PROBATION

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 11960, 15 October 1924, Page 6

PROBATION

Mr Mills, the probation officer, has the saving grace .of humour, as he showed in his admirable talk yesterday to the Rotary Club. The object of his talk was to demonstrate the efficiency of the probationary system, and this he demonstrated, largely with the help of his fine sense of humour. Like the old Roman, he has found that the truth loses nothing by being told in laughing accents. The logic of it in this particular case is /most good. The criminal to-day is, as Mr Mills said, not regarded as a monster to he beaten, but considered as a weakling, to he saved by strengthening through the best appeals. Now, weaklings do strange things, many of them ridiculous, on the spur of odd moments of uncansideration. What more natural than to smile ? And what more, as Mr Mills made clear, than this smile when' extended to the face and heart of the weakling? Many are the humorous aspects of this kindly treatment, as the stores of his experience enabled him to show, with the moral that the way to the heart often lies through the smiling lips. And the great object of this fine, considerate modern treatment is to touch the heart. The proof is the number of hearts touched by it and strengthened in goodwill and power of work, won in many instances of successful*appeal by kindly, considerate treatment, in which good fatherly advice goes often hand in hand with the saving grace of humour. It is here a saving grace, because it saves No more convincing public talk than this h'as been heard among us than this pleasant, kindly, convincing, informal description Mr Mills gave of the- work he loves and does so well. Tt justifies our probationary system from every angle of view, as a thing to he revered and supported by every humanitarian who is worthy of the name. A percentage of failure as low as five is a great success. The American proportion is ten, hut that is because America applies the system to wife deserters, who, if not to be classed as criminals, are certainly the most callous, Heartless, and unprincipled of the human race. To extend our system to these might be a very good thing.