The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-01-10
TO PROTECT INDIAN CHILDREN.
Department of Charities and Cor
rections Would Assume Custody.

Recommending the passage of four
bills by the legislature and giving
a most thorough and complete sta
tus of charitable affairs in the state,
the report of Miss Kate Barnard,
commissioner of charities and COZ.
rections, was completed Saturday
morning and submitted to Governor
Haskell.
Miss Barnard recommends the pas
sage OF a bill comforting authority
upon her department in the care
Of orphan children of the Five Civ
llized Tribes: a bill providing for
the establishment of a girls re-
form school; a law to establish
general system for the treatment of
the durable and custodial care of
| the incurable insane and a meas
ure introducing the merit system
in all state prisons.
The first bill which has been in
troduced in the lower house is to
protect the orphan Indians from
/ the guardians appointed by the
/ courts. who too often cheat their
wards out of everything within
common decency and escape with
ont punishment, she says. The bill is
meeting with serious opposition and
every effort is being brought to
bear upon Miss Barnard to withdraw
it.
The report covers cie period from
October 1909, to January /, 1911.
During the time 275 inspections
We're made of county jails, resulting
in the establishment Of cleanliness.
There have been 17S inspections of
private institutions, thirty-seven in
spections of hospitals, rescue homes,
maternity hospitals and private in
sane asylums.
There has been twenty-four in;
spections of orphans homes and
home finding societies and sixteen
inspections and visits to the asylum
at Norman. The state penitentiary
and reformatory scYools have also
been inspected a number Of times.
The report shows that the de
partment has interviewed in the
cases of 1877 orphan children since
May, 1909. Many of these had prop
erty or inheritance rights and
through the efforts of the commits
soner, the children have become
: wards of the state and the board
I of control Of the Oklahoma State
Home has become the guardian by
l order Of the courts.
| The report says that out of 232
< Indian orphan children in state in
stitutions, 1877 were being robbed
> by the guardians and $4,000 was
restored to these children and a
, large number of convictions were
= secured.
One of the important legislative
enactments which the report rec
= ommends is the passage of a juve-
: nile court law. 1t states that a jul
. venile court bill was passed by the
, second legislature, but asserts that
it lacks many of the good features
incorporated in the original bill pre-
, pared by Judge Ben B. Lindsay of
Denver, Colo. Miss Barnard also
{ recommends the passage of an act
making wife desertion a felony.
The report declares that with few
exceptions, the food furnished in
, county and state prisons is bad
both in quantity and quality. It is
the general practice to use the trus-
, ty prisoners as cooks, the report
says, and very few of these men
know how to prepare a neal. Dur
ing the present year the department
will pay close attention to the food
question and rules will be made for
meas ard inspections will be made
frequently to see if the regulations
are observed.
If walking Wpra ac DOnuIor aS talk