August 28, 1908 DR. MATHIAS SAYS DR. PERRY IS RIGHT.
SUPPORTS THEORY THAT EPI- LECTICS SHOULD NOT MARRY.
Persistent Offenders Brought Into Juvenile Court in Kansas City Bears Traces of Traits of Parents.
The opinion of Dr. L. M. Perry, superintendent of the Parsons, Kas., hospital for epilectics, to the effect that marriage between persons so afflicted should not be permitted, is shared by Dr. E. L. Mathias, probation officer of Jackson county. Dr. Perry, in a recent statement to the Kansas board of health, protested that the statute forbidding such marriages was almost a dead letter and that, for the good of the state, it should be rigidly enforced.
"Records of thousands of boys who have come under observation of this office since its establishment confirm the theory that the persistent offender bears the traces of one or more of four traits handed down by the parents," says Dr. Mathias, himself the fourth generation of a family of physicians.
"These four traits are, broadly speaking, epilepsy, idiocy, insanity and alcoholism in one or both parents. Whenever we have had the case of a boy who does wrong, time after time, and submits to no correction, he always shows the taint of one or more of these four things. This statement is taken from information regarding all the cases which have passed through this office.
"Of course, there are contributing causes, such as environment. Another feature is the early death of one or both parents from natural causes, indicating that they did not have the vitality to impart to their offspring. But the four main influences are those named.
"This statement does not take into account the occasional offenders, but those who are habitual wrongdoers. The fact that they have been born late in the life of their parents tends to the same end.
"While on this subject, it is a curious thing to note that more boys who have mothers only, go wrong, as compared with those who have only fathers to look after their welfare. A widow generally has to work all day and do the housework in the evening. The boys, as a consequence, if too small to work, are on the streets most of the time. In the evening the mother is too tired to give them much attention. A father, on the other hand, gives up his evenings to the boys and makes companions of them. This state of affairs has been proved in a careful record of thousands of cases. The boy has a better chance, three to one, with the father rather than the mother."
Dr. Mathias has had signal success in his work with boys. He makes a careful study and record of each case, both as a court record and from the medical standpoint. Hundreds of boys pass under his observing eye every month.Labels: children, doctors, juvenile court August 12, 1908
HEIRESS ENDS LIFE WITH ACID.
ONCE WON PRIZE AS MOST BEAU- TIFUL GIRL IN MISSOURI.
WEDDING WAS SET FOR TODAY.
DOCTOR PRONOUNCED HER DEAD 3 HOURS BEFORE SHE DIED.
Mother of May Williams Had Her Committed to Reform School. Girl Took Poison Rath- er Than Go.
On the night before her wedding, and on the eve of being sent to the girl's reform school, pretty little May Williams committed suicide by drinking carbolic acid in the presence of her mother and Mrs. W. W. Smith, an officer of the juvenile court. Miss Williams was heiress to $15,000 and her life within the last three months had been a checkered one.
Two months ago, a few weeks after her mother had married Sol Mead, a railway conductor, Miss Williams was sent to the juvenile court, charged with being incorrigible. Mrs. Smith, the probation officer of the Detention home, thought the girl should be in a better place than the home. Consequently, according to Mrs. Alice Page, the matron of the Y. W. C. A. home at Eighth and Harrison streets, arrangements were made whereby the girl was taken to the Y. W. C. A. home. Mrs. Page found the girl to be anything but incorrigible.
A short while ago it became rumored that Miss Williams was to be married today. Shortly after the rumor became public, and the girl admitted that she intended to marry this morning, she was taken from the Y. W. C. A. home and hauled back to the Detention home. At her mother's request the reform school authorities decided to take the girl and to keep her for an indefinite length of time.
SOMEONE WAS NEGLIGENT.
The threat of the reform school had been made to the girl time and again by her mother, Mrs. Mead, and each time Miss Williams had replied that she would die before she went to the institution. Mrs. W. W. Smith accompanied her to her home, 816 Euclid avenue, in order that the girl might pack her trunk. On the way home the girl told Mrs. Smith that she was going to commit suicide. After the two had reached the Mead home, Miss Williams sat in the parlor and talked to her mother of the reformatory. Rising, she said:
"I will die first, and it will be before your eyes."
Whether any attention was paid to the girl's remarks has not been learned. At any rate, she was allowed to leave the presence of the court probationary officer and her mother, with the threat of suicide fresh upon her lips, and over fifteen minutes passed before she was missed. The court officer was present all of that time, and it is said she had heard the threat which the girl made.
In the meantime Miss Williams had gone to the Woodland pharmacy, three blocks away, convinced the druggist that her mother wanted three ounces of carbolic acid, and walked back home again. When she reached her home she walked up the back steps and raised the bottle of carbolic acid to her lips. She had heard footsteps approaching and desired to be successful in her attempt to end her life. At that moment Mrs. Smith caught sight of the girl and called to Mrs. Mead, the mother. With both women looking at her, standing as if rooted to the floor, the girl drank the contents of the bottle and then murmured:"Now, I suppose you are satisfied."
Instantly the probation officer ran to he 'phone and called a doctor and neighbors. Someone called the police ambulance and Dr. J. Park Neal.
DOCTOR THOUGHT HER DEAD.
Dr. A. H. Walls, who lived in the immediate neighborhood, was called. He replied that he could not get to the Mead home for twenty-five minutes. Ten of those twenty-five had elapsed when someone called the police ambulance. The ambulance made a rapid run and arrived at the home of the Williams girl shortly after Dr. Walls had arrived. As Dr. J. Park Neal, probably the most successful combater of carbolic acid suicides in Kansas City, jumped from his ambulance he was met by Mrs. Smith and Dr. Walls. They told him that the girl was dead an d that nothing could be done for her. Taking Dr. Walls's word for it, and knowing Mrs. Smith as a court officer, he did not attend the girl, but went back to the emergency hospital.
As the ambulance turned the corner of Eighth street an undertaker's wagon appeared around the corner of Ninth street. No one knows who called it. By that time Dr. E. R. Curry arrived and pronounced the girl alive. She had been alive all of the time and lived for three hours after she had taken the poison.
"Could she have been saved had you attended her when you were at the house?" was asked Dr. Neal.
"I believe she could," he said. "In fact, I know she could have been saved. But I took Mrs. Smith's and Dr. Wall's word for final. I had no reason to believe the girl was still alive."
Dr. Neal could not understand why he was turned away while there was hope that the girl might not be dead.
Long before the girl was really dead, another undertaker's ambulance had driven up to the front door, and the neighbors looked on and wondered. No one could be found who would admit calling the second undertaker's ambulance.
