Litchfield enquirer., 1876-09-07

70. Eose, you need not complain:
 The brightest and airiest lays that sing,
 Seem equally aeeting and vain:
 Other roses win Llossom and other binds wake
 The morn with melodious song: @
 Aa for us, wo can always this snre comfort take,
 Our troubles will not be for long. si
 4 asl stH 1a aoe 2. P. D. Are New York ChIldren found ln
 Western PFisons.
 REV. E. 0. WmHs, D. D., | !.
 SECRETARY OF NATIONAL. PRISON Asso-
 CLAYTON.
 .DeUr Sir:-Yon will remember that in tie recent meeting of tie National Prison Association at iNew York. some of the members from the Central West. objected to the plan pursued by the Children's Aid Society in sending homeless children to the West, on the ground that it was re- lieying New York of it's vicioas clements, to pour them over the West. and that it was filling Westernprisons and reformator- ;es with New York children. aaf One worthy lady from Indiana went so far as to say that, .::half of the inmates of prisons. and reform schools were these poor children from this city," Some, how ever. understood her to say ''half of the younger inmates. etc. were of these chil- dren." A delegate from Michigan. repre- senting one of our best reform schools in the Union, founded an argument on this supposed fact, against the '.New York plan. " At the time. the only reply we could make. not having the definite facts. was that our percentage of failures. was less than under any other system, and that even a small number relatively, would seem large with the great numbers we had sent out. But the whole statements were fallacy. They were logical mistake, common among the people guid- ed by feeling, of generaiizing to a broad concIusion from one narrow premise, from particular" to universal.
 The lady in question had seen one ip- stance and had inferred there were hum dreds the gentleman had known four
 70 cases and concluded thousands.
 If these statements had been true, they would have been a formidable objection to the "placlng out" system of the New York Children's Aid Society. We accord ly directed cur resident Western Agent; Mr. c. R. Fry, to at once closely examine every States Prison, House of Refuge and Reformatory of the States of Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. where these com plaints were especially made, and where we have placed some l5, GOO poor children during the past 24 years. Mir. Fry has spent weeks in this investigation and we give briefly the results, which aro certain ly remarkable and of itterest to the public.
 ILLINOIS PRISONS.
 He visited first the State Prison of Illi- nois, at Joliet, where were some 1,6OO prisoners. Here he found not one from the ''Children's Aid Society" The war den MT. R. H. Claughry, said that none of our children had ever come under his notice. MT. Fry went through the entire prison and his investigation was as thor ough, as it is possible to make where the rules forbid conversation with the prison CTS. He next visited the State Reform School at the same place. q As this insti- sution is designed especially for criminals under 21 years, sentenced for yagrancy, thefts, and such petty offences, it might be expected that out of the thou sands we>have sent to Illinois. some few would be found in this Reformatory. The Superintendent, Dr. Schneider was absent but his assistant who was very familiar with the history of all the boys. gave his help in examining the books. A very thorough examination was made and many boys conversed with, but nothing was brought to light to show that there was now or ever had been in the institu- tion boy sent West by the Chiidren's Aid Society. hae .,a1r.'- e@ -47xaofs
 The Chicago House of Correction was next, investigated, Mir. Fry conversed with numbers of the inmates, and exam ined tiIe books with the same result--noti ohe was found from this Society,", He also called upon Mir. R. Turner. latk Su- ofathe, Chicago House of Refuge. Mfr. Turner corroborated these results, and stated that be never knew of one of, our children in that institution.s This completed the examinations of, Hi nois. where we have placed some 5, 600. children. - t 'S , 1T !, Indiana, the State Penitentiary at Mich- lgan City, with $50 prisoners, was visited; no one from, this Society found. there. MT. Main. the warden. stated that he had never known of any from it. Theusame results were obtained at the South Indi- ana State Prison at Jeffersonville, The warden was absent but his deputy stated. that if any had been there, sent out from New York by this Society. the fact would have come out He never knew of 6 san- gle case. Mir, Fry examined the different wards and could discover none.
 Next followed the Home of the Friend less. and Woman's Prison at Richmond. There were in it at that time, only two prisoners and a dozen inmates: none from New York. Mrs. Davis, the President. had known personally every inmate for eight years. and stated that she did not believe that one had come from this soci- ty-, The Orphan Asylnm in the same town was next examined. The President. Miss Smith, had never during seven years known of our children there, and but one New York ,chlld. & s'as = @as
 Next followed the Home for Friendless Women, and Womens prison at Indian t..FE < f n Sfsg r~S 4=l