The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-21
A CRIME TO BE HOMELESS.

In the Girls Industrial School at Indi- anapolis there are 175 inmates. and 1i5 of them are confined on the general charge of 'incorrigibility." That must be a lse- rious offence in Indianapolis. We sup pose it means that there are that many young giris over whom parents. teachers and guardians either cannot or win not exercise any control They are not charged with any crime, so far as the rec oros snow, and if the wnoIe truth couiu oe known we suspect that the reason ror
 tneIr detention is that they have been al- lowed to grow up without sucn parental care and supervls,on as IS apsoiuteiy nec- essary in cities ii girls are to become good women and a credit to their sex. In all propapility most of them, like poor lopsey, jest growed' and nave hao no suIoance or control to make them or fit
 mem for a better place than pubic in- | stitution.
 There is another feature of the report that has its pathetic side. While nearly resented among the inmates oL this scnooi Inere are tnIrty-two glrls conTined against whom the only charge is the word .'nome-
 Iess." This means that among the girls
 charged with arson, theft, prostitution and other oftences there are tnirty-two who have apparently been guilty of no | crime or offence except the pitruI one Of having no home, no parents, no relatives | 10 take care of them. To be without a nome in InolanapoHs is a crime in the | eyes of those wno make and enforce the iaws, and they are punished by being con- med with the most deprayed and aDan-
 ooned of their own sex.
 These thirty-two girls are not criminals
 yet. There is notning to show that they have violated any law of God or man
 except the unyritten law which makes poverty and helplessness crime. 'rhe head and front of mine offending hath this extent, no more," might perhaps be l pleaded by each of them. Their parents may have died and left them homeless
 They may have been abandoned by their
 natural guardians and protectors, and in
 some cases they may have wandered of
 in a spirit of recklessness.' In any case
 so far as appears. they are not yet crim- l inais but will they not become such? Can
 they remain in daily association with
 the depraved and shameless, the "incorri- gibles' of their sex and remain free from
 sin and crime? We doubt 1t. A woman
 can wear a spotless white dress down into | a coal mine but she will be fortunate in
 deed if she comes out without some of the dark stains of her surroundings. And
 so a good and pure young girl may be-
 come an inmate of this institution, asso-
 ciate with the criminals confined there
 and come out uneontaminated, but the
 chances are largely against such a result
 Some of the blackness will cling to her.
 Is there no charitable institution in the great city of Indianapolis that can save ! young girls from the crime of being
 "homeless?" Must we echo Hoods words: Alas for the rarity
 f Of Christian charity
 Under the Sun.
 or those other words of his,
 oh. 1t was pitiful.
 1 Near a wnoie city-fuu
 l Home sne had none!
 If it is 0 crime to be homeless in In-
 dianapolis or anywhere else our laws
 should be changed so that there may be
 different degrees of the crime and dIt-. .ferent grades of punishment. Then a
 young girl who is so unfortunate as to
 lose her home may know just what the
 future has in store for her. And while on
 this subject we are glad to note that one
 Indianapolis paper has taken up the sub
 ject in earnest and in a recent editorial
 The Sentinel says, among other things:
 It is a very serious thing to deprive d
 person of liberty for the purpose of i'm | proving moral character. and 1t can be justified only by making an actual im- l provement. Mistakes cannot be excused. l Good intentions do not suffice to cover l carelessness or thoughtlessness. The | State cannot afford to extend this crime, l or to permit 1t to continue at all. Surely | We are able to build some sort of home for dependent or neglected children If VIC | propose to assume the care of them. ! Surely in this day of. enlightenment we l will not deliberately tmpfIson them with | criminals and incorrigi0les.
 l
 The Republican man does not object to 1 ANNf aA