Mrs. Mead, the girl's mother, says she is heart broken and will see no one. A doctor was called to see her.
May Williams was a beautiful young girl of uncertain age. Her mother swore in court that May was but 15 years old, while May swore that she was 17. Had the girl been 15 years old three years would have expired before she attained her majority; 17 years of age meant only one year until she came into the $15,000 which her father had left her.
WON A BEAUTY PRIZE.
Last spring May Williams won the prize in St. Louis as being the most beautiful unmarried woman in Missouri. The prize was given by a local newspaper. Everywhere she went her beauty was remarked upon. In St. Louis, say those who knew her there, she was not considered incorrigible, nor even wayward.
Mrs. Mead was divorced from her first husband and May lived with him until his death. In his will he left May $15,000, and, it is said, cut off his divorced wife without one cent. At the time of the Williams divorce, which occurred in St. Louis, the whole family history was aired.
Mr. Mead, who is a conductor on the Chicago & Alton railroad, has not been notified of his step-daughter's death. He is expected in from his run this morning at 10 o'clock.Labels: detention home, doctors, druggists, Eighth street, Euclid avenue, juvenile court, Ninth street, probate, St Louis, Suicide, undertakers, women, YWCA August 9, 1908 WHISTLED WAY INTO COURT.
Ada Bentley, 9 Years Old, Was Ac- cused of Warbling at Man.
"A whistling woman and a crowing hen
Will never come to a good end."
"A whistling girl and a bleating sheep
The very best property man can keep."
Take your choice. Both proverbs may occasionally come true.
Ada Bentley whistles. Neighbors who testified against her in the juvenile court yesterday said she whistled at men. But Ada, looking at Judge McCune with her clear eyes, said she was only whistling for practice, although, like every other feminine, she seemed pleased because others were jealous of he attractions.
Ada lives at 2216 Holmes street. With Albert, her brother, she was in court on complaints of neighbors. Her mother was a good lawyer, but she made a mistake when she told that her oldest daughter, 17, was a piano player in a mutoscope show. Judge McCune said he would look further into the case, especially as concerns the girl who plays. Ada, with the whistle, stands to get an early discharge. She is said to be 9 years of age, but looks older.Labels: children, Holmes street, Judge McCune, juvenile court, mutoscope August 6, 1908 JUVENILE COURT IN NEW YORK.
Mrs. Agnes Odell Says It's Conducted Devoid of Sympathy.
Just returned from a visit to New York, where she took a ward of the juvenile court for adoption, Mrs. Agnes Odell of the Detention home registers a knock on court methods in the Biggest Town.
"Juvenile court in New York is not really juvenile court at all, as we understand it," said Mrs. Odell yesterday. "The judge sits high up on his bench, the little ones are brought in much in the fashion of criminals, and the whole atmosphere is devoid of sympathy for the child that might be made a useful member of society.
"I found the personal element, upon which we lay so much stress here, almost entirely neglected. The children are not treated with the consideration that would bring out the best that is in them.
"Another thing I noticed was the low average of intelligence among the probation officers and other officials entrusted with the care of the children. I am frank to say that I saw nothing to compare with Kansas City methods in the methods of handling children, nor in the results achieved."Labels: children, detention home, juvenile court August 1, 1908 ED'S AN INCUBATOR MAKER.
And Five Small Children Followed Him Into Court.
"Where do you work?" asked Judge H. L. McCune in the juvenile court when Ed Hermann of 2122 Madison avenue, followed by his wife and five small children, appeared yesterday to answer to a complaint made by his wife.
"At the Cyphers incubator factory," responded Hermann, at which everybody, even the defendant, laughed.
The case was not tried, but was sent to police court.Labels: Judge McCune, juvenile court July 30, 1908
THEY FOUND A SWEET SINGER.
Juvenile Court Ward Surprised Young Women Settlement Workers.
"San-Ann-toe-nee, Ann-toe-nee-oh ---"
Thirty childish voices split the air with popular music at the Franklin institute yesterday afternoon. It was the singing hour for the children who attend the playgorund next door, and they were having their first lesson in popular music. They sang freely and sweetly and picked up the words of the songs quickly.
The singing hour was instituted by Miss Elenore Casny, who has charge of the playground, yesterday afternoon, as a life-saving device to keep the children from overheating themselves at play. Miss Amos Nichols and Miss Frances Canny volunteered to furnish the music, and the scheme was put through with perfect success. One 12-year-old, Willie Zinn, a ward of the juvenile court, was discovered to have a beautiful voice, and an effort will be made to have it cultivated. Another session of the class will be held today, in the hottest part of the afternoon, and the lessons probably will be continued during the summer. An upstairs room, designed for a kindergarten, will be used.Labels: children, Franklin institute, juvenile court July 22, 1908
ANY BAD BOY WOULD DO.
So Ike Rodencich Thought, and Took
a Neighbor Into Court.
Ike Rodencich of 427 Ann avenue, Kansas City, Kas., was cited before the juvenile court yesterday and was instructed to bring with him his two sons, Joseph and Mathew. It appears from the complaints filed with Judge Van B. Prather, who presides over the juvenile court, that Mr. Rodencich's boys have been causing much trouble in the neighborhood. When Mr. Rodencich appeared with two boys he was asked if they were his sons, Joe and Mat.
"No, sir," he replied, "this is my boy, Mat, but this other lad belongs to one of my neighbors."
"You were instructed to bring both of your boys here," said Judge Prather.
"Oh, I misunderstood you. I thought you said bring the two boys, and this kid right here has been into as much devilment as either one of my boys."
The hearing was postponed until Mr. Rodencich could produce his other son.
Labels: children, Judge Prather, juvenile court, Kansas City Kas June 26, 1908
TRIPLETS' FATHER IS UNDER ARREST.
NEIGHBORS CHARGE HIM WITH NEGLECTING CHILDREN.
He Has Seven, One of Them Being Boaz, Last Remaining of Trip- lets -- Mother of Chil- dren Dead. Martin Curry, father of the much advertised Curry triplets, was arrested yesterday afternoon on a warrant issued out of the juvenile court, Kansas City, Kas., charging him with neglecting his children. He was locked up in the county jail and will be arraigned in the juvenile court today The arrest of Curry was caused by numerous complaints made by neighbors. He has six children beside the one remaining triplet, Boaz, the two others having recently died. It is the older children that he is accused of neglecting. He stated last night that he had in no way neglected his family as far as he knows. He proposes to hire an attorney and fight the case. Under the juvenile court law neglect of children by their parents is punishable by a fine and jail sentence.
