The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1886-02-26

serious Charges Against the syndieate
Which Controls the NIanagement of the
Pennsylvania Soldiers Orphan Schools
A Systematic Course OF Robbery and Neg
lest of the States Wards. r
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. pa morning
paper published six column article on
the management of the soldiers orphan
schools of Pennsylvania, which alleges
not only official discrimination, neglect
and corruption, but also that syndicate
10 profting at the rate of $50, 900 year
in che management of the schools. A
voluminous array of figures, taken from
the books of the institution and from
those in the Soldiers Orphan Department
1 of the Statey are given to support the al
legations. The article says: 'tThough
the war ended -twenty-one years ago, and
though all the children. whose fathers
died on the bettlefeld have long since
passed their majority, the soldiers or
phan schools are still maintained by am
nual appropriations from s4he Legislative
body, mainly for the enrichment OF few
men whose faces are well known in the
lobby at Harrisburg.
Strange, as it may seem, yet neverthe-
less it is true, syndicate healed by
ex-senator George Wright, of Mercer,
Pa, profit at the rate of about $50, 600
a year upon the management of
four schools located at Mt. Joy, Mer-
Ger, McAllisterville and Chester Springs.' -
There is evidence at hand that the chief
Clerk of the Soldiers Orphans Depart
ment, James L. Paul, was a participator.
in the profits of the Mt. joy school, and
received checks for three years in sue
cession at the rate of SIS, 600 year,
all of which was charged upon the
books of the concern as 'IOans."
The State pays specific amount per
week for each child admitted to. schools
under private management, and the State
laws require that the children shah be fed
and clothed in addition to their, -instruc
ton in educational and Industrial pur-
suits. The express requirements of the
law have been literally disregarded.
When this fact was called TO the attention
of the State superintendent of soldiers
orphan schools, Rev. e. r. Higbee, he
remarked Gwen, / Iguess they got more
than7they would have got at home.
In some of the syndicate schools chill
dren are packed together in bedrooms
and school-rooms5 like herrIngs. At Nc
Allisterville the boys bedding was found
to be in disgraceful condition. At Mer-
cer, in consequence of the penurious
methods Of the management, some of the
boys bathed npickle barrels-tEVO boys
to each barrel. At Chester Springs some
twenty-five or thirty pupils have been de-
pr1VeQ OF ScnOOHn2 IOr Jnfee mOnGnS or
more upon some pretext. Twelve chill
dren were crowded into hovel at Mt.
Joy to sleep while rooms capable of COM
fortably accOmm odating sixty children at
Mansfield were vacant. But Mt. JOY was
run by the syndicate and Mansfield was
not.
While Chester Springs was run in other
hands, the sum of 81 .38. per week per
capita was paid for feeding the children,
but when Wright, Paul and Geo. H. Pear
son bought the schools last June, Wright
said he and his partners would make their
/ profit on the food. Ala regard for the
children seems tohaye been subordinated
to'a beartless grab for profit, and this
evil influence has been carried to such an
extent that premium of twenty dollars a
head has been paid to agents to re-
cruft chiIdren for various schools tits
because of this competition, and because
of the comparative scarcity of orphans,
that the schools are now half filed with
children whose fathers are living. OF
the $3.50, 900 appropriated annually by the
State to pay for feeding, clothing and ed
ucating these wards of the State, it is
calculated that nearly ninety thousand
dollars is absorbed in excessive profits.