The evening times., 1900-10-06

Trustees of the District Reform Schooi,
submitted to the Commissioners today re-
port of the operations CT the school for the
year ended June 80. The report gives dc
tailed information as to the inmates of tn>
institution, the amounts received from the
sale nf surplus farm products and from th1
various industries carried on at the school
for the instruction OF the boys. the dispo-
sition OF these sums, an ils.nizea state
ment of the receipts and payments of the
treasurer of the school, an inventory of all
personal property belonging 10 the instit,-
tion, and statement of the number of en-
pIoyes and the compensation of each.
The average number of boys. according
TO the report, iE the school during the
year was 197 This number is considerably
smaller than that of previous year. tnc
number in 1899, being 224; in 1898, 236
and in 1897, 223. Figures are given to
show that in the eleven years from 1887
TO 1898, the average number of boys in
creased from 15T 20 236, falling off in the
last 70 years TO 224 and then to 1871.
Several reasons are given for this,
among which is mentioned the multiplied
tion of agencies for the care of boys. The
Board of Children's Guardians, intended
primarily for charitable work, obtains
through the courts the control Of many
boys who should be sent to the Reform
School, the reasons for their commitment
being based upon acts committed or a gen
eral condition OF behavior calling for ref
orllation rather than charitable support,
the object of the school being the refor
nation ara supplemental carrying out of
control wEere the parents are no longer
able 10 exercise it. The courts frequent
ly commit boys to jail or the workhouse,
because The parents or relatives in charge
'.refer thar serving short term in one
Of these places to what may be a much
longer one in the Reform School. The
school has at present a capacity for $50
boys, and il would seem as a mere ques
ton of economy to be much wiser TO util-
ize it 20 the limit of its capacity than TO
distribute toys TO farms and other private
places where the boys themselves get lit
tie CT 10 instruction, the persons TO whom
they ass committed getting not only their
services, but compensation, making an ad-
ditional expense to be paid from the pub
lie treasury.
During the year covered by the report
the necessary repairs for the proper care
and preservation OF the buildings and per
sonaI property belonging to the school
have been made, including those to the
workshops, family buildings, barns, sta
bles, fencing, sewers, roadway, steam
plant etc. in all of which the boys have
been employed wherever practicable. Spe-
cial mention may be made of the repairs
to the boiler house and coal vaults, which
were thoroughly overhauied, walls repair
ed, and the vaults cement lined, SO as to
exclude dampness. The green houses were
in great measure rebuilt and all are now
in excellent condition. The old bathing
pools, one of which was located in each
family building, have been replaced by
shower baths, thus avoiding the necessity
for number of boys bathing in the same
water. a measure conducive TO health and
cleanliness.
The character of the work in the school
room. the manual training school, and in
struction given in the various shops as
we'll as in outdoor work has been perhaps
better than usual
| At its last session Congress passed an
act raising the age for admission to the
school from sixteen to under seventeen
years. and gave the Board of Trustees au-
thority TO make such rules and regulations
as should be necessary to give parole IN
stead Of absolute discharges, thus giving
the school the right TO reclaim its boys
who after being discharged on parole laps
ed into vicious ways and who, IL absolute
" discharged, could not be reclaimed be-
cause of being over age This legislation
ought to have influence with the court N
doing away with the commitment OF boys
10 the Jail ard workhouse where they are
brought in contact with criminals and
causing commitment to the Reform School
to take their place. The health of the
school has been excellent and the general
condition Of the entire property Is good.
The Commissioners have had under con-
sideration the changing OF the drinking
fountains in some OF the public schools. Te
this end James Nolan & Sons recently SUD
mitted a sample drinking fountain of i'm
peTiaI porcelain. which they think should
replace the enameled iron fountains speci-
fed in the contracts for repairs. The con-
tractors claim for the porcelain fountain
that is is in every way superior to the
fountains now in use. and they propose tC
furnish the new ones at the same price az
the iron fountains
The proposed fountain was inspected &
few days ago by the Inspector Of Plumbing
who reports that the porcelain drinking
fountain proposed to be substituted for the
iron one is a most admirable fixture, and
its sanitary qualities and durability. as
well as its appearance. make it much su-
perior to the fixture specified. With respect
to the character of the installation think
certain changes should be made
The back of the fixture is winding
and should be made fat by grinding on Z
bed such as is used for that purpose. II
wainscoting, which is not now possible.
THE fixture at present is not properly
secured to the wall. 1t is supported OF
brackets and held in place on them only
by the water supply connections. One car
readily be moved an inch or more from
the wall 'lhe brasswork of the outlet i.
excellent and well suited to the purpose
except that I think the small strainer:
should be lowered to the depth specified
one and half inches below the fanges.
in view of the superior quality Of thi:
material and the generally good feature:
of the fixture it may be thought desirable
to allow some of the defects in setting
which I have noted above TO remain un
corrected, but I cannot so recommend.
@It should be stated in this record tha
this porcelain drinking fountain is de
| signed substantially along lines suggested
by this Office in frequent conversation:
| with Messrs. Powell and Madden, in which
| the superior sanitary features of such
| type Of apparatus were clearly recognized
| These applicants should be requested Il
state whether it is their intention to max,
| a substitution of similar fixtures if ap
proved, for the fountains specified in tn,
| to be the case it should be an absolut,
condition that such fixtures be provided
with ground backs
Capt. D. D. Gailfard, Assistant to the
| Engineer Commissioner in Transmitting
| the report of the Inspector of Plumbing
| took occasion to say that inasmuch az
| the fixture Installed in the Grant school,
| is in every way superior to the fxtur,
specified, he would recommend that i
| be accepted, provided that it is properI,
secured TO the wall by a screw or b9l