The menace. [volume] (Aurora, Mo.) 1911-1920, 1917-05-26
lY Our Speclal Commlaaionar.

~ Our Special CommissioneS
FEI EAR the west end of North
lM Ave-, Milwaukee, is q building
which is called the House Of
lhsV the Good Shepherd. It is a
ldreary looking pile Of stone,
apparently built in installments to
keep pace with the growth Of the
business conducted within.
The end toward the city is fash
ioned into front more imposing than
attractive, from which the building
stretches away irregularly toward the
rear of an enclosure that is sur
A rounded by a high board fence.
High up on the roof is an iron bell
that looks and sounds as though it
might have seen service for many
years on some Louisiana plantation.
This House Of the Good Shepherd is
grim looking institution from the
outside; and the business conducted
on the inside is equally as forbidding.
1t purports to be run by Sisters
Of the Good Shepherd, and to be con-
Quoted for the purpose Of reclaiming
and educating wayward girls. The
fact is, as will be shown by evidence
concerning specific cases, that this
pretended charity Is run principally
for the purpose Of making money, and
with little or no regard for the moral,
mental, or physical welfare Of its vic
timized inmates.
In strong contrast with this gloomy
prison is the Wisconsin Industrial
School for Girls, o state institution
which stands near the eastern end OF
the same North avenue. The state
school not only pretends to educate
and otherwise help the girls entrusted
to its care-it actually does it. The
Industrial School is not ashamed Of
its interior, but welcomes visitors
with very slight and altogether rea.
sonable restrictions. Recently the
representatives of a Milwaukee paper
made arrangements by telephone tt
20 through the House Of the Coco
Shepherd in company with a state
senator; but, when they arrived, the
chaplain of the institution, one Priest
Joseph Kroha, objected to the news
paper men entering the premises
And there are good and sufficient rea
sons for keeping the alert public
away if the numerous girls, who hav'
been interviewed by representative
of THE MENACE, tell the truth.
Dirty andsU sUnsanitary
They all agree that the place is un
sanitary, and dirty in parts even T.
filthiness. Of course none of this vii
be seen when that long-announcet
committee from the Wisconsin legis
lature makes its expected visit. Th'
girls talked to THE MENACE maj
about everyday conditions when nj
company was expected-the kind o
conditions that have prevailet
\ throughout the past winter.
That ratty old building Is probabl!
having the surprise Of its existenc
now-naking ready for the Legislative
committee, and many a cockroach vii
be disturbed for the first time in hi
life. 1t is a good thing to stir sucl
places occasionally; and 1t is to b
\ hoped that the Wisconsin legislatur
will be wise enough to provide TO
regular and continuous inspection o
all places where American youth ar
ihcarcerated- especially Of these pri
yate prisons which are run for prof
and with too little regard for the wei
fare of their prisoners.
On the theory, that it is correctiv
and reformative, many girls hav
been committed to this workhouse b
~ the municipal courts Of Milwaukee
and other Wisconsin cities. Just no,
many are now therein, or are usual
Imprisoned is probably unknown