On Sunday afternoon December 22 last, triplets were born to Mr. and Mrs. Martin Curry, 2543 Alden avenue, Kansas City, Kas. The babies, two boys and a girl, were all perfectly formed and unusually healthy. Curry is a laborer and, owning to his poor financial circumstances, the people of the two Kansas Citys became deeply interested in his family, especially the triplets, and hundreds of dollars were contributed by the public that the little ones and their mother should not need for anything in the way of care and attention.
The speedy and generous response of the public lifted a load of worry from the father and all went well until the death of Mrs. Curry, which occurred five weeks after the birth of the triplets. The little ones were doing splendidly at that time and the prospects for them to live were pronounced good by the family physician. At the time of Mrs. Curry's death an effort was made to have the triplets placed in a nursery where they might receive the best of care, but the father decided to trust the rearing of the babies to his 17-year-old daughter Bertha.
Ten days ago the babies were taken ill from having been fed sour milk. Ruth died on Wednesday, June 17, followed by the death of David last Sunday. Boaz, the last of the triplets, still lives, but is not in the best of health. Dr. T. C. Benson stated last night that the child was much better than it was a few days ago, and expressed the belief that it would live if properly cared for. It was Dr. Benson that named the triplets, christening them as they were born. Labels: charity, children, death, doctors, illness, juvenile court, Kansas City Kas June 23, 1908 SAVE THEM FOR THE FOURTH.
Police Will Arrest Premature Shoot- ers of Noisy Fireworks.
On account of so many complaints going to Mayor Thomas T. Crittenden, Jr., about the discharge of firearms and the use of explosives and fireworks in the city previous to July 4, Daniel Ahern, chief of police, yesterday sent a special order to all commanding officers in the city, drawing their attention to city ordinance 24883, governing the use of firearms and explosives in the city limits.
The orders are to arrest all persons violating the order but boys. Where those are found the police are to give them a warning and tell their parents. Then if the same boys persist in celebrating prematurely, they are to be arrested and taken before the juvenile court. All those who are old enough to know better anyway, are to be arrested and arraigned in police court.Labels: children, fireworks, juvenile court, Mayor Crittenden, Police Chief Ahern, police court May 2, 1908 HE WAS A MOTHER TO THEM.
Now Wilton's Wife Is Gone, and He'll Have to Be a Father.
The departure of Anna Wilton, fortune teller, for Omaha, leaves Thomas W. Wilton to care for himself and five small children. Thomas visited the children's court yesterday to find out how to make two ends meet. His is not very well versed in the ways of business, as he explained to the court, for the reason that for the past few years his wife has made the living for the family while he has remained at home, cooked, swept and dressed the children for school.
"You've been a better mother to the children," Judge McCune told Thomas yesterday, "than your wife has been a father. We will help you to the best of our ability. The court will care for the children in daytime and let you go out and find work. Some day, if your wife don't return, you can get a divorce from her and, perhaps, alimony."Labels: children, Judge McCune, juvenile court, Omaha April 10, 1908 CHOPPED OFF DOG'S LEGS.
Crime for Which Boy Must Answer in Kansas City, Kas.
William Ross, 15 years old, will be tried in the Kansas City, Kas., juvenile court this morning on the charge of extreme cruelty to animals. It is alleged that Ross, over a week ago, caught a pet dog belonging to P. T. Dodson of Edwardsville, Kas., and by use of a hatchet cut off all four of its legs. Complaint was made Tuesday and the arrest by Probate Officer W. W. Lacey followed.Labels: animals, juvenile court, Kansas City Kas April 5, 1908
JUSTICE AS DISPENSED TO THE JUVENILES.
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS VISIT JUDGE M'CUNE'S COURT.
First Two Boys to Go to Parental Home Are Delos Johnson and Dan Clark, One a Shirker and One a Truant.
Bent upon the study of sociology, the senior class of the Manual Training high school, under the guidance of Miss Annie Gilday, visited the children's court yesterday, presided over by Judge H. L. McCune in the second floor of the court house. There were nearly a hundred students, and they completely filled the court room. Among the gems of practical justice which the overheard were these:
Carl Warden, 3 years old, was brought before the court because he habitually runs away from his mother's home at 1212 Oak street and goes to visit Mrs. Joan Moran, police matron. Mrs. Elizabeth Warden, the mother, said that she took in washing for a living because her husband left her four months ago. She has a 3-months-old baby and Carl to provide for. The court has tried to help her before and gives her the laundry work from the Boys' hotel. She said that every time she turns her back on Carl "he scoots out of the house and goes down the alley like a rabbit." She wanted the court to find a place where she could keep him.
"Can you hold him until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning?" inquired Judge McCune.
"I doubt it," she said.
"Tie a clothes line around one leg and lariat him to a bed post," the judge ordered. "By morning we will have found a place, perhaps at the Institutional church, where he can be kept."
"I'll tie him up until an officer comes tomorrow," said the mother.
Carl fell asleep in the "bad boy's chair" while his fate was being decided and, when his mother woke him up, cried lustily.
"This is the first outing I've had in three years," remarked Robert Fisher's mother, when she came to court yesterday to defend the lad. Robert's father reported the boy as incorrigible. The mother told the court that the boy is all right. She said she would rather keep the boy than keep her husband. Judge McCune continued the case to give the officers time to investigate the conflicting stories.
Two boys were given reform school sentences. They are Columbus Pitts, who returned to Kansas City from Coffeyville, Kas., to which town the court a week ago sentenced him for life, and George Saide, a colored boy.
Two lads were sent to the parental home with Thomas N. Hughes and Mrs. Hughes, recently appointed to run the place. They will open the home today, using first a six-room farm house, now standing. The county will erect other buildings as they are needed. There will be a school house for truants by fall. Hughes and his wife attended court yesterday and went away with their boys.
One of the lads is Delos Johnson, who ran away from St. Louis and came to Kansas City last fall. His mother came here to find him and stayed here because he liked this city. She bought furniture on the installment plan, furnished a home at 512 Oak street, and the children's court got Delos a position at $20 a month so that he could help his mother pay for their new home. He quit his hob, because the boss asked him to scrub a floor. A second position he resigned because he was asked to wash a spittoon. There will be floors for him to scrub at the parental home.
The other charter member of the home is Dan Clark of 911 Wyandotte street. There's nothing the matter with Dan, except that he has insisted for two years on playing marbles and shinny, when he should have been attending the Lathrop school.Labels: children, Judge McCune, juvenile court, Oak street, police matron, schools, Wyandotte street February 19, 1908 SAYS AN OUTLAW CARRIED OFF WIFE
AFTER HE HAD BURNED MECUM'S HOUSE AND BARN.
Now Mecum Is Trailing Them, Very Leisurely, in a Covered Wagon.
