and procreating. Where the majority of people are either of the immigrant type or the first generation, they bring with them the customs and manners of the country from which they come. The parents very often do not understand the distinction between license and liberty. They come here and understand this is the land of the free and that they can do what they please. The whole situation reverts back to the need of a paternal hand in the State. We must look after the immigrants. You must begin with the parents and back of the parents. If we are going to have a social state which is firm we must enact some law which will give supervision over marriages. I was reading in the Bench and Bar, that in Indiana a law has recently been enacted providing for a simple surgical operation on habitual criminals whereby they are deprived of their power of procreation. It struck me as possibly a little strong, and yet when you look it over, if we started after most of our defectives and provided against the future in such a manner there would not be quite so many defectives and criminals in the next generation.

Judge Chadsey of Rochester: Commissioner Wade's proposed law, judging from my experience with the enforcement of the compulsory education law, will assist society in an educational line. A truant officer brings in parents who are not sending their children to school. Their excuse is, "I am busy." The child is absent half the time, and yet the parent says he does not know anything about it. I say, "You have got to send that boy to school. If you can't manage him, you bring him in to the Juvenile Court and I will take care of him. If that child is not in school every day from now on, you pay your fine." The child is sent to school every day after that. It would be a grand thing if you could make parents understand that they have got to govern their children.

Judge Groves of Kingston: In one way I overcame the parental part of that by having the truants report to me every Saturday morning as to their attendance at school.

Judge Beal of Oneida: I think that the application of the law in the case of school children is pretty well carried out. The difficulty is applying it to other cases. We find that the parents are ignorant and that the reformation should have been begun back there. I have never yet seen how you can reach the parents unless there is some specific charge showing that the parent by an overt act, had encouraged the child's offense.

Judge Schlessinger of New Rochelle: The more you bring the responsibility home to the parent, the more efficacious it will be. While we must admit that there has been an increase in population due to immigration, it takes but a generation to work a marvelous change. It is simply a question of development, and as soon as you enforce your laws you will get better results. Much wrong in our cities is due to political methods. They teach the foreigner that this country is lax in its enforcement of the laws. If you will enforce the law and make the parents responsible, they will make it their duty to see whether the child is in school or not.

Commissioner McGuire: We must not forget that this country. has been more successful in assimilating foreigners than any other country in the world. A well-conducted, common sense court of special sessions can greatly help in the process of assimilating immigrants.

President Folks: The proposed law, modeled somewhat after the laws of other States, applies not only to parents but to any adults contributing directly to the delinquency of children.

Probation Officer Abbott of Schenectady: I think that such an amendment of the statute would be very excellent; but in my experience it has been very difficult to produce sufficient and legal evidence for conviction. Furthermore, almost all of the children. arrested in Schenectady are brought into court for violation of city ordinances, disorderly conduct or larceny, and this being so, no punitive measures can be taken against the parents or other adults, under section 483, subdivision 3, as the offenses which I have named do not fall within Article 44 of the Penal Law. It is for contributing to the violation by a child of the sections of this article, only, that an adult can be punished. As a matter of fact, I think that subdivision 3 of section 483 cannot now be operated at all, as absolutely all children arrested must be charged with violation of section 2186 of the Penal Law, which does not fall within Article 44.

Commissioner Wade: My proposition does not contemplate the conviction so much as the supervision of the parents by the court. It is a method for the court to get probationary oversight of the parent without putting the stigma of criminal conviction on him. It starts with the summons. Then if the court is satisfied that the parent has contributed to the condition of the child, the court, with the consent of the parent, can adjourn the case and put the parent under the oversight of the probation officer.

Judge O'Connor of Utica: Don't you think that under the present procedure a John Doe inquiry could be had?

Commissioner Wade: It is a very cumbersome proceeding, and in the law establishing the new City Court in Buffalo the summons has been substituted. Judge Murphy, who was police judge for many years in Buffalo, at the discussion of the Buffalo City Court bill, said that one of its best features was this summons proposition. He had found the John Doe proceeding impractical and

cumbersome.

Judge Chadsey of Rochester: I have found cases where the parents are to blame for the children's case, as when children are caught stealing coal. The child says the mother sent him out to get it. That parent is to blame, and there is where I should think this amendment is just what is wanted.

Judge Gill of Elmira: I should say that if this summons is intended to act as a lever to persuade the parent to have a proper conception of his duty to the child, it is the proper thing.

