The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-05
Miss AbeH Talks Ofa IHH To Inansky1a/ InSkltutlons For B0yS
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 respect The object is to teach these three principles, for without them boy cannot become a desirable citizen You see, the republic is governed by presi- dent, judge, sheriff and other officers, just as any republic. An offender is taken before court of law and tried with the privilege of a jury. He is sentenced ac- cording to his misdeeds and fined or pun ished accordingly
 What are the punishments usually meted out?" I ventured to inquire, and Miss Abell smiled as she said, some of them are very original. Let me show you a picture of some boys who are serving out a sentence" Here she handed me a photograph that she had brought with her and showing a party of lads walking about in a circle with heads bent ap- parently in deep thought. "They are walking around the rry-go-Dound," she said. and are authorized to look con- stantly at the ground. This is regarded as a very irksome form of punishment and the offender is usually required to take it before breakfast, the nature of his offense regulating the length of time he must walk. Notice. too, the steps in the picture. To be made to sit on the steps is one of the most dreadful things that can happen. That is the sentence for laziness. If a boy is unwilling to do his share of the work required of each citi- zen he Is made to take his station upon the steps, and there he may be found by the cook, the superintendent of the farm, which is a beautiful part of the institu- ton, or anyone else who needs assistance, and the lazy boys have found to their sorrow that the hardest tasks are re- served for the boys on the steps. You see, 1t is a great working body and every boy must do his share. He is paid for his services, but S3 of the money earned each week is paid the state for his support. All that he earns over that Is his own and s paid to him in the coin of the realm But to continue with the forms of punish ment-notice this picture of the wood cutter. This boy was sentenced to cut 20 cords of wood and you can see that he has been very industrious"
 Twenty cords!'' I ejaculated He cer- tainly must have committed some terrible depreciation
 He had" answered Miss Abell There were Il cats deprived of life and hung on the back fence, and it was all his doing. 1 was told that it was inherited cruelty making its appearance in the boy. Of course he will have to be very carefully reared to overcome that tendency
 T think it is a splendid Idea to permit the boys to hold their own court and i'm pose fines and punishments," l remarked. Boys are justice-lovng and they feel more confident of receiving 1t from boys their own age. l was present at regu- lar session of court and the respect paid the law as interpreted by their 14-year- old judge did credit to citizens of more mature years. Complaints are brought in, signed by the acouser, and the accused is tried In the usual way. The system of. taxation" continued Miss Abell, tends to lessen the number of misdeeds. I think. All the fines for one term are Jumped together and each citizen Is taxed his per capita share. He may or may not have been one of those fined during that time, but the whole community must suffer for the misdeeds of It's members. This Is readily applicable in our own life. Every community has just as many undesirables as that community deserves. To my mind this is one of the fine points in the work ing out of the self-government problem"
 Tell me something about the place it. self this idea is so successfully carried out" I said.
 "The republic is situated in the midst of a large farm" said Miss Abell, (which the boys cultivate without any extra help, and one must travel far to find one iIi better condition The citizens attend to the dining room and kitchen duties and look after other work naturally arising on a farm. This idea of a junior re- public right in the midst of a great one Is some day, I believe, going to be dis seminated over the land. The great basis of self-control will In itself insure that the child will become an individual who