Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-01-13
THE LAUREL INQUIRY
DELEGATE WILSON THINKS THE
BOYS ARE BADLY TREATED.
MR.. CASKlE DEFENDS MANAGEMENT,
He Says the Discipline IN Not Harsh,
shows That the Few Complaints
Made Have Been Found GroundIess,
and Courts Fullest Investigation.

Mr.. W. r. Wilson. member Of the House
from Pfttsylvania, so far from retract-
| ing or toning down In private conversa-
tion his charges of inhumanity 10 in
mates OF the Laurel Reformatory, reiter-
ates them. and make them much strong
er than I'm his speech yesterday though
this was strong enough to cause the body
to order an investigation at once.
II would not only rather my boys were
! dead than inmates of such an institu-
tion' he said 10 a group Of senators and
delegates in the lobby at the Lexington
last night, but l would rather they
were wearing the convicts stripes, and
God knows | love my boys. | will never
forget what | saw at the reformatory-
little children, unable to talk plainly,
shackled like hardened criminals. And
that is the way they were marched into
prayers. Imagine a childs nature being
affected by religious teaching when his
limbs wore the badge OF slavery
II think the boys have to work too
must bear in mind that these little fell
lows get up I'm the morning at 5 o'clock,
and work. with but short intermission
for meals. until about g. After supper
they study an hour or so, or are sup
posed to do so, but as a little fellow told
me, they are too tired to pay much at
tention to books. and have hard work to
keep from falling to sleep where they
stand.
CHARGE OF SEVERE BEATING.
Another thing: The boys. have rea-
son to believe, are beaten inhumanly.
one little boy with whom 1 talked pri-
vately made me feel knots on his back
which he said had been caused by beat
ings administered by the superintendent,
and what for, do you reckon?
"For breaking his sewing-machine
needle" said Mr.. Wilson, springing TO
his feet, his eyes shining with anger and
excitement This little fellow told me,
and / have no reason to believe he lied,
that he tried his best to keep from break
ing the needles, but could not, and every
time he did so he was given a beating,
the marks of which he will carry TO his
grave.
- "Ihen. think OF those boys sleeping on a
tick filed with straw, and with straw
pillow without a sign Of sheet, and no
covering but a coarse blanket. l believe
they get enough to eat, as all with whom
talked said they did, but the quarters,
not over clean when / was there. were
said by the boys TO have been tidied up
in anticipation of our coming.
CONDEMNS THE SYSTEM.
1.-THE whole establishment, this entire
system, indeed, of sending boys, said 10
be incorrigibe to this reformatory to re-
main until q years of age. is wrong"
Mr. Wilson continued. "A policeman in
this city and l can give his name. if de-
sired, tells me, and he gives names,
places, and dates, that some years ago
little boy who worked in Allen & Ginter's
tobacco factory was going home one
Saturday night with his weeks pay,
when his drunken father met him, and
making him give up his miserable pit
tance, spent it for whiskey. AS a result
the boys mother, sick in bed, suffered
for the necessities of life the following
week. On the next Saturday night the
boys father again met him and demanded
his wages. but the child refused. saying
he was going to buy things for his mo-
ther / think 4 struggle ensued. but the
boy got away with his money and bought
his mother the things she needed
His father went almost straight to
the police station had the boy arrested
and on Monday morning Justice Crutch-
field sent him to the reform school. He
is there to-day. probably as well fitted
10 begin a career of crime as any young
man in the State. And the mother is IN
an insane asylum"
The Denial of President Caslie.
The officers of the reformatory feel
that the management of that institution
was done grave injustice in the discus
sion in the House yesterday. President
James Caskie, of the Prison Reform AS
sociation, was seen by a Dispatch re-
porter last night with reference to the
charges, and said: There are certain
rules for the government of the institu-
ton that the Board Of Directors think
all right The boys work for eight hours,
spend two hours in school, and have an
hour or 40 for recreation. The chain IS
put upon the ankles of such boys as run
away from the school and are caught,
when the superintendent is satisfied that
they intend TO run away again. There
are 157 boys i'm the institution at the
present time. and only three or four who
have chains 'fOund tntlf ankles, ana luty
are only used in the case OF boys who
have escaped or who threaten to run
away These chains are considered by
the management a more humane and
proper punishment than locking the boys
up We have no cells" continued Mr..
Caskie, "or grated windows; there is no
wall around the institution, and the chain
Is considered the most humane plan 10
prevent boys making their escape Sc
cond time 1t is an ordinary chain, and
Is only fastened on to incOrrigibe boys,
so that every time a move is made 1t can
be heard"
COURT A FULL INVESTIGATIONS.
Continuing, Mr. Caskie said: owe court
the fullest investigation as 10 the manage
ment Of the institution. on Tuesday eve
ming the Committee on Asylums and
Prisons went to Laurel through our in
yitation There were some eight or ten
members of that body in the party; they
spent about two hours at the reforma-
tory, and with one or two exceptions
they expressed themselves as being
pleased with the management.
Boys are whipped only for very bad
conduct, when every other means of cor
rection has failed, but the rules require
that this punishment shall be admins
tered In the presence Of two officers. and
a memorandum is made as to the cause
and TO the number Of blows inflicted.
Superintendent Sampson has had a great
Of In raforuaaforv work