Esta Mecum and John Mellinger, each aged 12 years, were yesterday ordered detained by Judge H. L. McCune, sitting in the juvenile court, until homes can be found for them with relatives or others able to provide for them. This will enable Esta's father to continue the hunt for the boy's mother "and that there outlaw Tom Hopkins," as old man Mecum designated a former friend.
"He is an outlaw, is he?" inquired Judge McCune of the witness, Mecum, who was before the bar to explain why he was making the boy sell silver polish while he himself was buying beer.
"I think he is," said the rustic Sherlock Holmes. "I had 20 acres up in Michigan and he and my woman sat fire to the house and barn and said that the Indians had done it. Then he ran away with this boy's mother, and I set out to trial them."
"Indians up there?" Judge McCune inquired.
"There's a reservation; yes sir."
Sherlock's account of his trail was touching. He had been overhauled with a man named John Mellinger, father of a boy named likewise, the boy being then before the court.
"They tell me you and Mellinger were making these boys sell the silver polish while you and he drank up the proceeds. What is Mellinger to you?"
"Nothin' much, I kinder suspect him."
"More of your detective work?" the court asked.
"I reckon you'd call it that. He knows where my wife and Tom Hopkins are."
Humane officer McCrary said that if the ametuer detective would take a peep in the holdover, he would see his friend there, safe and sound, awaiting investigation.
The court took charge of the two boys until permanent homes can be found for them. Mecum said that he was a stone mason by trade but admitted he did not want a job -- "Not just now, anyway." He added, "I want to follow my wife and that outlaw, Tom Hopkins. They's gone north again."
He is following in a covered wagon. He explained that when Mrs. Mecum decamped she shipped the boy before the court to "Busy Bee Arizona." He meant Bisby.Labels: custody, Judge McCune, juvenile court, Native Americans February 11, 1908 SANG BENEATH HER WINDOW.
So Concetta Paolo, Wife of Another, Is Sent to a Refuge.
The Italian girl who ran away from her husband of three months in St. Paul, Minn., and came to Kansas City with Paul Dominick, who was best man at her wedding, was yesterday transferred from the detention home to the House of the Good Shepherd. Dominick, who was fined in police court for vagrancy, is at large, and night before last came and sang beneath the window of the girl's cell in the detention home.
The girl will be held here by order of the children's court until money is obtained from her parents in St. Paul, when she will be put on a train with a ticket for home. She is kept locked up so that Dominick cannot talk with her.
In the children's court yesterday the girl said that her real name is not Rose Trapiss, but is Concetta Paolo. She told Judge H. L. McCune that she would never return to her husband, but would be glad if he could send her back to her mother. When asked if she loved Dominick, she sat silent.
Concetta is only 15 years old, but looks two years older. She is so beautiful that, despite her shabby clothes, people, who had seats in the court room, stood up to gaze at her.Labels: detention home, immigrants, Judge McCune, juvenile court, romance, vagrancy February 4, 1908 HE WANTED TO IMPERSONATE.
Female Role Was the Ambition of Fred Coyle, Who Swiped $2.
When Fred Coyle was arrested last week, charged with stealing $2, he told the police he took the money for the sake of his starving parents. Yesterday he admitted to Judge McCune in the juvenile court that he had taken it to pay himself for a disputed bill.
"I would like to know a little more about this," said Judge McCune to Truant Officer Erskine, who had the case in charge. "Bring up Signor Salvini."
"Signor Salvini" turned out to be Pat Myers, who said he was a cook. Pat did not say it, but Fred said it for him, that onceupon a time he used to be an actor.
"The boy told me he wanted to get on the stage," said the signor.
"Wanted to be an actor, did he?" the judge submitted.
"Yes, sir-r," said Pat. "A female impersonator," he added.
"I think it was him," said the actor-looking cook. "I think it was him who stole my wife's petticoats. She lost six, and a dress. When a lady downstairs moved out, I went into a room Fred was using and found some women's clothes. We figured out he was rehearsing to go on stage."
"I do not know whether to believe the last story or not," said the judge, "but I certainly do not believe the one the boy told about stealing to keep his parents from starving. I'll hold him for a day or two to investigate further."Labels: children, clothing, Judge McCune, juvenile court January 23, 1908 COURT TAKES SIX CHILDREN.
From the Hughes Maternity Hospital on Washington Avenue.
Probate Judge Van B. Prather of Kansas City, Kas., who also presides over the juvenile court, yesterday held a session of his court at the maternity hospital on Washington avenue, conducted by Dr. U. S. G. Hughes. Six babies recently born at the institution were declared wards of the court on the grounds that they were neglected and dependent.
These infants must now be adopted through legal process of the juvenile court Heretofore the babies have been given away without the adoption being made a matter of public record. A short time ago Judge Prather decided that all children born in and offered for adoption at any maternity hospital should first be declared wards of the court, and all adoptions be made legal.Labels: children, hospitals, Judge Prather, juvenile court, Kansas City Kas January 1, 1908
THIS FATHER DISLIKES WORK.
Children of Edward Wanger May Become Court Wards. The juvenile court will undoubtedly not be held behind closed doors or with a curtain drawn for a few minutes next Monday morning, nor will Judge McCune care to have any offenders appear before him holding barrels around them, but unless something can be done officers will be baffled to know how they will bring the family of Edward Wanger, three miles east of Swope Park, into court to be tried. Probation Officer A. Cole went to that home yesterday on complaint of neighbors and found the family in most destitute circumstances. There are four children and a mother, who, it is alleged, the father refuses to support. Officer Cole stated yesterday that the entire family was without clothing, food, or fuel. The children were hovered around the mother and did not posses clothing enough to cover themselves, while the mother was in little better circumstances. They live in a two-room hut and have a few dogs. The father is said to have an aversion to work and the family might have starved but for the investigation, made by Officer Cole yesterday. "But I am worrying about what these children will wear when they come into court," said Officer Cole. "They have no clothing, and I have ordered the family to appear for trial next Monday. The father is charged with neglecting his children. Labels: children, juvenile court December 22, 1907 TIED PLAYMATE TO A POST.
Willie Bear Is Also Charged With Shooting at Him.
Willie Bear, 15 years old, of Twenty-fifth street and Brooklyn avenue, is in a cell at the detention home awaiting trial Monday in the children's court on the charge of tying John Wiess of 3409 Garfield avenue, a playmate, to a post and shooting at him with a target rifle.
Willie admits tying John up, but says he didn't try to shoot him. They boys were playing "Teddy, or How Can a Bob Cat Escape?"Labels: Brooklyn avenue, children, detention home, Garfield avenue, juvenile court, Twenty-fifth street October 30, 1907 JUDGE M'CUNE IN DOUBT.
