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The Juvenile Court or the Spanish InquisitionThere comes a time when low human endeavor reaches an ebb that is impossible t o describe in plain printable English. Can you imagine a 15-year old child being jerked into court, without previous warning being given either the child or her parents, without legal aid or advice and being subjected to a mental test among unfriendly surroundings and then sent, presumably for all the rest of her life to the school for the feeble-minded at Faribault? Doesn’t sound possible does it? But it is. The juvenile “court of Judge Andrew William Johnson is the star chamber where they rob unfortunate children of their birthright of liberty and pursuit of happiness.A little 15 year old girl, whose name is not essential to this story, has been a member off the “sub-normal’’ group at the local school for some time past. The child was high strung, wayward and inclined to be behind in her studies. All that is true. But, her parents are poor and are loth compelled to labor, so the child has been deprived in a large ™asure of that maternal care which is supposed to bet he birthright of every child. She was haledmto court late Tuesday afternoon, made to face a barrage of questions from a mental examiner from the twin cities, called back the next morn-ing and subjected to more merciless grinmg by the expert and then just a [otrain time Judge Johnson dedared the child to be of feeble mind and committed her to the m Etution for the feeble minded at Fanbautt. We are informed that this examination was conducted at the solicitation of the fare worker who, it seems has concew^the pretty idea that the proper place for wayward irirls is at the feeble mmded institution. The father of the unfortunate chi,d '*a9 and protested bitterly, asking that. the 1hear-taft be postponed a day so that he might procure legal defence for the child.The police matron has had this caae under surveillance for some time had put a dehn quency charge against the girl that Ae might «et jurisdiction over her and compel her to stay to nights and generally straighten up.This., apparently, was the signal for Susa Gasterdyck, the welfare worker, to step into the S and put a charge of mental delinquency'Nereis* anothr girl in to wn ; w formed, is in the bad graces of and against whom the welfare worker ndn preferred charges of mental delinquency. This tatter girl has been under tne care of the police matron for three months, and during that t me has stayed home nights, has been a Aguiar church attendant and has been employed eam^ tog $14.00 the week. In spite ofi all this the welfare worker would have this girl committed to the feeble minded institute, because considers her a menace to society.People who know the bttle girl who was committed last Wednesday say that she is no. of feeble or unsound mind. That she was wayward, they admit. But the child did not ha’-e a fair chance. Society has made her wayward, and now that same society wreaks surnmary vengeance upon this little child who . but the unfortunate plaything of w un*'1^ fate. Is it fair? Is it right? Picture this poor, frightened child condemned te spend the rest of her life imprisoned among the feeble minded and the idiots What a pr.cefor a little fifteen year old girl to pay lor a brief trespass of the moral code. Is this the result of our lioasted twenty centuries of Christian civi lization ? Is this the lesson «e have learned from the Redeemer’s words to the woman: Co thou and sin no more?If a man is charged with a crime the punishment of which involves a brief prison sentence, he is guaranteed a trial by jury and the state gees to it that he has adequate legal defence. Every safeguard is thrown around him that tne law can devise and he is not tried without due notice and opportunity for arranging his de-fe*But this little, wide-eyed frightened child, a pitiful wild thing, among strange surroundings that she does not understand and cannot fathom is sent away, away from home, from playmates, from loved ones, from all her childish heart holds dear, to wear out her poor frightened soul in a mad house—and it only takes one man to do all this—Judge A. W. JohnsonPerhaps the Judge did the thing that he considered right under the circumstances—but isany one man fitted to see the right m a matter so grave as this? Pilate, doubtless thought that he was right when he turned the Son of Man over to the tender mercies of his enemies; the Special Court of Salem village, who condemned some twenty people to death for witchcraft doubtless thought they were acting for the best. But inquisition instead of trial is usually faulty. And the proceeding held irf Judg^ Johnson’s court was surely an inquisition.* There is something wrong with a system that will permit a few puritans to condemn a young girl to a living death because she has taken a brief step aside from honor’s path.* Society’s duty to these unfortunate victims of man’s insensate lust should be constructive rather than destructive. The police matron stands ready to lend a helping hand to these unfortunates and to plant their feet firmly on the straight path of rectitude. Which is society’s duty—to assist m the salvage of these precious human lives,or to ruthlessly condemn them to the bleak hell of an insane asylum ?DITCH CASES, ROAD WORK ETC.We have been printing from time to time reports of certain irregularities concerning the board of commissioners and other officials concerning certain ditch matters, the allowing of the Payne Investment company over $50,000 for road work in less than a year; the awarding of the county printing to the lowest instead of the highest bidder and sundry other matters that are anything but according to Hoyle. There are more articles along these same lines * in preparation and before we are through with this we will show the tax payers of this county just where some of their hard-earned money has been going.Of course we did not expect to go through with this without some opposition, so we wrere not surprised to learn that a couple of the town’s self-appointed “leading citizens were out trving to organize a boycott on the Examiner. We understand that they did not refer to the matters above enumerated, but claimed that this writer w’as trying to organize some sort of a labor union or something of that kind. But it is a small mattei, the boycott died a borning and the Examiner will go serenely on telling the truth as it sees it. If we ever are put out of commission it w iil not be b/ cowardly little yellow pups trying to organize a boycott Any of our friends who were approached by ih* it men will eo-Cer a favor or. tnis paper by reporting to us the particulars of the proposition these would-be boy cotters made. This boycott matter is actionable under the law and if sufficient evidence can be procured we will give these worthies the warmest time of their young lives. o-
Newspaper Details
Albert Lea Examiner
Albert Lea, Minnesota, US
Thu, Nov 16, 1922
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Jason T.
USA 29 Oct 2024
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