Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1890-04-03

II Needs Help and the Levy Court
Should Aid II by Increased Appropri.

~ Noeds Help and the Levy Court
Should Aid It by Increased Appropr,.
rarv OF Congress-
-.acts from an edi.
,orlsi 10 the Middlatown Transcript are
Board OF Managers OF the Ferris Reform
School:
"Under the charter OF the Ferris In.
dustrlal School its managers are COM
PEELED to receive and provide for males
between and 10 years Of age committed
TO the custody Of the board by the Court
oi General Sessions, ETC., OF New Castle
County, tho Municipal Court Of vii.
minQton or any Justice Of tho pcaco OF
the county upon conviction Of vagrancy
or otter criminal offence before them, or
even upon their acquIttAl, n the court or
mai istrate shall consider him Q proper
object for said school. Out Of the Ferris
bequest, amounting to e0l 1873, the board
purchased properly In Christ ana Hun
dred, and, after paying iorit and putting
u In condition for the desired purposes,
they had left about ocO, 900, out Of which
TO realize nm income to meet running ex-
peuses.
TN the frat year or two of the school
there were not mauy boys committed, SO
that the expenses were not great. The
number, however, gradually increased,
AUD 10 was . Quetiion where the money
should come from TO provide for them.
A year or two ago Mrs. Mary u. Pusey
oi Wilmington died. and by her good
ness tue admirable Institution got 500
600. Tho school, therefore, has an in
come now from the investment Of its
own funds Of about a, 900, and whatever
1t can make of the farm, Woodside,
which consists Of about 104 acres. BE-
.ldes this the Levy Court has cen giving
the school $500 year. All Of this is not
sufficient. however, to run the school and
provide food, clothing And care for all
be boys. The amount of money psid
Tor the force necessary to run the school
and farm the land 10, considering the
careful, painstakiDg and efficient people
they have. comparatively little. The
boys themselves, OF whom there are now
forty-thrtc, do great deal Of work. y
"NOw is It not the duty of the Levy
Court TO make better provision for this
school,? 1t 10 run economically, the cost
per year Tor boarding. clothing and
otherwise taking Gaze OF the boys being
from el25 to 800. II these boys were
not In this school the court would be
compelled to keep them and their food
and care would 10 as much and more
than It costs at the school. Besides, what
Is Infinitely worse they would be put 10
closest association with older and more
hardened criminals, and their incarcera-
tion would In nine cases out OF ten be
their doom, so far as any moral reforma-
tion WAS concerned. From this point OF
view the work OF the Ferris Industrial
School cannot be too highly appreciated
by the community at large.
Every citizen In the county ought to
thank john Ferris daily for what he has
done. He and Mrs. Pusey have devoted
over cleo, 900 Of their property to the
car8 Of boys, for whose support the
county would otherwise have to pay.
And lcok at the difference In the care
recoived. The one makes criminals, who,
after they are released, In many 10.
stances, commit further depredatiors.
while the other reforms "waywerd
luvesiles" and gusrds and guides them
afterwards The county now pays %
cents day for the food given each pris-
oner, which 10 1910 . week. Ifyou add
to this the other expenses OF caring for
the county criminals It will put their
cost far beyond the expenditure per
inmate Of the school. 10 will therefore
readily be seen the county 10 having
some Of its charges provided for free Of
cest.
This 1t should not ask or expect. II
should see that the board of managers
are not required to use up the principal
Of the Ferris and Pusey bequests and
whenever the income is exhausted the
Levy Court should make up the balance.
The school lie a county Institution and 1t
boards and provides for boys who would
otherwise be a charge upon The county
at les3 cost than II they were In the
jail. The president of the Levy Court is
ex-oiilcio member of the tcho ol's board
oil mansgers; as 1, also the associate
juige for this county. There have now
been committed to the school all IL can
accom- modate aud new building will be
q necessity at an early day."