The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1876-10-07
DEFECTIVE LEGISLATION

1t IS a mistake in the Vermont law
that boy or girl must commit actual
crimc before being sont to the reform
school The object of the school ia not
and should not be so considered, to pun.
ish crime. It is intended to remove the
young uniortuDates Of the classes named
above, from the evil influences which sur
round them, and put them in the path to
right and useful manhood and woman
hood. The law of other states which
have paid most attention to the subject OF
reforming vicious youth, does not make
the commission Of crime a necessary pro.
liminary to their commitment, and Yer
mont should not be behind them.
PLANS For TnE FUTURE
The great objection to all this, IT, Of
course, the cost. Further accommoda.
tons are necessity. The school has al.
ready reached its limit of capacity in Q
boys building and very few more girls
will fill the capacity Of their school The
superintendent Mr.. Fairbank, whose Of.
iiciency and wisdom in his work arc &C.
knowledged on every hand, has drawn
plans for an additional building Of largo
capacity, to be used for the boys, to con
tain two separate departments, q re.
formntory and correctional. The form.
er is the reform school proper. for the
younger and moro easily managed boys.
The latter ia for the oldor and more vic.
iously inclined, who can thus DO kept
separate from the others so long as they
would be likely to exert bad influence
upon them Of course the boys can be
removed from enc department to tho 9th
or, according as their behavior indicates
the propriety of so doing. This building
with capacity for several hundred ia
mates, with every department complete
would cost, it is estimated, not far from
iorty.Gv thousand dollars. On its com.
pletioD, the present boys building would
be just the thing for the girls If this
plan was carried out, with Mr. and Mrs
Foirbank al the head of the school, and
the Vermont law governing commitments
to it amended so as to correspond with
that OF Massachusetts or Connecticut, VIC
should have such an institution, and such
a showing Tor results, as would not render
intelligent Vermontcrs ashamed at @
comparison with other states Our state
is far behind in this respect, and it is tc
be hoped that the necessary Legislation
will be carried through during the pres
eut session Of our legislature. The out
lay is as nothing to the returns.
Vermont is free from debt, and City OIL
even one hundred thousand dollars appro
priated to this most important charity
would not be felt by the people, while it
would repay the state MANIFOLD. The
system Of the Reform School is such thai
it is nearly self supporting, and after the
plans above described have been com
pleted it would require but a trihine
yearly appropriation to supply any prob
able deficiencies. All intelligent citizen,
know that the cost of crime to the stat,
, is far greater than would be the cost o
taking in youth those who are started il
, criminal courses, ard bringing them u!
to be good citizens. A remarkable in
stance is given in New York prison
report, Of u girl who grew up neglected
and abandoned, and died about the veal
1925. Her descendants were traced out
aud numbered over seven hundred up t
the present generation. They were nearly
8 every one paupers and criminals. 1t wal
estimated that the money directly pait
out for their support as paupcrs by tn,
state, aud the cost of their crimes, togetbc
footed up over 81, 100000! All this vas
sum might have been saved to the state
if that little girl had been taken in hant
aud brought up to an industrious anC
.virtuous womanhood.
AN OBJECT or BENEvoLEYcE.
Our space will not admit of our en-
iargiDg upon many interesting matters
connected with the school. Bat we woult
call tho attention of the people of The
county and state to the claims it presents
for their charitable regards. Visit the
} sabbath morning exercises, when the lit
tie chapel is filled with tho boys, with the
few girls in the background. Study those
faces. There is hardly wicked couute
nance there. Many Of them arc bright
above the average. And consider that il
those boys and girls were left to grow ur
as they can, or sent to jails and prisons il
they commit crime there would be loss
to the state aud the world of SO many
who might be good men and women. tC
say nothing of the immortal souls lost to
heaven. In this school they are learning
a new life. They are learning to work
they are acquiring an education they
arc preparing for good and useful citi
zenship when they arrive at the age oil
men aud women. But the means provided
by the not very liberal policy ofthc state
are inadequate to afford them all the
comforts aud refining influences of home
such as Mr.. Fairbank aud his noble wife
strive to provide for them. There is nc
moro worthy object of benevoencc and
charity than this Reform School. If you
have any little superauity Of books, OF
pictures, or eatables, send it to tho Re.
form School. Such little attentions do the
boys good 10 moro than one way. And
there is no moro useful object Of bcnevo.
encc in the form oflargc gifts or requests
Of money. Colleges and academies are
not more deserving, if as much 20 In
other states private bonevoence has added
immensely to the capacity and usefulness
of rcformatory institutions; and it should
DO so in Vermont.
l II Adjourned Fair.