Los Angeles herald., 1891-12-31

year? DO you suppose Professor oea
man, the president of this society, eve
sits down to figure out just the pc
capita expense he is going to allow fo
his sons and daughters?
The create state of California ha'
said through its legislature and through
its superior judges, Il will take these
children from the terrible environments
that have dragged them down into mis-
cry and sin, AMI / will be parent tc
them," and the state has placed my wife
and me in the Whittier school to repre-
sent it in parental nature and not az
keepers, jailors or overseers.
WORK.
At 7:15 breakfast is over and the
ninety-eight boys are detailed to work
in squads of from five to twenty, with
the carpenter, gardener, blacksmith, en-.
gineer and electrician, painter, tailor,
housekeeper, farmer and laundryman.
The object OF the work is not primarily
that the boys may help pay their ex-
penses, but that they may develop hab-
its OF industry, may become rugged and
hardy physically and may learn to be
| experts in some one of these trades or
avocations, so that when they leave this
school they will be able to maintain
themselves successfully in the great
struggle of life. In other words, the
state believes work to be one OF the
most important factors in education and
reformation.
At 9:l5 the boys belonging to grade A
| are called in from work to attend school.
They are usually in their studies about
two years behind the average public
school boy OF the same age. They come
to us restless under restraint, and it is
the object not to retain them in school
long enough to tire them, but rather to
shift the scenery frequently and keep
them interested. Consequently we
have only two hours and a half daily in
school for each boy. The studies that
are particularly required are penman-
ship, spelling, reading, United States
history and arithmetic. Two of the
boys who assist in my Office are learning
stenography, and one has become quite
an expert typewriter. | am anxious to
add as soon as possible industrial draw
ing, as l deem it important that the
boys learning trades should be able to
make draughts or sketches of their
work.
At IL o'clock grade A leaves the school
room and joins the other boys in the
dining room. After lunch there is half
hour play, and at p. m. the boys are
again detailed to work until p. M,
when they come in and prepare for drill
which begins at 4 80 and lasts until :15.
This military drill is considered
privilege, not task, and is one of the
most important features of the cur
riculum. 1t gives the boys a good car
riage, expands their lungs, makes them
folr rt1 do IN. hns, nd raAa
them prompt obedience. Further than
these boys for any emergency that llay
arise, so hat, if ever again the drum
beat of the nation sounds the call ito
arms" there will be large number of
young men from all over California who
have received their training at the
Whittier state school, who will offer
themselves as defenders of the old flag.
At 5 80 dinner is served and then fol-
lows an hour of play. At 7 p. m. one
company goes to the reading room and
library where they read, write, talk in
subdued tones, play checkers or some
other innocent games, and pass the
evening as boys should pass their
evenings with their own family in a
comfortable home. The other company
at 7 p. m. goes into school room, sings
familiar and often very jolly songs, list
ems to q ten-minute lecture about the
moon, the ocean or some other subject,
and passes some time in convers tiion.
The object during this hour in the
school room is to amuse, entertain and
incidentally instruct. At 8 80 the boys
retire to their dormitories where each
child has nice white counterpaned cot
all to himself
Having followed these boys all day
through eating, working, studying, drill
ing. playing, singing, you know each
one is ready to close his eyes in sound
sleep the minute his head touches the
pillow. Every Saturday they have a
half holiday. In the school are two
base ball mines and they have had
matched games with outside mines with
varied results.
GIRLS DEPARTMENT.
There are twenty-six girls. They are
in cottage about two hundred Yards
from the building the boys are in. They
are never under the same roof with the
boys, except at religious services on
Sunday, and on some evenings now and
then at entertainments in the chapel.
The outlook for these girls when the
school opened was very discouraging,
judging from the experience of others,
but we nave been happily disappointed
in our experience thus far.
In judging of the final comparative
results of the boys and girls OF course
we realize that the public will demand
much more radical reformation in the
latter than in the former That is the
way of the world. The girls are as o
rule, bright. They work and study fully
as we'll as the boys, and the important
point will be when they are through the
school to get them in positions where
they will be surrounded by those who
will help them and not be associated
with persons who will influence them
for wrong.
I realize at this moment that doubt
less many OF the ladies teachers present,
coming, as>you do, from every section of
California, will be called on to lend
helping hand to girls who will leave the
Whittier state school, and do not be-
lieve the call will be in vain.
The history of each boy and girl is
very interesting and always contains
reasons for the trouble the child has
caused.
Here is one little fellow whose name
has been in the police reports of San
Francisco time and time again. His
father, drunkard, whom the mother
has had to support by days. work. As
the result the boy ran the streets,