November 25, 1909.
Dear Senator Sutherland:
The people interested in the welfare of children in Chicago are extremely desirous that the pending bill for the creation of a Federal Children's Bureau shall be passed as soon as possible after Congress convenes.
We have recently been startled to find that four-fifths of all the arrests in the criminal courts of Chicago are of boys between the ages of 15 and 25, of whom the large majority are under 19. This is so menacing that we should like to know whether the same condition is met in other American cities, or whether Chicago is unique in this excess of criminality among its youth. At present there is no method by which this may be determined. The proposed Children's Bureau could collect and distribute the very sort of information most valuable to those who are struggling with the problem of juvenile delinquency as well as with other grave matters connected with the lives of city children.
Sincerely yours,
Jane Addams [signed]
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