The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-07-23
WITHOUT A FENCE
 FOR NEW YORK'S STREET ARABS


 their new surroundings. Already fif- teen cottages have been completed for their living quarters, and as soon as more homes are ready the number of boys will be Increased from the 800 to which present accomodations arc Him. ited.
 There are a school and several indus 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 476 feet. gives room for outdoor sports such as many a pampered young one might envy; but near each cottage some suit able place is easily found for a base ball diamond. and balls, bats and the necessary equipment for other games are provided by the directors. Besides, the four regular ball hines that four ish in the village have been supplied with uniforms. the gift of Evert Jam sen Wendell. one of the directors. who devotes himself to personal work among the boys.
 One factor which plays an important part in persuading the boys to remain in the Asylum, without physical re- straint until they can leave 1t to face the world Is the system of reward i'm stead of punishment, known as the
  this country only in this model vil- lage By a reasonable amount of good behavior each boy can obtain two credits a day from his school teacher, two from the master of the shop or de- partment in which he Is taught some trade. two from the house mother" for his behavior in his cottage. two for an average amour tof neatness and cleanliness, and finally, if he gets oil fWn a general bonus. Each credit represents one mill, thus making 1t possible for the boy to earn a cent a day without undue strain upon his virtue-not a magnificent sum, .t is true, but still something. The money thus earned can be had for any legitimate purpose whenever the boy chooses to make written applica- tion for 1t. but whether hc elects to spend 1t or not, his record shows that he has earned 1t.
 Ordinarily no ward committed. to the Asylum for an offense is released until he has earned $4.50 by good conduct. This task. allowing for Sundays and vacation time. can be accomplished in eighteen months. When he is free he takes with him the unspent balance or whatever money he may have earned, for the earning and not the saving of 1t Is the important point In considering his release. Of course, children com mitted to the Asylum as a refuge from poverty instead of 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 forfeiture of all the credits already earned and less serious offenses are met with a reduction of the little reb- els ledger account, simple stolid in- difference merely leaving the boy at a standstill. For those whom 1t Is de- sirable 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 long a time may be necessary. The drill-squad is really a substitute for corporal punishment. for bidden by the State laws, and is not resorted to frequently.
 Even to the casual visitor whose knowledge of reformatory problems is the most superficial. 1t Is obvious that the sense of legitimate liberty and self-respect which Is the aim of this system of discipline. and. in fact, of the whole model village. has it's effect. The boys play hard and cheerfully and 20 about their business with a briskness that has nothing in common with the old-time depressed slouch of an insti- tuition inmate. But the Asylum au- tHorItleS uO not IoTBeI mat their charges were not born with silver spoons in their mouths. There is plenty of work. and hard work, too, between the school, where the three R's and other subjects of a public school course are taught. and the shops. In many ways the community is almost as self-supporting as the old time farm used to be. the boys bakins their own bread, making their own uniforms. doing the Asylum's printing, | carpentering and painting, 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 2S5 acres to roam over during the | eisure hours. there is not much temp | tation for the wards of the Juvenile | Asylum to hunt for mischief. The | model village. with its fifteen cottages. | it's school house, power house. and | temporary hospital. Is proving to the | world that a reformatOry need not be | made a prison in order to reform. and | that the outlaws of the streets and the | waifs of the tenements are as capable | as any other children of responding to | kindness, if only the chance is given | them.