Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-06
JUNIOR REPUBLIC
Progress Of the Institution Near An
napolis junction.
BOYS WHO ARE CITIZENS
Letters From Youngsters Telling
of Their Life
NEED A NEW BUILDING

The National Junior Republic. at the
Willie Newbold farm near Annapolis
junction. Nd, is the outgrowth of the
splendid success made in this work by Will
liam George. at Freevile, in New York
state
Mr.. George for number of years had
taken a deep interest in helping boys from
the great cities, and was one of the most
earnest workers in the plan to take a NUM-
Der of street waits away for a month or six
weeks during the summer months and give
them a breath of fresh air in the country.
For several years, in this work, he had on
his farm at Freeville each summer a large
number of boys, and his ideas of a junior
republic grew out of his experience in this
work. He found that whenever he at
tempted to make laws for these boys it was
almost impossible to enforce them, but that
hen he allowed the boys to make laws for
themselves, these regulations, backed up
by public sentiment, were enforced, and
enforced thoroughly. As an inspiration. the
idea came to Mr.. George of republic,
based upon the principles of the great re-
public in which We all live-a Junior repub-
lie in which these voting waits from the
city streets. by having the responsibility
thrown upon their own shoulders would be
taught to respect the laws because they
made them themselves, to learn the lesson
that nothing can be obtained without work,
and to get just the necessary days of Jail
life to render them immune from any dan
ger when they went out into the great
world. For five years Mr.. George has kept
this work up at Freeville with the greatest
success, and of the large number of boys
who have gone out from his republic-most
of them vicious in every way when they
entered-it is claimed that not one of his
graduates has gone wrong.
One of the workers with Mr.. George was
Rev. E. Lawrence Hunt who was president
of the board of trustees for some time and
became thoroughly imbued with the spirit
of the republic idea Last spring Mr. Hunt
was in Baltimore engaged in raising money
for the George Junior Republic. when the
suggestion was made that national re-
public should be started in this neighbor-
hood. The idea was quickly followed up.
A number of Baltimore gentlemen took the
matter up, and Immediately a movement
was started to secure pledges of 5000 in
that city for the foundation fund. The
idea from the start was to make the re-
public national in it's scope. In a general
way it was to be managed by Baltimore
and Washington. and the republic itself
was to be situated somewhere between
these two cities, but further than this the
republic. standing almost under the dome
of the Capitol, the idea was to secure sup
port for 1t from all over the country IN
the ground of its being a national institu-
ton.
Washington Interested
The Baltimore gentlemen interested in
the movement, after securing promises of
contributions to the amount of 5000, came
over to Washington with Mr. Hunt last
summer and asked the cooperation of
Washington citizens in getting the institu-
ton started. This cooperation was given
at once, and at a meeting held in ST Johns
Parish Hall, May II, Washington agreed TO
enter into the work in cooperation with
Baltimore An advisory committee was
appointed at that time, of which Mr. Blair
Lee was chairman, and the work of raising
money in this city was Immediately under