. independently. Whatever
follow-up work was done on cases appearing in,,court lacked any
real plan;, it was carried on as the individual worker saw fit, spmotimes with the advice or consent o f the judge. Occasionally a social
worker asked help on a case from a social agency, especially .from
one o f the agencies furnishing living accommodations., The negro
worker had been given responsibility for the negro boys, but white
boys were assigned according to religion to workers from the pri
vate agencies cooperating with the court. t,
yVhen a boy was placed under the supervision o f a private agency
its representative held a conference with him before he left the
court, arranged for. further reporting, and told him what was ex
pected o f him. A judge who was on the bench at the time o f this
study considered that this method o f supervision either before, or
(after , disposition possessed advantages over the. official probation
'system, .which he believed was not organized at that time to give
special attention to boys’ cases and their problems. The representa
tives o f the private agencies had the advantage o f dealing only with
this Type pf case. The thoroughness, quality, and type o f ;work
varied with the different organizations. Moreover, the work as, signed to these outside, workers varied indhe different cases and often
pranged ; entirely with each judge assigned to the court. The frebf reports by the ,boy, home visits by the worker, and the
working put o f a plan for the boy were usually left to the workers.
Ppe agency tried to make one home yisit in each case and required
reports either in person or by letter/ When continued cases came
up, for a second hearing the worker in charge might maker an oral
report to the judge in court, usually very brief, or might report to

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METHODS OP DEALI^a ^ r p H BOY OPPEKDERS IiT CHICAGO

him in chambers or by letter,. r The, written reports of, .these workers
attached to the shcial-seryige’ ptards
very in eager., ; 9fj j \0 +10ó 9i
These worKers1' did some w ork ,pot,,specifically requestedjudge. The maipi object pf the ¿federation.of¡churches was to wmithe
bqytbäck tq the cnumnL,■If. thé wpfker afte;rthefinterview¡with the
boy beliéfed that the jteneraäron coiibjl be q f , service,to him on his
family, follow-up work wgs rdonev regardless o f .whether; 'the judge
.had requested it. The amount, o f this .kind o f w ork.depended upon
i|| amount o f work assigned by.the judgq When the judge did not
assign many cases to the repréphtátíve. o f the federation she had a
good deal o f time fop other wotk. ^During the term o f .a judge who
organised tlie work of the outside,. agencies mqstj thoroughly,, how

ever, additional workers were employed by the federation and'assist
ance was also obtained..frpm students -at universities or theological
schools whose interests were definitely social and who -were usually
paid ifpr their tipiq by the^bbol?!-; oñitíioios io dnamaoievai
The Hqly ^ am b,Society. also, considered that its, principal object
was hr establish for. tjie bqy a connection with the; church. • Every
Catholic,;boy appearing before, the ¡boys’ : court’ was reported to a
“ big brqthér ” who lived in the, boy’s parish qnd spoke the: language
of the boy’s : parents,j j]The. * big brother ” xvisited: the home and
ascertained conditionsyrpiatrngj to church, school, and employment.
He. reported his visits to the superintendent Of the society, but did
not. include in. these reports any information obtained: iin the; home
visit. . Cases might, b o ; dropped because,;efforts were fruitless or
because’, the boy .belonged1to,,a family which fh e : i‘ hig! brother ^
thought was capable ql/handling, the problem; i i OtherwiseIthe boys
Were under supervision for definite periods.
b

The «Jewish .Social Service Bureau was a soqi^'gather than a
church agency and. differed ffom ;th é church prganimtions ip ap
proach, object; .and method. Üpóh infó^Uiatípii obtained, from the
social invéstigaiiófi the head of, the legal ^department o f the bureau
decidedfwhether or not to follow up a !case .and ‘which department
should handle if."' I f the boy was' the chie^.problem tjie k p S f i b
handled the case; but i f the fámily pre^hted the problem the family
department handled it:’ \17T D9
«ecörosj'

V R pfTnHfil'iT-nrlperfiob »Irionr tiuoo W od orli moni

The records kept by the; soeial-seryiee department were véry glrii$ 1% Qn the, index card the worker entered the boy’s rianie •addtéss,
age, face, birthplace, civil condition, grade in school, and the boy’s
stateniept,o f his present offense, q f his,juvenile-court record, add 1Of
previous arrests. After the h ir in g the disposition of the cáse was
entered on the cards. I f a; bqy who had'been held for the gf and jury
^a.m® before the boys’ court p p .a later charge, information Concerning
the cfiminal-cqurt disposition! was requested from the sociabsérVicO
bureau at the county jail and entered on the boy’s card if secured. -...A
new card was made out for qaoh
rtbo.- boys’ -cop^t,, flp<jí/a.ll
view the;boy7g. hä'me was looked up in the .files to obtain, his previous
record. A ll cärds. fqfokch BoV/were handed t’o the judge at the hear-,
iiigv1T f á1ease was continued xbf an exaiqinátiop by. the psychopathic
laboratory fhat
the card,, Jpjq diagnosis, was re-;

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YOUTH AND CRIME

corded by the social-service department beyond, in a few cases, the
report of the laboratory as to whether or not the boy was committable
to an institution for the feeble-minded.
Reports of investigations and o f (situations developing during
supervision o f a boy were said to be filed with the index cards o f the
social-service department. Only 13 such reports were found, how
ever, in all the cases looked up in the files in the course o f this study,
covering 909 boys, many o f them with a number o f separate cases and
cards. Six o f the 13 were from private agencies, 1 was from the
probation department, 3 were from police officers, and 3 were from
the social-service department. In other cases letters from families,
employers, and school officials were filed.
PSYCHOPATHIC LABORATORY

Establishment.

The development o f a scientific laboratory was planned as early as
1909, when in the third annual report o f the municipal court refer
ence was made to a report o f a committee o f the American Institute
o f Criminal Law and Criminology on a system for recording socio
logical, medical, and psychological data regarding criminals. The
plan presented had been developed by Dr. William Healy, then direc
tor o f the Juvenile Psychopathic Institute o f Chicago, and was advo
cated by the municipal-court judges. Social workers cooperated with
the judges in -endeavoring to secure a laboratory which was first
projected as an adjunct to the boys’ court, the establishment o f the
boys’ branch being delayed so that the laboratory might be attached
to it. The psychopathic laboratory opened May 1, 1914.
Functions and staff.

From the beginning the laboratory served not only the boys’ branch
but all branches o f the municipal court. The director believed that
this enlargement o f the laboratory made possible better study of
“ the problem o f the delinquent, both in its individualistic and gen
eral aspects.” As stated in the eighth and ninth annual reports of
the municipal court, defendants and sometimes witnesses suspected
o f being insane, feeble-minded, or afflicted with mental ailments, who
came before any o f the branches o f the municipal court, but especially
from the boys’ court, morals, domestic-relations, and unspecialized
criminal branches, were referred to the laboratory.
The staff o f the laboratory had never been large. At the time of
the study it consisted o f three persons—the director, his wife, and
another assistant. Naturally, with so small a staff and so broad a
scope, it could examine only a small proportion o f the cases passing
through the courts. The director, who resigned in 1929 after having
been in charge of the laboratory throughout its history, had had
training in European psychopathic and neurological clinics.
Cases examined.

A t the time o f the study appointments for examinations had to be
made at least several days in advance. The judges selected the cases
to be examined. One judge o f the boys’ court stated that he sent
obviously degenerate boys to the laboratory, and that in the numer
ous cases which on casual observation did not reveal serious defect
he was guided by the previous court record as revealed by the files
o f the social-service department, sending for examination boys who

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METHODS OF DEALING W IT H BOY OFFENDERS IN CHICAGO

had a juvenile record and were repeated offenders. Another judge
based his selection upon the appearance o f the boys, also taking into
consideration their school records and their emotional reactions in
court. He stated, however, that many who needed examination
were overlooked by this method. Frequently the nature o f the
offense for which the boy appeared in court was also taken into
consideration.
In addition to examining court defendants and witnesses, the
laboratory examined a considerable number of persons suspected o f
insanity who were referred to it by police and other agencies. I f
diagnosed insane, the patients were sent through the regular chan
nels for commitment. These cases took precedence over other cases.
At one time, when the work was very heavy, the laboratory gave
precedence to cases from unspecialized branch courts, refusing to
examine most o f the cases referred by th e' specialized courts. At
another time a specialized branch reported a decided curtailment in
the number of cases it referred, due to the overburdened condition
o f the laboratory.
Method of examination.

As no detailed reports were given to the courts, it was impossible
to judge how much general and social information was obtained in
the course o f the psychiatric examination. No field investigation was
made. According to municipal-court reports, medical examinations,
including laboratory tests, were given as the cases demanded. Gen
eral mental tests and the Binet-Simon, Rossalino, psychological pro
file method, the graduated, free, and controlled association tests, and
analysis-synthesis tests were given more or less as a matter o f routine
and were evaluated both quantitatively and* qualitatively. Others,
including the De Sanctis, were mentioned. The director stated in an
interview that all reliance was placed in the tests, none on outside
investigation, but that from the results of the tests past behavior
could be reconstructed and future behavior could be foreseen. This
process, which constituted the “ world test,” was an attempt to evalu
ate the reactions o f patients to environment, their capability of
adjustment, including their failures and successes at home, in school,
at work, and their entire career from early years to the present. In
a report in 1920 the examination was described as in every case
embracing physiological, neurological, psychological, anthropologi
cal, hereditary, and environmental data. Descriptions were presented
in the 1917 report of the performance or psychomotor tests and o f the
visual memory tests used not only as intelligence tests but also devel
oped as tests for primary disturbances of the intelligence function
and for psychoses. It was reported that the Binet-Simon Intelli
gence Scale had been found most useful for diagnostic and differen
tial diagnostic purposes.
Reports to the boys’ court.

A t the time o f the study only informal reports, in person to the
judge or often by telephone, were made by the laboratory to the boys’
court, except when commitment to an. institution for the feeble
minded had been determined upon. The work of the laboratory was
described in 1915 as consisting largely o f diagnosis and, so far as

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Y ò t r T H -A X D ' c r i m

: ■

-• ' : ! sïa•a k

practicable, prognosis ; !T4ttlë hélp^fàs given through detailed diag*
nosesj prognoses,, ¿ri(1:ÿécô^ninèndàtioiiè tò guide the judgè ‘ in his
órdéfs o f probation' arid ’ htliér worker§' in theiir trèàthient hi; thie bOy.
^Pltó^hii^^s^n^tn^^om^of^ìft^odf^séifF^dtìpari^è^teb o f the boys’
còuré wçré merely eomniittabje55 Of ■**hot;poipniittàblè^1';A t légst
ohe jff&gêJo f a!'specialized* cdurt’ sfelëbtéd fòr examination only cases
which he felt required commitment.
11®«{Rlftii^^aMi^td^ÿRÉMmgs orally r4Mtead'qf in writing delated
ppurt procédure ;arid tëômèfiniëé ireslilted, in ' cbnfusibii o f diagnoses
and, haiiiesi.f On one day' ihrthis‘ study; when'the judge asked for a
rejpioft ’on à Casé it was tìeèeèsafy to telephone fôiir times and to sus
pend court hearings üntil thé 'fepôrt ^ ^ ‘Sceiyëd?0’ ^ Mother day
when a laboratory Tepbit Wa| ékpéétéd" ih’Sevefàl casés thé repotting
lysS h ^W s^h fiéo'hrasiM Jof^ìjffiè^IS d^diM tóef^^ttne^fifté0^ ®
forced to grant fùrthér cbhtiManéès o f all, thfeë; Casés until a day On
whióh the; difebfo^ o f the^IIh8lii h i ^ RëOTids1a^ij^ § M tgiîHj court lfip
designate thé boÿ to whoitt 'each diagnosis referred.f "As several!Com
mitments to different institutions were involved mistakes would hate
had serious consequences.
.ffoitonirnax* io bortek
ol When actual îcommitment to ia State institution for the feeble
minded or the epileptic w aste be made*, the;State law provided' that
the director o f the laboratory and another physicriap inust be present
as a commission to testify to the boy’S mental stated ibroo
Number of casés ïëferred by boys’ eôufV. 9'I9V^ 'ts jiy 1 "OOl filoda i
i bid oni
! The number o f ’ examinations ' Requested b y f h|e various ; judges ‘sif
ting in the boys’ coutt!varied, though' thé •lüdgës-observed sèénied
about ëqüallÿ #ëin%<Ms8^
àdvant^gè o f the laboratory
sëryice; The nuM^érhf
thëfbqfs?
ëourt is given* in the published f èborts* only f bp the first thrée years
o f the làbqràtofy’S' ëxi'stëndé,,TOfifl May M 9 1 4 ' to April 90, 191t.
Guririg 'thiS period 2,Ô26‘ bOÿMttefë examined, an àvèràge ' o f 6f5
each year. O f meSe,IJ^ 9 W W
b o ÿ é o f5W to: 2Ô ÿé§(rs o f age; ah
afféragë1Off1664\:a' yekf; Thè? report off tHëJ1abOfatofy States that
from A pfiff 1, m
to J h lf ;i,'1917, .18-69.6; defëndMts. calne before
thè boys’"coürt,' sO- that approXimatëly ‘10 pér hëhff Of the deféndants
JMere referred to ' thes laboffatdrÿ-' ;AmOng* the 909 bbyS \dealt with
inf 1924 and 19$?5 ih.'câsëS9studied(bÿj thè’ Children’s.Bureau 161T:per
cent had bëén rë'fëfffèdffO'ffîie lâbOratbfÿj ! damgolorgyriq gnmatdrn >■
9fit io brie alas.) loioaTod-xommcTroiAnASÉs-vi odi io iio q o i vlQI òdi ni
Imfôàwdit bf iültegi39l Qonsgiiloini ss y Ino Jori baco stesi yiomsra fonar?

'! A case might Be* bfoU&M into" thé b0ys,: èoürt O h complaint followed
by a'wM tant Md'dpprehensiqn Ôfffhô defendant-‘M y as more fre>
quëntly occurred,’rffhë rb 0ÿi Might be>£f a t e 'hpî?by f f h é ¿olîc^ 'ëud
charges preferred later. When picked up bÿffb&pOIiceihëffjoÿ wàk
taken to the police station, booked either at once or after* an intervah
and taken to .thè court; fori hearing. The court hearing. iisuaHy ;tOok
pïftçe ^thin?$o few d#ys! after, ¡the<arrest.,nThe procedure in<>arrfesti
e^ammatiqn,, comniitment^ .and bail iWftSnsimilar to/ th^it in other
pqm-tSfO^.reçordwit A ll >cases.,exjceptt fcloniesj might be. prOseeUteid On
“ 111., Rev. Stat. (Sm ith S u rd ’ s ), 1927, SL 23, éec. 352
* Statutory provisions from 111., Rev. Stat. (Sm ith-Hurd’s ), 1927, ch. 37, secs. 358,
€>oZ. 4 U O .

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M E T H O D S O F D E A L I N G ! W I T H ‘B Ò f '(D E F E N D E R S

C H IC A G O

information or complaint. Leave to file complaint had to be ob
tained. from the judge in every case. Some judges made it a prac
tice to try all cases brought to court ; others] ordered charges ifiled
only i f the facts appeared to justify the complaint.
.¿.are’ pending trial.- "

,’

'j ^

\ -r

' r* ,f* T u L ’

Instead o f being kept in the police station overnight or longer,
boys might be released on their promise to be in. court qn the day of
the hearing, or on bond secured by property, or ¡oh cash payment.
Itelease on promise to appear, without security, |!wasf allowed only
in city ordinance eases, when the boy or bis family was known to
the police. The frequency with which this y/ñs/ Gone varied, with
the different police stations,12 In cases o f a misdenieánpr or felony
.such procedure was never followed. detention or security being con
sidered necessary in all cases, Either, a cash deposit òr security was
accepted by the police in all ; cases expept those punishable by- jhp
prisonnient in the penitentiary. The same policy with reference to
bail was followed in boys’ cases and in adult cases.,
Boys kept in the police stations were not separated from adults.
The inmates spent most o f their time in the large ‘VpensT that
adjóihed o f surrounded the Cell blocks'. Here the inmates played
cards, checkers, and chess. Toilet facilities were available, agd
part o f the pen was partitioned off for bunks where the prisoners
slept. The bunks had mattresses but no springs, and cots were fur
nished when theie were too many men for the bunks> ' Tbe Cells were
said to ,be used chiefly for punishmehtd3 Each cell wás ¡about 6 feet
Square," contained two small rough, seats or benches, and was gen
erally dark and gloomy. Usually, only two, three, or four persons
in a cell, though five, six, and even eight men Were sCen ;in ope
cell. This last was only temporary, the officers said ; a ll.haT been
brought in on the same charge.
, ;
'
Police officers would make little comment regarding treatment pf
boy offenders beyond general statements that it wiis jio.t.roughAccording to the statements o f the boys' inter vi ewed treatment by tpe
police was often good but sometimes seriously objectionable., Com
plaints o f brutal treatment Were made! ipost frequently by boys sus
pected o f ratfier grave offélises from, whom . confessions wem de
sifèdi14 Boys Kept in the! Nations for relatively minor offenses
complained mainly o f dirt o f food o f companions.
’ 12 F ive policé stations Were fis ïté d by an agent o f the C hildfenlg Bureáu a n d'th e captains
-o f .lieutenants ‘in charge interviewed. 3 Only tw o instancesJo® ■this practice were disco vèi'èd
among thé 82 boys Interviewed in connection wit.h this study, . .
. Q«ohiii
M138 rttt à^^préVìóusVinVès’tigàtioii, KowèVer, it- was ' reported t h a t ; “ there poyds a ré ; Often
.detained oyeynight, spnietimes longer,- in the sam e polls-,;with , hardened cçdok^,>pervert^,
alcoholics; dope úsefs, etc.’ ’“ ' Moreover, overcrow ding was found to be very common, and
ithe. food was crude, inadequate, and insanitary; ; Conditions at thé detective :bttréaü -were
said to be much worse than in the precinct s^ g Q n s,
in. ,turn„-jypre
rfr®
county ja il.
(Beeley, A rthur Lawton : The Bàil System in Chicago, p. SI ; thesis 1for the
,,dçgree o f dpetor o f philosophy, .University o f Cliicagp. .1925|) |
' ■i4 pipr "a] dìscu^mòh. Of t the “ third dégreh
àà practiced ' in Tllinois',f see .Police and the
T h ir d , Degree, by Sherman W. ¡Searle/ assistant director, Department o f Publie W elïaré Of
Illinois, in W elfare Magazine, published by the department o f public welfare, voi. 17, Nos.
3—4 •(A pril, 1926), pp. 5 -9 . In this article an editorial in the Saturday E v e m n g P o s t’ Tnr
Mar. 6, T 926, is quoted at length- . See also P olice B rutality in Chicago, by Edith Abbott,
in The N ation, yol. 114 (M ar. .8, 3922), p. 286, and a case cited iñ the T w elfth, Thirteenth,
and Fourteenth Annual R eports o f ;the M unicipal Court o f Chicago fo r ;the three ‘years
Dec. 2> 1917» to Dec.
1920, p. 222. In this .case, reported by Dr. W illiam 3 . Hickson,
director of. the psychopathic; laboratory, it was said that the boy, 17 years o f !age, had been
beaten by a policem an, his eye alm ost knocked i®.ut, and; his w rist broken, asa a

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YO UTH AND CRIME

Court hearing.

Physical conditions15.— Boys who had been kept in the police
stations were brought to court on the morning set for their cases
and put in a room with other boys from police stations, and with
boys who, during continuance o f their cases, had been kept in the
county jail instead o f being released on bond. This room, called
the “ bull pen,’’ was separated from the passage by an iron grating.
Interviews with families* lawyers, and occasionally with the judge
took place through the bars at the door* Thè room was unfurnished
except for wooden benches against thè wall. The walls were ugly—
cut and marked up by the boys.^ The toilet facilities were in a small
closet without a door and consisted o f running water and a drink
ing fountain near the outer room, and a toilet behind a wooden
partition. The place was dirty. A volunteer worker commented
on the opportunity for spread o f venereal disease, stating that boys
with open sores on their mouths used the drinking fountain and that
sometimes a common drinking glass was used. Boys who had been
released either on bond or on personal recognizance were in the
open court room.
The court room was fairly large and clean. The greater part of
the room was occupied by seats for witnesses, defendants, and on
lookers, who at times were so numerous that they stood in the aisles
and in the open spaces in front o f the bench. Visitors, police officers,
and lawyers also occupied the jury box to the left of the judge near
the wall. The judge sat on a high bench in the front o f the room, as
in other criminal courts. He did not wear a gown. Back of the
court room on the judge’s right were his chambers and on his left
was the passage leading to the room in which the boys brought m
by officers from places o f detention awaited hearing and to which they
were returned after hearing unless released. Another entrance to
this passage was through an iron grating from the general hall o f
the municipal building. A t the end o f the passage were small pas
sageways in which were placed desks and a telephone. The court
copy o f the daily court sheet was kept here, and various officers o f
the court stayed here when not on more active duty. Beyond these
was a small room occupied by the social-service department. The
room held three desks for the three workers in the department and
files containing the cards o f the boys interviewed.
C ow t attendants— On the right o f the judge and below him during
the hearing were bailiffs and clerks. A bailiff called the cases, and
clerks kept track of the cases called, entered disposition o f each as the
pudge gave his decision, wrote up the half sheets which were the
basis o f the municipal-court record, collected fines, recorded fines
paid and bonds, made out bonds, received signatures, and performed
the usual clerical services in connection with a court.
On the left and right o f the judge stood the representatives o f the
social-service department. One o f these had the cards which had been
_ .9 ?
16, 1929, tho Children’ s Bureau agent visited the new Quarters o f the hovs’
ina<ieQ1uate^a"thpr f>1iiiPOlTbAa n<i C+ourts Budding. On the whole the new quarters were as
m frw n ort wi +hT+viL c° * K°-om iTas l arge and 110 attem Pt was made to keep perThe detent?nn
cas?..bems heard separated from those involved in the case,
fo r benches^avain^t
hearing was fa irly large but was unfurnished except
s e r v le t w nrkefan^St+htQ
lle^ ^ a!-1S' T + i; arrangements fo r the interview between the socialbuiidingW° rkei ° f
C0Urt and tbe boys were even less satisfactory than, in the old

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METHODS OE DEALING W IT H BOY OFFENDERS IN CHICAGO

made out before court giving the boys’ statements in answer to the
questions asked them, and cards from the department’s files if they
had been before the court on previous charges. The judges observed
made use o f these cards frequently to obtain age, juvenile-court rec
ord, grade in school, employment, nationality, and previous arrests.
They usually listened to and considered the suggestions o f the socialservice workers, both the clerks and the agency representatives. Be
cause o f the very limited facilities for social-service work the sug
gestions were frequently the result o f only superficial acquaintance
with the cases.
Procedure.— The court opened at about 10 in the morning and con
tinued in session until the cases on the daily court sheet had been
heard. Only one session was held if the cases on the sheet would
permit adjournment by 1. Otherwise the court recessed between 12
and 1 for about an hour and a half.
|
Violations o f State laws were prosecuted by an assistant State’s
attorney, and violations o f city ordinances by an assistant prosecut
ing attorney. An average of 27 new cases a day were heard during
1924 and 1925. The new and continued cases together often brought
the number o f hearings up to 50 cases a day.
The court tried only nonjury cases, but most defendants waived
jury trial. The waiving o f jury trial in most cases observed was a
mechanical process, the signing o f a paper o f which no clear ex
planation was made. When jury trial was demanded the case was
transferred to the jury branch o f the municipal court.
In the type o f court room occupied by the boys’ court and under the
conditions prevailing as to onlookers^ the hearing was almost neces
sarily similar to those usual in criminal courts. The judges, how
ever, endeavored to make the hearings as much as possible like those
customary in juvenile courts. This was noticeable in the tendency
o f the judges to talk directly to the boys, to appeal to them to confide
in the judge, to tell the truth, sometimes to appeal to them by means
o f sentiment, through their affections, and through their religious
; beliefs. The judges tended to disregard lawyers appearing for de
fendants, and the boys frequently seemed handicapped rather than
helped by them. A majority did not have lawyers present at the
hearings. These methods, which are calculated to obtain the confi
dence o f the boys, are difficult to use, however, in a large public
court room. Frequently more people were within easy hearing dis
tance than was necessary because o f the bailiff’s practice o f calling
the next case to the front o f the court room while one was in prog
ress, with the result that all the persons involved in two cases, some
times 20 or more, were grouped in front of the judge. A change in
this practice and in the arrangement o f the court room so that all
except persons involved in a case and court officials would be kept
farther from the judge’s bench would permit more privacy and make
possible better results. One judge, even with the handicaps men
tioned, secured some privacy by talking in a tone so low that it could
not be heard by the general audience and scarcely even in the jury
box, but loud enough to reach the boy in front o f him. It was notice
able that the judge’s example was followed by the participants in
the hearing. The treatment accorded the boys by the court attend
a n ts, however, was usually rough or indifferent^

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,50

YOTJTJI AUD CRIME
DISPOSITION QF CASES

Casés at thé first hearing might be continued or disposed o f in one
o f several ways; iThe defendant ; might be dismissed without I triai
-if n ot prosecuted,. he might be! tribed and found not guilty,: oí* he
might be found guilty after trial, r I f not prosecuted, misdemeanor
cases were dismissed for want, o f prosecution or nol-prossed, and
quasi-criminal oases were dismissed for want o f prosecution or non
suited. I f tried, the defendant was either discharged or found
guilty and pláced on probation, fined, or sent to a correctional insti
tution. Commitments could be made in quasi-criminal cases ©hly
for nonpayment o f fine. I f unable to pay the fine the defendant
was sent t o the house ofèorreetion, where he served out his fine at
the rate o f $1.50 a day in a State case (misdemeanor) or 50 cents
a1day in à quasi-criminal case;16 Felonies might be dismissed fo r
want o f prosecution, nol-prossed, o f held for the grand juryy later, i f
indicted,; ; to be tried in the criminal court] Frequently a felony
charge was dismissed and a less serious charge preferred, by direc
tion o f the court) so that the case might be disposed o f in the boys’
court.17 Occasionally cases were transferred to other courts1having
jurisdiction.
The proportion o f cases discharged was always large. O f all fhe
cases disposed o f by the boys’1court in 1924 and 1925, 48.8 pér éèïit
were discharged and; 12.4 per cent were dismissed without trial ; 14.6
per cent were felony cases held for the grand jury ; in 8.9 per cent
the boys were placed on probation ;iin 4.4¡per cent i n j « were imposed
and paid ;j and in 10.7 per cbnt the hoys were committed to. the house
o f correction, either on séntéñce :of to serve out unpaid fines*. ■ •(See
footnote 1, p. 203.) .sfiuoo I
1 'Cases might be continued at the request o f a party to the ease, or
becaüse further information was desired by the judge, either exami
nation at the psychopathic; laboratory or social investigation, or for
a period o f supervision. I f they were continued for investigation a
police officer w as sometimes ashed to investigate and report, or the
judge might ask the probation department or a representative o f one
o f the private cooperating agencies to iperform this service. * These
representatives also were asked frequently to supervise- caSesv Somei
times a case was continued under this informal supervision for
months and then discharged i f the boy’s conduct had been satisface
tory or disposed o f i in some other way i f :it had been’unsatisfactory.
When cases were: continued the boys might be either released on bond
or detained in the^county jaiL1? The usual form o f conditional re
lease in the municipal court was a recognizance taken in‘ open court
by which it was agreed 'that i f the defendant failed to appear as stip
ulated -the security was forfeited. Recognizance without security,
called an individual fecognizahce, was often takén in the less serious
cases. A çashi deposit in lieu o f other forms o f security was used
occasionally. The fourth form o f bail, the traditional bail bond; was
seldom used. This requires a separate procedure to obtain security,
whereas a recognizance puts the; signer iffiffiediatèly-iin'debt;^ The
/
(: ;w IlI.,.R ev. S ta t.; (S m ith-H urd's), 1927,: ch,; 38, sec. 8*91,. and ch. 2 4 ;‘ see; ■832;^ ’ I
i 17 T heft o f property valued at $15. o r m ore constitutes grand larceny (a felon y) in
ilifliQM R (IllV R eti Stat. US^Ith-HhFdV)^
38,l|sec.ii
-1
. g n L'iftyrr $¿5.»
18 111., Rev. Stat. (Smith-BtardfjO’ftlSitt,: ch. 23, se?, 194 ch. 37, sec. 406.
^

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METHODS OP DEALING W IT H BOY OPPENDEKS IN CHICAGO

amount o f bail for each offense was'standardized by rule and prae- ;
tioe o f the municipal court. Thè same rules; applied to release .of
boys under £1 as, to adultsyibut» the judges observed. seemed; f o usé*
their power o f release with discretion, so that boyscharged with the*
less, .serious offenses were not .sent to jail merely because they were
unable to furnish bond, Fpr thè lighter charges boys unable to fur
nish. security were allowed to sign their, own recognizance^ or their
parents might sign without surety* unless the judge thought that >it;
would be good for the boy to.be locked up for a while, or. unless the
nature of, the offense, such as vagrancy,; made it improbable thatthe boy would be located again, or. unless the bay was away from
home and no other provision ) for his care seemed to be available;; >
Boys held for the grand jury on felony charges; had to furnish,
security or go to jail. /;A considerable ¿number o f boysyithéreforei,!
were sent to the county jail as the only available place o f detention;;
(See p. 63.)
>9;)no iicdt o'xoni beliumi > don is 8^hoGjçK)iJfido*i*3
In the disposition o f cases the judges observed appea^eE-iPpts
to be. ready fully to carry out the law but also to be intent" upon
making decisions and ordering treatment that would fee o f the .
greatest benefit to each boy as an individual and in his relations to
society. They Were hampdred iii their efforts by lack o f facilities for !
ontainirig1information feonberning the character and çifcümst^nçes
o f the boy as well as by lack o f proper agencies fòt treatment.
)iniqqqc eiaw rmoina

p r o b a t io n

Legal requirements governing probation,

»
,i ;

eogbif’r ; il yd ìlari

Under the Illinois law a boy not previously convicted o f a félòny i
oPGf petit larceny or o f embezzlement may be placed on probation *
if found guilty o f violating a municipal ordinance or o f atiy Criminal
offense except murder, manslaughter, rape, kidnapping, willful ancP
corrupt perjury or subornation Io f perjury, arson, larceny and etft-1
bezzlement where the amount taken ori converted exceeds- $200
incest, burglary o f an inhabited dwelling, or conspiracy. The judgd
must be satisfied that there is:reasonable ground to expect reffermat-ion
o f the defendant and; that the interests^ o f society Will be served;!
The term o f probation—not to exceed six months for violation o f a
municipal ordinance and one year for violation o f a State law—
and other conditions are fixed by the. judge. Before granting pro
bation, except in cases o f nonsupport and .contributing to delinquency <!
dependency, or neglect, the judge must require the probation oflieCr’ ’
to ascertain the residence, occupation, and previous court trècOrd o f
the defendant,, and he may ask ) for additional information. The conditions o f release on probation are as* follows: (1) The proba*0
tioner shall not violate any criminal law o f the State or any oity■
ordinance; (2) if convicted o f a felony or a misdemeanorr
not leave the State without the consent o f the court ; (8) he shall
report once a month o f as often as the court may direct còhcéfhirig
hïs whereabouts; conduct, employment, andi whatever else the court'
or probation officer may; require ; and (4) he shall enter intona
seèt%

addition to fellu s ouf cgs Jnoted in \fQotnot© T, pu 39, till© principal soiircfis fnu sfilisi »
“ SF
tt e f . Sfàt. ( Smiffi-Hürd’s h , iÓÌN fech. 38, J ^ s T 7 ^ ^ 7 V ^ ^ 7 9 a ) S ?
°ChIcè rp ** probation déPàrtment, and appropriation bills o f Cook.Co’dûtÿ'

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YO UTH AND CRIME

recognizance for compliance with these conditions. The court
may add one or more o f the following conditions o f probation:
Payment o f restitution to injured or defrauded persons, payment
toward the support o f those dependent upon him, subject to the
supervision o f the court, or payment o f court costs and fine, if any,
during the continuance o f the period o f probation. I f any o f these
conditions is broken a warrant may be issued for the arrest o f the
probationer. He may be brought before the court for violation
o f his probation, and his probation may be terminated, judgment
entered, and sentence imposed upon the original conviction; or the
judge may discharge him from arrest and recommit him to the care
of the probation officer. Upon the termination of the probation
period the probation officer must report to the court the conduct o f
the probationer, and the court may discharge the probationer from
further supervision or extend the period for a second similar period.
Probation periods are not extended more than once.
Probation department.

Organization.—Boys were placed on probation to officers o f the
adult probation department, which served all the criminal branches
of the circuit, superior, and municipal courts. The law establishing
this department became effective July 1, 1911. The department
was under the control o f the judges o f the three courts, who made
general rules governing the department and appointed the chief pro
bation officer. H alf the other probation officers were appointed
by the judges o f the circuit and superior courts for the county, and
half by the judges o f the municipal court for the city. The com
pensation paid to the chief probation officer was fixed by the judges,
approved by the board o f county commissioners and by the city
council, and paid by the county and the city in equal portions.
Compensation o f officers appointed by the circuit and superior court
judges was determined by the board o f county commissioners and
paid by the county, and that o f officers appointed by the municipal
court was determined by the city council and paid by the city. The
salaries,-however, were limited by statute to $6,000 a year for the
chief probation officer and $2,400 a year for the other officers.
Salaries o f the clerical workers in the department were fixed by the
county board and paid by it.
tStaff.— In 1924 and 1925, the period covered by the study, the
positions provided by the appropriation acts included a chief proba
tion officer, first and second assistant chief probation officers, 7 clerks,
and (in 1924) 30 probation officers. In 1925 the number o f probation
officers had been increased to 34. O f the 37 executives and officers
on the pay roll during part or all o f 1924, 25 were men and 12 were
women; and o f the 39 on the 1925 pay roll, 24 were men and 15
were women.
In 1924 the chief probation officer received $5,000, the first assist
ant, $2,700, the second assistant $2,599.92, the 14 county officers
$2,400 each, and each o f the 16 city officers $2,200 a year. The
salaries remained the same in 1925, except that each field officer re
ceived $2,400 a year. The 16 officers paid by the city were reim
bursed for the cost o f their transportation in the field, but the officers
paid by the county were not. In 1926 increases were voted by the
county board so that officers paid by the county received $10 a month

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METHODS OF DEALING W IT H BOY OFFENDERS IN CHICAGO

more than the city officers. This made up the transportation ex
pense to the officers but was considered less satisfactory from the
point o f view o f administration. The total salary budget for the
probation department was $92,045 in 1924, $104,944 in 1925, and
$116,833 in 1926.20
Probation officers were not subject to civil service, but those paid
by the county were appointed from an eligible list obtained through
examination held at the direction o f the judges o f the circuit and
superior courts. No examination had been held for officers paid by
the city. The law required only that a probation officer should be
reputable and at least 25 years old. The chief probation officer had
authority to suspend any probation officer for a period o f not more
than 30 days but could not discharge him. Charges against the
suspended officer had to be filed with the judges appointing him,
and the judges investigated and acted upon the charges. Discipline
is difficult under these conditions.
The importance o f having officers o f the right type is shown by.
statements o f boys interviewed in connection with this study. Cle
ment Dunne (see -p. 158) was a boy who might have responded to a
person o f fine sensibilities, keen insight, and resourcefulness but who
under the officer to whom he was assigned felt merely a deeper
humiliation and hopelessness. Arthur Baumann (see p. 200), on
the other hand, thought that his officer did him more good than
anyone else he had ever known and was carrying on successfully
after his probation had terminated.
F ractions.— As defined by law the duty o f the chief probation
officer was to supervise and control the work o f all subordinate pro
bation officers, subject to the rules adopted by the judges, and to
supervise the conduct o f probationers to such extent as the rules
direct. The probation officers were directed by law to investigate
the case o f any person to be placed on probation and notify the
court o f any previous conviction for crime or previous probation;
to preserve complete and accurate records o f cases investigated, in
cluding a description o f the person investigated, the action o f the
court with respect to his case and h is, probation, the subsequent
history o f such person, if he becomes a probationer, during the con
tinuance o f his probation; and to take charge o f and watch oyer
all persons placed on probation, giving to each probationer full in
structions as to the terms of his release upon probation and requiring
from him such periodical reports as shall keep the officer informed
as to his conduct.
Assignment o f cases and case loads.— Cases were assigned to officers
according to districts, and boys were assigned to a woman officer if
they lived in her district. Each officer to whom probationers were
assigned had a district, and in most instances the officer also had a
court assigned to him. The court and the district might not be con
nected. In unspecialized courts the officers worked in pairs, each
being assigned to a court for 15 days o f each month. While assigned
to court duty the officer spent the time he was not in court in the office
doing clerical work in connection with his records o f investigation
20 In 1927 the salary o f the chief probation officer was $5,500, the first assistant received
$2,820, the second assistant $2,712, the probation officers paid by the city $2,400, and pro
bation officers paid by the county $2,520, including $120 a year allowed fo r transportation.

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SÉ

YOUTH ANU CBIME.

and supervision.. The officer attended all sessions o f the court and,
obtained) the necessary information froin
jn ^ s ^ r p f ^ e £ T^
prqbatioiuand each person fop v?hom the judge requeste(l :ànsinvesti^
gation.. This information -was.sent to the probation office, and, pàscsi
were then assigned to tlie officers. Investigati oris were assigned to
officers detailed solely to, this, work—two during 1924 and 192uahd
four in 1927. f. The, supervising officers appeared at court, gearings in
riipst cases o f violation o f probation and might be called on to.testify.
In the boys’ court,,the officer ip regular attendance usually handled
these;cases.
j
... 'V.
On December 1, 1926, SI o f the 33 supervising officers had court
duty, as well. The two officers who .had nO cpurt duty hud 17$ arid
188 cases, respectively, under, their supervision, and, the average case
load o f the 31 officer?'with court duty was 127. Only 12 o f th^e had
less than, 100 cases assigried.tq them. |O f the other 19, $ had betwieen
100 and 150 cases, 7 had between 150 and 200 cases, arid 3, had i f f i
eases or more under supervision. The largest number.of, cases (2&5 )
was.: assigned tp a negro officer—a womau—working .in; a jaegro .dis
trict» i The chief probation officer, believed that, no officer ( shpuld
be responsible for, more than 100 cases, the humhèA’ to be. smaller, if
he gave only part time to supervisory work, ,j
•.i, Court a t t e n d a n c e :one probation officer was assigned to the
boys’ court. He had only a small number o f probationers, as the
court sessions he had to. attend.took a large part of .each day. Ete
reported information regardingf probationers and cases, to; be in
vestigated to the, probation office. , This ; information, entered on a
forni .entitled : h Information for Investigations,” was given to the
officer to,whom the investigation was assigned. I f completely filled
out, it included the following data : Name o f defendant ; age ; charge.;
out on bond or in. jail; civil condì lion ; n ation al ity ; occupation;
present address,¡how long;; previous addresses, how, long; names!,
ages, and addresses o f father, mother*, husband, wife, brothers,. sisT
ters ; school, name o f last,v,what grade, age at leaving; ,court record,
datw o f arrest,,charge, disposition, judge; work, name o f firm, ad
dress, kind of, work, name of foreman, when, ¡employed, how long
(space; for Several jobs) ; general information!; mental and physical
condition. [)nr; ■>.,
I
the time o f this study the probation de
partment was frequently not called upon, by rihe judge to make in
vestigations before a boy: was placed on probation. Possibly for this
reason boys not legally entitled to probation were occasionally placed
on probation. Investigations were frequently made by representa
tives o f private agencies. According to the reports o f the adult
probation officej; investigations by that office; had been made ;in the
cases o f 447 o f the 536 boys placed on probation by the boys’ court
and discharged from probation during 1924, and in;536 o f a cqrrespondmg grqup o f 854 boys discharged in 1925.' GThus inveTstigatious
by the probation department had been made in the cases^of 70;7 per
cent) o f the boys discharged from probation during 1924 and 1925.
This is a much larger proportion than that found by thei Children’s
Bureau in its study o f selected boys’ court cases— Among these cases
only 41.1 per cent o f those placed on probation and :51v5 per cent o f
those discharged from probation before the end rif the study,had

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METHODS OE DEALING: rW IT H B Q Y OFFENDERS IN’ CHICAGO

be€in investigated. Each investigating officer made an average of
! 61.5 investigations a month in 1924 and 41.3 ai month in 1925.' &in r
ji ><The following fpointe were ?covered in the investigation : :(1) ¡Pre
vious court record,, foi* which the officer visited the office o f the seci refary o f police/ and obtained*chargé,, ¡disposition; name o f judge,
and dates; ;of; all previous cases ; (2) home conditions and general
reputation of? the ¡boy, for which the: •officer ivisited >the home and
neighbors, who were considered an important source; rof inform a
tion; (3) school history, gathered jfrDhrthesfaihh^o japd^ifrtfehoy
Was under 19 years, checked1by a visit to th e ,school;;v(4): employ
ment history,, always: checked with employer; by visit, téléphoné!, or
•letter; {5) juyenile-court history;: for which records were; Searched
i f it was known that the boy had a record; (.6) previous adult
probation records; No -use was, made o f ithe social-service exchange
nor o f reçordsi o f social agencies during either ‘ investigation ©r su
pervision. This policy was adopted iat ithe suggèstion o f the: judges.
Home conditions included name* age, and occupation o f all members
o f the family, description o f the cleanliness; size, tand general aèpéèt
o f the house; character o f the neighborhood, relation o f the boy to
the members o f the family, ;and Ins standi ng in :the home and
neighborhood. Teachers, o f boys out o f school, less than ¡two* years
were considered sources o f inf ormationi about the iboy; il School in
formation was expected to include the name o f the school .last at
tended and ithe grade completed. W ork historyBincluded name o f
•last and long-time employers, tune in each job,, ability and record
in each; and reason for leaving.' : In spite o f this comprehensive
plan o f investigation the facts, presented in the report o f the investi
gators were objective only! rLittlermformatiamwasgdVen:that>would
lead to an understanding o f personality! problems, and little mate
rial, was presented on which, constructive work could bé based or
individual treatment plahneshi mil no balioqe-t Ion aeaiviea bebnlodi
I f no investigation ; was requested; before. the boy vvas placed on
probation no detailed investigation was made at any time. Some
times the supervising officer entered a ; short description on his
report sheet, auçh ,a$ “ living with parente? 6-room housçy owned,
clean, ,well furnished, good neighborhood.”
em sui-rna .¿am edi '¡o
/Sup€rviêion.~At the time' o f the Children’s Bureau study; when
a boy;was placed: on probation the juclge usually said to him ; “ Talk
to this man (the probation Officer). and...do. as he tells you.’’1" The
officer attenciing cpuH fhen was expected ;te/tell the to y when and
where to report. Little explanation was: given; by the judge, and
in formulating .coiidtliphs o f probation^ consiif¿red only those f|iat
were important in all" casesi: Employment, payment o f costs and
restitution i f that had been ^ordered bÿ; thé jijdge, and refraining
fron t violating the law. Individual plans iVèm not worked out
for individual cases.’ 1 Little o f ho edhsideratiori waé! given to the
boy’s recreational needs. Occ^sioh^iy’àn?effort:#a§ ih ^ d e ^ i ^ d i fy
home ëbhditioiis o r ’neighborhood innnéhcèsi'' Aftentidri' -kas* alvrays
giVen to' éteplëÿmèht;.'and help. was given in finding work i f the
Probationers wéfè
in h ll
casès^ .usually iri perëori at the main Office.! Thêbfficé A^aS kept open

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YO UTH AND CRIME

every Monday evening so that working boys might report without
interfering with their working hours. Each officer was on duty on
one Monday evening each month, and each probationer reported on
the particular Monday on which his supervising officer was in the
office. The officers sat at desks in the large receiving room. Each
probationer came up to the desk and was questioned individually,
but a line o f other probationers might be directly behind him wait
ing to report. The interview consisted mainly of questions as to
whether the probationer had a job or was looking for one, where he
was employed, how much he earned, and where he lived. This
information was entered anew on a card each time he reported.
According to the chief probation officer the principal value o f the
report was psychological, in that the probationer was made to realize
by the card and report that he was under supervision. Since the
home visits o f the supervising officer were made during the day when
information could be secured only from relatives of men working by
day, this personal report was the only accurate means of knowing
that the boy was in town.
The supervising officer was supposed to visit the home o f each
probationer once a month. Anyone at home at the time of the call,
which might be made at any time during the day, was asked the
same questions that were asked of the probationer himself at the time
o f his report.
Several times a year the chief probation officer looked over the
typed reports of each officer and at irregular intervals heard oral
reports o f the officers on all cases under their supervision. These
reports were routine, as the officers were expected to adhere to the
general plan laid down for all cases. The testimony o f the proba
tioners interviewed showed that some officers gave supervision which
was much more adequate than the routine prescribed and which
ihcluded services not reported on the records.
The inadequacy o f these methods of probation in cases where
home conditions were unsatisfactory or change o f environment was
needed is apparent in the following story:
W illiam was placed on probation for a second term before the expiration
of the first. During the first term of one year the record in the probation office
shows six reports by W illiam to the office, eight visits to the home by the officer,
and a card sent to an employment agency in regard to work for the boy.
During the second term of six months three reports by W illiam and five visits
by the officer are the only activities recorded. The only activities of the officer
recalled by the family a year and a half later, in connection with this study,
were visits, “ talking nice to W illiam ,” and help in finding employment. Yet at
each of the five calls made by the Children’s Bureau agent, drinking, vulgarity,
and the presence of undesirable visitors were observed, and there was no
evidence of any improvement in the general behavior of the boy.

Another case which illustrates the failure o f this method is that
o f Clement Dunne (p. 158). In some cases, on the other hand, the
routine method seems to keep the probationer from committing
further offenses. (See case 15, p. 152.)
A t the end o f the probation period, if the conditions had been
observed—that is, if all costs or restitution ordered by the court had
been paid and there had been no further delinquency resulting in a
court charge—the probation office recommended to the court that the
probationer be discharged. I f these conditions had not been lived up
to, especially if the probationer had not paid all costs or restitution

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M ET H O D S OF DEALING W IT H BOY OFFENDERS IN CHICAGO

ordered, the judge might extend the term for a second period, not to
exceed a year. A probationer who failed to report or who committed
a misdemeanor might be considered to have violated probation and
might be brought into court on that charge, to be sentenced upon the
original finding or recommitted to the care of the probation officer.
Sometimes even though the terms o f probation had been broken by
slight infractions of the law or by failure to pay all money due, the
boy was discharged by the court at the end o f his term. In these
cases the results o f probation were considered “ unsatisfactory ” by
the probation office and were so recorded, as were cases o f probationers
who had been sentenced, those who had been lost to the department,
and those on probation for a misdemeanor or a felony who had left
the State without permission of the court, an act that automatically
terminated probation.
Records.— The probation department kept the following records
o f cases: ( 1 ) History sheet, which showed the facts already described
at the time the boy was put on probation; ( 2 ) receipts for payments
ordered by the court and made thTough the probation office, slips
sent with the check to the person reimbursed, and copies o f slips to
employers recommending boys for jobs; (3) copy o f the investiga
tion i f one was requested by the judge before disposition; ( 4) sheet
containing short statements o f the reports and visits made during
the period o f probation. The sheet showing reports and visits con
tained the following identification data: Name o f probationer, ad
dress, charge, length o f probation, court docket number, and name
o f supervising officer. It also contained a chronological record o f
reports made to the office by the probationer and o f visits made by
the officer, the entry for each report or visit showing the date,
whether or not the boy was working, his wages, and whether or not
he was apparently doing well. The fact that a visit was made at
the home was recorded each time, even when no one was found at
home, and this was apparently considered sufficient for that month,
as no other attempt was recorded until the next month. The chief
probation officer stated that more work was done on many cases than
appeaTed on the records, as the officers did not appreciate the
necessity o f making detailed records.
Probation standards.

Standards o f probation work with persons over juvenile-court
age 21 are presented in a report o f the work o f the probation bureau
o f the court o f general sessions, the higher criminal court o f New
York City, which was established and was supported for two years
by the Catholic Charities o f the Archdiocese o f New York, being
taken over by the public on January 1 , 1927. As the court o f
general sessions handled only felony cases, cases o f indicted misde
meanors, or cases in which the charge was reduced from felony to
misdemeanor, the probation bureau was limited to these classes of
cases.
As outlined in the budget submitted to the judges at the time the
bureau became a public office, and adopted with certain modifica
tions, the staff was to consist of 67 persons— a chief probation officer
121 Cooley, Edwin J . : New Goals in Probation. Published by the State Probation Com
mission, Albany, 1926. Mr. Cooley says (p. 35) that o f those appearing before the court
o f general sessions on felon y charges from Jan. 1, 1925, to Sept. 1, 1926, 43.5 per cent
were 16 to 20 years o f age.

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YüTTÏir ÀÎiD CïtÎMÉ

with U salarÿ b f $7'S0O U ÿè'af ^ âéptitiës with salaries o f ^5,000 each,
3p pròbatióp bffiçèVs1witlv mimriiligi ^Iarîèè ô f f e w a yéar, and an
adè^uatb "felertcai'/êtiaiflç.' Th& 'total: budget wa^;r|M0,0^125.^^ AU
probation1 bfficèrs' Were èòllege graduated with! experience ili varions
branches o f sòbiàl.worki ' Thfe wbrk bf fhb! probation Officer^ was careÀ!
fully «upebViSed. D^iïy biiHçtïiLs'bn standard probation ééryicë, pro
bation marmali^ StkiY :dònferén6bs: on s^ucific problems arid difficult
ca'Sesy con f ehm ces beriyeen, itìféstìgafórs and basé! supervisor^; and
reading assignments and discussion bf sucb subjects as:criminology
and inehial hygiene tvère used as a paeans o f improving thy qlialitv
o f the pybbktibn service.ffô9(i >f:f °,ÜV
Preliminary investigation was required in every ease before ■4en-!
tence 'Was frisèed. Each investigating ofiicér was made responsible
for the completion o f only 12 investigations a month;/ Qniy iri caréfully Selected cases Vére the offenders" placed on probation. The
average period o f probafjbn ' wag fhreb
was followed by
friendly stiperviaibp. ; Hbgprobationer wasl discharged’’ from supejr- 1
vision gntil his adjustment nan cohsidered peijmâHem^ 1
Ïndiyïdiiar^j®¡^èn tifibs B c i p T V i j f k
vision. ’ Each Superriring pfïicèV^waa responsible 1fo r ‘ oiil^
cases,
assigned bn tbè diSfriçt plan. The probationer fidd to rejpbrt •to fpie
office1ohed n Week i f emjdoyed; daily I f i u p M I
office was
opeh five nights a week to receive rêjibrts. Each ofîicëf received his
prbbatioherS ih a private'office, ând liagte Vms^gnm&éé^ry. ®M least
turn visits ;a_ month: (mère i f desirable j were ihade.’t o the home o f
each probationer, and one visit à month was .mâde: to his place o f
emploÿirïïent:13 t0 1
T h e investigatio n in c lu d e d . liti every ;càse; a Social, d iagno sis/acr
co rd in g to th e 'fo llo w in g p ia n : 24' uutovj
ji;

b im o l - * -ISukjefit on noiiw nsvo sm il does

1 . Dtegrinjria o f p,nv i rm im pnft;

h o T e h r p o n o v M i w r error n

I ! A. 'le g a l history— 'J ' ! " ‘
Previous court--record,

Study of the offense.

. ■

guw ©mori ori
pava-

>■

Inqdiry 'at IS . différent places (in abw sence o f central buüéau o f eriminat
;. identifiçation) ' , and
the juvenile
epurt ; . also other : cities aridj counr.
tries ; fihger-print’ system' used.

Interview with complainant, .arresting
officer, police, [officersrof defendant’s
district, prosecuting attorney, and
any accomplices.s’

Social^history^— m
i
*; interview with' defen dan t,em ployers!>
coy Personal history,-, j> any/ hfm * labor-union. officials, fellow workmen),:
!- k tion and earlylJ jub& j.friends and companions^ and modi?,
Family ^ and ifeighborhood '
dai authorities (concerning drug,’
’ !li5 conditions.
•! ; - J
; : ’ ; : sex, and alcohol habitt):, : ;
!
»81n - Employment history. ,aoano . Records iKfcfl social-service exchange,
., Recreation. ,
g-g-jari ageiifios and institutions,»school (in« ,
.
H abits.and associates,, „
.
eluding ,physical and mental exam-!
.
Religious observances' and
' ‘ inatioiis) ,f i n a n c i a l organizations,
training.
workmen’s
compensation
bureau,
11 9 i litig a tin g or:>(aggmvatihg Mb Army,t N^vy< ■and’immigration ; also
:: ... circumstances; of ; thcr, ofr
^ a m a h ’vS papers. B sm aoad u b s iu i
mffio rroff^ffivra
rrf' n ~
- Visit^^fOi hopie.^
r ». i ^ ^

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M E T H O D S OP D E A L IN G W I T H

BO Y O FFEN D EBS IN

C H IC A G O

Sources

Subject

2. Diagnosis of personality :
Heredity.
Physical condition.
Mental capacity, traits, and in
terests.
Emotions.
Sentiments and beliefs.
Character and conduct.
Manner and appearance.

Records of psychiatric, psychological,
medical clinics.
Interviews with family, teachers, em
ployer, neighbors, and priests and
clergymen.

3. Summary o f diagnosis— report to the court :
A complete picture of the offender and the offense.
A sound basis for disposition of the problem.
Treatment required: Probation or commitment to reformatory, penal, or
custodial institution.

The basic principles in the supervision of probationers were: ( 1 )
That the process of adjustment or the supervisory treatment had
to be individualized carefully to meet the needs o f each delinquent ;
( 2 ) that the object of every phase o f the process was the permanent
rehabilitation o f the delinquent. Supervision was a process o f in
tensive reeducation and adjustment. It was “ social case work with
the added power of the law behind it.” “ To break down the social
isolation o f the probationer, to divert his antisocial tendencies into
channels o f orderly behavior, to direct a redistribution o f energy
and interest, to return him to the common path of normal men. and
to bring about socialization within himself and the community ”
were the objects o f probationary supervision. This process included
the following elements : 25
1. Formulation of plan of adjustment.
Examination of all papers in case.
Explanation of purposes and conditions of probation to probationer.
Consultation with—
Case supervisor.
Physician.
Psychologist.
Psychiatrist.
Visit to—
Home.
Family.
Friends.
Place o f employment.
Conference with probationer.
Possible revision o f plan at least once a month.
2. Acceptance of plan by probationer.
Gaining confidence and admiration.
Realization of problems and motives by probationer.
Removal of antisocial attitude.
Presenting new visions and goals.
Permitting trial and error.
3. Social adjustment (involving development of social relationships).
Family adjustment.
Neighborhood improvement.
Financial independence.
Right job for future career.
Budgeting and thrift.
Constructive recreation.
Restoration of social status.
33 New Goals in Probation, pp. 38-65..

86850°— 30-

-5.

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Y O U T H AN D CRIM E

4. Personality development.
Holding up ideal of self.
Physical rehabilitation.
Discipline and self-control.
Character building.
E m o tio n a l a d ju s tm e n t.

Academic and vocational education.
New resources and outlets.
Regaining self-respect.
Social consciousness.
Appearance and manner.
Religious development.
The long look ahead (that is, preparation for life after the probation
period).
5. Tendencies avoided.
Subtle antagonisms.
Too close supervision.
Impatience with relapses.
Objective case work.

The weekly reports of the probationer were used for stimulation
o f a sympathetic and invigorating relationship and for discussion
o f intimate and perplexing problems, influencing his beliefs, atti
tude, and conduct by advice and exhortation. Visits were made by
the officer regularly twice a month and whenever the probationer
failed to report. The probationer was required to report regularly
to the officer regarding his health, recreation, associates, church at
tendance, and school progress. This was calculated to engender
a sense’ of responsibility, regularity o f habits and conduct, and
respect for authority.
It is obvious that with the probation staff available in Chicago
this type of supervision of probationers was impossible.
CRIMINAL COURT AND ITS ASSOCIATED AGENCIES 26
JURISDICTION AN D ORGANIZATION

Boys accused o f felonies were given a preliminary examination in
the boys’ court branch o f the municipal court. The judge might find
the evidence against the defendant insufficient and discharge him,
or he might dismiss the felony charge but find him guilty and sen
tence him on a less serious charge. When probable cause was found
by the municipal-court judge the boy was held for the grand jury.
The grand jury heard the evidence in support of the bill of indict
ment and found it either a true bill or not a true bill. I f a true
bill was not found the boy was released. In many cases the bill
of indictment contained several charges, and if the grand jury
found a true bill as to any charge the boy was held for trial in the
criminal court.
The grand jury consisted of a full panel of 23 persons, 16 o f
whom were sufficient to constitute a grand jury; 12 members might
find a bill of indictment “ true ” or “ not true.” No one could be
held to answer for a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment
in the penitentiary except after indictment by the grand jury .27
28 Statutory provisions from 111.. Rev. Stat. (Sm ith-Hurd’s) 1927, ch. 78, secs. 16 and
17 ; ch. 38, sec. 701 ; ch. 37, sec. 166'; ch. 34, sec. 6 4 ; ch. 14, sec. 5.
27 Constitution o f 1870 o f Illinois, Art. II, sec. 8.

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METHODS Of’ DEALING W IT H boy OFFENDERS m

CHICAGO

. The criminal court is composed of judges of the superior and
—
courts, one of whom acts as chief justice and assigns cases
to the other judges. The powers of the court are the same as those of
the circuit court. The court has exclusive original jurisdiction o f all
criminal offenses in Cook County except such as is conferred upon
the municipal court, and appellate jurisdiction from the municipal
court.
^
At the time of this study small non jury cases were usually tried
by the chief justice and j'ury cases by the other judges. Although
the cases disposed o f by the chief justice included many boys’ cases,
these cases might be heard by any judge.
INVESTIGATIONS B Y COOK COUNTY BUR EAU OF SOCIAL SERVICE

During the period o f the study the Cook County Bureau o f Social
Service maintained a jail division to investigate the cases o f boys
17 to 20 years of age detained in the county jail while awaiting
action o f the grand jury (except those charged with rape or mur
der). In 1926 this social-service bureau was reorganized and be
came part of the new Cook County Bureau o f Public Welfare, the
director of which had been the chief probation officer of the juvenile
court. The reorganization had not affected the jail work of the
^)u£®au UP to^ the time when material for this report, was gathered.
The three investigators assigned- to jail work, like all other employees o f the bureau, were appointed by the president o f the Board
Commissioners of Cook County, in acordance with the rules o f
the county civil-service board. The requirements for these positions
were residence in Cook County for one year, minimum age of 21 for
men and 18 for women, and physical and moral fitness for the
work .28 None o f the 15 investigators who were employed in the
bureau o f social service in 1925 had graduated from college and
several had not finished the eighth grade. Moreover, the last eligible
list was obtained in 1917, and only 8 o f the 16 persons assigned to»
social-serYice work had been certified, the others having been ap
pointed as temporary employees from outside the list. The senior
investigator at the jail received $168 a month, and the other two
investigators $150 a month.
„The chief object o f the work in the jail was to inform the judge
the_ nsocial background o f the youthful offender; a subsidiary
and seldom-achieved object was to perform services for the boy and
his family. The information was obtained in part through an inter
view with the boy m jail, during which the senior investigator ob
tained data regarding the composition o f the family, several of the
boy s recent long-time employers, the school and gra*de last attended,
occupation at the time o f arrest, and the boy’s story o f the current
difficulty. One o f the other investigators visited the home to ascer
tain home conditions and obtained the boy’s record from the juvende court and the boys’ court records. Letters were sent to the
school last attended and^ to employers. The reports o f the jail
interview and o f the field investigation were consolidated and placed
on the judge’s desk on the day o f the hearing.
The program o f the division included some follow-up work but
this was seldom done during the years covered by this study! I f
28 Cook County Civil Service Law s and Rules, 1914, p. 20, R. II.

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Y O U T H AND CRIM E

the boy was sentenced to an institution it was planned to make a
call at his home to see if his family required assistance, and if so to
refer it to the proper social agency. I f the boy was sentenced to
the house o f correction it was planned to call on him one or two
weeks before his release and to try to obtain for him a job and a
proper place to live, if his home was not suitable. This was not
considered necessary if the boy had been sentenced to an institution
with parole service.
STATE’ S ATTOR NEY’ S OFFICE

The State’s attorney was responsible for presenting evidence to
the grand jury and for prosecuting cases in which indictments had
been returned. A social-service secretary in the State’s attorney’s
office was responsible for investigation o f all cases held for the
grand jury on charges involving sex offenses. Her staff consisted
o f three investigators, a policewoman, and a clerk. These workers
interviewed the girls bringing the charges or otherwise involved in
the case and investigated home, school, and work conditions of
defendants, complainants, and witnesses.
These reports were
presented to the grand jury and were later used in the trial.
JA IL DETENTION AND B A IL

When a judge of the boys’ court held a boy for the grand jury he
either accepted bail or committed the boy to the county jail. I f the
grand jury returned a true bill the criminal court fixed bail anew.
The policy in regard to releasing boys on bail was identical with
the treatment of older men. Figures given in unpublished reports
o f the jail show that approximately one-fifth of all those received
during each year were boys under 21 .
METHOD OF CONDUCTING TRIALS

Non jury cases o f boys from IT to 20 years o f age were handled
similarly to those in the municipal court, though with somewhat more
formality. Witnesses, defendants, lawyers, and complainants stood
grouped in front o f and below the bench. As there was more space
here than in the boys’ court those not interested in the case were
farther away and knew less o f what was going on. The judge wore
a robe. Although there was perhaps less direct dialogue between
judge and boy, the judge obtained substantially as much information
concerning the history of the offense and the boy’s character and cir
cumstances. Cases in which application was made for probation
were continued for investigation by the probation department. Re
ports made by probation officers were placed on the bailiff’s desk
before the rehearing so that the judge might have them before mak
ing his decision.'
Jury trials were conducted with even more formality. The boys
were seated facing and below the judge and were called one at a time
to the high witness chair. In the jury trial the judge naturally
maintained a more impersonal attitude and had less direct contact
with the boys than in the nonjury trials. The examination o f the
boys as witnesses was usually done in a quiet and reassuring way.

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DISPOSITIONS

Cases might be dismissed, nol-prossed, or discharged, or the defend
ant might be committed to an institution or placed on probation.
As in other courts, a probation officer attended all sessions and
reported all investigations requested and all cases placed on probation
to the main office, where they were assigned to probation officers
according to residence.
INSTITUTIONS RECEIVING BOYS ON COURT COMMITMENT
COOK COUNTY JA IL 29

Boys who were not released on bail during continuance o f their
cases or while waiting for the grand jury or criminal-court trial
were committed to the Cook County jail, which was the only place
o f detention available. This jail had been recognized for a long
time as an unfit place even for adults. In 1922 a survey, made at the
request o f the Board of Commissioners of Cook County by the
Chicago Community Trust, pointed out conditions which still pre
vailed in large part at the time o f this study, for the old jail still
remained. Many suggestions made in the survey for improving
conditions were adopted, however, and the construction o f a new
jail with separate quarters for boys was undertaken.30 Some o f the
judges recognized the undesirability o f such detention and tried to
reduce to a minimum the number o f boys so detained. Nevertheless,
there were always a large number in jail before disposition of their
cases, and a few served sentences there. Jail sentences could not
exceed one year.
The jail was under the control of the sheriff o f Cook County, who
appointed a warden and guards. These appointments had been
political rather than by merit, but the appointment o f a warden
on September 1 , 1926, was made after examination by a citizens’
committee and on its recommendation. A similar method was
adopted for appointment of guards. The grand jury and the
criminal court were required by la w 31 to inquire into the condition
o f the jail, treatment of prisoners, and acts of the warden. The
court might make proper orders against the warden and enforce the
orders.32
The older part o f the present jail was erected in 1874, the so-called
“ new ” part in 1895. The total number o f cells was 316, but in
1922 only 264 were available for men and boys. The average daily
jail population was 822 in 1924 and 869 in 1925. In seven months
o f 1925 the average daily population was more than 900. During
1924, 2,657 boys under 21 were admitted, and during 1925, 2,503. In
1927 the warden stated that conditions were the same as they had
been for several years and that no additional cells were available.
" I n addition to inform ation obtained at first hand by representatives o f the Children’ s
Bureau, the principal sources for this section are the Survey o f the Cook County Jail
made by the Chicago Community Trust in 1922 under the direction o f Dr. George W.
Kirchwey, annual messages o f the president o f the board o f county commissioners, and
annual reports o f the superintendent o f the ja il.
80 A bond issue to provide fo r a new ja il was approved by the voters o f Cook County
Feb. 24, 1925. This ja il was occupied Feb. 15, 1929.
. 81 111., Rev. Stat. (Sm ith-Hurd’ s ), 1927, ch. 75, secs. 26 -28.
82 Idem.