Non-Committal Opinion of a Visitor to His Court.
"Like other men, I like to hear something in the way of approval of my public work," said Circuit Judge H. L. McCune yesterday, "and occasionally I do hear it. I am doubtful, however, about what Jim Smith's father said of my juvenile court yesterday."
The Mr. Smith referred to is 93 years of age, a stately old man.
"He spent the whole day in the juvenile court watching the proceedings," Judge McCune explained, "and I supposed he must have been agreeably surprised at the summary way in which business is dispatched. He saw thirty or forty criminal cases put on trial and disposed of in a single day.
" 'What do you think about it, Mr. Smith?' I inquired, prepared for the usual complimentary remark about the system.
" 'It is the damdest court I was ever in,' the patriarch responded."
Now Judge McCune wants to know.Labels: courtroom, Judge McCune, juvenile court, Seniors October 22, 1907 TRAGEDIES OF CHILDHOOD
DRIFT FROM BROKEN HOMES INTO JUVENILE COURT.
"Parents Separated" the Burden of Pathetic Stories Heard by Judge McCune -- Many Sent to Booneville.
"Parents separated" was the brief but sadly expressive story borne by a majority of the cases that came before Judge McCune at the regular session of the juvenile court yesterday. After it was added the pitiful detail of petty crime and wrong doing that the developments in the case showed was, in most cases, "born in the flesh and bred in the bones" of the young offenders present.
Judge McCune was quick to grasp the threads that led unmistakably back and beyond the little culprits before him, and "another chance" was the rule rather than the exception.
Ben Moore, who stood head and shoulders taller than his mother, was given a bad name by Chief Probation Officer Mathias, which is an unusual occurrence. "He is just a loafer," he told the court, "and in spite of our best efforts will not be anything else. We have found him jobs and helped him time and time again, but it is no use; he is a bad lot. His father and mother are separated and the woman can do nothing with him."
The mother, with tears streaming down her face, acknowledged the truth of the officer's assertions, and the boy was sent to the Boonville reform school for four years.
James Flaigle was accused of being a truant. He said his father wanted him to work in his store on Union avenue and the court was in possession of a letter bearing out the assertion. His father thought the experience of the store would be enough of an education, but Judge McCune could not see it in that light, and the youngster was ordered to go to school, which he smilingly promised to do.
HENRY DIDN'T CARE.
Henry Reisner ran away from his home in St. Louis because, he said, his father abused his mother. He came to Kansas City and was gathered in by the police while wandering about the streets. He didn't seem much interested in the proceedings pertaining to himself, anyway, and the court decided to send him home.
A West Prospect place woman was present to say that her son, who is on parole for past misdemeanors, was too ill to attend the court. When the court officers commented upon the mother's strong odor of whiskey, she calmly told the court that she had "inherited that breath." Judge McCune was moved to remark that he had heard of its being acquired in every other way but by inheritance. The woman finally departed, explaining things to herself after everyone else had refused to listen.
Charles Riggs, 13 years of age, 4322 East Fourteenth street, was up or the fourth or fifth time for violating his parole, playing hookey and numerous other bad things. His father and mother have separated, and the latter was in court to defend her son. Judge McCune said he must go to Boonville, and the mother said he shouldn't. When the court finally threatened to have her locked up if she did not stop her interference she allowed the child to be led away.
FRED CAME FROM WICHITA
Fred Corp of Wichita came to Kansas City with a load of cattle. He had nothing to do with cattle but just came along to see the sights and have a good time. Upon his arrival he got separated from the men he came with and the police picked him up at 3 'clock Thursday morning. He told the court of his experiences through many tears. When arrested he had $3.05 in his pockets. The necessary amount of this will be invested in a ticket for Wichita today.
Tony Lapentino, who has been behaving badly, and has claimed the attention of the court many times, was sent to Boonville for four years. Ethel Ackley, a sweet-faced girl of 9 years, whose mother is dead and whose father was charged with deserting her, will be provided for in some charitable institution.
Terrence Quirk, one of the boys who recently located and equipped with small arms a Wild West camp on the outskirts of the city, enrolled for the Boonville institution.
Ellen, Allen and Howard Collins, who were recently found in a destitute and suffering condition in the rear of the premises at 911 Paseo, will be cared for until other arrangements can be made at the North end day nursery. Their mother is in a hospital and the father incompetent to provide for his family.Labels: children, Fourteenth street, Judge McCune, juvenile court, North end, Paseo, reform school, St Louis, Union avenue September 17, 1907
HIS SECOND TIME IN COURT.
Frank Clarken Is Only 9 but He Is Making a Record.
Frank Clarken, 9 years old, of 1734 Locust street, was before the juvenile court yesterday for taking six sacks and selling them to a junk man at Eighteenth street and Charlotte streets.
"I was teasing a lady," the urchin replied.
A search through the records disclosed the fact that Frank had broken a lamp belonging to a neighbor of his mother's and when the owner of the lamp had remonstrated with him he had called her "an old witch." The court sent him back home and told him to be a good boy. Labels: Charlotte street, children, Eighteenth street, Judge McCune, juvenile court, Locust street September 10, 1907
THE FATHER WEPT IN COURT.
And Then His 2-Year-Old Son Began to Wail Aloud.
Mike Ross, a fireman living at 1519 Franklin street, was before the juvenile court yesterday because he had failed to pay $2 a week for the care of his 2-year-old son, Jim, who has been living with Mrs. Marie Strauss, 1311 Crystal avenue, since Ross' wife left him.
"I want to take the boy and I'll give him a good home," Mike said. "I don't pay the woman the money because she won't let me see the boy."
"Mike was drinking and I was afraid," Mrs. Straus explained.
"The law says," Judge Porterfield broke in, "the law says, Mike, that you must support your child even if you never see him. We can put you in jail if you don't care for him.
"And you, Mrs. Straus, must let Mike see his child whenever he wants to."
"All I want is justice; I love the boy," Mike said and he began to cry. Little Jim, seeing his father in tears, climbed on his lap and wailed aloud. Mike and Mrs. Straus went away together, Mike carrying the child.Labels: children, Crystal avenue, custody, Franklin street, Judges, juvenile court September 10, 1907
ATE HIS CAKE IN COURT.
Sammy Hopkins Visits the Juvenile Court and Likes It.
Sammy Hopkins, 4 years old, was visiting the juvenile court yesterday. He was accompanied by an aunt, but she couldn't keep track of him.
"May I eat a piece of sweet cake after the judge gets here?" Sammy asked Dr. E. L. Mathias, probation officer, just before the afternoon session took up. "Yes, if the judge doesn't catch you at it," the doctor said.
