Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-02-04
A Reformatory Which Reforms.

rowing account of an institution sim
liar in principal to the one proposed
may be Of interest.
Two principles underlie all of the re-
folmatory work at Bedford (Ncw
York State) grading into classes, with
promotion from one. 10 another
and releases on parole in case of
good behavior as an ultimate
reward This last is possible because
the sentence is an indeterminate one.
| with q maximum of three years, but
! with the provision that the girl may
be released on parole as long before
the expiration of that time as the
Board of Parole sees fit. When a girl
comes to Bedford, she is placed in an
intermediate grade in the reception
building from which she can make her
way up or down. as she chooses to be-
| have-up into the cottages with their
greater privileges and freedom from
the reformatory uniform, or down into
the disciplinary building and finally
into A cell It lies with herself ulti-
mately. but everything is done to
make her choose the better part. Usu-
/ ally the atmosphere of the place and
! the general shirt of work. with the
! firm but kindly discipline, are all that
! is needed. but once in while more
difficult cases present themselves. and
/ then the methods are varied to suit the
! individual,
When a girl behaves she is promot-
ed to a higher grade, and finally to one
| of the cottages, where she is free from
| the uniform which is worn by the low
er grades. and with each promotion
come more privileges. She may attain
| the highest distinction short of parole
the Honor Cottage Admission to
this is by election by the girls them
! selves. and they also have the power
of deposition.
| Finally, when a girl seems sufficient
| " improved. she may be released on
parole by the Board of Parole. of
which the committing magistrate is
always a member. A position is found
/ for her, and she and her employer
must report to the Reformatory reg
ularly until the expiration of her three
| years sentence, when she becomes
! free. If she breaks her parole, she is
returned to the institution. where she
| finishes her term.
| The educational side of the life is
| thoroughly modern i'm that manual
| training fills so large part of it. The
| girls spend the morning in the school
room. where they have teaching of the
most intelligent and up-to-d date char
acter and it has to be largely indiVi-
dual. like the training which is given
to backward boys by tutors The af-
ternoens are spent in the laundry, the
sewing room. or the kitchen. Where the
girls learn the trades which are to sup
port them when they are discharged.
Every girl has position found for
her when she leaves.
Besides the school work and training
in the useful domestic occupations.
special instruction is provided for girls
who show aptitude for any particular
form of work, such as typewriting,
stenography. or the care of the sick.
Religious instruction is also given by
the clergy of the neghborhood, Cath
Gle and Protestant, and every effort is
made to awaken the sense of right and
wrong. Addresses are frequent and
services are held every Sunday.
The first effect of this education,
moral, intellectual, and physical, which
strikes the visitor to the Reformatory,
is the astonishing change in the look
of the girls They show their igno
rance in their faces to a degree Which
would be incredible if one had not seen
so many of them together Recently a
! visitor, one of a party who had come
to give q concert for the girls, noticed
| the wonderful difference in the express
| sion of those who sat on opposite sides
of the room. On the one hand We're
those in the Reformatory uniform
newcomers for the most part, or those
who had not risen from the lowest
ranks-with duh, sodden. heavy faces.
showing only here and there ray of
interest in what was going on. On
the other We're those who had won
their way into the cottages and out of
the uniform. with their faces bright
and alert, keen and interested, and
intensely appreciative. When the
visitor commented on the difference,
Miss Davis replied, Yes, but in two
years most of the girls in the uniforms
will look like The others"
But while the dullest person could
not fail to notice this transformation,
the vital question remained unanswer-
eG-Does the Reformatory REFORM
In some other institutions, when an
inmate has passed the period of his
parole without again falling into the
clutches of the law, he is classified as
reformed and the percentage of
them is easy to estimate But that is
not what Miss Davis means by refor-
nation. She believes that it is a spir-
| itual process, which can be known only
by an intimate acquaintance with the
/ girls, and that it can be better estf-
mated by her knowledge of their char
acters and histories than by the mere
| fact that they have not broken their
parole. She says that, in her judg-
inent about one-third OF them are alb
solutely reformed. another third inn
proved, and the remainder discharged
unimproVed. When asked what she
meant by improved" she explained
that. while the girls whom she thus
classified might make one or two slips,
| they generally settled down into re-
spectacle, hard-working members OF
society. As an instance, she told of
girl who broke her parole and returned
to life of i'll fame. careful search
was made, but no trace of her could
/ IL Nt~ae