St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-10-28
CARE OF THE GIRLS.
Work of the House of the Good
Shepherd.


Saturday night five young girls. who
were inmates of the House of the Good
Shepherd, located on Bloomington ave-
nue. and Twenty-seventh street, sue
ceeded in making their escape from the
institution. Their names are Mabel
ThOrne, Hattie Heath, Kate Knowles,
Oracle Maize and Susie Smith. two of
them being Catholics and three Protest
ants. Yesterday the mother or Mabel
ThOrne succeeded in learning the where
abOutS of her erring daughter. and with
tears in her eyes reported the matter to
the mother superior, who directed her to
take the girl back, and said the good
moral influences of the institution
would convert the girl into good and
respectable young woman.
''If the girl were Epermitted to go at
large she would soon be beyond refOr-
nation" said the mother to the SObbing
parent. In less than all hour the mother
and daughter returned, and the latter
was weeping and begging that her hair
be not cut short. On being assured
that no inmates would be deprived of
their hair but would be treated tenderly
and kindly, the girl ceased crying and
was brought into the retOrmatOry,
age received her gladly, somewhat after
the fashion accorded to the 'prOdigal
son." mentioned in the gospel. The
GLOBE reporter was informed that the
place of cOncealment of the other four
fugitiveS was known to the mother SUI
periOr, but she was in doubt whether
they would return or not.
This branch of the House of the Good
Shepherd OF s.. Paul was established
here in November, 1888, nearly year
ago. The judges of the criminal court
leave it optional to some of the female
prisoners to go to the Sisters home or to
the wOrkhouSe, and those of them who
prefer the home have never been rear
rested after they had served their term
and been discharged. The mother
superior took great pleasure in announc-
ing that fact. There are at present in
the institution thirty-eight inmates,
divided into two classes-TeformatOry
and preventative. There are twenty
one in the former class and seventeen
in the latter. Young girls and children
belong to the preservative class, and a
constant vigilance is exercised over
them 10 prevent any communication
with those in the refOrmatOry class, who
are generally more vicious and de-
praVed. The little children are the off
spring OF drunkardS and leWd women:
one of them being the daughter of no.
tOrlOuS proprietor of a bad resort on
First street south. Bad as the mother
is in her morals, she is SOlicitOuS of the
purity of the daughter, and has placed
her beyond the evil influences of her
own surroundings. The smaller in
mates attend school in the morning and
| are well instructed morally. They are
a lot OF intelligent-lOoking children,
rosy-eheeked and apparently well fed.
The inmates in the reformatory de-
partment receive instruction IN music,
sewing and cooking. One girl of fifteen
has learned TO play pretty well on the
piano since her reception, and another
playS well on the violin. The institu-
ton is strictly Eoa-Sectarian so far as
any interference with the religious be-
lief of the children is concerned. All
the ladies in charge require is COM
pliance with certain rules and regula-
tionS they deem necessary for moral re-
Straint The mother of Mabel ThOrne is
a Baptist, but is not a church member,
and yet she implored that Mabel receive
good moral training and be carefully
watched. The Good Shepherd property
was originally the George b. Wright
property, and the present owners are
continually making improvements.
The wooden fence with barbed wire on
top is not high enough to keep re-
fractOry girls from climbing over it, but
Yale locks are substituted for ordinary
ones to prevent them from leaving their
rooms.
The head of the Institution has had
an experience of sixteen years in the
management of erring women. She is
a fine conyeTsationalist and lady of
considerable culture. She says she has
devoted her life to the reformation of
fallen members of her sex. and that she
has faith in God that her mission will be
successful. AS for money, she has no
fear but God will provide enough for
the maintenance of the institution. I'VE
have run it on nothing, so far" she
said, land we are ready to take all the
girls that come to u.s."