“Then,” said the preacher, “You have outgrown the conditions that caused the wrong-doing, and you are no longer responsible for it.” The best way to correct wrong-doing is to prevent it, to warn a boy against the evil vices that tend to his ruin in later years. And one way to prevent crime is to reward virtue. [Illustration: “HE WAS FISHING IN THE LAKE.” _See Page 205_ ] Hon. Ben. B. Lindsey, of Denver, Colorado, Judge of the County and Juvenile Court of Denver, after many years of hard work, intermingled with the kind of experience that brings good results, declares that in the work of the Juvenile Court he has found a way to make our boys of today, who are inclined to be bad, follow paths of virtue and honesty that will lead them to good and honorable citizenship, and his success has been along the same self-governing plan of the Boyville Association. We do not think there has been a more interesting official report nor one of so great a value to the thinking people as the publication of “The Problem of the Children and How the State of Colorado Cares for them,” by Hon. Ben. B. Lindsey. “Power under any law,” writes Judge Lindsey, “may be abused. Mistakes under any law may be made. No system is perfect. If any conceives the idea that the Juvenile Court was created for the purpose of correcting or reforming every disorderly child, they are, of course, mistaken. Jails and criminal courts never did that. On the contrary, criminality among the youth of this country has been amazingly on the increase. Over half of the inmates of jails, reformatories and prisons combined are under twenty-four years of age. They are there largely because of uncorrected delinquency in childhood. While the Juvenile Court and probation system will not, and cannot, entirely overcome delinquency and waywardness, it will do a great deal better than the jail and criminal court ever did. The Juvenile Court generally deals with cases in which there has been a failure in the home, the school, and often the church. These three institutions are the places through their various influences to form the character of the child. The Juvenile Court is rather an aid to the home and the school in the moral training of the child. If these two latter fail, the court, through its officers, can supply the deficiency. In the Denver Juvenile Court none are convicted of crime or subjected to the contamination of the jail.