Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1854-11-22


to take his chance among the millions. he
should say at once, Spain. In fact for
my own part, can candidly say, that /
DO not know q country in Europe where .
should so dread lot among the masses
as in Great Britain. An Italian lazZaroni
lives IN luxury compared with London
yogrant. 1t is estimated that there are in
England alone 10000 vagrant children
that is, either orphan and homeless
children, those engaged in theft, or the
children of thieves and deprayod charoc.
terS. Thirteen thousand are committed
to prison each year. 1t is terrible, this
social question in Great Britain. We
should not rashly rcpronch her, as with
our own slavery, (hough in other points
.ol view widely different question y hu.
man seldshness, ancient and traditonarv
rights of property, inequalities and mo.
nopolies, whose existence is interviewer
in the whole structure of society, have all
tended TO degrade and keep degraded Ger.
tain classes Of the State. No complete
cure, in our opinion, will ever be possible
without a total re.making of English insG.
tullons. Still, taking the nearest practical
and possible measure, the people seerl to
be on the right track in their effort TO cure
their evils. Prevention Of pauperism and
crime by education and training TO work,
and by the personal aid of the favored
classes, is the great principIe-tfe Ragged
School enterprise is the general name for
this movement. Its historyis peculiar.-
Some few years back, poor, crippled
shoemaker-one John Pounds, Of Ports.
moulh-took to his home little nephew
crippled like himself. In educating him
it occurred to him that he could call in
one or two other boys who were TOO poor
TO 90 TO tho schools. The class increased
I till there were forty children, twelve Of
whom were girls-poor, ragged, neglect
/ ed, oUtcast children of the streets. Some.
! times the scholars were averse, and the
! kind.hearted man would goout on the open
quay with a roasted potato, or something
Of the kind, to tempt them 10 enler.-
Where he could he clothed them he
gave them food if they were hungry, and
taught them his trade and the great truths
he deyoutiy believed. When the good
old man died, the tears OF fnendless and
poor children were dropped on his grave,
aud some are said to have tainted at the
news. The world knew little of that din.
gy shoe.maker's shop; churches and rich
houses quite oyershadowed it; but ifthere
was ever aDiyine Presence with beams OF
Heaven falling upon earth, it was there
in the needy workshop, about the poor old
cripple and his ragged class. This was
liz 1889. In ls4l the Sheriff Of a Scotch
town, Aberdeen, Mr.. Watson, delormi.
ned 10 do something to stop the increasing
vagrancy and crime of the children Of the
place. lie rightly concluded that igno.
rance and idIeness were the great causes,
and accordingly opened a school with the
singular addition to the usual education Of
food and industrial employment. Great
was the sccpticsm and opposition on ev.
cry side. To attempt 10 reform young
Aberdeen beggar ! or expect 10 do away
with the host Of vagrants lit was Quix.
otic. Some friends advanced &lOO, and
the school opened with twenty scholars,
and in a few months increased 10 sixty.
Ia l9l5 the police were instructed 10 make
a general arrest Of the begging children,
and send them up TO the soup kitchen ol
the school. Some sevenly.dve boys and
girls were thus collected, and such a scene
Of fighting, swearing, uproar and obscene
language was seldom witnessed. The
teachers at length gained the day; the
children were taught and then fed, and al
the close released with an invitation 10
como again the following day-at the same
time, with the assurance that no more
street begging would be allowed by the
police, ms they could now procure their
food at the school. The greater part re.
turned, and money coming in, the school
was sustained. 1t is significant fact that
at that time the wealthy classes in Abcr-
deem subscribed only Gl50, while the
working classes gave $3.50 to the school,
Ofthe effects, the report says, that "whero.
as, few years since, there were 32C
children in the town, and 32S in the CO.
Of Aberdeen, who prowled about the streets
and royed through the country, cheating
and stealing their vocation, now begging
child is rarely TO be seen, and juvenile
crime is comparatively unknown" A
more exact statement Of the results, as
collected by the police, is that in Sal the
number Of juvenile prisoners was Gl; ii
1915, after the large school was opened
40; in 1916, 2s; in 1Sl9, S; and ii
/ 1850, IA. The number Of juvenile va
grants encountered by the police in ls45
before the formation of the school, was
G2; in ls49, /. The movement mex
spread in London, where it was carriec
out mainly by the exeriions of Sunday
school teachers and the city missionaries