Dispositions of Same.
| Total No. 1915 | Total No. 1917 | |
|---|---|---|
| Returned to Parents | 3 | 4 |
| Detention Home | 1 | 0 |
| Private Home | 30 | 15 |
| Home on Probation | 22 | 16 |
| Thorn Hill Industrial School | 15 | 12 |
| State Reformatory | 4 | 2 |
| Polk School for Feeble Minded | 1 | 5 |
| Other Places | 7 | 6 |
| 83 | 60 |
[Table number XVII] indicates that the majority of those arrested are between the ages of 20 and 40. The large number of women arrested is rather surprising, although the proportional increase of women arrested is far below that of men. This may be due to the fact that the migration is largely of men without families. The overwhelming number of single people as compared with married ones, is also to be expected, although the police record based only upon uninvestigated statements of prisoners, may not be very authentic.
A House in the Hill District Credited with Sheltering Over 200 Negroes.
The examination of police court dockets reveals one or two other significant features. It shows the continuance of the migration by the fact that a great number are listed as having “no homes.” The number giving such “address” this year is far greater than during the previous period; even when the total of those who refuse to give correct addresses is subtracted, the increase is still clearly shown. In the records of those who give their addresses as of this city, it is important to note the close relation of congestion and bad housing conditions to the police court records. Throughout the docket, a few houses notorious for their overcrowding stand out very prominently. Thus, a well known tenement house on Bedford Avenue, which is credited with having over one hundred families inside its four walls, has given eighty-four arrests during the seven months of 1914-1915, and over one hundred during the seven months of 1917. The same thing is true of several other houses.
[Table number XIX] showing the Juvenile Court records is surprising. That there should still be an absolute decline in juvenile delinquency, in spite of the increase in population, is something the most optimistic of us would have hardly anticipated.
After the preceding analysis, the reader has doubtless already realized how unfounded was the popular belief in a Negro “wave of crime, rape and murder” in Pittsburgh within the last year. The facts are self-evident. From our analysis, we must conclude that the Negro migrant is not a vicious character; is not criminally and mischievously inclined per se, but on the other hand is a peaceful and law abiding individual. He comes to Pittsburgh to seek better economic and social opportunities. He is in most instances anxious to let others alone in order that he himself may be let alone.
That the rise in wages is a considerable factor in the decrease of juvenile delinquency and graver crimes as a whole is probable. That the Negro becomes a victim of the saloon and the vice elements is evidently more the fault of the community than of himself. He is often anxious to rid himself of these associations, but it can be done only by his white brother’s realization of the social responsibility which he owes to the community.