The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-12-31
PROBATION PLAN
FAILS M|SERABLY.
Two-Thirds of Negroes Sent to
Country Run Away
SAM DAILEYS EXPERIMENT,
Of 1s Practitioners ~ Escape and Be-
come Convicts-Reformato School
Wanted-charges of Peonage :
Feared-FeagIn Depressed.

Sam Daley, a negro farmer who lives
near Tuscaloosa. was in Birmingham
yesterday to report to Judge Feagin how
the eighteen negro "probationers" sent
him this year by the Judge had been get
ting along, and to do what he could to
raise money to build a negro reform
atory school.
Dailey's report to Judge Feagin was
exceedingly discouraging- -disheartening
to Daley and very depressing to Judge
Feagin.
In response to inquiries Daley said:
'Within the last year Judge Feagin
has sent up to me eighteen negroes on
probation-flfteen boys and three girls.
His purpose in doing this was to take
the negroes out of the eys environment
OF the city and to place them where
they would be free from temptation and
become useful.
Didn't Turn Out Well.
ST regret to say that the experiment
has not panned out very ysll. OF the
eighteen negroes. twelve have run away
or these twelve three are now serving
sentences In the penitentiary. The rest
of them havA 1 suppose. come back to
Birmingham. The remaining six are still
with me, and are getting along pretty
we'll.
when the negroes go to the country
they are not very useful They are not
worth their maintenance on the farm. 1
have to clothe, feed and shelter them,
and I have found that 1t doesn't pay in
financial way. But am doing 1t not
to help our people
1.-THE great trouble is that these negro
probationary from the criminal court
are not satisfied with life in the country
They are not welcomed by the country
negroes. The country negroes look down
on them and don't associate with them
The result is that the probationers have
no recreation to speak Of. They do not
visit, and are not visited by the negroes
Naturally, they become lonely, and their
loneliness makes them restless. In many
cases they form plots to get away, two
or three going off at a time.
Suggests Reformatory School.
II thought the probation plan was a
good one, but the results of my expert
ment are not encouraging. 1 think we
ought to have a reformatory school. The
| negro women who are sent to the country
demoralize the negroes there. Some OF
the young negro boys do the same thing
Some of these boys are really men
They tell Judge Feagin they're only L
years old just to keep from going to jail
whereas they are really 16 or IS. Thes
older negroes run away, steal, get caugh
and are sent to Jail, or else they max,
their way back to Birmingham.
Prominent negroes are striving t,
raise money to found a negro reformator,
school. We have raised between ssO
and $500. We intend to get a charter
start the school and make It SO success
full that the state will maintsin It,"
Judge Feagin was vislbly depressed b,
! the miserable failure of the probation
scheme under Daley lie said that thu
percentage of runaways was larger witt
Daley than with others. He attribute,
this to the fact that too many "proba
toners" had been entrusted to Daley,
care. His idea is that, In order for tn.
plan to be successful, only two or thre,
negroes should be sent to one place IL
the country.
Where Practitioners Do Best.
Tt is thought that the "probationers'
do best when they are In the care OF
white men, but even In such cases there
are complaints.
1t is feared that the experiment of send
ing young negroes to the country witt
white men on an indeterminate sentence
for misdemeanors and petty offenses will
arouse the partisan press of the nortt
and expose Birmingham and the whole
state of Alabama to the general charge
that the system Of peonage is operating
in Alabama. This phase of the subject
L Is reported, will soon be, If 1t has moi
already been, presented to the fedora
| authorities. and the pure purposes OF
those persons who conceived the "proba
ton" idea and are putting 1t in operation
will be misunderstood by the fedora
courts. In case 1t should be misunder
stood, friends of both races entertain
the fear that storm of protest would
break over the state that would do in
calcuable harm to the people Of Alabama
Judge Feagin's attention has beer
drawn to this phase of the subject II,
is giving 1t earnest consideration.
Perhaps 1t Is not etched enough; send
n IN the GaWlk Engraving Co Peonla',