The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-10
WOMEN ano SOCIETY
couMIssfOSER WILKINSON
 VISITS THE BOYS
Marie Bankhe.d Owen Society diter. ,es4

'444 INDUSTRIAL sCHOOh.
 Very recently the annual meeting oi the Alabama Boys lndustrial SshV'i al East Lake was held at the school
 For the first time in the history or the institution since the annual meeings have been held at East Lake instead of In the Governors office. there was In attendance one of the ex-omcio
 members of the Board. which consists of the Governor. the Attorney General and the Secretary of Agriculture.
 Mir. wilkerson's presence was due to the fact that he felt especially in- terested in the agricultural phase Of the school and finding that he was a legal trustee, he answered to the roll call very promptly.
 The women of Alabama, under the auspices of the State Federation of womens' Clubs. founded the school. and then gave 1t to the State.
 The Board is composed of women with . local advisory board of three Birmingham men. and the three ex-ofh- cio members. The members of the Board are confirmed by the Senate and are in . sense State officers. They gre Mrs. R. D. Johnston of Birming- ham, President; Mrs. Erwin Craighead of Mobile. vice-President: Mrs. T. G. Bush of Birmingham, Treasurer; Mrs.i Algernon Nelson, Secretary; Mrs. Jo- seph McLester of Birmingham, Mrs. Milton Humes of Huntsville. and Mrs. Thomas M. Owen of Montgomery.
 Mir. wilkerson was seen at his off, lice in the Capitol yesterday and grant, ed an interview about the school, for the social department, because the school is the result of swoman's work.
 T cannot express myself in too high terms of the school" Mfr. Wilkerson said. "If I had not been told before hand that the 200 inmates were juve- nile dehnquents, should have thought them the pupils of well conducted college. A more contehted set of youngsters never saw.
 When we rode up to the school a band of music. composed of the pupils, at the head of a column of 200 boys in khaki uniforms, met us on the drill ground. Afnrwards we mixed with these young Alabamians on the play ground. and talked to them freely. They seem happy with their surround ings and are doing fine work. Their examination papers, shown by. the teachers. compare favorably with pu- piis of their grade in the public schools.
 "The fact that the ,open door policy obtains there at place called a re- formatory and supposed to be filled with young criminals. surprised me. Of course, now and then. a boy runs away, but he Is usually officially re- -turned or goes back of his own voli ton.
 T was greatly pleased with the per- sonnel of the teachers and the boys.
 ''The farm is very poor piece of land for agricultural purposes, but I think when the soil is built up and those thing planted that are best adapted to its chemical qualities, bet ter results will be had
 .sThe spacious new building that the ~IrV,A pleted and occupied and the housing capacity of the school with it's three buildings is entirely adequate for the 200 boys for which the State pro- vides.
 .I regret to say that the trades are inadequately equipped. There is not shop at the school that is so equipped with appliances as to yield really first class training In some cases there are no teachers for the trades already es- tabiished. The Legislature did not foresee the schools development and although they gave most generously to the school for the building fund. the next Legislature will confront 8 de- mand for better equipment of the trades and shops.
 Another feature of the school that struck me as being in an unfortunate case Is the splendid spring on the border line of the schools land on one Slue, and at the IOOt or the niII that the buildings nlt upon. It is this spring that affords all the water sup ply to the school and gives 1t its only ire protection It is a bold, splendid spring, but the State owns only half of it The gentleman who owns the other half has his COW lot above the spring and there Is great danger of Infection of the water with fever pro- ducing germs In fact there has been an epidemic of typhoid in the school summer or two ago that might be traceable to this drainage into the spring The State should own the whole of the spring and the land ad- joining 1t. It needs it not only for the sake of the spring, but for the land itself. There are only two COWS at the school. If the school owned this land a dairy with pasture could be operated upon 1t, chickens could be raised. and truck farming taught In my judgment that Is the very great est need of the school.
 The maintenance fund is also in- adequate. A hundred dollars a year per capita Is entirely too meager an amount to run the school upon Out of this sum teachers have to be paid the boys fed. clothed, doctored and nursed in, sickness and the thousand incidentals that arise in any household met. The insurance alone Is a large item I found that the treasurer's books show that there has been prac- tically nothing given to the school by individuals or counties since the State l