The Caledonian-record. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-current, 1921-09-26
HOW VERMONT
CARES FOR
HER CHILDREN
COpiOus Extracts From
Sec. Jeffrey's Public
Address

| Dpre are ZoZS men ana W0mef
ian this state dependent upon char.
Try, according to statement made
| by William H. Jeffrey of the state
Board of Charities and Probation
speaking before the League of Wo,
men Voters at the Citizenship Con-
| ference at Burlington. Secretary
Jeffrey touched upon all the pub
| lie and pAvate charities and cor
rections in Vermont in his address
as of September /, 1921 and copi-
Gus extracts here follev.
Before taking up child welfare
work, | want to direct your atten-
ton to probation and parole.
Probation may be defined as a
system which reclaims men. Back
of it is the idea that there is a
seed of good in every person which
needs only to be planted in the
right soil to produce abundant
harvest. The probation officer
seeks out this good in a man, nur-
seS it into life and with it builds a
strong structure of character.
Probation gives a man chance.
1t is not assumed that because he
has gone wrong once he will go
wrong again. 1t does not take from
the one who has offended his self
respect. 1t gives him self-respect.
On September / there were at
the States Prison and House of
Correction at Windsor 255. Of
these 40 were outside of the prison,
Al on state road work and at the
state farm. With these 40 living
outside of the prison they were so
crowded that inmates were Sleep
ing in the corridor, so you will
readily understand what must be
the condition at Windsor when the
Al come in from state road work
On the above date there were 80
women in the States Prison for
women at Rutland and it's depart
ment known as the House of Cor
rection for women; thus it will be
seen that there were 285 in these
two prisons from which most of
them will eventually come as par
oilers.
In addition to these on the above
date there We're 70 persons being
held in our various county jails,
making total prison population
of Vermont of 364.
At the State Industrial School
there were 246 pupils 160 boys
and SO girls, and may l say to you
that l have visited many institu-
tions in the various states of our
country, and nowhere have | found
a better or more ably conducted in
stitution of like character.
On the same date the board of
charities and probation had under
its supervision and care 1852 paro-
lers and probationers. All these are
under sentence to the state prisons
and the houses of correction, but
have been. either released bv 70
Governor or by the courts in which
they were found guilty. These per-
sons have been convicted of every
crime known to our. law from muir
der to the most trivial misdemean-
or, and if they were sent to the
prisons to which they were senten-
ced Vermont would be required to
increase its present prison plants
to three times their present capac-
ity and expend more than one hun
bred thousand dollars annually on
their care above the inmates earn
in~ power IN the ~rison shoD. I ms
is not taking into account the fact
that these 1852 earn hundreds of
thousands OF dollars annually to
care for those dependent upon !
them, mary OF whom would be de
pendent upon the public for sup
port if the original sentence of |
the court had been carried into eff
feet.
These men and women are visit
ed by our agents and they are Civ
en- helpful suggestions and every
possible friendly assistance, posi-
tons are found for them, so far as
possible, when they are out of en-
ployment and everything helpful is
done, so far as we are able with
the funds at our disposal. The past
month 1875 received personal visits
from our agents.
There is today a marked change
in the manner of taking care of
women admitted to parole from our
prisons. Most of the women who
come into contact with the law, do
so thru crimes which involve their
morals. Under the old system
young girl sins, she is brought into
court, publicly tried, her name and
published broadcast in the
press of the state, and instead of
an effort for her redemp-
ton and reconstruction, We added