The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Elements of Child-protection
Title: The Elements of Child-protection
Author: Sigmund Engel
Translator: Eden Paul
Release date: January 29, 2019 [eBook #58787]
Language: English
Credits: Produced by Turgut Dincer, John Campbell and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by The Internet Archive)
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Footnote anchors are denoted by [number], and the footnotes have been placed at the end of the book.
The change noted in the ERRATUM has been applied to the etext.
Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.
ELEMENTS OF CHILD-PROTECTION
THE ELEMENTS OF
CHILD-PROTECTION
BY
SIGMUND ENGEL
DOCTOR OF LAWS AND OF POLITICS; OFFICIAL GUARDIAN AND ADVOCATE
IN BUDA-PESTH
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY
DR. EDEN PAUL
NEW YORK
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1912
Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.
At the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh
PREFACE
During the latter half of the nineteenth century, the importance of child-protection gained a far wider recognition.
The nineteenth century has been well named “The Century of the Child.” But there are reasons no less cogent for describing this century as “The Century of Socialism,” or “The Century of Darwinism.”
The intimate interdependence of child-protection with Socialism and with Darwinism must on no account be overlooked. It was my own assurance of this twofold interdependence which led me to undertake the study of the whole system of child-protection from the joint outlook of Socialism and of Darwinism. This book is an investigation of all the problems involved by child-protection from the standpoints of the modern socialist movement and of modern social science.
My work makes no attempt to be either a “Philosophy of Child-Protection” or a “Handbook of Child-Protection.” For this reason it contains no definitions, it gives no history of child-protection, and attempts no detailed description of the institutions which exist for the purpose of child-protection in the various countries of the civilised world.
In view of the almost incalculable bulk of the materials available in this field of study, I have been forced to content myself with a brief indication of my opinions in the various departments, without endeavouring to go into details. Obviously, therefore, those in need of detailed information will not find it in this book. My aim has rather been to effect a lucid presentation of all the problems of child-protection, than to attempt myself to supply the solution of all these problems.
If I have been successful in formulating the main problems of my subject, and if at the same time my discussions and the data I have supplied, enable the reader to draw his own conclusions in each case, my aim has been adequately fulfilled.
CONTENTS
| PAGE | |
| Preface | v |
| GENERAL PART | |
| CHAPTER I | |
| CERTAIN POPULATION PROBLEMS | |
| Child-Protection and the Population Question—Fertility of the Lower Classes—The Tendency of Evolution | 1 |
| CHAPTER II | |
| STATISTICAL PROBLEMS OF POPULATION | |
| Miscarriages, Premature Births, and Still-Births—Mortality—The Productive Age and the Unproductive Age—Classification of the Population according to Age—The Excess of Women—Marriage—Illegitimate Sexual Relations | 11 |
| CHAPTER III | |
| CHILD MORTALITY | |
| Statistical Data—Certain Contributory Causes—The Chief Causes of Infant Mortality—The Great Number of Children—Child Mortality in the Towns—The Effect of Housing Conditions—The Effect of Age—Time of Birth, Seasons, and Meteorological Conditions | 17 |
| CHAPTER IV | |
| THE QUALITY OF THE POPULATION; ARTIFICIAL SELECTION (EUGENICS) AND EDUCATION | |
| Natural Selection and Artificial Selection—The Interests of the Future Generation—Inheritance and Education—Nature of Education—Character of the Child—Limits of Educability—The Aim of Education—Good Example—Confidence and Love—Reward and Punishment—Education by the Parents—Education in different Social Classes—Parents, School, Environment—The Tendency of Evolution | 25 |
| CHAPTER V | |
| PROS AND CONS OF CHILD-PROTECTION | |
| Introductory—Objections to Child-Protection—Objections to the Care of Foundlings—Darwinism versus Poor-Relief—Darwinism versus Child-Protection—The Right View—Socialism versus Poor-Relief—Socialism versus Child-Protection—The Right View | 42 |
| CHAPTER VI | |
| THE EXECUTIVE INSTRUMENTS OF CHILD-PROTECTION | |
| Introductory—Local Governing Bodies—The Community at large—The Central Government—A Unified System of Laws for Child-Protection—A Centralised Authority for Child-Protection—Private and Official Activities—The Medical Profession—Women | 58 |
| SPECIAL PART | |
| A.—Department of Civil Law and Individual Rights | |
| CHAPTER I | |
| MARRIAGE AND PARENTAL AUTHORITY | |
| Introductory—Parental Authority and Marriage—History of Marriage—Child-Protection and the Family—Maternal Authority—Fiduciary Character of Parental Authority—The Elementary Principles of State Interference with Parental Authority (the State as “Over-Parent”) | 71 |
| CHAPTER II | |
| MARRIAGE AND HEREDITY | |
