Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-05-14

with the necessary small fruits for the
supply of family Of twenty-seven.
Z Each colony also has its own garden
where all kinds Of vegetables are pro-
: duced. When each colony produces
? its own milk, butter, cheese, beef, pork
8 and mutton, its fruit and garden pro-
| ducts, the boys may live on the fat
Of the land.
{ This organization tends to develop
the idea of colony responsibility and
= possession and has the effect of arous-
| ing and holding the interest Of the boys
} in their homes. In effect, each colony
, constitutes almost an entirely separate
institution under one general manage
ment. The loyalty Of the boys to their
matrons and supervisors is marked.
t Everything Is done to cultivate the
home atmosphere. The cottages are
/ light and airy, cheerful and homelike.
/ The boys have large sitting room for
, their own use, where in the winter
I evenings they may enjoy the open fire,
| play their games and read when the
Gays WOrk Is QOne.
The dining room adjoins the sitting
room. The boys and the supervisor
, and matron have their meals at the
, same time, the officers having sepa-
rate table. All the cooking is done by
the boys, with the exception Of the
, bread making.
! One Of the great advantages Of the
individual Kitchen is that 1t brings
|, home to the boys the necessity for
economy in the use Of supplies. Once
a month all the supplies a. colony Is to
have for the month are sent to 1t. II
these supplies are wasted then the
boys have fewer things to eat and no
one Is to blame but themselves.
The individual kitchen gives an OPP
portunity for the matron and boys to
exercise ingenuity in cooking the same
materials in a variety Of ways. thus
adding to the attractiveness Of the die
tary. The question Of food Is an i'm
portant one as good, wholesome, prop
erly cooked food not only brings the
boys more willingly under the influence
Of the matron and supervisor, but al
so makes him healthier and gives them
a better view Of life.
The boys: dormitory Is located on
the second floor. 1t consists OF one
room, in which all twenty-five boys
sleep in single beds. 1t is large and
airy and we'll ventilated.
) One advantage Of letting all the
boys devote their time to agriculture
is that they see the object Of each act
required Of them. 1t Is argued that
manual training as done by institution
boys is not. done with greater inter-
est because the boys. realize that the
object made will find its end in the
kindling wood or scrap heap. With the
farm work 1t is different.
The boy knows why he milks the
lcow, and he knows that the more
carefully he milks her the more milk
he will have for himself and his fel-
lows. There is a friendly rivalry be-
tween colonies to see which can pro-
duce the best crops. The Matching Of
a brood Of chickens or the advent Of
a calf or colt is an important and
interesting event Each day brings
new phase Of the work.
The education Of the boys is also
looked after The instruction in the
common school branches is given by
teachers who go to the cottages. One
teacher has Two cottages, going to one
in the morning and the other In the
lafternoon. The work done Is very
largely individual.
The school has not been established
without meeting with some criticism.
Some have characterized 1t as folly to
attempt to care for delinquent boys,
whom the critics refer to as convicts,
on a farm in the open country. An
other criticism made was that the
state was going into the business Of
farming, having the work done by
boys instead Of hired men.
In discussing the matter recently
Prof. Franklin H. Briggs, superintend-
ent Of the school, said that seventy
boys had escaped in the first year, but
that all save five had either been re-
lcaptured or returned voluntarily. AS
a matter Of fact most Of the boys could
probably have gone II they had so de-
sired, for there Is nothing but the sur
veillance Of the supervisor and matron
to stop them; and there Is railroad
only few hundred feet away, which
might be considered as q temptation
for boys to slip away. The boys real
ize, however, that they are pretty we'll
off at the school,
The most severe punishment that
can be inflicted is deprivation Of the
privilege Of visits and correspondence
with friends, or participation in games,
which include baseball in summer,
football in autumn and coasting in
winter.
American born boys form the great
majority Of those committed to the in
stitution. This is the case in most in
land cities. Only about 5 per cent OF
the boys are foreign born.
The school takes boys between the
ages of IL and 16 who are convicted Of
ldny OlIeHCe anu uoyo iioih ~ -
who commit felonies.
The average term Of detention at the
school is one year, but few boys
succeed in winning their parole In
months. Boys after their discharge
are required to report to a parole off,
Ger for two years.
OF the 267 who were committed In
1906 1O1 were sentenced for stealing,
"a for burglary, IL for disorderly con-
dict, 32 for being ungovernable and 80
for vagrancy. The other offences In
cluded everything from arson to tru.
ancy. The boys ranged in ages as fol-
lows: Under 10 years. 5; under II, 4,
under 12, 5: under 13, "A; under II, Al;
under Is, 10; under 16, SO.
Forty one Of the boys were father
less, 33 were motherless and Fl were
both fatherless and motherless. The
parents Of "a others were separated.
| Fifty-four Of the boys had brothers