The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-07-31
BAD BOBBY WOODRUFF.
Mercer County's Judge Tells
How He Nearly Finished
His Teachers Career.
soee,oi TO The JeSsey City Neus.

H f.
TRENTON. july 81, 1S94.-A number OF
court officials were sitting in tine Mercer
County Court Room when the conversation
turned on the matter of leniency in dealing
with criminals, and the remark was maze
that too great a degree of severity exercised
in sentencing those who had been convicted
of crime often had a hardening rather than
a reformatory effect, and several instances
were quoted. The conversation gradually
glided into the treatment OF scholars parVic-
ularly boys at school.
a dunbar of instances were mentioned
where under the old flogging regime, boys
had been made worse rather than oetter py
the too free and TOO severe use OF the roo.
The conversation awoke a reminiscent chain
of thoughts in the mind of Judge woodruff
and he related the following
BAD BOBBY WOODRUFF.
He said that some time last year he was
tra yeIIinp over a new railroad through Sus-
sex county, and when near Flanders some
.triAjuq accident occurred which occasloned a
DELAY of an hour or two. He took advantage
of the DELAY to stroll about the place, Wnerea
portion of his boyhood days were spent, de
soon came to the old school house, wnlch
was much the same as when MS
ideas had striyen to shoot, when a boy.
A man was working in a field near by.
and thinking possibly he knew him the
Judge asked MIN if he lived about there.
:.Well.n WA the reply, 1--we lived right here
nigh on to thirty years" What might
your name be?' was the next question:. Up
on being told the Judge recognized him as
to school. He then said:-"I guess you
don't remember bad Bobby Woodruff, DO
yougp With that the man sprapg over the
fence. and grasping the Judges eX-
claimed:-"is it possible Why, | am one
of the trustees of the school, and we We're
talking about you at the last meeting OF the
board. Do you remember the marx Oh Ihe
wall? 1t never came out"
THE DENT IN H WALL.
The man then took the Judge in the build
ing. and showed him a dent IN the wall, up
in one corner of the room. The Judge then
told how that dent came to be there. On
one occasion. for some boyish prank, ne was
called up by the teacher, a man, to receive a
fogging. Boy-like. in a spirit OF praVaao,
he said to his seat mate, as he arose to obey
the call
well, he won't make me CRY, anyhow"
The little imp at once held up his hand,
and told the teacher what bobby" mad
said. :
In accordance with the common style OF
school teachers of those days, the pedagogue
was at once in his mettle, and bidding the
CulDflG nOlQ Oub his uduui Ao ~PPhiSH oo
ruler with more than usual severity. But
not a whimper did he get from the r%esolute
boy. He then tried the rod, but with the
same result. He might have killed the lad.
but he would not have had the pleasure Of
hearing even a sob.
HURLE H INKSTAND.
When he had become weary of his pastime
he turned to lay up the rod, when quick as a
flash the boy caught a heavy iron inkstand
from the desk, and hurled it with all his
power at the head of the teacher. 1t FORUM
ately missed it's mark, and striking the wall
made an indentation in the plaster that re-
mains vet. Had it struck the object aimed
at, it is quite probable that teacher would
never have logged any more boys,
The Judge remarked that he afterward
taught school himself for twelve years and
never laid a rod on a boy in all that time,
and he had some lively boys to deal with.
Some of his boys have risen to distinction;
and one of them, it is quite probable, VIII
be the next Bishop of Trenton, Very Rev.
james A. McFaul.