Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1899-06-16
BAR6ARiTY IN MICHIGAN.
a FEW REVELATIONS THAT
OUGHT TO INDUCE THE PEG
PIE or THAT STATE TO
STOP WORRYING OVER
SOUTHERN LYNCH
JNGS FOR. A WHILE
columbia IS. Co. STATED

columbia IS. Co Stated
The Northern papers and people con
clude tina, the South is in state of
barbarism because lawlcss mob burns
u negro or a gang of toughs lynches
another negro. They do not realize
what risk they run of having the
same logic applied to their section.
The Michigan State Industrial School
for Girls is being investigated by leg
islative committee ana some Of the wit
nesseS tell narrowing tales of the most
dreadful cruelty practiced upon the
students by the teachers. AS reported
in the Chicago Record, one or INC pu-
pills, Annabella Echt.naw, was given IA
hot bath. the water being heated from
Il steam coil in the bottom of the tub.
One OF the teachers. Miss Oaks. who
was present. described il as follows:
The girl cried out: Are you going
to scald me?" She was held in twenty
minutes and on coming out became
unconscious and died within twenty
minutes. Miss Oaks said hot baths
were a method OF punishment. She
also testified to holding n girls hands
while Mrs. Sickles gave her twenty
i've or thirty blows with rubber tub
ing split into pieces. She had also seen
girls mouths covered with courtplaster
loI answering Duck.
one of the pupils testified that she
had been stripped and given thirty-six
lashes with a rubber hose as n punish
ment for II remark about one of the
teachers. She was black and blue for
a month. The rcnort continues:
Mrs Helen Nj Babcock. a former
hOusekeeper al the school. testified that
The eatings the girls got were sicken-
ing. One instance she spoke of was
hat of Bessie Force who had been i'm
pertinent. Mrs. Sckics tore off her
clothes and gave her thirty blows,
after she had been III solitary cell.
! Mrs. Bnbcock continued:
Why don, You cry?' said Mrs.
Sickles. when she finished. Bessie was
as white as sheet and trembling.
She said: 1 cant cry. Mrs. Sickles.
You'll cry or III kill You Take off
your clothes, said Mrs Sickles. Bessie
! took of her clothes. Mrs. Sickles went
| into another room and got n trunk
! strap about an inch ana quarter wide
she made Bessie lie across sofa there
! in tho office and gave her. very delibe-
ra,ely, about ten blows on the naked
| limbs. could not bear the spectacle,
| so | stood at window and looked out
| Bessie was screaming: oh Mrs Sick
les. don't kill me. don't kin me-"
All OF this occurred in a State coll
lege for girls in Michigan. AS an evil
uehNc va p"i p"ti'N IL Is pretty concur
sive. but no one will be so foolish as to
believe on that account that Michigan
is not civilized. although the occur
rences certainly do not speak we'll for
that State.
1t would seem that here is n fine
field for Mrs. Home and her Boston CO.
laborers who have worked themselves
up to such Ditch over Southern bar
barism. One of their own sex is ac-
cused of scalding n tender vounr civil
to death: which. to say the least is as
barbarous and cruel as burning a negro
man Neither Is to be excused or con.
doned. but we should all be careful to
avoid drawing general differences from
exceptional occurrences,