The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1886-08-07

a prayin, but they all mostly said as
the t'other wuns prayed wrong, and all
mostly sounded to be a-talkin' to their
selves, as a-passing blame on the 10th
ers, and not talkin' to us. We never
knowed nothins. never knowed what
it was all about"
Best of all, saw real tears in the
eyes of some as they looked at the
hundred ard seventy bright boys gath
cred in Minnesota's Reform School
and heard the words addressed to them
by the wise and kindly speaker. This
visit to the Reform School was one of
the pleasantest features of the Confer
ence. The situation of this school is a
remal kably good one, and the grounds
in every way pleasant and attractive.
Beautiful beds of flowers dot the green
turf in front of the large Substantial
building, and there is an air of thrift
and cleanliness all about, very pleasant
to see. No wall surrounds it, only
common picket fence; there are no bars
at the windows, and nothing to indicate
that any one is forcibly detained there.
Doubtless there is wall of officers
just as effective-but not so repellaDt
to the minds of the boys, and this is
wise and well.
The youthfulness of the inmates of
this school, struck all the visitors, and
believe the average age is less than in
most such institutions. They did not
have bad faces either-good ones gen.
orally, and 1 could not but think that
misfortune rather than vicious tenden-
cy must have placed many of them there.
DR.. Elmore, the president of the Wis
consin Board, who has had long dealing
with this class, quite agreed with me in
this, saying, "There are great many
worse boys than those in reform schools
in general-in private homes through
out the States" Parents and friends
watch them, and suffer for them, hop
ing for an improvement, which in many
cases never comes and when they COM
NIT any wrong against society, it is set
tied for as quietly as possible, and the
culprit allowed another chance. Edu-
cation and industrial training is the
hope of those so unfortunate, or in
some cases so fortunate, as to be placed
in these reform schools, and when see
the ragged and ravenous little boys
who swarm in the city cutters, swear
ing and fighting like little fends, can
not but wish that more of them could
be placed under the benign control of
the State in her best institutions. Ex-
L'4esiaoEs Rayes's word for industrial
training was good one, and will have
weight. He said mo system of edu-
cation in this country is complete or
perfect for any child which does not
give to that child the capacity to make
an honest living by the labor of its own
hand. 1t is an improvement upon the
present general system, to add careful,
competent instruction in skilled labor,
for one or two hours of each day, during
the whole school year of our boys and
girls. Work at the bench assists the
mind. l have noticed in my somewhat
extended experience with men, that
those have usually succeeded best who
had i'll early life worked with their
hands. The use of tools concentrates
and trains the mind, and l believe that
it furnishes better intellectual training
of the powers of memory and of judg-
ment, than any other agency we can
use. A very large proportion of the
convicts of the United States are per-
sons who were brought up to no
trade"
The teaching of sewing in the COM
mon schools is a matter of great i'm
portance to our girls. One who has
not examined into it would be surprised
to find how small a proportion of the
poorer class of girls can sew well enough
to make themselves garment in a de-
cent manner. Few, indeed, can make
dress; and when these girls marry
and have children in their turn, they
are the most useless and expensive of
wives for the poor men who become
their husbands. Private sewing classes
and cooking lessons are doing some
thing for this class, but the great mass
can only be reached in the public schools.
have not yet reached the latest words
of the Conference upon it's chosen top
les, but must leave that to be taken up
in future papers. The words were vital
in many cases, important in all, and in
tensely interesting to every thoughtful
mind.
Says a Universalist writer: "The
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