Evening star., 1925-01-11
TRAINING SCHOOLS
BRING DISCUSSION
Congress Committee Hears
Differences of Opinion on
Welfare Board.

Sharp differences of opinion over
inclusion of the National TraInine
SchooI Tor Girls in the bill to estab-
lish board of public welfare in
the National Capital developed at a
hearing yesterday by the Senate anc
House joint subcommittees on the
legislation. Provisions regarding the
Board of Children's Guardians were
also debated at length
Officials of the National Training
school for Girls, including Mrs o
L. Veerhoff, president of the board
and Francis H. Duehay. a trustee
contended that the institution was
national, and should not be turned
over to the proposed public welfare
board to be made local. On the other
hand, the other school of thought, led
by John Joy Edison of the Board OF
Charities, contended that the institu-
ton, caring principally for local girls,
should be under District of Columbia
management and should be left In
the bill.
Senator Copeland of New York and
Representative Gilbert of Kentucky
after close questioning of several
witnesses, announced they favored
keeping the school in it's present
national status, by striking it out
of the bill.
Need for Federal Institution.
Representative Gilbert, who was
formerly a Juvenile Judge, said there
was need for such a Federal insti-
tuition, declaring 80 many crimes are
being committed by girls that were
not committed in the past. Girls are
better than boys" he declared, but
there is tendency among them tc
be more daring now than they used
to be-"
Representative Gilbert's statement
that he thought it unwise for the
National Government TO merge with
the District of Columbia, as the DIS
trict will attempt to take over other
Federal institutions" met with re-
Joinder from Mr.. Edison, who said
there was no such acquisitive intent
on the part of Westinghouse Mr.
Edison said he had been on the Board
or Charities for years, a board which
had charge of most of the organiza-
tions proposed to be consolidated un-
der the BILL and said he would be
very willing to give up the position
he held in favor of the new plan.
Mrs. Veerhoff contended that under
the new plan of putting the school
under District of Columbia control
there would be lost to the school
many facilities now available from
the Federal Government.
Mr.. Duehay read a memorandum
from Superintendent of Prisons
Votaw, which said that the training
schools for both boys and girls should
be under the Department of Justice
in the interest of a more complete
and perfect penal system for the
United States" Mr.. Duehay reported
that in the boys school here, now
! under the Department of Justice
which is not included in the propose ed
consolidation plan, there are 202
Federal boys and 116 District of
Columbia boys. although in the girls
school there were 100, including only
l from outside the District The ad-
dition of the new site and buildings
however, it was said, would provide
facilities for white girls, which here
tofore, he said, had not been avail
able.
Mrs. Nina Van Wrinkle, head Of the
woman's bureau spoke for the bill, re-
porting that facilities for taking care
| OF women prisoners here are made
quate, and frequently she personally
had paid for the transportation OF
| girls to institutions In other States
Testifying to the increasing number
of women in custody, Mrs. Van
| Wrinkle said there were so women
now at Occoquan, "the biggest mum
Der since prohibition"
Opponents to Change.
Mrs. C. Fuller Winters and Mrs. l.
NJ. Clements of the Women's Council
| objected to the legislation on account
of it's inclusion of the Board of Chill
| dren's Guardians, which they said the
Mothers Council was attempting in
other legislation to abolish. They
wished the board omitted entirely,
| they said, from the welfare bill, in or
der that it might be replaced by a
new plan proposed by a bill sponsored
| by the council.
Henry 7. Clark and Walter HoI-
| land also spoke against the bill as
| constituted, whie William Hodson
| consultant to the Code Commission,
testified concerning many points at
question.
At the morning session Judge
Siddons of the District of Columbia
| Supreme Court spoke particularly
| regarding the proposal to place under
| jurisdiction Of the proposed board
| the National Training School for
| Girls. He said that while that school
| originally had been created by Con-
gress with the idea that it would be
a Federal institution, subsequent
| Legislation indicated Congress took
| the view rather that the school was
| a District institution. He pointed
| out that it is appropriated for in the
| District appropriation bill. He diff
| ferentiated between the National
| Training School for Girls and the Ma
tional Training School for Boys
| pointing out that the latter was
| really a Federal institution with
about 90 per cent of it's population
sent there from the States by Fed
| eral courts.
He said that he had been informed
| that only one girl was in the Ma.
tional Training School for Girls sen
there by an outside Jurisdiction. He
| pointed out that Congress has re.
Gently authorized construction of {
Federal women's reformatory ant
| that possibly girls would be sent t
that institution by the Federal court.
in the States. Nothing in the bill
however, would prevent girls beins
sent to the National Training Schoo
for Girls by Federal courts outsid,
the District, he said.
The Board of Children's Guardian
and the Board of Charities, which
would be abolished by the propose,
Legislation, Judge Siddons said, hav,
both approved of the bill.