Weekly Caledonian. (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1919-1920, 1919-06-11
STATE PROBATION
WORK FLORISHING
W. H. Jeffrey Gives Inter-
esting Talk on Activi-
ties at Brattleboro

Speaking recently in Brattleboro w.
II. Jeffrey OF the state board of chari-
ties and probation said that the
board receives annually more than sou
persons as parolers and probationers,
and here the speaker explained the
difference between the two classes
and said that at the present time the
board has All probationers, who have
been found guilty of nearly every
crime known to our statutes, and 2OC
who have been released from prisons
are pareleri, making a total of GIT
persons turned over to the board in
stead Of being continued in confne-
mcnt in prisons, while there are less
than 200 persons in the two penal ms
titutions. Included in this number are
those committing every form of Of
fense from operating an automobile
without license to murder in the
first degree. There are Is for forg-
cry, 40 for burglary, 40 for non-sup-
port, % for larceny, II for assault, So
for breach of peace, six for assault
with intent to kill, IL for manslaugh-
ter, nine for murder in the second de-
gree, and two for murder in the first
degree. The work of the board has
been so successful that the last legis-
lature authorized the sale of the house
of correction.
Mr.. Jeffrey said that if the GIT per-
sons under the care of the board had
continued their court sentences in the
house of correction of the state pris-
on they would have cost the state, in
addition to their earning power in
prison, more than $1,000 a week, or
$4,000 annually and that during the
past IL months they paid into the de-
partment for restitution, fines, costs
and support, more than $4,000 and in
addition have maintained their famil-
les. The average weekly wage earned
by the probationers and parolers a.
mounts to nearly $4,000 or more
than $500,O00 annually.
In speaking Of the duty Of the
board to investigate all complaints re-
garding the care of the poor of the
state and at least once each year to
make careful investigation of the
poorhouses he told deplorable con-
ditions in such an institution in
Washington county and of informa-
ton reaching the board of consid-
cradle number of dependent, neglect>
ed, delinquent, and in many instances
even physically and mentally defect
i've children and said that measures
were taken to cope withr the situa-
ton. He said that hundreds of cases
had been reported where children
were living under conditions and cir
cumstances so degrading, so immoral,
so unsanitary as to seriously affect
their future welfare.
In this connection he told of cast
which was investigated February IA,
last, nine children being brought into
court. Five of them were withou.
shoes and stockings and all were with
out underclothing. One boy, IL years
of age, had pieces of carpet tied about
his legs in place of trousers and lit
tie girl had crawled under box stove
and fallen asleep and her back had
become blistered before she was a.
aroused; the legs of another girl OF
seven or eight had been frozen so
many times that the capillary circula-
lion had burst in many places; con-
iitions about the home were filthy.
Then he told of the boy who had
been taken by the board after being
abandoned by his father, of the i'm
that had been shown, and
said that he would graduate this
spring from the Vail Agricultural
school and that the board had $3.50 in
he savings bank to his credit.