Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-07-09

refining influences OF good associations.
but on the whole the crowd, taken COL
lectively impressed me just as any other
aggregation OF boys would do. Some of
the little faces were bright and merry
and brimful OF curiosity; others were
calm and expressionless. while lew
showed only stupidity and indifference.
Now and then ! saw a face that could
not be trusted, but one sees these every
where.
In former years many OF the boys at the
reformatory were put to work on con-
tract labor; now that system mas
been abolished, and the inmates spend
all their time in school, or play, or IN
doing odd jobs assigned to them accord
ing 10 their capacities. The routine mas
TO be gone through with regularly ana
rules must be obeyed. OF course, there
are many guards at the institution, but
the visitor is astonshed AT the liberties
the lads enjoy. and al the unprison-like as
pect Of the reformatory. POliteness and
cleverness tells in this institution just
as it does elsewhere. The bright, oblig-
ing boy is pretty apt 10 become a
trusty in course OF time and that means
a great deal In the way of additional
liberties. etc. TO save me, don't see how
it is that more of these wicked little
fellows do not attempt 10 steal off. 1t
wouldn't be very hard to do, and yet
escapes are comparatively rare. OF course,
whipping and dsciplining fellow, but
these punishments would hardly suffice
unless the place had some attractions.
THE MoDUs vIvENDI.
Reformatory boys must so TO bed
early-by S:3O-and they must be up by
quarter to 6. At eyentlde no youngster,
upon retiring, stops to think over his
troubles The little sinners are zoo tired
for that, though their dormitories are
certainly well adapted 10 rCmping. Each
OF the three families has a huge room,
and each boy i'm turn has his own bed,
with nice. clean bedding on il. They say
It is a jolly good sight TO see Family No.
! 1.-The little fcllows-aslecp on a winter
night, all smuggied up and warm and
cosy. and not giving a continental about
J the troubles Of this wicked world.
! il is presumed that the school hours
are by no means so pleas1n. 10 the
| Youngsters, though some OF them DO
quite well IN their classes The trouble
/ is that the average reformatory boy,
when first received. is entirely lacking
/ ir thu rudimcnts Of education. and hes
To Ee commenced almost at the begin-
ming. In addition 10 the regular studies
| which torture every urchin's existence,
! these lads are thoroughly sch1oled In re-
! lgion and taught the Bible and its I'M
~peekable significance. on Sundays they
! have the Episcopal service n 'he chapel
/ and gracious. il does one good TO hear
the young rascals sing and join IN the
! services. one would almost imagine from
| their fervor that they had never done
anything wroEg in their lives. True now
| and then a boy drops off 10 :leep, but
| that is according to some reople) very
natural thing TO do i'm church. ard the
flies generally see that this habit doesn
get 100 common. After the services a
bell is rung, the puerle lines stand up,
and out they march. just ike they 90 In
the public schools. If you are a stranger,
possibly some Of the rascally tots VIII
give YOU a wink as he passes, but II s
such a good, genial. hearty, riischeVlous
wink that you're not apt to get mad.
even If you're President of the United
States.
THE DARK SIDE.
InasmUch as i like bad boys (when
they live several blocks away from mel
I'm afraid I've painted the reformatory
in roseate hues and made you think 1t
Is a charming place and that existence
there is one long whirl Of pleasure for
its inmates. And maybe, too, | didn I
feel any sadness on seeing these boys
but be that as IL may, when my eyes
looked on that long line as they filed out
from church l felt one of those lumpy
uprisings i'm my throat such as comes
when / behold a white crepe on a door.
To tell the truth, those reformatory boys
must be a pretty bad lot The report
for the t-yO years ending December 1871,
shows tnat the inmates were comm tteu
for the following reasons: burglary ~
stealing. a. cursing his father. l; olS-
obedient and incorr.gible. y; disorderly,
8. breaking in bOX-car ,; violating postal
laws .. boarders, 3; demonstrating, j.;
felony, 4; forgery, .; grand larceny -
obtaining money under false pretences
I. profane abuse. ]; assault A; disturbing
urblic worship. /; firing hay-stack, /; sus-
piclous character, /; criminal threats, j;
unlawful firing pistol, 1; drunk and dis
orderly. /: shooting brakeman. ]; oo-
structing railroad track I; vagrancy ana
breaking jail. j.; voluntary manslaushter'
.. highway robbery, 1; vagrIcy, %; VOL
untaries, 7.
Now the question IS. Are these lads
these lads. with the disadvantages they
have had and the possible hard5hips they
have suffered-to be abandoned and eft
10 swell our prison populations2 The good
men who have worked increasingly 70
help the reformatory say not.
A GENTLE HINT.
Notbine can be gained by the hattery
that would say the ref0rmatory is splen-
did institution, well equipped, ana IN
every way suited 10 us purposes, Tor
such IS not the case. Despite the fact
ri n 4
that economy energy. and forethought
can accomplish for the reformatory, and
despite the further fact that Mrs. Grin
gan is a mother to all those poor little
sinners who want TO be mOthcred, the
place is poOr-as poor as poverty. The
State appropriation is wofully small, and
every dollar spent has 10 be squeezed
and applied in a way 10 make 1t so the
farthest Rich people, philanthropi5ts'
and those beneficent men who are always
helping other institutions, don't seem 20
realize the fact that there's reiorma-
tory In Virginia. whoever hears or be-
quests 10 the hospital Of this institution
or Christmas pies for the boys. or Fourth
of-July frecrackers, or any OF those chart
table things for these Oliver Twists? a
noble gentleman. who has labored I'M
ceasingly in behalf of the institution,
told me In confidence. which confidence
I now violate. that he had spent 5000
out of his private resources on these
same poor, erring, sinful, little boys. If
there are others they need hide them
selves no longer.
THE LOVE OF FLOWERS.
In my study Of criminals have noticed
one thing particularly. e., that the in
mates of prisons are oftimes delighted
with the most trivial. insignificant, in
extensive things. Now. the reformatory
is about as hot and sterile a place as