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The 1922 survey showed that the -overcrowding resulted in bad
health conditions and lowered moral tone. Filthy talk and prac
tices, homosexual vice, and corruption o f young boys were said to
be common in the crowded cells and bull pens. Dope could be se
cured by anyone. Newcomers were mauled and robbed. Some at
tempt was being made at that time to segregate drug addicts,
persons with venereal diseases, negroes, and young boys, but assign
ment to cells was chiefly on the basis o f charges, size o f bonds, and
criminal records. The investigators in 1922 found little real classifi
cation separating different types of prisoners, but instead found
forced association of the young with the old, the clean-minded with
the vicious and depraved, the first offender with the prisoner who
had served many sentences.
Both the old and the new jail were composed o f blocks o f cells
placed one over the other. The new jail had seven stories and the
old four. The cells were open at one end only, and this was covered
by a barred grating. They had no windows, and the artificial-venti
lation system was unsatisfactory. In the new jail the cells were 10
by 5 by 7y2 feet, and in the old, 8 by 6 by 8 feet. Both lacked by 120
cubic feet or more the 500 cubic feet considered necessary for one
man when there is cross ventilation. The exercise yard, or bull pen,
was between the two blocks o f cells in the new jail and at one side
o f the block o f cells placed back to back in the old jail. This yard
was 17 by 65 feet in the new and 19 by 118 feet in the old jail.
In 1922 each cell had a small washbasin with running water, a
stationary toilet, and two or three bunks protruding from the wall,
one over the other. Each man had a straw mattress, a blanket, a
sheet, a pillow slip, and a towel. Some o f the men did not have a
bed, but placed their mattresses on the cement floor. In 1924 enough
triple-decked beds were installed to provide for all without sleeping
on the floor. The beds were the only seats available. Light in some
cells came only from a single electric bulb outside the cell.
The bull pens were reported in 1922 as being poorly ventilated,
poorly lighted, and hot in summer. They had no furniture and were
greatly overcrowded. The cramped quarters permitted little real
exercise. An open drain at one end was used as a urinal.
The jail was dirty, according to the 1922 survey. Cells were
seldom, if ever, thoroughly cleaned; the floors o f corridors and bull
pens, though washed daily by a squad o f prisoners, were not well
cleaned, and refuse was thrown from the cells into the bull pens.
Blankets were not washed for months or years, and sheets and pillow
slips were changed only once a week, even in the receiving cells
where six men might use the same ones.
The men ate in their cells, the food being served in a very unap
petizing manner, though improvements have been attempted since
1922.
Many other conditions were considered harmful from the medical
point o f view : The superficial character o f the examinations o f the
incoming prisoners and the lack o f any subsequent examinations 5
the total lack o f information as to mental condition; the monoto
nous, repellent, and unbalanced character o f the diet, with an absence
o f fresh vegetables, almost complete lack of sugar, milk, and butter
or butter substitutes. Because of the character of the food furnished

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C H IC A G O

by the county a private store in the jail did a large business supply
ing food, especially sweets. Vermin constituted a serious menace to
the health o f inmates. The usual danger o f these was enhanced by
the lack o f provision by the county for hair cuts and shaves, and by
the lack o f adequate sterilization o f clothing. On their entrance to
jail the men or boys were given a bath, but they were given back
their old clothing, sometimes without sterilization. Both medical
and hospital "facilities were considered inadequate; and, though im
proved by the adoption of some o f the suggestions o f the survey, in
cluding a venereal-disease clinic under the direction o f the Chicago
Health Department inaugurated April 12 , 1923, they remained in
adequate.
One great difficulty in the jail was idleness. Only sentenced men
were put to work, and most o f the prisoners were merely awaiting
trial. The sentenced men were used to scrub floors, to deliver the
meals, collect the food, search bundles, and help in the bakery,
kitchen, laundry, and hospital. The others, however, at the time o f
the 1922 survey, were allowed no occupation o f any kind during any
part o f the day. In 1923 marching, setting-up exercises, and games
were instituted, the daily program calling for 3 hours and 40 minutes
o f physical exercise and 1 hour o f mental instruction. By 1924 the
hours in the exercise space had been increased to 5%. A library was
installed June 21 , 1923, which had more than 1,600 books and 4,000
magazines within a few months after it was opened.
The daily routine, as described in the 1922 survey, with the im
provements o f 1923, was as follow s: 6.30—rise, dress, wash at basin
m cell, make beds; 7.30—breakfast o f coffee with “ little milk and
no sugar ” and an “ unnutritious roll,” served in the cell (after Janu
ary 5,1923, cereal was added and 3 ounces o f m ilk ); 9.15—“ exercise ”
in the bull pen; 11.45 back to cells, dinner in cells, consisting o f
corned-beef hash and peas and two pieces of bread or o f white beans,
potatoes, carrots, and bread, or a similar menu; 1.15— another exer
cise period in the bull pen; 3.45—back to cells, supper consisting of
soup or coffee and bread, but since May 20, 1923, o f stewed fruit
coffee, and bread; 9.30—lights out.
Men might receive visitors twice a week during exercise hours, and
write as many letters as they wished. They bathed once a week out
side their cells and were present at religious services in the bull pen
on Sunday. Thus the weeks passed with no out-of-doors period,
many o f the inmates never even seeing the sun during a long deten
tion period.
The 1922 survey reported that the younger boys were separated
from the other prisoners during the “ exercise period” by release
into a room known as the “ school room,” though not used for in
struction. This was a large room with outside windows. In March,
1924, a school was provided for these boys, a teacher being assigned
by the board o f education, who gave individual instruction in this
room. A t that time this instruction reached only 30 o f the 200 boys
usually in the jail. When the jail was visited in connection with
this study in 1927, it was stated that 70 to 80 boys were under instruc
tion. These were usually the boys o f 17 and 18 years who were as
signed to the top floor o f the jail and who were given their exercise
period in this room. Part o f the time was devoted to setting-up

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exercises under instruction and to games o f checkers or hand ball,
and part to school or art work.
The warden, when interviewed in 1927, stated that conditions in
the main were the same as had been described in earlier annual
reports. Three and four men and boys were still assigned to a single
cell hardly large enough for one person. There was little separa
tion o f the boys from the older offenders. Hospital facilities and
examinations were the same as in earlier years. Meals were still
served in the cells.
HOUSE OF CORRECTION

The boys’ court sentenced boys in largest numbers to the house of
correction. This institution, also known as the Bridewell, was main
tained by the city under the control of the city council.33 Persons
found guilty of misdemeanors, either by sentence or because o f non
payment o f fines imposed by the courts, and persons found guilty on
quasi-criminal charges who were unable to pay their fines were sent
to it. The former might remain not longer than one year, and the
latter not longer than six months.34 The number of offenders sent
to the Bridewell had increased markedly in the past few years, from
8,565 in 1921 to 15,496 in 1924 and 22,023 in 1925.35
Boys under 21 were housed in the cell block called the “ new cell
house,” which was more desirable than the older cell blocks. The new
cell house had 329 cells, and only one person was placed in a cell.
Each cell had a cot, a toilet, and a stationary washbowl with running
water. Some cells, used by inmates assigned to clerical work, had
a small white desk or table fitted with blue blotting paper, and a desk
chair. The cells were ranged against the outside walls so that each
cell had a window, strongly barred, opening directly to the outside.
A wide corridor down the middle of the building contained long
tables and benches used by the inmates at meal time. The few dishes
were made o f heavy porcelain. The corridor was also used as an
assembly hall, a stage being set up at one end where plays were given
or pictures were shown to the audience sitting at the dining end o f
the corridor. Adults were also housed in this cell house, but the boys’
cells were together in a separate section. Talking among inmates was
allowed. A person in one cell could reach his hand around the sepa
rating wall into the next cell and games o f checkers were played in
this way by the occupants o f two cells. Boys ate together but at the
same tables as the men. Adult occupants o f the new cell house were
chosen according to the occupations to which they had been assigned.
The cleaner occupations such as printing and baking were given pref
erence over those such as quarrying or work in the rubber shop. It
was almost impossible for men working at the dirtier occupations
not to bring dirt into the cell house, and apparently less attempt was
made to keep the older cell houses clean than the new one, which
looked quite spotless.
Assignment o f men to their occupations was said by the guard to
depend largely upon the needs o f the work. A ll boys, unless they
especially requested another form o f employment or unless they were
particularly “ rough ” or “ hard,” worked apart from the men at
88 111., Rev. Stat. (Sm ith-H urd’s ), 1927, ch. 24, sec. 252.
34 111., Rev. Stat. (Sm ith-Hurd’ s ), 1927, ch. 24, sec. 832.
^ A n n u al R eport o f Hon. W illiam E. Dever, mayor, Nov. 3, 1926, p. 46.

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C H IC A G O

basket making in a room on the second floor o f a different building.
This room, which was light, clean, and attractive, contained the
institution library at one end and a radio. The room was decorated
with the completed baskets which were set out to attract purchasers.
Meat was served twice a day on some days and not at all on other
days. For example, on Thursday, corned beef and cabbage were
served for dinner, and corned-beef hash was served for supper , on
Friday, boiled or baked beans for dinner, and bread with maple
sirup and tea for supper. This menu differed from the jail menu
by having no fruit but usually a heavier dish at night, and tea instead
o f coffee, and added cocoa at noon. The breakfast o f cereal, coffee,
and bread was similar to that of the jail.
The daily routine was as follow s: 7.30, breakfast; 8 to 1 1 , basket
weaving; 11.30, dinner; 11.30 to 1, in cells; 1 to 4, basket weaving;
4? supper; 4.30 p. m. to 7.30 a. m., in cells. Boys were given no exer
cise except that derived from the short walk between their sleeping
quarters and the work room four times a day.
Inmates were allowed to receive only one visit a month, but no
limit was set on the number o f letters they might receive or send.
The usual routine was varied on Sunday, when the boys were in
their cells except for meals and for a church service o f about two
hours. Each boy had to attend either the Catholic services in the
morning or the Protestant services in the afternoon. Christian
Science services were held on two Saturday afternoons each month.
Boys were required to take a bath on one afternoon a week. A
hospital was maintained in another building to which boys and men
were sent when ill.
Boys were not supervised after discharge from the institution.
Finding homes and employment for boys o f 17 to 20 upon release
was planned by the jail division o f the bureau o f social service but
was not carried out because o f a lack of workers.
Basket weaving—which seems better suited to younger boys and
can have little vocational value for the boys’ court age group—was
sometimes varied by school work during the morning hours. All
the boys attended the school when a teacher was available. The
teacher was supposed to be furnished by the board o f education,
but this'service was not always furnished. The school desks were
in the boys’ work room.
Boys wishing to learn a trade, such as printing or baking, were
assigned to such work. This brought them into contact with older
men. Moreover, men serving the longer sentences were likely to be
assigned to trades that take longer to learn. Printing was learned
in the printing shop, in which are printed the institution paper The
Corrector and forms for the use o f various city departments. Brick
making, cobbling, tailoring, and pottery-making were other
occupations.
An occasional show or entertainment was given in the cell house,
and an occasional treat o f some kind was bought for the boys with
money obtained from the sale o f their baskets. The playing o f
games by neighbors and smoking were allowed in cells. Cigarettes,
crackers, cookies, and other eatables were kept by the managment
and sold at slightly more than cost to the inmates. Books, sent to
the institution by the public library, might be obtained in any num
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ber desired from the librarian of the cell house (an inmate), who
selected books from the general library to take to the house. Papers
and magazines also were sold by the management. Food could not
be brought in to inmates from the outside.
STATE REFORM ATORY 86

Boys from 16 to 20 not convicted o f a capital offense might be
sentenced to the Illinois State Reformatory at Pontiac and usually
called “ Pontiac,” about 90 miles from Chicago, instead o f to the
State penitentiary or the county jail. This State institution was
under the control o f the State department o f public welfare. Men
between the ages o f 21 and 26 might also be sentenced under certain
conditions and for certain offenses to the reformatory. Few boys
were sent to this institution by the boys’ court, but more o f this age
were committed to it by the criminal ‘court. Sentences were for the
term provided by law for the offense for which the person was
convicted.
The reformatory had 1,310 inmates on June 30, 1925. By State
law the inmates between 16 and 21 years o f age had to be separated
from those between 21 and 26 years o f age. Additional segregation
had been provided, but officials o f the institution said that more
segregation was needed than had been possible because o f the ex
pense. The segregation desired would have separated the more in
corrigible from the other boys and the younger from the older and
more sophisticated, in accordance with the recommendation o f the
psychologist for the State division o f criminology who examined
incoming boys.
The boys were kept in cells, usually one boy to a cell, although
when the reformatory was crowded two were placed in one cell.
Each cell had a small window and toilet facilities that were clean
but not in good repair. The cells were comfortable although simply
furnished. The food seemed to the Children’s Bureau agent who
visited the school to be plain, wholesome, and well-prepared, al
though not so palatable .as it might have been.
Boys who had not completed the eighth grade o f the public schools
had to attend school at least half o f each school day. Nominally
work was required the other half o f the day. Although 278 acres
surround the institution, it was found difficult to furnish employ
ment for all. The boys themselves complained o f the lack o f work.
Many could not get on the working squads and had no work except
cleaning cells.
In good weather the boys had a recreation period o f 45 minutes
a day when, under the direction o f a play director, they played
baseball, handball, pushball, and football, and ran races. The
school ball team played outside teams. The boys were given mili
tary drills on the drill field in the center o f the grounds surrounded
by buildings and walls. The daily routine of the inmates began at
5.30 in the morning and ended about 4.30 in the afternoon, when
they were locked in their cells. The exact hours varied with the
36 The principal sources fo r this section, in addition to interview s and visits by bureau
agents, are 111., Rev. Stat. (Sm ith-Hurd’s ), 1927 (ch. 38, secs. 8 0 1 -8 0 4 ; ch. 118, secs. 3
and 9 ; ch. 127, secs. 5 3 -5 4 b ), and the Annual Report o f the Department o f Public W el
fare fo r 1925.

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season o f the year, so that all cells might be locked before dark.
Meals were served in a large dining hall.
In the summer weekly concerts, which were attended by towns
people as well as by the boys, were given on the grounds by the
school band and orchestra. A library in the institution furnished
books to the inmates, and a weekly paper was published by them.
Motion pictures were shown every Saturday during the winter
months. Boys who reached a certain grade with a clear record
might join the Young Men’s Christian Association. The association
had 250 members, and the programs of the meetings included the
syigmg o f a popular song, talks by boys, debates, and music by the
orchestra. Chapel services were held every Sunday, instruction
to Catholic inmates every Friday and special Catholic services from
time to time, and Jewish instruction was given at intervals.
STATE PEN ITEN TIAR Y 37

Boys o f 1.6 and 17 years could be sentenced to the penitentiary only
when convicted o f murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, burglary, or
arson. Boys 18 years o f age and under 21 and, under certain condi
tions, boys between the ages o f 21 and 26, convicted o f felonies, pun
ishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary, might be committed in
the discretion o f the court to the reformatory instead o f the Illinois
State Penitentiary ; they had to be sentenced to the latter in cases of
capital offenses. The sentences might be 1 to 20 years, or life im
prisonment. The penitentiary, like the reformatory, was under the
control of the State department o f public welfare. It was located at
Joliet, 37 miles from Chicago.
The buildings o f the penitentiary were in two divisions, the “ old
prison ” at Joliet, and the “ new prison ” a few miles from the
other, at Stateville. There was also a separate institution for
women. The “ old prison ” housed the new inmates and the largest
number of prisoners, as the new was not entirely finished. On June
30, 1925, the penitentiary had 2,318 inmates. O f the 783 prisoners
men and women, received at the institution during the year ended
September 30, 1926, 97 were under 21 ‘years of age.
The cells in the old prison were double, containing cots that were
n63/t and clean. The cells had small windows, were clean, and contamed rude toilet facilities with running water. It was the policy
never to place younger men and boys m cells with older men or
hardened criminals.
The cell houses o f the new prison were circular in shape, the cells
being placed tier on tier around the outside wall, leaving a large
circular open space, in the center of which was an observation tower
from which the guard could see the interior o f every cell.- Each
cell had at one end an outside window which might be raised and
lowered, and at the opposite end a grating opening to the center of
the building. Each cell had an electric light. The cots appeared
comfortable and clean, and modern toilet facilities were provided in
each cell. The cells were neat, clean, attractively painted, and
87 The principal sources fo r this section, in addition to interviews and visits hv bm-psn
agents, are 111., Rev. Stat. (Sm ith-Hurd’ s ), 1927 (ch. 38, secs. 759^801 8 0 3 -^ch
W elfare
a n ^ M
’ 53)J 4
AnDual « « W t o f t h l D ep a rtm S t o f Publfc
S e p t 3 0 , 1926
’
d S t t t ’ a typed reP °rt o f the Illinois State Penitentiary, for

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might be decorated with pictures and personal belongings accord
ing to the taste o f the occupant. Each cell was used by only one
occupant.
Considerable care was exercised in examining and classifying the
inmates. The incoming prisoner was placed in the observation ward
where the prison physician examined him for contagious diseases,
acute or chronic organic diseases, and physical handicaps, vaccinated
him, and took his medical history. Bertillon measurements and
fingerprints were taken. A psychological, social, and psychiatrio
study was made by a resident State criminologist. This covered in
formation concerning, first, the man’s history, including his heredity,
personal development, industrial and economic pursuits, accidents,
social interests, and illnesses ; second, group intelligence tests, and in
case o f failure, individual intelligence tests; third, previous court
record and present crime. A neurological examination was made
and Wassermann tests taken. Results o f these studies were then
summarized, and special tasks or assignments were sometimes
recommended. This routine permitted early sorting o f inmates as
to intelligence, aptitude, physical condition, and mental reaction.
The warden informed the new men o f the progressive merit system
used in the institution and on the term o f imprisonment as a period
o f training and self-improvement. Further classification was made
during the stay in the institution. In spite o f efforts to keep the
young offender from contact with the confirmed criminal in work
as well as in living arrangements, it was not entirely avoided, espe
cially in work.
Meals were served in large dining halls, and no talking was
allowed. The food was plain, without much variation from week to
week.
The daily routine was as follows : 6 a. m.—rise and clean quarters
for inspection; 7.25—breakfast; after breakfast until 10—work as
assigned, in shops, at cleaning cells, or extra work; 10.30— dinner;
after dinner until 1 —in cells; 1 to 3—work; 3—supper. At 4 p m .
cells were locked for the night. Games were allowed in the cells,
and many inmates had checker boards. Books might be owned, and
they were also lent by the prison library. Each inmate was allowed
to have visitors once a week. Visitors might leave money in the
office for the inmates, with which they bought eatables sold through
the prison store at wholesale prices.
PAROLE ss

A ll boys sentenced to the State reformatory and to the State peni
tentiary were eligible for parole at the end o f the minimum sentence
provided by law for the crime o f which each was convicted, good
time being allowed as prescribed by rules o f the department o f pub
lic welfare. I f sentenced for a definite period a boy was eligible
for parole after serving at least one-third of the sentence or 20 years
i f the sentence was for life. Definite sentences were given only for
misprision o f treason, murder, rape, or kidnaping.
Paroles were granted by the department subject to rules and regu
lations made by it, the aim being, as stated in the law, to secure the
38 Statutory provisions from 111., Rev. Stat. (Sm ith-H urt’ s) 1927, ch, 38, secs, 801—803,
805, 807, 809, 810 ; ch. 108, sec. 45.

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self-support and reformation of the persons paroled. Certain condi
tions were prescribed by the statute. Before paroling a prisoner it
was the duty o f the department to make arrangements or have satis
factory evidence that arrangements had been made for suitable em
ployment and for a suitable home for him, and to provide him with
suitable clothing, $10, and transportation to his place of employment.
The department was required to keep in communication with all per
sons on parole and with their employers. A discharge from parole,
which had to be approved by the governor of the State, was a release
from or commutation of sentence and might be granted at any time
after the person had served acceptably six months of his parole.
This meant that he had given evidence that he would remain at lib
erty without violating the law and that his final release was not in
compatible with the welfare of society. In practice, monthly reports
in writing were required from persons on parole, and discharge was
granted after 12 satisfactory reports.
It was stated in the 1925 report o f the department o f public wel
fare that no person was released from a penal institution and re
turned to the community until he was assured o f employment at a
wage commensurate with his capabilities and had a sponsor who had
been investigated and to whom he was released. The parolee had to
be at his home by 9 p. m., drink no intoxicating liquors, keep free
from “ encounters ” and disturbances, and report regularly to his
sponsor. The breaking of any o f these rules constituted a violation
o f parole, and the parolee might be returned to the institution. The
State was divided into districts and at least one parole officer assigned
to each district. The same officers had supervision oyer boys dis
charged from the reformatory and of men from the penitentiary. A
separate staff was maintained for boys discharged from the State
school for boys under 17 years of age.
.
Usually 600 to 700 persons were on parole in the district that in
cluded Chicago and four neighboring counties. On May 1, 1927,
there were 645 persons on parole and 13 parole officers in the district,
an average case load o f about 50 for each officer. The supervisor o f
paroles (appointed July 21, 1926) stated that the staff o f the divi
sion, consisting o f 48 employees m all, was loo small to make ade
quate supervision possible, and that the period o f parole should be
lengthened and the requirements for discharge made more strict.
Several of the case histories indicated the need for more personal
attention to boys on parole and showed the results of lack o f super
vision. Gale Brown (see p. 135) related that on his release from the
reformatory there was no job awaiting him as he had been led to
expect, and that no work was found for him during the month he
was on parole. He saw his sponsor very little, and his only contact
with his parole officer was after he had been again arrested. Having
no job and little money he resorted to robbery and was returned to
the reformatory to serve terms both for the new offense and as a
parole violator.

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STUDY OF 972 BOYS’ COURT CASES
SELECTION OF CASES AND SOURCES OF INFORMATION

To get a better idea of the actual workings of the boys’ court a
selected group o f cases dealt with by the court was studied. After
conference with the chief justice o f the municipal court, the director
and assistant director of the psychopathic laboratory, and the socialservice secretary of the boys’ court it was decided to take as a sample
o± the general run o f cases the first 65 cases appearing on the daily
court sheet each month during 1924 and 1925. In this way cases
heard by the different judges sitting on the bench were included, and
sufficient time had elapsed since the inception o f all cases to allow
tor their final disposition. By this method 1,499 cases were ob
tained lor the preliminary survey after cases brought in error and
duplicate entries had been discarded. The court history o f each
case was obtained from the daily court sheet and social data from
the index cards o f the social-service department of the boys’ court.
A lter the elimination o f cases of older persons or girls above juvenilecourt age who were involved in offenses with boys, a few cases o f
boys just over 21 or just under 17, and more than one case against
the same boy this method of sampling gave 972 as the number of
cases included m the study and 909 as the number of boys involved
tnesG ceisgs#

A ll available sources o f information were used to obtain a full
nisliory o f the 972 selected cases—municipal-court docket and files,
^ s o cia l-s e rv ic e department o f the boys’ court, criminal^i00^ an(l H ®s’ records o f the adult probation department for
S f f«?i
° n Pr?batl° “ hy municipal-court judges, and records o f
the jail division o f the Cook County Bureau o f Social Service, the
social-service secretary o f the State’s attorney’s office, the juvenile
court, the psychopathic laboratory o f the municipal court, the Insti
tute lor Juvenile Research, and the social-service exchange.
OFFENSES BRINGING BOYS BEFORE THE COURT
NATURE OF CHARGE

no-ÍLcí16 972 CÍ S€S selecíed for study disorderly conduct and offenses:
against property comprised more than four-fifths of all the charges,.
46.8 per cent being charges o f disorderly conduct and 35.4 per cent
f e n T T * prT rty; (Table. 1 1 .)" Theft or attempted theft
monevnr ^ 1 ^Ceny’ /ibUrf 1ia ry’ receivmg stolen property, obtaining
mpnfy r / r ds Un\der % e Pretenses, confidence games, embezzlement, and forgery) constituted practically all the latter class of
dealt "wiU ? by* the

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ll^ In d ^ fo ^ d e S u s

° f CaSeS'

STUDY OF 9 7 2 BOYS* COURT CASES

offenses, the few other cases being trespassing and malicious mischief.
Two-thirds o f the theft cases were cases of larceny.
Cases of theft and robbery (the latter classified under crimes o f
violence), comprising the group o f so-called crimes of acquisitive
ness, together represented nearly two-fifths (38.8 per cent) o f all the
selected cases.
T a b l e 11.— T ype of offense, by charge on which referred, in selected cases dealt

with in the boys’ court during 1924 and 1925
Selected cases

Charge

Quasi-criminal
cases

Misde
meanors

Felonies

Total

Percent Num Percent Num Percent
Num Percent
distri
distri
distri
distri Num
ber bution
ber bution
ber bution
ber bution

972
Charge reported_________ ____ _________

100.0

8.4

1
1

.1
.1

1
1

Crimes of violence and injuries to

¡Robbery or attempted robbery

255

144
19
12
97

344

35.4

188

73.7

20
88
136
54
14

2.1
9.1
14.0
5.6
1.4

76
39
54
7

29.8
15.3
21.2
2.7

17
11
4

1.8
1.1
.4

4.3

3.9

1.5

1.3

Other—..........................................

5
5

.5
.5

Offenses against public safety----------

454
11
42

Violating auto laws and ordi-

9.4
4.3

4.7

Indecent exposure or immoral

22
10

.4
.4

14.1

Contributing to delinquency of

8.1
5.1
41.5

13.7

Sex crimes and offenses_____________

2.5

Other acquisitive crimes and
offenses_________________ ____

19.6

1.2

Larceny, other or not specified__
Burglary or attempted burglary..

61.5

100.0

3.7
2.3
1.0

Operating motor vehicle without

100.0

234

Crimes and offenses against property.

482

100.0

36
22
10

Robbery or attempted robbery,

482

234

256

971

3.0
2.1
.4
1.3

1
10

.2
2.1

5
1
3

6.7

6.8

1.0

5.9

2
1

.9
.4

3
2

.6
.4

46.8
1.1
4.3

454

94.2

11
31

4.7
13.2

2.3

2.2

9.0

11
10

1.1
1.0

1
10

.2
2.1

13
2

Crimes o f violence and injuries to persons formed 8.4 per cent of
the charges on which boys involved in the selected cases were brought
to court. Robbery, which was included among crimes o f violence
rather than with other thefts because violence to persons is always

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YO UTH AUD CRIME

present in robbery but may not accompany the commission o f other
thefts,2 accounted for 58.5 per cent of the crimes of violence; assault
with a deadly weapon, for 27 per cent; and assault and battery, for
12.2 per cent. The most serious charges, assault with intent to kill,
manslaughter, and murder, were infrequent, only two such charges
occurring among these cases.
Sex offenses and sex crimes comprised 3.9 per cent o f the charges.
Not quite half o f these were felonies, most of them rape. (Table 11.)
Most o f the other cases were charges of contributing to the delin
quency o f a child and indecent exposure or immoral exhibition. A
few charges ( 4.3 per cent) were classified as offenses against public
health and safety; they included chiefly carrying concealed weapons
and violations o f automobile laws and ordinances. Violations of
liquor laws constituted 1.1 per cent o f the charges. Offenses con
nected with automobiles were classified as larceny o f auto, operating
motor vehicle without owner’s consent, and violations o f automobile
laws and ordinances. These offenses together comprised 12.2 per cent
o f the whole group. In addition, assault with a deadly weapon was
frequently used to designate injury to a person by an automobile.
A large variety o f offenses were covered by the charge of disor
derly conduct.3 Often other more serious charges were dropped and
the boy prosecuted only on this relatively light charge. The ordi
nance defining disorderly conduct included as disorderly all persons
making improper noise, riot, or disturbance, and collecting in annoy
ing crowds, those guilty of begging, unlawful gaming, assault, fraud,
carrying concealed weapons, and “ all persons lodging in or found
at any time in outhouses, sheds, barns, stables, or unoccupied build
ings, or underneath sidewalks, or lodging in the open air, and not
giving a good account o f themselves; ” “ all persons who stand, loiter,
or stroll about in any place, waiting or seeking to obtain money or
other valuable things from others; ” “ all persons found loitering
about in any hotel, block, bar room, dram shop, gambling house, or
disorderly house, or wandering about the streets either by night or
day without any known lawful means o f support or without being
able to give a satisfactory account of themselves; ” and “ all persons
who are known to be thieves, burglars, pickpockets, robbers, or con
fidence men, either by their confession or otherwise, or by having
been convicted o f larceny, burglary, or other crime against the law of
the State o f Illinois, who are found lounging or prowling or loiter
ing around any steamboat landing, railroad depot, banking institu
tion, place o f public amusement, auction room, hotel, store, shop,
thoroughfare, car, omnibus, public conveyance, public gathering,
public assembly, court room, public building, private dwelling house,
outhouse, house o f ill fame, gambling house, or any public place, and
who are unable to give a reasonable excuse for being so found.” 4
After a boy had been arrested for suspected implication in a
crime— as a rule, theft—and the connection could not be proved he
could usually be prosecuted, under this ordinance, for disorderly con2Robbery is defined as “ the felonious and violent taking o f m oney, goods, and other
valuable things from the person o f another by force or intim idation.” 111., Rev. Stat.
(Sm ith-Hurd’s) 1927, ch. 38, sec. 501.
8 Lists o f arrests on the char'ge o f disorderly conduct, in the municipal court o f Chicago
and in the boys’ court, are presented in the report on R ecent Statistics Relating to Crime
in Chicago, by Edith Abbott, in the Survey o f the Cook County Jail, p. 168.
4 Municipal Ordinances o f Chicago. 1922. Ordinance No. 2665.

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S T U D Y OP

9 72

B O Y S ’ C O U R T C A SE S

duct. Examples are a boy who was arrested when coming out o f a
garage from which he had taken an auto the week before, a boy who
was suspected of a burglary which occurred in the building in which
he lived, one arrested in a 5 and 10 cent store, one arrested when
drunk in a stolen car, one who was with two others who had stolen
a crate o f eggs, and another who was with a boy who forged a check.
A ll were brought in on disorderly conduct charges, and all were dis
charged except the boy who was with the forger, and he was fined.
Another large class o f arrests on suspicion included under disor
derly conduct were those not connected with a particular offense,
which were usually described by the boy as being “ picked up.”
These arrests might be made because the boy’s movements at the
moment or his general reputation or the reputation of his gang made
him an object of suspicion. The boy might be fined, placed on pro
bation, or discharged. Examples are a boy with a court record sug
gestive o f gang activities who was picked up at 2.30 a. m. and dis
charged in court, another with a similar record picked up at 1.30 a m.
and fined, another picked up at noon and discharged. Two others
with no known court record were picked up when standing in front
o f a dance hall at 10.30 p. m. Another at 1 a. m. was ordered by an
officer to move on and was arrested when he came back to the same
place. One boy with a previous appearance in the speeders’ court
was picked up when he ran out o f gas at 2.30 a. m.
The charge of disorderly conduct was also used when the family
o f a boy made a complaint against him. In these cases the disposi
tion was frequently in accordance with the wishes o f the complainant,
and the boy might be fined and sent to the house o f correction for
nonpayment, placed on probation, or discharged. In other instances
the offense o f the boy might be certain and specific, but he was
prosecuted on the disorderly conduct charge rather than on a more
serious charge, as were t^o boys arrested, one for scalping theater
tickets and one for assault with a deadly weapon. Both were fined.
Drunkenness or drinking caused some arrests, after which the boys
were charged with disorderly conduct and either discharged or fined.
Offenses similar to malicious mischief were sometimes called dis
orderly conduct. Cases of this type were o f boys arrested for break
ing windows. A crap game was also a cause o f a “ disorderly ”
charge. Street fighting was a rather infrequent cause o f this charge
and was disposed of by probation, fine, or discharge.
TYPE OF OFFENSE

Nearly all (94.2 per cent) of the quasi-criminal offenses were dis
orderly conduct. The remaining quasi-criminal offenses were offenses
against property (chiefly trespassing), offenses against public health
and safety, and minor sex offenses.
Three-fifths (61.5 per cent) o f the 234 misdemeanors were con
nected with property, almost all of these being theft or attempted
theft. (Table 11.) Injuries to persons—that is, assault and bat
tery and assault with a deadly weapon— constituted 13.7 per cent,
and offenses against public health and safety (charges o f carrying
•concealed weapons and violations o f automobile laws), 13.2 per cent.
86850°— 30------6

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YO UTH AND GRIME

Sex offenses comprised 6.8 per cent o f the misdemeanors, and viola
tions of liquor laws, 4.7 per cent.
Three-fourths (73.4 per cent) of the felonies were offenses against
property, all of these being theft or attempted theft. Crimes of
violence (all robbery except 1 murder and 1 assault to kill) formed
19.5 per cent, and sex crimes (all but 2 of the 17 cases being charges
o f rape), 6.6 per cent of the felonies.
Crimes o f acquisitiveness (theft and robbery) constituted 76.5 per
cent o f all misdemeanors and felonies. When all offenses against
property— that is, trespassing and malicious mischief, as well as
theft— are included the percentage is 77.5. The preponderance of o f
fenses o f this type is noted by other investigators, Mr. Edwin S.
Cooley reporting that crimes of acquisitiveness and violation o f
property rights formed 78.3 per cent o f the cases (chiefly felonies)
investigated by the probation bureau of the New York City court
of general sessions.5 Dr. William E. Healy reports that stealing
constituted 68 per cent o f the offenses of juvenile delinquents studied
in Chicago and 70 per cent o f those in Boston .6
OFFENSE A S RELATED TO RACE AN D AGE

O f the 972 selected cases, 792 involved white boys, 124 involved
colored boys (including 2 Filipinos), and for 56 race was not re
ported. (Table 12.) The charge of disorderly conduct was rela
tively more frequent against white boys than against colored; and
charges of sex crimes and offenses, and offenses against public safety,
were relatively less frequent in cases involving white boys than in
cases involving colored boys. There was little difference in the pro
portions o f cases of white and colored involving crimes o f violence
and injury to person, crimes and offenses against property, or viola
tion of liquor laws.
T a b l e 12.— Race o f boy, by charge on, which referred, in selected cases dealt

with in boys’ court during 1924 an<l 1925
Selected cases
Race

Total
Charge

Colored «

White

Not
cent
Num Per
re
distri
cent Num Per cent ported
ber bution
Num Per
distri
distri
ber bution
ber bution
56

124

792

Total-------------- ---------------------------------------

972

Charge reported........................................................

971

100.0

792

100.0

123

100.0

Crimes of violence and injuries to persons.........

8.4

9.0

8.1

1
1
12

.1
.1
1.2

1
1
10

.1
1.3

1.6

36
22
10

3.7
2.3
1.0

31
20
9

3.9
2.5
i.i

4 ,,
2
1

3.3
1.6
.8

Robbery or attempted robbery with gun.
Robbery or attempted robbery, gun not
specified_____________________________

Assault and battery...................................
» Includes 122 cases of Negroes and 2 of Filipinos.
5 Cooley, Edwin S . : Probation and Delinquency, p. 86. New York, 1927.
8 Healy, W illiam E., and Augusta F. B r o n n e r: Delinquents and Criminals, T heir Making
and Unmaking, p. 160. New York, 1926.

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STUDY OF 9 7 2 BOYS’ COURT CASES
T

able

1 2 .— Race o f "boy, by charge on which referred, in selected cases dealt

with in boys? court during 1924 an& 1925— Continued
Selected cases
Race

Total
Charge

White

Colored

Not
cent
Num Per
re
distri
cent Num Percent ported
ber bution
Num Per
distri
distri
ber bution ber bution
Charge reported—Continued.
Crimes and offenses against property......... .
Operating motor vehicle without owner’s
Larceny of auto.......................... ...... .........
Larceny, other or not specified...............

Trespassing......................................... ........

Indecent exposure or immoral exhibition..
Disorderly conduct________ ____ ___ ____ _
Offenses against public safety___... . . . _______
Carrying concealed weapons____________

344

35.4

282

35.6

39.0

20
88
136
54
14
17
11
4

2.1
9.1
14.0
5.6
1.4
1.8
1.1
.4

17
80
105
41
13
15
7
4

2.1
10.1
13.3
5.2
1.6
1.9
.9
.5

3
4
24
13
1
2
1

2.4
3.3
19.5
10.6
.8
1.6
.8

3.9

3.5

8.1

15
13
5
5

1.5
1.3
.5
.5

12
9
3
4

1.5
1.1
.4
.5

3
4
2
1

2.4
3.3
1.6
.8

454
11
42

46.8
1.1
4.3

370
10
31

46.7
1.3
3.9

44
1
10

35.8
.8
8.1

21
11
10

2.2
1.1
1.0

14
8
9

1.8
1.0
1.1

6
3
1

4.9
2.4
.8

4
7

White and colored boys committed felonies in proportions about
commensurate with the numbers o f each in the group selected for
intensive study; 86.5 per cent of all the cases and 86.6 per cent of the
felonies were charges against white boys. (Table 13.)
The numbers o f cases against boys 17 years o f age and 18 years o f
age dealt with by the boys’ court were about equal, each comprising
30 per cent o f the selected group, whereas 25 per cent of the cases
involved boys 19 years o f age and only 15 per cent boys 20 years o f
age.7 The percentages o f 17, 18, and 19 year old boys involved in
cases disposed o f as felonies were 29.3, 30.1, and 23.8, slightly lower
than the percentage of each in the whole group, whereas the per
centage o f 20-year-old boys involved in such cases was 16.8, a higher
percentage than is found for that age group among all the selected
cases. It is not known whether this indicates a real difference in
type o f offense or a tendency to substitute lesser for more serious
charges in the case o f younger boys.
7 Further discussion o f age is presented in connection w ith the analysis o f characteristics
o f the boys involved in the selected cases, p. 88.

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YOUTH AND CRIME

78
T

1 3 . — Race of boy and aye at first appearance in each case, by type of
offense, in selected cases dealt with by the boys’ court duriny 1924 and 1925

able

Selected cases

Race of boy and age at first appearance in
each case

Quasi-criminal
cases

Misde
meanors

Felonies

Total

Per cent Num Per cent Num Per cent
cent
Num Per
distri
distri
distri
distri Num
ber bution
ber bution
ber bution
ber bution
'
Total.................................................

972

100.0

256

100.0

234

100.0

482

100.0

20 years.............................. - ........- .............

292
294
245
141

30.0
30.2
25.2
14.5

75
77
61
43

29.3
30.1
23.8
16.8

73
73
61
27

31.2
31.2
26.1
11.5

144
144
123
71

29.9
29.9
25.5
14.7

Race reported----------------

------ ------------

916

100.0

247

100.0

230

100.0

439

100.0

White_______________________ ____ -

792

86.5

214

86.6

187

81.3

391

89.1

18 years_____ ________ ____ _____

234
231
205
122

25.5
25.2
22.4
13.3

61
64
52
37

24.7
25.9
21.1
15.0

56
53
53
25

24.3
23.0
23.0
10.9

117
114
100
60

26.7
26.0
22.8
13.7

Colored___________________________

124

13.5

13.4

18.7

10.9

17 years. ____________________ 18 years_______________________
19 years_______________________
20 years------- -------- ------ ------------

44
50
20
10

4.8
5.5
2.2
1.1

10
13
4
6

4.0
5.3
1.6
2.4

16
20
6
1

7.0
8.7
2.6
.4

18
17
10
3

4.1
3.9
2.3
.7

20 years.............. ......................

JAIL DETENTION

Boys detained after arrest were kept in a precinct police station
until their appearance in the boys’ court. Usually this was for only
one night. In case o f arrest on Saturday or the day before a holiday
on which no court was held, however, detention lasted over Sunday
or the holiday and for three nights if the two occurred together.
Occasionally boys were kept in police stations for longer intervals
before court arraignment if a confession was sought b y the police.
No reports were available o f the amount or length of detention in
police stations. After arraignment in court, detention pending dis
position o f the case was always in the county jail.
The court records used in this study did not have accurate infor
mation regarding jail detention in all cases. It was definitely known
that 151 defendants in cases included in the study were kept in jail
pending the disposition o f their Cases. (Table 14.) Study o f these
cases indicated that many boys who later were found to be innocent
o f any charge had been subjected to undesirable conditions in the
county jail while waiting disposition o f their cases. O f the 151
casés m which the boys were detained in jail, 95 cases were eventually
dismissed, nol-prossed, or discharged. Thus 62.2 per cent o f the
cases in which boys were detained in jail by order o f the boys’ court
wTere eventually dismissed without trial or were disposed o f with a
verdict o f not guilty. This proportion was about the same as the
proportion (62.1) dismissed and found not guilty among the whole
group.

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STUDY OF 9 72 BOYS’ COURT CASES

T a b l e 14.— Jail detention, by disposition in boys’ court, in selected cases dealt

with by the boys’ court during 1924 and 1925
Selected cases
Jail detention

Total
Disposition

Inappli
cable
(case
Not re
NotdeNum Percent
De
distri tained tained disposed
ported
ber bution
of on day
of charge)

Total.........................................................................

972

151

389

394

Disposed of........ .............................................. ..................

948

100.0

150

339

376

Discharged..... .............................................. ..............

448

47.3

144

189

Other.............................................................. .....

7
438

.7
46.2

1
70

-43

1
142

5
183

Dismissed_____ ___ ___________ ________________

146

15.4

15.2
.2

Nol-prossed.'. - ......................................................

144
2

82
2

92
129
80
51

9.7
13.6
8.4
5.4

25
10
11
9

4
8
7
2

42
50
53
29

21
61
9
ll

48
3

6.1
.3

8
1

27
2

No prosecution; boy sent to school for feeble-

Held for grand jury.... ...................................... ..........
Fine "imposed. .*...........................................................
Boy committed to institution.................................. *

Jail detention was more prevalent among colored boys than among
white boys; in 41 per cent o f the cases involving colored boys for
whom detention was reported the defendants were detained in jail
during continuances o f their cases, whereas in only 25 per cent o f
the cases involving white boys for whom detention was reported
were the defendants detained. This difference may be due in part
to the fact that 49 per cent o f the white boys, compared with only
39 per cent o f the colored boys, were charged with quasi-criminal
offenses for which boys could be released without security on their
promise to appear in court, whereas in misdemeanor and felony cases
boys could be released only after giving bail. (See p. 22.) The
greater amount o f detention among colored boys also probably re
flects their inability to furnish bail so readily as white boys.
Jail detention appeared to be used less frequently for the younger
boys than for the older boys. Twenty-four per cent of thè 17-yearold boys, 26 per cent of the 18-year-old boys, 25 per cent o f the
19-year-old boys, and 32 per cent o f the 20-year-old boys for whom
detention was reported were detained in jail during continuances
o f their cases.
Accurate information regarding detention was obtained for all
the cases o f the selected group that were held for the grand jury.
O f the 92 defendants in these cases 71 were képt in jail at least part
o f the time after examination by the boys’ court, In 10 o f the 71

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YOUTH AND CRIME

cases the duration of detention was less than two weeks, in 38 it
lasted two weeks but less than two months, and in 28 it was two
months or more. In all but 3 of 15 cases in which detention was
three months or longer, sentences o f some kind were given to the
defendants.
In 12 of 24 cases held for the grand ju ry in which no indictment
was returned the defendants were not detained, in 6 such cases they
were detained less than two weeks, in 4 cases from two weeks to
one month, and in 2 cases from one to two months. The boys in
4 o f the IT cases discharged or not prosecuted after indictment were
not kept in jail, but o f the 13 detained all but 1 were detained at
least two weeks, and 2 were detained three months but less than six.
Whether or not a boy was held in jail awaiting trial was deter
mined not by the seriousness o f the crime but by the ability o f the
boy or his family to furnish bail. For example, the 1 boy charged
with assault to kill was not in jail at all; 7 o f the 26 defendants in
robbery cases and 8 of the 22 defendants on burglary charges were
on bail part or all o f the time that their cases were pending. In 17
o f the 33 larceny cases held for the grand jury the defendant was
in jail the entire period.
In all the 16 cases of colored boys held for the grand jury the
boys were in jail the entire period pending disposition o f their cases,
probably because of inability to give bail. In 31 o f the 70 cases
involving white boys held for the grand jury the boy was on bail
part or all o f the period. For 6 boys held for the grand jury race
was not reported; 4 o f these were admitted to bail.
DISPOSITION OF CASES
N ATU RE OF DISPOSITION

In the records o f the municipal court several charges relating to
the same offense were treated as so many different cases. The court
often dismissed or discharged all except one case which was selected
for adjudication. Consequently the number o f discharges and dis
missals appearing in the reports o f the municipal court is large in
comparison with courts which count their cases and dispositions by
a different system. In the criminal court of Cook County, for
example, a number o f charges brought against one person on one
day, which might or might not be in regard to the same offense,
might be given one docket number and treated as one case, as might
be done also when the charges related to the same offense but were
made against several persons.
The selection for this study o f only one charge among those
brought on the same day against one boy in the boys’ court elim
inated this overstatement o f the dismissed and discharged cases.
Even after this elimination of simultaneous charges, 594 (62.7 per
cent) o f the 948 cases disposed of in the boys’ court (including those
held for the grand jury) were discharged or dismissed. (Table
14.) In addition to the 438 cases in which the defendants were
discharged as not guilty, the defendants were discharged as juven
iles in 3 cases, although the age given on the court record was
17 or over, and in 7 they were committed to the State school for
the feeble-minded. Only 2 cases were nol-prossed and none was

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S T U D Y OP

9 72

B O Y S ’ C O U R T CASES

nonsuited, but 144 were dismissed for want o f prosecution. O f the
354 cases (37.3 per cent) not discharged or dismissed, the defendants
in 129 were placed on probation, in 80 were fined, in 51 were sen
tenced to a correctional institution either with or without fine, in
92 were held for the grand jury, and in 2 were transferred to a jury
court. Although the boys were sentenced to an institution in only 51
cases, in 55 o f the 80 cases in which fines were imposed they served a
term in an institution because o f inability to pay fines. In only 27.4
per cent o f the cases selected for study that were disposed of by the
boys’ court was the defendant found guilty and judgment pro
nounced in that court.
The proportion o f cases discharged and dismissed without trial
in all the criminal branches o f the municipal court is similar to
the proportion in the boys’ court. From 1922 to 1924, 64.9 per cent
o f all criminal cases disposed o f by the municipal court were dis
charged, nol-prossed, nonsuited, or dismissed for want o f prosecu
tion.
O f the 92 cases held by the boys’ court for the grand jury, 34
did not go to trial; in 24 of these no indictment was returned, by
the grand jury, 4 were dismissed for want o f prosecution, 5 were
stricken out with leave to reinstate, and 1 was transferred to the
juvenile court. A fter trial 8 were discharged. In the 50 cases
in which the defendants were found guilty 12 were placed on pro
bation and 38 were committed to institutions. Naturally, as the cases
had already been sifted for probable cause by the municipal judge
in the boys’ court, the proportion dismissed or discharged by the
grand jury and criminal court was smaller than in the boys’ court,
but it reached 44.6 per cent.
The final disposition o f all these selected cases by the boys’ court
or the criminal court shows the defendants in 141 placed on proba
tion, in 80 fined, and in 89 committed to correctional institutions;
635 cases dismissed or discharged; and 3 cases transferred to other
courts. In only 32.7 per cent o f the cases disposed o f was there a
verdict o f guilty. Included in this group were those cases in which
the disposition was probation, 14.9 per cent o f the total; fine, 8.4 per
cent; and imprisonment, 9.4 per cent.8 (Table 15.)
The practice of the Chicago boys’ court o f using informal super
vision by private agencies in some o f the cases in which a boy was
found not guilty and in continued cases has already been referred to.
(See p. 41.) In 83 of the selected cases the defendants were placed
under informal supervision— in 34 after discharge and in 49 during
continuance. The number o f cases in which the defendant either was
placed on probation or received informal supervision was 224 (23.6
per cent o f the group under consideration). The number who served
sentences in an institution, including those committed for nonpayment
o f fine, was 144 (15.1 per cent o f the entire group). In 106 o f these
144 cases the defendants were sentenced by the boys’ court and in 38
by the criminal court.
8 Even in these cases the fu ll sentence o r period fo r serving ou t a fine was not always
served, as records frequently showed that judgm ent was “ vacated except fo r part served ”
and th at the prisoner was released before serving out his term.

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YO UTH AND CRIME

Final disposition of case by the boys’ court, grand jury, or criminal
court in selected cases dealt with by the boys’ court during 1924 and 1925

T a b l e 15.

Selected cases
I Final disposition made by—
Total

Grand jury or
criminal court Pend
ing
Percent Num Percent
Num Percent
Num
distri
distri
distri
ber
bution ber bution ber bution

Final disposition

Boys’ court

T ota l..__________ ____ _________________
Disposed of.................. ................................. .........

972

856

948

100.0

856

100.0

456

48.1

448

52.3

8.7

7
446

.7
47.0

438

.8
51.2

8.7

179

18.9

146

17.1

35.9

For want of prosecution________________
Nol-prossed____________
[
Not indicted by grand jury_________ '•___
Stricken out with leave to reinstate_____

148
2
24
5

15.6
.2
2.5
.5

144
2

16.8
.2

Boy placed on probation.............................. .
Fine imposed________ _____ _______________
Boy committed to institution......... IIIIIIIII"

141
80
89

14.9
8.4
9.4

129
80
51

15.1
9.3
6.0

House of correction__ ____ _____________
Reformatory............... ............ IIIIIIIIIII
Penitentiary_________________.________”

62
20
7

6.5
2.1
.7

48
3

Boy discharged___________________________
As juvenile.................................................
No prosecution; boy sent to school for
feeble-minded.......... .............. ........... .
Other........................................................ .
Dismissed___ ____________________________

Transferred to other court__________________
Pending............................................................

4.3

24
5

26.1
5.4

13.0

41.3

5.6
.4

14
17
7

15.2
18.5
7.6

l.i
24

DISPOSITION AND RACE

Among the cases studied, the proportion of colored boys found
guilty was larger than the proportion o f white boys, although there
is no reason to think that the police used more discrimination in ar
resting colored boys than white boys. Although differences were
found in the distribution o f charges against the white and the colored
boys (see p. 76) they were not sufficient to account for the disparity
in the disposition o l cases. Relatively more colored boys than white
boys were committed to institutions (10 per cent of the defendants in
cases involving colored boys and 4.7 per cent of those in cases involv
ing white boys), and relatively fewer colored boys were placed on
probation (10 per cent of the defendants in cases involving colored
boys and 15 per cent o f those in cases involving white boys). (Table
16.) A larger proportion o f the cases of colored boys than o f white
boys were held for the grand jury— 13.3 per cent o f the colored, as
compared with 9 per cent o f the white. The larger percentage of
colored boys given the more severe sentences was not due to their
having committed more serious offenses, for approximately the same
percentages o f each race were charged with felonies (26.6 per cent for
colored and 27 per cent for white). In 48.5 per cent of the felony
•cases involving colored boys, but in only 32.9 per cent o f the felony
cases involving white boys, the defendant was held for the grand
jury.
In the cases involving minor offenses (misdemeanors and
quasi-criminal cases) commitment to institutions was ordered in 6.4

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STUDY OF 9 72 BOYS’ COURT CASES

per cent o f the white cases and in 13.8 per cent of the colored cases,9
and probation was ordered in 20.7 per cent of the white cases but in
only 13.8 per cent of the colored cases. It is possible, however, that
social investigation of the cases would have shown that the needs o f
the colored boys differed somewhat from those o f the white boys,
that their economic status and home conditions were less favorable,
and that consequently probation was desirable in a smaller propor
tion o f cases and institutional commitment necessary in a larger
proportion o f cases than among white boys.10 But there was no
evidence o f this sort before the court.
T

able

1 6 . — Type o f offense and disposition m boys’ court, by race, in selected

cases dealt with in the boys' court during 1924 and 1925
Selected cases
Race
Type of offense and disposition

Total................. ................
Disposed o f............ ................
Boy discharged-.................
Dismissed______
Held for grand jury...................
Boy placed on probation........
Fine imposed_____
Boy committed to institution____
Transferred to other court........
Pending_________ _____________
Felony_________________ ____
Disposed of___________________
Boy discharged.....................................
Dismissed_________________
Held for grand jury____________
Pending__________
Misdemeanor and quasi-criminal. .
Disposed o f.........................
Boy discharged............................
Dismissed...............................
Boy placed on probation__________
Fine imposed....... ........
Boy committed to institution..................
Transferred to other court.........
Pending_______________

Total
White
Colored
Not
Per
cent
Per
cent
Per cent re
Num distri Num
distri Num
distri ported
ber
ber
ber
bution
bution
bution «
972

792

124

948

100.0

774

100.0

120

100.0

448
146
92
129
80
SI
2

47.3
Iß 4
9.7
13.6
8.4
5.4
.2

356
129
70
116
65
36
2

46.0

41.7

9.0
15.0
8.4
4.7
.3

16
12
13
12

13.3
10. Ò
1Ö.8
10.0

6
1
2
3

256

214

255

100.0

213

100.0

67
96
92

26.3
37.6
36. i

59
84
70

39 4
32.9

716

578

693

100.0

561

100.0

381
50
129
80
51
2

55.0
7.2
18.6
11.5
7.4
.3

297
45
116
65
36
2

52.9
80

, 51.7

2 0 .7

12
13
12

13.8
14.9
13.8

1
2

11.6
6.4
.4

“ Not shown where base is less than fin.
" T h e fa ct that a larger percentage o f w hite boys than o f colored boys (46.7 as compared
w ith 35.5) were charged w ith disorderly conduct, an offense fo r which commitment to an
institution can not be made except fo r nonpayment o f fine, may be a partial explanation
o f the higher percentage o f commitments to institutions among colored boys, but the
difference is n ot sufficiently great to explain a percentage o f commitments am ong colored
boys more than double that found am ong w hite boys.
10 “ a (prom inent) judge o f the recorder’ s court [in D etroit] says that negroes are more
often arrested than whites and their homes more often invaded w ithout warrants. A
prominent court official says that in the m atter o f arraignments the negro is likely to get
a relatively heavier charge than a white man would receive for the same offense.” The
Negro in Detroit, prepared fo r the mayor’ s interracial committee by a special survey staff
under the general direction o f the D etroit Bureau o f Governmental Research (I n c .), 1926,
sec. 9, Crime, p. 18. The same study showed 32.3 per cent o f the com plaints in the
juvenile court involving colored children during a 6-month period disposed o f by proba
tion, as compared with 43.9 per cent o f those involving white children. “ Judge' Hulbert
testified that the colored child was a willing probationist but that lie is likely to fa il
because o f low er home standards and the floating characteristics o f the colored popula
tion.”
(Ibid., pp. 44, 46.)

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YO UTH AND CRIME

DISPOSITION AND AGE

The policy o f the boys’ court regarding disposition o f cases as
shown by the cases selected for study appeared to be much the same
for boys of different ages within its jurisdiction, except that a little
more severity was discernible in the treatment of cases of felonies
involving 20-year-old boys and a slight tendency toward leniency
with the youngest boys. The percentage discharged or not prose
cuted among all the felony cases was 63.9; among those involving
17-year-old boys, 72; and among those involving 20-year-old boys,
48.8. The percentage of all felony cases held for the grand jury
was 36.1; o f those involving 17-year-old boys, 28; and of those in
volving 20-year-old boys, 51.2. (Table 17.) This difference, how
ever, might have been due to the fact that the 17-year-old boys came
before the boys’ court for the first time and were often given another
chance, whereas more of the older boys were repeaters in the court
and were treated more severely for this reason.
T

able

1 7 .— Type of offense and disposition in boys9 court, b y age, in* selected

cases dealt with in the boys’ court during 1924 and 1925
Selected, cases
Total

Age
17 years

Type of offense and disposition

18 years

19 years

20 years

Per
Num cent
Per
Per
Per
ber distri Num Per
cent Num cent Num cent Num cent
bution ber distri
dis
ber distri ber distri ber
tribu
bution
bution
bution
tion 1
Total__ _______ ________

Disposed of.................................
Boy discharged.........................
Dismissed__________
Held for grand jury........... .. _
Boy placed on probation...........
Fine imposed____
Boy committed to institution..
Transferred to other court_____
Pending___________________

972

292

245

294

141

948

100.0

282

100.0

288

100.0

237

100.0

141

100.0

448
146
92
129
80
51
2

47.3
15.4
9.7
13.6
8.4
5.4
.2

132
44
21
46
20
18
1

46.8
15.6
7.4
16.3
7.1
6.4
.4

130
49
30
41
26
12

45.1
17.0
10.4
14.2
9.0
4.2

120

50.6
15.2
8.0
12.7
7.6
5.9

66
17
22
12
16
7

46.8
12.1
15.6
8.5
11.3
5.0
7

19
30
18
14
8

Felony___________

256

Disposed of........... ...........

255

100.0

100. 0

100.0

67
96
92

26.3
37.6
36.1

19
35
.21

25.3
46. 7
28.0

16
31
30

20.8
40.3
39. 0

20
21
19

33 3
35 0
. 31.7

Boy discharged______
Dismissed____________ .
Held for grand jury.... ...........
Pending______ ______ _____
Misdemeanor and quasicriminal............... ............
Disposed of.............. ........
Boy discharged.........................
Dismissed________
Boy placed on probation______
Fine imposed_________
Boy committed to institution..
Transferred to other court____
Pending............. .....................

716

217

184

693

100.0

207

100.0

211

100.0

177

100.0

381
50
129
80
51
2

55.0
7.2
18.6
11.5
7.4
.3

113
9
46
20
18
1

54.6
4.3
22.2
9.7
8.7
.5

114
18
41
26
12

54.0
8.5
19.4
12.3
5.7

100
15
30
18.
14

56.5
8.5
16.9
10.2
7.9

54
8
12
16
7
1

55.1
8.2
12.2
16.3
7.1

1 Not shown where base is less than 50.

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ßo

STUDY ÔE 9 7 2 DÔYS’ COURT CASES

Among the cases o f misdemeanors and qnasi-criminal offenses
no very great difference in the treatment o f boys of various age
groups was evident. Minor differences were noted, however. Pro
bation, ordered in 18.6 per cent o f all cases, was the treatment ac
corded in 22.2 per cent of the cases involving 17-year-old boys and
in only 12.2 per cent of the cases involving 20-year-old boys. On
the other hand, fines, imposed in 11.5 per cent o f all the cases, were
used in 9.7 per cent o f the cases involving 17-year-old boys and in
16.3 per cent o f the cases involving 20-year-old boys. The per
centage discharged and not prosecuted among cases involving 17year-old boys (58.9) was lower, however, than the percentage among
the other age groups (62.5 for the 18-year group, 65 for the 19year group, and 63.3 for the 20-year group). The percentage com
mitted to institutions among the cases involving the youngest boys
(8.7) was higher than among the cases involving the oldest (7.1
for the 20-year group).
•

INTER VAL BETW EEN CHARGE AN D DISPOSITION

O f the cases not held for the grand jury 71.6 per cent were dis
posed o f by the boys’ court in less than a month, and 47 per cent
in less than a week. In 17.9 per cent, however, the interval be
tween the first hearing and the final disposition in the boys’ court
was two months or more. T\rhen felonies held for the grand jury
are included the average time before disposition in the boys’ court
was shorter. O f all the selected cases disposed o f by the boys’
court 73.7 per cent were terminated in less than a month and 49.5
per cent in less than a week; 16.2 per cent were continued for two
months or more. (Table 18.) Nearly all the 154 cases under the
jurisdiction o f the boys’ court two months or more were discharged
or dismissed without trial eventually; only 12 were given more
serious dispositions after this long wait. During this interval, how
ever, 49 o f the 154 cases had been under the supervision o f un
official agencies at the request o f the judge, so that the long continu
ance in these cases was not due to delay but to a definite policy in
treatment.
The interval before the final disposition o f cases held for the
grand jury was naturally longer than that in cases disposed o f finally
m the boys’ court. Thus, o f the 856 cases disposed o f in the boys’
court, 57.9 per cent were disposed o f in less than two weeks, as com
pared with only 4.3 per cent o f the 92 cases held for the grand jury.
The interval before the final disposition was two months or more in
65.2 per cent of the cases held for the grand jury but in only 17.9
per cent o f the cases disposed of by the boys’ court. (Table 19.) O f
the 92 cases held for the grand jury, the interval between the first
boys’ court hearing and the final disposition was between three and
six months in 31 cases and between 6 months and a year in 4 cases.
One of these last cases was finally discharged; in 1 case the defendant
was placed on probation and in 2 cases the defendants were sent to
the house o f correction. The 17 cases in which the defendants were
committed to the State reformatory and the 7 in which penitentiary
sentences were given were closed in less than six months. The charges
in the two cases lasting a year or more were eventually stricken out
with leave to reinstate. Only 8 of the 17 cases held for the grand

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YO UTH AUD CRIME

jury and criminal court that were eventually dismissed, stricken out,
or found not guilty were closed in less than three months.
T a b l e 18.— Disposition in boys’ court, by interval between first hearing and

disposition of case, for selected cases dealt with by the boys’ court during
1924 and 1925
Selected cases
Disposed of in boys’ court
Interval between first hearing and disposition

Total
Total

Disposition

1 month,
under 2
months

1 week,
under 1
month

Under 1
week

2 months
and over

Pend
ing

Per
Per
Per
Per
Per
Per
cent Num cent Num cent Num cent Num cent
Num cent Num distri-j
distri-l ber distri ber distri ber distriber
ber
ber distri
0 bu
bu
bu
bu
biibu
tton
tion
tion
tton
tion
tion
Total________

972

Disposed of..... ........
Boy discharged.
Dismissed..___
Held for grand
jury...............
Boy placed on
probation.....
Fine imposed__
Boy committed
to institution.
Transferred to
other court.—

94$
100.0

448
146

469

230

469 100.0

230 100.0

95 100.0

39.1
29.6

47.4

117
24

76.0
15.6

448
146

47.3
15.4

196
35

41.8
7.5

9.7

14.3

8.3

5.3

129
80

13.6
8.4

13.6
14.1

16.1
3.9

24.2

3.2
1.9

5.4

8.5

3.0

1.1

47.3
15.4

9.7

129
80

13.6
8.4

20.0

2.1

Pending..................

T able 19.— Interval between first hearing in boys’ court and final disposition
by boys’ court, grand jury, or criminal court of selected cases dealt with in
the boys’ court during 1924 and 1925
Selected cases
Disposed of byInterval between first hearing and final
disposition

Total
Boys’ court

Grand jury or
criminal court1 Pend
ing

cent
Per cent Num Per cent
Num Per
distri Num
distri
distri
ber bution
ber bution
ber bution
T o ta l...______________—

972

Disposed of_________ _________

948

100.0

856

100.0

Under 1 month___________
Under 1 week_________
1 week, under 2_______
2 weeks, under 1 month

632
402
90
140

66.7
42.4
9.5
14 8

613
402

71.6
47.0

20.7

10.0

14.6

4.3
16.3

1 month, under 2 months...
2 months and over________

103
213

10.9
22.5

90
153

10.5
17.9

14.1
65.2

856

125

Pending_______ _____ ________
1 Cases originally disposed of in boys’ court by holding for grand jury.

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STtTPY OF $ 7 2 BOY&’ COtTRT CASES

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BOYS

To obtain information regarding the boys who came to the atten
tion o f the court a study was made through available records o f the
909 boys involved in the 972 selected cases. Their records were
studied in the social-service department of the boys’ court, in the
adult probation office, in the jail division o f the bureau of social
service, in the juvenile court, and in the Institute for Juvenile Re
search. Information was also obtained concerning the mental status
o f boys referred to the psychopathic laboratory. The data sought
covered race and nationality, age, residence, and social status, in
cluding the parental condition and whereabouts o f the boys, their
employment, and their education.
RACE AND NATIONALITY

The number o f negroes in the cases selected for study was out o f
proportion to the number in the general population of the same ages.
O f the 853 boys for whom race was reported 736 were white, 116
were Negro, and 1 was a Filipino. (Table 20.) In 1920 negroes
formed only 3.9 per cent o f all boys 17 to 20 years of age in Chicago ,11
but they formed 13.7 per cent of the boys in the selected cases.
T able

20.— Race and nationality of boys and of fathers of boys in selected
cases dealt with by the boys’ court during 1924 and 1925

Boys dealt with in
selected cases

Fathers of boys
dealt with in se
lected cases

Race and nationality
Number

Per cent
Per cent
distribu Number distribu
tion
tion

Total. ............ - ....................................................................

909

Race reported................................................................................ -

853

100.0

853

100.0

W h ite ...................................... ...................................... .........
Native______________ ______ _______________________
Foreign born_______________________________________
Polish __________________________________________
Italian........................... ..................................................
Russian_______
_____________________________
Irish_____________________________________________
German_____________ _____ _______ _______ _____ _
Other____________ ______________________________

736
660
69
18
12.
11
3
3
22

86.3
77.4
8.1
2.1
1.4
1.3
.4
.4
2.6

736
191
490
125
78
38
63
49
107
30

3
22.4
57.4
14.7
9.1
4.5
7.4
5.7
12.5
V3.5

909

Nationality not reported ................. ..............................

6.4

Colored.................... ...............................................................

» 117

13.7

1117

13.7

Race not reported._________________________________________

1 Includes 116 Negroes and 1 Filipino.

Ninety per cent of the white boys reporting nativity were native
born. The number o f foreign-born boys was low compared with the
number in the population o f the same age. In 1920, 1£.5 per cent of
the boys 17 to 20 years of age in Chicago were foreign born, com
pared with only 8.1 in the group studied. O f the boys in the cases
11 Thirteenth Census o f the United States, vol. 2, Population, p. 291.

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W ashington, 1922.

