The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1915-01-23

sitions of trust and honor, may seem
far cry, yet the records of. the State
Public School for dependent and
neglected children at Owatonna are
replete with such instances. How
better than eighty per cent Of the
product of this school, which is a
semi-board of control charge, make
good" is one of the most interesting
and gratifying features of institu-
tion life in Minnesota.
Established in 1886
Established in 1885, the Owatonna
school during it's twenty-eight years
of existence has provided care and
training for over 5000 children, and
during the same period has secured
comfortable homes and positions for
approximately 1000. OF the latter
figure the school management
through it's agents and correspond
ence has kept detail record of each
records tell is remarkable.
Every Detail Correct.
These records cover every deatil
of the States guardianship and even
follow the dependent. out into the
world where he has been sent to earn
his own livelihood and work out his
own future. For the purposes OF
tabulation those wards Of the state,
fulfilling every requirement of good
citizenship and character, are desig-
mated as "doing WE'LL" those who
have been less successful as "doing
fairly WE'LL" and those regarded as
undesirables in the community in
which they live as 'doing poorly -
The individual records kept, which
have been classified, include 2,407
boys and 1893 girls. AS their school
training includes considerable, in the
way of farm work the trend of a ma
jority of those sent out has been the
rural communities, and with few ex-
ceptions they have done we'll. OF
over 1000 boys so placed only six
per cent are designated as doing poor
ly. In the case of the girls the fail
ures are even less, per cent being
the figure.
While the farms of the state have
claimed large percentage of those
leaving the school since it's establish
ment, hundreds have found their way
into other lines of endeavor and up
lift, and the list as compiled together
with the percentage of success and
failures makes interesting reading.
Practically every profession is repre-
sented
Showing the prominence of some
of the lines of endeavor as taken ~
by the boys after leaving the school
and which followed this period of
training in some foster home, eight
merchants are recorded, four actors,
four army officers, two electrical en-
gineers, two real estate agents, two
insurance agents, two express
agents, one college instruction, one
state bank examiner, one lawyer, one
publisher, one bank cashier, one ma
val officer, one member of the Ca
tholic brotherhood and one logging
contractor. In the entire list not 8
failure is shown.
16 Are Teachers.
Under the head of teachers no less
than sixteen are listed and every
one of them has made good. The
navy claimed sixteen boys, and thu
army ten, and of the two only eigh
are listed as failures.
The Canadian mounted police hal
one of the Owatonna school boys OF
it's rolls and he would not be ther'
if he had not made good. AS to th'
other trades and professions prac
tically all are represented and in eac1
case the showing is good.
OF the girls sent out into the worlt
the majority of them are married AM
the individual record of each is t,
the credit of the state Those VIII
have become farmers wives numbe
169, and 81 per cent of them ar
marked as doing we'll. Fifty marie,
day laborers and here the showing i
not so good. Only 20 per cent o
this class are listed as excellent. Un
der the head of wives of statesmen
merchants, carpenters, travelling
statesmen and musicians, the showing
is invariably 100 per cent.
Girls Also Make Good.
Like the boys, many of the girl
have risen to high positions both a
wives and in the trades and profes
sions. One is the wife of a. banker
another the wife of publisher, sti!
another a school superintendent
wife, and fourth the wife of prom
inent attorney. - IL.
Because of limited field the un
married girles are not as widely dis
tributed in the matter of trades an
~.