Evening star., 1901-04-15
NATIONAL JUNIOR REPUBLIC
WORK DISCUSSED AT MEETING OF
YOUNG PEOPLES SOCIETIES,
Movement for lettering the Condi-
tion of Children without Proper
Home Training.

| the SUBJECT discussed was, The Boy Prob
lem as Solved by the Junior Republic"
The Junior Republic idea was discussed
| generally, and the National Junior Repub-
lie at Annapolis Junction specifically.
| Those who spoke were Miss H. Ida Curry,
Walter K. Stone, Frank Eberly, president
of the National Junior Republic; W. G.
Stuart and J. r. Smith. The meeting
was opened with Scriptural reading and
! Miss Curry was the first speaker. The
| boy problem, rather the boy and girl
pl oblem, she said, is one which is more
and more attracting the attention of re-
formers and SOctologiStS in their efforts to
determine what may be done with and for
| those children with little or no good home
influence.
"One of the early movements Miss
! Curry said. looking to the betterment of
the conditions of this class of children,
| Is that since known as the fresh-air move
ment.' While its aim was not to absolutely
| solve the problem, 1t was meant to be
step in that direction. One of those who
| early became interested in the movement
| was Mr.. William r. George. In 1890 he
took twenty boys from the sum districts
! of New York city to his farm, Freeville n.
| y. and in 1891 he carried to that place 300
| children. The fact that the neighbors
| gave freely to these children proved, 1t was
said, detrimental to their character. and
! in 1894 Mr. George determined that his
| charges should work for the clothes they
| were. that habit of industry might be
| encouraged in them.
Quotes Views of Mr.. George.
AS bearing upon this point. Miss Curry
| quoted from Mr.. George, giving the details
of his study and development of the re-
| public plan.
| Continuing, she said:
| And so. on July 10, 1888, the George
Junior Republic was founded. The first
| years We're years of experiments, and the
| officers of the republic We're adults but
| in time these Were succeeded in office by
| the boys Questions arose which disturb
| the citizens of the great republic. One of
| these question which came to the fore
| early was that of the tariff Farmers gave
| to the Junior citizens fruits and vegetables,
| and these, coming into the Junior Republic,
| could be sold cheaper than similar produce
! grown there. tax was accordingly placed
! upon these importatOns Then came the
| question of woman's suffrage, raised by
the girls in the Junior Republic After a
while a bill providing for equal rights at
| the polls was passed by the legislature.
| One of the male citizens, addressing
group of girls who had signed a suffrage
petition to the legislature which had
! suited in the enactment of the bill, is
| reported to have said, Say, girls. what did
| you want to go and do that for? Don't
you know that it amt lddylike to vote,
| nohOw? 1t amt the real ladies that want
it outside, just the cranks and old maids
| and things
! This argument struck the girls so
| forcibly that they sought to have the presi-
| dent veto the bill. but their efforts were
| futile. Later, girls were allowed to hold
| Office under the republic. This change
| came about gradually. First q girl judge
| was appointed to try female offenders, and
| then the girls became eligible to the other
! Offices
! IT. reviewing the history of the National
! Junior Republic Miss Curry said: I'm the
/ spring of 1898 the professor of sociology in
| Woman's College at Baltimore invited Rev
E. Lawrence Hunt, who had been president
I Of ha hna rf C,f tY~llS of ha
Junior Republic, to address the students.
! The question was then raised. Why not
| have a junior republic near Baltimore?'
/ Public meetings were held and the cooper
! alton of the charitable people of Washing
| ton was asked and this was readily given
! The republic was made possible by gift
/ OF farm of IA acres by Major Charles
! NeWbOld in memory of his son. Mr.. VIM
C.. Rogers, whom the boys call Pap was
appointed superintendent and of what the
republic is doing others will now tell YOU
Solves the Easrancy Problem.
! The next speaker was Mr.. Walter X
Stone. He said that one is impressed very
strongly on visiting the National Junior
Republic with the interest manifested by
| all of the citizens in politics. They all
know the laws and penalties for the in
| frlngment of those laws. "All Of the citi-
/ Zens of both sexes said Mr.. Stone, have
! voice in the making of the laws and the
! election of the officers. If the laws are
/ too rigid, the remedy lies in the hands of
| the people. Everything is in the hands of
| the people.
Another thing which impressed itself
uron me was the promptness with which
the offender was punished The trial was
/ short, sharp and decisive. The prisoner
| pleaded guilty and was sentenced. The
! Junior Republic has solved the vagrancy
! problem. \ man who will not work cam
| not eat. If he has three or more dollars
! in the national bank he may be idle, but
| if he has not he must work suffer ar
| rest as vagrant. He must work until he
| has earned rest. The lesson of self-reli-
! aEce is one of the most valuable lessons
! these young republicans are learning
! The Republics President
| Frank Eberly, president of the National
| Junior Republic, and a manly youth ad-
dressed the meeting, saying that he had
! few interesting matters to present. He
| spoke off-hand, occasionally referring to
| brief notes written on a small card. He
/ said the population of the republic is
| thirty-eight. thiTtyfour boys and four
| girls. The president sketched the plan of
government of the republic, telling his
hearers of the monthly meetings of the
general assembly and of the duties of the
president, vice president, the two COM
missiOners, secretary of state treasurer,
attorney general and other officers. The
laws of the republic against vagrancy,
lighting, use of tobacco. desertion and
truancy and the penalties for their viola
tion were gone over. Young Mr.. Eberly
explained the modes of punishment with
observation-disclosures to the gang in which
| criminals, clad in striped suits, worked for
stated term without compensation to them
selves, but for the good of the common
| wealth. The present rate of taxation In
| the republic was given as % cents per
| capita weekly. This pays government off,
[ GERS whose salaries per week are: Presi-
| dent. So; chief of police, So; assistant chief
! of police, 40; judge, 81; attorney general.
S1.jo. Officers convicted of neglect of duty
are, the speaker said, placed in stripes and
made TO work in the gang. At present the
president is acting as chief of police and
one of the commissioners, the citizens
elected to those officers being in the
| gang Residents of the republic under
the age of twelve years are not entitled to
citizenship, and older boys are appointed
to serve as their guardians until they at
tain that age.
The four girls in the republic support
| themselves by doing housework, washing
| the dishes, laboring in the kitchen, etc
They are allowed to vote at all elections
| The speaker told of amusements in the re-
| public mdulged in after the hours of work
and study. In the matter of punishments
L .--f