YO U TH AND CRIME

selected for special study 57.4 per cent had foreign-born fathers.12
(Table 20.) The 490 foreign-born fathers in the selected group were
from many countries, only those from Poland, Italy, Ireland, and
Germany comprising 5 per cent or more o f the total number.
The race and nativity reported for delinquent boys dealt with in
the Juvenile Court of Cook County—which includes Chicago—dur
ing 1924 and 1925 were very similar to the race and nativity for the
boys dealt with in the selected cases, although the boys brought
before the juvenile court were younger than those appearing before
the boys’ court. O f the 4,042 boys dealt with by the juvenile court
17.9 per cent were native white boys o f native parentage, 58.8 per
cent were native white o f foreign or mixed parentage, 6.9 per cent
were foreign-born white boys, and 15.8 per cent were negroes.13
AGE *

The number of boys in the selected cases was greatest at the lower
ages p f the court’s jurisdiction. The 17-year-old boys comprised 29.9
per cent, the 18-year-old boys 29.5 per cent, the 19-year-old boys 25.5
per cent, and the 20-year-old boys 15.1 per cent of the total. Boys of
each o f these ages in the city o f Chicago, as shown by the United
States census o f 1920, represent about 14 per cent of the population.
During 1924 and 1925 the social-service department o f the boys’
court interviewed 10,381 boys, of whom 62.3 per cent were 17 and 18
years o f age, and 37.7 per cent were 19 and 20 years o f age.
(Table 21.)
Considerable discrepancy appeared in the dates o f birth of the
boys studied as recorded by the boys’ court and by the juvenile court.
Age could be obtained from the juvenile court only for the 224 boys
who had juvenile-delinquency records and a few other boys for whom
dependency records or records for other members of the family were
found. The date o f birth on juvenile-court records o f 122 boys
differed from that given in the boys’ court records; for 21 of these
the difference was less than a week, for 26 more than a week but less
than a year, for 54 between one and and two years, and for 21 more
than two years. Thirty-three boys tried by the boys’ court were,
inooThl rteent^ CensJis o f M United States, 1920, yol. 2, Population, p. 291. W ashington,
*
Boys with native white fathers form ed 22.4 per cent o f the group studied and boys
with native parents 25 per cent o f the total male population o f the same ages in Chicago.
It is not possible to compare the figure fo r boys with foreign-born fathers w ith a similar
one tor the city population o f the same age group because census figures are not given for
boys with foreign-born fa th e rs ; the census groups are those with foreign-born parents and
those o f mixed parentage (1 parent native and 1 foreign born ).
Figures from other localities are not coinparable unless the numbers o f foreign born
in the general population are taken in to consideration. In the Children’ s Court o f W est
chester County, N. Y., in 1925, 69.6 per cent o f the delinquent boys reporting were native
born o f foreign or mixed parentage, and in the Philadelphia Juvenile Court, from Jan. 1
to Aug. 15 o f the same year, 52 per cent.
(The Philadelphia Juvenile C o u r t: a report
to
activities and service in juvenile delinquency, neglect, and dependency— Part 1
° f the T w elfth Annual Report o f the Muncipal Court o f Philadelphia, for the year 1925,
p. 6 2 ; Annual Report Children’ s Court o f the County o f W estchester, N. Y., 1925, p. 33.)
A study made in Boston by the Children’s Bureau o f parental factors in juvenile delin
quency, with especial reference to alcoholism, showed that among the group studied threefou rths o f the fathers were foreign born, a proportion very large in proportion to the
foreign born o f the city. These juveniles comprised a selected group o f cases however
sent to the Judge Baker Foundation because o f evident need o f special study. ’ (A lcoholism am ong Parents o f Juvenile Delinquents, by Alice Channing, U. S. Children’ s Bureau
1927)h epS°3<611) Servlce Review' U niversity o f Chicago Press, vol. 1, No. 3 (September,
,. w |n this study the age recorded by the social-service department o f the boys’ court at
the first court hearing in connection with the scheduled offense was used wherever given.
The lower age groups may include some boys who were even younger than thev are
recorded and whose cases should have been brought to the juvenile court.

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STUDY OF 9 7 2 BOYS’ COURT CASES

according to juvenile-court records, under 17 years of age. These in
cluded 22 boys recorded as 17 years o f age in the boys’ court, 7 boys
recorded as 18, 3 recorded as 19, and 1 recorded as 20. Seven boys
recorded as under 21 by the boys’ court were, according to juvenilecourt records, over 21 years o f age.
T

2 1 . — Ages of boys subject to the jurisdiction of boys’ court (17 to 20
years of age) known to social-service department and o f boys in selected
cases dealt with by boys’ court during 1921) and 1925

able

Boys 17 to 20 years

Age

Known to the socialservice depart
ment 1

In selected cases

Per cent
Number distribu Number
tion

Per cent
distribu
tion

Total...... ................ ....................... .....................

10,381

100.0

909

100.0

17 years........ ................................................................
18 years.......................... .....................................................
19 years........................... ................................................
20 years_________________ ______ ________ _________

2,832
3,636
2,412
1,601

27.3
35.0
23.2
14.5

272
268
232
137

29.9
29.5
25.5
15.1

1 Figures furnished by social-service department of boys’ court.

From the conflicting information as to age in the various sources
used in this study, one must conclude that the age data were far from
accurate, and that the only way in which it could be made certain
that a boy would receive the treatment to which he is legally entitled
would be by obtaining documentary proof o f age before court action.
RESIDENCE A N D SOCIAL STATUS

O f the 834 boys for whom residence was reported 803 (95 per cent)
had lived in Chicago at least two months before the occurrence o f
the offense studied.
Most o f the boys were unmarried, only 23 (2.6 per cent) o f the 895
reporting marital status being married at the time o f the offense.
O f the boys who were married 2 were 17 years old, 6 were 18, 8 were
19, and 7 were 20.
The person or persons with whom the boy was living at the time
o f the offense was reported for 766 boys. (Table 22.) O f this num
ber 57.2 per cent lived with both their own parents and 5.3 per cent
with one parent and a step-parent.15 Nearly 20 per cent (151 boys)
lived with only one parent; the other parent was dead in all except
13 cases, in 7 of which the parents were divorced, in 3 the father had
deserted the family, and in 3 the father was separated from the
family for other reasons. Nearly 18 per cent (136) did not live with
their parents; 59 lived in other family homes (including boys who
were married and living in their own homes), and 70 in rooming
15 For many boys the only available information was that obtained by the social-service
department through a brief interview with the boy. It is probable that some of the boys
who stated that they were living with their parents were living with parent and step
parent, or possibly with one parent only,

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Y O U T H AND CRIM E

houses. Altogether, 82.2 per cent came from homes, in which one
or both parents were living.
T art.i^ 22.— Whereabouts at time of offense of boys in selected* eases dealt with
by the boys' court during 1924 and 1925

Boys dea It with in
selecte d cases
Whereabouts of boy at time of offense

Per cent
Number distribu
tion
909

Reported----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- —-

766

100.0

630

82.2

438
34
7
124
27

57.2
4.4
.9
16.2
3.5

59
70
7

7.7
9.1
.9

143

O f 16,258 boys appearing before 42 juvenile courts throughout
the country who reported whereabouts, the Children ’s Bureau found
that 67 per cent lived with both parents and 33 per cent came from
homes broken by death, desertion, divorce, or separation.16 O f 2,378
delinquent children referred to the Judge Baker Foundation clinic
from July 1, 1917, to June 30, 1925, the proportion (58 per cent)
living with both their own parents was approximately the same as
the proportion among boys included in this study. The proportion
living with either one or both parents was much smaller than among
the boys who were brought before the Chicago boys5 court. Only 68
per cent of the Boston children were living in homes with one or
both parents or one parent and a step-parent, ass compared with
82.2 per cent o f the boys included in this study.17 The latter figure
is lower, however, than that found in the group of: 5,567 delinquent
children dealt with by the Philadelphia juvenile court during 1924
and 1925, o f whom 88 per cent were living with one or both parents
and 55 per cent with both parents. In Westchester County the per
centage o f delinquent boys dealt with in 1926 living with both their
own parents was 70.8.18
These figures for delinquent children and boy offenders show that
approximately one-third to two-fifths come from broken homes.
The situation among nondelinquent children or children in the gen
eral population is not so well known, but where ¡studies have been
made the proportion from broken homes has been found to be much
smaller. In a study o f children in street trades the Children’s
Bureau found that 78 per cent o f 4,192 boys engaged in street trades
18 Juvenile-Court Statistics, 1927, p. 9.
Washington. 1929.

U. S. Children’s Bureau Publication No. 195.

M A lcoholism am ong Parents o f Juvenile Delinquents, pp. 366, 307.
18 Annual Report, Children’s Court of the County of Westchestqr, N. Y ., 1926, p. 41.

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STUDY OF 9 72 BOYS’ COURT CASES

in four large cities were living with both their own parents. A
group more representative o f the whole population comprised 3,198
children attending three public schools in New York City, 80.7 per
cent o f whom were found to be living with both their own parents.19
These groups, however, were composed o f somewhat younger chil
dren than the boys’ court group, and the expectation would be that
the percentage o f broken homes would be somewhat larger in the
older age group.
The families o f more than half the boys (53.7 per cent) were
known to at least one social agency, as indicated by social-service
exchange registration. The social agencies registered with the ex
change included agencies that might have been interested primarily
in the boy, such as the juvenile court and protective agencies, and
agencies interested primarily in the family, such as relief and family
case work agencies. This is a lower percentage than was found
among 582 families in the Children’s Bureau study o f -cases of delin
quent children referred to the Judge Baker Foundation clinic for
study, o f which 70 per cent were registered by some social agency.20
It corresponds closely to percentages o f the families dealt with" in
delinquency cases that were known to social agencies in Philadel
phia (54) and Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio (51).21
EMPLOYMENT

A t the time o f their offense 462 boys were employed, 281 were not
employed, 28 were reported in school, and for 138 employment was
not reported. Little information was available regarding school
attendance.
EDUCATION

It was difficult to obtain from available records the exact grade
that these boys who had come into conflict with the law had com
pleted before leaving school or at the time o f their offense. The
records in all the offices from which the information was obtained
were intended to give grade completed, ’but it is probable that in
some instances the grade reached was reported. This possibility
should be kept in mind in the interpretation of these figures.
(Table 23.) O f the 815 boys for whom information on schooling
was obtained, 7.5 per cent had not completed the sixth grade; 9.3 per
cent had completed the sixth grade; 22.1 per cent had completed the
seventh grade; and 37 per cent had completed the eighth grade. O f
the 192 boys who had had some high-school work 162 had not com
pleted high school, 20 had completed high school but had gone no
further, and 10 had had some college work. Two were said to have
completed college, but as each was only 19 years o f age it may be
that the school referred to was o f lower than accepted college
standing.
Figures published by the psychopathic laboratory o f the municipal
court, covering 253 boys examined in 1918 and 1919, indicate that
“ Sla-wson, J o h n : The Delinquent Boy, p. 358. Boston, 1926.
„ A lcoholism among Parents o f Juvenile Delinquents, p. 364.
fu a1ri
Eam5 yi f.nd the Court, a Study o f the Administration o f Justice in
„ ^
dom estic Relations. P art II. Organization and Administration o f Courts
Fam ily Problems. U. S. Children’ s Bureau Publication (in preparation).
Octob?r “ 923“ County flgures relate t0 the year 1923 and the Philadelphia figures to

86850°— 30------7

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YO UTH AND CRIME

boys sent to the laboratory were boys with lower educational attain
ments than the average among boys appearing in the boys’ court, for
only 8 per cent had completed the eighth grade, only 20 per cent had
reached the eighth grade, and 58.5 per cent had not progressed
beyond the sixth grade.22
T able 23.— School grade1 o f hogs in selected cases dealt with hy hoys’' court
during 1924 and 1925
Boys dealt with in
selected cases
School grade

Per cent
Number distribu
tion
909
815

100.0

64
76
180
303
162
20
8
2

7.9
9.3
22.1
37.2
19.9
2.5
1.0
.2

94
i Information from various sources. In some instances the school grade is that completed, in others that
last attended. Original reports indefinite as to definition of grade recorded.

The proportion o f the boys in the selected cases who had reached
or completed the sixth grade was less than that o f all the children
entering the elementary grades in the United States, according to
a study made in 1926; 92.1 per cent o f the boys in the selected cases
had reached or had completed the sixth grade, but 95.7 per cent in
the country at large had reached the sixth grade. The percentage
of boys reaching or completing the seventh grade was 82.8 per cent
in the selected cases, and 79.5 per cent were reported as reaching the
seventh grade in the country at large. Proportionately fewer boys
in the boys’ court than in the country at large reached grades above
this, for among the boys in the selected cases 60.7 per cent had reached
the eighth grade, only 23.5 per cent had entered high school, and
only 1.2 per cent had entered college, whereas o f all children in the
country 72 per cent reached the eighth grade, 60.5 per cent entered
high school, and an estimated 17.7 per cent entered college.23
M EN TAL STATUS

According to the social service card records 152 o f the 909 boys in
the selected cases were referred by the boys’ court to the psychopathic
laboratory for examination. Information concerning diagnoses was
obtained from the laboratory for 107 o f these. Intellectual defect
22 The Municipal Court of Chicago, Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Annual Re-

P° 2atSurvival1 ifates in^Public Schools, by Frank M. Phillips, U. S. Bureau of Education.
Mimeographed.

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S T U D Y OF

972

B O Y S ’ C O U R T C A SE S

was classified into three grades: Paresis, senile dementia, and feeble
mindedness. The last is divided into the following grades: (1)
idiot, mental age 3 years; (2) imbecile, mental age 3 to 6 years; (3)
moron, mental age 7 to 11 years; (4) sociopath, mental age 12 to 14
years. The various types o f emotional defect were classified as
manic-depressive, epilepsy, and dementia prsecox. According to an
article by French Strother describing the work o f the laboratory,
dementia prsecox is the insanity that causes nearly all crime, and
the same basic symptoms— dissociation o f ideas, callousness o f emo
tion, and abrupt changes o f personality—are said to be present in
all degrees o f this form o f insanity.24 It is stated to be of four
types: (1) Simple, detected only by mental tests; (2) hebephrenic,
negative or unresponsive; (3) katatonic, rigid or cataleptic; (4)
paranoid, delusions, hallucinations. In addition to these four types
the term “ kataklonic ” is sometimes used in the diagnoses to indicate
a hyperemotional variety of dementia prsecox.
In giving the intelligence rating o f the boys various grades o f
each class were recognized. The following classification o f the in
telligence o f the 107 boys reported upon by the laboratory varied
from low-grade moron to average intelligence, with more than threefourths in the three categories, high-grade moron, high-grade border
land moron, and low-grade sociopath:
Total________________________________________________
Average intelligence______________________ ._________ 1_______________
High-grade borderland sociopath________________
High-grade sociopath__________
Middle-grade sociopath___________________
Low-grade sociopath________________
High-grade borderland moron_______________________
High-grade moron_______________________________ l_________________
Middle-grade moron_____________________________________
Low-grade moron__________________________________________________

107
1
1
9
4
27
18
37
6
4

Terms used to describe grades of intelligence vary so greatly that
comparison is difficult. In the United States census of feeble-minded
and epileptic persons in institutions for 1923 the use o f terms is in
accordance with those adopted in 1920 by the American Association
for the Study o f the Feeble-minded. According to this scale the
highest grade among the feeble-minded is the moron, defined as “ a
mentally defective person having a mental age between 84 months
and 143 months, inclusive (7 years and under 12), or, if a child, an
intelligence quotient between 50 and 74.” 25
Only the boys classified by the psychopathic laboratory as morons
(mental age, 7 to 11 years) would usually be classified as feeble
minded, and those described as sociopaths by the psychopathic
laboratory would not be considered mentally defective. Probably
many or all of those classified as high-grade borderland morons
would be above the usual upper limit o f feeble-mindedness. Among
the 107 boys 47 (43.9 per cent) would be generally regarded as
34 Strother, F re n ch : The Cure for Crime. W orld’ s W ork, August, 1924, pp. 389-397.
25 P ollock, H oratio M .: Feeble-Mindedness in Institutions in the United States, p. 4.
Reprinted from State H ospital Quarterly [New Y ork ]. New York, 1926.

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YO UTH AND CRIME

mentally defective on the basis of the laboratory reports, but only 10
had a mentality lower than that of a high-grade moron. Sixty boys
(56.1 per cent) were in classifications ranging from borderland moron
to normal mentality.
Examination o f the United States Draft Army
showed that 30.3 per cent of the principal sample of the white draft
rated under 12 years mentally.26
Results of examinations of all males investigated by the probation
bureau o f the New York Court of General Sessions in 1925 and 1926
showed that 25 per cent o f the defendants investigated were mentally
defective. A majority o f these were rated as high-grade morons,
and a relatively small number bordered on imbecility. The majority
o f the offenders investigated by the probation bureau were of dull
normal mentality.27
Every boy for whom a report was obtained was diagnosed by the
psychopathic laboratory as having dementia prsecox. The emotional
defect in 93 cases was described as dementia prsecox katatonia; in 13
cases, dementia prsecox hebephrenia; and in 1 case, dementia prsecox
kataklonia. Additional complications were found in many o f the
cases. The following list shows the types of dementia prsecox found
in this group o f 107 boys:
Number

Type of dementia prsecox
of boys
Total (all with dementia prsecox)__________________________ 107
K ataton ia___________________________________________________________
Katatonia + 3 _____________________________________________________
Katatonia, sex_____________________________________________________
Katatonia, sex pervert___________________________________________
Katatonia, exhibitionist, sex________________
Katatonia + moral defect____________________________________ ,___
Katatonia + cocaine______________________________________________
Katatonia + epilepsy_________________ 1________.___________________
Katatonia, hypochondriacal and somewhat effeminate_______,__
Hebephrenia________________________________________________________
Hebephrenia with katatonic trends_______________________________
Hebephrenia with katatonic trends and hypochondriacal_______
Hebephrenia + juvenile paresis_______________
Kataklonia_____________________________________

79
3
2
1
1
4
1
1
1
6
5
1
1
1

When compared with classifications of other delinquent and crimi
nal groups, these findings suggest a quite different use o f terms by
the Chicago laboratory.28 For example, the Massachusetts State De
partment o f Mental Diseases, during the six years preceding October
15, 1927, had examined 382 persons indicted by a grand jury for
a capital offense or known to have been indicted for any other offense
more than once or to have been previously convicted o f a felony.
Only 8.1 per cent of these persons examined were found to have a
major psychosis, and only 22.3 per cent were found to deviate in any
way (either mentally or emotionally) from the normal. The find
ings were as follow s: 29
28 Psychological Exam ining in the United States Army, edited by Robert M. Yerkes.
Memoirs o f N ational Academy o f Sciences, vol. 15, pp. 558, 564, and 790. W ashington,
1921,
27 Probation and Delinquency, pp. 79, 64.
28 Since this report was written the psychopathic laboratory has been reorganized under
a new director.
29 Bulletin o f the Massachusetts Department o f Mental Diseases, vol. 12, Nos. 1 and 2
(October, 1928), pp. 8, 9. Gardner, Mass.

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STUDY OF 9 7 2 BOYS’ COURT CASES

Total examined____________________ '_________________________382
Insanity (a definite major psychosis)____________________________
31
Psychopathic personality__________________________________________ 12
Mental deficiency or defective delinquency80____________________ , 34
Recommended for observation________________________
8
No evidences of mental deviation from normal__________________ 297

In a survey which included mental examinations and diagnoses
of 1,288 prisoners (1,216 men and 72 women) in 34 jails and peniten
tiaries o f New York State, the National Committee for Mental Hy-,
giene found 77.1 per cent defective in some way, but only 7.3 per
cent were diagnosed as having mental disease or deterioration which
they defined as “ clear-cut mental disorder or a deterioration o f
mental capacity as a result o f disease.” The other defective pris
oners were classified as dullard, 7.2 per cent; borderline mental de
fect, 5.4 per cent; mental defect, 7.6 per cent; psychopathic person
ality, 42.2 per cent; psychoneurosis, 1.5 per cent; epilepsy, 0.9 per
cent; personality defect, 4.5 per cent; unascertained, 0.5 per cent.31
The persons examined in Massachusetts and New York were not
limited to any particular age so that many o f them were older than
the boys included in the Children’s Bureau study. Observers of juve
niles report very small proportions with definite psychoses. Dr.
Cyril Burt, an English psychologist, reporting on 197 boys and girls
ranging in age from 5 to 18 years, says, “ In the whole of the group
here studied only one instance was found o f grave psychosis— a
girl o f 16 suffering from dementia prsecox. Absolute insanity, o f
whatever form, is all but nonexistent among the young.” 32 Doctor
Healy, studying 4,000 repeated juvenile offenders, half in Chicago
and half in Boston, found 5.6 per cent o f the Chicago children and
1 per cent o f the Boston children suffering from psychoses. In ad
dition, 2.8 per cent o f the Boston children were diagnosed as psycho
pathic personalities, 2 per cent in each city as constitutional in
feriors, and 5.5 per cent in Chicago, and 1.6 per cent in Boston as
epileptics.33
O f the 909 boys involved in the group o f cases selected Tdv the
Children’s Bureau for special study 36 had been examined at the
Institute for Juvenile Research at some time— most o f them several
years prior to appearance before the boys’ court. Intelligence quo
tients were secured for 26 o f these boys; 8 were between 50 and 70,12
between 70 and 90, 4 between 90 and 110, and 2 were 110 or more.
Eighteen o f the 36 boys referred to the Institute for Juvenile Re
search by various agencies were among those referred to the psycho
pathic laboratory by the boys’ court. Diagnoses from the laboratory
were obtained for 14 of these cases. Although not given in the same
terms, the intelligence ratings of the two examinations agree fairly
closely, especially when possible changes due to difference in time are
considered. Diagnoses of these cases together with the diagnosis of
one boy at the Psychopathic Hospital follow :
80 The latter designation is “ more o f a legal-psychological than a psychiatric one, as
the law o f Massachusetts provides fo r the comm itm ent o f certain m entally deficient o f
fenders to a special State institution fo r defective delinquents.”
81 Report o f a M ental Hygiene Survey o f New York County Jails and Penitentiaries,
pp. 8, 10. Frankwood E. Williams, M. D., V. V. Anderson, M. D., directors. National
Committee fo r M ental Hygiene, New York City, 1924.
82 Burt, C y r il: The Young Delinquent, p. 569. New York, 1925.
83 Delinquents and Criminals, pp, 13, 151, 152, 153, 273.

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YOUTH

Place of examination

Institute for Juvenile Research. 1922

Psychopathic laboratory______

1925

6. Institute for Juvenile Research. 1922
3.

Psychopathic laboratory______

Institute for Juvenile Research. 1919

4. o. Psychopathic laboratory______

1925

6. Institute for Juvenile Research. 1924
5.

Psychopathic laboratory............ 1924

Institute for Juvenile Research. 1923

Psychopathic laboratory...........

Institute for Juvenile Research. 1919

Psychopathic laboratory______

1924

Psychopathic Hospital________

1920

1924

c. Institute for Juvenile Research. 1919
8.

Psychopathic laboratory______

Institute for Juvenile Research. 1921

Psychopathic laboratory______

Institute for Juvenile Research. 1923

Institute foi Juvenile Research. 1924

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

C R IM E

Date

1. o. Psychopathic laboratory......... . 1926

AND

1926

1924

Diagnosis 34
C. A. 17, M. A., 12%. Low-grade sociopath+dementia
praecox katatonia.
C. A. 1614, M . A. 16, I. Q. 94. Adequate intelligence.
C. A. 17, M. A. 12. Low-grade sociopath+dementia
praecox katatonia.
C. A. l3i+2, M . A. 11+2,1. Q. 81. Dull normal.
C. A. 21, M . A. 1 2 % . Low-grade sociopath+dfementia
praecox katatonia.
C. A. 14, M. A. 9 % . High-grade moron.
C. A. 17, M. A. 1 1 % . High-grade borderland moron+
dementia praecox katatonia.
C. A. 16+2, M. A. 14+2,1. Q. 89. Examination suggested
psychopathic makeup of boy and likelihood of a continued
delinquent career.
C. A. 17, M . A. 1 1 % . Low-grade sociopath+dementia
praecox katatonia.
I. Q. 80.
C. A. 17, M. A. 12%. Low-grade sociopath+dementia
praecox katatonia.
C. A. 13+2, M . A. 101+2, I. Q. 80.
C. A. 21, M. A. 1 2 % . Low-grade sociopath+dementia
praecox katatonia.
Mental defective, beginning hebephrenic dementia praecox.
C. A. 15, M. A. 10+2, I. Q. 68. Psychoneurosis, organic
deterioration with psychotic features.
C. A. 21, M. A. 10+ 2. High-grade moron+dementia
praecox katatonia.
C. A. 15+2, M . A. 8 % , I. Q. 56. Feeble-minded.
C. A. 17, M. A. 12%.

praecox katatonia.

High-grade sociopath+dementia

C. A. 14+2, M. A. 13+2, I. Q. 91.

opment of boy 12-13 years.
I. Q. 90. Unreliable.

Psychopathic laboratory______

Institute for Juvenile Research.. 1924

C. A. 17+2, M. A. 13+2, I. Q. 85.

Psychopathic laboratory______

C. A. 17, M . A. 12%.

Institute for Juvenile Research.. 1923

C. A. 14+2, M. A. 14+2, I. Q. 98.

Psychopathic laboratory.........

C. A. 17, M . A. 9 % .

Institute for Juvenile Research.. 1924

Psychopathic laboratory. _

Institute for Juvenile Research.. 1921

1924

1925

1924

1925

Psychopathic laboratory______

Institute for Juvenile Research.. 1921

1925

C. A. 17, M . A. 12%.

praecox katatonia.

High-grtade sociopath+dementia

poor attention.

praecox katatonia.

General and sex devel

Dull and backward;

Low-grade sociopath+dementia
Adequate intelligence.

Middle-grade moron+dementia

praecox katatonia.
I. Q. 52. Should be committed if becomes too great a
problem.
C. A. 18, M. A. 8%. Middle-grade moron+dementia
praecox katatonia.
C. A. 14+2, M. A. 7 + 2 ,1. Q. 52. Defective delinquent.
C. A. 20, M. A. 9 % . Middle-grade moron+dementia
praecox katatonia.
C. A. 16+2, M. A. 10+2, I. Q. 63. High-grade moron;
suggests possible need of institutional care.

31 C. A. stands for chronological age; M . A., mental age; I. Q., intelligence quotient.

PREVIOUS DELINQUENCY RECORDS

The court and agency records consulted in connection with this
study supplied information regarding the previous court record of
the boys. The cards on file in the social-service department of the
boys’ court contained records of previous cases in that court which
were identified as belonging to boys included in the study, and the
statements of the boys to the interviewers on the day of their court
appearance. This yielded fairly complete information concerning
their experiences in the boys’ court. The investigations o f the
probation department contained the records in other adult courts,
and additional information was .sometimes obtained from other

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STUDY OF 9 72 BOYS’ COURT CASES

records. The information obtained, however, can not be considered
complete, and in regard to arrests outside Chicago, the only source
o f information was the statements of the boys. Probably these
statements sometimes included arrests as well as actual appearances
in court, and undoubtedly boys who had been in trouble several
times did not give a complete account of their delinquencies. Be
cause of the confusion it seemed better to consider the information
pertaining to arrests rather than the information pertaining to
court cases, and it is necessary to keep in mind that the number of
arrests given is probably a very conservative statement. In the dis
cussion that follows, arrests o f boys o f juvenile-court age resulting
in reference to the juvenile court are not included.
PREVIOUS ARRESTS

O f the 845 boys for whom information from the sources named
was available, 57.9 per cent had not been previously arrested, 25.3
per cent had been arrested only once, and 16.8 per cent had been
arrested two or more times.35 (Table 24.)
T

2 4 .— Final disposition of c a s e b y the boys’ court, grand jury, or criminal
court, by specified number of arrests previous to first hearing, for boys in
selected cases dealt with by the boys’ court during 1924 and 1925

able

Boys dealt with in selected cases
For whom number of previous irrests was
reported
Final disposition

Total

Total
re
ported

None

One

Two or
more

Not
re
ported

Num Per Num Per Num Per
ber cent1 ber cent1 ber cent1

Total............................................ - .........

909

845

489

57.9

214

25.3

142

16.8

Disposed of—....................................................

885

823

483

58.7

203

24.7

137

16.6

Discharged................... ..................... ........
Dismissed..... ........................... .............For want of prosecution 2...................

434
153
125
23
5

397
145
120
21
4

259 65.2
77 53.1
63 52.5
14

82 20.-7
45 31.0
38 31.7
5
2

56
23
19
2
2

14.1
15.9
15.8

37
8
5
2
1

Boy placed on probation__ ____________
Fine imposed________ ____ —......... ........
Boy committed to institution__________

133
77
85
3

131
69
78
3

90 68.7
31 44.9
25 32.1
1

32 24.4
18 26.1
25 32.1
1

9
6.9
20 29.0
28 35.9
1

2
8
7

1 Not shown where base is less than 50.

2 Includes 2 nol-prossed.

The dispositions by the boys’ court o f the 483 first offenders for
whom disposition was reported showed 66 per cent discharged or dis
missed without trial, 17.8 per cent placed on probation, 6.4 per cent
85 As would be expected because o f the more limited sources o f inform ation, the report
by the social-service department shows a much larger percentage o f boys with no previous
arrests, 78 per cent in 1924 and 76 per cent in 1925. (F rom figures in the Sixteenth,
Seventeenth and Eighteenth Annual Reports o f the M unicipal Court o f Chicago, 1921 to
1924, p. 109, and from unpublished- figures furnished by the- social-service departm ent ofthe boys.’ court.),

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YOUTH

AND

C R IM E

fined, 2.9 per cent committed to serve sentences, and 6.8 per cent held
for the grand jury. (Table 25.) The disposition, by the grand
jury and the criminal court increased the proportion of first offenders
released without trial or found not guilty. In the final disposition
by the two courts 69.5 per cent were discharged or released without
trial, 18.6 per cent were placed on probation, 6.4 per cent were fined,
and 5.2 per cent were sentenced to correctional institutions.
Among boys who were reported as never having been previously
arrested a larger proportion were discharged, dismissed, or placed
on probation than among boys who were reported to have been ar
rested. (Tables 24 and 25.) On the other hand, boys who had been
previously arrested were more frequently fined or committed to in
stitutions than first offenders.36
T

2 5 . — Disposition of cases in boys’ court, b y specified number of arrests
previous to first hearing, of boys in selected cases dealt with b y the boys’
court during 1924 omd 1925

able

Boys dealt with in selected cases
For whom number of previous arrests was
reported

Total
Disposition

None

One

Two or more

Num distri
ber bution Num Per cent Num Per cent Num Per cent
distri
distri
distri
ber bution
ber bution
ber bution

Not
re
ported

T otal......... ............... .........

909

Disposed of................................. .

885

100.0

483

100.0

203

100.0

137

100.0

Boy discharged....... ................
Dismissed___________ » .........
Held for grand ju r y ..._______
Boy placed on probation.
Fine imposed...........................
Boy committed to institution.
Transferred to other court. ..

423
125
87
123
77
48
2

47.8
14.1
9.8
13.9
8.7
5.4
.2

256
63
33
86
31
14

53.0
13.0
6.8
17.8
6.4
2.9

77
38
25
28
18
16
1

37.9
18.7
12.3
13.8
8.9
7.9
.5

54
19
22
8
20
13
1

39.4
13.9
16.1
5.8
14.6
9.5
.7

36
5
7
1
8
5

Pending....... ........................ .........

489

142

214

JUVENILE-COURT RECORD

Reliable information was obtained regarding juvenile-court records
in Cook County o f the boys in the group studied; for juvenile-court
records outside Cook County, however, only the unverified state
ments o f the boys were available. The figures as to the Cook County
records were based on a careful check o f every boy through the
records of the social-service exchange and the Cook County juvenile
court. Two hundred and twenty-four (24.6 per cent) of the boys’
court boys had delinquency records in the juvenile court. Some had
a long history o f delinquency. Thus, although 101 boys (11.1 per
cent) had had only one juvenile-court appearance in a delinquency
case, 72 (7.9 per cent) had been before the court twice on different
charges, and 51 (5.6 per cent) had been before the court three times
or more.
38
Possibly the proportion o f repeaters given com paratively severe sentences would have
been increased i f the court had known the facts in all cases.

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STUDY OF 972 BOYS’ COURT CASES

The percentage o f boys with juvenile-court records does not repre
sent the total amount o f juvenile delinquency known to the authori
ties among these boys. An unusual system o f cooperation between
P° i 6 and
court has been worked out in Chicago Police
officers, known as police probation officers, are assigned for full-time
service to the juvenile court and investigate the majority o f complaints regarding delinquent boys, adjusting many o f them without
reference to the juvenile court. Such cases are not included in the
juvenile-court records. In 1926, for example, 19,556 cases o f alleged
delinquency were investigated by police probatiin officers, o f which
91.6 pe* cent were adjusted without filing petitions to bring the
C° Uri ‘
i°f delm(luency records o f boys IT
A
t
°i
d?alt with by the boys’ court, made by the Illinois
Association for Criminal Justice, showed that in many cases the
offender had a long juvenile-delinquency record in police stations
aithough he had never been brought to the juvenile court.28
’
lable 26 shows the extent to which the same boys had juvenilethp847e?nrdSifnd Pr®V10US delinquency records in other courts. O f
the 847 for whom information as to both juvenile-court appearances
and previous arrests is available, 46.8 per cent had neither a^uvenfleonlv 2 ? 9 al arrei t
Per C*nt had a Juvenile-court record
7’ ,
c.ent ^ fd adult-court experience only, and 14.3 per
c<mt had both juvenile and adult delinquency records before the
offense included m this study. The percentage o f first offendersIs
S

rna4475 nepSamefaS
f ° Und ^ Edwin
Cooley,39 who states
44'5 P
Cf ? t
cases investigated by the New York
ukation Bureau the defendant had never been arrested previouslv
nor arraigned in juvenile or other courts.
^
T a b l e 26.— Previous court record of bops in selected cases dealt with in the

boys court during 1924 and 1925
Boys dealt with in
■selected cases
Previous court record
Per cent
Number distribu
tion
Total.......................
909

Reported_________________
None____
Juvenile court only__
1 case____
2 or more c a se s.I...” ,*.;".^

847

100.0

396
94
44

46.8
11.1

Other court only_____
Both juvenile court and other court
1 case in juvemile court_______
2 or more cases in juvenile court

236
121

27.9
14.3

8.3

Not reported............. .

5.2

5.9

6.0

betW6en thf b,e« in? ing o f ^
juvenile-court case
and the first known arrest after leaving the jurisdiction o f the iuvemle court was reported for 18T of the boys having juvenile-court
J u S f C h ic a 1 lCinmei9 2 9 Vey’ P' 646'

Published

“ Ib id ., p. 647’.

Probation and Delinquency, p. 87.

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

the

A ssociation fo r Criminal

100

YO UTH AND CRIME

records. For more than half (56.1 per cent)' the interval was two
years or longer, for 22.5 per cent between one and two years, and
for 21.4 per cent less than one year.
It would be expected that the proportion o f boys in all the selected
cases who had juvenile-court records would be less than the propor
tion reported among the group o f these boys sent to the psychopathic
laboratory for examination, since the latter presented, presumably,
the more serious problems. The laboratory found that o f 257 cases
tabulated during eight months of 1918 and 1919, 43 per cent ad
mitted previous records in the juvenile court.40 The figures o f the
social-service department for all boys from 17 to 20 years o f age
appearing before the boys’ court show that 11 per cent in 1924 and
14 per cent in 1925 admitted juvenile-court records.41 The socialservice department, as well as the psychopathic laboratory, relied
on the boy’s statement alone and therefore its records were not so
complete as those obtained for the group studied.
COURT RECORD OF BOYS W HO HAD REACHED 21

Two hundred and fifty boys in the group studied had reached their
twenty-first birthday on or before May 31, 1926. Further analysis
was made o f the careers o f these boys who had been within the
jurisdiction o f the boys’ court during a 4-year period except for
those who had spent part of that time outside the city o f Chicago.42
In addition to the sources used for all the boys the records o f these
250 boys were checked through the files o f the secretary o f police
o f Chicago in order to obtain every arrest on record against each
boy. The names o f 30 could not be found in the files of the police
department, but for 220 the record of arrests from the seventeenth
to the twenty-first birthday is as complete as it is possible to make
it and is fully comparable with the juvenile-court records.
O f the 220 boys, 33.2 per cent had been arrested once during the
period; 27.3 per cent twice; 21.4 per cent three or four times; 15
per cent five to nine times; and 3.2 per cent ten or more times.
In all, 147 (66.8 per cent) were repeaters. I f no other sources than
those used for the whole group o f 909 boys had been available for
these 220 boys, it would have appeared that 52.9 per cent o f them
were repeaters, as compared with 42.1 per cent o f the entire group.
Seven o f the 30 boys whose names could not be identified in the
police-department files were known from other sources to have been
arrested two or three times.
Only 47 (18.8 per cent) o f the 250 boys had juvenile-court records,
a smaller proportion than among the entire group (24.6 per cent).
A similar proportion o f the 220 whose postjuvenile records were com
plete to their twenty-first birthday (20 per cent) had juvenile-court
records. The proportion having juvenile-court records was nearly
twice as large among those who were repeaters after they had passed
the juvenile-court age as among those who had been arrested only
once—.23.8 per cent as compared with 12.3 per cent. (Table 27.)
40
Report o f psychopathic laboratory in Tw elfth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Annual
R eports o f the Municipal Court o f Chicago, 1917 to 1920, p. 119.
,
& From figures in the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Annual R eports o f the
M unicipal Court o f Chicago, 1921 to 1924, p. 109, and fro n r unpublished figures furnished
by the social-service department o f the hoys’ court.
\ .
,
.
„ . ,
*% Figures fo r residence and social status indicate that the hoys court group was fairly
stable. (See p. 89.)

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101

STUDY OF 9 72 BOYS’ COURT CASES
T

2 7 . — Juvenile-court delinquency records, by number o f arrests between
seventeenth and twenty-first birthdays for boys 21 years o f age and over on
M ay SI, 1926, in selected cases dealt with by the boys’ court during 192fy
and 1925

able

Boys in selected cases
Juvenile-court de
linquency record

Number of arrests between seventeenth and twenty-first
birthdays

No juvenile-court
delinquency record

Total
Number Per cent1 Number Percent1
909

224

24.6

685

75.4

250

18.8

203

81.2

Boys for whom number of arrests was reported_____ 220
1................................................................... ...........
73
2 and over____ _____ _________________________ ' 147

44
9
35

20.0
12.3
23.8

176
64
112

80.0
87.7
76.2

Boys for whom number of arrests was not reported - .

Inapplicable (boy under 21 years of age May 31,1926)___

24
635

177

Total___ /..................... ........................- ................ .
Boys 21 years of age on or before May 31, 1926

_______

27
27.9

24
458

72.1

Not shown where base is less than 50.

The conclusions suggested by this analysis are the same as for the
entire group o f boys studied (see p. 99), as repeaters during the boys
court age period comprised 67 per cent o f this group, whereas only
20 per cent had juvenile-court records. The proportion o f repeaters
with records in other courts than the juvenile court had increased
over the proportion among the entire group, most o f whom had had
less than four years outside the jurisdiction o f the juvenile court.
The proportion with juvenile-court records had decreased somewhat,
possibly indicating that more o f the younger boys were continuing
delinquent careers begun as juveniles, whereas many o f the older
boys were beginning delinquency, having had no such conflict with
authorities as juveniles.43 This supposition is strengthened by the
fact that among all the boys studied the proportion having juveniledelinquency records was largest for the 17-year-old boys and de
creased with each additional year o f age. O f the boys who were 17
at the time of the offense studied, 32.7 per cent had juvenile-delin
quency records; o f the 18-year-old boys, 23.5 per cent; o f the 19-yearold boys, 20.7 per cent; and o f the 20-year-old boys, 17.5 per cent.
This does not mean, o f course, that the student of behavior prob
lems would have found no evidence o f delinquent tendencies in ear
lier years, but only that these boys had not been brought to the atten
tion o f the juvenile court.
INSTITUTION A N D PROBATION RECORD

For 217 o f the 224 boys in the group selected for study who had
juvenile-court records information was obtained concerning the dis
position o f the last case in the juvenile court. O f these boys 105
(48.4 per cent) had been committed to an institution, 45 (20.7 per
43 The cases included in the study were all dealt with in 1924 and 1925. Inform ation
concerning these cases was obtained in 1926. Selecting only those who had passed from
boys’ court jurisdiction by the date o f the study resulted in an unduly large proportion, as
compared w ith the whole group; o f hoys 19 ana 20 years o f age.

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102

YO U TH AUD CEIME

cent) had been placed on probation, and the cases of 58 (26.7 per
rru- - n dismissed, dropped, or continued generally. (Table
n r 1S ls a lafg 6 proportion committed to institutions for juvenile delinquents, inasmuch as commitments to correctional institu
tions formed only 27.9 per cent o f all dispositions o f cases by the
juvenile, court during the eight years previous to 1924. That the
discipline o f juvenile correctional institutions does not cure the delinquent tendencies o f boys is corroborated by Doctor Healy. In his
study of the later careers o f repeaters in the Chicago juvenile court
he found that an extremely large proportion (85 per cent) o f the in
dividuals committed to institutions as adults had previously been in
juvenile correctional institutions.44
oq\

T a b l e 28.— Disposition in the juvenile court of last case of delinquency of hoys

in selected cases dealt with by the boys’ court during 1924 and 1925

Boys dealt with in
selected cases
Disposition
Per cent
Number distribu
tion
T otal.................

909

Disposition reported..
Dismissed___
Continued generally
-Boy placed on probation.
Boy committed to institution
Disposition not reported
No juvenile-court case reported

217

100.0

............................................... -.................... .........
..................................... ......

13
45
45
105
9

6.0
20.7
20.7
48.4
4.1

........................

7
685

^ J ^ 6!.909 k°ys included in the group selected for study 18.7 per
cent had been committed to correctional institutions for either adults
or juveniles before the offense studied. Those ivho had been on
probation before the offense studied comprised 14.9 per cent o f the
total, rhe age o f the boys at the time o f the offense studied seems
to nave no particular significance in relation to previous institutional
or probation experience.
COURT RECORD AFTER THE OFFENSE STUDIED

Eighty-mne per cent o f the boys reported upon were within the
jurisdiction o f the boys court at least six months after the offense;
Sn rT i a A Sout one/ i f & (21-4 Per cent) were arrested after the;
K p rfo ?!? .offense- (Table 29.) The percentage o f boys rearrested
increased, m general, with the length o f the period within the court’s
jurisdiction, though a somewhat smaller percentage was reported o f
those within its jurisdiction two years or more than of those within
its jurisdiction between one and two years. Subsequent arrests were
most frequent among those who had been in institutions following
the offense studied, on original commitment or for nonpayment o f
hne. Ut the group with institutional records o f this kind 29 7 per
44 Delinquents and Criminals, p. 78.

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103

STUDY OF 9 72 BOYS’ COURT CASES

cent had been arrested subsequently, whereas rearrests were made
o f approximately one-fifth o f those discharged or released without
trial, o f those placed on probation, and of the small number who
paid their fines. (Table 30.) These figures may reflect in part a
cause and in part an effect o f institutional commitments. Doubtless
the more serious offenders who would be most likely to come before
the court again were more likely to be committed to institutions.
Nevertheless, it is significant that institutional commitment in 29.7
per cent o f the cases did not act as a deterrent to further violations
o f law and that the percentage o f repeaters among those placed on
probation was much lower than among those committed.
2 9 . — Period of time within jurisdiction of boys’ court after scheduled
offense, by arrest subsequent to first hearing, for boys in selected cases dealt
with by boys’ court during 1924 and 1925

T able

Boys dealt with in selected cases
Whose cases were disposed of
Period of time within jurisdiction of
boys’ court after scheduled offense

Arrested subse
quently

Total
Total

Not arrested sub
sequently

Whose
cases
were
pend
ing

Number Per cent1 Number Per cent1
Total............ .................. .............

909

885

189

21.4

696

78.6

Period reported......... ..........................

847

189

22.3

658

77.7

Under 1 year..................................
Under 6 months____________
6 months, under 1 year......... .

328
96
232

54
10
44

16.5
10.4
19.0

274
86
188

83.5
89.6
81.0

1 year, under 2 ..............................
2 years and o v e r ...........................

420
99

112
23

26.7
23.2

308
76

73.3
76.8

Period not reported__________
Inapplicable, not within jurisdiction..

34
28

34
4

Not shown where base is less than 50.
T

3 0 . — Arrest subsequent to first hearing, by type of offense and final dis
position of ca.se by boys’ court, grand jury, or criminal court, o f boys in
selected cases dealt with by the boys’ court during 1924 and 1925

able

Boys dealt with in selected cases
Whose cases were disposed of
Type of offense and final disposition
Arrested subse
quently

Total

Not arrested
subsequently

Total

Whose
cases
were
pend
ing

Number Per cent1 Number Per Cent1
Total........................................................
Disposed of....... ..............
Discharged..........
Dismissed___
For want of prosecution 2....... ............
Not indicted by grand jury................
Stricken out with leave to reinstate...
i

909

885

189

21.4

696

78.6

885

189

21.4

696

78.6

434
153
125
23
5

87
32
28
4

20.0
20.9
22.4

Not shown where base is less than 50.

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347
80.0
121
79.1
97
77.6
19
5
2 Includes 2 nolle-prossed.

104

YOU TH

A U D C E IM E

T a b l e 30.— A rrest subsequent to first hearing, by type of offense and final dis

position of case by boys’ court, etc.— Continued

Boys dealt with in selected cases
Whose cases were disposed of
Type of offense and final disposition
Arrested subse
quently

Total

Not arrested
subsequently

Total

Whose
cases
were
pend
ing

Number Percent Number Per cent
Disposed of—Continued.
Boy placed on probation_____________
Fine imposed______________________ _
Paid____________________________
Sentence served for nonpayment__

133
77
24
53

Boy committed to institution_________
Transferred to other court___________

85
3

Disposed of.....................................................

226

Discharged_________________________
Dismissed-_________________________
For want of prosecution__________
Not indicted by grand jury_______
Stricken out with leave to reinstate

73
105
77
23
5

Boy placed on probation.......................
Boy committed to institution_________
Transferred to other court____________

10
37

Misdemeanor...................................... .

224

217

Disposed of_____________________________

217

81.2
72.7

18.8
27.3
32.1

67.9

28.2

71.8

Pending.................................................... .....
Felony___________________________

26.5

166

73.5

26.5

166

73.5
64.4
73.3

35.6
26.7
31.2

Pending________________________________
45

Discharged_________ _____ __________
Dismissed for want of prosecution____
Boy placed on probation........ ..............
Fine imposed____ ______ ________ ____
Boy committed to institution_________
Transferred to other court____________

20.7

172

20.7

172

79.3
79.3

10.5

89.5

22.2

77.8"

Pending.......................................................
Quasi-criminal_______ _____________

458

Disposed of_____________________________

442

Discharged...............................................
Dismissed for want of prosecution____
Boy placed on probation............. ..........
Fine imposed...____ ______ __________
Boy committed to institution............... .

304
17
51
69

Pending.............. .......................................... .

442

304
17
51

6»
1

19.0

19.0
18.1
11.8
29.0

358

81.0

249
15
45
49

81.9
88.2

71.0
16

PROBATIONARY TREATMENT

Under the Illinois law boys may be placed on probation for defi
nite terms of either six months or a year, and in practice the majority
are released from probation at the expiration o f their terms. I f the
judge considered it desirable, probation might be extended once for
a period equal to that o f the original term. Commitment to an insti
tution might terminate probation before the end of the term. In 97
of the 129 cases in the group selected for study in which the defend
ants were placed on probation the probationer had been released

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105

STUDY OF 9 7 2 BOYS’ COURT CASES

before the end o f the study, in 88.7 per cent o f the 97 cases because of
the expiration o f the term of probation and in 6.2 per cent because
o f commitment to a penal institution. (Table 31.)
T able 31.— Results of probation, by reason for release from probation, in selected
cases dealt with by boys’ court during 1924 and 1925
Selected eases
Results of probation
Reason for release from probation
Total
Total

Total Term expired........- ------ -----------Committed to penal institutions.
Other.................. .........................
Still on probation______________
Not placed on probation...... .......

Inappli
cable
(still on
probation
Unsat or not
Satis D ou b t isfac
placed
factory
ful
tory
on pro
bation)

972

86
6
5
32
843

86
6
5

13
6

875

32
843

A t the time o f release each case was classified by the adult proba
tion department as satisfactory, doubtful, or unsatisfactory. Cases
were usually considered satisfactory unless there had been a com
mitment, arrest, or failure to make payments which had been or
dered by the court, or unless the whereabouts o f the probationer was
unknown. In 75 o f the 97 released cases the results were considered
satisfactory, in 3 doubtful, and in 19 unsatisfactory. (Table 31.)
In 6 o f the 19 “ unsatisfactory ” cases probation was ended because
o f commitment to a penal institution, and in the other 13 because o f
expiration o f the term o f probation.
In 12 o f the “ unsatisfactory ” cases and in 7 others the boy had
been rearrested while on probation. The total number of cases in
which the boy had been rearrested during the probationary period
represented 16.3 per cent o f the 129 cases placed on probation. This
is a large proportion when compared with the proportion reported
by Edwin J. Cooley,45 for o f all the persons placed on probation
during a periqpl of nearly two years during which the Bureau o f
Catholic Charities carried on probation service for the court of gen
eral sessions o f New York City only 7 per cent were subsequently
rearrested for other offenses.
Upon request of the judge the adult probation department investi
gated cases before final judgment was pronounced. O f the 129 cases
placed on probation 41.1 per cent had been investigated by the adult
probation department before the boys were placed on probation.
(Table 32.) Most of the cases which were still on probation at the
conclusion o f the study had not been investigated before this treat
ment was decided upon, whereas about half o f the cases released
from probation had been investigated. The 53 cases investigated
presented only slightly more successful results than the cases not
investigated by the adult probation department, for the results o f
^Probation and Delinquency, p. 225.

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probation were adjudged satisfactory in 78 per cent o f the cases in
which investigation was made and in 77 per cent o f the cases in
which investigation was not made.
T able 32.

Results of probation in investigated and uninvestigated selected
cases dealt with by the boys’ court during 1924 and 1925

Selected cases
Placed on probation
Results of probation
Total
Total

Total-.....................
Results shown.
Satisfactory........
D oubtful............
Unsatisfactory____
Still on probation____
Not placed on probation____

Investi
gation
made

No in
vesti
gation
made

972

129

75
3
19

39
1
10

36
2
9

32
843

Not
placed
on pro
bation

843

A monthly report to the supervising officer is required o f each
probationer, and one visit each month to the probationer’s home is
required o f the supervising officer. Thus the supervising officer
should have 12 contacts with each probationer during a 6-month
term and 24 during a 12-month term. Hardly more than half the
cases on probation for a year or more had more than half the re
quired number o f contacts with the officer, and not quite two-thirds
o f the cases released from probation at approximately six months
had more than half the required contacts. The average number of
reports to the supervising officer per case was 5.1, and the average
number o f home visits made was 3.9 per case946 or an average of 9
reports and home visits combined among the 97 cases studied in
which the boys had been released from probation.
chief probation officer stated that the record o f these reports and visits was not
complete, as some officers did not consider such recording im portant. Each officer keDt a
small pocket notebook in which additional inform ation w a s recorded.
^

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DETAILED STUDIES OF 82 BOYS
METHOD OF STUDY AND SELECTION OF CASES

To ascertain the characteristics, histories, and f a m i l y and social
conditions of the boys who appeared in court a small number (82
° f the 909 boys in the group o f cases included in the study) were
visited at home and personally interviewed; their parents also were
interviewed, and agency records were consulted.1 The parent found
at home, usually the mother, was encouraged to tell o f the family
life, the boy’s lire, his attainments and shortcomings, and her version
o f his offense and the manner o f dealing with it. The boy himself
was seen by a man agent who sought to obtain the boy’s interpreta
tion o f his family and social life and his own problems, and his re
action to his court experience. Information was obtained also from
family-welfare, relief, and protective agencies, and in a few cases
from the records o f social-service departments connected with medi
cal agencies.2
These visits and interviews took place between August, 1926, and
February, 1927, so that in every case at least seven months had
elapsed since the court appearance that included the boy in the
study (the longest possible period between a boy’s court appearance
and the interview was three years and two months), and in most
cases the interval was one or two years. A great deal relating to
the physical, mental, and social history that should be learned in
an adequate investigation made for the diagnosis and treatment of
the problems o f each individual boy was not obtained in a canvass
o f agency records and through the brief interviews which were
possible in an investigation o f this sort. Nevertheless, it is believed
that the case histories will give some idea how complex are the
problems and the needs o f these boys, and how carefully planned
and individualized their treatment must be to change their interests
and their attitude toward society.
It was desired that the cases to be studied intensively should be
representative o f the whole group and should yield material that
would be helpful in the study o f delinquency among boys above
juvenile-court age. Consequently each major group of charges and
dispositions is represented in the small group selected for home
visits. The proportion o f each charge and disposition, however, is
not the same as in the whole group, where the less serious cases pre
dominate. Because these less serious cases usually present fewer
1 This was in addition to the court records that were consulted fo r the entire selected
group.
2 F or a discussion o f the im portance o f understanding boy life, especially in the cases o f
problem boys, and methods o f personal interviews with boys, see Getting at the Boy Him
self : Through the Personal Interview, by Pauline V. and Erie F. Young, in Social Forces
vol. 6, No. 8 (M arch, 1928), pp. 408-415.

86850°— 30------ 8

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YOUTH AND CRIME

social problems and shed less light than other charges on the prob
lem o f delinquency, the 82 cases selected for home visits included a
smaller proportion o f disorderly-conduct cases and a larger propor
tion o f crimes o f violence, sex crimes and offenses, and violations o f
liquor laws than the larger group o f 972 cases, or than the whole
number o f cases heard in the boys’ court in 1924 and 1925. (Table
33.) The percentage o f boys who were discharged or whose cases
were dismissed among those chosen for intensive study was some
what smaller than the corresponding percentage among all the 972
cases included in the statistical study (53.7 as compared with 62.7).
Selection was further directed so that the cases would be representa
tive o f the race, age, nativity, and status of the parents of the boys
who come before the court. Moreover, the group intensively studied
included cases not known to any court department outside the boys’
court, nor to any social agency, as well as cases lmown to the psy
chopathic laboratory, the juvenile court, thè Institute for Juvenile
Research, and other social agencies.
T a b l e 33.— Type of charge in cases studied intensively and in all cases included

in study
Cases studied in
tensively

Cases included in
selected group

Charge
Number

Per cent Number

Per cent

972

82
Total reported................................................................................

100.0

971

100.0

Crimes of violence and injuries to persons.................... ........
Crimes and offenses against property............. _........... ........
Sex crimes and offenses..------------------ ---------------------------Violating liquor laws____________________ ____ __________
Offenses against public health and safety............................
Disorderly conduct...______________________ ________ ___

19
26
13
6
1
17

23.1
31.7
15.9
7.3
1.2
20.7

82
344
38
11
42
454

. 8.4
35.4
3.9
LI
4.3
46.8

Following a brief summary of the most significant facts obtained
regarding the 82 boys studied intensively, histories o f 39 boys are
presented quite fully, and are grouped according to the offense with
which they were charged. In each group histories of boys who were
discharged by the court or whose cases were dismissed are presented
first, and histories of boys placed on probation, fined, committed to j
institutions, or held for the grand jury follow.
/
Care has been taken in presenting the stories to make the individ
uals concerned unrecognizable. Names o f persons and places (ex
cept names of public institutions and agencies) and the dates o f court
appearances have been changed in every instance. Certain other
changes have been made in many instances, for example in designat
ing occupations. No alteration, however, is such as to change the
picture given o f the boy’s surroundings, his family and community
relationships, his own characteristics, his family and personal history,
or his court experience.

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D E T A IL E D S T U D IE S OF

8 2 BOYS

109

SUMMARY OF HISTORIES PRESENTED
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BOYS

O f the 82 boys studied intensively 28 were in court only once and
were not known to be chronic offenders; 3 were in court only once
but were known to have been chronic offenders3; 21 had been in court
more than once but were not confirmed offenders; 4 had long careers
o f delinquency, but the evidence indicated that their attitude toward
society had changed; and 26 had long careers o f delinquency and
appeared to be continuing their criminal behavior. That is, on the
basis of court record and available information as to habits 26 o f these
boys should be called confirmed criminals, 28 others had been repeaters
or chronic offenders, and 28 had, so far as was known, committed only
one offense. Fifteen of the 26 confirmed offenders had juvenile-court
records, and 10, so far as was known, had had no early conduct diffi
culties. Five of the 28 boys who had committed only one offense had
juvenile-court records, and 3 others had early conduct problems. O f
the 54 repeated or chronic offenders, including the confirmed o f
fenders, 23 were known to have been delinquent before reaching boys’
court age, and 18 o f these had juvenile-court records.
Information as to their adjustment to home, school, and work was
obtained from the records o f various agencies which had come in
contact with the boys. The classification good, fair, or poor used
in this discussion is not based on a definite method o f scoring but rep
resents the writer’s impression o f conditions as given in these records.
Fair adjustment to their home, school, or working conditions just
before their court offense and during their earlier school careers was
more frequent among the nonrepeaters than among the confirmed
delinquents. O f the 82 boys 20 seemed to have been fairly well ad
justed at home, work, and school before their offense; 3 others seemed
fairly well adjusted at home and work; and 1 at home and s'chool.
Among the 28 nonrepeaters 15 seemed to have been fairly well ad
justed at home, school, and work before their offense; 1 at home and
work; 1 at home and school; and 2 at school and work. Only 2 o f
this group, so far as could be ascertained, were unadjusted in all their
relationships. On the other hand, of the 26 confirmed offenders, only
2 seemed to have been fairly well adjusted at home, school, and work,
and 2 at home and work, whereas 11, so far as was known, were not
satisfactorily adjusted anywhere.
When home, school, and work adjustments are analyzed separately,
good or fair adjustments to home conditions seem to have been made
by 42 o f the 82 boys studied, poor adjustment by 20, and for 20 no
classification could be made. Forty-eight boys seemed to have been
well adjusted at school, 30 poorly adjusted, and the school adjust
ments of 4 were not reported. Adjustment at work seemed good or
fair for 46 boys and poor for 29; for 7 it was not reported.
« rm. Chronlc P^-ÇP^er .1S used to denote the type o f repeater described by D octor Healy :
in e repeated offender is that individual who in spite o f reprimands, warnings, probation,
or punishment proceeds to further antisocial deeds. Some o f the w orst repeated offenders
one has ever seen, including young adults, have managed through fam ily protection to
Boston P19°15 contact with the courts-” Healy, Wm. : The Individual Delinquent, p. 13.

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YOUTH AND CRIME

110

As students of delinquency would expect, little attempt had been
made by the schools to adapt the curriculum to the needs of these
boys. Indeed, it is probable that the fact that they were misfits and
unhappy at school was not always known to their teachers. Truancy
was treated by commitment to the parental school (see pp. 124, 127),
which some o f the boys frequently found much more to their liking
than the public schools, but the "causes o f their truancy remained
when they returned to their homes. Such statements as, “ School is
all right if you have the money to dress up and fly high and do noth
ing else, but for a poor boy he had better be at home or at work
(p. 125) ; “ School is of no use to a working b oy” (p. 126); or “ I never
had clothes like others, and somehow I never learned fast ” (p. 145),
indicate what seemed to be reasonable explanations o f why they left
school. If, as Slawson’s researches indicate, the delinquent boy is
deficient in verbal abstract intelligence rather than in nonverbal con
crete intelligence, it may well be that the utilization o f mechanical
aptitudes in school rather than abstract capacities would remove many
o f the conflicts that lead to delinquency.4
The word “ gang ” found in many o f the stories follows the usage
o f the boy or his parents. Occasionally one o f them defined more
or less clearly the meaning he attached to the word. The word may
mean a group o f neighbors who merely seek their recreation together
or a closely organized oath-bound band whose actions are definitely
without the law.
Gang members were found among all grades o f repeaters and non
repeaters. O f the 82 boys studied, 28 were known to be members
o f gangs, 49 said they were were not members of gangs, and 5 did
not report as to membership. Among the 26 confirmed offenders, 15
were known to be gang members, 9 were not gang members, and as
to 2 there was no report. O f the 28 nonrepeaters, 5 were gang mem
bers, 22 were not gang members, and as to 1 there was no report.
O f the other 8 gang members, 1 was among the repeaters o f long
standing who had stopped their delinquencies, 1 was a chronic o f
fender who had been only once in court, and 6 were among the 21 boys
who were repeaters but had reformed after a short delinquent career.
Only 13 boys were known to have belonged to clubs or organizations
other than gangs.
The effect which their court experiences had on these boys was
difficult to ascertain. Of the 82, however, 10 seemed entirely un
affected emotionally, whereas 47 indicated some degree o f realization
o f the seriousness o f their conflict with the law. No indication o f
the attitude of the remaining 25 could be obtained. Eight o f the
10 obviously indifferent were among the confirmed, repeaters, and
the other 2 were boys with firmly established delinquency habits
although they had been only once in court. None o f the first o f
fenders seemed utterly indifferent.
HOME AND NEIGHBORHOOD CONDITIONS

Among the 82 boys whose records were carefully analyzed and
who were visited in their homes, definitely disadvantageous home con
ditions were present in 37 instances, whereas in 38 conditions at
4Slawson,

John: The Delinquent Boy, p. 208 ff.

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Boston, 1926,

DETAILED STUDIES OF 8 2 BOYS

111

home appeared to be favorable. For 7 boys insufficient information
was obtained to judge their home situation.
Forty-six boys were living in normal homes and 36 in homes
broken by the death o f one or both parents, desertion, divorce, or
insanity. In 14 o f the 15 cases in which home supervision was con
sidered good or fair by the investigator, both parents lived at home.
The fifteenth was a home with a mother only, the father being dead.
O f the 20 cases in which the boys’ adjustment in his home was con
sidered poor, 5 were homes maintained by both parents and 15 were
broken homes. Both parents were living at home in 29 o f the 42
cases in which the boys were well or fairly well adjusted.
O f the 82 boys, 26 were known to have relatives who had criminal
records; but as 3 pairs o f brothers were included, only 23 families!
were represented in this group. Usually these relatives who had
also been in conflict with the law were brothers or sisters o f the
boy; only two were fathers, and one was an uncle. Parents who
had been in court for drunkenness or family difficulties were not
counted as having a criminal record, although drunkenness and fam
ily discord created an environment that may have been an important
factor in the boy’s difficulties. The number o f cases with evidence
o f criminal tendencies in the previous generation corresponds with
the findings reported by E. J. Cooley, chief probation officer, court
o f general sessions, New York City.5
Psychopathic difficulties were known to have existed in the fam
ilies o f only seven boys, but in two more they were indicated, though
no diagnosis had been made. In two families one or more members
were addicted to liquor to an exteilt which seemed pathological, and
in the family o f one boy indications o f both psychopathic difficulty
and extreme addiction to liquor were present.
Neighborhood conditions were distinctly unfavorable in 42 cases,
favorable in 31, and in 9 the knowledge of the neighborhood in which
the boy lived at the time o f his offense was not sufficient to form a
basis o f classification. In 25 cases both home and neighborhood con
ditions were considered poor, and in 19 both were favorable.
EAR L Y CONDUCT PROBLEMS

Information regarding the early behavior o f the boys studied is
far from complete. It was available in juvenile-court records for
boys who had been in court, and in a few instances in records of
protection agencies and o f the Institute for Juvenile Research, but
for most o f the others only what the boy chose to teil was known.
In only a few instances did the parents give any evidence o f definitely
troublesome behavior o f their sons when they were small boys.
Only 31 o f the 82 boys were reported to have presented conduct
problems while under 17. Stealing was the form o f delinquency
most frequently reported; 18 boys were known to have stolen before
the age o f 17. Ten o f these 18 reported other delinquencies; 9 o f
them were also truants, 1 o f them having given trouble through sex
misbehavior also and 1 through bad behavior, which included throw
ing things at his mother. One who was not a truant had stolen
and given trouble through sex and other misbehavior. Only 13 boys
5Cooley,

Edwin J .: New Goals in Probation, p. 29.

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112

YO U TH AND CRIME

were known to have been truants, and only 2 of these presented no
other conduct problem. Sex delinquency, of which there was un
doubtedly incomplete reporting, was known to have been a problem
in the cases o f only 7 boys. In 2 cases this was combined with other
conduct described and in another with fighting. Fighting was the
only behavior problem reported for 2 boys, malicious mischief and
destruction for 1, and general incorrigibility for another.
In 15 o f the 18 cases in which the boy had stolen while o f juvenilecourt age the later offenses included similar acts. In 2 o f the 18
the later offenses were sex offenses, and in 1 the only later trouble
was a disorderly-conduct charge growing out o f family difficulties.
O f the 7 boys with records o f juvenile sex delinquency 6 were in
court later for sex offenses, and the other, who had also stolen when
under 17, was stealing when older. O f the 5 boys whose juvenile
delinquencies included fighting, 4 were later in trouble for fighting
and 1 for stealing. (One of the 4 had been both a sex delinquent
and a fighter as a juvenile and continued both habits when under
the jurisdiction o f the boys’ court.)
No court records as juvenile delinquents were reported for 59 of
the 82 boys. Seventeen o f the 23 who had had contacts with juvenile
courts were charged with felonies in the boys’ court, 4 with misde
meanors, and 2 with quasi-criminal offenses. Less than half o f those
without juvenile-court records (28 out o f 59) were charged with
felonies in the boys’ court, 18 were charged with misdemeanors, and
13 with quasi-criminal offenses. That is, more than half the boys
without juvenile-court records were charged in the boys’ court with
minor offenses, compared with only a fourth o f the boys with juve
nile-court records.
O f the 59 boys without juvenile-court records 6 were known to
have been delinquent as juveniles. For 26 other boys the informa
tion obtained indicated the existence during their childhood of such
conditions as extreme poverty, domestic discord, or delinquency of
some member o f the family. The histories of 27 boys, doubtless in
complete, revealed no such problems. O f the 32 cases in which
some problem existed only 13 were known to agencies. In 5 of the
13 cases the families were known to the juvenile court either because
o f dependency or because o f the delinquency o f another member
o f the family. In 4 cases the family was known to a juvenile pro
tective association—in 2 of these cases because o f immorality in the
home, in 1 because of the sexual delinquency o f the boy, and in
the fourth through the fact that an uncongenial home situation had
been brought to the attention of the association. In 3 cases a familywelfare society was the only agency knowing the families, and in
2 o f these the economic situation apparently was the only difficulty;
in the third case the boy admitted early delinquencies. The thir
teenth family was known to a family-welfare society and to a
psychological clinic, but their interest centered in other members
of the family and little was done for the boy, who admitted early
sex delinquencies.
The fact that conditions found in the home or neighborhood
might be expected to lead to delinquency was not often mentioned
in the case records, except those of the juvenile court and the Insti-

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DETAILED STUDIES OF 82 BOYS

113

tute for Juvenile Research. (Only 3 o f the 82 hoys had been
examined at the institute and only 17 at the psychopathic laboratory
of the municipal court.) In six cases known to social agencies
home conditions were recognized as being definitely dangerous, in
one case the boy’s recreation was mentioned as needing change and
supervision, and in another both unfavorable home conditions and
recreation needs were noted. In two of these cases no attempt at
improvement was recorded, and the only attempt at correction in four
of the six other cases was through institutional treatment o f the boy.
Other means were used in two cases by private organizations after
examination by the Institute for Juvenile Research. In two of the
three cases o f boys examined at the institute a private agency at
tempted treatment. For one a military school was recommended by
the institute, but the family could not be persuaded to send the boy
to it; for another intensive supervision was recommended, but the
family did not cooperate. In the third case the home care was at
fault, and the court finally committed the boy to an institution. In
two o f the cases examined by the institute the boy was also examined
at the psychopathic laboratory o f the municipal court, but no recom
mendations were known to have been made by that organization
beyond the statement that the boys were “ not committable.”
In general, the situations most seriously in need of improvement
seem to have been reported to the juvenile court, but little longcontinued and intensive effort was made by other agencies to im
prove conditions or behavior before resorting to the court. The case
on page 197 shows the successful result of thorough and long-con
tinued effort on the part o f the juvenile-court officers. The contact
of social agencies with some o f the families in which dangerous
conditions existed was either too superficial or too temporary to
prevent the delinquency which, it would seem, might have been ex
pected unless these conditions were changed. The failure of such
passing contact— characterized by incomplete investigation of the
boys’ needs and problems by several agencies and by sustained at
tempt at assistance by none—to solve the boys’ conduct problems
in the cases studied confirms the frequently expressed opinion of the
importance of intelligent, intensive, and continued case work if
good results are to be obtained.6
TREATMENT BEFORE COURT DISPOSITION
M EN TAL EXAM INATIONS AND SOCIAL INVESTIGATIONS

So far as could be ascertained, the results of the mental examina
tions made in the psychopathic laboratory were not made the basis
for action unless the boy was considered so definitely defective as
to need institutional care. I f the laboratory reported that a boy
was committable to an institution for the feeble-minded or epileptic
the court then endeavored to obtain the consent o f the boy’s family
and to commit him to the institution. Or if the director o f the labo
ratory found that he was psychopathic the boy was sometimes dis
charged by the court and sent to the psychopathic hospital for obser8 See, fo r example, Probation and Delinquency, p. 394.

