Page:Upbuilders by Lincoln Steffens.djvu/220



know what the Court was going to do to him. The Judge said he’d take the case under advise- ment, and he did. He took a walk down to the contractor, and he told said complainant all about the shack and the sand, and the contractor furnished all the lumber and sand necessary to finish the job in that back yard. As for the children, they “cut out” all “swipin’.”

The Judge kept the case under advisement, however. He kept on walking around in back yards, and talking with young “thieves” and “builders.” He saw many signs of energy and enterprise, and nothing to do; nothing good. Everywhere was private; nowhere to play. Every- thing was property to steal. The grown-ups had “hogged” everything, and children had nowhere to play and nothing to play with.

The Judge set about organizing a juvenile association of grown-ups to furnish materials for young builders to build with; playgrounds to build on; water to swim in; jobs in the beet fields for vacation kids that had to work, and mountain trips for the rest. In brief, the Judge’s Juvenile Association for the Protection and Betterment of Children, which he is trying to make a national organization, originated out of his discovery that society had forgotten to provide children with opportunities for good.