The Penn's Grove record., 1919-08-08

lhem in other Institutions, which
lately became too crowded TO receive
them.
Another source of trouble, accord
ng to the present infringement, is
lack Of proper help, making it neces-
sary in many instances to assign in
mates TO do officers work. Trouble,
it is said, may be expected until this
practice can be stopped.
Girls Make Charges.
On the other hand, the girls accused
in the recent outbreaks are making
counter-charges of cruelty at the
hands of officers, declaring that they
are severely punished for minor viola
lions of the rules.
Girls arrested for the recent dis
t~urbances have told the police they
would prefer to be committed any
where, rather than be sent back TO
the Home.
Management and methods at the
State Home, together with a review Of
legislative proceedings relative to the
institution, and provisions for more
adequate quarters, are dealt with in
the report, which is a joint statement
of Mrs. H. Crittenden Harris and Mrs.
Leon Cubberley, of the board of man
ayers, of Commissioner Burdette c.
Lewis of the State Department of
Institutions and Agencies, and Dr.
Mary B. Harris, superintendent OF the
Home. The statement follows:
Text of Statement.
Our Investigations at the State
Home for Girls indicate that DR.. Mary
b. Harris, superintendent of the home.
was correct in stating that very few
girls have been responsible for the
difficulties Which have continued for a
long time and which ta-e now cul-
minated in an attempt to burn down
the oldest building on the grounds IN
order to produce some excitement. For
the most part. the actions of prac-
tically all of the girls in the inStltu-
ton have been proper. In fact, the
great body of inmates are to be high
ly commended for the way they helped
with the difficult situation. 1t is the
old, old story of the very few bringing
hardship upon the many. OF the six
who pleaded guilty to the charge of ar
son in the First Precinct Police Court
there are one or two ~ringleaders and a
number of weak tools.
These particular few girls ought
never to have been left in this insti-
tuition. They were there because ad-
vantage was not taken two or three
years ago of the opportunity to trans
fer them to the proper institution ana
because during the current year all OF
the available space in the various 9th
er institutions has been taken, so that
it has not been possible to TAKE ad-
vantage of the very satisfactory stat
ute which permits transfers of just
such inmates from the State Home to
the proper institutions. Since the girls
must be handled under the difficulties
of this o~vercrowding, the Board of
Managers, superintendent and the
faithful officers of the home have been
grievously handicapped by the short
i. comings and inadequacy of the insti-
tuition in dealing with this type of I'M
stable girls.
Several months ago the Board Of
Managers and Commissioner Lewis.
with the approval Of the State Board,
recommended that facilities be pro-
vided for the isolation of girls of just
such type who are of the mentally I'M
stable class; continuous baths for
treating them when they are excited,
In accordance with the best modern
conception of scientific correctional
treatment; the transfer of all such
cases at the earliest possible moment
to the proper institutions; proper
classification of the inmates by mean
Of psychiatric and psychological tests
to determine who the potentially I'M
stable type are in order to segregate
them in small groups for training and
treatment.
Lack of Money.
IQeSS NtAe upl
put into effect because of the lack of
appropriation. Unless sufficient money
is forthcoming for the reconstruction
Of the building which the girls at
tempted to burn and also to provide
an increased force of officers, so that
the institution may discontinue its long
practice of assigning inmates to per-
form officers duties, such disturbances
will happen from time to time. The
legislature appropriated $4,000 in the
present budget, which became effective
July 1, 1919, for the reconstruction of
one wing of this old building. This APP
preparation was made with the hope
that the Chamberlain-Kahn bill, then
pending in Congress, granting federal
aid to states for handling correctional
problems growing out of the war,
would pass which carried an appro-
priation of $4,000 TO meet the 10000
tho cta+a bad baaD asked RI aDDrO-