The following report by Mrs. E. P. Hopkins, court matron, who has charge of the investigation and supervision of women during my term, tells its own story:
| Total number of cases investigated | 586 | |
| Judgment withheld | 317 | |
| Fined | 28 | |
| Committed to Women’s Prison and Jail | 61 | |
| Dismissed | 90 | |
| Discharged | 26 | |
| Continued indefinitely | 38 | |
| Judgment suspended | 19 | |
| Sent to Grand Jury | 6 | |
| Committed to House of Good Shepherd | 1 | |
Of this number, 69 were placed on probation under the supervision of volunteer probation officers, and 72 were returned to their homes; 61 girls sent to the Faith Home were detained there until employment was secured for them. The most important work, however, of this department was the aid given to girls living in houses of prostitution. Through the special work in this connection, 23 girls gave up their lives of shame, and the reports show that they were all working and leading better lives.
8. Domestic Relations Session.
No more important problem was presented to the court than those cases involving domestic relations. The need for a change in the method of dealing stood, when one realizes the many things involved in the imprisonment of the head of the family, especially when there are many mouths to feed. In order to deal intelligently with these people and to arrive at a just conclusion, Thursday afternoon was set apart for their consideration. A thorough investigation was made by the court matron of the conditions surrounding the man, his home, his employment and his associates, and was presented to the court at this special session, to the end that in the final disposition of the case the same might be disposed of to the best interests of the family as well as the individual. Since the establishment of this session and up to the close of my term 440 cases were investigated, and were disposed of as follows:
| Total number of cases investigated | 440 | |
| Judgment withheld | 155 | |
| Fines and costs | 106 | |
| Workhouse and jail | 34 | |
| Juvenile court | 11 | |
| Dismissed | 39 | |
| Discharged | 27 | |
| Continued indefinitely | 44 | |
| Grand Jury | 6 | |
| Sentence suspended | 18 | |
9. Employment.
Through the probation department, the court attempted to meet every angle of the social problem as represented by the delinquents brought before the court. To the need of employment could be traced many cases of delinquency. To meet this condition, special efforts were made to obtain employment for men. From a crude beginning, it developed into a permanent plan, resulting in all of the larger employers of labor looking to the probation department for their help. More than 600 persons secured employment in this way.
In the presentation of a subject like this one realizes that the material side must always be at the forefront, but to one whose daily life was spent in the very midst of these problems, and who viewed them from every angle, there are many arguments that cannot be expressed in facts and figures. The problems presented by 49,916 persons brought into the court during my term were large and varied. To meet them was a gigantic task, but the results have more than justified the effort.
Any innovation in the administration of justice is the subject for more or less criticism, just and unjust. Did this work place additional burden on the taxpayer? Emphatically, No! It reduced the number of commitments to the jail and workhouse by more than 50 per cent. During the first year of its operation there was a saving in the cost of feeding prisoners in the county jail of $1,293 and in the maintenance of the workhouse of $4,631. However, the results of a system of justice are not to be measured by dollars and cents. Such a work aims at the physical, mental and moral uplift of the individual rather than at the cold satisfaction of the law. It aspires to restore the erring to society as useful citizens and transforms our penal system into a mighty influence for the uplifting of society.