So, while Judge E. E. Porterfield sat at the table and heard case after case, Sammy slipped up to the judge's bench, hid behind it and ate a piece of ginger bread. Then with the crumbs on his face, he crawled up into the chair and looked at the judge's back. He was a cute little tyke, and he wore a cap on his head that attracted considerable attention.
Judge Porterfield turned around to look at the boy, and he slid off the chair and crawled back under the bench.
There he went exploring and finally found a piece of gum sticking on the underside of the bench. Manipulating this with outh and fingers, he came running to his aunt to show what he had found.
"Take it back," she whispered, "it belongs to the judge."
So Sammy took the gum back and stuck it where he had found it under the bench.
"I'm going to be in court regular some day," Sammy said, after his aunt had prevailed upon him to talk for publication. "I hopped a street car once and had a policeman chase me half a block.
"Mamma calls me Sammy, but my real name is S. R. I live at 2808 Bell. I go to Sunday school on Nineteenth street near the school house."
Sammy stayed until the court was adjourned at 5 o'clock. Before he left he hunted up Dr. Mathias:
"The judge didn't catch me, did he?" were Sammy's parting words.Labels: Bell street, children, doctors, Judges, juvenile court, Nineteenth street August 20, 1907
FLORENCE WALKER CAUGHT.
Girl Who Escaped From Detention Home Again in Custody.
Acting on a "tip" that Florence Walker, one of the three girls who made a sensational escape from the deteintion home last December, could be found at Carnival park, Edgar Warden, acting chief probationary officer, effected her capture early yesterday morning amid a dramatic scene and returned her to the home. She will be taken to the Girls' Training School in Chillicothe, probably today, to where she was sentenced to four years' confinement just previous to her escape.
The belief that the Walker girl and her companions were aided in their escape by persons outside the institution who feared for their own safety from the law and was the impelling motive for the daring act lent color to the affiar, which at the time created a small sensation.
Accompanied by the brother of the Walker gir's companion Warden went to Carnival park. After several hours' search she and the other girl were found in the company of two young men. Warden placed both girls under arrest, but says he had some difficulty in obtaining their conssent to return to issouri. Upon threat of turning them over to the Kansas authorities they were persuaded, it is said, to return to the detention home. The companion of the Walker girl was tried in juvenile court yesterday morning and paroled in the custody of her mother.Labels: Carnival Park, detention home, juvenile court July 2, 1907
A BOY ACTS AS 'JUDGE'
"KANGAROO" COURT WHILE WAITING FOR REAL JURIST.
Juveniles Play "Big" Until Judge McCune Comes, and Then Young- ster in Chair Goes to Reform School.
"This court will now behave!" said Joe Tint, and incorrigible 12-year-old of 1902 McGee street, as he called a kangaroo court to order in the witness room of the juvenile court yesterday morning. There was half an hour to spare before Judge H. L. McCune was to arrive, and the children, whose cases were set for yesterday, all got a sentence from Joe in that half hour.
"Who are these people?" Joe asked, pointing to three boys sitting disconsolately in a corner. "These people" were Ralph, Orpha and Leota Hill, waifs found recently alone in a house at 2101 Vine street.
"They are the Hillocks," suggested one.
"Naw, theys just foothills," said Joe. "Foothills, stand up! I sentence each of you to a square meal. Draw on 'Doc' Mathias for the grub."
"What are you in here for?" Joe asked of Joe Shaeffer.
"He stole $1.04 from a man," said Carl Robinson, who thereby appointed himself prosecuting attorney.
"Did the man have any more money? asked Joe.
"Yes, I guess so," the prisoner said.
"Ninety-nine years for you. Why didn't you get all of it?"
"What's that under that straw stack there in the corner?" the court inquired. Oh, it's a negro, is it? Well, take off your hat. You stole a dollar and spent it for fireworks, I believe. You ain't old enough to burn money. Four years for you."
Just then the real court convened and Kangaroo Judge Joe was called.
Joe has been in and out of juvenile court for four years and was sentenced to the reform school in May, 1903. He was paroled in April, 1904. he was before the court for quitting thirteen jobs which had been found for him.
"I'm sorry to have to sentence you, Joe," Judge McCune said to Joe, "but you'll have to back to the reform school for four years.Labels: children, fireworks, Judge McCune, juvenile court, McGee street, reform school June 25, 1907
"I'LL BE GOOD," DEWEY SOBBED.
Operation to Reform Boy Who Steals Horses.
Dewey Marcuvitz, the 8-year old boy with a record for stealing horses, was operated upon by Dr. J. S. Lichenberg at his office yesterday morning and the lad's tonsils removed. The operation was at the suggestion of Dr. E. L. Mathias, of the juvenile court, who said that it might mean an improvement in the boy's character.
Dewey did not like the operation at all. He cried before he was placed under the influence of an anesthetic and when he revived he pleaded with the surgeon to send him home quickly.
"That's all right, my boy," said David Marcuvitz, his father. "You'll be a fine boy now. But if you get into mischief again, I will bring you up here and let the doctor chop at you again.
"I'll be good," Dewey sobbed.Labels: children, doctors, juvenile court May 14, 1907 BREAKS UP BOYS' GANG.
In the Juvenile Court Yesterday Judge McCune Lectured the Father When He Objected to the Decision.
Seven little boys, from 9 to 12 years of age, charged with being the "Sixteenth Street Gang," train hoppers and coal thieves, were before Judge McCune, of the juvenile court, yesterday afternoon.
"The boys sit on the rails of the Belt line tracks," said James H. Knapp, of the Knapp & Coumbe Construction Company, a witness, "and try to scare the engineer of the approaching trains. When the engine is within a few feet of them, they jump up like frogs and get off the track. If the engineer sticks his head out of the cab to talk to them, they make finger signs at him."
There were other witnesses against the boys -- three truancy officers and W. K. Miller, flagman for the Belt line at Sixteenth street. They said that the boys made a practice of stealing coal and hopping on trains.
"I pointed out to the boys," Miller told the court, "the place where a boy was killed last year jumping on a train. It wasn't ten feet from where these boys repeat the practice. But they only laughed at me.
"They sit up on the cars and kick the coal off. Then they get down, pick it up, and haul it away in little wagons. The gang has two wagons."
The seven boys before the court were; Willie Eft, 10 years old; Martin Eft, 9 years old, both of 1511 College avenue; Henning Broman, 12 years old, of 3113 East Sixteenth street; Harry Wright, 11 years old, of 3208 East Sixteenth street, Edward Blickhan, 11 years old, and Harris Blickhan, 10 years old, both of 1612 College avenue; Earl Frizzell, 12 years old, of 3208 East Sixteenth street.
