The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-06-09
STATE PROBATION
WORK FLORISHING
w. H. Jeffrey Gives Inter
esting Talk on Activi-
ties at BrattlebOro

Speaking recently in Brattleboro w.
IL. Jeffrey of the state board of chart
ties and probation said that the
board receives annually more than 500
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 206
who have been released from prisons
are parolers, making a total of GIT
persons turned over to the board in
stead of being continued in confine-
ment 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
Tense 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, 90 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 I
continued their court sentences in the
house of correction of the state pris
on they would have cost the state, in
to their earning power in
prison, more than $1,000 a week, or
1854 900 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 100000 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-
1itions in such an institution in
county and of informa-
lion 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-
ion. He said that hundreds of cases
lad been reported where children
we're living under conditions and cir
so degrading, so immoral,
30 unsanitary as to seriously affect
heir future welfare.
In this connection he told of case
which was investigated February Ia,
asst, nine children being brought into
court. Five of them were without
shoes and stockings and all were with
nut underclothing. One boy, IL years
If age, had pieces of carpet tied about
his legs in place of trousers and lit
lie girl had crawled under a box stove
ind fallen asleep and her back had
become blistered before she was a.
the legs of another girl OF
seven or eight had been frozen SO
many times that the capillary circula-
ion had burst in many places; con-
litions about the home were fllthy.
Then he told of the boy who had
been taken by the board after being
by his father, of the i'm,
that had been shown, and
,aid that he would graduate this
spring from the Vail Agricultural
school and that the board had $l5o IN
i, . soy;npe hank to his credit.