The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-10-17
influence that comes from the girl know

dealing with girls sent Tor leWd conuuc..
1t should be checked to the fullest extent,
and it may call for the most severe pun
ishment permitted or administered
Obscenity may be by. words or in actions.
13. Incorrigible girls are quite numer-
Gus. Ii, after every possible effort, re-
form cannot be accomplished, the girl is
returned to the Court sentencing her;
but this step Is not taken until every
means has been exhausted, and there is
no longer hope for reform.
IA. 1t depends entirely on their pre-
vious character, behavior and disposition
and on all the circumstances But very
few girls attempt to run away, ana 1
may say there are none after they nave
been at the home a year. More girls
plead to be permitted to return after they
have been discharged than attempt to es-
cape from the home.
10. Yes and no. One who has had exs
perience as a teacher, who possesses good
Judgment, is a judge of human nature,
is quick to perceive. prompt TO attend,
who is ready to comfort n
and who can patiently bear and f~orbear-
Such a woman could act as superintend-
emit; but after a years experience IN
such an institution she Is far better pre-
pared to manage II.
formatory institution on theory or by
love alone; an air of discipline must pre-
vail everywhere.
always bad with a large B. No little
angels come here The seraphs ana cher-
ubims are not among those VINO ere
committed to the nome from the poNco
o1 These girls are from the most depray-
cd classes. utility of debaslng conduct
that an early age has led them to enter
on fhe broad road of prostitution anu
vice. Many of them become morhers pe-
fore they are IA; none OF them are Sehl
for their first ofTense. II + aol W. thaSt
neither parental authority nor polce eono
trol can restrain them, and then phey are
arrested as criminals, charged as syn ieen'
- --1t- ~ tho hnmn FOR fHlOIIidtlOI-
You are a woman. You know lhe I'M
Guilty that faces the superintendent anu
officers in charge. -
a nlace where girls of tender age are
placed because they are orphans or are
So unfortunate as to be left triendless
No girl comes here who is not wilfully
obstinate n deies parental ~aufaorlty,
or unless she Is guilty Of some offence
such as theft or arson. Ninety per cent.
| are here for lewdness-
They are different in temperament
locks and tastes. Most of them are dlIec-
tionate; some are sullen ana onstAla ~
ose and petulant; some are loving any
obedient; others have the devil IN them an
the time; some can be contn1aea W q
are able to read and write; most are
densely ignorant; some are II ana some
Is when they come. So a trained eInger
Is far better for a superintendent, ana q
| mother is better by far. everything con-
sidered than a maid. She knows better
how to sympathize and what to DO, ana
Is nearer to the girls thereby.
16 The congregate plan, as a whole, is
not advisable. The family system is the
design Of the Almighty, and should pc
adhered TO if reform is the object
Grade the families according to moral
ity. The smaller the families the petleT
the opportunity to carry out lndiylduai
work. ~
II is absolutely impossible to have the
hest results by working with the masses.
of course, a portion OF the work may
come as a body, chapel and deVotlondi
EXERCISES. etc. But the cottage system
enables one to test the ability OF o1ficers
and to grade the inmates, SO that those
habitually obstinate and denant cannon
influence those OF better tempeTdnieal
IN answering your questions nave en-
deavored to give you replies based on
practical observation here. AT one tlIns
was general manager OF the nome. aru
learned something of its needs. Juuslls
from the newspaper clipping OF your re-
mort to the Governors am satlsnea youi
board or organization has not any praG-
| ficaI personal experience in dealing Win
~ahandoned girls. You are theorlzlng;
like some of the members OF the Leg
ie1afure who investigated the nome, you
seem to have an IDEA ina re no and
that there are no circumstances lhdt VIII
variant confinement in dark cells or on
bread and water. o,r1s ha.
Permit me to say, that when girls Pc
come SO ~disreputable that courts and Oh
Gers cannot control them, they are apt
to require pretty severe handling 70 prins
from under subsection. And they must
he CONQUERED, or there Is no need Oh the
n9 When a girl will deliberately, pick up
her plate of food ana nudl y li,a az INES hid
| 5edance' there must be swift and proper
punishment. aL
howl and pitcher and not the closer, anu
| hen in anger hurls it all over the nan
| floor. | tell you that there must pc sucn d
reckoning as will conquer, ana no Worus
| of love are going to do any good IN tnese
These are but few of the cases Of utter
d~epravity that marks some girls. 1et we
These girIs are not trundled back as in
corrigible: they are handled. and rest
assured they have never been permit
ted to conquer the home; and, with very
few exceptions, these girls are cohqueleu
The board, last May, forbade any cor
poral punishment; the effect on the nome
management was so instantly detrimental
that the board has been obliged to re-
scind its action.
Your committee report evidently has
placed the cases in the very worst posi-
bile light; and the cases cited are, no
doubt, isolated ones, where the PUNISH
ment was for some aggravated offence;
l do not approve of a kind OF punish
| ment tina would impair health, but the
\ trouble with such organizations as you
| represent is that you think no kind of
ninishment proper. The whip Is con-
| demned the rawhide renowned; solitary
| confinement abhorred; and bread and wa
ter diet criticised. You have lived away
| from vice and iniquity, and think there
IS a regular Sunday school sweetness and
| angelic disposition about these girls.
This view would soon be changed II
| you could spend a month among them.
Ninety out of every hundred girls here
| are never given corporal punishment.
| They are controlled by moral suasion,
| and 1 often wonder ait it.
The other ten may require rigid disci-
| pline. If people knew how utterly bad
| and defiant they are, there would not be
so much Of sympathy.
/ know nothing about the Trenton In
| stitufion. and Halls report conyinces me
that he does not know any more about it
| than ! do.
There were many cases of alleged bru-
tally here; but the superintendent ex-
4 planned every one.
Thu facts were brought to the surface:
| every punishment was exaggerated, and
there was much Misrepresentation or ev-
cry hand. Yet the legislative committee
| recommended the abolition Of all corporal
punishment and the removal Of the SD
| perfntcndenf, while the Board of Guard
ians unanimously endorsed and approved
her work.
If you are seeking the best methods for
| conducting the home for girls. remember
that there can be no good results without
| rigid discipline and implicit obedience.
! ing with young girls who have had pleas
| ant homes. refinement and education.
A reform school is of necessity a penal
I fu1fff1f;an and not an academy or Sun