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114

youth: and crime

vation. I f no defects warranting commitment or observation were
found apparently the boy was dealt with in the same way as boys
who had not been examined. The judge may have been told the
laboratory findings in detail, but no evidence o f this appeared on
the records. The only entries relating to mental conditions made
on the cards in the social-service department were “ committable ”
and “ not committable.”
O f the 82 boys, 17 were examined by the psychopathic laboratory.
One was reported “ committable ” and was committed to the State
school for the feeble-minded; 4 were reported “ not committable,”
and o f these 1 was placed under supervision o f a private society, 2
were placed on probation, and 1 was committed to the house o f cor
rection. The mental status o f 12 boys referred to the laboratory
was not reported on the records of the social-service department. O f
these 12, 1 was discharged and sent to the psychopathic hospital
from which he was also discharged, and the others discharged,
placed on probation, or committed to correctional institutions.
Through the cooperation o f the director o f the psychopathic
laboratory, the results o f the laboratory examination were obtained
for 15 of the 17 boys referred for examination. In analyzing these
results it should be borne in mind that no distinction was made in
the laboratory between major and minor psychoses, and that some
o f the cases classified as dementia prsecox might have been classified
differently by other laboratories. (See p. 94.) The laboratory rec
ords showed that all the boys were found to have dementia prsecox;
3 had dementia prsecox hebephrenia; 1, dementia prsecox hebephrenia
with katatonic trends and hypochondriacal; 9, dementia prsecox
katatonia; and 2, dementia prsecox katatonia plus 3. The reported
mental ages o f these boys ranged from 10% to 12%, with a second
mental age for one boy o f 13. Their mental development was
classified as ranging from high-grade borderland moron to highgrade sociopath, 3 being high-grade borderland morons, 5 high-grade
morons, 3 low-grade sociopaths, 3 high-grade sociopaths, and 1 highgrade borderland sociopath. The proportion o f these 15 boys who
were apparently making good at the close o f this inquiry was about
the same as the proportion o f the whole group (82) studied in
tensively. Five of the 15 boys for whom laboratory reports were
obtained seemed to have readjusted their behavior satisfactorily, 9
had not, and 1 was still in an institution.
Only 1 o f the 7 boys in whose families psychopathic trouble was
reported in this study was referred to the psychopathic laboratory by
the boys’ court. One o f the 5 boys in whose family such trouble was
suspected had been sent to the laboratory.
In only 3 o f the 82 cases studied was there evidence that the judge
had before him information as to the social aspects of the case. In
these cases investigation had been made by private agencies.
TREATMENT BY POLICE

Many boys told of cruel treatment by the police to themselves or to
others. It was not possible in a study o f this kind to attempt to
verify their statements. (See p. 47.) Some boys appeared to take
for granted as part o f the proceedings “ goldfish,” “ chunking,” and

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DETAILED STUDIES OP 82 BOYS

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other terms by which they denoted brutality,7 but such testimony as
to police methods was not unanimous. Thus one boy said that if he
were the police undoubtedly he would have treated such a boy as
himself worse than he had actually been treated. A few thought
that treatment by police as well as all treatment during detention was
as good as people deserved who had got themselves into such trouble,
and other boys reported fair treatment by the police. Following
are some instances o f ill-treatment which the boys to ld :
A boy whose only contact with the police and court followed a charge by a
drunken man that he was a robber, said that he was kept by the police unbooked
for four days and beaten in an attempt to obtain a confession. W hen finally
taken to court he was at once discharged as not guilty. He expressed a desire
for revenge.
A negro boy who had been in court only once and who in the course of
the interview maintained his complete innocence of the offense charged, stated
that he was beaten and kept awake seven days and nights until he became so
tired that he signed the confession which was put before him.
A boy with several offenses on his record said that on one occasion he was
beaten until he could not walk and then beaten again until he “ passed out.”
Other boys describe the treatment th u s: “ The police walloped me with a
chunk of rubber to get me to sign ” ; “ they nearly killed me ” ; “ they showed
me the goldfish and everything ” ; “ they made pork chops out of me with their
shoes and clubs.”

Only 2 of the 82 boys studied were released by the police on merely
the boy’s own promise to appear at court. Both were known to the
police as reliable; one had no record o f any other offense, and the
other had only slight charges against him.
DISPOSITION OF CASES
DISMISSALS

Many instances were found o f discharges or dismissals when in
tensive case work would seem to have been necessary if further and
more serious delinquencies were to be prevented. Such a case is
that o f Joseph Dzuipla (p. 195), who escaped all treatment and pun
ishment in six o f eight court appearances and who finally, in his
ninth court case, was adjudged guilty o f manslaughter. However,
analysis o f the cases in which all charges brought against a boy were
discharged or dismissed—that is, in which no treatment was pre
scribed for the boy by the court at any time—showed that in most
instances the action would seem to have been justified. Among the
16 cases o f this kind were accidental difficulties leading to arrests
and cases o f mistaken identity. Only one o f the boys had been
known to the juvenile court, and in his case the offense was slight
and the home conditions were good. In two cases, however, both
involving sex offenses, some supervision by the court seemed desir
able. One o f the boys needed to be helped to an interest in whole
some activities as a substitute for his interest in sex. In another
7 The boys used the phrase “ being shown the goldfish ” in the sense o f “ seeing stars ”
to denote the treatm ent received when they were placed in a dark room around w hich
several policemen were stationed. The hoys said they were pushed from one officer to
another, receiving a hit from each one. “ Chunking ” is the term used for punching w ith
fists or clubs. The “ goldfish ” is described somewhat differently in P olice and the T hird
Degree, by Sherman W. Searle, in the W elfare Magazine (published by the Illinois Depart
ment o f Public W elfare) fo r April, 1926, p. 6. “ The ‘ goldfish ’ consists of a piece o f
copper cable used in w iring telephone switchboards. This cable is drawn through a' rub
ber hose. The iron rods are used to strike the victim on the shins, while with the goldfish
they tap them on the head and the back o f the neck fo r hours, usually with short intervals
o f rest, during which time they are continually questioned.”

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case a young man engaged in an immoral and illegal business was
released and returned to the same occupation. In 7 o f the 14 cases
in which no court treatment was given at any time and need for
intensive work did not appear to exist the charge was disorderly
conduct, in 1 disorderly conduct and rape, in 1 assault and bat
tery, in 1 violation of a liquor law, and in 3 robbery or automobile
larceny.
PROBATION

O f the 82 boys studied intensively 33 had been placed on proba
tion at some time while under the jurisdiction o f the boys’ court.
According to the records o f the probation department at the time of
discharge from probation, probation was considered successful in
19 cases, unsuccessful in 5, and for 9 there was no record. As a
result o f the study made by the Children’s Bureau it was found
that probation had been successful—that is, that the probationer
had ceased to commit offenses against the law—in only 9 cases and
unsuccessful in 16 cases. In 8 cases the information obtained was
not sufficient to permit classification. Eight o f the cases reported
as a result o f the investigations made in this study as unsuccessful
were classified as successful at the time o f their discharge from pro
bation.8
To what extent probation methods followed by individual offi
cers were responsible for results it is impossible to determine.
From the boy’s own statement o f his probation more than the usual
m in im u m routine supervision required in the adult probation depart
ment had been given in four o f the nine cases in which probation was
considered after investigation to have been successful. No evidence
of more than the routine visits and reporting appeared in any of the
cases in which probation was considered unsuccessful.
The type o f case in which probation was successful varied. Two
boys had only one court appearance, five had several court charges
against them but their delinquent careers had been short, and two
had rather long careers o f conflict with the law. More than routine
methods o f probation were employed with three o f the boys with
short delinquent careers, and with one of the boys with longer
careers who made good. Both the boys with only one offense re
corded against them were placed on probation for rather serious
offenses, robbery (placed on probation by criminal court) and auto
mobile larceny, respectively, and both received only the bare routine
of probationary supervision. Both came of good stock, but the
incentive to crime in both cases came from within the family—in
one case the urging o f a criminally inclined brother and in the other
too much repression which had driven the boy to undesirable outlets.
Factors helping toward a successful outcome o f the probation of
these two boys with short delinquent careers who received no more
than routine probation were the good home of the one and the
removal o f the other from poor surroundings to somewhat better
ones through the efforts o f the representative o f a private agency.
No circumstances more favorable to “ reform ” are discoverable m the
8 In the tw o cases in which the hoy was on probation more than once the result o f the
term o f probation connected w ith the offense that brought the case w ithin the scope of,
this study was considered.

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cases o f the other three boys whose brief delinquent careers seem to
have terminated than were found in the cases of many other boys
who were still continuing to commit offenses against the law, except
the character o f the probation service (more than routine) and the
understanding helpfulness o f the officers assigned them. This would
seem to indicate that similar methods might have been successful if
tried in other cases. In the case o f the two boys whose long delin
quent careers had apparently terminated there was also little to
differentiate their situation from that o f many others, though one
had a father who took an intelligent interest in his son and the other
lived m a good neighborhood. The chief difference between these
two boys and others was the relationship established between proba
tion officer and boy, for although in one case intensive supervision
was not given the boy speaks o f the benefit he derived from merely
knowing such a man.
•
In the cases in which probation was not successful advantage was
not taken o f opportunities to help the boys during the period of
probation. No two cases, however, presented the same combination
o± needs, so that only by the individualization that characterizes
good case work could success have been expected. Outstanding
needs in these cases o f which careful and individualized treatment
would take cognizance include the following: Adjustment o f diffi
cult family relationships, improvement o f home conditions, change
in attitude of family toward the boy, adjustment o f employer’s atti
tude toward the boy or of the boy’s attitude toward his work, change
of neighborhood, keeping tne boy away from liquor, providing oppor
tunities for wholesome recreation, providing opportunities for form
i c interesting friendships outside the gangs, substitution o f other
ideals tor the hero worship o f gang leaders, strict supervision or
control tor the boy whose intentions are good but who lacks strength
to resist or avoid opportunities for wrongdoing, and change o f the
boys belief that difficulty can be avoided by influence, bribery, or
S11C jKU6SS*

INSTITUTIONAL CARE

It was difficult to obtain any direct evidence o f the effect o f institu
tional commitments upon the boys. The boys were not unanimous
in their judgments. Thus 8 o f the 26 boys who received sentences
insisted that the institutions were so bad that they had been cured by
terms m them. Three o f these boys were first offenders, but three o f
the five long-time offenders included in this group were at the time of
the interview in institutions and perhaps overanxious to declare them
selves reformed. _Only four boys—two o f them first offenders, another
now m an institution, and the fourth a long-time offender who
had apparently changed his ways—protested that institutions are defi
nitely harmful to a boy. Eighteen o f the 26, however, found condi
tions m the institutions bad, 5 considered the institutions good, and
o expressed no definite opinion. Among the case histories given are
found boys already confirmed in their criminal tendencies knowing
how to get on ’ m institutions and adjusting themselves to the
discipline o f the reformatory (see p. 151), just as experienced crimi“ J * .-yJ
themselves to prison discipline and then return to their
old life o f crime. In other words, it is often the worst offenders who

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find it easy to make a good institutional record. They have their
own philosophy o f acceptance when the u breaks ” are against them.
What institutions do to boys whose self-respect is not all gone and
who are ashamed and humiliated to find themselves sentenced by a
court is of real importance in a program o f crime prevention.
Nearly all the boys had been detained pending court hearing or
disposition. Most (35) of the boys who expressed themselves re
ported detrimental conditions in institutions, whether for care pend
ing hearing or for care after sentence. On the other hand, 15 said
that conditions were good. Others thought that such places were
as good as the people in them deserved. One boy said that jail was
meant to be bad 5 another that jail was for bums and fools $ another
expressed the feeling of several when he said no institutions were
bad, it was the people in them who were bad. This feeling might be
compared with Doctor Healy’s statement that “ Some part o f in
stitutional considerations will always have to do with bricks and
mortar, but th.6 coro of th.6 wholo matter is the influence o f man on
man, the influence of officials on prisoners, the influence of prisoners
on each other.” 9
STATUS OF BOY A T TIME OF INQUIRY

Satisfactory adjustment after court experience seemed to have
been made by a surprisingly large number o f boys. Twelve boys
needed no readjustment, their connection with the court having been
the result o f mistake, accident, or very slight misbehavior. Nineteen
had changed their behavior, their surroundings, or their employment,
and had become well-behaved and useful members o f the community.
Six o f these had had only one contact with the court, and the delin
quent careers o f 8 others were short, but 5 were offenders with long
records. Marriage apparently was responsible for the change in the
behavior o f several; 4 o f the 19 had married and another was about
to be married. A change of home and surroundings had been bene
ficial to 4 boys, 4 others had behaved better since changing com
panions, and 1 had improved since obtaining satisfactory employ
ment. The remaining 5 had made various changes in their life which
had been helpful. A ll the boys who needed no readjustment had
been discharged by the court. O f those who had made satisfactory
progress, 5 had been in the house of correction, 7 had been on pro
bation, 1 had been under informal supervision, and 6 had been
discharged.
Twenty-two boys were still out o f accord with the law-abiding
elements of the community; and 16 others, although not definitely
known still to be lawbreakers, showed little change either in conduct
or in improvement o f the conditions which contributed to their de
linquency. Thirteen were in institutions (12 correctional and 1 for
the feeble-minded) and therefore had no opportunity to demonstrate
what their behavior would be in the community following their court
experience.
„
.
The cases still definitely unadjusted included many boys who had
committed several offenses and for whom different methods of treat
ment had been tried. A t various times they had been discharged,
Healy, W m .: The Individual Delinquent, p. 315.

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placed under supervision or probation, and committed to the house
o f correction, reformatory, or penitentiary. They were boys of whom
it could be said that the various kinds o f treatment available to the
court had failed.
Most o f the 16 boys' who showed little change in conduct were
charged with only one or two offenses and had received no intensive
treatment, though they were in need of help because o f the family
situation or personal difficulties or shortcomings. Only 1 had been
sent to a correctional institution, but 8 had been on probation, 1 had
been under informal supervision, 1 was fined, and 5 were discharged.
CASE PROBLEMS PRESENTED

In the study o f these cases the conclusion that stands out most
clearly is that these young men who have violated the law are not
a group presenting common problems and requiring similar methods
o f treatment. Each one had his own particular problems and diffi
culties, abilities and disabilities, advantages and handicaps, in his
own person and in his environment. Among the boys charged with
the same offense little similarity in character or situation is discern
ible. The “ promising young robber, the lieutenant o f his band,”
differs from the next young robber in many particulars.
These individual differences, o f course, are well known to all who
deal with unadjusted persons from the medical, the psychiatric, or
the social case-work approach. It is especially important, however,
in these days o f public interest in crime and the treatment o f crime
for laymen to realize that the term “ robber ” or “ burglar ” or
“ thief ” tells little about the kind of person with whom society must
deal and nothing at all about the reasons for his delinquency or the
methods by which he may be helped to reform.
CRIMES OP VIOLENCE A N D INJURIES TO PERSONS

Among the 82 boys studied were 15 charged with robbery, 2 with
assault with a deadly weapon, and 2 with assault and battery. The
wide variations in characteristics and background already commented
upon are well illustrated by the 15 accused o f robbery. Among these
is John Adams (case 1) whose name betokens his long American
ancestry. He was in court seven times in two and one-half years and
admitted connection with several of the offenses charged. When
arrested on suspicion o f a really serious offense, robbery, with which
he had not been directly connected, he broke the code o f his gang
and told the police how to get hold o f the guilty parties. Having
violated gang ethics he had further battles to fight, but at the time
o f this study, with the help o f his father (who had been brought to
a realization o f the boy’s problem) and a capable probation officer,
he seemed to have broken away entirely from his old associates and
to have ceased his delinquencies.
Daniel McCune (case 3) was a fighter, a truant with a juvenilecourt record at the age of 12, whose home as a small boy was miser
able because o f an insane mother and a drinking father. When his
mother was committed to a hospital and his sisters to schools for

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dependent children, he was left with his father, who gave him a
poor home, no supervision, and a bad example. Daniel round bad
company in his immediate neighborhood, became a drinker and a
fighter, and was charged with robbery but discharged.
; J- '
The childhood o f John Zubawezas (case 5) was so hideous that it
can hardly be described. A t 21 he was embittered and at odds with
the world. He had a long juvenile and adult court record, and be
longed to a notorious gang o f young boys, many of whom had been
in much more serious trouble than John had yet encountered, Ine
story o f Wallace Moore (case 10) is in marked contrast to that ot
John A negro boy from the South who belonged to no gang and
had no friends in the North, he stoutly maintained his innocence ot
any crime but was nevertheless sentenced to the penitentiary tor 10
years to life on a robbery charge, his first offense.
Illustrating crimes o f violence other than robbery is the story ot
Tony Taglia (case 11), who, according to his own statement, worked
for an organization that controlled vice dens and wielded considerable
influence in the city. His occupation demanded occasional violence
and occasional court appearances, but he anticipated no serious con
sequences to himself. An entirely different type is Joseph Straka
(case 13), who was brought to court by his father whom he struck
during a domestic altercation between his father and his mother. Ihe
parents had later been divorced, and Joseph had left home and was
studying law. Charles Darnell (whose history is not included m
this report) was in court only once, on a charge o f assault and battery
growing out o f trouble he got into while drinking in a restaurant.
He “ hated standing up before the court room . and felt that the
publicity o f the hearing would prevent his “ telling the judge it he
had done anything bad.”
The stories o f these boys illustrate the many factors that may
enter into their delinquency. Among these were broken homes and
domestic discord (cases 1, 5, 8, 13); discontent with school (cases 3,
1 2): heed for vocational advice (case 7) ; membership in gangs, some
o f them organized for the most vicious purposes and wielding political influence (cases 1, 5, 9, 11); lack of understanding o f the boy s
needs by his parents (case 7) ; ineffective probationary and parole
supervision (cases 8, 12) ^ and absence o f constructive planning tor
the improvement of home conditions and guidance o f the children by
social agencies coming in contact with the families (cases 5,12). The
court treatment o f these boys was not always constructive , sometimes
they were dealt with with what appeared to be undue severity (case
10) and at other times with a leniency that overlooked entirely the
boy’s urgent need for supervision and guidance (cases 3, 12). An
attitude o f resentment, intensified in some cases into definite grudges
and desire for revenge, was created in some of the boys, especially as
a result o f their experiences with the police, and these reactions
menaced both the boys’ future and the safety of the community
(cases 4, 5).
, „ „ ,,
.
»
The histories o f 10 o f the 15 robbery cases and 3 ot the 4 cases ot
other crimes o f violence follow.

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1. JOHN ADAMS
Interview January 22, 1927.
Native white, parents native white.
Present age, 2 0 ; age at time o f offense, 17.
B oys’ court hearing, February 25, 1924. Robbery. Discharged March 15, 1924.
Lives at home.
F a m ily : Father 61. Mother dead, sister d e a d ; brother 28, married and living in his own
home.

John is an agreeable and pleasant boy, well dressed and intelligent appear
ing, of medium height and weight. He was sent by the court to the psycho
pathic laboratory in 1923 for examination, but no report of this examination
was entered on the social-service cards. The diagnosis shown on the laboratory
records is : Mental age 12% years, high-grade sociopath plus dementia praecox
kataton ia+3.
John was in court seven times in two and one-half years, according to court
records. H e himself described all these except two of the earlier charges.
The offense included in this study was the fifth of those recorded. In Decem
ber, 1922, a charge o f disorderly conduct against him was discharged. H e said
of this offense: “ The first time our gang and another got in a fight, and I got
caught. That was all there was to it.” The second charge, that of operating a
motor vehicle without the owner’s consent, was brought in May, 1923. For this
he was placed on probation for one year. O f this John sa id : “ In the next
case I was in with some boys. One o f them hooked a car and we all used it.
W e knowed where he got it. W e got ourselves arrested and I got probation.
That is the worst thing I ever done.” Charges of assault and battery in
August of the same year and of disorderly conduct in the next January were
discharged. Then came the charge of robbery which was made the basis o f
the Children’s Bureau study. This time the statement on the social-service
card of the court was that he held up a Greek in a pool room. John said :
“ This time I got picked up on, suspicion. The cops had an idea that some o f
our gang robbed a Greek and I got pinched for it. I didn’t do it, but when
they beat up on me I told them what I did know and they let me go and
arrested the right ones.” On the day he was discharged on the robbery count,
he was charged with disorderly conduct and again discharged by the court.
John’s explanation i s : “ Those birds who got arrested had some pals in the
gang and we got in an argument and I beat up some o f them and the cops
arrested me, and when I told the judge he let me go.” The last charge, in
1925, was disorderly conduct, and he was discharged. John said : “ The last
time was just like the time before it. I give another bird a licking when he
called me a squawker.”
John stayed overnight in the police station several times. He said: “ Them
.stations ain’t like my daddy’s home. They sure are nasty and unhealthy
dumps.” H e explains that probation is “ a law to give a decent boy a chance
to be decent after he has been going wrong. Probation and the officer I got,
and my good dad, and getting out of the gang, just saved me from the peniten
tiary. I was headed that way.”
O f his whole court experience he sa id : “ It was the best thing that could
ever have happened to me. The judge sure had sense, but he didn’t have the
probation officer beat.” H e considers that since his probation and the time he
was discharged for robbery he has had little difficulty. H e has been angry a few
times over pool games, but nothing bad has happened.
Mr. Adams said that he also is very grateful for his boy’s probation. “ It
done him a world of good. Probation is like th is: I f the officer is the right
kind and the boy has any stuff in him, it works; and i f them two things ain’t
true, then probation is a waste o f time and money.” The father said that the
probation officer tried to watch the boy’s recreation and change his environment,
and that the officer came around every month. He helped get the boy a job
and arranged treatment for him when he was diseased, and helped in lots of
ways by “ cheering him and me up.” According to the probation records, John
reported nine times during the year he was on probation, and the officer visited
the home five times.
The father and boy agree that John’s old gang was a bad influence, and
are very positive that his new companions and his break with the gang have
been very good for him. H is father said that John never had been hard to
control, but that after his mother’s death he was allowed to do too much as he
pleased in the daytime.

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Mr. Adams is a skilled workman, and earns $45 a week. H is older son
follows the same occupation and earns $40 a week. This son is married.
After the mother’s death Mr. Adams and John for a time lived in the home
of the married brother, but after John’s difficulties in court they realized
that this home was riot a good place for John and moved where they could
make a home for themselves. According to the neighbors of the family, the
men are “ fine gentlemen,” a great contrast to the wife and children of the
older son. John and his father have a 4-room apartment in a good residential
neighborhood, for which they pay $70 a month. It is somewhat elaborately
furnished and kept in good condition. The father and son seem to be good
chums. They go to church occasionally and go to motion pictures together
often. Radio and magazines are the principal diversions in the home. Since
John’s court difficulties the father has made an effort to discipline his son
and to be with him more. H e says that he is not allowing him time to loaf
and that he is teaching him the value of money and of a good job by making
him pay his own bills.
John started to school when 7 and left when about 16. He had finished
the eighth grade, having repeated one grade. H e wTent to high school for
awhile, but left because he did not like it. H e thinks now that he should have
remained in high school. He liked the commercial courses, and thinks he may
study again in a night school.
H e started to work as a messenger at $9 a week. A t the time of the robbery
charge he was not working. A t the present time he is working as a clerk for
a transportation company, and earns $25 a week. H e pays $12.50 for room and
board, and has saved $50. The father says that John has been a little indif
ferent to work until lately, but that he was always able to hold a job as long
as he wanted it. John has had five different positions, and says that he left
them in order to get more money or because he did not like the jobs. He
did not work regularly for a time because he thought that he did not have
to, but now he says he has grown older and knows that he ought to look
out for himself. He seems to like his emploj^ers and fellow workmen and
expects to work regularly.
John says of his conduct: “ After my mother died I got started bad. Before
then I wasn’t in trouble. I got into a gang, and the gang was in with some
wild girls. The first thing I knowed I had a dose of a bad disease. Then I
got into this, that, and the other, went from bad to worse, until I broke off
from the gang, and since then I have been associating with decent people.”
H e admits that he left the gang after he had told on some o f the members
instead o f taking punishment for them. H e says that the gang wanted to take
him back, however, but that his father and brother persuaded him to remain
out. Since he has been out o f the gang he has had no trouble. H is recreations
now are listening to the radio at home and going to shows with his father
and to shows and dances with a “ nice girl,” whom he also visits in her home.
Apparently John is not the type of boy of whom gangsters are made. His
break with the gang may be the making of him. .In spite of the diagnosis of
emotional defect made by the laboratory, this boy seems to be making good.
Probation appears to have been the correct treatment, since he was fortunate
enough to be supervised by a man who took some real interest in him. The
probation officer evidently helped the father also to realize his responsibilities
toward his son.
2. HENRY CAMERON
Interview November 10, 1926.
Native white, parents native white.
Present age, 1 9 ; age at time o f offense, 17.
B o y s ^ o u r t hearing, May 15, 1925. Robbery.

Case continued twice.

Discharged June 9,

Lives with sister.
F a m ily : In the home at the time o f the offense were H enry’s second cousin, her husband
and six children, and Henry and tw o brothers, 18 and 20, and a sister 22. B oy’ s own
fa m ily : Father dead, mother dead, tw o brothers and one sister married and living in
their own homes.

Henry is a slender, quiet boy of medium height, rather backward in expressing
himself but very pleasant and genial.
Only this one offense, in which Henry was accused of robbing a restaurant,
appears in his record. In regard to it Henry sa id : “ I was on the street in a
crowd and the police came with a Chinaman and the Chinaman pointed at me
and said ‘ There he is.’ The police arrested me and took me to the station.

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They told me I had better confess if I did it, but I didn’t know what they were
talking about and I must have shown it for they sa id : ‘ This kid never robbed
that chink. Have him call up his family to bail him o u t’ ; but when my
folks got there, it was too late at night. I stayed in the station all night and
then for five days in jail until my brother got me bailed out for $10,000 by some
friend of his. The judge was awful hard the first time at the court, but when
I got a lawyer and he got evidence, he cooled down.” Henry’s cousin, with
whom he was living at the time of his arrest, said that she and her husband
went over to the station as soon as they learned Henry had been arrested, on
a Sunday night. They had their “ tax papers” in order to bail him out, but
they were told it was too late that night. They did not offer to put up bail
again, but several days later a friend of his brother put up bail for him.
Henry told his cousin he would die if he had to stay in that ja il any longer.
During the interview he sa id : “ That was a w fu l! It was nasty and ugly and
no comforts, and roughnecks to associate with.” W ith regard to the court he
sa id : “ It scared me to death, but I had done nothing to be scared about so I
don’t see where I was helped.” During the continuance o f the case a repre
sentative of a private agency on duty at the court was asked to investigate and
report to the court. The report indicated that home conditions were good and
that Henry was a hard-working boy, highly spoken o f by his employer. The
cousin had told the investigator that Henry was in bed at the time the offense
was supposed to have been committed. Probably this report led to the discharge
of the case.
Henry’s father died just before he was born, and his mother had a hard time
making ends meet. She worked and kept the fam ily together without applying
to outside agencies for any aid except help in finding employment. When she
died, eight years before the study, the children kept the home together for two
or three years, the two oldest girls working away from home and keeping house
at the same time. This proved to be too much for them, so a cousin o f the
mother, a Mrs. Miller, took all the children into her own house except the
oldest brother, who had married. This made 14 persons in the 6-room house
that she and her husband owned. A ll the boys (nine of them) slept in a very
large room upstairs.. H er own six children* ranged in age from 2 to 17
The
Cameron children married, one after another, and left her house, but even so
the household became too much for her. When her youngest child was born
she was very ill and her husband decided that the Camerons would have to
live with one of the married brothers and sisters. A year ago, all of them but
the two youngest, Henry and his brother, having been married, a sister, who is
now 25, took the two boys into her home.
Mrs. Miller’s home is very attractive. The furnishings include a piano
phonograph, some books and magazines. The house is on a shady street of
one and two story buildings in a new residential neighborhood. Mrs. Miller
as well as the father and mother o f the Cameron children, is of Irish extraction. Mr. Miller is a German and very strict with the children. They all attend
church. They are Catholics and Mr. Miller is very active in church societies.
.-V?? neighborhood in which Henry now lives with his sister is an attractive
middle-class residential community. H is sister’s home has a pleasant living
room containing a radio, phonograph, piano, books, and magazines. The sister
and her husband seem deeply interested in Henry, although Henry is inclined
o leel that they treat him like a child. H is sister is more aggressive than
le and is apt to speak for him in conversation and seems to influence his think
ing and acting. Henry and his brother and brother-in-law are earning good
wages, and the economic status o f the family is good. The other brothers and
sisters also are doing well.
In spite of the difficult home situation all the children seem to have been
able to adjust themselves to it except the boy just older than Henry. This boy
Kobert, was m the juvenile court in 1920/ when he was 15 years old, charged
with cutting out lead pipe from two vacant buildings. H e was ordered to
make restitution of $40 but refused. A new petition was filed, and he was
placed on probation. The next year he was charged with larceny and immoral
conduct. In company with another boy he took two rings, valued at $15,
and a pocketbook containing 3 cents. He was charged with immoral conduct
with a 14-year-old boy. W hen placed in the detention home Robert was dis
covered to be suffering from gonorrhea and was sent to the county hospital.
H e ran away from there and was not found, for six months. A s he was by this
time 17 years of age and therefore out of the jurisdiction of the juvenile
96850°— 30------ 9

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court, he was released from probation and the case was closed. A t this time
the Institute for Juvenile Research examined Robert and reported that his
delinquencies dated from the death of his mother and seemed to be caused by
inability to adjust himself to the control of his brothers and sisters. Appar
ently living in the home of older people (the Millers) supplied a missing ele
ment in Robert’s environment as there is no indication of further difficulty.
Henry apparently was able to adjust himself both to the supervision of his
older brothers and sisters and to his cousins with less difficulty than his
brother.
Henry finished the eighth grade when he was 16, and as he said he had never
repeated or skipped a grade, he must have started to school when 7 or 8.
H e wanted to stop school and go to work. H e went to continuation school for
a time but stopped, he said, because he got no good out of it. “ I guess if
I had had enough patience I could have gone through high school and maybe
I ’d be further along in a few years but I don’t know. I may do just as well
as it is. I like my work and I am going to keep at it. I am not going to school
any more.”
The boy started to work as a messenger at $10 a week and has had only
two positions, the second as office boy. A t the time of his court experience he
was earning $15 a week, and at the present time he earns $18 a week. H e has
had this job for two years and said he left his first job “ to get in a place
where there is a chance to go up.” H e was optimistic about his present work.
“ For a boy like me, without more education than I have got, I have a job
that I will make something out o f some day. I get on fine with my boss
and all the folks I work with. My boss says he has a real job for me when I
get older.” A t the time of his court experience he was paying $7.50 for his
room and board, and at the present time he pays $9 a week. H e owes $70
to his brother for the lawyer he had in court.
Henry does not seem to care for many associates. H e sa id : “ I don’t run
with a big crowd like some folks. I go by myself lots of times. I don’t go
with girls much. They call me timid. Maybe I am, but I don’t care.”
In spite of the disadvantages arising from a home broken by the death
o f the parents Henry seems to have come through without difficulty. W hile
his vocational interest does not seem to be specialized it may be that it will
work out satisfactorily for him. He has no apparent problems. H is one court
experience, the result of identification which was probably mistaken, might
have turned out badly. H is cousin says they were all very much frightened
when the restaurant owner identified Henry from among 25 boys in the station.
Fortunately for Henry, this is one of the few cases in which an investigation
was asked and an adequate report received before the case was disposed of.
Because of the good reputation of all the family (probably not solely because
of the lawyer, as Henry thought), Henry was given the benefit of the doubt.
The procedure o f the court in this case sets an example to be followed.
3. DANIEL M’CtTNE
Interview January 28, 1927.
Native white, parents born in Ireland. Both in the United States 25 years.
Present age, 2 2 ; age at time o f offense, 19.
Boys’ court hearing, May 1, 1924. Robbery. Discharged M ay 16, 1924.
Lives at home.
F a m ily : Father 65. Mother in hospital fo r the insane. Sisters 16 and 13, in institution
fo r dependents.

Daniel is a fairly tall, well-built, handsome boy. H e dresses well and seems
fairly intelligent and frank but is not very talkative.
Daniel does not know how many times he has been arrested but thinks
probably a dozen, and, except for the one robbery charge, he says that they
were all for fighting. On the occasion of some of them he had been drinking.
Beyond that there is nothing to distinguish one from the other. Of the robbery
charge he sa id : “ That was a lie. A cop who I handed a black eye in a scrap
just tried to put me away. I don’t know nothing about the whole affair except
that the cops never did have no reason for claiming I robbed.” H e feels that
these court experiences had no effect upon his conduct, that he still fights but
does nothing bad. “ I f a man is respected he has got to fight in this neighbor
hood,” he said.
When 12 years of age Daniel was declared a truant and sent to the Chicago
Parental School. Again two years later he was sent to the same school. He
was released from .parole “ with improvement ” -in 1919. Each time he was

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in the school for about a month. H e sa id : “ The teachers there were not bad •
that was the best schooling I ever got. All that I hated was being cooped up.”
During 1921 and 1922 Daniel was before the courts on three disorderly-conduct
charges and one burglary charge.
On the first disorderly-conduct charge he
was fined $100 and costs. In each o f the other cases he was discharged. After
the offense studied two disorderly-conduct charges are recorded.
For the first
he was toed $100 and costs and for the second $2 with $3 costs. The charge
studied in May, 1924, was for robbery, but the complaining witness said Daniel
was not the boy who held him up and he was discharged.
In 1918 Daniel’s mother was committed to the State hospital for the insane
She was mildly depressed with delusional auditory hallucinations and had evidently been abnormal^ for at least three years before her commitment. The
rather had_ been drinking for years, and the home was in a frightful condition.
The two girls were sent to a home for dependent girls, but the father wished
™ keep the boy and they have lived together since that time.
The father paid
$10 a month for the care of each of the girls regularly until 1921, but since then
has seldom paid. H e has never visited the girls. A maternal aunt visits them
occasionally. ^In 1925 the father was sentenced to 30 days in the county jail for
not contributing toward the support of his children but did not serve the
sentence.
Daniel’s father has given him practically no supervision. The juvenile court
reported that he was on the street all day and went with a tough gang. A t that
time the man and boy lived in two furnished rear rooms, for which they paid
$18 a month. They now live in a fairly good working-class neighborhood, but
their rooms are dark and dismal and the furniture is scant and inadequate.
The apartment is in disorder and none too clean. Daniel says that he and his
father do not get along together particularly well.
They get into arguments
usually over how much money he is to be allowed to keep. His father comPan ^as always been a hard boy to control and that his mother had
difficulty with him before she left home. Daniel says that his father spends
all his money for booze, has sold booze at times, and “ hangs out with bad women
m the neighborhood, some o f whom are married and who can control him.”
Daniel has belonged to a gang for a number of years and still spends most
ot his time with a gang playing pool, driving, or going to dances or shows. He
admits that he frequents disorderly houses but considers himself better than his
father. H e says that at one time he wanted to be a policeman, but he has given
up the idea now because he has become “ disgusted with the kind of work that
a policeman has to do, peeping around in everybody’s business.”
Daniel entered school at 7 and completed seven grades, leaving when he was
A ?'* H e says that he
not bke school, and the juvenile-court record shows
tto t he did not attend regularly.
His attendance was reported as very poor
i\is scholarship as good, and his conduct as excellent. H e said that he got little
°ii^ ? l f ch. 001 an<* doesn’t see “ where he could get anything more. School is
all right if you have the money to dress up and fly high and do nothing else, but
ior a poor boy he had better be home or at work.”
Diiniel worked a few days in the summer of the year before he left school.
After leaving school he started to work as a messenger, earning $10 a week
A t the time of the offense studied he was not working, but at the present time
he is a laborer and earns $25 a week.
H e had had this position about three
months.
Daniel says that he has worked regularly; his father says “ he has
been no good for work,” and during the time the juvenile court knew him, it was
said that he never worked.
H e has no idea how many jobs he has had since
he began to work but says that he has had six within the past year.
H e has
changed “ just to be changing sometimes and sometimes to get more money. I
got canned a time or two for fighting.” A t the time o f his offense he paid about
$10 a week for his room and board, and at the present time he pays about $12
A s to his own conduct, Daniel sa y s: “ M y mother couldn’t look after me when
I was little, so I was just, what you might say, throwed out on the streets, and
I had to take care o f myself and soon got to be a regular scrapper, and that was
the most trouble I have ever had.”
This boy, having been allowed to stay in a home where he had no supervision
after the home was broken by his mother’s insanity, easily fell in with the tough
elements in the neighborhood. The very short periods during which he stayed
m an institution were far from sufficient to teach him regular habits of living
.and the self-control that he needed. The only outcome of the many charges
¡against him in the boys’ court has been discharges and fines, and he insists
that he has never paid any fines. A t any rate discharges and fines do not

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constitute treatment that would give such a boy a respect for the law or would
show him any better way to behave.
4. JOHN VITKEHS
Interview September 18, 1926.
Native white, parents born in Lithuania. Both in United States 25 years.
Present age, 2 3 ; age at time o f offense, 20.
B oys’ court hearing, January 17, 1924. Robbery. Discharged January 19, 1924.
Lives at home.
F a m ily : Father 51, m other 4 7 ; brothers 20, 15, 1 0 ; sisters 18, 13.

John is a strongly built boy of medium height who dresses carelessly but
is thoroughly clean. H e is open and frank in his conversation and rather
talkative, although he appears rather dull and slow in his thinking. H e seems
fearless and is not suspicious of strangers.
The accusation made against John was that he had held up a man on the
street with a gun and had taken money and jewelry. John’s story i s : “ I was
in a restaurant when the cops came in with a drunk. H e pointed me out as
the man who had robbed him the night before. They took me to the station
and kept me for four days without booking me. During that time they kicked
the stuffing out of me and tormented me all the time trying to get a confession
from me. Then they booked me for robbery, and my folks bailed me out and
I went to the court. The judge said there was no reason for holding me and
sent me home.” John said that several robberies had occurred in his com
munity, and the policemen felt that it was up to them to get some one, and he
was the first man they found. H e feels that his detention in the station was
an “ outrage and shameful,” and he plans to get revenge on the policemen sooner
or later. H e says that he got fair treatment when he got to the court, and he
thinks highly o f the boys’ court and of the judge then on the bench. H e does
not know how much his bail was, as some o f his father’s friends got it fixed
for him.
John’s home is a pleasant contrast to the neighborhood, which is near one of
the poorest slum sections of Chicago, crowded with factories and shanties with
basement apartments. The alleys are filthy. The 6-room house is furnished
modestly but sufficiently, and it is clean and orderly. The rent is $25 a month.
The family has always been self-supporting, and now, with more children work
ing, its economic condition is considerably improved. The father is a boss in a
factory, earning $40 a week. The brother younger than John is a laborer
earning $25 a week, and the oldest girl earns $18 a week. The three younger
children are in the eighth, sixth, and third grades, respectively. Although the
home seems in many respects a good one for this community, it is not an at
tractive place, and practically no recreation is available for the children. The
fam ily seem to get on quite well together, although the mother, who does not
speak English, does not seem adjusted to modem American ideas and seems
somewhat inclined to scold the other members of the family. The children do
not seem to be antagonized by this. None o f them belongs to any clubs or
organizations of the neighborhood, nor do they go to church regularly.
John started to school when 5, repeated one grade, and left when he had
completed the sixth at 14 or 15 years of age. H e said that he was too
big to stay in school, and he could get good wages outside. H e never liked
school, and it was hard for him. He thinks that school is of no use to a
working boy, and he has never attended continuation or night school. H is first
job, in 1918, was as a factory hand at $25 a week, and as there was much over
time work, he sometimes made one and one-half times to twice his regular
wages. Although he has had four jobs he says he has never been fired. H e left
each job because he found one with a better future. A t the time of his court ap
pearance he was making $25 a week as a laborer for an electrical company.
H e is now making $35 a week at the same job, which he has held for four
years.
John says that he has had no difficulty other than his one court experience
except a few school fights. H e recalls with some pleasure that his only “ argu
ment ” since his court appearance was with a policeman who tried to tell
him what to do when he was working for his company on the city streets.
H is boss came along and made the policeman stop interfering. John belongs
to a local gang. “ W e are not secretly organized, and we only hang together
to protect ourselves. W e are not bound by oaths, like some gangs.” He goes
to baseball and football games. H e says that his work and his home affairs

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do not permit him to associate much with the members of his gang. A t present
he seems to be taking the lead in all fam ily affairs.
A discharge in this case of mistaken identity was the only procedure for
the court to take, and in the three years since that time John has demonstrated
that he is able to take care of himself, to take responsibility, and to be a
respectable member of society. He is evidently a worthy member of his family,
which has been able to maintain a self-supporting and good home in the midst
of poor surroundings. It is probable that the children will be able to move the
fam ily into a better neighborhood. The spirit of revenge evoked by the alleged
brutal treatment of the police in trying to obtain a confession is an unfortu
nate result of John’s experience.
5. JOHN ZUBAWEZAS
Interview February 5, 1927.
Native white, parents born in Lithuania.

Father in United States 35 years, mother 23

Present age, 2 1 ; age at time o f offense, 20.
B oys’ court hearing November 17, 1925. Robbery. Held fo r grand jury. Bail $10,000.
Committed to county jail. Charge stricken out with leave to reinstate in criminai
court January 7, 1926.
Lives at home.
F a m ily : Father 56, mother 40, sisters 20, 18. 13, brother 16. Sister died in 1918 when
4 years old. M other works away from home.

John is a tall, well-built boy, careless in his dress. H e talks little and gives
the impression of being somewhat stubborn and not very bright. He has a
definite grudge against society in general. He was sent by the boys’ court to
the psychopathic laboratory, where the examination showed him to have a
mental age of 12% and to be a low-grade sociopath plus dementia prsecox
katatonia + 3 .
John’s court record began early. In May, 1916, when 9 years o f age, he was
in the juvenile court as a truant and was sent to the Chicago Parental School.
In November of the next year he was accused o f breaking into a freight car.
After continuances this charge was dismissed, and on a truant petition he was
committed again to the Chicago Parental School in December. In January,
1919, he was in the juvenile court for two burglaries and a robbery. This time
h,e was sent to the St. Charles School for Boys. In May, 1921, after burglary of
a garage, he was again sent to St. Charles. In May, 1924, he was released from
juvenile jurisdiction “ with improvement.” H e had already been in the boys’
court before this release. In July, 1923, he was accused of two burglaries,
in which he was said to have stolen shirts and gloves from a clothing store at
night. The charges were changed to larceny, and he was sentenced to 60 days
in the house of correction and given a $1 fine. In March, 1924, he was again
accused of burglary and this time was held for the grand jury on a bond of
$15,000. H e was discharged. In December of that year he was accused of three
holdups with a gun and also o f larceny. He was held for the grand jury on
bonds of $20,000 and was sentenced to six months in the house of correction.
The offense included in this study is the next and the last offense recorded
against him. In December, 1925, he was accused o f holding up a restaurant and
on this robbery charge was held for the grand jury on bail o f $10,000. He
stayed in the county jail for two months, until the charge against him was
stricken out with leave to reinstate.
John told o f all the offenses with which he had been charged. In most of
these he claims to have had no share. A s to the first he sa id : “ They accused
me of stealing shirts, but I bought the shirts at a bargain sale. I was innocent
but got 60 days in the Bridewell.” As to the second: “ They charged me
with breaking into a store, but they didn’t have no proof so I got off.” A s
to the th ird : “ They claimed I held up people, and folks said they identified
me, but they lied. I got six months in the Bridewell.” He then described a
street fight after which he says he was arrested and discharged. This does
not appear on the police record. In regard to the offense included in this
study, he sa id : “ I was charged with robbing a restaurant, and it was another
guy. He got stuck six months in the Bridewell, and I got off.” H e says that
he has been in trouble again since this offense and after the information had
been obtained from the police records. “ The last time was for stealing an
automobile, but I didn’t do it. I was knowing who did, and because I wouldn’t
squawk the judge soaked me 30 days in the Bridewell.” He said that he has
been in jail three times and that he has never had bail. “ W hen I get in

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trouble I just have to ‘ root hog or die,’ as they say in the St. Charles School.
W hen asked as to conditions in jail, he sa id : “ The law means for the jail^to be
a bad place, and I guess the guards live up to the law in that way.” He
says that he has not changed his conduct at all since his appearances in court.
“ The court ain’t got me scared one bit. I ain’t got nothing against the judges,
but I ’ll get square with the cops.”
Almost everything known about John’s home and life would have influenced
him in the direction of an evil career. H e lives in one of the worst neigh
borhoods in Chicago, where the tenement houses are crowded and run down,
the streets are filthy, and there are many factories. A t the time the family
first became known to social agencies the mother was forced to ask for relief
from a family-welfare agency because of the irregular employment of her
husband. John, the oldest child, was at that time 6 years old. Mr. Zubawezas
had not worked regularly for two years, and during all the time that this
agency knew the family (about four years) he never worked regularly.
Although she had four small children, the mother worked down town as a
charwoman at night for $39 a month. The father stayed around the house,
but did not take proper care of the children. A ll the members of the family
suffered from undernourishment and periods of actual privation during these
years. The father was not only shiftless but cruel and abusive. H is treat
ment of his wife was especially brutal. The mother said that when the two
youngest children were born he refused to allow her to have any help. A t the
birth of one of them he locked her in the house alone and for, an hour after
the baby’s birth she had no one with her. Once when he wag drunk he tried
to attack his small daughter; the mother interfered and was unmercifully
beaten herself. He was sent to the house of correction, but upon his return
behaved no better and bragged that no one could make a good man o f him
The mother was afraid to leave the little girls with him. He used to eat
all the food in the house and throw the dishes on the floor if there was no
meat for supper. H e also drank the milk which the Visiting Nurse Association
left for the baby. H e whipped all the children “ just for fun ” and whipped
the baby when it was only 7 months old. The father even took all the bed
clothing from the mother and children for himself. During this time the
mother was described as a good housekeeper and a hard-working woman, as
well as a good mother. The father, however, did not allow her to discipline
John. He upheld John in any wrongdoing, and when his mother tried to get
him to stay in at night, the father told him to stay out as late as he wanted to.
H e told John to pay no attention to anything his mother said and did not
remonstrate when the boy threw things at his mother. The father also filled
John’s mind with foul language and vile suggestions. H e used obscene lan
guage and performed obscene actions in his presence.
During these years the father was in the court of domestic relations a$d
was sent to the Bridewell several times. In 1911 he served six months in the
Bridewell for cruelty to the mother. In July, 1912, he was in prison for beat
ing his wife. In December, 1912, he was in the court o f domestic relations
charged with abusive treatment of his wife, but she refused to testify against
him, as she was afraid o f being beaten again. The judge gave him another
chance. In January, 1913, Mr. Zubawezas was placed on probation in the
court of domestic relations to pay $10 a week to the mother. In June, 1915,
Mrs. Zubawezas was taken very ill and was sent to the county hospital.^ The
children were sent to a children’s home to stay while the mother was in the
hospital. During a 4-year period 16 different agencies were trying to help
the family. A t one time the home evidently became unbearable for Sophie,
the oldest girl, for when she was 13 years old she ran away from home after
stealing $50 worth of clothes from a store. She slept in hallways part of the
10 days that she was away.
'
’ .
, ^
A t the present time, however, the mother &nd Sophie 3.nd the other girls
have succeeded in making a much better home. The fam ily have six rooms,
of which four are sleeping rooms. They pay $20 a month rent. The apart
ment is on the first floor of a 2-story and basement house. The home is attrac
tive very neat and clean. There are starched white curtains, clean bed
spreads, and shining glass in the china cabinet. The work of the house is
divided and arranged systematically. The mother does the housework before
she leaves in the morning. In the evening the younger boy and girl bring the
coal in from the shed and start the fire, and Sophie comes home first and pre
pares supper. The mother and sisters get along well, but the mother scolds
John and John seems to have no respect for her. John dislikes his sisters,

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and his sisters disilke him. The father has been working steadily now for
two years. Sophie says that he feels he is getting older, and as it is difficult
for an older man to get work he sticks to his job. The children have planned
that as soon as the two youngest (now 16 and 13 and in the eighth grade of
school) get to work the mother will stop working. She is still scrubbing office
floors four days a week and sometimes five, making $16 a week. The father
makes $25 to $35 a week as a common laborer. Sophie, a pretty, attractively
dressed girl, refined in manner, is a typist earning $15 a week. Florence, the
next oldest girl, works in a factory and also earns $15 a week. John is the
only one who is not employed. Sophie is quite sure that she does not want to
marry until she is a good deal older, for she has the example o f her mother be
fore her, who married before she was 18 and has had to work all her life.
She seems genuinely fond of her mother and her two sisters. She spoke sar
castically o f her father. She says that Louis, the younger boy, is almost as
snippy as John but that he has not yet gotten into any real trouble. Sophie
and her sister Florence have the same friends, boys and girls, and have many
good times together. Florence goes to business college at night. John goes
with an entirely different group of people, and Sophie says that she does
not know them at all. The mother gets little time for relaxation or society.
The fam ily go to church, and the younger children attend parochial school and
belong to various church and school clubs.
Starting to school at 6 years of age, John was known as a truant in less
than a year.
He attended a parochial school and completed the seventh
grade. He did not return to school after leaving St. Charles in 1919, as he
said he got interested in other things and did not want to go back to regular
school. H is ideas o f education he stated as fo llow s: “ Schooling is all right
if you get the right kind. This stuff they teach you in most schools is no
good at all. W h at a fellow needs in school is to learn a trade and not to
waste time learning a lot of history and grammar.” He has no desire to study
any further. In 1917 the school reported to the juvenile court that his atten
dance was very poor and his conduct and scholarship fair. The principal of
the St. Charles School reported that his school work was fairly good and
that his deportment was excellent.
John first went to work in 1920 as a factory hand, earning $12 a week. A t
the time o f the offense included in the study he had no work, and he had
none at the time of this interview. He says he has had about 25 jobs. When
asked why he left them he said : “ How do I know?
Sometimes the boss
did not like me and fired me off the jo b ; sometimes I just got sore on the job
and quit.” A s to employers he sa id : “ They are all alike. Some are bad and
others worse. A ll they want is money, and they don’t care what happens to
you. They ain’t humans any more. I f they can take from everybody else
like they do, I might as well take from some who has more than I ’ve got.”
His sister said that after the offense studied and before he was sent the last
time to the house of correction he worked for seven or eight months as a
c°ok- Since he has come out o f the house o f correction he has not worked.
O f his various commitments to institutions, twice to the Chicago Parental
School, twice to St. Charles, and three times to the house of correction, he
sa id : “ It won’t do any good for me to tell you about those places. You will
go up there, and they will cover things up and you will just figure I lied. I f
you want to try out some o f them places just go get in Dutch with’ the
cops, and then you won’t need anybody to tell you.”
John’s sister says that he is seldom at home. H e occasionally comes in for
supper and sometimes appears for a little while in the evening. He is never
at home on Saturday or Sunday. The mother and sisters have given up trying
to keep him in the house. The former says that when he works he is all right
but as soon as he gets out of work he goes with his gang and gets into trouble.
° u 1S ear^ difficulties John sa id : “ I never got in no more trouble than
other boys. I got in trouble with a cop, and ever since that they have been
hounding me. They are to blame for most of my trouble. They started beat
ing me when I was a kid o f a boy.”
u Jehu hud always associated with a group o f boys now known as the
,
~
street gang.” Nine of these boys were recently convicted o f man
slaughter and sentenced to prison for terms of one year to life. John was not
implicated in this robbery and murder, as he was in the police station at the
time of the holdup. H e spends his spare time now .with the remaining
members o f the gang. He says that he likes dancing and the “ movies ” and
drinks moonshine ” occasionally.

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During the conversation John expressed various bits of his philosophy o f
life and of his reaction to life as he has seen it. He is very bitter and thinks
nothing worth while. He feels that it is unfair that he was born without
money while others have money and never have to work. H e is against estab
lished authority and against society, as he knows it. H e describes himself
as a Bolshevik, indicating his general attitude o f opposition rather than any
definite social creed. A s to his own behavior he said : “ W ell, what are
you going to do in this community? There ain’t no place to go, and you
can’t stay on the streets after dark but what some copper comes along and
pipes up ‘ W hatcha doing there? Move on’.” Again he said : “ W hen you get
out of your own neighborhood and see how lots of other folks live in this old
world how they have swell houses, cars, and everything, it makes you feel
like things ain’t right. I just feel like jumping in the river and stopping
11 From his earliest childhood John has lived in a home where there was
domestic discord, where his mother worked, and where his father was in
every way a bad influence. Irregular earnings and unemployment of his
father brought poverty and undernourishment to the children. The neigh
borhood in which he grew up offered little that was better than his home.
It is scarcely surprising that John has grown up stubborn and antisocial. It
is very much to the credit o f his sisters that in the same home environment
they have been able to grow up into fine young women. However, John was
subjected to his father’s evil influence even more than the other children,
and his emotional constitution, according to the psychopathic laboratory, has
always been defective. W ith this history the difficulties that a court—
equipped as was the boys’ court— had to overcome if John’s viewpoint was to
be changed were almost insurmountable. Nevertheless, the efforts that have
been made would not have been likely to bring success in any case. Discharges
of one kind or another and short sentences to the house of correction have
been the only treatment given since he left the jurisdiction of the juvenile
court.
6. WILLIAM FUBST
Interview November 29, 1926.
„
A nn
Native white, parents born in Germany. B oth in United States 22 years.
Present age, 1 8 ; age at time o f offense, 17.
'■£
, , .
.
,
B ovs’ court healing, August 10, 192&.
Bobbery.
Case continued twice
Dismissed
w ithout prosecution, August 26, 1925. Charge o f larceny was brought on the same date
and boy was placed on probation fo r one year.
Interviewed in penitentiary. A t time o f offense lived at home.
Fam ily: Father 42, mother 40, brothers 15, 9, sister 13; brother 21, married and living

in his own home.
W illiam is pale, tall, and slender. He looks intelligent and is modest and
frank. H is mother says that when 9 years of age he nearly died of diphtheria,
and since then he has been extremely nervous and high strung.
W illiam ’s court experience began in June, 1925, when he was riding a
motor cycle and went on the wrong side of a street car, causing an automobile
to be wrecked. H e was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and fined
$25 and costs, which his father paid. H e says that another time he stole an
automobile and was arrested but was discharged because of lack of evidence.
This is not one of the four arraignments which appear on the police records.
His next arrest was in connection with the court charge of robbery (two
holdups) included in the study. H e was caught with his brother. They had
a “ b illy ” and had obtained $21 and two watches. W illiam says that on th:s
occasion he was drunk. H e made restitution and was placed on probation
for a year. The next charge in the boys’ court was that of stealing an auto
mobile, brought in February, 1926. A representative o f a church association
was asked to supervise the boy during continuance of the case. W hile this
case was pending he was arrested and charged with robbery and with break
ing into a flat at night and taking a radio and watch. W illiam ’s story o f this
charge is that he was accused of telling a holdup man about another fellow
who flashed money. He thinks that if he had had a chance in the boys’ court,
he might have “ got a break,” but he was sent from a branch court direct.to
the criminal court and “ there I got socked on the old charge, for you see
I was still on probation.” H e does not know how much time he has put in
in police stations. He says that the police have never beaten him much,
although they have threatened to do so a number of times. The stations
and the jail are not so bad as they could be, but “ none of them are places
you would pick out to spend a vacation in.” On the occasion of his last court

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charge he was in jail for five days, as his parents did not put up security for
his $1,500 bail. A s to the penitentiary where he has been since May 25, 1926,
W illiam s a id : “ I had enough o f this place when I first saw it, and it just
gets worse and worse. The guards are not so b ad ; they ju st bluff a lot, and
they don’t bother you i f you get on with them. O f course sometimes a man
gets a hard break when a crowd is doing something and he doesn’t squeal
when the officers try to find out who was making the trouble.” W illiam was
sentenced for an indeterminate term of 1 to 20 years. H e would be eligible
for parole in April, 1927, if he earned all the good time possible. A t the time
of the interview, however, he had already had one punishment.
W illiam thinks o f probation as a form o f punishment: “ Probation was too
light for me. I ought to have had a short sentence in the Bridewell and then
probation. My probation officer was a good man and would have done me
lots of good if I had listened to him, but I thought the judges would keep on
being easy with me and I got fooled.” H e thinks that his boys’ court experi
ence did him harm, in that “ it left me thinking that I could do anything
before I was 21 and not get a bad punishment for it. A boy needs a short
sentence to begin with to give him a good scare, and then he will stop.”
During his probation, according to the department records, he reported every
month until he was arrested for his later delinquency. H e made six reports
in all and paid the costs. Four visits were made to the home by the probation
officer.
The Furst family have lived for 17 years in a 5-room house which is well
built and well kept up. The neighborhood is not thickly settled, but it is
an old community, chiefly occupied by Germans and Scandinavians who have
lived there for 15 to 25 years. The people in the neighborhood are united
by social and church ties and know one another’s affairs intimately. Three
of the rooms in the house are used as sleeping rooms. One o f these is the
attic where the boys sleep. The house is scrubbed until it is spotless, and is
furnished comfortably. The fam ily has a piano and phonograph and con
veniences for housekeeping, such as a washing machine and a vacuum cleaner.
They are comfortably off, owning the home and an automobile and having
some savings. They spent $500 for a lawyer the last time W illiam was arrested
and almost as much each of the other times. The mother says that her
husband’s success has made her very proud o f him but that now since W illiam
has disgraced them, she does not dare to go outside and faee her neighbors.
The father has worked for one building firm for 17 years. He is in charge
o f several jobs and earns between $65 and $80 a week. H e leaves most o f
the disciplining o f the children to the mother.
The three older boys go to church regularly and belong to church clubs.
The 13-year-old girl and the 15-year-old boy are in the eighth grade, and
the 9-year-old boy is in the third grade. The mother feels very responsible
for her children and visits the school often. The 9-year-old boy said that
his mother should not come to school so often “ because she talks English like
a Polack.” The children are also dissatisfied with the home and think the
family should move to a better one. Both the father and mother have at
tended public night school to learn English, the father when he was much
younger and the mother last winter. Mrs. Furst says that all the children
seem to have an idea that they know more than their parents. None of
the others, however, has been in trouble except the 21-year-old boy, who
was caught with W illiam in one escapade. H e has been married since and
does not live with his parents.
W illiam started to school at the age o f 6 and left at 14 to go to work,
having completed the eighth grade. “ When I graduated from grammar
school I thought I would never do any more going to school. Now I would
like going some more. I liked school all right, but it didn’t look like it
would ever be worth enough to me. Now I see where I made a mistake.
My father and mother wanted me to go on to schooL I think I will yet
as soon as I get out of here.”
W illiam ’s first work was as a building laborer helping his father. He
earned $25 to $30 a week. A t the time of the offense included in the study
he was not working.
He has had about six jobs altogether.
H e said:
“ Contractors do not keep men long. W hen I lost one job I always got an
other soon. I never did get fired. W hen I lost a job it was because there
was no work for me with the boss. I quit sometimes to get more pay some
where else,” H e intends to continue in the building trades. H is mother

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says that he is handy and bright and can do anything he wants to. She
says that the trouble with his occupation is that the work is not regular and
when not employed W illiam got into mischief. His father will not take him
back to work with him since his court experience, as he values his own
job too highly.
Mrs. Furst says that W illiam is nervous and fidgety most of the time and
craves entertainment. H e does not care for girls and always thought his older
brother was having a dull time taking out one girl steadily. When he is
living at home he bowls and plays pool and hangs around a bowling alley. H e
would be sitting at home quietly when his friends would drive along in one
of their cars (which might be stolen), and would call him, and he would
run out and join them. Mrs. Furst says that the owner of the bowling alley
persuades boys to steal and buys the stolen property from them. W illiam
and his friends have disposed o f stolen goods at this alley many times.
The lawyer and W illiam ’s father were unwilling to try to stop this practice,
although the mother urged them to. During W illiam ’s probation Mrs. Furst
thought that he was much improved and that probation was having a good
effect upon him.
Then came this robbery.
The fam ily did not put up
bail in this case because the lawyer advised them to leave the boy in jail
as he had had it easy too many times. W illiam writes home that he is ashamed
of what he has done and that he has learned his lesson. W hen his family
visits him he cries and tells them how sorry he is. H is mother feels that
possibly he was let off too easily on the other occasions and that he may
learn his lesson from this punishment.
W illiam does not blame his parents nor his associates for his trouble. He
intimates that the reason he has got into so much trouble is because he has
more courage than other people, who do not dare to do what they want to do
H e thinks that it would have been easier for him if he too had been bom a
coward. H e thinks, however, that this experience will make a coward out
of him and that he will not be in so much trouble hereafter. H e says it would
fill a book if he could think o f all the mischief he has been i n ; he got started
into mischief soon after he started to school and kept getting into worse trouble
until he landed in the penitentiary. H is mother said that he had been in
several more robberies than he had been caught in. H e always told his brother
Clarence everything that he did until they were both on probation. A t this
time Clarence remonstrated with W illiam , and W illiam ceased to confide in
his brother. W illiam denied that he belonged to a gan g : “ I always had a few
good friends and that was all. I never went around much by myself. Some
times I went with my brother. I never did go around with girls in m y life.
I do not care for dances; give me a good ball game or a good picture show.”
W illiam ’s vocation is well taken care of, provided he is not discriminated
against because of his prison record. His fam ily and his home are also satis
factory. It is evident, however, that the children feel that their parents are
somewhat “ foreign ” and not up to date. This feeling of superiority to their
foreign-bom parents may have brought about an unconscious but undesirable
conflict. Removal to a more desirable neighborhood, away from the bowling
alley and the “ hangout ” o f the boys W illiam knows, would be a wise step for
the family. The kind o f probation provided by the Chicago courts, which con
sisted, according to the boy and his mother, principally o f talks from the officer,
was successful with one brother and unsuccessful with the other. Possibly
W illiam ’s desire to demonstrate his courage is an effort to compensate for an
inferior physique; other ways o f showing courage might have been pointed
out to him.
Only future developments can show whether the penitentiary
sentence has given the boy the jolt which he thinks he needed.
7. EMMETT M’RAE
Interview December 7, 1926.
Native white, parents native white.
Present age, 2 0 ; age at time o f offense, 19.
B oys’ court hearing, October 20, 1925. B ail $10,000. Robbery (w ith unloaded gun ).
Held fo r grand ju ry until November 10, 1925. Committed to county ja il by crim inal
court. Sentenced to one year in the reform atory, May 3, 1926. M'ittimus stayed,
M ay 4, 1926. M otion to vacate. Charge reduced to petty larceny. Sentenced to house
o f correction fo r one year, $1 fine and no costs, on same date.
Interview at house o f correction. At time o f offense lived at home.
F a m ily : Father 62, mother 49, brother 25, sisters 23, 20, 14. Husband and child o f 20year-old sister live with fam ily. One sister dead.

