Proclamation 2767—Prevention and Control of Juvenile Delinquency

Whereas the youth of this Nation is its most precious asset and best hope for the future; and

Whereas the incidence of juvenile delinquency is a reflection of the failure of our society to afford to all of its young people a full measure of protection and opportunity for health and happiness, and to inculcate in them a sense of the true values of life and citizenship; and

Whereas in November 1946 many important agencies, governmental and private, national and local, and individuals the country over, banded together, at the call of the Attorney General of the United States, in a National Conference on Prevention and Control of Juvenile Delinquency, to study and make recommendations for immediate action in every State and community for the solution of juvenile delinquency problems; and

Whereas this national Conference has now made available for use by individuals and organizations throughout the Nation, certain Action Reports, which are the best available tools for the prevention and control of juvenile delinquency, and has urged upon the States and communities immediate action with respect to the recommendations in those Reports, and, in particular, the holding of State and community conferences, developed on the general pattern of the national Conference on prevention and Control of Juvenile Delinquency; and

Whereas the prevention and control of juvenile delinquency, to be effective, must be pursued primarily in the States and communities where daily contacts are maintained with the children themselves:

Now, Therefore, I, Harry S. Truman, President of the United States of America, do hereby call upon the people of the United States, in their homes and churches, in the schools and hospitals, in social welfare and health agencies, in enforcement agencies and courts, in institutions for the care of delinquent juveniles, and in their minds and hearts, to act, individually and together, for the prevention and control of juvenile delinquency, so that our children and youth may fulfill their promise and become effective citizens in our nation. I further urge them, as the most direct means to this end, to respond promptly to the call of the national Conference on Prevention and Control of Juvenile Delinquency by carefully preparing for, and holding, wherever possible during the month of April 1948, State and community conferences, developed on the general pattern of the national Conference, and at these conferences, or otherwise, to study State and local conditions in the light of the recommendations of the National Conference; to put into immediate effect such of the recommendations as are pertinent to State and local conditions; to develop firm foundations for continuing community action; and to take such other action as may be useful in solving this vital youth problem and in developing the genuine opportunities for useful living to which our young people are entitled. I urge this to the end that in no part of the Nation shall action be omitted which is practical and useful in reaching the objectives of the national Conference in the prevention and control of juvenile delinquency in this Nation.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington this 27th day of January in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-second.

HARRY S. TRUMAN

By the President:

G. C. MARSHALL,

Secretary of State.