All of the boys, with the exception of Earl Frizzell, admitted that they hopped on trains and stole coal. The Blickhan boys took the coal home and the other s sold it for 15 cents a wagon load, they said. Willie Eft and Henning Broman owned the two wagons.
Edward J. Blickhan, father of the Blickhan boys, appeared to defend his offspring, but he did more harm than good. He told the court that they had been sick with tonsillitis for two weeks and could not go to school. He denied all knowledge of their bringing coal home, but the court stated that he preferred to believe the boys' own statement that they had brought coal home and put it in the box by the kitchen stove. When the Blickhan boys were rounded up by the truancy officers last Thursday their hair hung over their shoulders and they were so ragged that Miller told the officers that he thought they were orphans. Yesterday afternoon they wore new suits and had their hair clipped short.
Judge McCune turned Earl Frizzell loose, as he had been with the "gang" only one day, ordered a home in the country found for Willie Eft and released the other boys with the understanding that they attend school and quit playing among the railway yards.
When Blickhan protested against the court holding his boys, Judge McCune said:
"You don't care if your boys get killed playing in the yards, so long as they fill your coal box. I don't want to hear another word from you. You have violated the law yourself."
Henry Eft, 13 years old, a brother of Willie and Martin, now has a reform school sentence hanging over him and is at work.Labels: Belt line, children, College avenue, Judge McCune, juvenile court, railroad, reform school, Sixteenth street April 23, 1907 GIRLS WEEP AT SEPARATION.
Parting or Detention Home the Alternative Offered to Them.
Nina Turner, 12 years old, of 712 Lydia avenue, and Lena Vickrey, 13 years old, 1700 East Tenth street, were taken before Judge McCune, in the juvenile court yesterday afternoon because they refused to stay at home and attended cheap theaters. As soon as the girls entered the room and realized that they were in court, both burst out crying, and did not stop throughout the trial.
The judge made frequent attempts to quiet them, and when he had made both wards of the court, and told them to go to their homes, on the condition that they would not "chum" together, he looked for the expected smile. But it did not come. Only more tears.
"What are you crying for now?" inquired the judge. "I have told you you could go home, and would like to see what you look like before you do.
Lena was the first to speak. "I don't w-a-a-nt to -- be separated from Nina," she wailed, and the two put their arms about each other's necks. They told the judge, however, that they would rather be separated and live in their homes than to be together in the detention home, and it was so decided.Labels: children, detention home, Judge McCune, juvenile court, Lydia avenue, Tenth street April 1, 1907 PERRY BROCK ONCE AGAIN.
After Escape From Detention Home Takes Team to Aid in Flight.
A sentence of four years in the reform school did not seem to affect the criminal ardor of Perry Brock, for after escaping from the detention home Saturday, where he was waiting to be sent to Boonville, he stole a team of horses and wagon belonging to S. G. Davis, a farmer west of Quindaro, about noon yesterday and three hours later was arrested in the West bottoms. He admitted the theft to Captain Ennis at No. 2 police station. The farmer says he will prosecute.
Brock was sentenced to the reform school last Friday by Judge McCune, of the juvenile court, for stealing chickens in Englewood and Mount Washington. When but 10 years old, he kidnaped a 3-year-old child in the south part of the city and locked him in a closet of a vacant house where he was found three days later by prospective tenants of the place.Labels: crime, criminal court, detention home, Judge McCune, juvenile court, Mt. Washington, No 2 police station, police, reform school, West bottoms March 30, 1907 MUSIC KEPT PUPILS AWAY.
Italian Bandmaster Offers to Change Hours of Practice and Is Released.
A. Kantizarro, manager of a boys' band, was before the juvenile court yesterday afternoon on complaint of teachers of the Karnes and Washington ward schools, who accuse him of enticing boys away from the schools to play in his band. The teachers stated that some ten or fifteen boys had been ruined for school purposes through he influence of Kantizarro and his band, and that many truancy cases were caused by the demands of the Italian for the boys to play at funerals, etc. The bandmaster promised to make his practice hours such as not to interfere with the school work of his boys, and to relieve them from funeral duty on school days, and the case was dismissed.Labels: children, Funeral, juvenile court, music, schools March 30, 1907
BABY HAD THE MEASLES.
Woman in Court Declared It Was Only a "Cold."
Mrs. A. N. McGuire was before the juvenile court yesterday afternoon as a witness in one of the cases pending. She held in her arms a small baby which seemed to be ill.
"What's the matter with that child?" demanded Judge McCune abruptly as he happened to notice the little one, "Is it sick?"
"Yes, it seems to have a bad cold," answered the mother carelessly.
Dr. Matthias of the detention home examined the child a moment or two.
"This baby has the measles," he announced, and there was a small scattering of the bystanders who were not immune. Mrs. McGuire and the child were removed from the court room and the little one given medical attention.Labels: detention home, doctors, illness, Judge McCune, juvenile court March 26, 1907 A BOY'S AWFUL CRIME.
For Taking Marbles Worth One-Third of a Cent He Is Under Arrest
Frank Herd, 13 years old, was sent from his home at 615 West Twenty-third street at 4 p. m. yesterday to renew his father's license as a stationary engineer, in passing a 10-cent store near Twelfth and Main streets he was attracted by a large display of marbles. Young Herd stopped and picked up three of the smallest ones. He was arrested, taken to police headquarters and later locked up in the detention home for trial by the juvenile court.
As the lad did not return home, Philip G. Herd, who is now clerk at the workhouse, went to inquire about him. He thought the boy had been injured, but was indignant when he was told what had occurred.
"It is an outrage," said Mr. Herd. "The boy picked up the marbles just as a man will pick up beans or coffee from a sack. They are what the boys call "tooticks" and sell for about ten for a cent. There are three or four other boys being held for the same offense -- if it is an offense."Labels: children, crime, detention home, juvenile court, Main street, police headquarters, Twelfth street, Twenty-third street March 23, 1907 STATE MAKES HER AN ORPHAN.
"I've No Father," Says This Girl -- "He's in Texas."
A little girl was before Judge McCune of the juvenile court yesterday. She was there as a neglected child and she looked forlorn enough.
"Are either of your parents here?" asked Judge McCune.
"No, sir," replied the girl, timidly, "I'm an orphan."
"Haven't any father, either?"
"No sir," went on the child, "he's in Texas."Labels: children, Judge McCune, juvenile court February 23, 1907
ADOPTED A NINTH CHILD.
Mrs. Fanny Savage, Highwayman's Wife, Accused of Neglect.
