New-York tribune., 1908-02-16
BAD BOYS"
convention.

Nobody doubts the sincerity OF Mr. Nathan
Jonas's complaint that it hurts the special com
mittee Oh bad boys more than the bad boys
themselves to recommend the revival of cor
poral punishment in the New York City schools.
The committee is surely in earnest when it says,
through its spokesman, that If anybody could
have suggested less dsagreea BILE substitute
for the rod the latter would never have been
advised But the nvestiga tors have discovered
much INSTRUMENTATION among school children
and SO little efficacy in the moral treatment
of obstreperous youth that the hot rattan must
be brought TO the aid of cold reason If disci-
pline. the better half of elementary culture. is
TO be maintained. The final verdict of school
principals. as shown by the symposium and
ballot held by the Board of Education. points
clearly 10 state of affairs too vexed and too
complicated 10 he handled by ideal rules Of
mercy. One may freely grant the truth Of
many objections 10 corporal punishment raised
by Isl school principals and still agree with
the opinion Of the committee and the POS other
principals. The infiiction of physical pain is
humiliating and often degrading TO victim and
whipper alike; it frequently fails of its object
and opens the way 10 grave abuses if not most
rigidly controlled. But all these and similar
contentious are on a level with the statements
that il is highly undesirable TO have teeth
pulled. obnoxious TO swallow quinine and humiI-
iating 10 he convicted of forgery. Like all of
lfes evils. from high heels to vivisection, cor
poral punishment is to he justified or con
demned by its total results: if the work of
several thousand teachers is reduced by one
quarter by hanging the birch of Damocles over
the heads of few hundred Juvenile rebels and
If several hundred thousand pupils thereby learn
more rapidly than otherwise the practical ad-
vantages of righteousness. corporal punishment
daI -boe,o
ways of life greatly weaken parental authority
and the inclination 10 exercise il mt least the
menace of the rod may become Indispensable
The special committee on corporal punish
ment hedges its stern policy about with such
scrupulous restrictions that only those bad
boys who richly deserve 'scorcbing'' will
get one. In It's essential features the proposed
plan agrees closely with the one suggested last
year by The Tribune. The power to punish will
be vested in the principal exclusively. and he
may exercise this authority only with the writ
ten consent Of the offenders parents For per-
sistent offenders whose parents refuse TO sane
ton official punishment II Is proposed TO estab-
lish parental schools where the downward
swing Of avenging right arms Will be less OBJ
structed by merciful regulations. This policy
might be improved by the variations we sug-
gested long ago: instead of giving the rod TO
the principal. who already has enough to do and
has no time TO study cases personally. let it be
consigned TO a special teacher skilled in han
ding delinquents: before the infiiction of pun
ishment let the bad boys" he transferred TO the
parental room ruled by this teacher The
transfer 10 such room would be, of itself,
tangible warning. and the existence of such
a room in every large school would impress
pupils far more than any remote truant school
could possibly DO, Furthefmore, bad boys"