The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1914-11-07
STATE SCHOOL BOYS
MAKE GOOD CITIZENS
1ncorrigibles by Treatment Accorded
Them at Red Wing Entirely Re-
formed-Commitment Reduced.
FARM IS CARED FOR BY YOUTHS
Many 1mproments Made by Board of
Control and $4,000 Saved During
Past Year by Management.

Past Year by Management.
The problem of caring for incor.
rigible boys, many of them we'll ad
vanced in the early stages of crime
and vagrancy, is a grave one, yet il
is gratifying to know that of the
hundreds Of youngsters yearly com.
mitted to the state training school
at Red Wing better than rs per cent
of them develop into worthy, self
supporting citizens.
This is what the records of the in
stitution disclose and they further
show that while the responsibility
of those in charge has increased, the
percentage of reformations has in no
way decreased
Increase is Shown.
On August 1 last the population
of the school was 213, considerable
increase when compared with the
year previous when the registrations
numbered only 145, but this low fig
ure is explained by the fact that be-
tween 1912 and 1913 there were a
large number Of paroles and dis
charges.
During the two years ending with
August 1, 1914, 456 boys were re-
ceived at the school. During the
same period 252 boys were granted a
final discharge from the school, while
SO boys had to be released because
they had reached the age limit of FL
years. There were also 358 paroles
Between Ages of s and II.
Commitments to the school cover
incorrigibles between the ages of
eight and seventeen years. For
merly minor delinquencies were suf-
ficient to bring about the transfer of
a boy to the school, but with the in
PRODUCTION of the Juvenile court sys-
tenn in the larger cities of the state
and the development of detention
homes, the number of registrations
in this respect has largely decreased.
While reducing the number of com
mitments, however, these institutions
and their work have added to the re-
sponsibility Of those in charge of the
school as most of the children now
received are more or less incorrigible
and do not readily yield to correction
al treatment.
Why Returned.
Showing this feature of late COM
mitments, and it's relation to releases
and paroles granted during the two
years, were brought back for leav-
ing homes in which they had been
placed, 16 were returned for vag-
rancy, FL for grand larceny, 1 for
forgery, for persistent truancy and
3 on account of drunkenness.
The escapes from the school mum.
bered 81. Most of these were thor.
oughly bad boys and were only com
mitted to the school when other
means of correction had failed
Despite this difficult feature of the
present day commitments, however
success has attended the efforts Of
those in charge in the matter of re-
formation, and it is credited largely
school. While not harsh, such dis
cipline is of reasonable firmness ani
all attractions are quickly punished
Constantly Watched.
In furtherance of this discipline i,
February last Cottage No. 2 was Sc
aside as correctional building an
here boys guilty of punishable act
are committed They are under SUI
pervision day and night, and in or
der that those confined may realiz
that the way of the transgressOr l
hard various exactions are demanded
The rule of silence is here enforced
All privileges are withdrawn. Whel
not working those confined mus
stand on their feet for thirty min
utes and then sit upon chairs for tn
same period. No boy is sent to tn
correctional cottage except upo
written order of the superintendent
and then only after a thorough in
vestigation of the charges,
The period of detention in tn
Correctional Cottage is from two t
sixty days, depending upon the sc
robustness of the offense The averag
number under discipline since tn
cottage was opened has been twelve
While corporal punishment has nc
been wholly abolished. to the credi
of those in charge and the disciplin
maintained, only two boys have ha
to have the strap during the las
two years.
But One Death.
Last March the school suffered a
epidemic of scarlet fever, but it wa
nu;cklv sunrossad Eighteen case