When Mike Savage, alias O'Brien, was arrested by Detectives Kenny and Ghent on a charge of highway robbery, at his home, 417 East Eighteenth street, the night of February 14, those officers reported to Colonel J. C. Greenman, Humane agent, that a little 5-month old baby was being kept there in squalor, wretchedness and misery.
Yesterday morning Dr. E. L. Matthias, of the juvenile court and Mrs. Kate Pearson, of the Associated Charities, went to the Eighteenth street house, while Mrs. Fanny Savage, the baby's foster mother, was away and took the little one to Mercy hospital, Fifth street and Highland avenue, where it is said to be in precarious condition.
When Mrs. Savage returned home she was taken before Colonel Greenman for investigation and asked why she had adopted a child of such a tender age and then had neglected it. She said her husband saw it at St. Anthony's home and "took pity on it" and for that reason she adopted it -- "just because my husband wanted me to," she said. "I have eight of my own now and five of them are at home."
Savage, James Severwright, Samuel Hite and Herman, alias "Dutch" Gall, are all confessed highwaymen now in the county jail awaiting trial.Labels: Associated Charities, Col. J. C. Greenman, crime, custody, Eighteenth street, Highland avenue, highway robbery, jail, juvenile court, Mercy hospital, St Anthonys Home
February 4, 1907
HIS STORY A FAKE.
W. DALTON, "OF NEW YORK," REALLY OF ARMOURDALE.
MOVED A JUDGE TO TEARS.
YOUNG ROMANCER WHO MANY WANTED TO ADOPT.
After Court Officers Had Found Him a Good Home His Mother Tells Them They Were Taken In by a Juvenile Munchausen.
There seems to be a joke on somebody.
Walter Dalton, the "friendless orphan" boy who told Judge McCune in the juvenile court last Friday of his many and superlative vicissitudes after the death of his father and mother in New York and his abuse by a stepfather, how he slept in doorways there and finally beat his way to Kansas City on 9-cents because he wanted to come West where he could make a good man of himself, really lives in Armourdale and has never even seen New York. His mother, who lives there also, called at the Detention home yesterday to see this young Munchausen.
When he told his tear-stained story to Judge McCune Friday the judge and the spectators wiped their streaming eyes and sent out their hearts to give poor motherless Walter comfort.
"You look like a good boy," said Judge McCune out of the fullness of his heart (as he blew his nose suspiciously, as is proper under such stress), "but you haven't had much of a chance. We'll find you a good home and a good job where you won't have anything to do but work and nothing to eat but food and no place to sleep but in a feather bed."
"Thank you kindly, sir," sobbed Walter. "I will indeed be grateful. That's all I've been looking for and your generosity moves me. I shall do all in my power to show you how I appreciate it."
A court official led Walter away weeping and the court dried its judicial eyes and blowing its judicial nose again, called the next case.
Then the newspaper reporters wrote the story and splashed it liberally with salty tears and the next day twenty yearning philanthropists, looking for a husky boy who in turn was yearning to do a man's work for his board and clothes and a few kind words, besieged the office of the probation officer where Walter was wallowing in the fat of the county, and one of them took him triumphantly away in the face of the deep throated clamorings of the others.
When Dalton left the Detention building for his new home he was fitted out by loving hands with new clothing throughout, including a nice warm overcoat.
So much for the first installment.
Yesterday a frail, thinly clad dim-eyed woman accompanied by an ill-clothed boy of 7 appeared at the Detention home.
"Have you got a boy here named Water Dalton?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am," replied one of the officers, "but I am sorry to say, you are too late, much as we appreciate your sympathy in favor of the friendless orphan. We have already found him a good home."
"Home," replied the woman. "Home? He already had a home and I'm his mother."
"But my dear madam," returned the astonished officer, "his mother is dead."
"I don't look very dead, do I? Well I'm his mother all right and he lives with me in Armourdale -- that is, when he isn't running away. I ought to know whether I'm his mother or not, oughtn't I?"
"Y-yes. But he said he came here from New York."
"New York, fiddlesticks. I've known him pretty well for sixteen years, which is as old as he is, and if he was ever farther East than Sheffield I never heard of it."
"But his father --"
"Father, nuthin'. Dalton skinned out years ago and left me to support this boy and that 'waif' you picked up from New York and found a good home for. But he won't be there long. As soon as he gets enough to eat and the weather gets warmer he'll be gone again. I know him.. He's no good."
"But, Judge ----" "Yes, I know what the judge said. The truth of the matter is that boy can outlie a press agent. I'm his mother and I know. New York! The only other town that boy ever lived in was Omaha, and he was in jail there three times for stealing that I know of -- and maybe more. Did he keep his eyes on the floor sort of solemn like while he was telling the judge the magazine story?"
The officer remembered that he did.
"That was Walter, all right," said the woman. "He always keeps his eyes on the floor and talks low when he's drilling for tears."
"But his stepfather beat--"
"Stepfather! He never had a stepfather. I know when I've had enough. The only person I've ever expected to help me along since Dalton left was Walter, and instead of that I've had to support him. Oh, yes, he would work occasionally, but it didn't do me much good.
"The last time I saw him was Friday morning a week ago. I put up his lunch for him and started him to work. The next I heard of him I read in the papers what a good boy he was and what a good man he was going to make and --and the rest of it. It was news to me.
"Well," she added in leaving, "I'm glad Walter is a good boy and has a good home and is going to be a good and great man. It relieves me of a good deal."
Walter Dalton is 16 years old. He was arrested by the police one night last week begging on the streets. He told a pitiful story of having been left an orphan in New York city and told it in such a plausible way that he made more friends in ten minutes than an honest boy could get together in a lifetime of uprightness. His new home is on a farm a few miles from Kansas City.
Labels: Armourdale, con artist, detention home, Judge McCune, juvenile court, Omaha, sheffield January 21, 1907
GETS CHILDREN BACK.
For Some Time Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Adams Have Been Trying to Secure Them From the Courts
Probate Judge Van B. Prather, who is also judge of the juvenile court in Kansas City, Kas., yesterday ordered that the four children of Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Adams, who were taken away from their parents by Judge Freeman last summer, be returned to them. It was alleged last summer that Adams had deserted his family and that Mrs. Adams was not a fit person to have charge of them. The children, who range in age from 8 to 13 years, were placed in charitable institutions for adoption, and all of them except the eldest child, Daisy, were adopted. Daisy was sent to the Soldiers' Orphan home in Atchison, Kas. and was in court yesterday.
It was proved yesterday that Mrs. Adams is a woman of good character and that Adams did not desert his family. He is now employed at the Swift packing house and went to Fort |
