Little Falls herald., 1914-12-18

duplication Of work ahu interests by
the various cottage groups would seem
loss, but those in charge do not view
lit in that light. They say . need ae-
terminod. nothing which more fully
meets that need can in the end be ac-
counted loss.
Tho Wage Earning System
One of the unique features Of the
school is the wage earning system. At
in q large measure characterizes the
werk Of the school in training way,
for besides its educational value it has
proven the chief source OF discipline.
Every girl on commitment is for a
month in dependency. At the end Of
the month she is assigned cottage and
becomes a member Of the family and a
citizen in the community. She is given
food and shelter, but beyond that she
must earn her support. The school Of
course has it's own legal tender, but its
buying value is none the less. For all
work done she is paid according to
amount of skill, and is likewise fined
for family or social offense. Each week
the girls receive pay for services rem
dered, less any fines imposed, and from
this she must support herself, cloth
herself from the school store, and pay
for anv luxuries or services rendered
in the family Of which she is member
or the community. Every week the
girls shop in the store connected with
the school, and they must buy within
their means. No extravaganza is per
mitted, and if any girl has not the
money with which to buy: some bit OF
finery she must go without. 1t girl
cannot make her clothes she must 1ay
another to do the work. and If she is
ut willing to attend to her laundry
she must pay another for it's care. There
is even a debtors table On which no
desserts Or sweets appear. AS a result
Of this system every phase of commun-
ity life is reached. No girl can leave
the institution until she has bank ac-
count with which to buy her a good 60
ing.out outfit. and as fines follow mis-
conduct, conduct really determines the
time when girl can leave the lnstitu-
ton.
The home has six ungraded schools,
each cottage unit form.-g its own
school, each having it own teacher. Al
most no text books are used. the girls
taking on through assimilation. The
idea is to give the girls the short time
they are in the institution the best
possible equipment for practical living.
Each lesson given has its direct appli-
cation to the daily life Of the girl.
improvements and Additions
During the past two years much in
the line of improvements and additions
have been made. Four family cottages,
a hospital, an administration building
and a group Of farm buildings have
been constructed, and the grounds
much improved. Much of the work in
connection with the planting of trees
and shrubbery was done by the gi1ls.
They have aided materially in farm
work, teo, it including the planting and
harvesting of 1000 bushels Of potatoes
600 bushels of cattle beets and $4,000
head of cabbage. The girls also helped
to fill the silo and put up 600 gallons Of
cucumber pickles and 8 barrels Of sauer
kraut. Hundreds Of quarts Of canned
vegetables is another product Of their
labor.
The honor system is given wide lati-
tude at the Sauk Centre institution,
and to the credit of the girls is very
little abused. The lake provides boat
ing and bathing and there is always the
call of the wild in the summer months.
Picnics, we'll chaperoned, are quite
common. This year six Of the girls are
attending the public schools of Sauk
Centre and six others are temporarily
employed in office work in the same
city. Many of the girls have been per-
mitted to 20 alone to their homes on
visits varying from a couple Of days to
two weeks.
OF 145 commitments made to the
home in the last two years, 40 were
from Hennepin county, 80 from Ramsey
county and 81 from st. Louis county.
The largest number committed, So, was
for immoral conduct