The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-02-14
Economy That Costs Too Much.

Economy That Costs Too Much.
The board Of control is supporting a
proposition to establish a woman's prison
in connection with a girls acknowledgement
Industrial school,
The bill has been introduced in the SEN
ate by Mr.. Wilson providing for the es-
adjustment of a women's prison as a
separate institution.
The woman's federation have q COM
nntttee to look after that matter and at
4 meeting of the executive committee
Thursday. while not agreeing to- the plan
on the board of control as a permanent
thing, seemed to think that it might be
adopted as a temporary arrangement.
T h J o u I'm a published on Wednes-
day strong argument from Mr.. c. E.
Faulkner, superintendent Of the Washburn
home. and one Of the best informed men
ON the question Of public charities and
corrections In the country. In his COM
munication Mr.. Faulkner very strongly
opposed the union Of the girls industrial
school with a wonan's prison. We SYM
pathize with his views thoroughly: It
seems to us that to couple an industrial
school for girls, who may be tncorrigible,
but who are not criminal, with more or
less hardened criminals. make them in
mates Of the same institution. or of parts
OF the institution under the same name
and under the same management-is TO
defeat the very purpose of an industrial
school. The commitment to an institution
Of tho{ 1T 49,
tense Is that she is an orphan or has been
neglected, or that possibly she has been
guilty Of some minor offense is to brand
her with the stigma. Of having been sent
to jail and imprisoned for crime 1t is
not difficult to see what would be the
effect Of such cruel treatment upon the
minds OF girls who as incorrigibles are
world is against them.
We do not have to rely upon anyone's
theories in regard to this matter. We
have the testimony of experts AS. for
instance, A w Butler secretary of the
state board of charities and corrections of
Indiana. says in a prieate letter that
that state is trying now to separate the
girls industrial or reform school from,
the Woman's prison. because a prison is
no place for the girls. Attempts to sepa
rate the hardened criminals from the
children in the same Institution are not
always successful and the influence of
criminal women upon young girls is not
difficult to understand or estimate, while
the inevitable stigma upon a girl coming
out OF that institution is an injustice and
ali outrage against her inflicted by tie
state. He urges very strongly not to
MAKE the mistake they did of associating
these two institutions together at the
outset
General Brinkerhof. a. member of tho
state board of corrections and charities
Tor the state Of Ohio. also recognized as
leading expert on the question of char
tiles and corrections, says that no one can
quote him too strongly on the side of the
separation of these institutions. He re-
CARDS the housing of bad women and in
nocent girls under the same roof or even
In separate cottages under the Same Gil
pervls1on and control, as vicious in the
extreme. - ..-a
IL seems to us that the board Of con-
troll. in offering one institution with ono
management for two such widely sena-
rated classes of people as women Grim
1nals and girl dependents or Offenders
whose worst crime consists, probably. in
truancy or disobedience, is not sufficiently
sensitive to the fragile nature of a. girls
reputation. A girl from an Industrial
school bears no stigma. A girl from .
woman's prison, which would probably
be the predominating chara cteristic
OF this dual institution, is by no means
SO fortunate. To put her into such an
institution Is in effect to brand her AZ
the outset as a bad girl and rob her of
an even chance to lead a respectable and
useful life when she comes out of that
Institution.
1t seems to us that if we have to secure
economy at the expense of a large class
OF young girls, who ought to be taken
care of in industrial schools, we are 1nder-
taking to do something which neither
Judgment nor our conscience will approve
and the public in time is sure to con
denim.