Evening star., 1895-04-26
STILL IN REVOLT
Girls at the Reform School Defy
Authority.
LAST EVENINGS SERIOUS TROUBLE
All Locked in Their Rooms Today.
but Refractory.
NDEM MUM REIGN S

About $50 o'clock last evening the in
mates of the Girls Reform School, thirty
seven in number. rose in revolt against
the authorities of the school. The insurrec-
tion has not yet been put down, and there
is likely to be trouble for the next few days
to come. The girls in the school are almost
all colored, from fourteen to twenty-one
years of age, averaging, as rule, about
eighteen years, and they are of the very
hadest and toughest description. During
the year and a half that the school has
been opened things have not always been
as pleasant as they might be, but this is
the first time that the inmates have risen
in actual rebellion.
The Girls Reform School is situated
about three miles beyond Georgetown. just
to the north Of the Conduit road, and is
substantial and commodious structure.
The building is new one ard beautifully
situated on rising ground overlooking the
Potomac. An attractive gravel walk leads
from the road to the front door. and sew
Ell al outhouses surround the main building.
Altogether, it is model institution of the
sort. The matron of the school Is Mrs.
Aldrich, young English woman who
has had considerable experience in reform
and correctional work. She was in town
last evening on business connected with
the school when the trouble broke out. 1t
" as ner timely return WHICH put an eQQ,
for the time being, to the rebellion.
The Days Routine.
The life at the school is naturally of
very routine character 1t is a case of
early to bed early to rise. The girls. who
do the kitchen work, are up at $50 o'clock.
Breakfast Is served at Z, and by $50
o'clock the house work is supposed to be
done. From then until noon the girls are
in the sewing room, and the noon hour is
occupied in dining and recreation in the
school yard. After dinner they go back to
the sewing room, and later in the after
noon they go into the large and convenient
school room, where couple of hours are
given over to the rudiments of education.
After o'clock they are given the freedom
of the big school yard, and 1t was here
that the trouble broke out last evening.
Two of the girls had been insubordinate
and were threatened with such punishment
as the authorities of the school are per-
mitted to inf1ict
This is of the mildest kind, corporal pun
ishment being absolutely forbidden, and is
not of the sort that one would think neceS-
sary in the handling of girls of the charac-
ter of those who are confined to reform
school. About all that can be done with
them is to send them to their rooms on re-
strictive diet. The rules of the institution
all seem to be aimed at the matron and
her assistants and it is said that there are
more rules for them than there are for the
deeds.
General Revolt.
However that may be, the two girls who
were to be punished for their unruly con-
duct refused to go to their rooms, and this
was the signal for a general revolt. The
girls were not long in arming themselves,
and thirty-seven enraged colored amazons
make no mean warriors when they are
NIX Of
and with long wooden clothes poles. With
these they proceeded to attack Mrs. Mar
shall, Mrs. Aldrich's assistant, and had it
not been for the Intervention of some men
about the place they would probably have
succeeded in their efforts.
The home is somewhat removed from the
main II ad, ana chances of aid in an emer-
gency like this from the outside are very
small There are four men employed about
the place, the overseer, the engineer, the
watchlnan and the farmer. These four
men came to Mrs. Marshalrs assistance.
and prevented the girls from doing her
serious injury. AS it was, Mrs. Marshall
was struck on the head and breast and
severely kicked but she will be able to be
up and about today. Mrs. Aldrich, who
had been in town to lodge 4 complaint with
the authorities against two girls for Of
fenscs more serious than insubordination,
returned at this juncture, and, by exerring
all the influence which she has been able to
obtain over the girls, induced them to go
to their rooms
They were locked in, and are still kept
in confine ement. The thirty-seven girls are
confined in quarters that were intended for
twenty seven and SO have not all room
apiece. One large rCom answers as a
dormitory for six. In several others two
girls are kept The rooms are rather more
comfortable than are to be found in the
average better class girls boarding school,
Pandemonium Prevails.
When a Star reporter visited the home
this morning there was confusion worse
confounded, and such noise as one rarely
hears. The furniture had been taken out
of all the bed rooms. and the girls were
sitting in the grated windows yelling like
furies, occasionally running to the door to
pound on 1t with their fists, to jump about
on the floor in their bare feet, their shoes
having been taken away from them last
night for reasons of safety, and in every
way making all the disturbance they
could. They let forth a mass of billings
gate at the reporter as he rode up to the
door, and their language was frequent ard
painful and free. During the hour of his
visit at the school there was not a mo-
ment's let-up, and poor Mrs. Aldrich look
ed as If she was on the verge Of nervous
prostration. All that can be done with the
girls is to keep them in confinement on
a limited diet until they come to a realiz-
ing sense of their moral failings.
During the worst Of the trouble last
evening, before Mrs. Aldrich arrived the
police were telephoned for, and Sergeant
Hess and Policeman Hartman galloped
hastily from Georgetown to the school
Their presence was not necessary, how
ever, for fear of personal violence was over
by that time.