| Heredity in General—Inheritance of Diseases—Individual Diseases—The Age of the Parents—The Marriage of Near Kin—Disease in the Parents from the Legal Standpoint—Divorce—Marriage-Prohibitions in Past Times—Proposed Reforms—Objections—The Right View—How to Effect Reforms—The Tendency of Evolution | 77 |
| CHAPTER III | |
| THE PROTECTION OF ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN | |
| The Legal Position of the Illegitimate Child—Reasons for these Legal Disabilities—Advantages and Disadvantages of Illegitimate Birth—Abortion, Premature Birth, Still-Birth—Childbirth in Unmarried Mothers—Causes of the Great Mortality of Illegitimate Children—Criminality in the Illegitimate—Illegitimacy and Prostitution—Occupation in Relation to Illegitimacy—The Different Classes of the Illegitimate—Illegitimacy and Child-Protection—The Tendency of Evolution—A Radical Reform | 90 |
| CHAPTER IV | |
| LIMITED POWERS OF MINORS, AND GUARDIANSHIP | |
| Limited Powers of Minors—The Tendency of Evolution—Nature of Guardianship—Guardianship of Poor Children—Guardianship of Illegitimate Children—The Defects of Individual Guardianship—Nature of Official and Institutional Guardianship—Advantages of Official and Institutional Guardianship—Objections to Collective and Institutional Guardianship—These Objections Answered—The Tendency of Evolution—Certain Civil Laws which are of Importance in Relation to Child-Protection | 106 |
| B.—Department of Local Administrative Activity | |
| CHAPTER I | |
| CHILD-PROTECTION BEFORE, DURING, AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER BIRTH | |
| Introductory—Before Birth—During Birth—After Birth—The Insurance of Motherhood—The Tendency of Evolution | 118 |
| CHAPTER II | |
| INFANT-LIFE PROTECTION | |
| Introductory—Advantages of the Natural Feeding of Infants—History of Artificial Feeding—Causes of the Failure to Suckle—Wet-Nurses—Cow’s Milk—Other Methods of Artificial Feeding—Institutional Care of Infants—The Crèche—Proposed Reforms—Radical Solution of the Problem | 125 |
| CHAPTER III | |
| THE CARE OF FOUNDLINGS, WET-NURSING, AND BABY-FARMING | |
| Terminology—History of the Care of Foundlings—The Latin System and the Germanic System—Some Modern Methods for the Care of Foundlings—Foundling Hospitals, Wet-Nursing, and Baby Farms—Institutional Care versus Family Care—Supervision of Family Care—Subsidiary Aims of the Care of Foundlings—The Tendency of Evolution | 141 |
| CHAPTER IV | |
| WOMEN’S LABOUR AND CHILD-LABOUR | |
| History of Child Labour—Diffusion of Child Labour—The Causes of Child Labour—Women’s Labour—The Consequences of Child Labour—The Consequences of Women’s Labour—Regulation of Child Labour—Regulation of Women’s Labour—Reform of Apprenticeship—Enforcement of such Regulations—Objections to the Protective Regulation of the Labour of Women and Children—These Objections Answered—Radical Solution of the Problem—The Tendency of Evolution | 155 |
| CHAPTER V | |
| THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AGAINST DISEASE | |
| Introductory—The Health of Proletarian Children—Causes of the Movement for the Protection of Proletarian Children—Institutions—Country Holiday Funds and Open-air Schools—Proposed Reforms—Need for Enlightenment—The Tendency of Evolution | 178 |
| CHAPTER VI | |
| THE PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL | |
| Importance of the Public Elementary School—Methods of Instruction—The General Obligation of School Attendance—The Purpose of the Elementary School—Instruction versus Education—Moral Instruction—General Culture—Individuality—Beauty—Knowledge—Science—Home-Work—The Exclusion of certain Children—Rewards and Punishments—The Constitutional Element—Parents and the School—Sexual Education—Religious and Moral Instruction—Physical Education—Manual Training—Preparatory Schools—Supervised Playgrounds for Children (Kinderhorte)—Increasing Importance of the Public Elementary School—Feeding of School Children—Care of Young Persons after they Leave School—The Tendency of Evolution | 185 |
| C.—Department of Criminal Law | |
| CHAPTER I | |
| CRIMINALITY IN YOUTH | |
| Introductory—The Causes of Criminality in Youth—The Classical Criminal Law—Gradual Transformation of the Classical Criminal Law—Special Legislation dealing with Youthful Criminals—Proposals bearing on the Question of Criminal Responsibility at Different Ages—The Defects of our Present Penal Methods—The Question of the Capacity for Understanding the Punishable Character of Criminal Offences—The School—The Reprimand—Flogging—The Conditional Sentence—The Indeterminate Sentence—Should Punishment be rendered more Severe?—The Coercive Reformatory Education of Youthful Criminals—Institutional Education versus Family Education—Testing Reform—The Radical Solution of the Problem | 217 |
| CHAPTER II | |
| PENAL METHODS | |
| Conditions of To-day—Proposed Reforms—Penal Methods in the United States of America | 243 |
| CHAPTER III | |
| PROSTITUTION | |
| The Causes of Prostitution—Prostitution and Child-Protection | 249 |
| CHAPTER IV | |
| PUNISHABLE OFFENCES AGAINST CHILDREN | |
| The Two Groups—Infanticide—Abortion—The Protection of Feminine Chastity—Maltreatment of Children—Suggested Reforms | 254 |
| Index | 271 |
ERRATUM
Page 65, line 6, for “wet-nurses” read “midwives.”