The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-07-23

trial shops where the youthful citizens are taught some useful trade by which they may earn an honest living when they go out into the world The big central athletic field, 400 by AIS feet gives room for outdoor sports such as many pam pered young one might envy; but near each cottage some suitable place Is easily
 found for baseball diamond, and balls, bats and the necessary equipment for oth- ei games are provided by the directors.
 Besides the four regular ball hines that
 flourish in the village have been sup piled with uniforms, the gift of Evert
 Jansen Wendell, one of the directors, who
 devotes himself to personal work among the boys.
 One factor which plays an important part in persuadlng the boys to remain
 in the asylum, without physical restraint,
 until they can leave 1t to face the world
 Is the system of reward instead Of pun
 ishment known as the English mill sys-
 tenn, and in use in this country only in
 this model village. By reasonable
 amount of good behavior each boy can
 obtain two credits day from his school teacher, two from the master of the shop or department in whI<h he Is taught some trade two from the "house-moth- CT" for his behavior in his cottage, two for an average amount of neatness and cleanliness, and finally. If he gets all these. two more as general bonus Eacn credit represents one mill, thus making if possible for the boy To Gfrn cent n day without undue strain upon his ylrtue-not a magnificent sum, If Is true,
 but still something. The money thus earn ct can be had for my legitimate pur-
 pose whenever tse boy chooses to make
 written application for it, but whether he elects to spend 1t or not, his record l shows that he has earned It.
 l Ordinarily no ward committed to the
 asylum for an offense Is released until
 he has earned s45O by good conduct Ths
 task, allowing for Sundays and vacation 1 time, can be accomplished in eighteen 1 months When he is free he takes with him the unspent balance of whatever
 money he may have earned, for the earn i ing and not the saving of it Is the impor | tant point In considering his release. or l course children committed to the asy- | um as a refuge from poverty instead Of 1 for some juvenile crime are detained no | longer than Is necessary to make suitable provision for them elsewhere.
 | An attempt to escape results in the for feture of all the credits already earned
 and less serious offenses nre met with reduction of the little rebels ledger ac- count, simple stolid indifference merely leaving the boy at a standstill. For those whom 1t Is desirable to impress with an immediate sense of the evil of their ways
 there Is the drill squad where the boys
 drill and rest alternately In fifteen minute periods for as long time as may be necessary. The drill squad Is really sub
 stitute for corporal punishment. forbid den by the state laws, and Is not resorted to frequently.
 Even to the casual visitor whose know1-
 edge of reformatory problems is the most 1 ztA1 tU ok. bat bA ra of legitimate liberty and self-respect which is the aim of this system of disci- plne and, In fact. of the whole model village, has its effect. The boys play
 hard and eheerfully and go about their
 business with a briskness that has noth- 1, ing In common with the old-time de- pressed slouch of an institution inmate. But the asylum authorities GO not forget
 that their charges were not born with silver spoons in their mouths. There Is plenty of work. and hard work too, be- tween the school. where the three R's and other subjects of a public school course are taught and rne shops. Tn
 many ways the community Is almost as self-supporting as the old-time farm used
 to be. the boys baking their own bread. making their own uniforms. doing the asylum printing, carpentering and paint
 ing. trimming the lawns. and growing
 in the large garden the vegetables they eat on the dining-room tables.
 With all this to occupy them. and
 with 285 acres 10 roam over during the
 leisure hours, there is not much tempta-
 ton for the wards of the Juvenile asylum
 to hunt for mischief. The model villace,
 with its fifteen cottages It's school house,
 power house and temporary hospital is proving to the world that reformat tory
 need not be made a prison in order to
 reform, and that the outlaws of ihe
 streets and the waifs of the tenements are
 as capable as any other cnildren Of re-
 spondlng/to Kindness, If only .he chance
 is given them.