character, habits, etc., we would not have been able to write reports which are praised throughout the State.

Now, as to your case histories. I aimed to raise the standard of our case histories for you are judged by them. I don't care so much for the collection of statistics for the annual report as I do for the showing of the work done by the officer and that is the only way they can show it. In the cry of economy in New York City the probation officers were the only ones in the city departments to receive increases in salaries; one reason for this was that we had adequate records to show to the public. I received a great deal of criticism for advocating these records, but I saw that the day would come when we would stand or fall by our case histories.

MR. JAMES B. HALBERT, PROBATION OFFICER, NEW YORK CITY CHILDREN'S COURT: There is one sub-topic, "The Use of Receipts," in which I am very much interested. I would like to get some information as to whether or not the Commission recommends the use of receipts. Personally, in cases where restitution has been made by my probationers, I have never given my probationer a receipt and have refused to do it when asked to, but I have always insisted that the person who received the money which the probationer pays, give a receipt direct to the probationer. Some of the probation officers tell me I am doing wrong. I would like a little light on that subject.

SECRETARY CHUTE: The Commission furnishes both kinds of receipts and believes it is more satisfactory to the one who pays to get a receipt. We advise giving a receipt to the person who pays restriction and receiving a receipt from the one who receives it. The whole question of financial records is important. The probation officer cannot take too much care to put everything down in black and white when it is anything that has to do with the handling of money.

MR. JAMES A. GARRITY, CHIEF PROBATION OFFICER, COURT OF SPECIAL SESSIONS, YONKERS: My advice is to give a receipt to every person who pays him money. I happen to have a peculiar interest in receipts for, as a probation officer, I

was indicted by the grand jury of Westchester County and if it hadn't been for my receipts properly signed and my willingness to go before the grand jury and waive my rights of immunity, I would probably be in jail instead of here in Albany. I want to impress that very forcibly upon the probation officers assembled here. Receive no money from any source without giving a receipt. In our city to-day, the man who is fined $5 for some offense gets a receipt for his money. Our court has receipt books for all money paid. So I say again, don't jeopardize your happiness and the happiness of your family by failing to give a receipt and take one in all cases where money is being passed over.

I want to say a word about records. The simpler our blanks and the less time spent on trying to do bookkeeping, the better the service will be; the omission of duplication on our blanks will save time, money and energy, and I think every man or woman engaged in this work will agree when I say that it isn't statistics or the filling in of blanks which counts, but that it is the actual probation work; if the probation officer is honestly trying to do his level best for his probationer it isn't the filling in of a great many answers on blanks that is going to secure that benefit; so, let us get away as far as possible from too much detail on blanks.

THE RELATION OF THE PROBATION OFFICER TO THE FAMILIES OF PROBATIONERS (WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO WOMEN AND GIRLS)

MISS FRANCES E. LEITCH, PROBATION OFFICER, COURT OF SPECIAL SESSIONS, BROOKLYN: The first sub-topic is: "Finding out the cause of unhappy family conditions." I think we often feel when we go into a home that we see the cause of the trouble at once and think we have settled it all, but oftentimes quite a while elapses before we get down to the real facts of the case and discover the many excuses for the woman's wrongdoing.

Then, the next topic: "How can the probation officer help and advise regarding the management of household affairs; the expenditure of the family income." I find in the majority of cases that I wonder how the women managed at all with the income which the family has. The trouble is that very few have a regular income. We all know what we can do if we know what amount of money we can use, but many women never know what they are going to get. They pay the rent generally, although sometimes they are dispossessed, but that is the first thing they look after. I am always surprised to find out how nicely the children act, and I ask them, "What did you have for supper?" "Bread and tea." "What for dinner? "Bread and tea." Very seldom they have a good meal. Of course, we come across many careless housekeepers. You know it is hard to plan for so many on so little, so I think we must be patient. The trouble is with many of us that we hold our own standard of living and expect these people to conform to it. There are so many who have never had training and have been careless and whose mothers never taught them to keep house. It is very discouraging to see an untidy house and to see the mother without any thought of responsibility or any idea as to how to put that house in order.

After we have gone into all this and learned about the family income, we come down to this question, how shall we guard against too much intrusion into family affairs? Do you think there are

any family affairs we haven't been into by this time? I want all these points brought out.

Then the last topic: "Placing a girl or woman in a family not her own." That is a very difficult thing to do and I think it should be the last thing done by any probation officer. If the home is at all right or can be made right, the girl is always better with her own relatives. No matter how kind the friends are, they get tired; but a girl's own people always have the interests of that girl at heart.

MISS ALICE C. SMITH, PROBATION OFFICER, NIGHT COURT FOR WOMEN, NEW YORK CITY: "Finding out the cause of unhappy family conditions." That depends entirely upon the tactful probation officer; I have always felt that probation officers were born and not merely taken from the civil service list and it seems to me that the tactful woman can often find out what the difficulty is; she has her own way of talking to the people there and she cannot explain how she accomplishes it.

"How can the probation officer help and advise regarding the management of household affairs; the expediture of the family income." Perhaps we have more advantages in New York City; while we have many clubs, at the same time I do think we have a great deal of help that the smaller places do not have. I have sent women to cooking school so they would at least get the theory of cooking and know something of food values. If the mother cannot go, I have asked the daughter to go, and in that way she would become interested in the family life and help improve it.

"How can the probation officer aid in making the home more attractive?" That is a very difficult problem. I always sit down and talk to my probationer myself. I say, "Now, I want to ask you some questions; there are some things I must know, because you have come before the court and there are some questions I might ask you that you are at liberty to refuse to answer." I go into the home in that same way. First of all, I become friendly with the girl and with the family and advise them as best I can, but, as I have said on the other subjects, it is difficult to say what you do because you don't know. Each problem is different from

the other and when you are through and have accomplished some good you don't know how you have done it.

A very serious question arises when placing girls in families or some place else to board. Sometimes I have girls who haven't a home and sometimes they have homes which are not proper places; occasionally a woman makes a complaint against her daughter and absolutely refuses to take her back. I say, “Madam, what do you expect me to do; do you expect me to take her home with me?" Very often the girl is left for me to take care of. I have tried to put them in normal homes, but when the girl comes home at night she feels she is outside of the family group.

I have just had one case of a French girl placed on probation the first of last year. When she was placed on probation she said she had no relatives in this country, and that they were in Paris. I kept her until one night a detective from headquarters walked in and said, “Do you know anything about a girl by the name of so and so?" "Yes, I know quite a good deal about her." As a matter of fact, the girl was sitting at the other end of the table. There has been a general alarm for her and we are not able to locate her." "Well, that is too bad," and I could hardly keep from laughing; I guess he thought there was something queer about it. I said to him, "The detective force is not very clever, because I have taken this case in and out the court perhaps a dozen times, and this is the girl right here." "Well, her mother wants her." "Where is her mother?" Up to that time I thought her mother was in Paris. After some time I found her father was working in a large hotel. I tried placing the girl, however, in her own home. She said to me, "I might as well tell you, I won't stay there." I again took her out and placed her in a boarding house for girls. She finally began to keep company with a young man and they were engaged and last Saturday they were married. She was French and he was Italian. I took her to the priest of the parish and I told the priest the situation and told him that I would not take the responsibility of having her married. The young fellow said he had been to her mother. So you see the responsibility of taking the girl out while you have her; you must try to adjust the difficulty in the home that has driven her away, and I can assure you it is a difficult thing to do some times; but