Emmet is a pleasant, clean-cut young man who talks little but is frank and
intelligent in appearance and conversation. H e has apparently sought thrills

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but when interviewed in the house of correction showed an attitude different
from that of the other boys seen in institutions; he seems convinced that thrill
seeking is not worth the danger involved.
Concerning the offense included in the study Emmet said : “ Just a bunch of
us got in a taxicab to go for a drive. W e were all drinking. One o f the boys
had a gun. Another said he bet the cabman had money. I said, * Let’s get it.’
They took me at m y word, and we were all looking to do some dare-devil
stunt that we would not have thought o f if we had been sober. W hen we
got in a dark place we stopped him and took his money and sent him on. In
just a few minutes we saw two policemen coming, and we started to run.
They took us down to the detective bureau, and one of the boys got put
through such a test that he confessed. I stayed in the police station one
night. When I came to my senses I saw what a mess I had got into, and
I did not try to put it off on the police. O f course the station was no palace,
but it wasn’t built for royalty but for bums and fools like I was. W e went
to the boys’ court and were sent to the criminal court. I got out a month
later on a bond that my father and brothers got through my lawyer and a
professional bondsman. Jail was not so bad as the station, but it was worse
than out here in Bridewell. The other boys stayed in jail for seven months.
* * * I got a good break from the court when my sentence was changed
from Pontiac to the Bridewell. I had a good lawyer, and the judge was more
than fair with me. A s I was sent here for robbery with a gun I got away
lig h t; I deserve more than I got. Conditions in here are terrible; so are the
fools who are in here, but nobody who deserves to be put here gets more than
he deserves. W e all get enough to eat, though we do get hungry. Everybody
holds his own in weight. * * * The experience has opened my eyes, and
I won’t be in any more trouble. I didn’t listen to my father and mother, for
they couldn’t scare me, but the court has the power and has got me completely
bluffed.”
On the social-service record at the boys’ court it appears that Emmet
held up a taxicab driver with an unloaded gun and obtained $11. The crimi
nal-court record shows that the criminal-court bond was set at $3,000 after he
had been held over by the boys’ court on $10,000 bond. For this the fam ily
put up $500 cash. They had to borrow the money from friends and a pro
fessional bondsman as their property was not clear and could not be used as
security. Including the lawyer’s fee the case cost them $1,000. Emmet was
first committed to the reformatory for one year, but the next day the motion
to vacate sentence was sustained and he was sentenced to the house o f cor
rection for the same length o f time on a charge of petty larceny. Emmet’s
mother says that the criminal-court judge promised her that Emmet would be
released before Christmas, when he would have served a little more than
six months.
No other arrest appears against Emmet. In May, 1919, however, when he
was 13 years old, he was charged in the juvenile court with the burglary of
a private residence. H e was put under supervision until damages should have
been paid. He paid $21.50, and his case was continued generally in December,
1919. W hen asked about this difficulty Emmett said, “ That was no trouble
of mine. That was a frame-up or something. I never did any o f that, but
I did help hold up the taxi driver when they sent me here.”
The McRaes live in a 3-story, 10-room, gray-stone house, in a very desirable
residential district of the city. They bought the house five years ago and put
into it all their savings, but it is still heavily mortgaged. The house is com
fortably furnished, having all the usual equipment for recreation— radio, piano,
phonograph, books, and magazines. It has been redecorated recently by Emmet
himself, who did practically all the work. H e put in new plumbing, fixed the
roof, and painted the bedrooms. It took him about a year.
Emmet said that his father and mother do not get on particularly well.
He thinks that his father’s stern discipline is the cause of the difficulty. Mrs.
McRae says that her husband’s atttiude toward Emmet has been selfish and
stern. The father is very nervous. H e has not mentioned Emmet since he
was arrested. H e did not go to the court and never asks about him. Mrs.
McRae does not know whether his father knows where Emmet has been sent.
The mother and all the children are devoted to Em m et; the older sister has
become depressed since his trouble.
According to the mother’s statement, Mr. McRae has worked for the same
company for 50 years. H e was poorly paid for a long time, but his wages
are much better since the trade has been unionized. The exact amount o f his

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earnings was not learned, but it was probably between $40 and $45 a week.
The oldest brother is a partner in a small store and apparently doing very
well. The oldest sister is a clerk and earns $25 a week. Mrs. McRae has a
brother-in-law, a consulting engineer in Cleveland, who is extremely devoted
to Emmet. She plans to have Emmet go east with him as soon as he is re
leased. It was on the advice of this uncle, who was in Chicago on a visit,
that Emmet returned from Cleveland, where he was well situated, to Chicago,
because his fam ily missed him.
The only delinquency reported for any other member of the fam ily concerns
the older brother who was once fined $10 and once put on probation for six
months, after being charged with disorderly conduct, his explanation being that
he was loitering around a restaurant at 1.30 in the morning. In 1913 the family
had been in serious financial straits. A t this time the record o f the familywelfare society that gave temporary aid states that the father was a drunkard
and a chronic deserter and out of work. The improvement in the fam ily’s
financial condition indicates that the father has been steadily at work for a
number o f years.
Emmet entered public school at 6 and left after completing the seventh
grade, when he was 13 years old. A t the time he went to work the fam ily
needed his earnings, and Mrs. McRae says that she lied about his age, stating
that he was bom in 1904. Emmet sa id : “ I knew when I quit school that it
would be better if I kept on, but I could not study for bothering about our
debts. I felt like a parasite, going to school and my father in such hard luck.
Besides, I couldn’t have enough to make me able to spend money like others
who were in my school. I just got desperate and quit. My father and mother
thought I ought to go to work. Schooling would do me good, and if I were
through here (the Bridewell) and had a chance, I would do it yet. When I get
out and get my debt to the family paid, I will try night school o f some kind.
I don’t know what to take up though; I don’t know anything but clerical work,
and that don’t pay much.”
Emmet started to work as a delivery boy at $6 a week. H e says that he has
had about five different jobs. “ The main reason I changed jobs was I was
always looking for something better. I had a good clerical job once, but it
was just temporary. I would like to get on there again. I went to Cleveland
once and made some good money there. I never got canned from a job.” H is
attitude toward employment is good. H e says that he has learned by experience
and observation that one must “ get in some special line and stay with it and
learn it better than anything else.” H e would like to get into some work hav
ing a future, and he would welcome vocational advice.
Emmet’s mother said that for three or four years Emmet worked in Cleve
land driving a truck for a factory, earning $30 a week at the end of his time
there. W hile he was there he lived in the home of a boy he had met in Chi
cago. He was on a baseball team and was saving to buy an automobile. When
he was persuaded to go back to Chicago he had several jobs offered him here.
H is fam ily also had promised to send him to a mechanics’ school but refused to
do so. Instead his father insisted that he stay at home and decorate the
house, as he had learned how by helping his friends in Cleveland. Emmet did
this, although it took him nearly a year to do the work. H e was discontented
with the work and morning after morning would say that he was going out to
look for a job or that he was going back to Cleveland, but his father insisted
that he finish it. Although Emmet chafed under his father’s rule he was
always respectful to him. The mother says now that she sees that they
should have hired someone else to do the decorating and let Emmet have a
regular job.
Emmet’s mother says that he was a mischievous boy but never bad, and
that he was always popular with everyone he met, being very friendly, frank,
and likeable. At home he is full o f fun and teases his mother, who enjoys it.
She thinks that he met new acquaintances with whom he committed the rob
bery. She feels, however, that she has failed with him or he would not have
committed such a deed. W hen he was in the court he went up and shook
hands with the two policemen who arrested him and said they were nice
chaps and that he knew it was their job to arrest him. He is very friendly
with everyone at the house of correction; says that he did wrong and deserves
a punishment and holds no grudge.
Aside from an undercurrent of difficulty between the parents all Emmet’s
home conditions are favorable. He is apparently able to earn good wages and
keep employed, but he has no trade. H e is a type of boy who would benefit by

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definite training. H is misbehavior in the past seems to have been committed
in search for excitement, and it is probable that after this experience, i f he is
given wise supervision at home or with his uncle and a change from his former
undesirable acquaintances, his conduct will not be a problem.
8. GALE BKOWN
Interview October 22, 1926,
Native white, parents native white.

reform atory fo r one year aiid fiiiea $1,
___ . ,
Tntftrvipwpd At reform atory. A t time o f
lived at home.
.
F a m ily : Mother 44, sister 19, at home. Parent» divorced, father in own home.

Oale is a tall well-built young man, neat and refined in appearance with
dark, piercing, intelligent eyes. H e is well informed about the topics o f the
dflv and on sroncml &nd cultural su b le ts.
^
Gate was examined at the psychopathic laboratory. He was diagnosed as a
high-grade moron plus dementia prsecox katatonia, with a mental age of 1 1 % .
At the r e fo Z a t o r ? he was rated 138 by the Army Alpha test and was cote
Si<Gate S S tS £ in co T rtfw T e" The first time he was sent from a branch court
directly to the criminal court on four charges of robbery. Three o f. the j^ a r g e s
were stricken out with leave to reinstate. On the fourth charge he was sent e n ^ to PoStiac reformatory for 1 to 10 years. H e entered Pontiac on June 2,
1924, and was released on parole August 29, 1925. A month later
in the boys’ court on a charge o f robbery, having used a toy gun. H e received
a sentence of 1 year under plea of guilty to- petty larceny on November 9.
This sentence expired October 12, 1926. H e is now held as a parole violator
for his former offense for which he must serve the maximum term.
In regard to these offenses Gale sa id : The first time I needed money and
was out of a job and decided to try robbery. I t took lots o f nerve to toy ^
I would never be able to steal from anyone I know, but only from persons 1
chance to11meet on the street. After one try I found that the surprise scares
people so badly that all I had to do was to take the cash. The one thing I
was worried about was running into some reckless- man who would try my
bluff and I could never have used my gun. I got picked up on the second night
out.” In regard to the second Gate said : “ I got paroled, and I was supposed
to have a job waiting for me but I didn’t have it. I went to live with my
mother, and she didn’t let me have all the money I needed so I decidedi to take
another chance since I had already got the brand of a criminal. I t wouldn t
make people shun me any worse. I t was then that I found how easy it is to
catch a holdup man, no matter how smart he may be.
. , ,
The first time he was arrested Gate was in the police station only one nig .
On the second occasion he was in the county jail for nearly two months. T
judge refused him bail because he had broken his parole and had many holdups
on his record. Gate says that jail is just what the people in it m a k e it. H
mother spoke of the interest which the teacher in the ja il school took in him
and of his ability in art and the pictures which he painted while m jail. Gale
feels that association with the other inmates in the reformatory may
jurious, and for that reason he spends most of his spare time in studying and
tries to avoid “ low-brow circles and vulgarity.’; He is taking a correspondence
course in mechanics for which his sister is paying.
_
a
_ . „„_
When released from Pontiac on August 29 after serving his first sent
Gate was paroled to the head of an agency that deals with released prisoners.
This man signed as his sponsor. When released he expected that a job would
be waiting for him, but there was none. The record bf this Society shows
merely that on September 9 the boy was promised a job and that on September
26 he was arrested in connection with four robberies. After that the case w
dropped. Gate says he saw little of this sponsor and did not know that any
other officer was responsible for him until he was arrested and a man he had
never seen told him that he was his parole officer. Apparently this was the
extent of Gale’s contact with the persons responsible for hl“ 'S
ngAi t h ? t i m e
The bail required at the time o f Gale s first offense was $35,000. A t the tim
of his second court appearance he was in the police station three weeks
in the detective bureau two or three nights. H e told his mother the bureau
was so crowded that the boys had to stand up all night.

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In regard to the whole experience Gale sa id : “The court has had no effect
upon me. It never got me into my trouble, and I am not looking for it to get
me out. The court is a trap for' the rats of society, and I turned out to be a
r a t; got to stealing bait off the trigger and was caught. I only wish it had
got me sooner before I got in such bad trouble, then maybe I would have been
put under a good probation officer and would never have been gent to Pontiac.
In my opinion all kids who get into trouble ought to be punished outside of
places like this if there is any chance, for once they come in here with ail
these bad eggs, if the boy wasn’t tough before, he soon gets that Way. Don’t
understand me as saying the officers and guards don’t treat you all right around
here. They treat boys all right who show them they are going to act civilized.
A ll the trouble I have had with them has nearly always been because of the
fact that I was trying to put something over. I have put plenty over, too,
but I haven’t made much by it.”
On the first occasion that Gale was in court the judge of the criminal court
was considered extremely stern by the mother. She found the judge in the
boys’ court, on the other hand, very kind and helpful. He investigated the
family conditions, and the mother thought that he sentenced the boy to only
one year because he found she needed her son’s help.
Gale s parents have never been happy together. They were married 27
years ago when Mrs. Brown was very young. She had graduated from high
school and from a conservatory of music. Soon after her marriage her husband started going out. with other women. She says that he has continued
this up to the present, that he dresses well, drives two cars, and takes out a
great many women. Her husband was always very jealous of her, she said,
and had no faith in anyone or in anything. H e did not believe that his mother,
his wife, or his daughter could be trusted.
Three of their five children died. Five years ago Mr. Brown deserted, and
Mrs. Brown secured a divorce with $20 a week alimony. She had to hire
a lawyer to force him to make his payments and had little left after the
lawyer was paid. After Gale’s first sentence to the reformatory she was very
ill. She did not have the strength to fight for her alimony and agreed to a
settlement of $500. A t court the father’s property could not be located. Later
it was found that he had sold his two cars just before the trial and success
fully hidden his property. For many years he has been head of a department
in a large corporation and has always earned a high salary. According to Mrs.
Brown he recently asked her to remarry him, saying that he missed his home
and her cooking, but she refused. During the year since the court settlement
Mrs. Brown has done day work or anything she could find. During three or four
months of last summer she had charge o f the salad counter at a drug-store
cafeteria until she collapsed and the doctor forbade her working again. Both
the father and mother go to the reformatory to visit Gale, though Mrs. Brown
has not been able to go often during his present sentence because she could
not afford to.
.
Brown used the amount of the alimony settlement to set up housekeeping
in a fine apartment ■when her son was released from the reformatory, but
having so small an income she could not keep this up and left after living
there six months, owing three months’ rent. She and her daughter have lived
since in a 5-room apartment, in a desirable residential neighborhood, for which
Tllere is only one stove to heat the whole apartment,
and the family furnish the coal. The apartment is furnished simply but in good
taste. There is a phonograph in the living room. The 19-year-old daughter
works as a bookkeeper and earns $18 a week. She obtained this position when
she graduated from high school more than a year ago. The mother has very
little to live on. The father told representatives o f the court that his wife was
irrational and had frequently turned Gale out o f her home. Neither Gale nor
anyone else has said anything to substantiate this.
Neighbors and former landladies, even the one to whom the mother owed
three months rent, who happened to be seen during attempts to interview the
fam ily at various addresses, gave good reports of Mrs. Brown. She is nervous
but bright and likable. In their present home the family have few social
connections. They visit the mother’s relatives and a few friends in the suburb
in which they formerly lived.
Gale says that he has always lived in high-class neighborhoods, that his
mother has sufficient income to keep her and the son and daughter going, and
that his father makes far more than he needs for actual living expenses. When-

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ever lie has been at home there has been every form of recreation, such as cars,
radio, phonograph, piano, and books.
Mrs. Brown says that she has always taught her children to respect their
father. The daughter, however, is very much disgusted with him. The mother
thinks that Gale also realizes how hard the father has made things for her and
how much she has done for her son.
The children when young were always
afraid of their father, who had never wanted children. Gale, when a little boy,
used to hide when his father came into the room.
All the family, except the
father, have always gone to church, but the father scoffed at Gale for going to
church. Gale during the interview told the agent he does not go to church any
more. H e showed a great deal of feeling for his father and said he wished that
he had seen more of him.
The mother dotes on Gale in a rather extravagant
fashion and has probably spoiled him.
Gale entered kindergarten when he was 5 and the first grade at 6.
H e left
school when he was 16, having been in high school a year and a half. A report
from the school shows that he did not earn any high-school credits, although
his mother said that he had attended school regularly and had finished a full
year at the high school. In regard to his education Gale sa id : “ I am taking
mechanical work by correspondence and, when I get out, I am planning to enter
some college.” H e feels that his parents are in good circumstances and that he
has only to wish it to have life turn out pleasantly for him.
Gale has had about 12 positions, usually changing because he was looking for
a job with more money. Evidence as to his first work varies, but he was not
employed when he committed the last robberies.
His mother says that he
stopped school because he wanted to work with machines and that he begged
his father to get him a job with his firm, but the father wanted him to try
something else and Gale got a job making radios.
She says he has never found
quite the work that he likes, but two positions will be open to him when he
comes out of the reformatory, one of these being a job that is exactly what he
wants.
In conversation Gale gives the impression of having a very good atti
tude toward work and toward his employers, which is not borne out by the re
ports of employers. One firm reported that-he had worked for them for more
than two months and that his services were not satisfactory.
H is father’s
firm, for which he worked five and one-half months, stated that he was a capable
worker but was irresponsible, often failing to report for w ork ; this failure was
sometimes due to intoxication, and he had been dismissed from their employ.
Another organization for which the boy worked as a clerk reported that he had
resigned from their employ of his own accord.
Gale says that when he is
through with his sentence he is going to follow his father s line.
Gale’s mother feels that his unlawful attempts to get money were caused by
his association with a wealthy and possibly fast crowd of boys and girls, who
spent money freely.
Although Gale drove one of the family cars he had less
money to spend than the rest of the group.
H e was devoted to one girl who
expected to have a great deal of money spent on her. He finally stole in order to
provide her with entertainment and presents.
Upon his return from Pontiac,
Gale again paid attention to this girl and again needed money to spend on her.
Since then she has married. Mrs. Brown says that while Gale was going with
his fast friends he drank some. The boy told the interviewer that he did not
drink, but he admitted that he had stolen at other times than those which are
recorded.
,
„
Mrs. Brown feels that part of Gale’s trouble comes from his extreme gener
osity. She is proud of the fact that when he was small he would give any of his
possessions away to his poorer friends and that when he had 10 or 15 cents he
would treat the neighborhood and take nothing for himself.
She says that his
father would beat him unmercifully for this sort of thing.
Gale gives a much better impression to anyone who meets him face to face
than is borne out by his actions. H e is very likable. The discord between his
parents, the indulgent affection of his mother, and the severity of his father all
doubtless had an adverse effect upon him. I f he had had the right sort of
probation officer who could have supplemented the nervous and doting affection
of his mother with the interest of an older man and' have given him the close
companionship and supervision which his father had denied him, he might
have learned from his experience to keep out of further trouble. Even after
he had served a term in the reformatory an adequate system of parole might
have saved him further misdeeds, if it had meant really close contact with a
fine type of man. The shortcomings o f the present system o f parole when

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sponsors are more or less irresponsible and parole officers rarely see their
charges is demonstrated in Gale’s case.
9. CARLO BIANCO
Interview January 27, 1927.
Native white, parents born in Italy. Father died in 1911. Mother in United States 34
years, stepfather 37 years.
Present age, 2 2 ; age at time o f offense, 19.
B oys’ court hearing, August 15, 1924. Robbery. Held fo r grand jury on August 16, 1924,
$1,000 bond. Committed to jail. Charge reduced to petty larceny in crim inal court.
Sentenced to house o f correction fo r six months and fined $1 on January 2, 1925.
Lives in h o t e l; at time o f offense lived w ith married sister.
F a m ily : H alf sister 40, brother-in-law, niece 5 in Chicago. A t home in New J e r se y :
Stepfather 64, mother 53, brother 16, half brother 13. M arried and living in their own
h om es: H alf brother 38, half sister 36, half brother 34, half brother 28, brother 20,
brother 18.

Carlo is of medium height, well-built, handsome, neat, and well-dressed. H e
is talkative but not a braggart and is fairly intelligent, though his lack of
education is evident.
Carlo described three experiences with the police or court. O f the first he
s a id : “ I was picked up on suspicion while I was just bumming around. They
never had any charge against m e ; they got the fellow they were after and
let me go. The last time I got pinched was when I got out of a job and could
not get any money, so I thought I would try the stick-up game again but it
didn’t pay. I got something to eat in the Bridewell.” On the occasion of the
offense included in the study Carlo stayed overnight in the police station. He
was charged with robbery on August 15, 1924, and held for the grand jury the
next day. H e was committed to the county jail, where he remained four and
one-half months. The charge was reduced in the criminal court to petty
larceny, and Carlo was sentenced to six months in the house o f correction in
January. The first time he was in the police station his brother-in-law bailed
him out by putting up $1,000. Carlo did not think that the jail or the stations
were so bad, but “ words can’t tell how bad the Bridewell was.” A charge be
fore the charge included in the study appears on the court record in June, 1924,
when he was accused of following a drunken man, though Carlo says he fell
asleep on the street corner. H e speaks of probation for one o f his earlier
offenses. No record of probation appears, and Carlo himself could not remember
whether he was on probation to a probation officer or to a representative of
some society. H e said that the man was a good fellow and was so busy he did
not have much time to give to him. H e says it did not do him much good
because he was just at the age when he did not care for anything. The socialservice card at the boys’ court shows that Carlo spoke o f having been at the
Chicago and Cook County School, but no juvenile-court record of commitment
was found. A s to the house of correction Carlo sa id : “A saint would sin in
that hole. Most o f the people there are awful low. That time I done in the
Bridewell fixed me. Since then I steered clear of trouble. I can’t say the
court done me any good, but I do say the place it sent me to was so bad that it
learnt me to respect the law.” H e realizes that the judge might have sentenced
him to Joliet for 10 years and therefore appreciates that his 6-month sentence
was at least “ fair.” H e said if he had had money to pay for a lawyer he
would have had a jury trial.
Carlo’s home life has been varied. H is father, who died 15 years ago, had
married twice, the second w ife being a sister o f the first, and the fam ily in
cludes five children of the first w ife and four children o f the second wife.
After his father’s death Carlo’s mother married again and had one son by that
marriage. The fam ily lives on a small truck farm in New Jersey. Occasion
ally Carlo’s mother comes to Chicago, where she has spent a good deal of time
in the last 10 years. Sometimes she visits relatives, and part of the time she
has had her own apartment with some of her unmarried sons. Carlo has lived
part of the time on the farm, part o f the time with his mother in Chicago,
and part o f the time with his sister, who is married and lives in Chicago. At
the time o f the interview he was living in a hotel with a woman to whom he
was not married. The sister lives in an attractive neighborhood in an apart
ment on the second floor of a 2-story brick apartment building owned by her
husband. When on the farm there are no opportunities for recreation and all
the members of the family stick pretty close to it. The boys used to ride a
couple of old horses occasionally. Carlo says that he is on good terms with the
members of his family and only objects to them when they want to make his
business theirs. A t the present time his brothers and sisters do not know

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where he lives nor who his companions are, although they say that he formerly
went around with a bad gang. They think that possibly he is married. No
other delinquency has occurred in the family except for one brother who was
committed to a reformatory in an eastern State. After five weeks he was
released, as it was decided he was not guilty of the offense charged. The
trouble arose over a fight in school.
Carlo says that he began school when about 7 years old. H e repeated two
grades and completed five, leaving when 15 because he “ had a fuss with the
teacher.
A t the boys’ court Carlo told of having held up his teacher and being
sent to the Chicago and Cook County School in 1919. H e also sa id : “ I ought
to have stuck in school. It would have done me lots o f good. I wish I had
gone to some school that would have learned me all about flowers. That is
what I want to know about, for there is good money in them. Then, education
helps you along with folks you meet. You know how to get next to them better
if you are educated.”
H e first went to work in 1920 as a farm laborer for $4 a week and his
board. A t the time of the offense included in the study Carlo was not employed.
A t the present time he is working for a florist. H e says he has had 15 or 20
jobs, which he quit for various reasons. H e “ left Chicago ” or “ ju st wanted
to shift around.” Once he “ got canned for copping jewelry, but I did not do
it.” He likes his present job. “ I have got the only job for me. My boss
makes plenty of dough, and he pays me every week. W e make more on the
side. I like my job and my boss, and he likes me. This is the only kind
of work I am ever going to do.” H is wages are $35 a week, and apparently he
receives more from the work he describes as “ on the side.” The only intimation
he gave as to the nature of this work was that at the present time he does not
dnnk, but he makes money “ off those who do.” H e says that he never has
belonged to a regular gang, but that he goes around with boys who belong
to his boss’s gang, and that he is ju st the same as a member at present, and
will be a member before long. H e is well versed in local politics. H e knows
who are the leaders in every ward in the c ity ; he knows what gangs are
influential; he knows (so he says) just how to reach any politicians who can be
reached.
. When asked regarding any conduct difficulties Carlo spoke only of his rela
tions with his family. “ I have had my ups and downs. I never got on with my
step-dad, but the other brothers and sisters did. I am the bum o f the family,
or have been until lately, but some day I will show them one and all. Now I
have got more money, and I am better fixed in a lot o f ways than they are.”
H e says that at the time o f the offense included in the study he was “ bum
ming.” A t the present time he pays $25 a week for room and board and
has saved $200. H e is living with a girl whom he says he may m arry; this
depends upon her getting a divorce from her present husband. It was because
of this girl who passes as his wife that Carlo would not give his address or let
his people know where he lives.
The chief result of Carlo’s experience in the court, and especially in the house
of correction, seems^ to be a firm intention to stay out of the clutches o f the
law. Apparently this intention does not include an enthusiasm for exemplary
conduct. He is ambitious, and believes that if he has influential friends he can
keep out of the courts, provided his conduct is not too flagrantly bad.
10. WALLACE MOOSE
Interview November 29, 1926.
NfltiVP DPgrn DorPnta n qtiiro norrm

** L p r m

lca I

L la l j

I t j

lo ^ 'l,

Interview ed at pen iten tiary; at time o f offense lived at home.
F a m ily : Father 55, mother 50, at h o m e ; fou r brothers d e a d ; sister 28, married and living
Yn
nar n
w n home.
hom o
°
in her
own

Tall, heavy, and very black, this boy had recently arrived in Chicago from the
South. H e is quiet, neat, well mannered, and intelligent in appearance and
conversation.
W allace is the only boy convicted o f an offense included in the study who
maintained his complete innocence of any wrongdoing in connection with either
this offense or any other that would have brought him in contact with the law.
He did not evade any questions. He said:
86850°— 30------ 10

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“ The police arrested me and took me to the police station and beat me and
kept me awake for two days and nights, trying to make me own up to helping
rob some people. Then they took me to the detective bureau and kept me
five or six days more, and did the same thing. Finally, I got .so tired of life
that I signed something, and they brought in two white boys who said they
recognized me. Then they took me up to the boys’ court, and then took me to
the county jail, and there I stayed for four months waiting for a jury trial.
They tried me and sent me down here for 10 years to life, and I know I never
done nothing.”
A t court it was said that he was one of two boys who held up a man and
that the other boy had the gun. H e was in jail from February 18 to August
14, when he was taken to the penitentiary. H is bail he said was set at $7,500,
which he could not raise. H e was found guilty on June 30 and sentenced to
serve from 10 years to life in the State penitentiary. At this time a stay of
mittimus was granted, delaying his transfer to the penitentiary for several
weeks. A t the time of the interview he had served two years and three months
of his sentence and had an excellent conduct record. In June, 1925, an order
was entered to continue his case until the minimum time (six years and three
months) was served. A t the end o f that time he may be released, instead o f
serving the full 10-year sentence.
O f the institutions in which he has been held W allace said : “ Jail is ten times
worse than here (penitentiary). You just can’t get a real breath there, and if
you ain’t got no money, you starve to death.” O f the penitentiary he sa id : “ I
get enough to eat, but it is not as good as I would like and I get all the work
I want to do. They treat me good enough. When they say do something I do
it quick.” W allace is far from being a vindictive person and tries to believe
that everything is for the best. H e said, when asked what was the^ effect
of this experience, “ Don’t know as it’s done me any good, but maybe it has.
I ’ve heard it said that a good purgative will do a well person good and keep
him from getting sick, so the court by sending me down here will keep me out
of trouble the rest of my life.”
W allace’s parents could not be found, but from his description they are evi
dently old-fashioned Southern negroes whose religion is their chief joy. In
the South they worked on a farm. In Chicago, W allace says, they have done
much better financially, and their house is “ pretty well fixed u p ” inside.
He says that his mother is “ powerful nice about her house and kitchen.” H is
father used to work for the city but was injured by an automobile and is
crippled and unable to work now. Consequently his mother works in a factory
where she earns $15 a week, and keeps roomers, having a house of 12 rooms,
8 of which are used as sleeping rooms. The rent is $75 a month. The house is
not in a very good neighborhood. The address given is, in fact, in a neighbor
hood where old houses are crowded together and where the streets are in poor
repair. A t the time W allace was arrested they lived on the second floor of an
old ramshackle wooden building in one of the dirtiest and most congested dis
tricts of the city. Wallace said that his parents were good to him but that they
were always worried about his “ not getting saved.”
W allace did not enter school until he was 10. H e completed five grades, re
peated one, and left at the! age of 16. H e could give no reason for leaving
school : “ I just quit. That was what the other boys did.” H e has no inten
tion of going to school any more but seems to have no antipathy to it. H e
appears more intelligent than many negroes with more education. After he
stopped school W allace worked on the farm with his father. When he came to
Chicago he found other work and at the time o f his offense was a laborer earn
ing $25 a week. H e has left an unknown number of positions for various
reasons, such as slack work, or because he could earn more money in another
job, or because he preferred inside labor to outside. “ I never did loaf much,”
he said, “ I always get a job. Always got a new one before I gave up an old
one. I always helped out my father as much as I could. My mother didn’t
have to work away from home before I came down here. I never lost a job
because I wouldn’t work.” H e would like to have steady employment as a
laborer for the city. When he was working he gave the fam ily all that was
needed, even if it was all his wages.
W allace said that in the South he never had many boy friends but had a
few very good friends with whom he spent a great deal of time. They never
did anything worse than steal chickens, melons, and fruit and go ’possum hunt
ing ; but they did drink a little sometimes. H e said that in Chicago, where he

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had been only about two months before he got into this trouble, he knew only
three boys well. He liked baseball games and church services in the city.
He also misses going with girls now that he is in the penitentiary. H e doesn’t
know much about gangs.
officerg in the penitentiary consider W allace easy to handle. H e himself
Will not talk about the prison life any more than to say, “ I am innocent, but
they treat me aii right here.”
b Jj i 1 boy is one of the recent negro immigrants from the South to Chicago.
Before he had become adjusted to the new situation he came in conflict with
the legal authorities. H e had no friends to whom he could appeal, and he
received a stiff sentence, When released from the penitentiary, he will
have the same problems he had before his commitment. He will still be
a stranger in a strange land, and he will need as much as ever the guidance
ana " ¿ W . 111 &djustment that he did not find when he first came to the North.
In addition, he will have responsibilities resulting from his father’s crippled
condition. Wallace expressed the dissatisfaction of many young negroes in
a similar position. He said that Northern negroes “ ain’t no g oo d ” and that
m the South he never had white folks “ to chase h im ” ; that there he got
on fine with the white folks but up here, “ the white folks sit by you on
the cars but hit you in the back when you turn around.”
11. TONY TAGLIA
Interview February 6, 1927.

Present^g^^at^g^a^tim e1of^ffense^li)?1' “
^ ° i9 2 4 ° Urt ^ earing’ April 2®> 1924.

United Stat6S 27 ye&rS ; mother’ 24 year3'

Assault with a deadly weapon.

Discharged May 26,

Lives in disreputable establishment at time of offense lived at home
Fa< S l : Father 55, motller 53> brothers 24, 18, 17, 13, 1 2 ; sisters 19, 16.

One brother

Dark, strong, and heavy set, dressed in a flashy fashion, and wearing a
diamond stud, this young man is hard in manner and boastful in conversa
tion. H is language is consistently unpleasant. According to his own state
ment he belongs to one of the most powerful gangs in the city.
This young man runs a disorderly house, a bootleggers’ establishment, and a
gambling den in a section of Little Italy. W hen asked about his arrests
and court experience he said he had been arrested about twenty-five times.
You see, he explained, “ when some complaint goes in the cops make a raid.
W e go to court and get off with a fine. The gang pays it. The cops have
to niako these raids to hold their jobs, but they let us know when they are
coming and we are ready. They get credit for conviction, but what they
have on us .lust drags down a fine. Poor devils who ain’t got no influence
go to the pen.” Concerning the offense included in the study the socialservice department card reports that Tony was drunk and stabbed a man.
lo n y said :
I was doing a little house cleaning when that bird got hard and
pulled a knife. I just showed him the latest style in carving, and that was
all. I had a good lawyer. W e drug the case on in court, scared the bird
who got cut, and finally I got turned loose, for they couldn’t prove I done it.”
When asked about detention he sa id : “ I never have put in time in ja il
and not much time in police stations. Our lawyer manages to get me out
n gh t away when I get in. The gang lawyer has the dough to put up for
bonds.
H e was m the Chicago Parental School when a boy but sa id : “ I
dont remember anything about all th a t; I was just a kid then. I just re
member that they were tight on me, and that made me worse than ever. I
c a n t stand bosses.” In regard to the court Tony said : “ That court can
nelp good religious boys, but it does fellows like me no good nor no harm,
i go on just the- same as if there were no courts of no kind.”
rrJn Q f j T 0 an.d one-half years previous to the offense included in this study
®ny ,v a(* keen in court on four charges o f disorderly conduct and one charge
ot robbery. The robbery and two disorderly-conduct cases were discharged
Un the other two charges he was fined, once $10, and once $50. The records
lor the two years after the scheduled offense show seven court appearances,
five for disorderly conduct, one for speeding, and one as an inmate o f a
gambling den. On the gambling charge Tony was discharged, and for speedm g a warrant was made out and no disposition recorded. Two of the dis
orderly charges were dismissed, and three drew fines of $5, $25, and $100,

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The Taglia family have lived for at least nine years in a 5-room «brick and
frame cottage which they own. The house is dilapidated* âhd thë yâfd iSVëfy
badly kept. The whole neighborhood is run down, i t is ohê of the old “ redlight ” districts o f Chicago. The population is principally Italian âhd Chihêse.
The inside of the Taglia house is filthy, poverty-stricken, drab, and disorderly.
In the midst of débris and dirt is a phonograph but very little furniture. Mrs.
Taglia’s clothing is dirty and tattered, but she is quite pleasant and smiling.
The younger daughter, 16, was barefooted, ragged, and filthy, Mr, Taglia is a
hard-working street cleaner earning $30 a week, and the oldest daughter is a
telephone operator earning $1T a week. This girl turns over her pay check to
her mother. The father has had the same job for years, and the two support
the family. The oldest son lives at home and is a truck driver earning $30 a
week, but he contributes nothing toward the fam ily expenses. Two boys, 17
and 18 years old, are also at home but are unemployed. The three youngest
children are still in school. The youngest at 12 years is in the fourth, grade ;
his brother, a year older, is only in the third grade; and the 16-year-old girl
is in the seventh grade.
Tony has not lived at home for some time. Mrs. Taglia explained that she
does not know where he lives ; neither does she know how the next youngest
son earns his living or where he stays. He still nominally lives at home but is
very seldom there even for meals. So far as the mother knows he is not
employed. Either Mrs. Taglia knew very little in regard to her sons’ lives, or
she was determined not to tell all that she knew.
The boy just younger than Tony has a juvenile-court record. H e had been
a truant, having run away from home twice. H e was sent to the Chicago and
Cook County School in November, 1923. Just before this his parents had been
in court on a charge of neglect. The mother is said to have been tuberculous.
The boy with the juvenile-court record is not very fond o f his mother and
father. The mother apparently neglects and the father scolds the boys. The
mother has been anxious that her children go to1 school and obtain an educa
tion, but the house has been an unattractive place for anyone to live in.
Tony entered school at 7 and left at 14, having completed four grades and
repeated two. H e said that he left because he was “ tired o f all that bunk ;
tired of fussy old maids.” His general idea of school he expressed as follows :
“ They can like it as wants to ; as for me it is all the bunk. I ain’t never got
no good from school and don’t expect to. The country is wasting money on
schools all the time. Better give it to poor people.”
Tony’s mother said that his first job was as an office boy at $18 a week, but
that from the time he was 14 he held no job at all until he w as 19 and was
taken before the boys’ court. H e then obtained a job so that he could tell the
judge he was working. A s soon as his case was discharged he quit. During
these years, his mother said, he merely loafed on the streets, and since his court
experience he has worked very irregularly and only for short periods. Tony
insists, however, that he has always worked but that his parents don’t call
what he does work. He says that he was first a pool-room helper at $10 a
week and that a t the time of the offense included in the study he w as boss of
a pool room and earned $35 a week. A t the present time he describe® his
occupation as boss of a gambling house and bouncer of a house o f prostitution.
H e earns $40 a week. H e has had this position for six months. ^ He has had
many such jobs and says that he usually keeps a job “ until the joint is closed
by some squawking cop.” Tony has never done any constructive work. H is
opinion is that people who work out in the cold all day for small wages are
“ dumb-bells.” A t the present time and at the time o f the offense included in
the study Tony paid $20 a week for room and board. H e owns a car worth
$1,500 and apparently has no other property or savings.
Mrs. Taglia says that Tony has always been a problem. Prom early child
hood he was hard to manage, and he was a truant throughout his school career.
She often asked police officers to help her locate him when he ran away. He
once ran away and was gone for 15 days, although it was found later that he
had been sleeping in the basement of the house at night. Beyond saying
that Tony hung out with a gang his mother could make no statement about his
recreation.
Tony admits that he belongs to a gang and says : “ It’s the strongest one on
the W est Side and is one of the real big and good ones in the city.
W h a t we
want we get.” H e associates with very low women and speaks in vulgar terms
about his relations with them.
H e showed how the house in which he works
is arranged so that a person can not get out o f it i f he is suspected o f being a

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spy. He admitted that he sells liquor and drinks ‘‘ plenty of it, too.” A s to his
general conduct Tony said: “ I always get on all right in my own way. My
folks don’t think so, and you may not. I was born fighting, and I have kept it
up. Nobody tries raising a roughhouse here, for if anybody does I settle him
quick with a left or right hook, or a pistol, if that doesn’t do.
I have always
had run-ins with cops, some of them. Others I have got acquainted with in miy
gang, and they’re good fellows.
That is the only trouble I ’ve had, just fights.
O f course if I didn’t belong to a strong gang and pay my share of graft I
couldn’t get away with it,”
W ith three boys of working age unemployed, so fa r as the mother knows, it
seems probable that the means of livelihood of both of Tony’s brothers may be
somewhat similar to his. Tony is evidently established as a gangster who per
forms some o f the most obnoxious o f the gang’s duties.
In return he has the
gang’s protection.
Discharges and fines are certainly entirely ineffective in
dealing with the offenses for which Tony has been brought into court. Either
disposition leaves him free to carry on his old occupation, which means contin
uing to commit the offenses for which he was brought into court. Nothing short
o f a most radical procedure involving the heads of these institutions, instead of
employees like Tony, and sincere efforts at closing such places would be
effective.
12.

ANTON NEHTA

Interview December 15, 1926.
Native white. Father born in Poland, mother native.
Present age, 1 9 ; age at time of offense, 17.
Boys’ court hearing, March 27. 1924. Assault with a deadly weapon. Placed on proba
tion for six months, April 26, 1924. Discharged from probation at expiration o f term.
Result “ doubtful.”
Lives with siste r; at time o f offense lived at home.
F am ily: Stepfather 42, mother 40, at home. Sister 23, married and living in her own
home. Sisters 17, 10, 8, 7 ; stepbrother 8. Father died in 1923. Sister dead. Mother
worked away from home until six months ago.

Anton is a slender boy of medium height, undernourished in appearance, rather
untidy, and not very clean.
In conversation he is evasive, talks little, seems
dull, and gives the impression of being a backward, if not feeble-minded, boy.
The boys’ court sent him for mental examination to the psychopathic laboratory,
where his mental age was found to be 10% years and he was diagnosed as a
high-grade moron plus dementia prseeox hebephrenia.
O f the offense included in the study Anton sa id : “ This time it was for shoot
ing a boy. I couldn’t help it. I t was ju st an accident.
The cops said it was
my fault, and they beat up on me for a hour or two down at the (detective)
bureau.
The judge lectured to me and let me go on six months of probation,
for he found out that I did not shoot him on purpose.” The court records show
that the charge was assault with a deadly weapon and that after a month the
boy was placed on probation for six months. Before this offense Anton had
been in the juvenile court on a charge o f burglary. H e had run away from
home and with two other boys had annoyed a young girl and burglarized a
shoe-shining parlor.
H e was sent to the Chicago and Cook County School in
November, 1923, but stayed there only three weeks. This was the year his father
died. His conduct at the school is said to have been poor, but he was paroled
and finally discharged when over 17, with a poor conduct record. Again, after
the offense that was heard in the boys’ court, Anton was in the juvenile court on
a charge o f stealing bicycle parts, for which he was returned to the Chicago and
Cook County School for violation of parole. The conflict of jurisdiction be
tween the juvenile court and the boys’ court was possibly due to Anton’s vary
ing statements in regard to his age.
On the boys’ court record he appears as
having been born April 1, 1907, but during the interview in connection with this
study he said that he was really born in 1906 but had given the other date in
order to be heard in the court he wanted.
Since these experiences he has been
in court twice. In February, 1925, he was held for the grand jury by a branch
court, but in March no “ true bill ” was found. In April he was again charged
with burglary and this time was sentenced by the criminal court to four months
in the house of correction. Anton’s description of his court experience does not
tally exactly with the court record, although he describes three arrests. H e
sa id :
“ The first time was for running away from home. I did not like to stay
with my mother, so I ran away and the cops pinched me.” He then described
the shooting a ffa ir: “ The last time was on the Fourth of July, and we was

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all in the park and drunk and I don’t know what I done, but they sent rne
away for four months.”
W hen questioned further about this difficulty he
would not say that he knew anything more about it and finally refused to talk
at all. He gave the impression that he may have been even more deeply
implicated than was brought out during the trial. Anton was never . p r j a i l
and says he never had to put up security. Each time he was arrested, how
ever, he stayed in the police station overnight. H e said: “ The stations are
not so bad when you consider what they are for.”
'
‘
'
Probation does not seem to have made any impression upon him.
He
showed no interest in i t ; probably his mental capacity is not sufficient to
enable him to benefit by this sort of treatment. Little opportunity was given
him, however, to profit by it. H e made no reports to the officer, according
to the record in the probation office. The probation officer reports that he
called once and spoke to the m other; that he called the next month and found
no one at home. Another visit was not made for two months. On this occasion
the officer reported that the landlady said they had moved away. No record
is found of any effort on his. part to trace the family. Even the first visit of
the probation officer to the home can have been of little use, as he reported:
“ The mother speaks very little English, only speaks Italian.” As the mother
was born in this country and is of Polish extraction, it is probable that the
right family was never once seen by the officer. A t the expiration of the
6-month term Anton was discharged from probation, and results were recorded
SAnton was in the house of correction from July 6 to October 31, 1926. The
only expression in regard to this experience which he would make w a s : G e e .
that was an awful place; I never want any more of it.”
Anton’s home conditions could hardly have been worse. Since 1914, when
he was 7 vears old, the family has been known to social agencies as very
undesirable, and ever since that time (12 years ago) the children have been
under supervision by the juvenile court, by reason of bad home conditions. Six
agencies have registered the family at the social-service exchange. The mother
and father were both known to drink. The father several times reported
to the court that his wife drank too much to give the children proper care.
After the father’s death in 1923 reports were received both of the m others
drinking and of her receiving men visitors at night. The mother also worked
awav from home at least during the last 12 years. After her husband’s death
she worked for a time on a truck farm. To reach this work she was forced
to leave home at 4 o’clock in the morning and did not return until 7 o clock
at night. The children were left alone at home. In speaking of his child
hood Anton said that his mother was always too busy to be interested in him,
that he had never been welcome in her home, and that some of his relatives
had told him that his mother had never wanted children. H e said that his
mother had cared little for him. The mother at the present time says that
the stepfather to whom she was married six months ago does not want the
children in their home. She also told the agent who interviewed her for
this study that she did not like Anton. She had heard from a brother of hers
that Anton was in the Bridewell. She herself had had no word from him for
so many months that she had not known of his sentence. The stepfather
wanted to visit Anton when he heard that he was in the Bridewell and was
trving to persuade the mother to go with him. The stepfather drinks, but
there is no indication from any source other than the mother that he is not
willing to have the children in his home.
jV*. During the 12 years that the juvenile-court officer has visited the family
(once every month except for 16 months when they were lost to the court)
the places in which the family has lived have been very disagreeable. In one
house one o f the girls w as bitten badly by a rat. The house in which the
fa mily now lives is in a poor business and residential district, comprised
of two and three story brick and frame apartment buildings, with many rear
houses. The mother appeared to be delighted with her new quarters and
mentioned as one of the advantages the fact that there were no rats. The
street is dirty, and the flat was dirty and untidy. The family have moved
twice since Anton’s offense.
.
, »
Anton has not lived in his mother’s home lately. After coming out o f the
house of correction, at the end of October, he went 1» his siste rs home.
Her four-room apartment, which rents for $18 a month, is in a small brick
building on a business street, near an industrial center. The community is
considerably better than that in which his mother lives. The apartment is

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clean but dark. The furniture is simple but adequate. The apartment is
crowded, and the atmosphere was stuffy and close. There was no evidence
of home recreation of any kind. The family consists of the sister and her
husband and their three children and o f Anton and his 14-year-old sister. The
brother-in-law is a construction worker making $35 a week. The sister
seemed to be sympathetic with Anton, and the brother-in-law was on friendly
terms with him. Although the relationships in this home are much better
than in his mother’s home, his sister and brother-in-law are probably too
indulgent and do not give him the supervision that he needs.
The fam ily at home attend church regularly. The children have all lived
irregularly, being sometimes at home, sometimes with relatives, sometimes in
other homes, and sometimes in institutions. During a long period in which
social agencies have been in close touch with this fam ily, no permanent plan
has been worked out for any of them. Only the oldest girl seems to have made
a satisfactory adjustment. She was committed to a school for dependent girls
in 1915 at the same time that Anton was committed, to a training school for
boys. They were both kept on probation until 1919. Apparently the girl’s
marriage has been successful although her husband’s wages are rather inade
quate for the family. In the same year that the two oldest children were
placed in training schools as dependents the next two children (both girls)
were placed with the grandmother, the father paying $2 a week for their care.
They also were released from supervision in 1919. They have lived with
various relatives and in other families, and one o f them was in an institution.
They frequently ran away to their mother or sister. Finally, the second girl
was placed with her sister and has remained there. In 1924 the two children
still younger were placed on probation to live with the oldest sister, then
married. They were later sent to the industrial school and ran away from
there. They were subsequently placed in other homes, and during the last
year they have been in the home o f a woman who wishes to adopt them. The
mother, however, will not consent to adoption, although she is perfectly will
ing for the children to stay away from home. The children still return to their
mother from time to time. Police have been sent to the mother’s home for
them, and on one occasion they hid under the bed while their mother said
they were not at home. One sister was scalded to death in 1923. The only
delinquencies except Anton’s charged against the family are against the
parents. The mother in 1915 was picked up on the street drunk, fined $40
and costs, and sent to the House of the Good Shepherd for three months.
A t the present time the stepfather is employed in the smoke room o f the
stockyards and earns $35 a week. The oldest unmarried sister lives with
relatives and works in an electric shop. A s the next sister is with the married
sister and two younger girls are usually in another fam ily home, no
children are with the mother except the child of Anton’s stepfather, a boy o f 8.
The younger children are in the first, second, and third grades at 7, 8, and 10
years o f age, respectively.
Anton entered a parochial school at 7 years o f age and remained until 12,
if he is the age he now claims to be. According to the date o f birth given the
boys’ court, he was only 11 when he stopped school. The mother’s story is
that he had stopped school at 14 and had been at work for some time before
she and the boy’s father were aware o f it. Undoubtedly she has had enough
contact with school authorities and the law to realize that his work was
illegal* Probably this is the reason that she disclaims any knowledge of it,
for Anton says that he “ had to work to help father ” and when asked about
his mother’s statement said that his parents did know when he went to work.
H e says he had completed four grades and had repeated one. His mother
says that he had completed only three grades. Anton said : “ School is a lot
of bunk to me. I never liked it. I never had clothes like others, and somehow
I never learned fast, and what I did learn never done me any good.”
_ Anton said that he first worked on a truck farm with his mother. A t the
time of the offense studied he was a driver making deliveries of daily papers
for $18 to $20 a week. When he came out o f the house of correction he
became a factory laborer at $20 a week. H e does not know how many
different jobs he has had and says he “ just changed when he didn’t like what
he was doing.” Apparently he can not keep a position long. H e often gets
into discussions and arguments and fights with his fellow workers and with
his bosses. A t the time o f his offense he was paying $10 a week for his room
and board and pays the same amount to his sister at present.

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Anton’s mother said that he was a “ server ” at church when a small boy
and used to march in the processions and attend church regularly. H e was
a truant from school and was always unmanageable. She says his present
companions are undesirable.
O f his companionships and recreation Anton sa id : “ I don’t go but with
a few boys. W e go to shows (m ovies), and go riding and play ball. In the
summer we go to basball games. Then we hang out on the streets or in stores
sometimes.” He admitted that he drinks moonshine “ fairly often.” He
does not have much time to spend with girls but frankly states that he is
a constant caller on immoral women. In regard to his conduct difficulties
he sa id : “ I have been getting in trouble ever since I can remember, and I
guess I always will be doing it, for somehow I get a chance and I can’t turn
it down. My mother may have helped me along. People shouldn’t say anything
about parents, and especially dead ones, but my father and mother just didn’t
pay me no attention when I was growing up. I raised m yself and made an
awful mess o f it.”
Anton seems to have no inherently bad qualities but to have little will power
and to act as others direct or lead. H e has no great amount of energy and
no initiative. Let alone he would do little harm. In a good environment
he might get along fairly well. Strict supervision and good home influence
might have saved this boy from his present predicament. Although he im
pressed the probation officer, the juvenile-court officer, and the bureau agent,
as of subnormal mentality, no effort was made by the agencies so closely in
touch with him from the time he was 7 years old until he was 17 to have him
examined mentally. This failure is difficult to explain in view of his retarda
tion in school. Apparently no effort was ever made to adjust the school curric
ulum to his particular abilities. According to his mother, the school-teachers
did not report Anton’s absence to her after he finally stopped school “ because
they didn’t care.” For this weak but harmless boy neither his home nor his
school “ cared.” A representative of the juvenile court attempted to supply the
care which was needed, and the efforts of this one agency were not successful.
Later, when Anton came to the attention of the boys’ court, another oppor
tunity provided by society, probationary care, also failed to provide the super
vision that he needed. Commitment to a correctional institution at least gave
him discipline but for a very short time only. No provision was made for
supervision of this boy or boys like him after they left the institution. To
sum up, favorable conditions of living, including rather strict supervision, might
have been successful with this boy in spite of the unfavorable mental diagnosis
and his early environment. These have not been provided.
13. JOSEPH STEAKA
iDterview January 15, 1927.
Native white, parents born in Czechoslovakia. M'other in United States 34 years, father
at least 23 years.
Present age, 2 1 ; age at time of offense, 19.
Boys’ court hearing, December 15, 1925. Assault and battery. Continued four times.
Dismissed for want o f prosecution, April 2, 1926.
Lives in room over dance h a ll; at time of offense lived w ith mother.
F a m ily : Mother 4 1 , sister 20, sister 18, brother 16. Father divorced. Sister 24, mar
ried, living in own home.

Joseph is tall and heavy, clean-cut, and neat in appearance. In the interview
he was businesslike and courteous, seemed talkative and energetic. H e has
an explosive temper which returns to normal quickly. During the continuance
o f this case Joseph was examined in the psychopathic laboratory, where he was
found to have a mental age of 12% years and was classified as a high-grade
borderland sociopath plus dementia prsecox katatonia.
In regard to his offense Joseph refuses to say much. “ W h at took me before
the court appears on the record, and that is all I have to say about the matter.
It is purely domestic and is not for other people to know.” H is mother ex
plained that Joseph interfered in his parents’ domestic difficulties and tried to
protect her. H is father had him in court twice “ just for meanness.” The
father and mother both appeared in court with him. The mother says that the
judge explained to her that the only reason he continued the case and did
not discharge the boy at once was because o f the effect it might have on other
boys in the court room, who might feel that they could go home and “ beat
up their fathers and get away with it.” Joseph did not stay in the police
station at all as he was allowed to go on his own recognizance, H e says that

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his court experience had no effect on his conduct. H e then explained as
fo llow s: “ I smashed my daddy in the mouth for cursing my mother. That
is all that will teach him, as he is not bad enough to coop up in an insane
hospital.”
The home in which the fam ily lived at the time of Joseph’s court appearance
and at the time of the study is in a clean, uncongested neighborhood in a com
bination business and residence district. The building is owned by Mrs. Straka.
It is a two-story brick building on a corner. The family occupies seven rooms,
three of which are sleeping rooms, on the second floor, and on the first floor
the mother conducts a small store and lunch room. The combination kitchen
and living room back o f the store was untidy and upset at the time of the
visit.
The parents were divorced last December after having lived together for 23
years. Mrs. Straka divorced her husband on account o f cruelty, saying she
could not stand living with him any longer. She feels a strong obligation
toward her children until they are 21, but after that age has been reached she
feels that her responsibility ends and that what they do is their, own concern.
The youngest sister finished high school and wanted to become a gymnasium
teacher, but finding that this training was too expensive, she took business
training and is a stenographer earning $25 a week. The older sister never
liked school and went to high school only two years. She is a typist earning
$18 a week. The boy, 16 years of age, is in the second year of high school.
Joseph is not living at home now. H e lives over a dance hall which he
manages. H e says that although his mother’s home had a radio, phonograph,
and piano, he does not need them in his room as they are all provided in the
dance hall. He has a few books in his own room which he uses in studying
law and psychology.
Joseph started to school when 6 years old and graduated from high school
in 1922, having skipped one grade. H e then went to night school and has
finished a law course. He did not pass his bar examination but m ay take it
again next summer. Joseph discusses the purpose and value of education
with some understanding and in rather pretentious language.
When he was 16 Joseph earned $15 a week working for a large corporation.
He left that position to go back to school. Tw o later positions he left in
order to get more remunerative work and to get into business for himself.
He has been manager o f the dance hall for the last six months; at this occu
pation he averages $75 a week. He pays $25 a week for his board and room
and has saved approximately $1,000. A t the time of his court appearance he
was paying (while living at home) $15 a week to his mother. In regard to
his relation with others while employed he s a y s: “ I am not a good employee;
when I have worked for others I have never soldiered on the job, but I have been
hard to get along with. That I know. It is my weakness— this bad temper—
but I am controlling it now. When I am giving orders I do not get angry, for
I try to treat folks white. It is when I take orders from someone who is cross
that I fly off the handle.”
The two occasions on which Joseph’s father took him to court were the only
court experiences on record against him. The first one was about three months
before the offense studied, and Joseph was discharged at once. His mother
says that he has a rather bad temper but has never done anything really bad.
She seems not to know much about his life at present. As to his social life at
present Joseph sa id : “ M y recreation is clean and square, and I am not ashamed
of my companions. I know some mighty nice girls. I meet all kinds in my
work, but only the intelligent and interesting ones, who in addition possess
character, appeal to me. A s to my boy chums they are business men.” From
his general conversation it was gathered that Joseph spends much time with
young people, many of them college bred, who have a liberal or literary slant.
He spoke o f friends among members of a certain club, known as a rendezvous
o f artists and pseudo artists, and a center for discussion and amusement
among persons of radical or semiradical views. Joseph seems to have a craving
for learning and to have made some headway in attaining it. H e has some
what advanced social and economic ideas which are not yet settled or ordered.
H e seems open-minded and fair.
Joseph’s court experience seems to have had little effect upon his conduct
but to have given him some insight into the workings of the law. Probably
his perception was strengthened by his previous law studies. H is experience
seems to have convinced him that our system of justice lacks individualiza
tion o f treatment and suffers from publicity, H e said ; “ W e are working

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yet under an old feudal system that was created to protect individuals by
preventing kings from getting rid of people they disliked through secret trials.
W e no longer need that. W hat individuals need now is privacy and scientific
treatment of their troubles, and newspaper reporters need to be barred from
court rooms.” H e is apparently able to dissociate himself from this un
pleasant experience and to look at it from an objective point of view. The
experience in court will probably have little effect upon his career. His
handicaps are a broken home, the cruelty he has witnessed, and his partici
pation in the trouble between his parents which was possibly due to his
father’s mental trouble. Unfortunately his mother feels little responsibility
toward her grown son and is able to give him little of the guidance needed
by a boy of Joseph’s ability and tendencies.
BURGLARY

Only three boys charged with burglary were included in the in
tensive study. Matthew Bates (case 14), the son of a deserting
father, had had a long court record, first in the juvenile court and
later in other courts. Ten social agencies had known the family.
For the offense included in the study, in which his younger brother
was also involved, he was given 30 days in the house of correction.
The discharge o f his brother (whose history is not given in detail in
this report) was perhaps justified. Anthony Grillo’s history (not
included in the cases given in detail) o f one term o f probation
followed by a settlement out o f court on a charge o f bastardy, and
by five discharges, two of which, however, followed violation of
traffic regulations only, indicates that other treatment was needed.
His record when discharged from probation was “ satisfactory ”
although he had been in court several times during his probationary
period.
The case o f Matthew Bates follow s:
14. MATTHEW BATES
Interview December 13, 1926.
Native negro, parents native negro.
Present age, 2 2 ; age at time of offense, 20.
Boys’ court hearing, June 4, 1925. Burglary. Held for grand jury. Bail $5,000.
Com
mitted to jail. Disposition by criminal court on charge reduced to petty larceny.
Sentenced to 30 days in house o f correction and fined $1, September 22, 1925.
Interviewed at reform atory; at time of offense lived at home.
F a m ily : Mother 53, brother 25, brother 18, brother 16, sister 13, brother 9. Father 51,
deserting. Brother born 1916, died 1917. Mother works away from home.

Matthew is very black, of medium height and weight, and neat in appear
ance. He seems frank, intelligent, well-informed, and aggressive, and adopts
an attitude of superiority, although he is courteous. H e was sent to the
psychopathic laboratory by the hoys’ court in 1923 where he was found to
have a mental age of 13 and was classified as a low-grade sociopath plus
dementia prsecox katatonia. The only report of his examination on the
social-service records of the court is “ not commitable.”
Matthew’s contact with the courts began at the age of 11, when he was taken
to the juvenile court for cutting out lead pipe in a house and was placed under
the supervision of a probation officer. Less than a month later he was again in
court for stealing money. This case was not pressed, but a truancy charge was
made and he was committed to a school for truants.
No more was heard from
him in the court for two years when he again appeared, charged with stealing
a car radiator and brass. After two continuances he was committed to the St.
Charles School for Boys, which he entered in 1918.
H e made a good record
there and was paroled June 30, 1921. His record while on parole was also good,
and he was released from parole January 27, 1922. The juvenile-court record,
however, shows that he was released from jurisdiction without improvement on
October 28, 1921.
Before this final release from juvenile jurisdiction he had
been taken to the boys’ court on a charge of larceny, for which he was put on
probation for six months. During this term of probation he was again'in court
charged with burglary and was held for the grand jury on a $2,500 bond. Ap-

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parently he was not convicted on this charge.
In April, 1923, he was in a
branch court for disorderly conduct and was discharged. In July of that year
he was charged with larceny, having stolen four suits from a store. This charge
was reduced, and he was committed to the house of correction for 60 days and
fined $1. In November of the same year, he was charged with carrying a con
cealed weapon and with burglary.
On this occasion he was committed to the
Pontiac Reformatory for one year.
H e was discharged from the reformatory
on November 5, 1924.
The offense included in the study occurred on June 4,
1925, when he was charged with burglary, having broken into a drug store. On
this occasion it was charged that his two brothers also accompanied him and
that a small brother sold the loot. Matthew was committed to the house of
correction for 30 days. In February, 1926, he was charged with burglary and
larceny and held for the grand jury on bonds for $1,500. The criminal court in
March, 1926, committed him to Pontiac on a 1 to 10 year sentence.
In telling of his delinquent career Matthew sa y s: “ I got started young, and I
have never let up. I can not blame anyone besides my own fool self. I started
in as a school boy and got acquainted with the juvenile court, and I have done
everything mean that came in my way.
However, I have never used violence.
Somehow, I have a tender heart in spite of all my bad record. I am really a
kleptomaniac, and that only when I am drinking; otherwise I am a good citizen,
for even i f I do commit other breaches o f society’s standards, they are largely
such breaches as all youngsters commit.”
The arrest which Matthew discussed included one when he was sitting in a
car which he thought belonged to another boy who was with him. The cops
came, the other boy ran away, and Matthew was caught. “ I was innocent.
They showed me the * gold fish ’ and everything, to make me give the other
boy’s name, but I didn’t know it except as * J o e’.” Matthew says that the time
he was arrested for stealing from a residence he was guilty and that he got off
light with a year in Pontiac. H e says that when he stole clothes from a store
and got 60 days in the house of correction he deserved them a l l ; another time he
was picked up for being drunk, but, though discharged, he was guilty. The of
fense included in the study, for which he served 30 days in the house of correc
tion, was merely another in the series with nothing unusual to mark it. De
scribing the offense for which he is now in Pontiac, Matthew said: “ The last
time. I got arrested for my old weakness— burglary.
That time I had a gun,
so they gave me 1 to 10 years. That means 6 years for me, and I can’t complain.
Society must be protected.
O f course, I would never have tried the last stunt
if I had not been loaded with booze.”
Speaking o f his detention Matthew sa id : “ I had three jail trips besides my
many adventures in police stations. Everybody knows that jails and police sta
tions are made for society’s enemies, and, naturally, they are made as uncom
fortable as possible.
Sometimes they are clean and sometimes not, all depend
ing on who is in charge of them and how many are in them at once.”
A s he
remembers it, he was in jail about a week in 1921, two weeks in 1923, and a
month in 1925. H e has been committed to two schools for juvenile delinquents.
Since passing beyond the jurisdiction of the juvenile court he has had two
sentences to the house of correction and two sentences to Pontiac.
“ None of
the institutions are bad.
The folks in them are. I have had good treatment
always. I obey orders and get on fine. I get more than I deserve. I have no
criticism to offer— it all depends on the man.” Matthew’s mother indicates that
he gets on well in institutions.
She says that now at Pontiac he is “ as fat as
a butter ball.”
She also thought that Matthew was benefited by his stay in a
State school for juvenile delinquents.
During Matthew’s boyhood, according to the juvenile-court records, the
mother was in very destitute circumstances:, and the family was an occasional
charge on charity for a number of years, though it had never been completely
dependent upon outside sources for any length of time.
Ten social agencies,
including two family-welfare agencies, were registered at the social-service ex
change as knowing the family.
The father had been a chronic temporary de
serter from 1914 until about 1918, when he shot at a man in the neighborhood
and killed a boy, and ran away to escape arrest.
Since then he has not been
heard from. Two years before the study the mother was ill and unable to work
for some time. The family had to give up their apartment and lived in rooms.
The family is getting along better now with two or three sons and the mother
working. Such luxuries as an expensive radio set and a wardrobe trunk for
which the oldest boy, who has never taken a trip in his life and has no plans

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for one, paid $87, adorn the parlor (which also serves, as a bedroom) of the 5room apartment. The home is clean, as are the members of the family, one
of whom was ironing a snow-white wash at the time of the agent’s v isit; but
the neighborhood is in the poorest section of Chicago’s “ black belt,” the street
is narrow and unpaved, and railroads and factories are very near. The houses
are small brick and frame huts, very old and in bad repair, and for the most
part dirty and smelly.
The mother does laundry work and housework, at which she earns $16 or
more a week. The oldest son earns $18 a week as a laborer, and the 18-yearold boy earns $12 a week as a delivery boy. The 16-year-old boy was out of
work at the time of the interview. He was helping with the cooking at home.
The two younger children are in school.
The members of the family are sympathetic and affectionate, and the home
life appears to be happy and congenial. The children are helpful with the
cooking and housework and do it well. Although Matthew is regarded as a
“ trouble maker ” his mother says he is most considerate in the home, giving
her more money than any of the other children and waiting on her. The
members o f the family listen to the radio, every evening; the mother says it
seems to keep the boys at home. On Sunday mornings they tune in on religious
services instead of going to church. The mother says she knows most o f her
neighbors, and the children have their friends although they spend a good
deal of time at home.
Mrs. Bates is very fond o f her children and would rather be with them
than with anyone else. She says that they are all very good' with the excep
tion of Matthew, who taught the others some bad tricks. Whenever the other
boys were arrested, she says, it was due to Matthew’s influence with them
that they got into trouble. Court records show various delinquencies o f dif
ferent members o f the family. The oldest boy was in the juvenile court in
1914 for stealing a bicycle but was discharged. In 1917 he was in the juvenile
court for cutting and carrying away lead pipe from two houses, causing dam
age of $150 in each. Andrew, just younger than Matthew, was in the boys’
court twice in 1924 and 1925—-once after a raid in a pool hall, and the second
time on the burglary charge for which Matthew was sent to the house of
correction. Andrew was also at the Chicago and Cook County School when a
young boy. A few weeks ago Mrs. Bates reported Dan (the 16-year-old boy)
to the court apparently because he was out of work, as she insists he has never
been in any trouble outside his home.
Entering school at 6 years of age, Matthew left during his third year of
high school in order to help the family. H e sa id : “ I always liked going to
school. It was always easy for me. I wish very much that opportunity had
existed for me to go to college. Had I not allowed myself, while a mere youth,
to be sidetracked into a life o f crime, I might have been in a position by this
time to secure college training. As it is, I am forced to gain my knowledge by
outside reading, such as W ells’s Outline of History. A t that, I know more
than most college graduates, but I lack technical or professional training.”
Matthew says that he has worked interruptedly since he was 10 years old.
H e first worked for his fa th er; he has no idea how many positions he has had.
Some he held for only a day or two. He said : “ There has always been a
restless feeling in me that pushes me from one thing to another. My desire
to know something about everything seems to drive me on and on. That makes
confinement here (at Pontiac) a great punishment for me. I have had some
splendid jobs in construction work—-that is, good jobs for unskilled la b o r s
but a job of that kind doesn’t last very long. , To be honest, I had rather do the
planning, supervising, and bossing, than the work, but I don’t know enough to get
into that field of work. I know I am not a good laborer, for I ask too many
reasons why and don’t just act like a machine.” H e says he would like to study
to be an engineer. Matthew learned to cook at S t Charles and worked as a
cook there and is now a cook at Pontiac. When outside of institutions, he
does not try to get work as cook, although he helps with the f a m ily meals.
Even Matthew’s mother says that “ he is a real bad boy ” and that he has
been stealing things all his life, although he has never stolen much of value.
She says that he worked when he was quite young, and is a good worker when
he works, but being unskilled he is frequently laid off. H e gets into trouble
every time he is unemployed. H e has been a bad influence on his brothers and
sometimes took them along or got them involved in his crimes. H e spends his
time, when outside an institution, with very bad companions. H is girl, how-

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ever, is very nice; and as he spends a good deal of time with her, the mother
hopes she may have a good influence on him. She really thinks, however, that
he will always be a robber and is quite discouraged about him. She says that
Matthew belongs to an organized gang. Matthew also sa y s: “ Yes, I am a socalled gangster. That has been my making and m,y breaking. It has been my
lot to be a leader in my outfit, and that has developed my personality. Not
many of our gang can make a sensible talk or address, but I can. I got that
from my father, who was a minister. In that way it has made me. But what I
have done in the gang and what I have learned has been my breaking, to
gether with liquor. I always do my rough stuff while under the influence of
strong drink.” A s to his other companions, he sa id : “ I like good-looking girls.
I miss them, and dances and shows, worse than anything else (while in an
institution).”
Matthew says that he understands the object o f probation. “ It is to help
reform a boy, but it just didn’t work in my case. But that doesn’t mean it is
no good. I figure it does work about one time out of five. In a case like mine
leniency is no good. I am one of those individuals who has to have the full
limit of the law— and then it looks like it hadn’t helped me.” H is final estimate
is, “ Nothing has done me any good. I got started wrong, and now I find I am
just an ordinary fool with a good intellect.”
Whether Matthew’s good behavior while in institutions is due solely to the
absence of liquor or whether the institution discipline is also necessary to his
good behavior has not been determined. The mental diagnosis suggests that
though fairly intelligent his emotional make-up may be the determining factor
in his behavior. The “ wrong start ” at which he begins the story of his de
linquencies was easy in his home, with his mother always away working, and
in the poor neighborhoods in which he lived. H is brothers, however, subject
to the same environment, did not develop as he did. li k e the habitual adult
criminal Matthew conforms to institutional requirements so that he has a
“ good record ” but is quite uninfluenced by it.
AUTOMOBILE LARCENY

Contrasting conditions and motives are shown in the 10 cases o f
larceny o f automobiles, as in those preceding. Steve Lozinsky (case
15), a bright, energetic, and attractive 17-year-old boy, was the son
o f respected, well-educated, but extremely strict Polish parents, who
appeared to have little affection for and no understanding o f their
children. Partly in order to get even with them he stole or rode in’
stolen automobiles. In contrast, Louis Angelo (case 17), also a
child of immigrants, was adored by his indulgent parents, never
learned to work, and can not keep a job. Against a family back
ground of limited economic resources requiring a continual struggle
to make both ends meet, Elmer Andrews (case 16), developed a feel
ing o f superiority which his court experiences did not diminish. A l
though ambitious to get on in the world, he left high school during
his first year because he could not dress as well as the other boys.
Clement Dunne (case 18), was so depressed by his single conflict
with the law that he attempted suicide.
These four boys, whose histories aro given in some detail, were
placed on probation. Steve and Elmer apparently benefited from
the supervision given them, Elmer being especially fortunate in the
probation officer to whom he was assigned. For Louis probation was
ineffective, and Clement’s bitterness was increased by probation,
which seems to have been regarded as a club by an officer who failed
utterly to understand the boy’s needs.
In most of the dismissed and discharged cases, which are not
presented in detail, constructive care was needed and was not
provided.

