In these days of savage assaults with guns and brass knuckles,
the authorities are at their wit's end about juvenile delinquency,
and apparently will try anything to curb it. The newspapers tell.
us of a new method for dealing with the problem. It is a hard
method: the sentencing of youngsters to reform schools which
have a regimen of strenuous drills with strict punishment for de-
faulters. One picture I saw shows boys drilling with huge logs
on their shoulders. At such oppressive places, there seem to be no
privileges.

I grant that a few months of this hell may deter some poten-
tial delinquents. But such treatment never gets down to root
causes, to fundamentals. Much worse, such treatment spells hate
to most adolescents, and its harshness is bound to create per-
manent haters of society.

Over thirty years ago, Homer Lane proved by his work in a
reform camp called the Little Commonwealth that juvenile de-
linquents can be cured by love--cured by authority being on the
side of the child. Lane took tough boys and girls from the Lon-
don courts--antisocial, hard-boiled youngsters glorying in their
reputation as muggers, thieves, and gangsters. These "incorrigi-
bles" came to the Little Commonwealth, and there they found a
community with self-government and loving approval. Gradu-
ally, these youngsters became decent, honest citizens, many of
whom I used to count among my friends.

Lane was a genius in the understanding and handling of de-
linquent children. He cured them because he constantly gave out
love and understanding. He always looked for the hidden mo-
tive in any delinquent act, convinced that behind every crime

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