Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1881-01-12

swelling protest against the longer
continuance Of the evil and disgrace
attending the presence of children in
our aims houses and poor houses. In
the past five years over three thousand
children, under sixteen years old, have
been temporary or permanent residents
of these insiitut ons A disclosure of
some of the facts, gathered from the
sources above indicated, would shock
the community. nor would a sense OF
propriety permit more than reference
to them herein These children, in a
word are enervated by idlehess, cor
rupted in body and soul, without the
possibility of acquiring or recovering
their self-respect, prepared for pauper-
ism and crime, effectually wrecked at
outset of life This situation of affairs
is earnestly commended to your action.
Acts of Assembly touching the remedy
of this evil have been prepared by sew
eral parties, who have studied in this
phase of the social problem The sub
iect is not without difficulty stat
ute forbidding the reception or reten-
tion in anv aims house or poor house
of any child between two and sixteen
years of age, will be an Indispensable
starting point. Private charity would
best point out the direction of the next
steps. In the absence of understood
facts to stimulate the enthusiasm and
fervOr of private charity in this behalf,
and of adequate reasons to have sug'
gested the economy of private associa'
tions to look after this class of children
it NAV become your duty to devise the
entire scheme. 1t would be gratifying
if we had, throughout the State, more
corporations of benevolent persons ad
dressing themselves to this evil. Upon
them, as basis, the aims house ano
poor boards, could operate with money
aid, official inspection, and administra
tive sanction ANY and all routes tc
the results you seek, will lead to the
well tried expedient of placing these
children in natural families, or the fam
ilv and farm school, Good example:
will occur to you among the variou:
"Homes for Friendless Children" al
ready iu existence, and no better mod
els can be found than many of the
Soldiers Orphans Schools" now un
der State patronage.
Confessedly, there is danger in thl'
mode o1 relief to be avoided. A too
careless or too profuse provision nigh
render pauperism desirable occupa
tion The tendency, at the best, of sucl
enactments, is to release parents from
a responsible sense of the duty of pro
viding for their offspring, and to en-
courage improvidence. In a certain
sense, they cannot cure distress, bu
only shift it from one part of the com
munity to another. Any plan will b.
confronted with fatal objection whicl
enables the recipients of State bounty
to elude, in any serious degree, th'
necessities of their social existence.
In your wisdom, you will devils
some relief from the perplexities of thi
situation. This relief should, however
be local and not a State charge Th'
burden of the remedy should be borne
bv the local poor boards 1t is only b,
localizing this form of charity that eff
cient supervision can be secured, th
guarantee of economical administrator
be preserved, and the risk of mendi
cancy becoming profitable be avoided
The Governor has the following t.
say about our prisons and pri2oq dis
cipline, houses of refuge and reform
schools, all of which is worthy of th
attention of all good citizens:
HOUSES OF REFUGE AND REFORM
SCHOOLS.
Fortunately, the policy and the righ
of the State to organize a system G
public instruction have passed beyont
| the region of contention. Result
have vindicated it's wisdom as well a
its cost. Following close upon 1t, i
another topic upon which much of th
very best thought of the ablest ant
purest philanthropists has been expen
ded the duty of society to its dan
gerous and criminal classes 1t is no
material hefe and now, to discuss th
objects of the enforcement of crimina
law, whether it be mere punishment
for the sake of punishment, the protec
tion of society, the reformation of tn
offender, or all of these. Nor is it m
purpose to enter upon the details c
prison management, whether the,
should be ordered Under the separat
system, or the congregate System ; no
is it indispensable, as a preliminary
to settle the question of the proper dis
position of the products of convict la
bor. What rights has society over its
criminals, and the classes out of WhicI
they come There can be no promp
method of putting down crime. 1t i
incurable, except by gradual process
Whoever employs that process expect
ing to realize any romantic results, o
with ptQpian theories, will relize moth
ing But we are not without certain
definite and practical results, whicl
have been reached in our own State q;
well as in many others The who'll
ground is by no means unexplored
nor has the whale ground been, by AM
means, fully covered.
We have ascertained facts and relia
BILE data, in view of which we can e
forward and in the safe direction of as
sured progress. We have undertaken
TO educate the ignorant, to feed th'
hungry, and TO eyre the diseased, by
State appliances, and at the pqblir
cost. How can we best curb thu
vicious? A distinguished publcist has
said that "whoeyer has the right tC
hang has the right 10 EDUCATE" Or
as no one now disputes "the right" tC
educate, it may justly be said thai
whoever has the right to hang has
..thc duty" tc educate. The prison
statistics Of the whole country show
some startling and unexpected facts
Too much care capnpt be Ia Ken tc
avoid hasty, immature, and unwarran'
toI combinations, Prom. ct.t fine Thnpe