The official opening is not until Wednesday. But Henry Campbell, 11, is here now. So Judge Richard Tuthill, showing the flexibility essential in juvenile court, convenes the first in the world two days early.
Campbell, of 84 Hudson Avenue, is accused of stealing. The complainants are his parents, Frank and Lena Campbell. They are present in court. Along with a crowd of reformers.
As with most social change, the Illinois Act to Regulate the Treatment and Control of Dependent Neglected and Delinquent Children did not happen quickly or by accident, but required years of effort. The idea is to keep children under 16 out of Chicago jails and downstate prisons, where they are housed with hardened criminals.
Henry's teary mother doesn't want him in an institution. “Judge, Henry isn't a bad boy at heart,” she says. “I know he's been led into trouble by others.” She urges that her son be sent to live with his grandmother in upstate New York to “escape the surroundings that have caused the mischief.” Judge Tuthill agrees.
Before hearing the next case — four boys “of tender years” incarcerated at the poorhouse at Dunning — Tuthill, a Civil War vet, reads aloud the last part of the new act.
Officers finding a wayward or neglected child, Tuthill says, should not use undue haste in hurrying the little one into court, but should confer with parents or clergy, using every effort to set the child right without resorting to an arrest, save as a final measure.
He urges that law, when applied to children, always be “liberally construed.”
"He was born 9 Oct 1889 and died 4 Feb 1946 in Chicago," she writes. "He married a woman named Evelyn, but died young at 56."
Although only a little young. The male life expectancy in 1946 was 62. Here's the family appearance in the 1900 census. Thanks Jill.
I like reading about life in a different lifetime. This column is no exception. I read it early this AM and did not have a comment at the time. But something has been niggling at me, so here I am back. Its actually a technical question about Henry and the societal norms of 1899. If Henry's parents were the complainants and wanted to send their child to live with his grandmother in another state, why go through the courts at all? You added a critical detail - the Judge read the last part of the new act aloud, which addressed this very question. So my guess is the judge thought the first case before him was perhaps unnecessary. But was it the norm then to bring your children before the court for stealing and beg that they not be institutionalized?
ReplyDeleteI couldn't find anything about the case other than the court records. "Henry Campbell" being a very common name. I got the sense that he was an incorrigible child and the parents called the cops trying to forestall worse.
DeleteIt sounded to me that he was not only a hardcore thief, but that he stole from his own parents, who were probably impoverished and struggling and stumped for a solution. But they did not want him arrested and jailed, where he would only learn about more criminal enterprises (and probably be molested) by older criminals.
DeleteMaybe they were even so broke (thanks, Henry!) that they were hoping the state would pony up the train fare to upstate New York, and guarantee his arrival at Grandma's place. Chicago was a cesspool of criminality at the turn of the last century. And young Henry needed a change of venue.
When Henry was born, U.S. male life expectancy was 44, By the time he died at 56, just after WWII, it was in the mid-60s, so he didn't really die young...not for those times.. Whole different story today, when male life expectancy for makes in this country has reached 78. Dying at 56 now means dying young. At the turn of the 20th century, that made you a geezer.
ReplyDeleteInfant and child mortality rates have decreased greatly...which accounts for the increase in life expectancy.. Medical advancements, fewer wars, and improved living standards also mean that people are living longer..
Despite the overall increase, life expectancy has fallen three times--during the Civil War, during the First World War and the Spanish Flu epidemic, and again in the past decade. Causes include unbalanced diets, sedentary lifestyles, high medical costs, and higher rates of suicide and drug use.
So perhaps when the merchants of doom maintain that the present is so much worse than even the recent past, they ain't just a-woofin'. Maybe someday, the early 21st century will be looked upon as the bad old days. ,One can only hope that these are not the good old days..
The Juvenile Court lobby card image is interesting in this context. The nominal star of the film, Frankie Darro, was indeed born right here in Chicago. A promising youngster. I think his major film appearance was in Wild Boys of the Road. An under appreciated Depression era drama about disillusioned youth. Darro played young toughs and urchins quite often. He also did the voice of Lampwick in Pinnochio. The bad little boy who's turned into a mule? And of course there were Frankie Darro's comic mysteries where he worked with Mantan Moreland. They were arguably the first inter-racial film comedy team. Darro never really grew up. He topped out about 5'1" and his voice never completely changed. Over the years he was relegated to playing jockeys and delivery boys, etc. And of course he developed a drinking problem that ended his career and his life. A sad fate. He was supposed to have been a nice guy.
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