The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1868-01-19
4 srArn nnronn SCHOOL.

SgARM1 lOMN1NNs 1912 -
srArn nnvoRM scn00L.
The Recommendation Of Governor Stone,
in his recent Message, for the establishment
Of Reform School for juvenile offenders, l.
hus To sxiresdien e sksxin d : 1rme part
Of ~ pespls ~ IosA o thisose~ fAs
present Legislature should, and doubtless
will, early give it, attention TO the matter and
give Organized form to it. We notice that .
document is being largely circulated through
ont the State, giving the concurrent testimony
Of District judges and Attorneys, - to the
evils Of the existing system Of subjecting boys
to association with old and hardened offend.
ers. The subject scarcely needs argument.
The multiplication OF sdduced reasons may
prove ingenuity, but the simple forms in
which the public puts its convictions, are all
that d needed u to Reform School. And
the very decided public conviction is that to
put the boy Of twelve or fourteen years in the
same prison and the companionship of old
and persistent criminals-men Who have III
oted in robheries and murders and only wait
An opportunity 10 recommends their career
Of crime-that do this is utterly wrong.
That is the statement OF the case and the sr>
gument for it. 1t is too forcible and urgent
to be longer disregarded.
The existing system in Iowa is shame to
US and our civilization. Our practice is two
centuries in the rear of all just and humane
ideas. The enlightened judgment of this
nineteenth century is that punishment should
be reformaive. Our policy u Iowa might be
called Plan for the Manufacture Of Grim
mails. We undertake, If boy has been evil
tempted and committed trivial theft, to pat
him q once into the company Of growni,p
horse-thieves, counteffeiters, and murderers,
and turn him out ina short time with the pm
mary educational accomplishments for . very
successful and atrocious life of crime. If he
isn't thus disposed and doesn't turn ont to be
first class criminal in his future, the defect
isn't in our Iowa system at all lis because
the boy has perversely strong moral bias.
and our system fails to corrupt him. For
the most part. however, such is the weakness
Of this frail humanity, that short term in
the Penitentiary is found sufficient to crush al,
goodness out Of the nature Of the boy, to fix
upon him what he deems IN indelible stigma
of disgrace that shall burn IN his heart until
it sears his moral sensibilties and he goes out
into life With his hands against every man, for
he has found by the sanction of the Law, and
BY the awards of Courts, and by the Legisla>
tien Of the State, that the hands Of oil men
are against him.
OH! Christian Legislators Of this Christian
State will yon forget, when you know it 50
well, how that Jesus, who was also The
Christ, knowing the weakness of humanity
in IT'S divinest form, prayed Lead US not
into temptaiion?'' And then will Jon take
these boys, erring as they are, bu. orphans,
maJhap, without any proper training, who
have been led amiss by vicious associates,
and been evil-tempted, but with germs of
good none the less, that may be developed
into honorable and upright lives; will you
place them amid the temptations. and the
vicious Influences of Imprisonment in State
Penitentiary2 We call upon this Twelfth
General Assembly not TO adjourn until it has
provided for the establishment OF Reform
School for Juvenile Offenders.
From the published document, which we
have above referred to, we make these ex-
tracts. The first is this resume of Official
statistics:
Reform schools were FIRST established in the
United States about forty-fye years ago.
They have steadily increased in number until
till now there are about thirty scattered
through all the Northern States east of the
Mississippi. with one also in Louisville and
IN st. Louis. In them on the average are
about six thousand children, more than three
fourths OF whom sre being reformed and re-
turned to society good and useful citizens.
10 the necessity of such an institution in
Iowa. let the following facts and opinions tes.
tify.
The following exhibit Of the proportion az
juvenile convicts 10 the Iowa penitentiary for
the past ten years, has been furnished from,
OFFICIAL records by 1hos. L. Corkhiil Of o.
kaloosa:
VI those sent TO the penitentiary in 1867.
Is per cent. we're Juveniles.
OF those sent to the penitentiary in 1864
20 per cent. we're Juveniles.
VI those sent to the pententiarv in 1859.
% per cent. were Juveniles
OF those sent to the penitentiary in 1860.
rs per cent. were juveniles.
Of those sent to the penitentiary in 1861.
20 per cent. we're Juveniles.
OF those sent to the penitentiary ia 1862,
IL per cent were juveniles.
VI those sent 10 the penitentiary in 1868.
70 per cent were juveniles
VI those sent to the penitentiary in 1864.
upper cent? vure juxesiIss. ~ es
80 VI those sent to the penitentisry in 1866,
~ per cent. we're juveniles.
of those sent to the penitentisry in 1866,
40 per cent. were juveniles.
OF those sent to the peniteptiarv in 1897
up to the time of taking this abstract. about
~ per cent. were boys and girls.
The children and youth in the Iowa nen,
tentiary,. from its beginning to the present,
are not far from thirty per cent. Of all the
eohvicts and they range, as to age, from
Twelve years old upward, and their sentence
from the brief period of ten DAYS to the EN-
tire LIE OF the convict. 1t ia most lament
able TACT that children are found there under
these various sentences. One we noticed
sentenced for ten days, and another for tren-
v-hye years, and another, aged sixteen wears.
sentenced for life.
Ia the foregoing exhibi, are included only
such as would be recognized BY our school
laws as subjects Of instruction. But. "A al
ready stated, those convicted and sentenced
are but small portion Of the whole number
OF Juvenile offenders.
uur late Secretary of State. Hon, James
wright, IN bis last report to the Genearl Az
sembly, statea that 10 those counties whosa
returns had been forwarded to him tbars
were no less than nine hundred and tventv-
TWO criminal prosecutions during one year
NOW, u IN the courts the proportion of iuyep-
lie offenders be no greater than ia the prison.
still We would have the startling number II
TWO hundred and seventy>nx juvenile Offend
ers. But We know that Of the number char.
ca with crime, greater proportion OF adults
are convicted and sentenced than OF children
or youth. It would therefore be safe to con-
ciuae, that from three hundred n four hun-
ored OF those reported were Juveniles. in.a.
much a. Oh those sentenced that year NO less
tnan thirty per cent. were children and you,h
Jo1s.'
II is demanded from economical con.;a..
suons. The cost attending the trial Of nine
NJ Ta''aesa sha twenty-five cases vas $s5 G4a.
ihs proportion of this enormou. snm hsIans
ing to the class of which We speak. c.nnnt s.
AZ a. from Mir.y or fAirty.fre thousand de,l.r.
y ms sum, expended annually IN the arrs.s
trei ana conviction or acauittal Of tho hovs
ana girls OF our State, il but frecticn &c *
real loss incurred by our commor-o.I,L =