Evening star., 1936-06-19
MRS. NORTON HITS
ARRANGEMENTS IN
TRAINING SCHOOL
Conditions Are Condemned
in Vigorous Terms
After Visit.
IMPROVEMENTS DUE
UNDER NEW D. C. BILL
100000 Allotted for More Build
ings and Additions to
Personnel.

Condemning conditions at the Ma
tional Training School for Girls in the
most vigorous terms she could muster,
Chairman Norton of the House Dis
trict Committee said today she would
impress on her committee at the next
session of Congress the necessity Of
keeping in closer touch with such in
Etitutions in the District.
Mrs. Norton's reaction to the train
tng school was expressed after she and
Representative Carpenter, Democrat,
Of Kansas, fellow member of the
District Committee, had visited the in
stitution and inspected it under guild
ance of DR.. Carrie Weaver Smith, re-
Gently appointed superintendent. Fol-
lowing her declarations of indignation
Mrs. Norton paid tribute to DR.. Smith
as a brave woman" for being willing
to take over the administration of an
institution in such deplorable condi-
ton.
Il didn't think any such place could
exist" Mrs. Norton said. The lack of
sanitation is shocking. don't under
stand why there hasn't been an out
break of disease.
I'm sure that girls who have spent
years in this place have returned to
the world worse than when they came
here / know I would have If had
been forced to live in any such condi-
tionS. Persons who rant about commu-
nism should turn their efforts to cor
recting such conditions as these be-
cause these are the circumstances that
breed communism.
Fire Hazards Cited.
"These girls aren't bad girls so much
as they are girls in need of training
and decent influences. And here
they've been locked in cells every
night. Every one of them would have
been burned to death if one of these
old buildings caught fire.
There seems to have been COM
plete lack of any system about their
school work here. and there hasn't
been a single qualified teacher in the
whole personnel.
1.-THE committee should have been
impressed long ago with these de-
plorable conditions. The Board of
Public Welfare should have made us
realize how things we're"
Representative Carpenter agreed
with Mrs. Norton'S denunciation and
they both joined in the suggestion that
further study of the institution be
made next Winter after many pro-
posed improvements are under way.
The new District appropriation bill
carries 100000 for a program of build
ing and personnel Improvements at the
institution. In addition, the w. P. A.
now is engaged in several projects such
as installing screens, painting. build
ing new store room, outfitting a CEN
tral kitchen, building new and repair
ing old roads.
DR.. Smith, who took charge of the
school last February, said plans on
hand for use of the 100000 involve
the building of the 10-room cottages
for white girls, remodeling of barn
for a school, construction Of COM
bined gymnasium. church and theater
and several other building improve
ments.
Principal to Be Hired.
A school principal to supervise the
planned vocational education work is
to be engaged, as well as trained case
worker to handle the parole system.
1t is planned, DR.. Smith said, to
segregate white and colored girls in
living quarters and in most of their
school activities AS for the latter,
both academic and vocational in
struction is planned with particular
emphasis on the vocational. There
will be kitchen training in the CEN
trail kitchen, she said as well as
cooking instruction for home work.
Maid service training, clerical work,
beauty parlor work and sewing also
will be taught.
At present about 35 girls are en-
rolled at the institution. Many were
paroled with the consent of the
Board Of Public Welfare in order
that the w. P. A. work might be ia
cilitated. The school will have a
capacity Of about 80 when the i'm
provements are completed.
Elwood Street, executive director of
the Board of Public Welfare, also
visited the institution this morning to
inspect the W. P. A. work going on.
Availability of the 100000 just ap-
propriated will enable the board to
put the school in good shape, both
from the standpoint of buildings and