Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-11-14

The bill introduced by the committee ON
the Reform school created considerable
discussion in the senate yesterday. The
bill as explained by Senator Day who
championed it. makes the law applicable
to girls as well as boys; allows boys and
girls to be admitted to the privileges. adj
vantages and benefits of the school with
out compensation, if the parents are too
poor to bear half the expense, if the par
rents can satisfy the judge of probate and
the trustees that such children are vicious
ly inclined and require the discipline of a
retOrmatory institution: it protects the
school against towns which desire to get
rid of paupers and idiots by improper
commitments; and provides that boys
and girls may he committed up to the
same age. The discussion arose chiefly
upon that portion of the bill which Re
pealS the present law requiring towns
to pay fifty cents week tor
the support OF children from such town
committed to the school. The friends
OF the bill claimed that towns We're led by
motives of economy to keep children ont
of the school, that ought To be there, until
they had got beyond the age prescribed,
and theu they were sent to the NOrk
House or State prison at the expense Of
the state, Senators Chaplin, Jones, Cw>lN,
Paul. Howe and Thompson opposed the
bill. Senator Chaplin thought that tn,
law would have tendency To MI the
school with children who would be better
off mt nome if they did not have very good
mothers, for poor though their mothers
might he, there would be still less of
motherly Kindness at the Reform school.
He said over twenty children under eight
years of age were sent there-chlldren
who had no more idea of CRIME than
tame crow. And the ide of the Reform
School standing in the stead of mother
To three or -four hundred children, remind
ed him of the hen who tried to hover with
out-stretched wings the tWenty-SlX chick
ems which she had Matched. The
motherly impulse was good but the shel-
ter was spread out too thin and they pined
away one by one and died.
The Senate took a recess To ask Lieut..
Coy. Ormsbee to address them upon the
bill. He said il was conceded that we had
the best Reform school in the country,
and he was sorry So much hostility was
shown to bill which former and present
trustees alike were in favor of. The lll-
linghams, who might he called the
parents of the school, and former HoN-
ernOrs' also had urged that such law he
passed. out of all the boys and girls sent
ont from the institution since the records
were burned at Waterbury, rs aScerlalned
10y letters of inquiry for each one, seventy
five per cent had turned out III manner
creditablc to themselves and the state;
and he wanted the bill passed as it opened
the advantages and benefits of the school
to all He did not claim that the trustees
were any better than three average citi-
zenS of the State, but such rs they were,
they were n unit in favor of the
bill. In the afternoon the bill was ordered
for Il third reading upon IA call for the
yeas and nays by vote of II to II.
Important Bills.
The bill providing for the removal of the
shiretown of Orleans county passed the
House yesterday and will come up for de
bate in the Senate this afternoon as a
special order.
/ The bill to annex n portion of what was
/ formerly Parker's gore to the town of
] SInck hrilnn WIS rnnl the third time and