The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1912-05-10
A PLEA FOR THE MARiANNA RE-
FORM SCHOOL

I The legislative committee OF the
Florida Federation of Women's Clubs
have issued a pamphlet as plea fol
the children of their state who have
not had a square deal. The condi
lions at Mariana are most deplara
Bile, and the legislative committee are
concentrating their efforts to secure
an adequate appropriation from the
next legislature for this reform
school.
This is not only very worthy de
cision, but the matter is one of very
vast Importance, both now and for the
future citizens of our fair state. We
sincerely hope that every person in
Florida will lend a helping hand in
aiding in securing this appropriation
The foreword in the pamphlet is
sued by the legislative committee,
composed of Mrs. Henry Wight, Mrs
! Arthur GUNNER, Mrs. John McGriff,
Mrs. Frank Jennings, Mrs. Forrest
Lake, Miss Frances Anderson, Miss
Annie Locke, Mrs. ]. NJ. Dell, Jr., Mrs.
J. C. Byers and Mrs. C. w. Carlton,
is in part as follows:
I'm 1911 Governor Gilchrist, in his
message to the legislature, voiced a
| plea for the betterment of conditions
at the reform school. Subsequently
a committee of three men was ap-
pointed by the legislature to investi-
gate the situation at Mariana and
report back to the legislature. As a
result of this reported investigation
an appropriation was secured, which,
though liberal in comparison with pre-
vious years, was wholly inadequate to
put the school on a par with the bet
ter class reform schools in other
states.
THE attention of the Florida Fed
Grafton of Womens Clubs was at
tracted to the unsatisfactory condition
at Mariana, and they earnestly desir-
ed to make some efforts towards rem
edying it. With this end in view, on
March 2Sth, 1912, Mrs. Henry Wight,
chairman of the legislation commit
tee of the Florida Federations of
| Women's Clubs, and Mrs. w. B.
Young, president of the Woman's
Club of Jacksonville, personally visit
ed the reformatory at Mariana. They
found that although nearly year had
elapsed since the investigation was
made by the committee from the leg
| islatrue, the deplorable conditions ex-
listing at the reform school were prac-
tically unchanged.
The legislation department of the
Florida Federation then decided that
they could best serve the interests of
the morally deformed children Of
their state by demanding that, what
is known and proved to be the most
constructive treatment for children's
reformation, should be granted them
by their state"
|
port of Mrs. Wight and Mrs Young,
who visited the reform school at Ma
rianna in March, shows to what ex-
tent this appropriations is needed:
"We came away, convinced that
the institution cannot properly be
called either a school or reforma-
tory, since under present conditions
there is no possibility of symtematic
education and training for life work,
nor any definite effort toward the up
/ building of character.
In this juvenile penitentiary are
| thirty-three white boys, ranging in
age apparently from eight to eighteen
years, mostly sent up for larceny, and
sentenced to remain until they are
! twenty-one years of age, although
this may be changed by pardon, when
a boy is supposed to be reformed.
Such school work as is done is car
ried on in alternate weeks with field
work. There is not a library-no rec
reational provision, except a baseball
ground, and the great need for some
sort of an infirmary was Illustrated
by sick boy, swollen with rheuma-
tism, lying unattended in a sort OF
plumber room, quite remote from the
inhabited portions of the house. It
must be said for the white school,
that the gentleman in charge there
has excellent ideals. and is working
them out as best he may under the
circumstances, but it needed no word
of complaint TO point out the great
need of trained management, and
more money.
"Of the negro school not one COM
mandatory word can be said"
WILL BE MARRIED AT NINETY