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The histories of 4 o f the 10 boys in this group follow :
15. STEVE LOZINSKY
Interview November 20, 1926.
Native white, parents born in Poland. Father in United States 23 years, m other 33 years.
Present age, 1 9 ; age at time o f offense. 17.
B oys’ court hearing, November 12, 1924. Larceny o f automobile. On November 24, 1924,
the felony charge was dismissed for want o f prosecution and he was placed on pro
bation fo r six m onths on a misdemeanor charge. Discharged from probation, May
12, 1925.
Lives at home.
F am ily : F ather 45, m other 42, sisters 18, 15, 11, 6 ; brothers 13, 9, 7, 4. B rother 22,
and sister 16, boarding.

O f medium height and weight, very neat, conservatively and well dressed,
Steve impresses one as a clean-cut, intelligent young man with many good
qualities.
Steve describes his court experience and offense as follow s:
“ W e four boys went to a dance hall and found a car unlocked. W e did not
know the owner, but we wanted a ride, so we got in. I took the wheel, and
we drove off. W e stopped to get some gas, and a policeman became suspicious
of us, took us up, called up police headquarters, and found we were in a stolen
car. They took us down town, and I called up home. Father came and bailed
me out for $2,500. The police station was not clean. The detective bureau
was a regular dump. The police were lots harder than there was any need for
them to be. W e went to court and got our sentence. I was scared nearly to
death. I was mighty glad to get six months probation and a chance to go
straight. I had two probation officers, a man for a while, then a woman. She
was real good. She done me lots of good. Just to go down once a month and
go to all that trouble and explain all about what you were doing was enough
to make any boy who has an average mind stop and think before he goes on
and gets into more trouble. Probation did me more good than all the lecturing
I had given me all my life.”
As to the effect of the court experience as a whole, Steve sa id : “ It was
the best thing that ever happened to me. I wish it had happened a little sooner.
The court did a lot better by giving me probation than if I had been, fined
and my father had paid it off, or if they had not given me a chance and had
sent me to the house of correction.”
The mother’s opinion of the services o f the probation officer did not agree
with Steve’s. She said, “ The probation officer was a very nice lady. She
came quite often and took an interest in Steve. She would sit for a long time
•and talk real nice to him, but it didn’t do any good. Steve paid no attention
to her. H is father told him all those things, and he is a much better lecturer
than that lady was. When she would leave Steve would die laughing and
say, ‘ That is the bunk; she is paid to do all that talking.’ ” Mrs. Lozinsky’s
description of Steve’s offense varied somewhat from the boy’s statement. She
said that one night after he came in very late his father gave him an unusually
severe lecture, and the next day Steve left home. The family did not hear
from him until the police telephoned that Steve was locked up. H e had been
caught in another State driving an automobile which he had stolen. Four
other boys were with him, and they were all on their way to Hollywood.
The Lozinsky home is on the first floor of a rather new 2-fam ily brick
apartment building owned by the family. It is located in a desirable residential
neighborhood of business people. The 6-room apartment is comfortably fur
nished and well kept. The living room is rather attractive, with pots o f
flowers in the bay windows, a piano, and some books. The house has only three
bedrooms, which crowds the fam ily of 11 members considerably.
Mr. Lozinsky is a business man making about $125 a week. Additional
income includes $25 a week which Steve earns and $20 a week earned by the
older sister, who is at home. The two children who are away from home
support themselves. Six children are in school in grades ranging from the
first to the eighth. The little boy of 4 is at home with the mother.
Mrs. Lozinsky is neat and young looking for her age. She is a high-school
graduate. Mr. and Mrs. Lozinsky are very exacting parents.
They make
rules to which everyone in the household must conform or leave the house.
Mrs. Lozinsky admits that she is strict with her children, and also that they
all deceive her, and that she does not trust any of them. According to his wife,
Mr. Lozinsky has a very hot temper and flares up suddenly, but he has no
had habits and provides .well for the family. H e is courteous and presents a

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good appearance^ but gives the impression of being determined and self-satisfied
H is idea of discipline in the family is “ lecturing,” but Mrs. Lozinsky believes
in an occasional thrashing. The relations between Mr. and Mrs. Lozinsky some
times become strained. After their last quarrel they did not speak to each other
tor three months. Mrs. Lozinsky says, “ W orse than having children who run
? husband who will not speak to you.” She ascribes many
of the difficulties between parents and children to what she calls “ false pride.”
Members of the fam ily have close connections with the church in the neighbor
hood, and are interested in all its affairs. The girls belong to church clubs
and attend their dances and parties frequently.
Steve describes his father and mother as extremely religious, autocratic and
out of sympathy with modern American life. They think their children should
work all the time and need no recreation. “ A t home my folks have always
beat me to make me obey. I guess I have been stubborn, but what gets me is
tnat other boys and girls don’t get the same kind o f treatment that we do ”
The oldest boy, Charles, chafed under the family discipline and finally ran
away ’ ™ some tlme tbey did not know where he was, but later learned he was
in the Navy. Charles returned home to live but again was unwilling to keep
the hours his mother demanded, so she told him to pack his things and go to
Í k bis °w n life as he could not fit into the routine of the family
She felt
that he was having a bad influence on Steve, encouraging him to stay out late
Charfes left and is boarding with some friends. He comes home once in a
whUe, but Mrs. Lozinsky says she does not want him to do this anv more and
she has decided “ to cut him ” the next time he comes to see the f L i l y
reels that he has already succeeded in influencing Margaret to leave home.
Margaret was so fond of reading that she did not scrub the kitchen floor twice
a week as she was told, and she failed to clean the house as óften as it should
cleaned- Sbe read so much that she neglected some of her studies
and got very low grades in them. Mrs. Lozinsky, therefore, told her that she
must go to work, that they, would waste no more money sending her to school.
Margaret, being only 15, could get no work except that of a maid in a private
^ rs- Lozinsky felt that Margaret should give her her wages. The girl
w
i r f í(l r a Whll(r but s00n be£an to resent it. She returned home to live,
out after her experience away was not willing to conform to the rules of the
tionSwith1 thi í Í w Sku 8h I3Zith that She beat ber severely* She said in connecin “ S v í ,
fth fí. She biU! beat a11 her cbddren severely because she believes
m
g m n g it to them good and plenty.” After this Margaret left home, and
S e

L ° Zmsky does not want ber back-

She and Charles board at the same

notV?fímpJhnmar^ WaS WOr? ng ín a Pr]vate family her mother felt that she did
n often enough and asked a private children’s agency to see MarhvsteriVnlh ™ o ker í r° m thaí agency found the mother emotional and almost
hystencai. The worker was impressed by the fact that the mother demanded
and received implicit respect from all the children. She found the family most
fa c t i o n ^ ? S S ? h 2 B fh She also/ elt. an undercurrent of unrest and dissatisthouSu
S0U^ e o f, whlGb she did not discover, although she
S ???iu Q
tbat ^ might be in the relationship of the father and mother.
She
Margaret a very nice girl with no delinquent tendencies, who had merely
and woifidS? i f f f h
bef bome visits and who readily agreed that she should
the fam ily ceasLd
m° ther oftener- Thereupon the contact of the agency with
yu arS old and in the eighth grade, has developed a different means
J01? mother says he is a good boy in every way at home and at
school, but he loves to wander. H e runs away from home for days at a time.
c!°“ es back, takes a severe thrashing, and soon runs off again. He
í^ld the children that the pain from the “ licking” lasted only about h alf an
hour, and Lhat in exchange for it he had three whole days of freedom and
pleasure. Upon one of his recent returns from such a trip Mrs. Lozinsky gave
him what she admits was a terrible beating with a strap from the sewing-ma
chine wheel. H e cried out in such pain that the neighbors upstairs interferred.
bhe refused to stop, and the neighbors called the police. She explained to the
officers why she was whipping the child, and they told her to whip him when
ever he ran away. Mrs. Lozinsky feels very triumphant over this.
The oldest daughter, Helen, is 18 and according to her mother “ behaves
fairly well, but has crazy fits about leaving home.” Mrs. Lozinsky usually gets
these notions out of her head by means o f a sound thrashing with a strap.
Helen is m high school until 3 in the afternoon. She then rides for almost an

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hour on the street ear to a telephone exchange where she acts as an operator
until 10 at night. She has only one Sunday a month free from her telephone
duties. Mrs. Lozinsky said that the girl did not need any time for recreation.
Steve, the boy included in this study, entered school when 6 years old. H e
had always been a bright pupil, had made good grades, and was ambitious to
finish his high-school course when his school career came to a sudden end.
Steve says that his father and his teacher “ framed on him,” and he got mad
and gave up school. H is mother’ s story is more detailed. Steve stayed out
late one night, having a date with his “ steady girl,” to whom Mrs. Lozinsky
objected. H is father sat up for him. Steve saw him through the window and
was afraid to come in, so he went around the back o f the house and slipped in
without his father’s knowledge. H is father fell asleep, and when he awoke
it was 3 in the morning. H e accused Steve o f coming in at that hour, and a
heated argument followed. The next day the father went to the school— a
church high school— and asked the teacher’s cooperation in giving Steve a
severe lesson. Therefore, when Steve arrived, the instructor lectured him very
sternly for staying out so late the night before and said he could not have a
boy like him in his school; he would have to take his books and go home.
The “ lesson ” did not work as expected. Steve took the professor at his word.
H e also took his books and left, refusing to return, although he lacked only
a few months of graduating. The experience embittered Steve, and the father
was too proud to give in. This occurred when Steve was 17, a few months
before his court experience. H e now attends school two nights each week,
studying automobile mechanics. H e expects to keep on studying subjects that
will be of practical value.
When Steve first left school he became a driver for a department store, earn
ing $14 a week. H e regarded that as only a temporary occupation and changed
when he had an opportunity to get into business. Mrs. Lozinsky says that
she has been dissatisfied several times with Steve’s positions and one she
persuaded him to give up. After this he was out o f work for a long time
because he could not find a job that would please both him and his mother.
For two. and one-half years he has remained with the same company as a clerk.
H e is now earning $25 a week. Steve and his brother and sister who have left
home have followed their father’s occupation. Steve has a good attitude toward
work and toward his employers, and seems to be successful.
Mrs. Lozinsky says that Steve never got into any serious trouble except the
one time he was in court. H e kept very late hours, however, and both his
mother and his father were continually disciplining him for this. She disap
proved o f a boy with whom Steve formerly went, one of the boys who was in
volved in stealing the automobile. She thinks he has given up the girl to whom
she objected. His mother does not know who Steve’s friends are now, for
he no longer confides in her. H e goes out quite frequently, but she does not
know where. H e belongs to a national fraternal and charitable order and
to another club. H e has been interested in the piano' and took lessons for a
while, practicing diligently, but finally lost interest and stopped his lessons.
Steve told hotv he worked out a certain program enabling him to have a social
life and still live at home. H e goes to' school two nights a week and tells
his parents that he goes four nights. H e goes out with boy friends the other
two nights.
H e says, “ I never belonged to a regular gang.
Most boys
who belong to those gangs are a tough bunch. I never drank, smoked, or
anything like that, so I would not get on in a gang very well. I go with two
nice boys who don’t drink. W e go to movies, and on Saturday nights I take
my girl out. I also go to see her on Sunday evenings.”
Steve says that up to the time o f his court appearance he had never had
any trouble except at home. H e also says that arguments at home have been
his only trouble since his court experience. H e said that before he “ got
caught ” he had taken out several cars and taken joy rides in them, but always
brought them back. H e has found out that to get away from home and into
trouble ju st to spite his fam ily or to be smart is only hurting himself. He
never expects to get into court again.
To have been able to remain in his home under most trying circumstances
and to have come through with the ability to keep himself straight are evi
dences that Steve is made o f good stuff. He seems to have inherited his father’s
ability, and in addition is a very likeable person. His court experience seems
to have made him realize the futility o f certain means of expressing his revolt
against home conditions. Probation for such a boy was apparently the correct
procedure. No behavior problem exists at present. The boy’s vocational prob-

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lem is solved. H is social situation is satisfactory, and if, as he grows older,
he is able to work out his career without interference from home influences
his life may be expected to be successful.
16. ELMER ANDREWS

■T>

Interview September 18, 1926.
Native white, mother native white. Father born in S w eden; in United States 34 years.
Present age, 1 9 ; age at time o f offense, 18.
Boys’ court hearing, July 7, 1925. Larceny o f automobile. Held fo r grand ju ry Ju ly 12,
1925. B ail $2,000. Placed on probation by the crim inal court October 9, 1925.
Lives at home.
F a m ily : Father 60, mother 58. Sisters a t home, 16, 13, 10, 5 ; brother 13. Eldest sister,
married, living in own home.

Elmer is a healthy and honest-looking boy, tall and somewhat bold in appear
ance. H e is talkative and seems energetic.
Elmer’s story of the offense studied is as fo llow s: “ I was arrested on account
of a stolen car. An Italian boy and I were down town. A closed car would not
go as the owner was out of gas. W e were to watch the car for him while
he went fo r gas. The Italian boy found the car would run. W e got in, and
he said we would go around the block and pick the man up. Then he kept
driving, got gas, and said he was going for a short ride. W e drove out in the
country and went to my uncle’s farm, where I was to spend my vacation.
H e came back, got caught, and detectives came to my home. The folks wrote
me, and I came back and gave up. I had no motive in the theft. I did not
do it— only rode with him.” Elmer was in the police station overnight and
was then bailed out by his uncle. In addition to being placed on probation
the boys were required to pay part of the damage to the car. Elmer says
that the damage of $500 occurred after the other boy had left him at the
farm. Elmer’s father gave notes for $125, o f which Elmer has paid $72 at
the rate of $12 a month. As Elmer always gives all his weekly earnings to
his family, however, it is his mother who is short in her usual money instead
of the boy who committed the offense.
Elmer has been fortunate in the type of officer to whom he was assigned dur
ing his probation. H is understanding of probation is that it is a device of
the law to give a boy who gets into trouble a chance to go straight. The
officer calls to see him every month, and Elmer goes to the probation office
once a month and talks things over with the officer. H e says this probation
officer is one of the finest men he has ever known and is sure that his contact
with him is beneficial; he can always depend upon him for good advice, and
he thinks his trouble has been more than balanced by his acquaintance with
the officer. This court experience “ gave him the scare o f his life ” and has
taught him his lesson— taught him how hard it makes things for him when he
wants to get a job.
Just one other offense is recorded against Elmer, that o f speeding, in April,
1925, when he was fined $5 and costs. Elmer, however, remembers several
other experiences with the police. H e says his first arrest was for fighting
with school boys over a baseball game but that the police turned them loose
after a few minutes. Another time he was arrested for speeding with his
boss in the car. The boss fixed it up for him. Another time he was arrested
for fighting back at a crazy man but was released almost immediately.
The Andrews fam ily lives in a poor neighborhood of 1 and 2 story houses.
The streets are dirty and littered with waste paper, and the buildings are
old and out of repair. The rent is $33 a month for a 5-room apartment in
a 2-story brick building. A t the time of the visit the house was fairly clean
although disorderly. It is not well furnished, having little beyond necessities
except a phonograph and some goldfish. It has three bedrooms, which are dark
and dingy. The boys sleep in the dining room on a mattress. A t the time
Elmer committed this offense the family lived two blocks away in an old tene,ment, over which the present quarters are a great improvement. Apparently
the mother has difficulty in maintaining her large family on the fam ily income.
The fam ily has always been self-supporting except in 1918 when the father
was hurt in the course of his employment, and the charities gave food and
fuel amounting to $9. The family is now in better economic condition than
formerly. The father is a laborer earning $30 a week. Elmer is a laborer
earning $20 a week. The oldest girl works as a clerk for $9 a week, having
recently finished a 2-year business course. The next two children are in the
first year of high school, one girl is in the fourth grade, and the youngest,
always a sickly child, has not yet entered school.
86850°— 30------ 11

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The mother praises all her children but says the neighbors have acted ugly
toward them. She gets books from the public library for Elmer to read
when he wants them. The children, according to the mother, are rather shy
but are sociable with their friends. The father seems easy going and fond
o f all the children. The mother is stormy at times but has the childrens
respect and obedience. The children apparently get along Well although
Elmer seems a little bossy with the girls.
'
_ ..
Elmer entered school when he was 6 and left /after he had completed the
eighth grade and six months of high school because he could not dress as
the other boys did. H e went six months to a business college and then weekly
to an evening school. I f his fam ily had been able, he would have liked to
continue in school. H e sa id : “ I can see the need more every d a y .. I know
boys who went on through high school and are holding down good jobs, and
those fellows aren’t any more intelligent than me. They have just got the
preparation and I haven’t. I f I ever get so I can I am going back to high
school and take up arithmetic, algebra, bookkeeping, stenography, and type
writing, and get some good out of them.” Elmer’s mother says that he left
high school because he had had to stay home on account of illness in the
fam ily and had failed in his studies. H e has paid the initial cost o f an
evening course in a skilled trade and attends the school three nights a week
when he can afford the $3.50 weekly fee.
When not quite 15 Elmer began work as a messenger at $10 a week. At
the time of his offense he was working as a laborer at $30 a week. A t present
he is doing similar work but receives only $20 a week. He has had about 10
positions, leaving sometimes to get better wages and sometimes because of
slack business. The only time that he has been discharged was at the time
of this arrest for larceny. Elmer feels that his intellect is superior. He
says that most of the fellows he works with are “ dumb-bells.” “ Most of
the employers don’t care if you have to work your head off. I do what I am
paid to do and no more. That old stuff of getting paid for what you do
doesn’t work. Promotions come by pull. I am soft-soaping my boss now,
and I am going up as fast as he can push me along.” Elmer’s ambition is
to be his “ own boss, run his own business, and sit in an office.”
Elmer’s mother says that he formerly belonged to a club for which he played
football. H e dropped the club, which has a clubhouse, when they brought
girls there and when the boys drank. As the club is better now he is plan
ning to join again. H e has a sweetheart who is a nice girl, and he takes
her out twice a week. Elmer did not mention his troubles with the club
but sa id : “ I belong to a tennis club and play often. That is where I met
the Italian boy (with whom he got into trouble). I don’t belong to any
gang. I don’t want to be tied up to do what a bunch of thick-headed chumps
want done. I think for myself.” He doesn’t care much for going to church.
He reads public-library books, goes out with his girl, and frequently plays
tennis in his leisure time.
A s to his ability to get along with people he sa id : “ I get on all right around
home, but I got in arguments with my teachers sometimes and I had fights
with some of the wise guys who tried to boss me around. I got in a fight
with some gangsters once or tw ice; but they were cowards and would only
fight in a gang and they were afraid I belonged to t h e ----------- Street gang.”
' Elmer’s difficulties probably come from an unwarranted belief ^ in his own
ability and his superiority to other people and to regulations. This character
istic o f his may he exaggerated during this youthful period of his life, and if
his energies are turned in the right direction he will probably be successful.
It is fortunate that a boy of this type, who feels himself superior to almost
everyone, had a probation officer who could win his admiration so thoroughly.
17. LOUIS ANGELO
Interview November 17, 1926.
,
Native white, parents born in Italy. Both in the United States 25 years.
Present age, 2 0 ; age a t time o f offense. 18.
,, „
_ .
Boys’ court hearing, August 15, 1924. Larceny o f automobile. Held fo r grand jury
August 16, 1924. Bond $1,000. Sentenced by the crim inal court on August 16 to one
year in the reform atory and fined $1.
Lives at home.
F a m ily : Father 44, mother 44, w ife 15.

O f winning personality, intelligent in appearance, seeming to be open,
frank, and straightforward, Louis makes an impression much better than

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his performance warrants. His misconduct is not especially1 grave, but he
is evidently quite incapable of keeping at any work.
Three offenses comprise Louis’s court record. O f his first arrest he said :
“ I was never booked, just picked Up for being out late, chunked around,
and turned loose.” O f the second (which is the first offense on the court
record) he said : “ They caught me taking some bundles from a platform. I
had to give up all I had. got, and besides they put me on probation. That
was enough to learn me a lesson, but it didn’t.” Another arrest, which did
not lead to a court appearance, Louis describes : “ I was picked up on sus
picion of burglary, and they beat me up trying to make me confess. They had
nothing on me so they turned me loose without booking me.” Of his second
court appearance, which appears on the record as an error with no complaint
filed, he said : “ I was in an auto that had been taken from a garage, but they
only stuck the boy who stole it and let me go.” O f the offense included in
the study he said : “ The time they sent me to Pontiac I was the one who
took the car. I had done it before and got away with it, but they caught me,
Now I am done.” O f his various detentions, Louis said : “ I was taken to
police stations five times. I never stayed in them over three days at a timé.
A ll of them I was in are nasty dens, and the cops just try to see how hard
they can be.” Louis says that after being held for the grand jury on the larceny
charge he was in jail more than two months, although only one day’s deten
tion in jail is shown on the records in the court. H e thinks the ja il is not
so bad as the police station because you can get out into the bull pen with
other persons. “ I f you had money in jail you could get any kind of treat
ment, but a guy like me had to take everything.” The criminal court reduced
the charge against Louis to petty larceny and sentenced him to one year in
the reformatory. Louis said : “ I got some tired down there ; no work, but
school, school, school. That did show me that there is law and that there
ain’t nothing for a poor guy to do but keep the law. But talk about mean
boys; I never heard of so much that was mean as they know down there.
Most o f them are low down as dogs.” H e feels, however, that the treatment
he had at the court was probably beneficial. “ There ain’t no use of me being
sore on the court. It was good for me in the long run. I f it had not been for
the court stopping me I suppose I would be a convict now.”
Louis thinks that commitment to an institution is more effective in stop
ping a criminal career than probation. H e was on probation fo r his first
court offense. H e said : “ Before my year was up I got stuck in the reforma
tory. I had a good probation officer, but what good can any kind o f an officer
do you just talking to you, once a month? I was not more than out o f his
office until I forgot what he said.”
In his mother’s eyes Louis has always been a good boy and always will
be. She is sure that he never has done anything wrong but has been falsely ac
cused. She shares Louis’s opinion with regard to probation ; she said that
the probation officer was no good, he didn’t help Louis. H e tried to find
some jobs, but Louis could not get them. Louis reported to the probation
office every month as required until he was sent to the reformatory. Four
visits were made by the probation officer to his home. Louis was discharged
at the expiration of his sentence on November 16, 1925. The parole office
had no record of his whereabouts after that time. Apparently no attempt
was made to keep in touch with him, as he has been at home and the family
has not moved.
The Angelo family live on a short narrow street in a very poor Italian
neighborhood with dirty streets and old houses. The inside of the house is
a most agreeable contrast to the outside surroundings. Everything is spot
less; the kitchen is immaculate, and the other rooms so orderly that they
seem not to be lived in. The furniture shone as if it had just come from
the factory. The curtains were stiff and white. Mrs. Angelo is a conscien
tious housekeeper. She is fond of needlework and has much embroidery around
the house. Louis was married about seven months ago, and he and his wife
live with his parents. H is mother is delighted with his marriage and has
great pride in the way she has fixed up their room for them. She is much
pleased at having the young couple in her house. Louis’s wife, who is very
young, works in a factory, but Louis is unable to find a job.
Louis’s father is an unskilled worker earning $30 a week. The rent for the
house is $12 a month. The fam ily income is not large, especially as Louis
does not have steady employment.

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Both the agent who interviewed the boy in connection with this study and
the probation officer believed that his parents had been overindulgent. In
spite of the poor economic condition of the fam ily it has always been selfsupporting except during a short interval about six years ago when the father
deserted the family. At that time Mrs. Angelo received rations from the
county agent for three months, and she received coal twice. She had been
working in a factory earning $12 a week but was unable to work at that
time because of sickness. She had also applied to a family-welfare agency
but was given no' help except reference to a dispensary.
Louis graduated from grammar school and finished one year of high school.
He entered school at 6 and was only 14 when he stopped, having skipped one
grade. Louis says that he does not care much for school. H e knows that it
would be of benefit but does not care enough about it to make the effort. He
took bookkeeping in school but does not like that kind of work. H is mother
was very anxious for him to have more education. She went back to work
so that he could go to high school and was heartbroken when he refused to
continue.
Louis’s first job was as a messenger boy at $8 a week. A t the time of his
court experience he was a special-delivery boy earning $15 a week. A t the
time the mother was interviewed he was not working, but two weeks later
he was polishing'window cases in a large department store. H e lost this job
in less than a week and was referred to another which he also1 immediately
lost. He has no idea how many jobs he has had. H e sa id : “ Slack work gets
me laid off, or they want too much work, or I don’t know enough, or I get
canned.” Louis’s attitude toward work is by no means encouraging. H e is
lazy and apparently not stable enough to hold a job when he gets one. He
thinks that employers want too much work and that good jobs are obtained
and retained by pull. He says that he has always contributed to the family
whatever he did not need himself from his wages. H e owes his father some
money but does not feel that his father will require him to repay him.
In spite of his mother’s seemingly absolute belief that Louis is a model boy
Louis s a id : “ I got into one trouble and then another when I was just begin
ning to get started to school. The older I got the meaner I got. I never did
hatch up things to do by myself, but when I got with my crowd, all of us
together got started and we never looked at the results if we got caught. I
used to go with a gang, but now that I have married, I don’t go with them
any more. 1 spend my time at home with my folks.” H e says that since his
court experience he has tried his best to stay out of trouble and that the only
trouble he has had is in getting and keeping jobs.
The type of probation to which Louis was subjected was not sufficient to
change his behavior. Whether or not constructive and intensive help during
probation would have had any different effect is unknown. He has never
had a mental examination. Evidently he was bright in school but his work
history indicates some insufficiency or instability. For such a boy institutional
treatment may have been an effective lesson. Apparently he was able to with
stand the deteriorating influences in the institution and was much shocked by
the vice he saw there. The net result of his court experiences, however, seems
to have been to impress upon him the necessity for influence both in court
and in work. The poor, he says, must stay within the law, the inference being
that with money this is not necessary. This is certainly not a wholesome
attitude.

18. CLEMENT DUNNE
Interview October . i l , 1926.
s _ u. a
oo
Native white, parents b o m in Ireland. Father and mother in United States 32 years.
Present age, 2 1 ; age at time o f offense, 19.
.,.
,
Boys’ court hearing, August 30, 1924. Operating m otor vehicle w ithout owner s consent.
Probation one year. Discharged from probation August 21, 1925, at expiration o f term.
Result “ satisfactory.”

Fam fly ^ Sister 29, brother 26, sister’ s husband. Away from home, brother 2 4 ; in home
at offense but now away, father 59, mother 53.

Clement is of medium height and rather light in weight. H e dresses with
much care and in good taste. H e is open and frank in his conversation and
has1an air of refinement.
The story of the offense told by Clement and his sister agree. Clement sa id :
. “ I was with my sister, and we met a boy I knew. He sa id : ‘ Come take a
m

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drive with me ’ and I did. I asked him if he were on an errand for his employer
and he said he was. H e often went on them, so I thought nothing o f it. He
said he had to go out to a small town and wanted some company. H e picked
up some other friends o f ours, and we all went for a drive, thinking he was
on a business errand. H e violated the traffic rules in a small town, and they
phoned ahead and when we got to the next town they stopped us. The chief
brought us all back, and they found out the car belonged to this boy’s employer.
W e were sent to Chicago and finally got before the court. I signed a waiver
of jury trial, not knowing what it was. The judge would not listen to m e;
he would not give me or my brother-in-law a chance to speak.” (Clement was
defended by his brother-in-law, who is a lawyer.)
Clement stayed in the police station overnight, as his family did not know
where he was until the next morning. Then his brother-in-law bailed him out.
Clement sa id : “ The police kicked me and were insulting in every way possible.
They used every low-sounding name in the world in talking to me. They beat
me with a piece of rubber, but what they did to me was just a trifle; they beat
a negro boy almost senseless, trying to make him confess a robbery.”
Clement considers the court experience the worst thing that could have hap
pened to him. “ I have never felt able to look at anybody since then. There
was nothing good about it. I t made me sour.” H is experience with proba
tion has also left a bitter feeling. “ I never needed probation; I had done
nothing. They took my picture and fingerprints and everything, and they
are in the detective bureau yet. They gave me a coarse, hard-boiled fellow for
a probation officer, who wanted to keep me scared half to death.” Apparently,
probation was used as a club over this boy rather than as a means of read
justment. It is probable, however, that Clement did not cooperate, in any way.
Moreover, during his period of probation he left the city, staying in the Bast for
three months, as his sister felt that he ought to get away after his experience.
Evidently this departure was without the consent of the probation office, as
Clement says that he received threatening letters during this time from the
officer. The records at the probation office show that Clement did not report
from October to April. Altogether he made four reports during his year’s term,
and the officer visited the home nine times. The sister stated that “ probation
officers are unintelligent human beings and should be employed in the stock
yards rather than as advisers for boys who have gotten into trouble.”
Clement’s family had come to Chicago one year before his appearance in
court.
Soon after this experience his father and mother left Chicago t o .
return East. A t present Clement lives with his married sister and brother-inlaw and an older brother. His father is a skilled interior workman. His
older brother has the same occupation, making $60 a week. H is sister keeps
a dress shop, and her husband is a lawyer. The sister is in her shop all day
and until 10 at night, so that Clement has little home life. Her husband and
her two brothers sometimes go to motion pictures and to pool rooms together
in the evening. The family has a good income, and the apartment is provided
with all forms of home recreation. The neighborhood is a high-class residential
center and in all respects a pleasant place in which to live. Clement says that
after his court experience his sister and his family made him miserable by
continually harping on his disgrace. H e came to believe that he could never
live down such an experience. H e says that lately the attitude of his family has
changed. A t the present time it is evident that he is pampered by his sister,
although she apparently decides everything for him and nags him continually.
She is worried about him and realizes that he ought to have some steady occu
pation, but she has not provided any real discipline and does not understand
how to help him.
Clement began school at 6 years of age and continued until he was 16. He
had skipped two grades and had completed the third year of high year. He
left school because he wanted to support himself. After leaving school he
attended high school one summer and took a correspondence course with an
art school. H e does not seem to attach much value to regular school but
attaches considerable significance to his commercial-art course. H e said that
he got along fine in school— that he found it easy and never had to study much
but made pretty good grades.
The boy has had about six jobs. Some were merely temporary, and others
he left for various reasons— once to get a better job, once because he was
discharged on account of this offense, and once he left to come to Chicago.

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His first occupation was as ticket boy at $60 a month. A t the time of his
offense he was a clerk at $25 a week. His attitude toward work is fair
although he seems not to want to work very hard. He has helped in ward
politics and is looking “ for something ” as a result of that. He has always
had plenty o f spending money, whether he worked or not, and does not
realize the necessity o f real work. He has never contributed to the family
living expenses.
W hile in high school he played football but since then has taken no part in
athletics. H e goes to the motion pictures, to dances, plays pool, and drives
around in a car with his brother and brother-in-law. He does not care much
for church and does not belong to any club or to a gang. A t the time of
his offense he was going with rather undesirable boys, but since then has
been more careful o f his companions. H e is very resentful because he lost
his work through his court experience. He says that it has become impos
sible for him to get a job since then. In July, 1926, he swallowed 20 grains
of bichloride of mercury tablets and for nine days was not expected to live.
This was in a desperate moment, when his fam ily’s attitude and lack of
understanding and the “ hounding of the police ” led him to make this attempt
at suicide. H is sister says he has been in bad physical condition ever since
then as the poison affected his heart. She says that Clement was happy in
his position at the time o f his offense and had saved more than $300. He
has a very nice girl friend, according to his sister, whom he takes out occa
sionally.
This boy’s conduct is apparently quite inoffensive at present, but condi
tions around him are anything but satisfactory or favorable. Without occu
pation he can scarcely be expected to be happy, even if his leisure does not
lead to delinquency. H e is interested in commercial art and through this
interest might find a congenial occupation. No effort seems to have been
made by the sister or by his probation officer, however, to help him adjust
himself vocationally. The attitude of his family should be entirely changed.
The probation service neglected an excellent opportunity to use real proba
tion methods with this boy and instead followed only routine procedure. Con
sequently, treatment which might have brought about real improvement in
the situation has only added to the difficulties.
OTHER THEFT

Thirteen other offenses against property, all thefts o f some kind,
were studied. In this group are many unusually interesting histories.
For example, John Miller, whose history is not given in detail, a shy
and reserved boy o f 20, on the suggestion o f two older men padded
the pay roll o f the company which had employed him for 3 years,
his mother and father for 18 or 20 years, and his maternal grand
father for almost half a century. He used the money to buy an ex
pensive car. The case was finally settled out of court, and an entry
o f not guilty was made. The home conditions of the boy were good,
though the parents were perhaps overstrict and the mother had
always worked outside the home. The boy’s school history indicates
only a fair degree of intelligence and no intellectual ambitions. W ith
reference to his court experience the boy said: “ I have been so>
scared that I stay home all the time I am not at work, especially
since it has taken all my money to pay up my debts. Now I can
get out a little, but I am going to watch these fellows who have sly
schemes for getting you into trouble.” The court was more than
fair to him, he thinks, and the experience “ scared the meanness out
o f me and showed me that no matter how slick I am some one else is
just as slick and will catch me if I do anything.” Since his arrest
he has worked day and night— often as much as 14 hours a day—
in order to make restitution. He has had practically no recreation,
lacks self-confidence, and has a gloomy outlook on life.

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In marked contrast to John Miller is Leo Berman (case 20), an
habitual delinquent in the opinion o f the Institute for Juvenile Re
search, although in court but once. He had been pampered and
shown a bad example by his extravagant mother, and was entirely
uncooperative when efforts were made by outsiders to improve his
attitude and conduct. Joe Zadako (case not given in detail), the donothing son of a hard-working and industrious mother, indifferent
to everything and apparently subnormal mentally, admits that he
committed a robbery. During probation he made eight reports and
seven visits were made to his home; but no attempt was made to as
certain his mental condition or the cause o f his industrial and social
maladjustment, and probation seems to have had no effect upon him.
Frank Borkowski (history not included in detail), accused o f various
thefts, has learned from his experience merely that it is possible to
evade the consequences of illegal actions. He is following in the path
o f his bootlegging parents. James Struck (case 21), although handi
capped by a crippled hand, is making good as a mechanic and making
the best of an uncongenial home situation after a harrowing accident
and long detention in the county jail. He thinks o f probation as a
kind o f piloting system to steer boys from trouble spots and describes
his probation officer as “ a peach o f a fellow.” Sentence to the house
o f correction appears to have had a constructive effect upon Louis
Latosiewicz (case 23), a boy from a good home who had been a
truant, without the slightest interest in school, and had an unsatis
factory work record. Mark Segrand (case 22), in his own words was
“ straightened out before I got too bad,” by his court and house of
correction experience. His family had been known to 10 social agen
cies, and he had been described as a forlorn, ragged, undernourished
child, who “ couldn’t dress like other children and got a bad taste
for school.”
As in the cases previously presented, the themes of broken homes,
poverty, abuse by parents, lack o f interest in school, gang life, and
failure o f social agencies materially to alter the conditions which,
from early childhood, handicapped the boy, run through many o f the
histories.
The histories o f 7 o f the 13 cases in this group follow :
19. ANGELO GALLI

Interview December 27, 1926.
Native white, parents born in Italy. Both in the United States more than 45 years.
Present age, 1 8 ; age at time o f offense, 17.
B oys’ court hearing, December 7, 1925. Larceny. Discharged.
Lives at home.
F a m ily : Father 77, mother 55, brother 16, sister 13. Brother 22 a w a y ; unknown number
o f half brothers and half sisters away from home. Mother works away from home.

Angelo is a slender boy of medium height, fairly neat and intelligent looking.
When he was in the boys’ court he was sent for examination to the psycho
pathic laboratory. H e was found to have a mental age of 11, was classified as
a high-grade moron plus dementia prsecox katatonia, and was sent to the psycho
pathic hospital. He was classified as a mental defective, but the examiners
felt that he could be released if someone took an interest in him. H is brother’s
juvenile probation officer promised to do this, and Angelo was released.
This offense is Angelo’s only appearance in the boys’ court. H e told the same
story of his offense to the interviewer which he had told in court: “ Our mother
sent us out to buy some coal. My brother went back home. I thought I would
pick up some coal on the railroad, and I did.
The cars had lots of coal on
them so I got some big lumps, and the policeman pinched me.”
H e was dis
charged, but he had already been kept in the police station for two nights and

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one day.
H e said: “ They did not show me the goldfish or anything like it,
for they had the goods on me and didn’t need any confession from me.
The
station was not so dirty as I have always heard they are.
Angelo says that
he does not know that this experience made any difference to him except that
it scared him for awhile.
T T
' moo
Angelo was in the juvenile court on two different charges. In June, 1923, he
was sent to the Chicago Parental School on a truancy petition. In March, 1925,
he was charged with stealing an automobile tire and was sent to the Chicago
and Cook County School. He stayed there two months, during which time
his conduct was very good. H e was released “ with improvement ” in Septem
ber 1925, as he had become 17 years of age. Angelo said that the parental
school would be “ all right if there was no school to attend.” H e also said,
“ The Cook County School is a good place. They treat you pretty fair over
there.”
„
The family had lived for several years in four rooms on the first floor, rear,
of a 3-flat building which they own. The house is fairly clean, but dark and
poorly furnished and pervaded by an odor o f fermenting malt and grapes. The
neighborhood is a very poor industrial center. The houses are old tenement
buildings with cellar apartments. The streets are in disrepair, and the alleys
are dirty. Mr. Galli is very old, has rheumatism, and is unable to work. H e
wears earrings and has a very foreign appearance. Angelo’s mother, who is
Mr Galli’s third wife, works in a factory, earning $15 a week. The 16-year-old
son, Nick, makes $15 a week from a newspaper stand. In October, 1924, Nick,
with two other boys, stole an automobile which collided with another car. H e
was brought to the juvenile court and placed on probation. Apparently the
probation officer was of real help to Nick and to the family. Both Nick and
Angelo had been problems at the public school they attended. They were
truants and incorrigible. During his probation period Nick was kept at school
and graduated from the eighth grade. He entered high school but remained
only a few weeks. He had secured a news stand, and although his work was
entirely between 4 and 7 p. m., he preferred to leave school. Nick was perma
nently released by the court “ with improvement ” October 16, 1925.
Angelo entered school when 7 and left when 14. H e completed five grades,
having repeated two. H e said that he left because he had to work and also,
“ School ain’t for me. I never liked school and never will go any more. I
don’t know any good it done me or anybody else.” H e went to work as a
messenger boy at $8 a week and at the time o f his offense was earning $10 a
week at the same employment. A t the time o f the interview he was not work
ing. When employed he gave all his wages to the family. His attitude toward
employment is not promising. “ I have had lots of jobs, but no good job, or
I would still be with it. I am always looking for some work I like and that pays
well, and yet I never have found it.” H e admits that he does not like hard
work of any kind. He seems to lack ability to stay in any job for any length
of time.
Angelo thinks that he has never had any more difficulty in getting along
than other boys have. H e said that he had had a few fights and had been on
some “ bumming” trips, but that was all except the offenses for which he had
been in court. H e goes to- church seldom, goes to “ movies ” occasionally, and
rides with his boy friends. He belongs to a small Italian gang. H e would say
very little about his manner of life outside his home. Angelo reports that he
has been promiscuous in his sexual relations with girls and also admits homo
sexual perversions. His discharge by the boys’ court was made with a view to
further treatment because of his mental condition, but custodial care was not
deemed necessary. The only constructive influence exerted by a social agency
was that of the juvenile-court probation officer who was supervising his younger
brother.
20.

LEO HERMAN

Interview January 13, 1927.
’
' '
Native white, mother native. Father born in R u ssia ; in United States 26 years.
Present age, 2 0 ; age at time o f offense, 17.
A
„
B oys’ court hearing, February 29, 1924. Receiving stolen property, felony. Case con
tinued four times. . Discharged May 12, 1924. On the same date a misdemeanor
charge, receiving stolen property, was preferred, and the boy was placed on probation
fo r one year.
Lives at home.
F a m ily : Father 44, m other 40, sister 21.

Leo is a handsome, well-built, well-dressed boy. In conversation, however,
he is discourteous and unresponsive and seems stubborn, lazy, and careless.

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H e used extremely foul language and apparently was unable to talk for five
minutes on any subject without becoming vulgar. He even spoke disrespectfully
of his mother and sister. H e seems to have no standard o f morals regarding
his home or social relations. Leo was examined in April, 1924, both at the
Institute for Juvenile Research and at the psychopathic laboratory. A t the
institute his mental age was given as 13 t^ years and his intelligence quotient as
85, and he was classified as dull and backward with poor attention. The
laboratory gave him a mental age o f 12% years, and classified him as a highgrade sociopath plus dementia prsecox katatonia.
The offense included in the study is the only one that appears on Leo’s record
except for four subsequent charges of speeding. Leo himself said that he had
had seven arrest slips for speeding. H e refused to go into details concerning
his offense, only saying to the interviewer: “ The whole upshot was a lie.
Lies after lies were told on me and the judge knew they were all lies; that is
the reason he let me off on probation.” He spent no time in the police station
or jail, as his father put up security for his $1,000 bond. During the 10 weeks’
continuance o f the case Leo was examined in the psychopathic laboratory and
reported according to the social-service cards as “ not commitable.” He was
placed on probation for one year and costs and fines were suspended.
Leo was discharged from probation at the end of his year’s term with a “ sat
isfactory ” result on the probation record. H e sa id : “ I did not mind probation,
and that fellow was all righ t; but as far as getting good out of it is concerned,
he didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know and he didn’t need to do any
thing for me.” The record in the probation office shows that Leo reported
every month but gives no other basis for considering the case satisfactory.
The probation officer made six visits to the home. A representative of a pri
vate agency was asked by the court to assist the probation officer in supervision;
but the worker, who attempted to do thorough and constructive work, was un
able to obtain any cooperation from either Leo or his family.
From the records of agencies interested in the case a much more complete
history of this offense is available. A lawyer from whom Leo and a friend of
his, Chester, had taken a diamond brooch, asked the Institute for Juvenile
Research to examine both the boys. Chester was a bell hop who had the keys
to the lawyer’s room in a hotel. He entered the room and took the brooch, a
match case, and a whisky flask, which he gave to Leo, who sold the things for
$200. Leo did not give Chester any of this money but purchased a car with it. A
month later Chester took a ring valued at $2,500 from the home o f a friend.
This was given to Leo, who traded the ring for a second-hand car. This time
Leo also got Chester a car, valued at $100.
Chester and Leo were interviewed separately by psychologists. Both were
much confused in the stories they told. The examiners found that Leo, much
more than Chester, was characteristically a repeating delinquent. Leo was
uncooperative during the interview at the institute, very sullen, defiant, and
suspicious. H e constantly demanded to be shown where he was wrong and
denied ever having had any trouble or having committed any other thefts.
The examiner said that his most outstanding behavior reaction during the
entire examination was a suspicious hostility and dishonesty. H e assumed an
air of injured innocence with flashes of bravado. H is attitude toward his be
havior and the situation in which he found himself was that of brazening it out.
The examiners at the institute concluded that Leo was of dull mentality but
not definitely subnormal.
His delinquency habits were already well estab
lished, and he was in a fair way to go further in the direction of a criminal
career, giving no evidence that he would make any effort to counteract these
tendencies. H e had had sexual relations with girls on frequent occasions.
The boy’s mother was excitable and irritable. In trying to protect Leo she
told many contradictory stories. Apparently she had allowed him always to
do as he wished, with reference to school, recreation, and other matters, and
had never been willing to discipline him in any way.
Although Leo’s home is an attractive, well-furnished 4-room apartment in
one of the best residential sections of Chicago, every social agency that has
come in contact with the family because of the boy’s delinquency has reported
that the home life seems to be a bad influence. The father, said to be in the
jewelry business in another city, is a man of no education, having begun work
at the age of 8 years. The mother’s time is occupied with lunch, matinee, and
shopping engagements. Although the father was said to be earning between
$75 and $100 a week at the time Leo was studied by the institute, the family
appeared to be always in debt, and neighbors said that the fam ily had moved

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a short time before in order to avoid paying back rent. The mother appeared
to have a defensive and frightened attitude. Leo’s sister, a pretty girl of
pleasing manners, has completed three years o f high school and is a stenog
rapher, earning $25 a week. She plays the piano and has some boy friends.
The members of the family, especially the mother, enjoy driving in Leo’s
automobile.
Leo went to school from the time he was 7 years old until he was 17 or 18.
H e completed two years of high school and then left because he was tired of
school. H e then attended business college for a month. H is mother said that
Leo was in business with his father and that he was working steadily. From
the boy himself it was learned that although he had worked with his father
for a while, he had not been working for at least six months. H e seems to have
no ambition and no interest, and to feel that to work for anyone is a disgrace.
Leo would not talk of his companions or his recreation. He sa id : “ W ho I
associate with is my own business, but they are first-class boys and girls.”
Then
he made crude remarks about the girls he knew and his relations with them.
His mother does not seem to make any attempt to provide him with wholesome
recreation but bemoans the fact that he goes with wealthy boys who spend
more money than they should.
The examiners at the institute concluded that i f anything constructive was to
be done with the boy it must be done from the outside and not through his
home. Institutional care did not seem to offer what this boy needed. The
strictest kind of probationary supervision over an extended period, with possible
removal from home and parental control, might offer possibilities of improve
ment. Both routine probation and the constructive supervision attempted by
an experienced worker in a social-service agency of high standing, however,
failed to affect the situation materially, and the boy’s problems appeared to be
as far from solution at the end of the probationary period as at the beginning.
21. JAMES STRUCK
Interview September 23. 1926.
Native white, father native white. M other born in G erm any; dead.
Present age, 1 9 ; age at time o f offense, 18.
B oys’ court hearing, March 21, 1925. Larceny. On July 27, 1925, placed on probation
one year and assessed costs, $6.
Lives at home.
F a m ily : Father, grandmother 81, grandfather 86. Sister 18, married and living in her
own home.

James is tall, stout, neat in appearance, intelligent, and easy to approach.
One hand is so crippled that it mjght have been a vocational handicap had
James allowed it to become one.
Two charges were made against James at almost the same time. The first
appearance on the record was on March 5, 1925, when he was charged with
manslaughter and held for the grand jury on April 6, 1925. The case was
nol-prossed on June 17, 1925. The second was the larceny charge studied,
when he was placed on probation for one year. James’s statement is as fol
lows : “ The first time I was arrested when I had an auto accident. I ran over
two children and killed one o f them. I was in jail over three months because
I could not make bond. After that we settled for $1,000, including costs and
my lawyer’s fee. The children ran in front of my car, and I could not stop in
time to keep from killing them. W hile this case was hanging over waiting for
investigation and before the grand jury found anything against me, I was
arrested as an accessory before the fact of larceny of a gun from a restaurant.
They found the gun in my car with my tools. Some crooks had broken in my
garage and used my car and tools on several occasions, and they had done so
the night before the police searched my garage. They had been caught and
claimed to confess, and said that I was with them. That was their way of
explaining how the gun was where it was. They were afraid o f a charge for
breaking into my garage, so they framed me.”
A t the time of the larceny charge James was taken to the station and kept
overnight and then bailed out by his father and grandparents. H e did not know
how much the amount was, but before this case was settled he was placed in
the county jail on the manslaughter case. He said he got as good treatment
as he could expect in both places. “ The police station was not so bad, but the
jail was an awful hole.” The probation record shows that James made four
reports to the office and paid the costs. No home visits of the officer are re
corded. O f probation he sa id : “ My probation was a good thing for me. I f I

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had not had a probation officer to help me out when I was down and out I
might have gone to the dogs. My probation officer is a peach of a fellow.
James says that he was in court one time by accident and the_ other time by
mistake, Nevertheless he thinks that both the police and the judge did only
what they were required to do, and he is not bitter over his treatment. H e
admits that he knew something of the frame-up in the larceny case; but he
knew it Would he better to keep quiet than to squeal on the fellows who were
guilty* as they belonged to a mean gang and would make trouble for him.. H e
understands that he was placed in suspicious circumstances. H e sa id :
ih e
iaw is made by people, and they can’t make perfect laws, and I could not
make bond.’ It is best that I did not, for I was so scared that I might have run
away and got in mote trouble and made it worse for myself.
,
,
The situation in James’s home is unfortunate. H is mother has been dead
for 15 years, and his father is a cripple who has not worked regularly for many
years. At the time of his offense James, his father, and his sister lived with
the father’s parents, who are good, religious Germans. The grandmother still
keeps house for the family, and although she appears to a casual visitor to be
intelligent and responsible, both James and his father say that her memory
is failing and that her imagination and reasoning powers are not normal.
This has been responsible for much trouble among the various members of the
household. James and his father and sister evidently get on well, but the
grandmother is suspicious of everything in connection with her two grand
children. She said that her grandson was not working, but hung around a
garage all hours of the day and night. James was visited at the garage, and
it was found that he was working there during the day and frequently in tne
evening on overtime work, principally because he did not care to be in his own
home until after his grandmother had gone to bed. H is employer gave James
excellent recommendations and corroborated the length of his working hours.
The grandmother has probably distorted other things as well. She insists tnat
her granddaughter, who was in school at the time of James s court expe
rience and has since left the grandparents’ home, is not married but is merely
living with a man, although James and his father say that she is married.
The grandparents also complain that James’s father begs for money which he
uses for drinking. James attended church services regularly and took much
interest in church affairs, according to his grandmother, until he began w a
she terms his association with a gang of bad boys. The grandmother was
able to impress all visitors, including the representative of the private agency
sent by the court, with her kindliness and to make therm believe ®r stoiyShe seems heartbroken over the delinquency of her grandson and the shiftless
ness of her son. But visitors who talked also to the father and boy away
from the grandmother felt that the grandmother’s condition was a great disddTheteconomic condition of the family is not good. The grandfather is unable
to work. His only income is derived from the rent o f the small apartment
building in which the fam ily occupies four rooms. James s manslaughter case
cost him and his grandparents $1,000. This has all been paid off, and now
James is helping the fam ily to better their living conditions
The grand
mother said that at the time o f the inquest James was held for the grand
jury on a $10,000 bond. The grandparents could not give security for so heavy
a bond. They paid a lawyer $300, and an agreement was made that James
was to settle for all expenses, amounting to about $700.
The fam ily lives in a working-class neighborhood which is deteriorating
from a good middle-class residential district owing to the invasion of industries
ani a S e T e X e 5 eS h o o l when 6 years old and left when W having completed
two years of high school. H e attended night school for six months after that,
ji m e i u k e d school and regrets that he.did not have the ow ortu n * ? t o go on
H is teachers wanted him to continue in school because he had made a g
record, and they thought he should go to college and take up technical work
of some kind. H e says his school days were the pleasantest he has ever had.
He liked mathematics and science and disliked history, geography, and grammar.
^ s r i ^ n f ^ r j a ^ t c a m e
a mechanic's helper at « 0 a week
W hile in this work he was injured in a punch-press accident. H e lost his
little finger and his whole hand is somewhat crippled. His hospital bills were
»aid and he received some compensation. He has had about six jobs. A t the
Hmft of his court experience he was a clerk in a large department store, earn-

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ing $25 a week. He lost this job when arrested. After this he was a realestate salesman, and he had other temporary work until he obtained his pres
ent job. H e is now a mechanic in a garage, earning $35 a week. He likes
his work, and his employer sa id : “ Jim is the best man I have ever had here.
H e is quick, not lazy, never drunk, always on the job, ready to do overtime
and help me^ out of a hole, and, above all, he is absolutely reliable.” James
sa id : “ This is the best job I have ever, had, and I want to keep it. My boss is
all right and pays me for every minute of overtime work. H e never raves
around. I f something is going wrong, he tells me and I straighten it out.”
W ith overtime James averages $10 a week over the regular wage o f $35. At
the time of his offense and at the present time he has used all o f his wages
for the family.
James said that he had never had any trouble except a little with his
grandparents. He knows that they are old and that he owes them much.
He says that his grandmother is childish and is losing her mind and this
“ grates on his nerves.” This has been the situation for some time. As to his
associates James said : “ I don’t belong to what the newspapers call a gang. I
do run with a bunch o f boys. Some o f them are pretty tough, but most of them
are just ordinary fellows like you see on the streets or at work.” He likes
baseball, football, swimming, and motion pictures, but does not care for dances.
He said he had liked driving a car until he ran over the little children, but
since then he would rather someone else would do the driving.
The officer to whom James was placed on probation apparently did much
more for him than appears on the records, since James feels that his probation
officer helped him out of his difficulty. The constructive help which a proba
tion officer can give was just what he needed at the time of his court appear
ance. Whatever his real connection with the thieves who stole the gun it is
evident that acquaintance with this sort of group was undesirable for him.
H e has been able to put himself in the right place vocationally, but socially he
still has a problem. He lives in a neighborhood where there are gangs. The
elderly people in his home make his home life difficult; and though he has his
father’s understanding, he can get very little real help from him.
22. MARK SEGRAND
Interview January 19, 1927.
N ative white, father native white. Mother born in A u stria ; in United States 27 years.
Present age, 2 2 ; age at time o f offense, 19.
B oys’ court hearing, June 6, 1924. Larceny. Placed on probation fo r one year on same
date. Discharged from probation, August 8, 1924, because o f commitment to the house
o f correction.
Lives at home.
F a m ily : Father 43 mother 42, sisters 20, 19, 8 ; brothers 11, 3. One sister and one
brother dead. Mother worked.

Mark is tall and slender, dresses well, is quiet and noncommittal, slow in
motion and, apparently, in thought.
When asked about his experience with police and courts, he said : “ W ell,
if you don t count them times the police pinched me for running away from
school I ain’t been arrested but twice. The first time was when me and some
boys tried a job on a house. I done it and got caught. They gave me proba
tion, but I thought they was just bluffing so I didn’t pay much attention to
them.” Only a week after his appearance in connection with this, the offense
included in the study, he was again in court on a charge o f contributing to the
delinquency o f a child, and on July 1 he was sentenced to a year in the house
of correction, fined $25, and assessed costs. Mark continued his description of
his difficulties : “ Then in about a couple o f weeks I got in the other scrape.
W e was on a party, and I got to hugging and kissing a girl and we was
in a dark room by ourselves and the girl screamed out. Then I let her
alone and went away. H er folks got the police after me, and when I got
m court, they had me pictured like I was assaulting an angel against her will
when really I never done nothing but hug her too tight.” In connection with
~*e hrst case he was in the police station overnight and not in the jail. He
thought that the police station was much worse than the jail, where he staved
m connection with the second charge, from July 1 to August 1. “ The bad
thing about being kept in jail is that you are confined and can’t see anybody
but jailbirds.
He w as.in the house o f correction from August 1, 1924 until
July 5 ,1 9 2 5 . H is conduct was good enough for him to be allowed time off
for good behavior. H e said of the Bridewell, “ O f all the places I can imagine,

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that is the worst dump. Before I would go back I would commit suicide.
Gee ! I wish I could forget the time I was there. I tell you it cured me from
taking chances on the law ; and any man it doesn’t cure, can’t be cured.
As to the final effect o f these experiences Mark said : “ I used to be sore at
the court and the judge and all the police, but I have kinder come to my
senses now and I suppose the court done right by me and straightened me
out before I got too bad.”
The places in which the Segrand fam ily have lived have never been satis
fa ctpry; the present one, although very undesirable, is an improvement over
former abodes. In 1915 their house was described by the representative of a
family-welfare agency as filthy. In 1919 thè house in which they lived was
reported to the department of health as unfit for human habitation. The place
in which the fam ily lived at the time o f Mark’s first appearance in the boys’
court was described by the adult probation department investigator as “ a
horrible place to live.” They now live in a rear fiat on the second floor of a
ramshackle 2-story frame building on a street which runs beside railroad tracks
and is very dark, so that the girls are afraid to come home alone in the evening.
Their flat, however, is light and airy, fairly clean, and fairly comfortably
furnished. For recreation a piano, phonograph, cheap books, and magazines
are provided. The mother and small boy looked very dirty, but the two older
girls were attractively dressed and seemed bright, frank, and pleasant. The
mother seems high-strung and sensitive but very fond o f her children.
Mr. Segrand is earning $22 a week as a plasterer, and the older girls are
telephone operators, each making $18 a week. A t the time the home was
visited Mark was not employed; but when he was seen two months later, he
had been working for a month and was making $30 a week. The 11-year-old
boy is in th e'th ird grade and the 8-year-old girl in the first. The girls are
buying stock in the telephone company for which they pay $3 a week, and
the elder is buying a piano on time. The members of the fam ily attend church
carnivals and entertainments, and the two older girls go often to parties and
dances. They want to learn to play the piano and hope to take lessons soon.
The 11-year-old boy has taken violin lessons but had to discontinue them on
account of the expense. The mother has worked whenever possible until
recently.
Mr. Segrand has been insane and in institutions intermittently for years.
In 1915 he was in a State hospital for the insane for six months, his condition
being diagnosed*as manic-depressive insanity; in 1916 he was in the hospital
practically the whole y ear; from 1920 to 1923 he was at home working, but in
February, 1925, he was recommitted, this time with a diagnosis of dementia
prsecox. A t the present time Mr. Segrand is again out o f an institution and
at home. He is fairly well, but becomes much disturbed if Mark’s «¿elinquencies
are mentioned. When in an institution he was constantly making efforts to get
out on the ground that he must support his wife and children. During these
various absences of the father the mother often received a mother’s pension
through the juvenile court,, and she also received this aid from October,
1917, to March, 1918, when the father was on parole at home. In October,
1918, the pension was granted again and was not discontinued until March,
1920. The mother worked in the stockyards at times. Part o f the time the
father’s half brother paid the rent. The mother picked up coal from the
railroad tracks. She was uncooperative with the probation officer, and was
even called unfit to have the children. In 1919 the whole fam ily o f six were
sleeping in two filthy beds in one room. The children were always ragged. A
family-welfare agency was in touch with the fam ily from 1915 to 1925. Little
financial aid was given, but it was reported that the children were often under
nourished. A worker for this society reported that Mr. Segrand had been a
good provider and a good father during the periods when he was able to work.
Ten agencies were registered at the social-service exchange as knowing the
family.
A s a young boy Mark was described by an agency visitor as delicate and
undersized. H e was said to have had a speech defect since he was 2 years
old, following an attack of scarlet fever. In 1919, when he was examined in
connection with an application for an employment certificate, he was decidedly
underweight, undersize, and immature. H is teeth were in bad condition, and
his general glandular condition was poor. H e was four years retarded in school.
H e left school in 1920 when 15 years old, having completed the fifth grade. In
1919 he had been reported from school as irregular in attendance, poor in schol-

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arship, and fair in conduct. H e had been absent more than half the month
before the report, most of it inexcusable absence. H e said that he had repeated
three grades and that he left school to go to work to help his mother. A t this
time (1920) Mark was described as forlorn and ragged. H e collected the
county supplies for his mother. H e was sent to a rest cottage for a few weeks
after a tonsil operation and gained 12 pounds.
Mark worked first as a messenger, earning $10 a week. A t the time o f his
offense he was working as a delivery boy at $15 a week. H e had held three
positions, his services had been satisfactory, and his record clear. H e had
left each time o f his own free will. One place reported “ Good boy, but slow
on the trigger; not much p e p ; otherwise O. K .” After his offense Mark worked
in the steel mills, first at $25 a week and now at $30 a week. H e himself said,
“ I quit most o f my jobs bcause they didn’t pay enough money. The last one
I didn’t quit, but just got let off because o f slack work, and before I went back
I got this job I have now.” H e had a very good attitude toward his work.
H e spoke o f the necessity of getting along well with his coworkers, and said
that the boss has “ got to get results ” to maintain his job, and th'at it does
not pay to shift around from one job to another very often. H e is content to
remain in the steel mills.
The family are devoted to Mark. They hide his offenses and seem to believe
in his innocence. The mother, however, said that a little punishment is good
for a boy. She said that at the time of the offense Mark went with some very
bad neighborhood boys, from whom they are trying now to have him break
off. She asserted that Mark was innocent of the rape charge and that he just
happened to enter the house where the boys and girls were.
Mark said that he has always got along well with everyone. “ The biggest
trouble I ever had was about going to school. I couldn’t dress like the others,
and I just got a bad taste for school. The boys I liked and who liked me all
hated school so we just run away lots of times.” H e says that he does not
belong to a gang but that he associates with two bunches of boys. The two
bunches do not go together. H e and his friends dance, go to motion pictures,
and ride in the automobile o f one of them. They go out with girls often, and
on Saturday nights they sometimes roam around all night.
In the five or six months since Mark’s release he has not got into much
trouble. H e sa id : “ There ain’t no use in me trying to tell you I have been a
saint, for a man like you knows better, but I ain’t been in no more stealing
scrapes and I ain’t going to be in any more. A s for trouble With girls, I have
been hanging out with a nice girl since then, and I am going to marry her.” It
is possible that Mark has felt a conflict between his two groups o f friends, one
an older group with an unfavorable influence upon him and the other a newer
group, wh<jm his mother and sisters are encouraging him to know because
of their better influence. The boy’s own interpretation o f the treatment ac
corded him by the court is that by its severity it brought him up short.
23.

LOUIS LATOSIEWICZ

Interview February 13, 1927.
N ative white, parents born in Poland. Both in the United States 32 years.
Present age, 1 9 ; age at time o f offense, 17.
B oys’ court hearing, M ay 12, 1924. Larceny. Sentenced to 30 days in the house o f cor
rection and fined $1, June 18, 1924. M otion to vacate judgm ent sustained, Ju ly 2, 1924.
Placed on probation fo r one year. Restitution o f $28.25 ordered. Released from pro
bation at expiration o f term as satisfactory, July 1, 1925. R estitution made.
Lives at home.
F a m ily : Father 55, m other 51, brothers 26, 23, 21. T w o sisters died o f tuberculosis.
One brother, m arried, in ow n home.

