Prevention
Other women’s associations are giving attention to the problem of delinquency and its prevention, as these notes from The American Club Woman indicate: “The City Federation of Clubs of Dallas, Texas, so changed the street conditions for boys that instead of two-fifths of all juvenile arrests less than two per cent. now come from the cotton mill district. Playgrounds largely accomplished this result. A Public Schools Athletic League now controlled by the Board of Education has helped also.
“The Atlanta Woman’s Club has been urging the daily papers to refrain from publishing details of revolting crimes.
“By educating mothers through social centers, the Civic Club of Philadelphia believes that many juvenile crimes will be averted, because the mothers will take proper precautions to safeguard their children. Mrs. J. L. Pickering, chief probation officer of the city, concurs in this view.
“Mrs. M. Gordon McCouch, a well-known clubwoman, says that properly supervised playgrounds reduce crime in the neighborhood about one-half, and that the taxpayers should be interested in them, if only from an economical standpoint.
“A militant campaign against the illegal sale of liquor has been started by the clubwomen of San José, Cal. When the police department refused its coöperation, a committee of women gathered their own evidence. Already they have done much to improve conditions.
“Prosecutions against violators of the State anti-cigarette law will be initiated by the Women’s Clubs of Madison, Wis. Cigarette dealers have been warned of the impending campaign for the enforcement of the law, also that women detectives have already collected evidence of violations.
“Juvenile courts, uniform child labor laws, anti-tuberculosis appropriation, women on school boards, restriction of liquor traffic, also of cigarettes—these are some of the measures which the West Virginia clubwomen expect from their legislature this year.”