Judge Belanger of Cohoes: I have used exactly that means, but without a summons. For instance, I have had complaints made at my office and I have called up the police headquarters and told them to notify so and so, without process, to appear before me. I am very much in favor of this summons proposition.

Judge Davis of Rome: I would like to know what the rest of the magistrates think about section 2186. Have we exclusive jurisdiction as courts of original jurisdiction, over children who have committed felonies, burglary and grand larceny and things of that kind?

Judge Coons of White Plains: A case of that sort happened in Westchester county. The boy was convicted of the crime in county court, and the conviction was set aside on the ground that the court of special sessions had original jurisdiction.

Judge Chadsey of Rochester: We do not hold them any longer for the grand jury.

DISCUSSION ON FRIDAY EVENING.

THE TREATMENT OF DRUNKARDS.

Topic No. 11. Should public intoxication constitute a misdemeanor as is provided by section 1221 of the Penal Law?

Topic No. 12. How can a court distinguish occasional, periodical and habitual drunkards?

Topic No. 13. In cases of occasional drunkards convicted for the first or second time, what disposition is most advisable?

Topic No. 14. In cases of periodical drunkards, what disposition is most advisable?

Topic No. 15. In cases of habitual drunkards, is it advisable to commit the defendants to a jail or penitentiary, or should they be committed to an institution providing proper hygienic and medical treatment and other essential reformatory influences, including suitable employment; if so, for how long should they be committed?

President Folks: Most of us recall the village drunkard who was one of the features of the town in our boyhood days. He was the butt of many jokes; was frequently given charitable aid and seldom taken seriously. This, however, is a superficial and uncharitable view, for it does not take account of the later chapters in his life nor of the suffering of his wife and children. We are now beginning to study the problem of inebriety scientifically. The word inebriate is the modern term for the village drunkard.

The State Charities Aid Association after considerable study has outlined a plan for more adequate treatment of public intoxication and inebriety. This plan was presented at the last session of the Legislature. Mr. Burritt, who has collected much material on the problem, will outline the plan.

Assistant Secretary Burritt of the State Charities Aid Association: (Mr. Burritt exhibited a chart showing the record of three drunkards in the police stations, almshouses, hospitals, and workhouses of New York city.)

The first case on the chart has a total of 72 different appearances in public institutions, distributed as follows: almshouse 1, municipal lodging house 2, hospitals 35, and workhouse 34. During a period of twenty years this man spent 1,939 days in public institutions at a cost of maintenance alone, disregarding the cost for repeated arrests, trials and transportation to various institutions, of $1,226.49. The second case appeared in the workhouse

62 times, spending there a total of 3,165 days at a cost to the city for maintenance alone of $1,858.53. Case 3 has a total of 71 different appearances, of which 34 are in the workhouse, 35 in the almshouse, and 2 in hospitals. The total number of days in this case is 5,884, and the total cost to the city for maintenance. alone is $2,399.89. You will note from the chart that in many instances these persons are out of one institution only one or two, or at most a few, days before they are again found either in that or some other institution.

It is manifestly an injustice to society to allow this state of affairs to continue, but this is only one illustration of the general breakdown of our present treatment of the problem of public intoxication. A more or less comprehensive plan for dealing with this whole problem was outlined by our association last year. It provides as follows:

1. Release of first offenders. This follows the plan of Massachusetts which provides for the release of persons who have not been arrested for public intoxication within the preceding twelve months, without their arraignment in court. The release is made by a probation officer after an investigation. The probation officer then reports the case to the judge who has final jurisdiction with regard to it; if he thinks best he can call the case before him, but as a matter of fact about 30,000 of the 70,000 arrests for public intoxication in Massachusetts last year did not appear in court at all.

2. If the investigation shows that the man has been arrested within twelve months, the plan gives the judge the option of putting him on probation or of putting him on probation with an added fine, permitting the man to pay the fine in instalments to the probation officer.

3. If the man does not respond to either of these methods, the plan provides that he may be sent to a hospital and industrial colony on an indeterminate sentence of six months to two years, permitting the board of managers of the institution to parole him when it seems desirable.

4. It will be seen that this plan involves the establishment of a farm colony which shall provide hospital care and out-door work. Only by the adoption of some such plan can we really do away with the problem of the repeater and provide a rational, remedial treatment for the drunkard.

Judge Gill of Elmira: As I understood it, most municipalities have enacted provisions in their ordinances making intoxication a