Louis is fairly tall and is thin and pale. H e is evasive and does not like
to talk. H e is neat in dress and looks fairly intelligent.
Records o f the
psychopathic laboratory, however, show a mental age of 11, and classification
as a high-grade moron plus dementia prsecox katatonia.
H e was not con
sidered committable to an institution for the feeble-minded.
Louis says that he has been arrested seven times. Only three arrests are
shown on the police and court records. The offenses recorded begin with the
offense o f larceny included in the study, at which time it was said that Louis
broke into a school and stole some pencils and two drums. The case was con
tinued several times, and a warrant had to be issued. Five weeks after1 the
arraignment Louis was sentenced to 30 days in the house of correction and fined
$1, and was taken to the house of correction. Two weeks later a motion to

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vacate the judgment was made and sustained, and on July 2, 1924, Louis was
placed on probation for one year. H e was ordered to make restitution of $28.25.
The probation record shows that Louis made 11 reports during his year’s
probation and that the home was visited by the officer twelve times. Louis
paid the restitution required and was discharged at the end o f the term with
a satisfactory record. During his term of probation, however, Louis had been
arrested and brought to court. On March 4, 1925, he was charged with having
stolen a typewriter. H e was fined $100 and costs, and on the same day a
motion was made to vacate the judgment. The case was continued until May,
when Louis was discharged. Three months after being discharged from pro
bation, in October, Louis was charged with having stolen a battery. It was said
that he had exchanged the battery for a gun and buried the gun. H e was
fined $100 and costs and sent to the house o f correction to serve out the fine.
Six weeks later he was released by order o f the judge.
When asked about his various court experiences or offenses Louis sa id : “ Go
look them up on the records. I done all that they said I did and plenty more.
There ain’t no use of me trying to play good when I got a record as spotted as
a rattlesnake’s back. I am trying to give up the habit by working and keeping
myself so busy and making all the money I need, so I won’t be tempted. That
is what I read was good for a person like me, and it has been working lately.”
Louis does not know how much time he has spent in police stations but says that
it has been several weeks.
“ When a fellow’s got a nice home like I have it’s
pretty tough to do time in a police station. I don’t remember any I ’ve been in
that I can call unhealthy, but none of them have been very comfortable.” Louis
does not know the name of his probation officer but said that he was a fine man.
However, he said that the officer did him no good except to advise him “ not to
steal and I already knew that.”
O f the house o f correction he' sa id : “ That
place is enough to make anybody go straight.
Them guards don’t care for
nothing; they just as soon kill you as not. But that feed, it was a w fu l! ” As
to the net effect of his court experiences Louis said: “ I didn’t like any o f it,
but any reasonable man would know I have been benefited from my court trips.”
He says he has got on better since his court experience than ever before. He
is sure that with the lesson he learned by being sent to the Bridewell, and what
he has read, and his work, he will be able to stay out of trouble.
Louis’s fam ily live in a new residential district o f 1 and 2 story houses and
apartments. The family bought one o f these apartment houses three years ago.
It is still mortgaged.
They occupy five rooms, o f which three are used as
sleeping rooms.
The home is well furnished, clean, and well taken care of.
Furnishings include radio, phonograph, violin, books, magazines, and papers.
The members of the family seem congenial.
They are worried about the 21year-old son, Mac, who has tuberculosis. One sister died from tuberculosis six
months ago and another girl earlier. Mac and his family cooperate very well
with the municipal clinic which he attends.
The nurses report him intelligent
and careful.
The members o f the family go to church regularly.
The social
connections o f the boys are still in their old neighborhood on the west side of
the city.
Mr. Latosiewicz works as a laborer and makes $20 to $30 a week. The oldest
son at home is a cab driver, making $25 to $30 a week.
Two of the sons, in
cluding the one who is ill, are not employed at present; the other boy is looking
for work. The oldest brother, now married, is the only member of the family
who was in the juvenile court.
In 1918 a charge against him was continued
generally.
Six months later he was sent to St. Charles. A year after this
commitment he wag again in court, and his case was continued for two months
when it was continued generally.
Louis repeated two grades in the parochial school which he attended. H e en
tered school at 6 and left at 15, having completed the seventh grade. H e seems
not to have had the slightest interest in school. H e says that school never did
him any good, and he would not go any more. H e was a truant and did not
like his teachers nor any special subject.
When 15 Louis began to work as a wagon boy, earning $14 a week. A t the
time of the court appearance for the offense included in the study he was work
ing on a wagon for a department store and earning $16 a week. A t the present
time he is a mechanic for a truck company. H e has had no other positions and
has held the last one for about 20 months. Louis said that he left his previous
jobs in order to get work he liked better, but the reports to the probation depart
ment of the firms for which he worked show that he was discharged from these
two earlier positions— from the first for throwing merchandise on the floor and

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from the second for failure to work regularly. Apparently his present occupa
tion is one which suits him better and in which he is making better progress. He
says that he likes the work and the firm and that he expects to remain where
he is. H e gets all the salary that he can expect, and he feels that his employer
will pay him more when he deserves it. Louis has never paid any definite
amount toward the family expenses but has given whatever is needed, usually
between $12 and $20 a week. H e owns a car worth about $100.
Louis admits that when he was a small boy he began to steal small change
from the fam ily purse and that he stole other things.
H e said, “ Sometimes, I
don’t know why, I just can’t turn down a chance to take things.”
Louis once belonged to a gang but does not belong since they have moved
away from their old neighborhood. H e often visits old friends there, however.
H e rides around a good deal in his car.
H e likes motion pictures and girls.
H e goes to dances often and to church and socials. H e does not care for any
form of athletics.
Except for the mental diagnosis o f the psychopathic laboratory it would
seem probable that Louis’s experiences in court were those of an adolescent,
boy not yet adjusted. He is no longer connected with a gang, he has moved
out of the less favorable neighborhood where he formerly lived, and the in
fluence o f his home appears to be good. H e feels that he will not have any
more such difficulties. It appears that probation w as o f benefit in giving
him an opportunity under supervision to work out better behavior standards
for himself. Possibly the sentences to the house of correction were of the
benefit he considers them, especially as he stayed there such short times that
the influences of ja il associations had little opportunity to affect him.
24. PAUL SABBICH;
Interview December 27, 1926.
,
,
.
.
■» **
Native white, father native white. Mother born in A u str ia ; in United States 35 years.
Present age, 1 9 ; age at time o f offense, 17.
..
. ..
.
B oys’ court hearing, January 19, 1925. Larceny. Sentenced to six m onths in the house
o f correction, fined $1, and assessed $6.50 costs.
Family*;1' Father 46, mother 44, brothers 16,’ 15, 11, 3, sisters 5, 4.

Mother usually works.

Paul is a rather delicate and pale boy, neither neat nor clean in his appear
ance. H e talks little, seems dull and backward and unable to apprehend any
thing but a simple proposition.
Paul says that he was arrested once before his court appearance for being
disorderly on the streets, but he was turned out after a night in the station
without being booked. “ They kept the fellow with me because he cussed the
cops. That was what got us in Dutch.” A s to the offense studied he sa id :
“ The next time there was nothing to it except I went in the dairy in the
morning and took some scraps o f iron, and they arrested me for petty lar
ceny and sent me to the house o f correction.” H e was in the police station
from Saturday morning until Monday morning and in jail another night.
H e seemed to have no particular reaction to any of his institutional experiences
and only said of his 6-month sentence in the Bridewell, “ I don’t want any
more of that kind of stu ff; no, sir 1 ”
Paul’s fam ily live in a fairly good workingman’s locality. They are buying
the 4-room house which they occupy from a nephew who is lenient with
them if they can not make their payments. The family isd n very poor cir
cumstances and is helped occasionally by Mr. Sabrich’s fam ily. The house is
fairly well furnished and clean, except the kitchen, which was rather dirty.
Many years ago Mr. Sabrich lost the use o f one o f his eyes. Since then
he says that he not been able to work at inside jobs and has found it hard
to get outside work. H e works very irregularly. Mrs. Sabrich, when her
husband is not working, does daywork at $4 a day. She has no difficulty
in getting work. The 16-year-old boy works as a laborer, earning $13 a week.
H e is the only member o f the fam ily steadily employed. The 15-year-old boy
is in the eighth grade and the 11-year-old boy in the fifth. Mr. Sabrich is a
stout and husky-looking man. H e was surly
and rough with the children,
and his w ife seemed nervous and somewhat afraid o f him. She sympathizes
with Paul but was worried and disappointed in him. H is father was dis
gusted and rather bitter, and said, “ He got just what he needed. Before he
got pinched he was a regular roughneck. Since then he had done pretty
well.” Neither of the parents seemed to know much about Paul’s way of
living.

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Paul has no interest in school. H e was in parochial school from the time he
was 7 until he was 15, and completed only six years. H e then went to con
tinuation school for a short time and studied commercial arithmetic, but thinks
it was a lot of work for nothing.
Paul first worked as a messenger boy at $7 a week. He began work at 14,
before he had his working certificate. W hile working for a large department
store he attended a continuation school, run by the store. He did not like
the school and quit his job. After that he was away from home for three
months and was found living in a bowling alley where he earned a few cents
a day and was allowed to sleep. H e has kept no job for long.
Paul’s parents say that he has been a problem since he was 10 years of age
H e was a truant and was sent to the Chicago Parental School, where his
mother says he learned many bad tricks. For years he has been running away
from home periodically and staying away for one or two months. The mother
says that Paul is all right while at home but that some man or boy persuades
him to go away. Paul says that he has never been around with any girls. Ap
parently he does not go with many boys at one time. When at home he reads
cheap magazines.
Paul was first in the juvenile court on the charge o f incorrigibility in 1918.
The case was continued in order that a truancy petition might be filed, and
he was sent to the parental school. Early in 1923 he was again charged with
incorrigibility and sent to the Chicago and Cook County School. He was re
leased to his father when 17 years o f age. The juvenile-court record shows
that his first charge was connected with holding up a man in a store. The
second time he was in the juvenile court was after he had been having immoral
relations with a 32-year-old man. The probation officer at this time said that
the boy seemed to lack moral sense.
Although the juvenile-court record showed no bad conditions in Paul’s home
the family-welfare agency to which the mother applied in 1922, when her hus
band was not working, found that the father drank excessively, abused nig
family, and refused to work. These things combined, in their opinion, to make
Paul’s home conditions wretched. The father was especially abusive to Paul,
and Paul resented having to turn over his money to the father who treated
him so badly. Various agencies tried to have Mr. Sabrich ordered by the
court to treat his family better, but Mrs. Sabrich was unwilling to testify
against her husband. She told the court worker: “ Anybody would be lucky
if they had a husband as good as she had.” A t this time the father was only
working to get money for drink. The mother was doing fam ily washings and
giving the money to him. They were without food for days at a time. The
children had little clothing and were often kept home from school to take care
of the baby, even though Mr. Sabrich was in the house. Seven agencies were
registered at the social-service exchange as knowing this f amily,
The discord in Paul’s home made him dissatisfied as a small boy. No mental
examination was ever made, although it might shed light on the cause of his
difficulty. His periods of residence in institutions have not been effective in
changing his conduct.
25. ANTON BAUMRTJK
Interview January 10, 1927.
Native white, parents born in Czechoslovakia. Father in United States 20 years. Mother
d e a d ; came to United States in 1906.
Present age, 1 9 ; age at time o f offense, 17.
B oys’ court hearing, February 5, 1925. Larceny. Committed to house o f correction fo r
six months, fined $25, and assessed $6.50 costs, February 17, 1925.
B oom in g ; at time o f offense lived at home.
F a m ily : Father 60, at home. Tw o brothers married and in own homes. Sister 17,
brother 15, in foster homes. Mother worked before her death 12 years ago.

Anton is tall, thin, and pale. His chest is sunken, and he appears nervous.
He is fairly neat and clean, but his clothes fit him badly. He is not talkative
and does not seem to be very frank. H e has been ill much of his life. H e
was examined at the psychopathic laboratory and rated 11% years mentally,
a low-grade sociopath plus dementia prsecox katatonia.
Two offenses appear on Anton’s court record. The first is the one included
in this study, when with five juveniles Anton was lookout while the boys entered
dry-goods stores at night. It was at this time that he was examined at the
psychopathic laboratory, but no report appears on the social-service record.
For this offense he was sentenced on February 17, 1925, to six months in the
house o f correction. In September, 1925, he was charged with larceny. He
86850°— 30------ 12

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was first sentenced to one year in Pontiac Reformatory, but this was changed
to probation. Anton said that he was arrested once before this, in July, 1923,
when he had collected $70 that was due him and his father for work. He had
been working for a year for his father, who had given him no money. His
father had collected Anton’s wages and then spent it himself in saloons,
Anton said ; so when he got a chance he collected the money which was due
both him and his father, took it, and left home. H is father had him brought
to court. A s to the offense studied Anton said : “ I done just what they said.
Them kids squawked, and I went to the Bridewell. It was good enough for
me. I can’t say a word on the deal I got. I ju st failed to put it over and had
to pay.” A s to the last offense he said : “ I thought I would try my old game
o f stealing. I had done it and not got caught, but again I got caught in the
act. They first said a year in Pontiac, and then a year on probation. I was
just lucky, and I got a good scare again /’ A t the time of the offense studied he
was in the police station overnight, and the last time for a week. “ The sta
tions are pretty bad holes, but what makes them so bad is the cops,” he said.
“ They are big brutes.” And o f his experience in the Bridewell: “ Everything
goes on in that place. The food was just slop, the guards were hard, and life
was miserable. * * * After getting time in the Bridewell I really know how
to appreciate probation. It is meant to help a boy straighten himself out, and
it sure did it for me. * * * Both the experiences have made a man out
of me. I think the court did me, lots of good, especially the boys’ court that
gave me probation, but the cops never did me any good.”
A t the time o f the offense included in the study Anton lived with his father
in a little 1-room shack back of a barber shop in the middle of a gang dis
trict. H is father still lives there, but Anton has moved away on the advice of
those who supervised him while he was on probation. Anton lives with another
boy in a rooming house. Their room is dirty, dark, and disorderly. His
recreation consists entirely in playing pool and going to motion pictures. H e
rarely sees members o f his own family.
Anton’s mother worked until just before her death from tuberculosis in 1915,
at least part of the time in a laundry at night. Anton feels that his mother
was made to work and that his father was worthless. Neighbors said that
the father was brutal to the children. The father also had tuberculosis, how
ever, and according to the agencies that knew, the fam ily at this time, seemed
kind to his children. Because o f his poor health he was never able really to
provide for the children. During his childhood Anton was ill a good deal. A t
the time o f his mother’s death an agency representative found him to be a
nice little fellow, who was forced to play in the streets without any super
vision and whose companion, a little boy who lived in the same house, had a
bad influence on him. The children often suffered for lack of food, and all were
ill frequently. The father was never able to hire anyone to take care o f
them. The year after the mother’s death the oldest boy was the sole support
of the family. H e worked in the daytime and went to school at night. The
next oldest boy did the housework, including the washing. A few months later
the father went to the country for his health, and the three youngest children
were placed in an orphanage. In 1915 Anton, his youngest brother, and his
sister were committed to schools for dependent children. Anton stayed in the
school until June, 1922, when he was released to his father. The father never
contributed to the support o f the children while they were in institutions.
In 1911 an older brother was in the juvenile court as a truant and was com
mitted to an orphanage and later to a school for dependent boys. H e was re
leased to his father in 1914. In 1916 he was accused by his father o f running
away and of thievery and was coinmitted to St. Charles. He was released
in 1918.
Anton repeated three grades during his school career and had completed the
fifth when he was released from the institution at 14 years of age. H e said :
“ Grammar school was o f no use to me unless it was to learn me how to read
and write. The mandai training I got at the orphanage was what is good.” He
sees no reason for going to school any more.
When he first came out of the institution he was a messenger and earned $12
a week. A t the time o f the offense studied he was working as a mason and
earned $30 a week. For the last two months he has been making $35 a week as
a bricklayer when he works full time. The work, however, is not regular. He
has been in this line o f work for some time and expects to stay in it. The jobs
are short, and changes are frequent; but Anton says that he has no trouble in
getting work and that he has never been discharged. H e says that he never

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gets in an argument with his bosses or fellow workmen and that he always
giyes the best he can. H e likes outdoor work and feels it is good for his
. He pays '^12
for room and board- A t the time of the offense
studied he was paying $10. He has saved $100.
Anton tried to explain his conduct difficulties: “ W ell, I don’t know how to
say it, but somehow I just got a bad start and I have been into something
or other ever since I was 10 years old. When I was a little kid I used to
tell my father that he was no good and I would get beat, hut I ain’t changed
X w S ?*
5 e A ever would work much, and when he did he spent the money
drinking and let my poor mother work herself into the grave. H e plavs
Y h®n he 1S
lazy- H e never kept us kids up. W hen agents come
around he was always as nice as pie crust but when they got out o f sight,
he cussed us and beat us so I got to where I didn’t care for nothing and I
am just getting over it.” Anton belongs to a gang but does not go with
the members of it (except his roommate) as much as he used to because he
has moved away from where they live. W hile Anton was on probation a
w h 6 ° f k Pn va t® organization assisted in his supervision.
Anton
says that the probation officer just kept track to see i f he was working or
if he needed work, but that he reported regularly to “ some religious man
who was good to me. He give me good advice and got me to move away
from the place where I belong to a gang.”
y
Anton had no home during most of his childhood. W hen he was at home
ur
supervision and, living in a gang neighborhood, became a member
a gang and got into trouble. He feels that he is a man now, and that with
the help of the court he has grown out o f his bad ways. H e seems to have
??nsiderably
H e is working regularly and has a satisfactory vo
cational adjustment. H e has very little in his surroundings to help him to
better conduct as he has no home life nor home influences, nor has he a group
of satisfactory friends. I f he succeeds it will be entirely from his own efforts. A t the present time it seems that the treatment accorded Anton by
the court has been successful and that giving him the opportunity o f probawa11’ +Yspecia ly Y V ? the supervision of a really interested “ big brother,”
was the treatment that this boy needed.
SEX CRIMES AND OFFENSES

.'J'his group o f 13 cases includes 7 rape charges, 3 cases o f con
tributing to the delinquency of a child, 1 case each o f indecent
liberties, indecent exposure, and inmate o f a disorderly house. The
histories o f 3 boys charged with rape, 1 charged with contributing:
to delinquency, and 1 charged with indecent liberties are included
111 i 1S i ePort- O f tile 7 rape cases 4 were discharged by the boy’s
court, the grand jury, or the criminal court; 2 resulted in sentences
o± one year to a correctional institution; and the seventh case, in
volving a ‘ borderland mental defective” negro boy with a longdelinquency record, resulted in a sentence o f 14 years to Pontiac
Reformatory on a charge o f “ intent to rape.” One o f the three
cases o f contributing to the delinquency o f a child resulted in a fine
one m a fine and 30 days in the house o f correction, and the third in
dismissal for want o f prosecution. The other three cases resulted in
discharge, sentence o f one year to Pontiac Reformatory, and com
mitment to a State institution for the feeble-minded, respectively.
As in the other cases the histories differ greatly in the personality
and environmental problems presented. Charles Keenan (history
not given in detail), coming from a very good home, whose devoted
parents have dealt with several instances o f his misconduct with
parried, at the age o f 20, a girl approved by his parents,
who have the highest hopes that his misconduct has ceased perma
nently. Louis Leitner (case 26) was a boy with previous experience
m a correctional institution, without a home in the city, whose only
friends were former inmates of a correctional school. He fell in

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with fast girls and was charged with rape. He also has married
and claims to have given up his old associates. Sidney Ghaitman
(case 27), with poor heredity and poor home conditions, though
there was plenty of money and misguided affection, a delinquent
from early childhood, was discharged by the criminal court for the
sex offense but later sentenced to the penitentiary alter being
charged with five robberies. Arthur Karnasov (history not given
in detail), charged with being an inmate o f a disorderly house and
discharged, a nervous, unstable, excitable boy, still makes his chief
occupation procuring customers for girls m a disorderly house.
The need for an institution for mentally defective delinquents is
well illustrated by the history o f William Peck (case 28), who could
not adiust himself to life in the community or to life in the school
for the feeble-minded, and who will constitute a grave social prob
lem when released from the reformatory. Earl Stevens (case 29)
presents a pathetic picture o f a kind, suggestible, mentally detective
boy who needed careful supervision which was not available in
the wretched home in which he lived. A boy who seems to have
gotten into no more difficulties since the one studied is Albert vaska
(case 30), who was sentenced to 30 days in the house o f correction.
With the help o f intelligent parents and as a result o f wholesome
athletic activities he appears to have changed his interests entirely.
Two o f these histories (cases 26 and 28) show the inadequate pro
vision made by the State for the supervision of boys on parole from
institutions.
26. LOUIS LEITNER.

Nathreiewbite,CJpirent^tM>rn in Aoirtria.

Father dead.

® mitted to jail.
h & No
r ‘i
i H August
i , w 22,
° 4 1925.
r »
bill.

Hcia for srana iuiy ° ° $10'<M>0 taU- com'

Lives in own h o m e ; at time o f offense, rooming.
F a m ily : Mother, sister 14, brother 7.

Louis is an intelligent-looking boy, neat in appearance and not very talkative.
Institutional records show that Louis was sent from his home m a small town
in. thn St Charles School for Boys in July, 1928, on a charge of burglary. He
good record S ^ a n d w a s W o l e d in December. 1924. to Me mother. The
record also shows that while on parole he left home and was taken to another
citv bv a parole agent, where he was provided with a place to stay and with
work* that he left this without notiGe and went to Chicago, where he was ar
rested but not held. After this thfe parole officer lost track of him, and be was
discharged from parole in October, 1925. Louis admits two experiences with the
police in Chicago previous to the one studied, which did not lead to the filing
of charges against him. Once he was arrested for larceny but was let off for
lack of evidence, although Louis admits that he had committed the offense.
The second time he was arrested for being in the park after closing hours. He
savs • “ I was with a girl, and we were loving up too much to suit the cop.
O f the offense studied Louis said : “ The last time I got arrested it was be
cause of a girl they charged me with raping. I knew o f at least half a dozen
men she had been staying all night with at one time or another.
H e was in
X i l from August 3 to September 11. The court investigation bears out to a
considerable extent Louis’s statement of the case. The 15-year-old complainant
did not resist his advances, as she claimed he intended to_marry her. She lived
in a dirty basement flat, and her reputation was bad. Police had been called
to the house, and the family had been asked to vacate by the owner The girl
and the mother drank with men who came to the house at night. The mother
admitted that the girl had had intercourse with two other men.
U t t l e i s known of Louis’s home in the small town from which he came. A t
the time of his offense he had been in Chicago for two months and had roomed
at the house of a boy whom he met at St. Charles School. He says that he paid
«10 o week for room and board, but the court record states that nothing had
been paid up to the time o f his offense. The neighborhood was extremely poor.

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Soon after leaving jail Louis met a girl whom he married. They have a
2-room apartment for which they pay $30 a month. Louis says that they
have as yet no facilities for recreation at home but that he spends all his spare
time with his wife. At Louis’s request his present home was not visited.
‘ We have a nice little flat in a good neighborhood. I don’t want anyone coming
around, stirring up my past history, so I will not tell where I live.” He is
working as a clerk at $25 a week. His wife is also a clerk and earns $20 a
week. Louis says he goes to church with his wife, and his recreation consists
of visiting her people and going to the motion pictures.
Louis entered school when 6 years old and finished high school. When sent
to St. Charles he again attended school. He thinks that little good came of
his high-school work and that he could have done as well if he had never gone
to school; that if his people had put him to work and let him have his own
money, it would have made a man of him. He would not do any kind of school
work now. However, in speaking of his own home, he said: “ My folks gave
me a high-school education and a chance in life. I did not make good at home,
so r broke away. They don’t care for me any more.” Louis’s first work was after he came out of St. Charles, when he did office
work for $15 a week. At the time of his offense he was earning $20 a week
at similar work. He has had five or six jobs. One he left in order to get
more money, another he lost because of stealing, and another he lost when he
was sent to jail. His present position he has had about five months. He has a
fair attitude toward work. “ I don’t have such a hard time finding work or
keeping it. I don’t get jobs that pay a lot, but I always get on. My wife and
me make a good living.” He likes office work and expects to do it always.
He says that he has no trouble with the boys at his office.
As to his own behavior Louis says that he ran away from home several
times and stole constantly. “ I got started bad as a little chap. I was born
mean, so they told me. I got in trouble about taking things that belonged to
others several times. My father was dead, and I would not mind my mother
and uncles, so I kept getting in deeper until I went out to St Charles. When
I first come to Chicago I kept company with a bad bunch of boys that I knew
in St. Charles. That company made me worse. Now I have changed my
crowd, moved away from the old station, and live close to my wife’s people,
and they are nice folks, like my people. I have been married six months, and
all my trouble has stopped since then.” His wife apparently does not know
of his former difficulties.
As to his court experiences he said: “ Jail was bad on me. I f I had raped
some innocent girl, I would not have minded i t ; but being so mad I was nasty
with the guards, and having no money I got no favors at all. I got awful
treatment. . He insisted that he did not know of any parole officer to whom
he was assigned after he left the correctional school.
According to this boy’s testimony his institutional experience did him more
harm than good, and this has been practically the only treatment accorded him
by the courts. It is possible that the good influence of his wife, combined with
the memories of his own family and their good qualities, may effect a change
in his conduct.
27. SIDNEY CHAITMAN
Interview December 31, 1926.
NayearsWhite’ parents born in Russia- Father in the United States 30 years, m other 20
Present age, 1 9 ; age at time o f offense, 17.
°l? n n n Ui i iih ea^ s ’n A us!ist 15>*1924:4 RaPe. Held fo r grand ju ry September 20, 1924,
$2,000 bail. Discharged as not guilty by the crim inal court on June 5, 1925.
Interviewed in p enitentiary; at the time o f offense living in foster home.
■ * 2 !?^ :
mo.ll1®r ( annt) 46, foster father (uncle) 47. Father 40 deserting, m other
40 m State hospital fo r the insane. Brother died at 11 months.

A representative of a social agency having long acquaintance with this boy
described him early in the year of the offense included in the study as an
ultra sheik, wearing broad, fiat bulldog-toed tan oxfords, wide trousers of light
color, dark heavy cloth form-fitting overcoat with flap pockets and foreign
labels, silk handkerchief in pocket, a flaring black felt hat on one ear, and an
extra fancy cigarette holder on his small finger.” At a trial for robbery which
occurred after the offense included in this study Sidney achieved a newspaper
paragraph because he was brought to court “ from the county jail neatly clad
in golf costume ” and was “ sentenced in plus fours.” The agent with whom

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youth

and

c r im e

he talked at the end of the yean in the penitentiary was impressed with his
intelligent appearance, though hits, record shows him to haye been diagiiOsea as
only of low average intelligence by the institute for juvenile Research* ana Us
a high-grade sociopath by the psychopathic laboratory; He was veryheryotis
and talkative but did not want to talk of anything but himself, t.he; injustice
done him, the wrongs others had perpetrated upon him, and his own mnocence
and ability. He was inconsistent in ail his stories; and When shown incon
sistencies, he became angry and denied bis earlier statements;
, . • _
Sidney’s story of the offense studied is as follow s: “ A family close to Us had
a little girl, and she stayed out ali night and claimed somebody attacked her.
A bunch of cops who I had showed Up on another case picked me up, and the
kid said I took her out and raped hem . The family tried to squeeze money out
of my aunt, and my lawyer told that to the jury and I came out free. I was
not guilty; never saw the little girl before.” Sidney’s aunt also insists that he
was entirely innocent of this charge and thinks that the parents of the chna
were only after some of her money, as they came to her and asked for $2,000.
According to the information obtained for the State’s attorney (which gives
the girl’s statement of the case) Sidney persuaded the 11-year-old girl to go in
a ear with him alone at 9.30 in the evening to show him the location of a cer
tain street. H e raped her after threatening to kill her if she did not submit.
The girl’s mother said that her daughter was put out of the car about 4.30
a. m. and some neighborhood boys who were out looking for her brought her
home unconscious.
■'
,„
,
,
.___
The case was in the boy’s court from August 15 to September 20, 1924, when
Sidney was held for the grand jury with bail set at $2,000. The criminal-court
bond was set at $3,000, and after a few days in jail Sidney was released on
bond secured by his aunt. The case was not disposed o f until almost 10 month®
after its inception. Sidney was found not guilty and discharged. According
to a social agency in touch with the family at this time the case was trans
ferred from the criminal to the juvenile court, but this is not apparent on the
records of either court.
. ,
,
,,
.^
Sidney’s age is not definitely established. He is known by the name of the
uncle with whom he has lived. Sometimes his father’s name, Karlin, appears
on the records as an alias. H is relatives say that he was born in a hospital
for the insane in New York State, to which his mother had been committed
before his birth. The records of this hospital show that a child was born to
Flossie and Samuel Karlin, January 5, 1911. I f this is Sidney s birthdate, he
was only 15 at the time of the interview in connection with this study. A t the
juvenile court and at the boys’ court, he gave his birth date as July 4, 1907, to a
private agency as July 4, 1908, and to the State’s attorney as September 16,
1908
Any of these latter dates would make him 17 or 18 at the time of the
interview. Because of this conflict and lack of authentic information as to
Sidney’s exact age, complications have risen in regard to jurisdiction of the
VaA t ^he °Ume of Sidney’s birth his father deserted his insane wife. H e was
said to have been a gambler and sexually promiscuous. H e was suspected of
being tuberculous. Sidney’s mother has been in several hospitals for the in
sane • and after having been cared for by her brother in Chicago, she was
committed to an Illinois State hospital in 1922 with a diagnosis of hebephrenic
dementia prrncox. When very young Sidney was adopted by his mother s sister,
with whom he has lived nearly all the time since. W hen he was 10 or 11 years
old he became unmanageable, and his aunt placed him in an orphange in New
York City, where the family was living at that time. He ran away after four
months. He was brought before the Children’s Court of New York on a charge
o f stealing several decks of cards which he attempted to sell, and was sent to a
school for delinquents. In January, 1923, he was paroled to his aunt, who had
moved to Chicago. Several times his mother’s brother took Sidney to live at
his home, where Sidney received strict discipline from his uncle and gave no
trouble to outsiders. He proved too difficult to keep in a fam ily with other chil
dren. In 1923 the children in this fam ily were interested students in grade
school, high school, and college, and Sidney’s school career benefited from
this association. However, when his uncle found that Sidney was having a
bad influence on the other children he refused to keep him any longer and
returned him to his aunt, Mrs. Chaitman.
Although the Chaitman family is fairly well to do they live in a most unde
sirable neighborhood. They own a store and have sufficient investments to in
sure a comfortable income. They live in four rooms fairly well furnished.,

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The uncle and aunt enjoy the life of a district of this k in d ; and although urged
to move to a better neighborhood on Sidney’s account, the aunt declines, say
ing that “ residential districts are so desolate.” The family apparently has
no other social life than that connected with the store. In New York the fam
ily lived in a similar neighborhood in an extremely congested district made up
of old and filthy tenements and small places of business. Here Sidney was
brought into contact with bad companions and became familiar with the gang
sters of the neighborhood.
Mrs. Chaitman was devoted to Sidney and showered much affection upon
him. Her attitude was described by an agency representative as “ more sen
timental than motherly.” She is an invalid, having suffered a paralytic stroke,
and has absolutely no control over him. In spite of her physical condition she
was elaborately dressed and bedecked with diamonds and other jewelry. She
protects Sidney in any way that occurs to her, by misrepresentation or by
glossing over his delinquency. She has promised to give him a large sum of
money when he reaches the age of 20 years.
Sidney had in his home everything he wanted in the way of amusement but
was very unappreciative. H e drove his aunt’s car and had a radio set which
cost $80. He was induced by a social agency to join several clubs. He was
not particularly fond of athletics. Although he did not belong to a gang his
companions for years were bad. He liked to go with girls and went with one
girl steadily for two years before his commitment to the penitentiary. H e liked
motion pictures and motoring. The fam ily frequently took him on trips to
health resorts.
Early in 1928 Sidney said that he had formed many interesting associations
in his new Chicago neighborhood, with boys o f Italian and Irish nationalities,
but his aunt said that his new friends did not appear to be the select citizens
o f the neighborhood, and later, it was reported that Sidney had no friends.
H e said, “ I never needed to have a lot of pet friends to keep me going.
I don’t have to have support if I get in a figh t; I have always taken care of
myself. Lots of the gang members I have known are good sports, and I like
them. They know a lot, but most o f them are cowards. I like good shows, and
I like dancing. I have lots of girl friends, and I show them a good time.”
Considerable race prejudice existed in the neighborhood, and once he was
beaten by a gang o f Italian boys because he was a Jew. This made a deep
impression on him and resulted in an intense hatred for Christian boys.
When a small boy in New York Sidney used to steal from his uncle, who was
in the habit of keeping his money, after closing the store, under the mattress.
Over a period of several years, he stole an aggregate o f possibly $1,000 in sums
of $1 to $20, depending on what bill was uppermost in the pack. On his arrival
in Chicago after his release from the New York institution he presented a seri
ous behavior problem. H e was spiteful, capricious, inconsiderate of others, and
often unreasonable in his demands. H e evaded one’s eyes while conversing, was
very restless, and bit his finger nails. H e paid little attention to the emotional
outbursts of his aunt, who complained constantly to the agency about Sidney’s
conduct.
In March, 1923, Sidney was examined at the Institute for Juvenile Research
at the request o f his school-teacher, who complained that he giggled and showed
off and was otherwise troublesome. H e was found to be 20 pounds underweight
but otherwise had no serious physical trouble. H is sexual development had
scarcely begun. H is chronological age was 14 years, 8 months; his mental
age, 13 years, 4 m onths; and his intelligence quotient, 91. H e was described
as of adequate intelligence, low average, with marked physical and mental
immaturity. H is general reactions and responses were considered not unlike
those of an average boy passing through adolescence. A year later he was
again examined at the institute, this time because of charges o f delinquency
in the juvenile court. H is intelligence quotient was found to be 90, which
was considered “ adequate intelligence equipment.” The report states: “ The
boy’s mental ability is sufficiently great to allow him to make logical decisions
and discriminations.
Sidney volunteered much information regarding his
present difficulties. H e is most emphatic in his denial o f wrongdoing, but hi«
very eagerness to divert attention from his own misconduct leads him into
contradictions and unreliabilities. There is very much to indicate the lack o f
appreciation o f the rights of others, or an understanding of the necessity o f
recognizing authority. For a long time the boy has been ‘ getting b y ’ and his
failure to profit by the opportunities offered him is more marked, inasmuch
as there have been resources and desires to back this boy up.” A s his aunt had

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means she was advised to send him to a small, carefully selected, rigidly dis
ciplined military school. I f this were not possible, consideration o f a State
or county institution was advised. For a year a social agency endeavored to
persuade Mrs. Chaitman to act on this advice and send Sidney to a military
school, but she refused.
Sidney was examined by the psychopathic laboratory in June, 1924. He
was found to have a mental age of 12% and was diagnosed as a high-grade
sociopath plus dementia præcox katatonia. In February, 1926, he was again
sent to the laboratory for examination, but nothing was added to the former
diagnosis.
.
In the interview with Sidney by the representative of thé Children s Bureau
it was evident that he had assembled considerable legal information, particu
larly about criminal law. H is intelligence seemed to be showy rather than deep,
however, and he appeared at first to know a great deal more than he really
did. H e admitted that he had had sexual experience constantly from the time
he was quite young, much of it in perverted forms. He also insisted that he
has never had any trouble arising from his misbehavior but that all his trouble
is due now and always has been due to persecution. H e was first the victim
o f jealous cousins, later the victim o f jealous boys in his community, and still
later, when he was charged with rape, the victim o f a policeman whom he
had showed up. H e says that ever since he tripped the police up and proved
that they gave him the third degree, they have hounded him everywhere he
has gone.
Sidney apparently entered school in 1912 and left in 1923. H e repeated one
grade, which he says was due to a change from one school to another. He
finished the eighth grade and left while in the first year of high school. Sid
ney’s reaction to school is as follows : “ School is just for dumb-bells who can’t
learn without a boss. I know more than most any high-school graduate, and
I went to high school less than a month. How did I learn it? B y experience
and by reading what I want to and, let me tell you, school doesn’t help any
body make money. A ll it is is a time killer.” Several teachers reported that
his conduct was poor and that he did very little studying in school, although
his work was excellent except in arithmetic.
Sidney’s first job was as a messenger boy. H e says he received $12 a week.
H e overcharged the customers in collecting to such an extent that he lost the job,
although Sidney explained during the interview that he quit because it was
no job for anyone with brains. He was later employed by a bank, at which
occupation his aunt proudly states he was not accused of any dishonesty. H ow
ever, he was not considered efficient. H e was also discovered to be a diph
theria carrier and had to stop work until this condition was cured. H e helped
his uncle occasionally in his store, but even his uncle does not like to have
him there, as he can not trust him. A t the time of the offense studied he was
driving his aunt’s car, for which she paid him $10 a week, and had a great
deal of leisure. H is opinion o f work is not much more favorable than his
opinion o f school : “ I wouldn’t work for any person very long. A man who
slaves and makes money for another is a fo o l; he can just as well work for
himself, and that is the only way I am ever going to work.”
The record of Sidney’s court experiences since coming to Chicago is a long
one. A t the time of the first juvenile-court appearance he was accused of
stealing an automobile battery and a car, for which he was sent to the
Chicago and Cook County School in March, 1923. He ran away several times
but was returned in June. Shortly after this he again ran away and did
not return. H e was granted permanent release from the school in August,
1925, “ with improvement.” In May, 1924, he was in the boys’ court charged
with speeding. This case was continued, and. because of his nonappearance a
warrant was issued. His next offense was the charge of rape in the boys’ court
on August 15, 1924. W hile out on bail furnished by his aunt he got into
further difficulties. In October he was in court for speeding and was fined
$25 and costs. Three charges of automobile stealing were brought against
Sidney between April, 1925, and the end o f the year. On two of these occasions
he was held for the grand jury on bonds of $5,000, but the case was dismissed
for want o f prosecution. The third time it was said that he had the car
six hours and had a 16-year-old girl with him. This case was held for the
grand jury, but the disposition is not known. In February, 1926, he was
in court on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon and was fined $100. In
June of that year he was in court on a charge of disorderly conduct. Leave
to file charges was denied, and the case was discharged. A week later he

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was brought to court on five charges o f robbery. The specific charges w ere:
(1) Holding up a woman in a dry-goods store in the daytime, threatening
her with a dagger; (2) holding up a doctor on the street at night, using a gun;
(3) a similar robbery; (4) holding up the owner of a car in the car and taking
the c a r ; and (5 ) stealing an automobile and keeping it for two hours. H e was
held on bonds of $10,000 on each charge. The criminal court found him guilty
on several counts and sentenced him to the penitentiary for 3 to 20 years, the
sentences to run concurrently.
When asked during the interview in the penitentiary about his court experi
ences he mentioned the one in which he was charged with speeding and one
in which he was charged with stealing an automobile. “A car was taken from
a garage behind our house, and I was accused. The cops took me up and beat
me until I confessed to keep from getting killed. Then on the trial I was
too sharp for them, and my lawyer got them tangled up and the judge dis
charged me. I was not guilty of the car charge. I knew who got the car,
but I would not squawk. Had my lawyer not been sharp I might have served
somebody else’s sentence.” O f the final charge he sa id : “ This last time I was
charged with robbery, but I never did a thing like that in m y life. They got
my confession by beating me up. W hen the witnesses saw me they all told
about the same yarn.
* Yes, he pushed me up in a dark alley and took my
money, and while he had me in the dark alley I took a good look at him.’
That was all the evidence they had. I am innocent, and my incarceration is
illegal and unjust and against the law, for I have read every law on my case.”
After denying the various charges he later admitted part of them, particularly
the robberies and the rape; later he again retracted his statements.
Sidney has lived in an institution for dependent children, has been committed
to two different institutions for delinquents, and has been seven times in the
county jail. O f the jail he sa id : “ It is just a dirty hog pen full of bums, and
it Was no place for me. The police stations and the detective bureaus are
nothing but old-time beating dens. They beat me from morning until night.”
His conduct in the penitentiary has been very poor. H e is resentful, com
plaining that he is not accustomed to living under conditions as they exist in
Joliet, and that he will not put up with it much longer. H e says that i f he
can’t get out he will kill himself, that he will not obey regulations down there,
and that he doesn’t care what happens; that he is disgusted with life, and what
time he has to spend he would just as soon stay in the penitentiary. During
the entire interview he went on in this fashion, contradicting himself frequently.
He also said that the court was unjust to him. H e believes that the court is
unfair because it believes the policemen, and no one else has a chance.
Sidney entered the penitentiary under a plea of guilty o f robbery. I f he earns
all the good time possible he will be eligible for consideration for parole in
January, 1929. However, his conduct does not make it likely that he can be
considered at this date. H e was in solitary confinement at the time o f one of the
visits made by the agent of the bureau to the penitentiary. Sidney’s aunt has
been trying to have him released from custody. W ith the discovery that very
possibly Sidney was only 15 years of age instead of 17, as he claimed to be when
sentenced to the penitentiary, efforts have been made by State authorities to
have him released. W ith such a record it is very probable that a release,
unless very carefully safeguarded, would onlv mean an opportunity to commit
further delinquencies. On the other hand, (retention in a penal institution is
reacting in anything but a desirable way on this stubborn and egotistical boy.
His greatest misfortune, next to his heredity, has been his lack of proper
guardianship. Lacking a home with his parents, he fell into the hands o f
relatives interested in him and anxious for his welfare, but absolutely incapable
of giving him the sort of home and training that he needed.
28. WILLIAM PECK
Interview October 22, 1926.
Native black, parents native black.
Present age, 2 0 ; age at time o f offense, 18.
B oys’ court hearing, March 26, 1925. Rape. Continued three times. Discharged fo r
want o f prosecution, A pril 15, 1925. Another charge brought March 28, 1925, intent to
rape. Held fo r grand jury A pril 21, 1925. Bond $1,000. Sentenced to P ontiac Re
form atory fo r 14 years by crim inal court, August 20, 1925.
Interviewed at re fo rm a to ry ; at time o f offense lived a t home.
F a m ily : Father 51, mother 48, sister 22. M arried and in ow n homes, brothers 30 29
sister 25.

W illiam is a rather light-skinned negro, fairly talkative and frank, but seem
ingly not much interested in anything. H e is apparently not bright enough to

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get along in the world at large and is too bright to stay in an institution for
the feeble-minded, where he says “ they are nearly all dumb-bells.” H e was
examined by the psychopathic laboratory while in the boys’ court, given a
mental age of 11 y5 years, and classified as a high-grade moron plus dementia
prsecox hebephrenia. At the school for the feeble-minded he was diagnosed in 1924
as “ a borderland simple mental defective, a delinquent who would probably
always be criminalistic.” A penal institution was recommended. A t the re
formatory his average intelligence is given according to the Army Alpha exam
ination as C -61 and his mental age 13 to 15. W illiam says o f himself that
he was bom for trouble— “ if he told of all the difficulties that he has been in
he would have to describe every day of his life.”
In regard to the offense studied he sa id : “ This rape case is a lie. ■The way
it happened was like th is: I have been knowing this girl for a long time. She
said she was going out with me, and I went to get her and found another fellow
lying up with her. I gave her a beating up, and she told the police I raped her.’
W illiam ’s mother has investigated the case in an effort to get her son out of
the reformatory and says that the girl has a bad reputation.
W illiam was in jail three months awaiting disposition of this case. H e sa id :
« I have been in police stations so many times that I know the names of the
rats that pick up the crumbs in the bull pens. A ll of them look alike to me.
They are just pens and that is all. I have been in about every place they can
put me but Joliet, and I guess I might as well sign up for a cell there when I
come out of here. The police have got it in for me, and I will land there, I
guess.
I don’t see any difference between the house of correction and this
place; neither one ain’t no good for a fellow. St. Charles is the best place I
have been and Lincoln (the institution for the feeble-minded) is the worst, for
in Lincoln they’re nearly all dumb-bells that you have to stay with. I guess I
will try to stay out of pens now, but it won’t be any use.”
H e says of the police: “ Some of them beat me up and some didn’t, but they
all told lies to the judges. I have been arrested and kept locked up for three
or four days without being booked.”
His only objection to the reformatory is
that he has to stay in his cell and that he would like to do more work. He
would rather have been dealt with in the boys’ court at the time of his last
offense than in the criminal court, as “ you get off with less in the boys’ court.’’
W illiam ’s sentence to the reformatory is a definite sentence of 14 years. He
will be eligible for consideration for parole when he has served one-third of his
sentence. H is conduct so far has been good.
W illiam lived with his mother, father, and sister in three rooms on the first
floor of a 2-story and basement brick building which the family owns.
The
house is in a row of similar houses in one o f the most desirable negro residen
tial districts. The Peck family have lived in this house for 17 years, and have
many friends in the neighborhood.
The fam ily formerly occupied the entire
house, but now that most of the children are away they rent the three rooms in
the basement, and the oldest son lives in the four rooms on the second floor with
his wife and two children.
The house is somewhat dark, as the only light is
from the front and the back, but it is well furnished and very clean. They have
a piano, phonograph, and books. The father is a railroad porter and is there
fore on the road most of the time.
.
The daughter at home graduated from high school and will finish normal
school in February.
The mother spends most of her time with her married
daughter, who has a 16-room house in a poor neighborhood.
The daughter’s
house is very well furnished, and indications are that it is not a reputable place.
The mother says that no members of the family except W illiam have court or
police records, but she has given bond in the morals court several times.
She
did not explain for whom she had done this.
The married daughter gave an
automobile to the mother, which she uses to drive down to see W illiam every
two weeks. William indicates that his family has petted him and overlooked his
faults, as he sa id : “ I never had to work unless I wanted to. I always got all
I needed to keep me going.”
^
,
...
_
„
W illiam entered school when he was 7 years old and left when either 16 or 17
years old, in 1922 or 1923. H e had completed only five grades and had repeated
four grades. In the reformatory he has been placed in the third grade. W hile
in school he was a truant. “ I never went to school often enough to know what
it was like after I was about 12 until I got down here (Pontiac),” he said.
“ School down here is just like everywhere else. It is just a lot of reading and
numbering and the like which ain’t no good to anybody unless they ftre going

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to be a big lawyer or a school-teacher like my sister or something like that. I
don’t know enough to ever be anything like that, so I don’t like school.”
When he first went to work he was a helper in his brother’s shop on part-time
work and with no regular wages.
H e tried meat handling in the stockyards,
where he earned $18 a week, but left because it was too cold in the cooler. A t
the time o f the offense studied he was a hotel porter at $20 a week.
H e was
discharged from the hotel when he lost time because he was in court. H e is
quite indifferent to work, but says he will do some kind o f hotel work when he
gets out, as it is less hard and dirty than other jobs.
W illiam ’s delinquency record is a long one. In 1919 he w as in the juvenile
court on a charge o f breaking into a pool room and stealing money and goods.
This case was dismissed and a truant petition filed, and W illiam was sent to
the Chicago Parental School in December, 1919. In 1921 he stole a bicycle
and was sent by the juvenile court to the Chicago and Cook County School.
In three weeks he was back and had broken into a flat and stolen jewelry,
money, and clothing. W illiam was committed to the St. Charles School for
Boys in September, after various continuances. He ran away from this insti
tution five times. In 1923 his municipal-court appearances, seven of which
appear on the records of the police and the courts, began. In July he was
found with a gun, charged with disorderly conduct, and discharged. In Sep
tember he was in court because of the larceny of a watch. The charge was
dismissed, and he was committed to the State school for the feeble-minded.
H e escaped from that institution, and the next month he was back in the boys’
court charged with carrying concealed weapons, as he had been caught trying
to sell a gun. He was returned to the State school. H e again escaped and
in December was in court on a burglary charge. Again he was returned to
the school for the feeble-minded and was not in court for nearly six months.
In June, 1924, he was charged with the burglary of a grocery store and again
returned to the State school. He again ran away, and in August he was
charged with larceny, having stolen a bicycle. This time he was sentenced to
six months in the house of correction. Soon after serving this sentence he
was in court on the offense studied. W illiam reports other delinquencies. He
told an officer at the school for the feeble-minded that he had been arrested
twenty-five times.
During the interview in connection with this study he
said that he was arrested eight times after his juvenile-court experiences. His
story of these offenses i s : “ Once I was just out late and had a gun. Another
time I stole a gun. Next time I was trying to sell a gun that belonged to
another boy. Once a Jew accused me of breaking in his store, but I didn’t.
Once I broke in the flat next door and took some rings and the like and $5.
Yes, I broke in a store once with another b o y ; and I stole a bicycle once and
then I done the same thing later.” After he left St. Charles he was on parole
to a negro. He says his only contact with this man was once as he was coming
out of a pool room, when the man saw him and told him to stay away from
such places.
“ I can’t remember the first time I run away from home and had the folks
looking all over for me,” W illiam said. “ Then when I got big enough to go
to school my sure-enough trouble started.” H e states that he belongs to a
gang but would not commit himself as to any of the gang’s activities, saying
that the boys who belonged to it are just like other boys— “ some are bad
like me and some never get in trouble.” The trouble that he got into was
not with the boys in this gang, and he does not think that the gang had
any effect upon his conduct. He says that he is getting along in the reforma
tory just the same as he got along on the outside, so far as his relations with
boys are concerned. The reformatory has too many boys like him for the
school to have any effect in changing him. H e says that the boys carry on
the same practices o f homosexual and other vice “ that they do in all other
places.”
According to his mother W illiam did not belong to a gang but only went
with a bunch o f nice boys who sometimes got into mischief. She says that
W illiam has always been unlucky about getting into trouble and getting caught
by the police.
She spoke of contact with the social-service department of
the boys’ court and said that one negro worker there made all the trouble
that she could for W illiam , but that another negro worker was very helpful.
W hen W illiam was first in the boys’ court the parents felt that something
must be the matter with him and requested a mental examination. When given
a choice between commitment to the house of correction and the State school
for the feeble-minded, the mother requested that he be sent to the school,

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feeling that he could never live down the house of correction record. She
charges gross abuse of the boy by attendants at the school for the feeble
minded ; she dreads the boy’s being sent back to this institution but has no
complaint of his treatment in other institutions.
W illiam could not walk until 6 years old. A t that time he had an opera
tion to straighten his legs and arms. He was found to be a diphtheria carrier
in 1919 and again in 1921.
During the time o f W illiam ’s connection with the juvenile court the records
show little contact with his home and no mental examination. H is lack of
capacity in school and in work was clearly demonstrated. Apparently the boy
is incapable o f satisfactory adjustment in the community. H is intelligence,
though limited, is high enough to make it difficult to keep him in an institu
tion for the feeble-minded, and such an institution is not equipped to deal with
a person so definitely delinquent. In penal institutions he can be kept only
for a term o f years, after which he is again at large.
29. THART. STEVENS
Interview October 22, 1926.
Native white, parents native white.
Present age, 1 8 ; age at time o f offense, 17.
.
, .
~
B oys’ court hearing, September 14, 1925. Indecent liberties. Held fo r grand jury, Oct0*
ber 7, 1925. B ail $5,000. Not secured. Sentenced in crim inal court to P ontiac for
one year, January 18, 1926.
. ... .____
Interviewed at reform a tory ; at time o f offense lived at home.
.
-o
F a m ily : Father 5 0 ; mother died one week before a rre st; sisters 21, 20, 1 5 ; brothers 1J,
10, 6 4. T w o brothers older than the children a t home are married and live in their
own homes. Three children are dead.

Fairly tall, very slight, pale, delicate, and lisping, Earl impresses one much
as a child would. H is reactions, too, are childish. H e was sent to the psycho
pathic laboratory for examination before being held for the grand jury by the
boys’ court, but no record o f this is found on the laboratory records. A t the
reformatory his mental age was given as 10 years (when about 18, chronolog
ically) and his intelligence quotient as 62. One leg is crippled from
osteomyelitis.
„
,
_
The only connection Earl has had with courts was the offense studied.
W hen interviewed in connection with this study he sa id : “ It’s all a lie.
Them girls are bad little brats, and they just had it in for me because my
mother had died and they just got me in trouble when I did not have anything
to do with them. They told a pack o f lies in court.” H e said that every
boy in the neighborhood knew these girls were b ad ; that the boys took them
into alleys and other places and had relations with them often ; that he never
has, but he had caught them and they were mad at him for catching them.
The representative o f the State’s attorney’s office found that the girls involved
in this case were a menace to the neighborhood. Earl was in the police station
over night. The case was brought to the boys’ court on September 14, 1925,
and continued twiee. On October 7 Earl was held for the grand jury with
bail set at $5,000, and committed to jail for want of bail. H e stayed in jail
until January, 1926, when he was sentenced to Pontiac Reformatory for a year
($1 fine and no costs), the sentence to run concurrently with a similar sen
tence for contributing to the delinquency of a child. His time was reduced by
good behavior, and he was discharged from the reformatory in December, 1926.
Earl feels that this reformatory sentence is “ all wrong ” and is bitter about
it. H e said that there was not enough work and that he does not like school,
and that he will do his best to stay out o f “ all such places. This place can’t
do any boy any good. I f I want to learn meanness it is easy to do, for there
are plenty here who know every mean trick in the world.” O f his experience
in general he says, “ My court trip ain’t done me any good. Court and jail
and all that stuff won’t never do anybody any good.”
The investigator for the social-service secretary of the State’s attorney’s
office found that Earl’s home conditions were very bad. Principally on this
account the secretary felt that an institutional sentence would be better for
Earl than a return to the home where he had no supervision nor incentive.
The mother had been an invalid for more than two years and had been in
the hospital for two months before her death in September, 1925, from a tumor
of the brain. The youngest child is crippled from rickets, and the 6 and 10
year old boys are underweight. During his mother’s illness Earl stayed at
home and took care of her, When she was no longer in the home he did the

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8 2 BOYS

183

housework. His father was employed at night and slept at home during the
day. The older girls worked and the younger children were in school.
The family lives on a street only one block long, which has very few houses.
W ater stands in large holes in the pavement, and tall weeds grow in the middle
of the street. The houses are desolate and bleak looking. The Stevens house
of five rooms, owned by the family, is scarcely more than a shack. Great
cracks in the thin walls let in the cold. Two rooms are used as bedrooms.
The yard is^ damp and soggy. The house is almost barren of furniture. The
front room is furnished with an old dilapidated piano, a worn-out phonograph,
and two ragged and dirty overstuffed chairs. The odor o f the place is stifling!
The oldest daughter now stays at home to look after the fam ily. The 20year-old daughter has married during the past year. The father works from
11 at night to 7 in the morning and sleeps in the daytime. He earns $46 â
week, but pays something each week on a debt contracted by the oldest son,
and the amount ■left is barely enough for the needs of the fam ily. No one
else at home works. Earl said, “ There are so many o f us that we have to
toP. o f one another.” H e found the institution clean in comparison.
Things ain’t as clean at home as they are here; but here there ain’t much
to do but clean up, and there at home there’s a bunch o f children to look after.”
In spite of crowding and dirt the brothers and sisters “ get on fine and never
fuss.” The members o f the fam ily appear to have no recreation and no social
activities.
The oldest son is said to work with his father-in-law, who makes “ moon
shine.
He contracted a debt on furniture o f $500, for which his father is
responsible and is paying gradually, although the furniture has disappeared
to pay other bills of the son. None of the fam ily has been in court.
Earl did not begin school until he was 9 years old, and he left when 14
having completed five grades. In Pontiac he was placed in the third grade
after his mental examination. When he left school to help his father he
was a truck helper and earned $20 a week. When the employer had no more
need for a helper Earl did not find another job but helped at home. Earl
talks a great deal about working as soon as he is released from the reforma
tory, and says that his old employer will employ him if he ever needs a
helper. H e wants to drive trucks or cabs. H is sister said that he had a
job waiting for him as soon as he got out.
Earl had a good reputation in his neighborhood. H e was never seen out
unless with his younger brothers and sisters and was more of a mother
to them than the older sisters were. He said he had never belonged to a
gang, nor had many pals, but stayed with his brothers and sisters most of the
time. The only form of recreation he mentioned was motion pictures— “ funny
ones like Charlie Chaplin.” He admits intimate relations with various girls
who have been around his home (though not with the complainants).
Although he is subnormal mentally Earl’s conduct would probably not be
much of a problem if he were in the right environment. H e is kind and
probabiy could be controlled easily. He has gone back to the same poor con
ditions, however, from which court attachés thought they were rescuing him.
The only improvement is that his oldest sister is now staying at home
The
presence of an older person at home during hisi leisure time and a job to
occupy him the major part of the day may do much to prevent a recurrence
of his former behavior.
30. AL3EBT VASKA
Interview November 12, 1926.
Native white, parents native white.
Present age, 1 9 ; age at time o f offense, 18.
B oys’ court hearing, June 19, 1925. Contributing to the delinquency o f a child
in T fm e °p L ?d j X ' l S , 1925 0 f COrrection‘
Lives at home.
F a m ily : Father 43, mother 45.

Fined

and * 6-50

co s ts-

Sen-

Sentence‘ served

Handsome, neat, and well dressed, Albert is frank, though a little back
ward in conversation. He is of medium height and fairly heavy
Albert’s first court appearance was the result of being picked up for parking
at night in a car without light with several boys and girls. Disorderly con
duct was charged, and the case was dismissed for want of prosecution. At
the time he was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a child
a
was brought but was dismissed, and Albert was sentenced
to 30 days in the house of correction and fined $1 and costs on the less seri-

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YOUTH AND CRIME

ous charge. His mother says that Albert was doing nothing when arrested.
But Albert said, “ I went with a girl and I knew she was wild, and I got into
trouble with her and they stuck me because she was only 14.” H e stayed in
the police station overnight and was bailed out for $500 by his father and a
friend of the family. H e did not spend any time in jail in this instance. He
sa id : “A police station is no place for me. I have been there twice. It’s
all right for bums who ain’t got any better, but no good for a boy who has a
home like mine. It sure was a nasty dump.” H e thinks that the judge
probably gave him too hard punishment and that he might have been given
probation. He has known much worse tricks to bring only probation, but
he is glad he got no more than a month in the Bridewell. A sentence of
that length taught him a lesson, but was not long enough to get him used to
being in the Bridewell. H e s a y s: “ That Bridewell is an awful hole. The
people in it do everything under the sun that is low and mean. The guards
are awful, and what they give you to eat would ruin a dog’s stomach. It
nearly fixed me.” Albert worked in the clay pit while there. He thinks
that perhaps, after all, the short time in the Bridewell was good for him
instead of probation and that the judge was fair. The court experience made
him wake up and he has since changed his conduct.
The family lives in a dilapidated 5-room cottage, for which the rent is only
$8 a month. The house faces on a fairly wide, unpaved, and dirty alley and
connects with two shanties which face on a street. Mrs. Yaska takes care of
the three buildings on the lot for the landlord, and this service is considered
part payment for rent. The neighborhood is an old foreign settlement which
has degenerated into one of the worst districts of the city. Although the neigh
borhood is so bad that Mrs. Vaska is afraid to go home alone at night, and
therefore never goes out alone, the parents are satisfied because this is the
district they have always known. Both Mr. and Mrs. Yaska are of Czecho
slovakian parentage and were born a few blocks from their present home.
They went to school together and are well known in the neighborhood. They
know all the local politicians. The mother is a rather intelligent woman, very
proud of her boy, o f his good looks, and of his athletic ability. A very fine
fellowship exists between Albert and his father. The father shows genuine
interest in his boy and the mother great devotion to him, and Albert responds
with respect. Mr. Vaska is a laborer, earning $35 a week.
Although in poor repair, the home is clean. It has a pleasant living room
furnished with plush furniture. A player piano has recently been bought to
keep Albert at home evenings. There are also books and magazines.
Albert attended kindergarten when 5 years old and entered grade school at
6. H e repeated three grades and had completed six when he left school in 1922
at 15 years of age in order to help his father, who was not earning much. He
had very little interest in school and seems not to have been very capable
intellectually. H e went to continuation school for a time and says he got no
more out of that kind o f school than any other. He found school hard and
has found work easy. Upon leaving school he became a checker at $13 a week.
H e was not working at the time of his offense. Last summer Albert secured a
job as a life guard in a near-by park at $25 a week. A t present he is working
again as a checker and earns $18 a week. He has had four positions and left
each one, hunting better wages. H e does not know of any particular kind of
work in which he is interested, and says any kind at which he can make money
suits him. H e is evidently neither lazy nor hard to get on with in his em
ployment, and. though a little care free and with no particular vocational interest
is a fair worker. H e pays no definite amount to his family for room, and
board. H e has a small savings account.
Albert goes to church and associates with boys o f the parish. W ith his
friends (boys and girls), one of whom is his “ girl friend,” he goes to dances
and to motion pictures. In the summer they go to the park and swim. A l
though he lives in one of the worst gang neighborhoods he does not belong to
a regular gang. Mrs. Vaska says that Albert has two boy pals and a “ steady
girl ” who is a very nice home girl. She says that he plays pool several evenings
a week; that he plays ball, reads newspapers, particularly the jokes, plays the
player piano, and is an expert swimmer and diver. H e has won a medal for
performing the “ flame dive.” He has also had an automobile which he has
used a good deal.
In 1921 it was discovered that Albert had glandular tuberculosis; but although
the nurse from the dispensary visited him often he could not be persuaded to
take any treatment.

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The commitment to a penal institution may have taught this boy a needed
lesson, but more important in his case is good home influence. H e is fortunate
in conditions within his home, although the neighborhood is a poor one.
LIQUOR -LAW VIOLATIONS

♦

Six boys included in the intensive study were charged with viola
tions o f liquor laws. The histories o f two o f these boys are given in
detail. In four o f the six cases o f this sort which were studied the
charge was the manufacture, sale, and possession o f intoxicating
liquor; two boys were discharged, one was discharged after informal
supervision, and the fourth was placed on probation. A boy charged
with operating a still was discharged, and another charged with
possession o f intoxicating liquor was placed on probation. The
charges against four o f the boys apparently resulted merely from the
buying o f “ moonshine” on a single occasion. These boys did not
appear to be habitual drinkers, and, except for vocational maladjust
ment in one case, they did not appear to present special problems.
Frank Zwierzchowski (case 32) has had a thoroughly unsatisfactory
career. His appearance in court was the result o f an unhappy family
situation. He was placed on probation, but no improvement has
taken place in his parents’ domestic troubles, his own living con
ditions, or his habits.
31. PETER BEX!HER
Interview November 2, 1926.
Native white, father and mother born in Switzerland. B oth have been in United States
23 years.
Present age, 2 1 ; age at tim e o f offense, 19.
B oys’ court hearing, July 2, 1925. Possession o f intoxicating liquor. One continuance.
On July 17, 1925, placed on probation fo r one year and assessed costs ($ 6 ). Dis
charged from probation as “ satisfactory ” after nine months, A pril 4 . 1926.
Lives at home.
F a m ily : Father, mother, sister 12, brother 6.

Pleasant and frank but shy in manner, Peter seems to lack initiative, to take
life easily, and to be somewhat shiftless. He is slight, o f medium height.
The only record against this boy is a court appearance after his arrest by the
police, who found him and two other boys o f his age with a bottle of wine in
their possession. Peter says they bought it in a place which was being watched.
One boy “ squealed,” and the bootlegger was arrested also. The boys were kept
in the police station overnight, having been arrested about 9.30 in the evening,
and were not allowed to communicate with their families until the next morn
ing. A s this was a holiday and banks were closed the fam ily had some difficulty
in raising the amount required for bail ($4,000), but finally a friend o f the
family put up a real-estate bond and Peter was released before the second
night. Peter says the station was about as good as a station can be, but it was
no place for a decent fellow. H e feels that it was not exactly fair that he should
have been given a year’s probation for buying a bottle of wine, as on the same
day the same sentence was given to another fellow who had stolen a car and
who already had a record for stealing. H e says that probation did him no good,
that it made him feel like a criminal to receive the same punishment that a
thief got, and that his probation officer was a mighty nice man and wanted to
help him but could do nothing.
“ The folks here at home told me every day
and have done so all my life everything that he did.”
H is mother also says
that probation had no effect on Peter. The probation office records six reports
made to the officer by Peter and only one visit to the house by the officer.
Evidently Peter’s father and mother have given him good moral precepts but
little discipline, and he has had little experience with the hard knocks of the
world.
The parents are very much worried now because he is “ crazy ” about
dancing and does not work.
H e has never contributed anything to the family
living expenses and has never worked steadily, although he left school five years
ago against the advice of his family after finishing the seventh grade. H is aunt
paid his tuition in business college, but he stopped after six weeks. She is still
willing to help him in this way.
However, he never liked school, found it
hard, and repeated three grades, though this was when the family moved from
a small town, where he had been in the third grade, to Chicago where he was

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Y O U T H AND CRIM E

put in the first.
H is vision is poor.
H e has seen an oculist and will have
glasses soon. H e has been no more successful at work than at school, keeping
jobs only a short time and, according to his mother, looking for an easy job with
§ ° 2 i leisure-time activities Peter is popular with his friends, though he goes
with bovs less since he has become interested in dancing. H e has a girl who
is also a good dancer. She is a nice girl, his mother says, and comes to the
house often, but she is interested only in dancing and is not bothered by Peter s
lack of ambition and steady qualities. Peter’s only ambition is to be a dancing
champion
In this ambition he receives no sympathy and a good deal of dis
couragement from his family. They find him, however, always happy, sweet,
care free, and full of mischief.
Mr. Recher is an expert workman, making $45 a week. Peter s sister is now
in the eighth grade at 14 years of age, and the 7-year-old brother is in the
second grade. The neighborhood in which the fam ily lives is very good.^ They
pav $60 a month rent for their five-room brick bungalow. The grounds include
a well-kept front lawn, and flowor beds and fruit trees in the back yard. _Clie
house is large enough for entertaining and young people come in for social
affairs The living room is cozy with a fireplace, piano, phonograph, easy chairs,
a lounge, and good pictures. The house is clean and orderly. The children go
to Sunday school in a church in which their parents are interested, although
th So f a r a s is indicated by the record in the probation office and the statements
o f members o f the family and the boy, probation was of little good to Peter.
H e evidently needed little correction of definite misconduct. A real need
existed, however, for inculcation of purpose and for vocational help. This boy
with his many excellent qualities undirected and totally unadjusted vocationally
would seem to have been an excellent subject for a constructive and intensive
type of probation.
32. FRANK ZWIERZCHOWSKI
Poland. Father in the United States 30 y ea rs, mother 25
years.
. „
_
B o v s ^ c o u ft’ hearing6 January 029? 1923.’ M anufacturing, sale, and possession o f intoxiBoys court nearing, o
’ fo r onP vear February 20, 1923. W arrant fo r violaS n V p t o t i o n f j a n S ' W f t
Discharged from probaT>*os<vnV irnode of^living unknown ! at time o f offense lived at home.
Family^ Mother 41, lis t e r s 23, 16. Father 48, divorced, lives In another city.
brother dead. Mother has always worked away from home.

