The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-02-06
STORY OF CRUELTY AT STATE
REFORM SCHOOL,.
TOLD BY FORMER INMATE
FIoggings Administered to Girls as
Well as Boys-Punishments
Were Frequent.

Butte, Feb. 4.-According to the
story of Charles Powers, a young man
who lives at ia Dakota street, and
who returned a few days ago from
Miles City after spending several
years in the state reform school 10.
Gated there, the stories of alleged
cruelty practiced upon the inmates,
the reprehensible acts of the late su-
perintendent and the alleged laxity
when shown the statement of John
S. Truscott of Miles City, ONE of the
trustees, young Powers said it was
correct as far as it went, but that it
did not begin to cover the case against
Superintendent Dickinson.
when the school was under the
charge of Mr.. White" said young
Powers, 'the boys and girls there got
along all right, and everybody liked
him. But when Mr.. White left and
Mr. Dickinson was promoted to the
position of school teacher to the place
vacated by Mr.. White our troubles be-
gan. Boys were punished for the
least offense, and a lot of new rules
were sprung that were pretty hard
to live up to-. The grub got poor, too,
but we did not mind that so much as
the punishment inflicted. One of the
new guards, John Born, brought a
leather strap from Indiana that he
used to use in the reformatory there,
and we were beaten with this strap.
1t was about five or six inches wide
and was attached to a big handle. l
was beaten with this strap once, and
it is pretty tough punishment. John
Block, a boy from Big Timber, who is
about 19 years old, was beaten with
this strap once and was badly done up.
Young Block was quarreling with
some of the boys over some little mat
ter ,and Joe Johnson, one of the
guards, came up and knocked him
down. Alex Slick, another guard,
kicked him in the ribs, and then he
was handcuffed and strung up to a
wall by the wrists so his feet barely
touched the floor and given $50 blows
Block was compelled to wear hand
cuffs for week after he got UP, and
was put on a diet of bread and water
There were other cases similar to this.
Sometimes Dickinson whipped the
boys and sometimes it was done by
the guards. The boys are in a differ
ent building from the girls, and are
not allowed to communicate with
them, but we managed to learn what
happened in their dormitory. They
used to whip the girls the same way,
strip them to the waist and whip them
on the bare flesh The whipping was
done by some man, as the women
were not strong enough, or may be
not inclined to do it.
Young Powers said further that a
girl from Hamilton, whose name he
gave, was recently sent home because
she was in a delicate condition and
that one of the officials in charge |
was said to be responsible for her pre-
dicament. He also gave the names
of several girls, who, he said, could
tell good deal about the way girls
were treated by Dickinson"
Some of the members of the board |
used to come out to look over the |
place." said Powers, in answer to fur
ther questions, "but they did not |
know what was going on. Dickinson
always knew in advance when they |
were coming, and everything was
slickened up for the occasion. Ii a
boy was questioned, he knew better
than to make any complaint against
the manner in which the place was
conducted. The directors knew very
little about the school or perhaps
things would have been different"
Miss Powers an elder sister of the
boy, stated to a reporter that she had
on different occasions sent money and
presents to her brother and that most
of them had never been received by
him. Among these was watch which
Dickinson wore and returned just be-
fore leaving for the east, at the re-
quest of Jack Hawkins, who is now in
temporary charge. Powers also
claims that Dickinson disposed of an
overcoat that belonged to him ,and
that he was unable to obtain restitu-
tion for this.