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HOW TO HELP THE STATE BOY,
At the interstate conference held by Our
Boys' Institute at Port Elliot on April 4
a paper on "The gtat? boy-why he be
comes so, and how to lielp him,'' written
lay Mr. 1. Rhodes (Chairman of the (State
Children's Council), was read. From the
last published reports, dated July, 1903, Mr.
Rhooes found that South Australia haa
1,335 neglected and criminal children, ot
whom 06 were in reformatories. Victoria
had 5.745 neglected and criminal1 children,
of whom 109 were in reformatories. New
South Wales had 6,985 neglected and crimi
nal children. He was unable to give the
number of reformatory inmates in the lat
ter state. Assuming, for purposes of
comparison, that our population is only
one-third of the larger states, proportion
ately we appeared to some advantage in
the totals, but not in regard to criminal
children. We could, be feared, talce little
comfort to ourselves in any comparison of
Jhia kind, as the geographical boundaries
in the Commonwealth provided no haired
door. Turning to local conditions lie had
no hesitation in stating ins firm belief th^t
unworthy parenthood was the most promi
nent reason why the state boy became so.
Close observation and experience confirmed
this opinion. Bad homes made bad boy?.
When the conditions were investigated the
marvel was that more of our boys did not
gravitate to the reformatory. There were,
of course, rare exceptions where bad hoys
came from good homes- These were so few,
however, as only to prove the rule. As
suming therefore, that parental delinquency
was largely the force which projected the
boy on the state, one could hardly wonder
at the further fact tiiat there were not want
ing parents BO shameless as to be content
for their boys to receive the criminal brand.
So* long au they were spared bother and
the cost of maintenance, their boys' inte
rests were of no concern. The compul
sory enactments of the Education Act
were a delusion and a snare to many boys
with delinquent instincts. Walk through
the streets and parks during school hours
trad count the number of skihool-geing age
children, and it would convince an unpre
judiced person, of the truth of this state
ment. It was freely admitted that the
streets were a nursery of crime for these
unfortunate children. The educational
authorities would say that legally the*
were not truants, as they attended the prfr
scribed minimum period of 35 days in tbe
quarter. The remaining 40 days they
were left to their own devices, to their
great moral) peril. It was quJte time the
Education Act was amended, and the daya
of compulsory attendance should be con
Iidenably increased. Truancy was general
y the first step in juvenile delinquency.
The clearly marked steps in the down
grade were easily traced-first the truant,
then the uncontrollable, finally the crimi
nal. A further indictment against tfae
education enactments was one which had
been voiced by many of the most profound
thinkers in the community from His Ex
celency the Ooveroor downwards. He con
tended that all barriers, at any cost, should
be removed and God's Word should be
taught in alt the schools. "Sow the seeda
of secularism, and you secure a growth of
the poisonous weed of juvenile delin
quency." Gambling, impure literature,
and cigarette smoking were powerful
Wtents in the creation of the boy criminal.
Speaking on how to help the state boy,
Mr. Rhodes went on to say that lie sever-.
®nce of the boy from fais environment
when he crossed the threshold of the re
formatory. was most saktary. The door
of communication with his old companion#
must be barred, Hhe man who Was to
lead the boy to reformation and be success
ful should have all the cardinal virtues,
bracketed with infinite love and patience,
l'be boy must not be treated as an "in
teresting case." While he was encourag
ed and stimulated to do right be must to
some extent begiu- liis life afresli, and ga
ther with care tbe gold, silver, and pre
cious stones of a*gooa clieracter. In- faot.
be mast enter upon a probation. -Manual
work and. drill should be largely used. Work
was a great antidote to evil habits. Their
first aire, then, was to have tbe ipstitu
tions in the charge of men of noble in
stincts, who made their duty their mission,
and uot simply a means of getting a living.
In this connection we had much to be
thankful for in our local institutions.
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