The Penn's Grove record., 1899-01-06
The Bad Girls Of n Jersey.

The report of the State Industrial
School for Girls, which has just been
presented to Acting Governor David o.
Watkins, shows the work done with
New JERSEYS incorrigible girls for the
present year. The institution, which is
located just above Trenton, has existed
since 1871, its object being the the ref
ormation of girls between the ages of
seven and sixteen, when such girls are
guilty Of any crime, except murder or
m%snslaughter. ANY girl between the
above ages, who is habitually disorder
ly, incorrigible or vsgrant, is a ct sub
ject for the school.
There are at present In the school 1873
girls and "A other girls are out at SER
vice, under indentures, making a total
Of 1877 girls under the schools control.
OF this number II were admitted during
the year. Every county in the State Is
represented in the inmates Of the insti-
.ution.
Of those committed during the past
year, seven were Is years of age, six
were IA, two were Is and two IL. OF
the present inmates of the school, only
two are under IL years of age, one being
10 and the other II. A majority of the
girls are Ia and Is years of age. OF the
present inmates, fifty five are Of white
American parentsge and nineteen are
OF colored parentage. Twenty-three
had German parents, sixteen Irish,
four English, two Polish, zone Danish,
n Scotch and two Italian. OF the 537
girls at the school since its foundation,
about 800 have come Of American par
ents. Seventeen of the present inmates
are orphans, twenty-five half-orpbaned
by father, twenty. seven half.orphaned
by mother. The parents of forty.fou
are living and of this number eight are
living in separation. The report shows
that a large percentage of the parents
OF girls who have been committed to
the school we're incorporate.
Thirty-six of the present inmates
were committed for incorrigibility, 20
for larceny and receiving stolen goods.
is for disorderly conduct, IA for vag-
rancy, ID because they we're lit subjects,
9 for petit larceny, 3 for breaking and
entering, S for lewdness, l for poison
ing, l for obtaining money under false
p~retence, and l for forgery. The re-
cords show that in addition to this list
of crimes, girls have in the past been
committed for arson and for entering.
Early in the year there were many
rumors of serious trouble at the school
between some of the teachers and the
matron, Mrs. Myrtle Eyler, and this
reported friction resulted in an investi-
cation by Acting Governor Voorhees,
and the trustees. AS a result of this
investigation, several Of the teachers
and other attaches resigned, and there
was also a change made in the arrange.
ment Of the school. Governor Voor-
bees suggested a sort of merit system,
by which the better girls were to be
kept apart from the more incorrigible
ones, and this plan vas adopted. The
only disadvantage that this system
seems to have is that 1t affords no in.
centive to the coloTed inmates of the
school to deport themselves particular
ly we'll. The school has been divided
into two wings. In n wing are put
the little girls, the honor girls and those
who have shown submissive and teach
able dispositions. In the other wing
are put the white girls who are hardest
to control, and all of the colored girls.
The inmates of these two wings new
er come together, except in the Sunday
services, and do not come In contact
with each other in the work of the dif.
ferent departments. The report, how
ever, urges that an appropriation be
made for a separate building for the
twenty colored girls now at the school
and for all colored girls that may in
the future be committed. On this point,
the matron says: $50 long as the col
ored and white mingle with each other,
it will be impossible to elevate either
one above a certain level. In our judg-
ment it is very essential to the uplift'
ing of both that they be separated"