_
One

Frank is a tall, well-built fellow, has a strong personality, and is fairly
intelligent. H e looks a little “ tough,” however, and shows signs of dissipation.
The hearing in the boys’ court for violation of probation occurred February 2,
1924 and the offense for which he was placed on probation more than a year
before. The difficulties that led to his court appearance were part of an un
pleasant fam ily situation. Frank declines to talk about it more than to say,
“ I t was fam ily trouble and I ain’t telling my private business. I wasn t all
to blame, but that is over now and I run my business and they run theirs.
In 1919 the mother had the father brought into the court of domestic relations,
as he w as abusive and drank. In the spring of 1921 they were divorced.
Frank went to live with his father for a few months after that, and when he
returned to his mother they did not get along well. H is mother complained
that Frank refused to live up to her standards. H e left her home and went to
live with his aunt. The mother then, in December, 1921, complained to the
juvenile court about Frank, but the officer persuaded her to let him remain
with his aunt. H is arrest in 1923, according to his mother, occurred when
Frank was carrying some liquor to his father. H e was placed on probation
A vear later she again complained to the boys’ court, saying that Frank had
been drinking and struck her and allowed another drunken fellow to make
insulting remarks to her. A warrant for violation o f probation was issued. H e
was discharged a month later, however, at the end of his term of one year, and
the case was classified as satisfactory. Frank says he knows nothing about
probation and cares nothing about it. H e says the man he reported to was all
fight but got hard sometimes. The mother says that the probation officer did
not visit h er; she thinks that more might have been done if the officer had
fa lkpd to her and got her point of view .
. . . . .
. .
,,___
Although Frank apparently lives in the same neighborhood as his mother
he was located only after much effort. An acquaintance agreed to make an

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appointment with the boy, and the interview took place on the street. He
may be living with some of his father’s relatives, but the house was described
by the acquaintance as a “ nasty dump.” The mother and the younger sister,
Rose, lived alone in four damp basement rooms until two months ago, when
the mother’s doctor persuaded them to move. They now live with the married
sister. The young married couple are musical, and the home is attractive.
They have a piano, phonograph, saxophone, and clarinet.
The mother has
been sick and unable to work for a year, and expenses of operation and illness
have used up all her savings. Before her sickness she had always cleaned of
fices at night. Rose is only 16 and still attends continuation school.
She
earns only $12 a week on which she tries to support her mother and herself.
•She pays half the $35 monthly rent for the 6-room apartment. Both the older
sister and her husband work.
The mother needs the financial support of her son as much as he needs the
home influence of his family. There seems no possibility that either can be ar
ranged. Indeed, by going to live with her daughter the mother seems to have
put an end to whatever fam ily influences Frank h a d ; before that time he used
to come to his sister’s house to visit, but since his mother is there he does not
come. H e still speaks to his sisters on the street, but the last time his mother
saw him she said he was drunk and did not seem to see her. Although she
speaks of him with tears in her eyes she also manifests resentment. Frank
seems to have much affection for his father, but his father has no home for
him.
Frank remembers his home during his childhood as a place where there was
so much quarreling that he stayed away from it as much as possible and “ nat
urally got into lots of trouble.” He does not blame his father for leaving home
where he was fussed at so much. H e admits that his father drinks but says
that he is a good man and while drinking is good-natured and not abusive. He
reports that his father still loves his wife, worries about her, and thinks she is
insane or she would not make everyone around her so miserable. Until 12 oi
l s years ago Mr. Zwierzchowski tells his son, his wife loved him and they got
on well together. The boy, however, refuses to excuse his mother on the
ground of mental trouble. He says his sisters do not get along with her either
but put up with her because they are sorry for her.
Frank completed eight grades and left school at 15. He worked as a laborer
and made $15 a week when he began work and at the time of the offense. His
mother says he was a good worker until his father spoiled him. She does not
know his later wages or work, and Frank was reluctant to talk about either
school or work on the ground that they had nothing to do with his court
record. He now earns $20 a week as a laborer and has had his present job
for two months. He said he has had a dozen jobs. H e evidenced no interest
in work.
According to his mother and to acquaintances and relatives Frank’s chief
characteristic and his only recreation is drinking. The boy himself refused to
discuss his activities or his companions, saying that if they were not on the
square it was no one’s business but his own. Since his court experience he had
found life “ just the same old thing as ever. When I take a drink somebody is
always butting in like it was some of tbeir business.” He admits that he is
“ not doing right ” but says that no one cares, so he is going to have a good
time. He admits that he drinks “ moon ” a good deal, that he has been associ
ating with prostitutes since he was quite young, and that he has been infected
with gonorrhea twice but “ got cured up quick.”
An unhappy childhood and home life poisoned by disagreement and drink
gave this boy a bad start. No evidence was discovered that he has changed
his habits or that there is any existing influence that will help him. No at
tempt seems to have been made by any of the social or legal agencies coming
in contact with him to substitute any new interests. During his probation
period little or no effort, apparently, was made to give constructive supervision.
DISORDERLY CONDUCT

The 17 cases of disorderly conduct present extremely wide varia
tions. Singing on the street, individual and gang fights, liquor-law
violations, suspicion o f robbery, and attempted burglary are among
the complaints. A number of the boys discharged had no problems
86850°— 30------ 13

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YO UTH AND CRIME

needing treatment by the court, and their offenses were so slight that
arrest and court arraignment seemed unnecessary. In the cases o f
others arrested on the same charge and given the same disposition by
the court, habitual misconduct and unfavorable surroundings made
treatment desirable for satisfactory adjustment.
Among those whose arrest seemed unnecessary is George Grove (case
not given in detail), arrested with a group o f high-school students
while singing on the streets at night. George is a shy boy o f other
wise exemplary conduct, who has a good home. Another is Victor
Galassi (case not given), interested in literature and music, who was
arrested at 4 in the afternoon while driving with several companions.
The driver was reckless; one of the boys irritated the officer who
stopped them, and he took them all to court. Michael Finley (case
not given in detail) was arrested while walking in a strange part of
the town by officers looking for the person who had committed a
robbery. The officers made no attempt to secure a confession, but
took Michael to court, where he was immediately discharged. Patrick
McGinnis (case 35) got into trouble, chiefly fighting, as a result of
gang associations, and appeared to have benefited xrom the super
vision he received from a private agency cooperating with the court.
Among the boys with serious problems is Stanley Paradowski
(case 33), who was arrested in a pool room, and after many con
tinuances and the issuance of a warrant was discharged. After the
disorderly-conduct offense studied he was charged with burglary,
and at the time of the interview was in a similar difficulty. He had
a long juvenile-court record, had been on probation, and had been
in two correctional institutions. Throughout his childhood he had
had difficulty with his stepmother, he had never had sufficient recre
ation of a wholesome sort, and he had completed only five grades in
school. James Carr (case 34), a negro boy, practically homeless
since the age o f 12 years and presumably feeble-minded, was arrested
on the occasion included in the study for breaking school windows.
James admits that this was preparatory to burglarizing the place.
His court record included arrests for vagrancy, automobile larceny,
and robbery, and sentences to the house o f correction and the re
formatory, where he is now serving a sentence o f 3 to 20 years. An
other boy charged with disorderly conduct who was caught before
he had a chance to commit the intended burglary is Joseph Dziupla
(case 37), who admits 12 arrests in 21 months, and whose career has
terminated for the present with robbery and murder. He was a
misfit at school, which he thinks as bad as prisons, and at work,
belongs to a well-known gang, and admits immorality. Both James
Carr and George Figura (case 36) are boys with tramping proclivi
ties, who make Chicago the base of their wanderings and activities.
Clarence Shean’s (case 38) mother and father had been confirmed
drunkards. Improvement in home conditions and a fairly good
outlook for the children had been brought about mainly through
the careful, prolonged supervision of probation officers o f the juvenile
court. Clarence had also been helped by the probation officer under
whom he was placed after his boys’ court appearance. Probation
also helped Arthur Baumann (case 39) to overcome the handicaps o f
irregular home life and bad gang associations.
The histories of 7 o f the 17 boys charged with disorderly conduct
follow.

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33. STANLEY PAKADOWSKI
Interview January 20, 1927.
N1viot1ierh dIad)arentS h0™ in Polalld- ^ t h e r in United States 23 years, m other 19 years.
Present age, 1 9 ; age at time o f offense, 17.
B0^ L ch ^rged f u i e S27Tei9 2 5 ry 2’ 19?5’
Lives at home.
^

Dlsorderly conduct.
12’ 9'

Case continued eight times.
^ r e a

(,1I

Stanley is a tall, very slender boy with a feminine, high-pitched voice. He
has bushy hair and holds his head on one side when looking at anything atly- KH.iS Ci0the, s l00k old and worn but are ™ a t and clian. H e is fufte
talkative but refused to discuss his offenses on the ground that the intermight b e. a detective. It was an unfortunate time to attempt an
interview as Stanley had recently been arrested for another offense.
H e took the same attitude toward all questions connected with his court
experience. In his opinion the court had done him no good: ‘‘ Court ain’t
helped me, just made me worse. I ain’t changed one bit since then ”
Stanleys juvenile-court record began in July, 1923, when he was accused
o f burglaiy and taking a gold chain, medal, and manicure set. H e was
placed on probation and ordered to pay $2.50. In November, he was in
l b<r, juvenile court as . incorrigible and was sent to the Chicago Parental
months aSTn
«a?*3 ,We11 at the sch° o1 and was released after four
months. In July, 1924, Stanley was accused o f stealing two rings and $10
from a locker at a bathing beach. H e was committed to the Chicago and
Cook County School. H e escaped in October but evidently was returned as
he was released permanently in 1926, with a good report o f conduct
His
hrst appearance in the boys’ court was in November, 1925, for larcenv
He
had picked up scrap iron and wood on the prairie. A t this time he* was
p aeed on probation for a year. The offense included in this study occurred
less than three months later. The only statement on the court records in
regard to this charge of disorderly conduct was that the boy was taken
out of a pool room at 12.30 at night. During continuance o f the case it was
necessary to take out a warrant for Stanley’s appearance. After that the
case was again continued and was finally discharged nearly five months
after its beginning. In March, 1926, he was again accused of burglary, and
in May the charge was dismissed for want of prosecution.
• Stan] e y s stepmother tried to give a good account of his behavior
She
insisted that he had improved very much since being put on probation
bat sbe said that a f ®w days before the interview he was falsely accused
o f taking part in the breaking o f a store window. A large plate-glass window wiis broken, and a group o f young boys fled down the street
A
neighbor who saw them running thought she recognized Stanley as one of
*be,m *
arr?sted and taken to the police station. Mrs. Paradowski
stated that Stanley s shirt and tie were bloody from the beating the police
l a d given him, when she visited him in the police station. His case came up in
i a S i tnnw ° ^ mI er»15* i The ? mily bad put up S1’000 bond and paid $10 in
cash to get Stanley s release from jail the day before. H e was held for the
grand jury
(T he outcome of this case was not known at the time this study
was made.)
Mrs. Paradowski claims that Stanley was in a motion-picture
W n he
tj lat tM ! °vffense occurred. She insisted that Stanley
ha™ ,n0t
ffUllty 0 j any o f the offenses for which he had been in court.
.
Probation record shows that Stanley made three reports during his
te m of probation and that nine visits were paid to his home by the officer.
He was released from probation with a satisfactory record, February 20 1926
m siute of his court appearances during the probation period
Stanley s own mother died in November, 1918, and three weeks later his
father remarried. The Paradowski fam ily live in a poor neighborhood. The
houses are old and dilapidated. Mr. Paradowski owns the 4-apartment build
ing in which they occupy a 5-room apartment» Four rooms are used as sleeoing rooius ^>r the 10 members of the family. The front part o f the house is
tifly and fairly comfortable, but the back part is quite shabby. No attempts
had been made to provide recreation or leisure occupations in the home. Staney s stepmother does not speak English. She is neat, quite pleasant, and

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rather intelligent. She accepts the care of the large family of children and
stepchildren philosophically although some difficulty has been experienced in
adjusting the two families to each other. Mrs. Paradowski spoke very pleas
antly o f Stanley, but Stanley says that she is “ an old hypocrite,” and really
does not like him. Previous records of social agencies show that at various
times during his boyhood there was considerable friction between them. A t
one time when Stanley w as staying away from school he insisted that his step
mother forced him to wear glasses that did not suit him. Other glasses were
secured for him, and he returned to school. The stepmother at another time
complained to a protective association that Stanley would not attend school,
and this time Stanley explained to the agency visitor that he would not go
because his stepmother made him wear a certain waist which he did not like.
The representative of the society persuaded the stepmother to put away the
waist, and Stanley promised to go to school.
Stanley’s father at present seems to take a good deal of interest in him,
but he was described in earlier agency records as alcoholic and irresponsible.
In 1923 he was thought to be tuberculous. In 1917 and 1918 a family-welfare
society assisted the fam ily slightly. In 1923 another application for aid was
made, but it was found that the fam ily had an adequate income.
Stanley’s oldest sister, Louise, has been the most difficult member o f the
family. Between 1917 and 1919 she was in the juvenile court three times on
various charges involving immoral conduct and once for stealing. She was
said to be easily le d ; she swore and used obscene language. H er parents were
reported to be kind to her. Once her stepmother brought her home, and once
Stanley brought her back and tried to make satisfactory arrangements for her.
In 1918 she was sent to the county hospital for treatment for venereal disease.
In 1919, she was committed to the State school for the feeble-minded, and
admitted to that institution the next January. She escaped after one week.
She was also for a time in the State hospital for the insane but was later at
large. At the school for the feeble-minded she was diagnosed as a low-grade
moron with sex delinquencies and was not recommended for release. H er
chronological age was 16 and her mental age 8 % .
Stanley entered public school when 7 or 8 and left at 16. H e had repeated
two grades and completed the fifth. H e left because he wa§ “ fed up on
books ” ; “ school is all right if you have plenty of money and can go dressed like
a king and stand in with the teacher and not have to work.”
Stanley was first a messenger, earning $10 a week. A t the time of the
offense studied he was a truck helper at $12 a week, and at the present time
he earns $25 a week at the same occupation. He has had, he thinks, about 10
jobs. H e does not remember why he left these jobs but thinks he just does
not fit into most work. “ I don’t like work but I gotta live and any sensible
person knows you gotta work to live. Nobody likes to work just to be work
ing.” Stanley says that he spends nearly all his earnings on his family, but
his father said that he does not contribute more than $10 a week.
The only comment Stanley would make in regard to his own behavior, was
“ I ain’t been no angel, and I don’t want to be.” H e says that he belongs to a
gang and has the same friends he has had for y ears; they have all grown up
together. H e says he likes to see a baseball game, likes motion pictures and
pool, and likes drinking.
Stanley’s stepmother said that he does not do anything for recreation except
ride in an automobile once in a while. “ There is nothing for him to do.” She
said that as a younger boy Stanley was very hard to manage, that he was
disobedient and independent and a truant all h:s school life. When he was
in the juvenile court the probation officer reported that Stanley’s activities
outside his home and school were limited, that he played a little ball and
attended the motion pictures. His companions during all this time are said
to have been bad.
Results indicate that the dispositions made o f the cases against Stanley have
not been beneficial to him. Apparently his conduct has not changed. L ittle
attempt seems to have been made while he was on probation to do any intensive
work with him or to change any conditions that might have led to his de
linquencies. H e was never adjusted at school and has always lived in an
overcrowded home and with a group not related by ties of blood, in which he
was not well adjusted.

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34. JAMES CARR
Interview October 22, 1926.
Native black, parents native black.
P r e s e n t a g e , 1 9 ; a g e a t t im e o f o f fe n s e , 17.
, _ . _ in o .
B oys’ court hearing, May 22, 1924. D isorderly conduct. Discharged July 5, 1924.
Interviewed at reform a tory ; at time o f offense, rooming.
F a m ily : Father and mother dead, sister 18, whereabouts unknown.

James looks like a person who might be dangerous when allowed at large.
H e seems dull and stubborn. When examined at the reformatory at the age
o f 17 James was found to have a mental age of 8 years, 9 months. H e is tall
and weighs more than 200 pounds.
Tw o offenses are found on the Chicago court and police records for this
boy under his own name. On other occasions he has used as an alias the
name o f a boy whom he has gone with at various times and with whom he
committed the larceny that resulted in the first arrest on his record. In
September, 1923, he was charged with larceny of an automobile and received
a sentence of three months in the house of correction. In May, 1924, he was
charged with disorderly conduct. Being a wanderer, James has had experi
ences with the police in other cities. H e said that he had been arrested four
times. The first time was in East St. Louis, where he was arrested for having
ridden a freight train into town and was ordered to leave. For the offense
studied, which appears on the social-service card merely as a pick-up o f some
boys who were breaking windows, James was discharged.
James describes the case studied as somewhat more serious than the record
shows. He said that they intended to “ get some stuff out o f the store,” when
they broke the windows but that they were caught before they could take
anything. Some time after this he stole a gun from a man who lived where
he roomed and, according to his story, held up people on two different nights.
On the second night he was caught by the police as he was holding up a
man. “ This time,” he said, “ the police nearly killed me.” H e has stayed in
the police station overnight each time he has been arrested and was in ja il
three days at the time of the larceny charge and about two months after the
robbery. For this offense, he was sentenced to serve 3 to 20 years in the
reformatory at Pontiac on a charge o f robbery with a gun. H e began his
sentence in July, 1924. His conduct at the reformatory was reported as “ not
good.” To James these correctional institutions have their advantages. His
clothes and his food in the reformatory are better than he has ever had before,
but he objects to “ being caged up like a bird and being bossed around.”
James’s mother died when he was about 12, and apparently he has had
little home life since then. H e has drifted around from place to place until
sent to the reformatory. His father, also, is dead, and he has not heard from
his only sister in about five years and has no idea where she is. In Chicago
at the time of the offense studied his room was in a dark, filthy basement and
during his whole stay in the city, he slept in places that were little more
than dens.
James attended school for five years, starting when 7 years old. H e repeated
the first and third grades and had finally completed the third when his mother
died and he left school. The first job that he remembers was selling coal
on a wagon, for which he received $10 a week. H e was not employed at the
time of the offense studied. He has had many jobs but does not remember
much about them.
H e went around very little with other boys and had no social contacts.
H e remembers that he went to church when he was small. A s to his conduct
when he was at home, he only remembers that “ ma used to have to whip me
lots for deviling Sue (his sister). Sometimes she whipped me, and pa did
too, when I was a little boy, for stealing watermelons down in Georgia.”
This boy’s low mentality and his huge size, as well as his somewhat stubborn
disposition and apparent imperviou^ness to emotion, would seem to make him
■a dangerous person to be without any ties or control o f any sort, as he has
been in the past. Some sort of institutional treatment is probably essential for
him. In an institution like the reformatory he will be protected for a time
but eventually will be released. I f the present system of parole continues
practically no control can be exerted over him after his release.

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35. PATRICK M’GINNIS

Interview October 26, 1926.
,, .
a olNative white. Father born in Ireland, m other native white. Father in United States 25
years.
„
Present age, 1 9 : age at tim e o f offense, 17.
_
„
Boys’ court hearing, July 2, 1924. Disorderly conduct. Continued under supervision o f
a private agency. Discharged September 14, 1924.
Lives at home.
,
, ,
_
F a m ily : Father 46, mother 44. Mother worked away from home.

Patrick is a neat, well-dressed, and nice-looking boy of medium height and
weight. H e is clean cut, extremely shy but seems to have a belligerent
disposition.
.
,■
,
,
„
„
Patrick’s court record includes one charge of disorderly conduct a^ few days
before the offense included in the study. Patrick sa id : “ The first time I was
lust in a fight on the street. I belong to t h e ------------ Ball room gang and we
all got in a fight with some other gangsters and the cops picked us up. They
turned all of the fellows loose that they knew. The rest got stuck. I d id n t
get a fair break from the cop that night. The night copper a t -----------station
tried to get the cop to send us home but he wouldn’t.” According to the court
record the officer stated in court said that there had been no reason for the
arrest and Patrick was discharged. The next time, Patrick said, “ I got ar
rested and I deserved it. I was with some boys and we had all had a few
drinks and we were raising the devil, but the court was square with me, as well
as the cops. The judge gave me a chance when he could have sent me away.
I appreciated the chance and it gave me a lesson.” The court continued the
case while it was investigated by a representative of a private agency. A t the
same time, the boy was to report to the superintendent of the society. Ot this
man Patrick sa id : “ H e is a good and sensible man. H e put me straight, and I
have a high regard, for him. That man could help any boy out who has any
sense or self-respect.” H is court experience has given Patrick a good opinion
of the general effect of the court. “ That boys’ court is a real good place for
a boy to go rather than other courts I have seen. I think Chicago ought to keep
i t ; it helped me, and I know other boys it has helped.” A t the end o f two
months’ supervision Patrick was discharged by the court.
Patrick’s family live in a good west side neighborhood with nice homes and
a large park a block away, offering various forms of recreation. The father
owns the apartment house in which the fam ily occupies a 6-room apartment,
In the home, which is furnished rather elaborately but in good taste, are a
phonograph, radio, books, and magazines. Usually the family has only three
members, but at the present time, owing to the mother’s illness, her sister is
there caring for her. The father is a contractor and evidently makes a good
income. The mother had been working for many years in a position that
brought her in contact with social problems. The attitude of the members o f
the family toward one another seems normal and natural. The parents are fond
of the boy and seem to be very good to him. The mother has been anxious for
him' to obtain a good education and has been somewhat disappointed that he
did not want to go to school longer and take up a clerical or professional line
o f work.
,
, , „
. . .
Patrick entered school at 5 and left at 17, when he graduated from high
school. “ I have had all the school I want,” he said. “ I would not have fin
ished high school except that mother would have been hurt. I don’t care for
office work or any kind that it takes a lot of schooling to do. W hat I like is
something in the way of electricity or building. I want to be a sheet-metal
worker if I can’t get into the electrician’s union. That is what I am trying to
do now. I f I can, that is all I will ever do.” A t the present time Patrick is
not employed. Tw o months ago his former employer went out of business.
Since that time Patrick has been waiting for an opportunity to get into elec
trical work. H e has had several jobs offered him but has not accepted them.
A t the time of his court experience he was a clerk in a store, earning $22.50 a
week, his first position after leaving school. Patrick said, “ I had a very good
job as a clerk and I got on fine, but I don’t like work where you meet people
all the time. I had rather work hard and tend to my own business than to
sit around and to be all the time bawled out by some customer. I f I can t be an
electrician I want to be a contractor some day. Mother thinks I ought to do
something else, since I have a high-school education, but I know what I like
best.”
.
,
v
.
„ i •i
In talking of his conduct difficulties before his boys’ court experience Patrick
gives some rather illuminating comments on life as he found it for a boy in his

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district: “ I have had no trouble besides what all boys do.
I had street fights,
but I never lay out of school or stole or done anything like that.
I f a boy
keeps his self-respect and belongs to a gang or lives in a neighborhood where lots
o f boys are he has to fight. I don’t do it because I like to but because I have
to.” Since his boys’ court experience Patrick says that he has had no troubles
except a few fights which were forced upon him. “ I am learning to stay out of
fights, though.
I find if I don’t have much to say to a tough, I don’t get into
so much to fight about” A s to his companions Patrick said: “ I run with some
pretty tough eggs in my gang and on the streets, but I don’t see them often now
since I got out of high school. Now I spend most of my time with other friends.
W e go to parties at each other’s homes. Sometimes we go to dances and shows
down town. I am better satisfied to go with these friends for they are not such
roughnecks. I never have fights with them. They are civil and nice and don’t
have so much fight in their codes o f honor.”
The father also says that he has
had no trouble with Patrick except his fighting.
However, the father' thinks
that it is natural in a boy and especially in his son. “ I suppose he come by it
naturally; I was the same way when I was coming up.”
Mr. McGinnis thinks that the supervision given Patrick through the court was
very beneficial. H e said that the agent o f the society was of real value. “ H is
association had a good effect upon Patrick. H e has been more serious-minded
ever since that time.” H e says that Mrsi McGinnis also approves o f this super
vision and that she is very much in favor o f this system o f supervision by a
private agency.
Apparently Patrick’s difficulties have arisen from his connection with a rather
rough group of boys.
Having a harmonious home and no particular problems
he will probably have little more difficulty.
Since his court appearance he has
not been arrested and, according to him and his family, has engaged in fewer
fights.
For a boy of Patrick’s type the supervision accorded by the court was
probably very suitable treatment.
36. GEOBGE FIGUBA
Interview December 21, 1926.
Native white, parents native white. Father dead.
Present age, 1 8 ; age at time o f offense, 17.
B oys’ court hearing, July 1, 1925. Disorderly conduct. Arrested on complaint o f mother.
Case continued under inform al supervision. Discharged October 8, 1925.
Lives with grandparents; at tim e o f offense, lived at home.
F a m ily : Stepfather 40, m other 38, sister 19 (m arried), brothers 17, 11.

Tall, well built, and apparently healthy, George, at the time of the interview,
was neither very clean nor neatly dressed.
H e is awkward and slow in his
response.
George is not contented with any one place very long and has
developed a tramping habit.
When examined by the Institute for Juvenile Research in 1924 George was
found to have “ inadequate intelligence equipment.”
H is intelligence quotient
was 89. The report at this time stated that he had shown an unfavorable ad
justment in the various child-caring institutions in which he had been placed
and that the escapade which brought him to the court at that time was a minor
affair compared to his general maladjustment. It was felt that he would have
greater difficulties later. The examiners found much to suggest a psychopathic
make-up and the likelihood o f a continued delinquent career. They found that
his mother’s supervision was inadequate and that his grandparents were prob
ably too old to undertake his care. When examined at the psychopathic labora
tory at the age of 17 George’s mental age was given as 11 % years, and he
was described as a high-grade borderland moron plus dementia pnecox
katatonia.
The only time that George has been in the boys’ court was for the offense
studied, when his mother made a complaint that he had stayed away from
home for two nights. He was fined $100 and costs, but upon a motion to vacate
the case was continued and George was examined in the psychopathic labora
tory. H e was found not to be committable to the institution for the feeble
minded, and his case was continued under the supervision o f a private agency.
It was decided that he was to leave home and to stay at a church home for boys,
and his case was discharged. George says that he was staying away from
home because he did not get along with his stepfather, whom he had never
liked.
George’s own father died in 191% The mother’s parents paid the father’s
funeral expenses and took the whole fam ily to live with them. In a few
months the mother left their home and applied to the juvenile court for a pen-

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sion, which was granted in March, 1915. Although her parents also helped
the family the mother had difficulty in managing on her income. The family
was forced to move frequently because of complaints about the children, over
whom the mother had no control. The mother neglected her home and children
and was immoral, and the pension was stayed in September, 1916. The grand
parents took the youngest boy, and the three older children were sent to in
stitutions for dependent children.
Later George was placed in a second
children’s institution.
During these years the mother continued to stay out at night and to conceal
her occupation and residence from her parents. In 1918 George’s sister was
released permanently from the institution to the mother, but she lived with the
grandparents. W hen he was 14 George also was released on probation to live
a t home with the mother. H e got into trouble shortly after this, as he was
neither working nor attending school. Conditions at this time were not satis
factory. The mother, George, and his sister, 16 years old, were all sleeping in
one room. After this, George was committed several times .to correctional
institutions. In July, 1924, his mother married again, and the home was re
established; but the home was still neglected by the mother, and she did not
get on well with her husband. The grandparents’ home has always been well
cared for, and they have taken excellent care o f the children who have been
in their charge. They are especially fond o f the girl and youngest boy, who
have been with them more than the other children.
A t present all the children are living with the grandparents. The mother
and stepfather are both living in a rooming house but have separate rooms, the
mother claiming that she has left her husband as he did not support her. The
grandparents’ home is a very attractive grey stone 2-story building in a de
sirable neighborhood which George finds very dull. The grandfather, George’s
sister, her husband, and the 17-year-old brother are all working. In addition,
the first-floor apartment brings in $45 a month rent. Frank, the 17-year-old
boy, has had one year o f high-school work and expects to graduate from a special
vocational course in June.
George entered school at 6 years o f age and stopped school in 1922, when
he left an institution. H e was then in the eighth grade. A s he did not like
school he immediately went to work, although he went to continuation school
in the fall for a few weeks. Later, when he was in the Chicago and Cook
County School in 1923 and 1924, he was again in the eighth grade and took
manual training, which he enjoyed very much.
H is first work was as an errand boy at $8 a week. A t the time he was in the
boys’ court he was making from $18 to $20 a week as a laborer. He held his
first job for nine months and then left because his employer would not give
him a raise. One job which he liked was on a delivery truck. This gave him
a change of scene, as deliveries were often made in the country. He was earn
ing $22 a week at this work. H e had a fight with the boss, however, and quit.
H e lost his last job three weeks ago because he stayed away from work for a
day. H e has had innumerable other jobs. H e does not mind working, but he
quarrels with his bosses and with his fellow workmen and gets tired of doing
the same thing.
George’s delinquency record in the juvenile court began in July, 1923,
when he was charged with incorrigibility and placed under supervision. In
November of that year he was charged with larceny and sent to the Chicago
and Cook County School. He was again sent there on a similar charge in
June, 1924. His conduct while at this school alternated between satisfactory
and unsatisfactory. H e broke the rules several times, but on the whole got
along very well with the school staff and the other boys. He ran away twice,
which makes his record there poor. H e was permanently discharged when he
became 17. H e liked this institution much better than the institutions for
dependents.
George says that the police station in which he spent a night was a terrible
place, and he hopes that he will never get back there. H e was in the county
jail for 12 days, at the time o f his appearance in the boys’ court, and says that
it was filthy, worse than those he knows in other cities. H e has traveled con
siderably since the offense studied and was in the detention home in an Ohio
city early in 1926 on a charge o f forgery. H e was later discharged. H e has
also recently been in jail in cities in two adjoining States.
George goes with few boys, usually onjy one at a time, and belongs to no
clubs or gangs. H e belonged to the National Guard for a year and a half and
used to go to drill but does not care for that any more. H is chief activity for

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the last two years has been tramping from city to city and from State to State.
Two weeks before the interview he went on a “ hitch hike ” to St. Louis, Nash
ville, Springfield, and other places, over icy roads and in the bitter cold.
Another boy went with him on this trip ; but as it is hard for two boys to get
lifts he prefers to go alone.
The supervision ordered by the boys’ court apparently had no effect upon him.
H e said that the agency’s representative tried to make him go to church but
that he paid no attention to him and has not been to church in five years.
The training at the Chicago and Cook County School had benefited him tem
porarily, but the length o f time which he remained in that institution was in
sufficient to alter his behavior permanently.
The very undesirable home conditions due to the death o f his father and the
neglect of his mother gave George a most unfortunate childhood. His intel
lectual equipment and character have not been sufficient to overcome these
early disadvantages. So far he has been in no very serious difficulty. His
“ wanderlust ” leads to arrests on disorderly-conduct charges, but it will be
surprising if more serious difficulties are not encountered. The supervision
under which he was placed by the boys’ court was an attempt toward a correct
solution of his case, but the work of the private agency was not sufficiently
intensive to meet the boy’s needs.
37. JOSEPH DZITJPLA
Interview October 20, 1926.
Native white, father and mother b o m in Poland. B oth in United States 23 years.
Present age, 1 8 ; age at time o f offense, 17.
BoJ j ’(r i ourti heai i ng.’ A pril
1925- D isorderly conduct. On same date fined $100 and
$6^50 costs. M otion to vacate sentence. Three continuances. W arrant issued May 8,
1925. No further record o f this case.
L iv e s at home.
F a m ily : Father 43, m other 40, brothers 14, 7.

Joseph is a rather tall, shabbily dressed lad who likes to talk and grows
boastful of his wild ways and bad deeds. H e is nervous and is made cross
easily, a bit dull mentally, extremely self-centered, and with no apparent regard
lo r the rights, feelings, or property o f others.
The particular offense included in this study is the second in a series of
nine court appearances recorded within 21 months— Joseph himself recalls three
more such occasions. His story o f this offense i s : “ Me and another boy broke
in a tire shop to get some tires out for his car, but we got caught too quick to
take any of them, The cops did not have anything on us, so they just charged
-us with disorderly conduct and then the judge just bawled us out a little and
sent us home. H e said next time we got in that court that he was going to
make it hot for us.” A fine was imposed, but evidently it was neither paid
nor served out in an institution, as a motion to vacate sentence was made. Four
hearings were held, but at the last one Joseph did not appear. A warrant was
issued but not served, and less than a month elapsed before he was again in
court, this time on a charge of burglary. This charge was dropped, but he was
sentenced on a petty-larceny charge to 90 days in the house of correction. He
served his term, his father paid the $6.50 due for fine and costs, and he was
released in August, 1925. His mother had obtained bail for him when he was
taken by the police the first time, but on each occasion after that he had to
remain in the station until his court hearing.
Joseph’s family live in an extremely poor, dirty, and congested negro neighbor
hood. Joseph belongs to a gang known by the name of a street four blocks
from his home. H e knows he gets into trouble every time he gets out with his
gang, but he says “ I f I don’t run around with them, who am I going to go with?
There ain’t nobody else in this part o f the town.” The fam ily owns the two
houses on its lot, and lives in six rooms on the second floor of the rear building,
which faces on an alley. The house was fairly clean but cluttered and disor
dered. The family owns a phonograph, a sewing machine, and a violin which
no one knows how to play. A small automobile which his mother bought for
him a few months ago furnishes Joseph with more recreation than anything
inside his home. The fam ily attend church regularly, Joseph going when he is
made to. The father is a kind, simple m an ; the mother a turbulent, talkative
woman, abusive to the children and to the neighbors. She is disgusted with
Joseph for working so little, but does not seem to realize the seriousness o f his
delinquencies. She thinks she should not have allowed him to stop school, and
she intends to keep the younger boys in school until they are 18, hoping that
education will keep them straight. Fourteen-year-old Charles, however, is ap
parently no better qualified to profit by education than his older brother, as he

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has reached only the fourth grade. Charles is a nervous boy who cries easily r
he has been in the juvenile court for three offenses. The first time he became
involved in a neighborhood quarrel between two families, and in trying to
defend his mother became offensive. The charge was dropped. H e did not
appear again until three years later— three months ago— when he, with another
boy, was accused of two burglaries, one of breaking into a restaurant and steal
ing $150 worth of cigars and candy, $10 in currency, and the contents of tele
phone boxes; the other was a similar offense, when more than $900 worth of
goods and money was taken. The boys denied the charges in court, and the
mother thinks the police of the station near their house accuse Charles because
Joseph has often used the little boy’s name. (The boys’ court record shows that
both names have been used there by Joseph.) The police, according to the
mother, have hit Charles over the head with their clubs and have threatened
him with their guns at his head, until he has admitted crimes of which he is
innocent.
,
_ .. _ .
Joseph entered school at 6 and left at 16. H e thought it too h ard :
This
school idea is all right for rich boys who like reading, but for me it was the
bunk. I had just as soon go back to the Bridewell as to school. There ain’t
much difference. In both o f them you are bossed around and penned up, and
you don’t get no good out of it.” H e managed to complete six grades after
repeating the work in three grades.
A s a worker Joseph has been even less of a success. H e had no idea how
many jobs he has had but would guess about 20 in the two or three years since
he left school. Sometimes he got fired, sometimes he got tired, sometimes he got
other jobs, and sometimes he “ just quit.” He complains that the bosses want
too much work for too little money. H e began work as a factory hand at $10 a
week when he was 16. He was not working at the time of the court appearance
included in the study, but apparently had a job at the time of the interview in
a tin-can factory, where he had been working two weeks at $18 a week. H is
mother, when interviewed a week previously had doubted that he was really
working, although he had been taking his lunch and the automobile and saying
he was going to work.
Joseph’s story of his own conduct shows real pride in his delinquent career.
“ I fought on the streets since I was first in school, and the police have picked
on me ever since I can remember anything much. They had me in juvenile
court time after time. I gave them fake names and they let me off. I have
always been called a bad boy, and I have lived up to it. I f they had caught
up with me for all I ’ve done they’d have me sent away for life.”
Joseph does not go to dances or parties. He goes to motion pictures and
pool rooms and rides in his car. On Saturday nights he and his chums take
girls they meet at the motion pictures to ride in their cars, and later go to the
rooms of the girls, where they drink and spend the night. Joseph says that he
has twice been infected with gonorrhea and that his “ blood is b a d ” at the
present time. H is face and arms were covered with running sores at the tim e
o f the first interview, though none was visible three months later.
O f his prison experiences he sa id : “ I have never been in the county jail, but
I feel at home in police stations. They are bad places to get into, but when
you get used to them it don’t matter. After all, except for hard cops, they ain’t
much worse than a poor boy is used to, and they ain’t any worse than schools.
I can’t tell how much time I ’ve put in police stations. I have never stayed over
four days at once. They did not book me at all that time, but they sure beat
the tar out o f me every day.” O f the house o f correction he would only say.
“ I f you mind your own business and behave you get on all right.”
Joseph said : “ A t first when they got me in court I was scared, but now
I am used to being there and it don’t bother me at all.” H e feels that at the
boys’ court the judges are lenient when they can be. “ I have been in the
boys’ court seven times in a year. I got five breaks and got off light the
other times, and I was guilty every time and done lots worse than they caught
me for. I ain’t got no kick coming for the court.” From his experience he
says that the other municipal-court judges “ will sock you the limit of the law
every time.” However, u I ain’t got nothing to kick about on the police. I f I
was a copper I guess I would have given a fellow who has given them the
trouble I have a lot worse beatings than they ever have give me.”
Although Joseph said he could not go to the trouble to tell how all his arrests
came about even if he remembered them, he told of stealing some “ radio
stuff.” for which he got 90 days in the house of correction, and of another
time when he made a business of selling stuff which another boy took from a

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store. H e was caught at this also and given 30 days in the house o f correc
tion. H e told of several arrests for disorderly conduct and says that every
time he has been arrested he has been “ drunk on moon.” H e boasted of
hold-ups and was amused at “ how funny and scared people get when you
stick them up.”
The court and police records bear out much o f this testimony. H is first
recorded appearance was in the boys’ court in February, 1925, when his owner
ship o f an automobile was questioned and he was discharged. The second
was the attempted breaking in and stealing described, which was recorded as
disorderly conduct ending in a warrant. The third appearance was in May,
when the radio-factory burglary charge was changed to petty larceny and
he served 90 days in the Bridewell. The fourth, six days after his release,
concerned larceny of an automobile; he was discharged. The fifth charge, in
March, 1926, was disorderly conduct, when there were three continuances while
an effort was made to get in touch with his parents. The disposition is not
recorded, probably because in the meantime he was again before the court
on a sixth and more serious charge. This time he with two other boys held up
a drunken man and were charged with robbery. Tw o continuances and the
issuance of a warrant are recorded. Larceny of an auto and selling stolen
goods were the cause o f a seventh case, in June, and brought a sentence
o f 30 days in the house o f correction, a $9 fine, and costs. Another larceny
charge made two days after this appearance is recorded but not the
disposition.
Less than two weeks after Joseph gave the foregoing information he was
in the county ja il charged with murder. Newspapers gave the case consider
able publicity, and information regarding it is derived from them and from
observation in the court room. A man, the father o f three children, was
found by the police dying on a sidewalk with his pockets turned inside out
and his watch missipg.
The police at once suspected Joseph’s gang and
immediately arrested four of them, including Joseph. The boys confessed
that they had beaten their victim when he resisted. A cheap watch and $25
were obtained. Eventually nine boys from 16 to 23 years o f age, seven of
them less than 20 years, were indicted.
The defense contended’ that the
confessions had been obtained by the police through “ third-degree methods,”
and the boys presented testimony to the judge concerning the brutality o f the
police. The judge, however, ruled that the confessions had been made volunta
rily and therefore might be presented to the jury as evidence. Joseph and the
other boys presented a good appearance during the trial and, as one news
paper stated, looked as though they should be on a high-school campus rather
than in the criminal court. Three months after the commission o f the crime
all nine were found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to serve from one
year to life in the penitentiary. Later a new trial was denied them.
Joseph’s whole career tended toward such an event. A t home his parents
were unable to help him or to protect him. A t school he was apparently
mentally incapable of profiting by the usual type o f education, and no efforts
were made to find a type of training adapted to him. Diseases which he con
tracted were probably an additional handicap. The community in which he
lived offered him no adequate substitute for the gang life which led from
loafing on street corners to lying in wait in dark alleys late at night for
passers-by from whom a little loot could be secured, and eventually to the killing
of a victim. That he would be restrained from crime by neither moral com
punctions nor fear was clear from his boastful attitude about what he had
done. Crime has become his business and his recreation. To have saved this
boy and protected the community from him a better system of diagnosis, treat
ment, and care in connection with his first offenses was clearly necessary.
38. CLARENCE SHEAN
Interview November 23, 1926.
Native white, parents born in Ireland, Father in United States 33 y e a r s ; m other 30
years.
Present age, 2 0 ; age at time o f offense^ 19.
B T n p a T i o n ht ^ ingkc,2 Cte l er
19^5‘
d isord erly conduct.
Probation six months.
A n ri? lQ10i V «
3
susPen<ied
Costs paid. Discharged from probation
A pril 19, 1926, at expiration o f term. Result “ satisfactory.”
Lives with s is te r ; at time o f offense lived at home.
F a m ily : Father 49, m other 48, brothers 23, 17, 14, sister 12. Brother killed in 1919
when 17 years old. Brother born in 1916, dead.

Clarence is tall and well built, fairly neat in appearance, and shows signs of
dissipation.

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Although only one offense appears on the court record against him, he
related two court appearances and one other arrest. H e was also in the
juvenile court in 1920 because o f truancy and, after one continuance, was sent
to the Chicago Parental School. Regarding the arrest Clarence sa id : “A bunch
of us got some moonshine and got too noisy on the street and got picked up,
but they never kept us overnight. They clubbed us and chased us in.
Or
his court experience he sa id : “Another time a bunch of us got into an awful
scrap and the police came along. W e scattered, and they caught me anyhow.
I got’ on probation for that scrape, but I did not deserve it.” H e explains
the offense included in the study, regarding which only “ picked up 8.30 p. m.
appears on the social-service record, as follow s: “ The last time I got in a
fuss with a policeman. I had just enough ‘ m oon’ in me to make me think
I could lick the K a iser; and when that cop slammed me across the head,
I let him have one in the face, and then I got $100 fine, but they finally took
that off and let me go on probation again.” A t th e time of his first court
appearance he was in the police station overnight. “ My brother got me bailed
out the second time, because he knew the captain of the station and the captain
knew my brother would have me in court. The station was not as bad as
I thought it would be, though. The cops were pretty decent to me, seeing I
had been so nasty with them.”
Clarence is enthusiastic over probation.
My probation has done me a
world of good. M y probation officer gave me real advice. Every boy needs
probation. I ought to have been on probation before I was.” H e also has
good words for the other agencies o f the law. “ The court was more than
square with me, and so were the cops. They could have made it lots worse.
The trips to court did me good, but the probation officer did me most good.
The record in the probation department shows that Clarence reported to his
officer each time that he should have— six times during his term that four
visits were paid to the home by the officer, and that Clarence paid the costs
° f Clarences mother is sure that he was not at fault in these difficulties. Her
version is that Clarence was standing on a corner waiting to take a car to
his sister’s house when a drunken policeman came along and asked him what
he was doing. They got into an argument, during which the policeman struck
Clarence and Clarence returned the blow. She says that Clarence is so angry
at this officer that he has said he will kill him.
Home conditions and the fam ily situation in general are at the present
fimp a great improvement over previous years. In 1912 the mother applied
for help to a family-welfare agency, as she had injured her finger and was
unable to do housework. Her husband was out of work and they could not
pay for a servant. The agency helped with cash and clothing and paid a
woman to do the cleaning. No other contacts were had with the fam ily until
1916
A t the time of first contact the agency reported that the house was in a
state of filth and a menace to the health of the neighbors. The mother was
disheveled in appearance and the children very dirty and not properly clothed.
In May, 1916, Mr. and Mrs. Shean were brought to the juvenile court for
neglecting their six children. Both parents had been drinking very heavily.
The father was found guilty and sentenced to the house o f correction for
three months. The mother was placed on probation but broke it, and was
sent to the house o f correction three months later on a fine of $10 and costs.
Both were given the drink cure- there. A t this time the record o f the court
described the mother as shiftless. She did not take care of her children,
and they looked like little animals. The parents sold their interest in their
home for $500 and were using the money for liquor. Clarence and two
other children were sent at this time to an institution for dependent chil
dren where they stayed for three years. The next year court workers found
the home unspeakably dirty. The home was barren o f furniture, only two
iron beds and springs remaining, with neither mattresses nor coverings.
The pantry was devoid of dishes or utensils. In the sink were a few dirtj
dishes over which the rats were running. The next month the mother was
found lying in bed drunk. The children were naked and shivering with the
cold. The mother was sent to the house of correction. Two of the children
were taken to the detention home, and two others were to be taken care of by
the neighbor upstairs until the mother had completed the drink cure. The
parents and four children had been sleeping in one room, the 14-year-old boy
in the same bed with his parents.

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A t this time the parents were given a chance to make good with the prom
ise that the children would be returned to them when conditions had improved.
The probation officer believed the parents to be of good stock and had con
fidence in them. Conditions did steadily improve and, late in 1919, Clarence
and his brother and his sister were returned from the institution in which
they had been living. The next year, however, conditions were again bad.
The family was found living in filth. The children’s heads were filled with
vermin. The younger boy, who had been in the institution, was found to be
tuberculous and was sent to a sanitarium, where he stayed until cured. The
oldest boy had been shot and killed by another boy the year before. The next
oldest boy was, in 1920, a fine lad, with a good position.
Some setbacks
occurred that were due to the mother’s drinking and her consequent neglect
o f her home and children, but gradual improvement was shown. The proba
tion officer during all this time visited the family several times a week and
helped them in a most friendly manner.
Relations between the probation
officer and the family were evidently so close that strain resulted and a
new probation officer was assigned to the family, who carried on the good
work. Other persons became interested in the family, and one woman espe
cially spent much time visiting them, helping them financially and otherwise.
She still sends them presents on Thanksgiving and Christmas, bearing in mind
the health and recreation needs of each member o f the family. In 1926 the
court record stated that the children were released from probation as de
pendents. Conditions were considered very satisfactory. The home was re
ported as attractive. The parents had overcome the drink habit. The oldest
boy was working and studying law at night. The whole family was doing
very well except possibly the 14-year-old boy, who had been at the Chicago
Parental School, but whose school attendance had improved since his discharge.
A t the time of the visit to the home in connection with this study the
family was living in a light and airy 7-room apartment which had been
newly decorated and was clean and well cared for. There is not a great deal
of furniture, but it is simple and attractively arranged and the apartment is
homelike and comfortable. The family has a radio set. The apartment, on
the second floor of an old-fashioned apartment building in a poor and crowded
neighborhood, rents for $35 a month. It is heated by stoves.
The father is a laborer, earning $25 a week. The oldest boy, Alfred, is
head stenographer in a large organization. Clarence is a machine operator
in a factory, and the next brother does office work. The youngest girl is in
the seventh grade. The 14-year-old boy, the mother feels, particularly needs
her care. She calls him “ my little bum.” The mother does not know just
how much her sons make. Alfred takes a good deal of responsibility, both
financially and in regard to the younger children, with whom the mother feels
he is rather severe. Alfred could get his father a better job, lighter work,
and more pay, but the father will not change although he works from
7 a. m. to 6 p. m. H e has had the same job for 33 years. The boys all pay
board, and the mother thinks that both Alfred and Clarence earn more than
$30 a week. The boys are wisely keeping control o f the finances of the family
and not allowing the wages to go for drink. Robert, the 14-year-old boy,
should be in the seventh grade in school, but he is still playing truant. Alfred
went to court with Clarence when he was in difficulties so that his mother
would not have to, as he knew she would break down.
The mother says that the children have many friends whom they bring to
the house. They dance to radio music. The father usually sleeps all evening.
According to the juvenile court probation officer the father is not very cordial
to the friends of the older children. A t the time of the visit in connection
with this study the father seemed to be indifferent toward the children, but
the mother seemed interested and fond o f them. She is a fine-looking woman,
and the children are all tall, clean-cut, and nice looking. The older children
are all ready to help the younger ones until they can look out for themselves.
The mother reported that the oldest, who was killed, had died of heart trouble.
The older daughter is now married and has an attractive home where Clarence
spends most of his time. She and her husband are buying their house and
will have it paid for next year. They also have a car.
Roy, the boy who was killed, and Robert, who is now 14, have juvenile-court
records. In 1915 Roy was accused of burglary, but the case was continued
generally. In 1916 another burglary charge was continued generally. In 1917
he was accused o f robbery and sent to the Chicago and Cook County School,
being released four months later. Robert’s appearance in 1925 was for truancy,

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when he was sent to the Chicago Parental School, and released from probation
10 weeks later.
. , .
A lf r ed went through high school and business college and is now studying
law. The 17-year-old boy completed two years of his high-school course.
Clarence went only to elementary school, beginning when he was 6. He went to
work illegally when he was 13 because his fam ily needed his help. He worked
for only a short time when he was discovered and sent to the Chicago Parental
School. After that he went back to school and attended until he was old
enough to work. He has worked continuously at the same job. H e sa id : “ I
have got just as good a job as I want or as anybody needs. I don’t have any
trouble around there at a ll; I just attend to my business and work and get my
pay. I have always wanted to fool with machinery. My brother Alfred likes
books but not me. I ain’t going to be anybody that needs a big education; I
just want a trade. I want to be a good machinist.” H e finished either the
seventh or the eighth grade. W hen first employed as a hand he earned $10 a
week. A t the time o f his court appearance and at the present time his earn
ings are $30 a week. Clarence contributes about $15 a week or more to fam ily
expenses. He has saved about $50.
When asked about his difficulties before his court appearance Clarence went
back to his early childhood. “ I don’t care to talk about my bringing up. It
was a w fu l! I had lots of trouble, but not much of it was my fault. M y mother
and father are good folks, but they have always been fools about * moonshine.
My mother don’t bother it much now, but my father just has to have it. W ell
when they got drunk we kids were left to scratch for ourselves. When they
got sober they were sick for a while, and when they got well they got drunk
again. I f it had not been for the juvenile court and some good-hearted folks,
I don’t know what would have become of us. I was in an orphanage and in
the juvenile detention home and in the parental school, and I don’t see why I
ain’t been in the pen.” H e says that since he was in the boys’ court he has not
had the least bit of trouble. “ That is because my probation officer has helped
me go straight.”
A s to his present companions Clarence sa id : “ I don t go with many boys
and no girls. I would like to go with girls, but the ones I know and who
would go with me, are not good-looking enough. I f I have anything to do with
a girl, she has got to be swell looking. My brother Alfred knows the kind of
girls I like. A hard-working laborer like me can’t make much of a hit with
them though. A s for new friends, I ain’t located many, but I am getting in
with some pretty good fellows. I used to be in a gang, but I haven’t taken part
in a long time, for I had a big fight with one o f the leaders.”
Judging from Clarence’s overenthusiastic defense of his trade and his long
ing for associations similar to his brother’s, it is possible that he feels inferior
because he is a laborer and because he lacks the education that his brothers
and sister have. He is not satisfied with his home but stays with his sister
during the week. She may be able to help him to more satisfying companions.
He tells his fam ily that he stays there so as to keep away from the boys he
formerly went with, who live near his parents’ hom e; but he told the bureau
investigator that the main reason is that he prefers his sister’s home and uses
the other reason as an excuse.
It is evident from the entire history of this family that the members are the
type who are greatly benefited by the help a social agency can give. The work
of the juvenile court probation officers was excellent through many years. It
was a wise move on the part of the boys’ court to place Clarence on probation,
and as he fortunately was assigned to an officer who was able and willing to
give him the type of supervision he needed the result was very satisfactory.
39.

ARTHUR BAUMANN

Interview October 15, 1926.
Native white, parents native white.
Present age, 2 1 ; age at time o f offense, 19.
Boys’ court hearing, August 30, 1924. Disorderly conduct. Fined $25 and $6.50 costs.
Committed to house o f correction. M otion to vacate judgm ent sustained, September 1,
1924. Case discharged.
Lives at home.
_
.
.
F a m ily : Father, housekeeper. Sister married and in own home. Brother away, where
abouts unknown.

Arthur is a clean and neatly dressed, boy, rather short and slight. H e has
a very pleasing disposition and meets people in a friendly and frank manner.
Before the offense studied Arthur was in court in November, 1923, on a
charge of disorderly conduct. He was discharged and placed under the super-

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Yision o f a private agency. On the disorderly charge included in this studv
Arthur was committed to the house of correction to serve out a fine of $25
but was released after a short stay. After the offense studied, in April 1925
hnti-nnS/ CCUSed ° f larceny and riding in a stolen car. He was placed on pro
bation for one year. In May, 1926, he was in court for disorderly conduct
and was discharged. Arthur says that on the occasions o f his first two arrests
for disorderly conduct, the second being the offense studied ‘ ‘ I was ^ t h m i
«
and J ? hhad
^ a s h out some trouble between r ^ a ls, who w S e d ^ J
be boss, and the cops got us for being disorderly. Both times it was iust fights
I wasn’t fighting, but I was in the crowd. I got a « M a y s e n te n S to the b £ S Z
o f correction (on the charge studied), but I got out the S
m n r l, o S
? h V h | was to b f S n S S ^ S

belonged to my gang c a m e ^ o n ^ in a caTaand°T
T ^ ° ° f the boys who
one who was drivinf blgarx to speed
fs ^ th . ™
* t0 .rMe With tbem- The
he said ‘ I stole to il car too° That was toe tf e? PS CT mg and told him> aad
H e ran it into the c u ?b % n d we afl r l i
He a S 7 1 k,new ° f “ being stolen*
w as shot and told who was with him ' t ? 6 and
a^vay- The third boy
to California, and toe? never got Mm
T h ey
T
stealing got
me. I wasn’t guilty, but I can see how that a ^ame to m7 home and arrested
me to the pen. This trip to the court rnniLa
a Jud&e could have sent
that got in company with crows and got caught fto a
Jut t1
a lkin^ sparrow
Dutoh.” 1 am ° ff ga“ gS f ° r U fe; their leaders are alwayTbad"" and g e f y o T l n

Wmh5 r a " l h e

iZnT,

* ^

and hel^

made 10 reports during his year o f p robatio^an d ^h 1’/ 11« 11^ 8^ 0^

*»

that Arthur

“About a ., the

body but himself. S o m e t i m e I S o f ^ e t f t a g « t a n d ^ e .
-f0r
anymore. The way things went at horn. 8 0 Jr 8 ut and never coming back

^ rh,^ “

S r S f I~

eourt, but apparently he did not place them
krepirn £

lT' I t t t e Z u l S

s^is^sssi

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nection with the Children’s Bureau study the housekeeper was seen and said
that she was Mrs. Baumann. It is possible that she has been married recently
to Arthur’s father or it may be that she merely wishes to give that impression
Arthur’s brother left school before he reached the eighth grade and has left
home. H e is said by the family to be “ traveling,” and they don t know where
^ T h e father has his own business and apparently makes a good income. _ The
house which he owns is in a good residential neighborhood. It is furnished
attractively, and recreation is provided by an automobile, phonograph ana
radio papers and magazines. The family has lived in this house about 10
years’. They seem to have no social connections but attend church regularly.
The father seems uninterested in Arthur except in making as much as he can
out of his son’s work. H e seems interested only in money, and Arthur has
much the same attitude. Arthur talks a great deal of money and o f the time
when he will be making a big income and own a large business of his own.
Arthur entered school at 6 and left after he had completed the first year
of high school. H e repeated the fifth and seventh grades and was 16 years old
when he left. O f school he sa id : “ School is all right. I had a good time.
Some of us used to play hookey sometimes, but the truant officers got us most
of the time. My teachers were generally pretty good, but I had one or two old
hens who couldn’t do anything but talk. I don’t want any more school in mine.
I don’t know what I would do with it.”
^
When he first went to work Arthur was a garage helper and earned $15 a
week
At the time of the offense studied he was not working. A t present
he is working as a mechanic for his father and earns no wages. He has been
with his father for two years. H e has had four jo b s; the first one he left
because he did not like the place, from the second he was discharged because
business was dull, and the third he left because it was office work which he
does not like. He said that he always got on fine with his employers. He is
apparently a hard worker and gets on well enough at his present occupation
although he seems somewhat afraid o f his father. The father seems hard and
unsympathetic, and the boy looks browbeaten in his presence.
Arthur says that ho belongs to a gang of boys> but that he takes little part in
their activities. “ Some of the leaders are hard boiled, and I don’t like them.
I t was with some of them that I was riding when I got in trouble. I never
have got any good out of the gang, so about a year ago I quit running with
them
I like to go around by myself to hunt and fish. I don’t care to fool with
g ir ls; they don’t like me, and I am not any fool about them.” Arthur says
that a gang is a fine thing to belong to i f you merely pay the assessments and
let the others do the dirty work. H e has found out that it is best not to
associate with the members too much but that if you belong and keep quiet
the members won’t bother you and outsiders won’t either. H e does not intend
to have much to do with gang life any more, but “ you almost have to take
sides and join up so you will have some good friends.” The housekeeper said
that Arthur’s chief interest now is in hunting, and that he often takes the
automobile and goes out to some lake and shoots whatever is in season. He
brings home rabbits and ducks.
Since the death of Arthur’s mother, when he was 5 years old, conditions in
his home have been unsatisfactory. They have made him unconsciously, if
not consciously, dissatisfied; and now that he is grown up he finds in his
home none of the sympathy and help which a home should give. He found
that in his neighborhood it was wise to belong to a gang, but he has also
come to find out that he does not care for gang tactics. Apparently his p r o
bation gave him support that he needed, and his conduct has improved since
then.

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APPENDIX A.— EXTENT TO WHICH CASES STUDIED
REPRESENT ENTIRE GROUP
The eases studied by the Children’s Bureau may be considered representative
o f all the eases disposed of by the boys’ court in 1924 and 1925. Th,e propor
tions of each type of offense committed corresponded closely in the two groups
of cases. O f the 16,475 cases disposed of by the boys’ court in the 2-year
period, 4,716 (28.6 per cent) were disposed of as felonies, 3,779 ( 22.9 per cent)
as misdemeanors, and 7,980 ( 48.4 per cent) as quasi-criminal offenses. O f the
1,499 cases in the scheduled group, 451 (30.1 per cent) were dealt with as
felonies, 350 (23.3 per cent) as misdemeanors, and 698 (46.6 per cent) as quasicriminal offenses. (Table I.)
T a b l e I. — Type of offense in^ all cases disposed of in the 'boys' court and in

scheduled cases dealt with in the boys' court during 1924 and 1925

Cases
Scheduled
Total disposed of
Total

Type of offense

Number

Total___ _____
Felony..........
Misdemeanor.
Quasi-criminal____

Per cent
distri Number
bution

Selected i

Per cent
distri Number
bution

Excluded

Per cent
distri
bution

Charges
simul
taneous
with
selected
cases 2

Other *

16,475

100.0

1,499

100.0

972

100.0

108

419

4,716
3,779
7,980

28.6
22.9
48.4

451
350
698

30.1
23.3
46.6

256
234
482

26.3
24.1
49.6

75
22
11

120
94
205

1 Cases of boys 17 to 20 years of age, inclusive.
* The most serious disposition appears in selected cases.
3 Includes 70 cases of boys under 17 years of age, 196 of males 21 years and over, 134 of males for whom age
was not reported, and 19 cases of females.
'

A similarly close correspondence exists between the dispositions of all the
cases o f the 2-year period and those o f the cases in the scheduled group. In
both groups (Table I I ) nearly half the cases were discharged (48.8 per cent
o f the total cases and 47.6 per cent o f the scheduled cases). When cases dis
missed for want o f prosecution, nol-prossed, and nonsuited, are added the per
centage of dismissals and discharges was 61.2 among all the cases and 63.8 per
cent among the scheduled group. For other dispositions the percentages in
the two groups compare as follow s: Held for grand jury, 14.6 per cent o f the
total and 12.6 per cent of the scheduled group ; placed on probation, 8.9 per
cent and 10.4 per cent; fined or committed to institution, 15.1 per cent and 12.6
per cent.
The proportion o f cases disposed o f in the boys’ court through pro
bation, fine, or commitment was 24 per cent in the total group and 23 per cent
m the scheduled group.
„ lp the m unicipal court the disposition o f a case is tabulated as a fine only when the'
Pf-iA I f the fine is not paid but the defendant is comm itted to an institution to<
?®ry p .° ut.
flne> the disposition is recorded as a commitment. The disposition o f a casestudy was recorded as a fine i f a fine was imposed, regardless o f whether it was
outTin a.n institution, and commitments do not include sentences for nonpayment o f fine. Imprisonm ent is not prescribed as a penalty fo r violation o f ordinances
(quasi-crim inal cases), and commitments are made only fo r nonpayment o f fine.

86850°— 30------ 14

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203

204

YO UTH AUD CRIME

T a b l e I I .— Disposition in boys’ court, by type of offense, of all cases disposed

of in the boys’ court and o f scheduled cases dealt with in the boys’ court
during 1924 and 1925
Cases 4
Total disposed of
Disposition and type of offense

Total............................................ ......................... ..............

Scheduled

Per cent
Por cent
Number distribu Number distribu
tion .
tion
1,499

16,475
16,475

100.0

1,466

100.0

8,046
2,048
1,984
54
10

48.8
' 12.4
12.0
.3
.1

698
237
228
9

47.6
16.2
15.6
.6

2,411
1,473
727
1,770
1,764
6

14.6
8.9
4.4
10.7
10.7
0

184
153
126
59
55
24

12.6
10.4
8.6
4.0
3.8
.3

33
451

Felony......... ........... ................ ........... ..................................

4, 716

Disposed of......................................................................................

4,716

100.0

448

100.0

909
1,396
1,366
30

19.3
29.6
29.0
.6

113
150
143
7

25.2
33.5
31.9
1.6

2,411

51.1

184
1

41.1
.2

3
350

M isdemeanor................. - ...............- ....................................

3,779

Disposed o f .. . --------------------- ---------- ---------------------------------

3,779

100.0

340

100.0

i. 219
463
439
24

32.3
12.3
11.6
.6

113
63
61
2

33.2
18.5
17.9
.6

985
110
1,002
997
5

26.1
2.9
26.5
26.4
.1

86
18
58
54

25.3
5.3
17.1
15.9
1.2

10
698

7,980
Disposed of.....................................................................................

100.0

678

100.0

5,918
189
179
10

74.2
2.4
2.2
.1

472
24
24

69.6
3. 5
3.5

488
617
768
767
1

6.1
7.7
9.6
9.6

67
108
1
1

15.9
.1
.1

7,980

1 Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent.
_
. ..
, T.
2Three boys were committed to the reformatory and one to the county jail.

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9.9

APPENDIX B.—EXCLUSIONS
A s it was desired to limit this study to boys 17 to 20 years of age other
cases were eliminated. The other cases heard in this court were those in
which older persons or girls above juvenile-court age were involved in offenses
with boys 17 to 20, some cases of boys just over 21, and of boys under 17
which were brought to the court by mistake, and cases o f boys for whom age
was not reported. O f these types of cases 419 were excluded— 19 because
the defendants were girls and the rest because, according to the social-service
records, the defendants were boys under 17 years of age (7 0 ), males o f 21
years or over (1 9 6 ), or males whose age was not reported (1 34 ).
(Table I.)
There were left 1,080 cases in which boys reported as being 17 to 20 years
o f age were involved. Frequently a number of charges relating to the same
offense were made against one boy on the same day. Each charge was given
a different number on the docket. Usually, however, all but one o f the charges
were dismissed, and final judgment was pronounced in regard to only one.
That is, such cases were treated by the court as one offense, as is the proce
dure in most courts and in standard court statistics.2 In the Children’s
Bureau study, therefore, the charge given the most serious disposition was
selected. This process of elimination reduced the group selected for special
study to 972 cases.
The same boy sometimes appeared on several occasions and for several
offenses in the selected-group cases. For information relating to boys rather
than to cases it was necessary to select one of these cases, and the offense
occurring last was arbitrarily chosen. This gave a group of 909 boys. O f these
boys 849 were represented by only one case, and 60 were represented by two or
more cases dealt with on different dates. This count of “ repeaters,” how
ever, does not approximate the number that would be found if the cases were
traced through the two years, 1924 and 1925. It is merely the number found
in studying the first 65 cases dealt with in each month of the two years.
2 “ A defendant who is charged w ith several offenses should he counted only once, and
fo r that offense the prosecution o f which was carried fa rth e st; or the most serious if the
defendant is convicted o f more than one offense. A conviction should always be recorded
m preference to an acquittal.”
Instructions fo r Compiling Criminal Statistics, p. 46.
U. S. Bureau o f the Census. W ashington, 1927.

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205

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Full text of Youth and Crime : A Study of the Prevalence and Treatment of Delinquency Among Boys Over Juvenile-Court Age in Chicago, Bureau Publication No. 196

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