The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-06-18

criminal-have been entirely done away with.
The bed frames are now set up in the spa
cious'halls, newly painted and floored, and ad.
mirably ventilated In place oflthe low, diDgy
prison-like rooms are now to be found cheerful
and attractive chambers. The old narrow, bug
infested straw pallets and the scanty coverlets
have been thrown aside and box mattresses,
and large clean sheets and coverlets substitute
ed.
Other changes than in the domitories have
been undertaken The school rooms have been
remode.led, and the entire building, much
dilapidated, will be renovated. The old, re-
pugnant prison look will be done away with as
much as possible.
The institution is fast becoming one of which
the state has reason to be proud, and the trus-
tees are doing work for which they deserve
the thanks of the people,
Mr.. Wentworth has emphatically proved
himself the right man in the right place, and
his appointment has demonstrated itself as
one eminently fit to be made. Last week the
governor and council visited the school, and
were highly gratified by the changes and i'm
provements they saw.
The school has now 40 inmates. There have
been admitted since its establishment 1400
boys. corps of twenty assistants is employ
ed, embracing teachers, sewing women, car
penters, shoe makers, teamsters sc. In school
the primary branches, as reading, writing,
arithmetic and geography, are taught. The
pupils make cemmendabie progress during the
four hours a day allowed for schooling. A
good npraEy- of 1900 volumes is open to the
boys, and much drawn upon by many
of them. Whoever arranged it must have had
sense of humor, for several volumes of Arctic
adventures and other travellers tales are ranged
under the head of fiction. Singularly enough
one or two official reports have crept into the
same department, perhaps by the principle Of
natural selection
Out of school hours the boys are engaged in
gardening, farm work, brick making, shoe
making, clothes making, washing, cooking sc.
Chair frames are brought from Massachusetts,
and the boys weave cane seats for them. From
sixty to seventy are turned out day. One
room is under the entire direction of first
grade boys. In the other rooms an overseer is
required. 1t is strange that some enterprising
Portland man doesn't go into the manufacture
of these frames, and send them out to the
school to have the cane bottoms put in. There
is surely an opening for remunerative indus
try in this direction.
In the shoe department but little outside
| work is done, the furnishing and supplies for
the school taking about all the time. The
| clothing worn by the boys is all made at the
institution The large and excellently ar
| ranged kitchen and laundry give employment
| to many of them, and the brick-yard and farm
of 100 acres occupy the rest. About one hun
bred tons of bay are cut, and twenty acres
| planted to corn, potatoes &c. The rest is pas
turage. Sixteen cows furnish milk for the dairy
and table, and four horses and two Jokes of
oxen do the draught work. The brick yard
turns out brick and drain pipe. $4,000 is ap-
propriated this year for running expenses.
There is an excellent Sabbath School con-
.cted with the Institution, teachers from
Portland conducting it in the neat little chapel
every Sunday. The boys are examined in their
biblical lessons twice a week, Wednesdays and
Saturdays. .kgs