The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-04-20

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began TO daWnn toward sandsy-s whale that
scepstcs cannot swsisov. And here n another
earth after Hs 81 ss % seosS rom LAKE,
last chapter. he was but one dag. surely. Mr.. I'd
isor, In swallowing whales ciencs Guido seep,iess
Ths House OF R~fsgs and Jsvsaiis
Asylum.
TO rHx EDITOR on rHE HKgALD:--
In one Of the dany city papers OF Thursday last
an article appeared In referenec 20 the House OF
Refuge and Juvenile Asylum. which contained
either through ignorance or design. large
amount OF misstatemenis. u was sverred that the
institutions named private. and that they were
founded by Protestant, upsectarisn citizens. who
literally endowed them, ana that. so Gar from
being public, they controlled by private boards.
who MI up their own vacancies. II n further
averred that they only receive partial tone-half
support from the state. leaving the Inference 60
be drawn that the other half comes from the
beneMciions of Protestant. unsectarian citizens.
II IL dinicult TO comprehend how such a mass Of
folly and misrepresentation could be PIT together.
The House Of Refuge n ~ much . pubic instiiu-
ton as the state Prison or Tombs Not one dol.
lar In contributed by private parties nor lts sup
port, and the manner 81 selecting trustees is pre-
scribed In several acts OF the Legislature. Among
20 the management, which n defended. the
public has pretty well made up its mind. The
society for the Reformation Of Juvenile delinquents
was chartered ~ the Legislature In ls2a u has
been literally provided Tor by the city aud state
Chdren aud youths under seventeen, who are
either yagrant. disorderIy or convicted OF misde-
meanors and even felonies. sent 20 The institu
ton. The police magistrates. General sessions
and Courts OF Oyer and Terniner In New York. as
well ~ In every county In the state. commit
offenders To the House OF Refuge. and II Is made
transfer convlcts under the age Of seventeen 20
Randais Island. The trustees have charge botn
Of boys and girls until they reach the age o.
twenty lone. To speak Of such an Institution,
which In made by various statutes place oi con
nnement for wayward minors as well as minor
burglars Is simply absurd. lew weeks since
Judge Brady sentenced . youth found guilty OF
homicide TO Imprisonment VII hin Its walls.
entirel, ny spproorlaions rom the stare ana eity
treasures, and by money realized rom the labor
OF the inmates. Public money Is given toward IT.
support precisely In tho same manner public
money is given to support the penitentiaries. AZ
receives annually $4,000 irsm the state Comp
from the board OF Education and the proceeds OF
theatre and circus licenses. The balance required
to support the House OF Refage comes rom the
per year: and II Is fact that the income from
the latter source approaches within few thou
sand dollars OF the cost Of food, clothing and fuel
required tor the cuiprits In charge OF the trustees
1t would be almost as sensible and consistent To
s Yarn as ase nrvae y
tuition as the House OF Refuge.
But there is one point touched in the article
under consideration which has been heretofore
overlooked by those who have complained OF the
management OF the Refuge. The gentlemen act
own vacancies, bat 1t is very doubtful whether
their right TO hold Office at AL u legal. The act OF
March =, e ls2s provides les @ ina. the
lie Delinquentsn shall be subscribers 10 the asso-
citation, and that only subscribers be trustees
The law Is very plain on this point, for IL n rhcr
provided that in case OF vacancies IN the Board
they are to be filled by persons who are ..sub-
scribers as aforesaidn The institution does not
receive from the trustees or from any private Cit
zen beneaction Of any kind whatever, not even
to the amount OF picayune, and there being no
the present trustees claim to exercise authority.
The chief object OF the trustees appears TO be TO
the Refuge Their labor IS iarmed out BY Contract
and 1t is only fair to assume the most Is made
Of II. Indeed, the Board say In late report
that "a very large portion OF our time is devoted
pend Tor support" Even children OF very tender
ligious teaching the request made by some Caiho-
lies is not unreasonable and the refusal looks like
the denial OF sacred, and even unalienable right.
Fully three-nfthS OF the inmates are OF Catholic
parentage, and have arrived at an age when their
minds are thoroughly mbued with the doctrines
and commandments OF that Church, and, conse-
quently. are firmly attached to IL. II must he
clear TO every far-thlnking man and woman
tnat relOrmatiOn which IL the OSteuslble OBJECT oil
the management, could be best achieved through
the agency or the ministers OF the religion In
whose fold the cuprits were raised. The trustees
can hardly be ignorant OF the fact that Catholic
youths cannot derive any religious advantage by
jumping them to attendance at services according
to the original ritual established by the chaplain
OF the institution. There Ii no comparison be-
tween the Catholic Reformat0ry and the Refuge.
None but Catholics under the law can be sent 10
the former and the admission OF convicts Is not
permitted In the case OF the latter three-hths OF
the commirtals are Of the Catholic faith, aud they
are denied the benefits OF the sacraments Of their
Church and attending its worship IL Is In very
bad TASTE truly, TO stigmatize those who complain
or this injustice as 'ssuperstitous thrOng.r
Equally unf0unded Is the statement that the
Juvenile Asylum is a private Protestant unsec-
tartan Institution. The Legislature In 1851 appro-
priated from the state treasury $4,000 Tor
the purpose Of purchasing the land aud
erecting the buildings which Ii now In
the hands Of the trustees sOf the Asylum.
Its current expenses are betrayed by an annual
each inmate, to which Is added share la the
school fund. Instead of this only being one half
OF the cost OF maintenance, 1t is fully nne-tenths.
the other tenth being raised by subscription. II
is in no sense private, for the Mayor and rresi-
dents OF the two legislative branches OF the city
government and Of the Commissioners OF Charities
venile Asylum, like the House of Refuge, has to
make yearly reports to the Legislature. Enough
has been written to show that neither Of these
situations are private Protestant reformatories;
that III the case OF one OF them private Protest
ant beneiactions are bestowed upon il, and Ia the
case OF the other Jews, infdels ana Buddhists may
contribute to make up the small deficiency that Is
required to support IT. The right OF gentlemen
who are not subscribers to the House OF Refuge to
act rs trustees, which the statute forbids, NAV be
worth inquiring into.
Sceptic Wants Light.
To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD
AS you state 'there has never been but one
divine resurrection will Soma NJ vnur laarnal