The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-01-18
STATE REFORM
 SCHOOL
Annual Report of Trustees
 to the Governor

In accordance with the General
 Statutes, section 2S19, chapter ITO,
 the Trustees of the Connecticut School i for Boys beg leave to respectfully
 submit the following report of their
 official acts for the fiscal year ending 1 September 30, 1909.
 1 Details respecting the School and | it's work are contained in the reports 1 of the Superintendent, State Agent, | Farmer, Physician, and other officers 1 of the School, also of the State Audi l tors, which with a description of the 1 School and it's methods are appended hereto and made @ part of this re- 1 port.
 Under the protection and mercy of Almighty God the School has been l free from epidenics or contagious 1 diseases, and no serious or fatal ill., ness has occurred among our inmates during the fiscal year.
 General repairs have been made on and in the several buildings as need ed, and the property of the State is now in good condition. Permanent l improvements have been made to the cattle barn, or stable, resulting in a much better and more sanitary ar | rangement for housing and feeding | the cattle, and for caring for the manure, etc. The cost of these im-
 provements was $539.95. In this con nSction it was discovered that our herd of milch cows was infected with tuberculosis and on January 19, 22 and 23, acting under the advice of the State Cattle Commissioner, we caused an examination of the herd to be made by an expert inspector sent to us by him for that purpose, who applied the tuberculin test and con- demned eighteen COWS and one bull, allowing us from the State Treasury $355 for the same. This action neces- sitated the purchase of other cows to replace those condemned, which were
 killed and their carcasses inferred on the farm. For the new herd we
 have expended $745.50.
 The last two reports made by us
 mention the failure of the General Assembly to make a special appro-
 priation for the completion of the gymnasium building which we have
 under construction, the first or base ment story being completed. We have not thought it prudent to pro- ceed further with the building, the necessity for which has been appar- ent to the Trustees for several years and is still as great as ever, but we
 are happy to be able to say that the General Assembly of 1909 generously | made a special appropriation of $10,- 900 to the School for. the completion of this work. With this we hope to l finish the building as soon as possible, and perhaps to furnish partially with l the necessary apparatus for making | it available for use, even if we do not fully so furnish it.
 | As reported in each of our last two annual reports, our income from the chair shops as then anticipated has very materially decreased, and there l is strong probability that this in- dustry will entirely cease in the near fJ1fI 60 ac a ln6 The reason for this is that manufac- turerers are substituting machinery | for hand work.
 There was received from the chair shops during. the fiscal year ending: September 30, 1907. $S,706 89 September 30, 1908. ....... 5,S22.54 September 30, 1909. ....... 5,013.51 If this shrinkage continues as we ! now expect it will, it will be quite 8 serious loss to the revenue of the School, although we have hopes that we shall be able to find quickly some substitute for the loss of this parti- cular industry.
 | The long continued drought of the summer and fall of 1909 resulted in a very considerable diminution of our I farm products, and we shall be forced | to purchase many supplies which we ordinarily raise on the farm, such as l potatoes, cabbages and other vege- 1 tables, having raised about one half our usual crop.
 Legislation adverse to the interests l of the School and State was asked for ] from the General Assembly of 1909, 1 by petition from individuals, and in one instance refused upon report of l the Judiciary Committee that the petition should not be granted. This ! was in brief, that the terms of com mitment to this institution should be l changed from until boy reaches his l iar To a an6Ta Sfn s-l T. l the court. As the law now provides ] that boy may be paroled by the ] trustees when he manifests that he has substantially reformed, and gives l evidence that he has prof1ted by the l instruction and training he has re-
 ceived, and can safely to himself and others be returned to his home, if it 4 proves to be home indeed and a suitable place for him, or if deemed unsuitable then to home provided l for him, it appears to the trustees l that the law as it now stands is cor I rect and requires no change. The 1 boys average stay with us of about 1 two years.
 The Board of Trustees does not 1 receive a boy for punishment, always and in every instance for reformation. and a start in the right direction: and I by precept and example our every effort is aimed at this result, As has been well stated by another, "No large number of children of any age l can be properly brought up together without system, and that statement will of course be modified by the | character of the children thus brought I together. Boys in our reformatory | institutions come to us as a rule with
 out any training worthy the name, and one of the first lessons needfuI 1 for them to learn is the lesson of | method, order and system. For ex- I ample, a boy fourteen years old learns for the first time in his life to l rise at an appointed time, to wash his | face, to sit properly at the table, to | wait for others to be helped to obey | at once the orders of the master. to 1 be respectful in word and n1ien, and | to come and go in order. He learns l also what he never knew before, to curb his temper and control his ton que. He must not be late at school. | he must be prompt at his physical or 1 military drill; his manual training l work must be precisely and carefully done; in short, order, attention and 1 application, the three prime requisites | of all training, are everywhere de- manded, and always emphasized l In every case received at this in- | stitution the boy is informed that he l is here for reformation, not for pun- 1 ishment. It is impressed on his mind l that it is in his power by correct con- duct to receive a parole in about l twelve months, and that until he 1 shows that he realizes that obedience.