Evening star., 1947-04-27
ReceiiyiingHomefoUse
Site Of Old National
Junior Republic

When the Board of Public Welfare
sends the nondelinquent children
under its care from the condemned
Receiving Home to jolly Acres, near
Laurel, Md, this fall, the youngsters
will occupy the site of the National
Junior Republic which flourished
there from the turn of the century
to the beginningapf World War I.
Today there are five, houses on
the grounds in addition to several
harns and the old Republic jail.
which probably win be torn down.
All the buildings, except the church.
are three story structures, equipped
with either fire escapes or chutes
and iron poles. q
Many of the buildings are In fair
shape except for lack of paint and
fixtures and plumbing which were
stolen by vandals.
The grounds, of about 130 acres.
comprised the Willie Newbold farm
and were given to the National
Junior Republic by Mai. Charles
Newbold in 1899.
Maj. Newbold decided to leave the
farm and return to Washington
when his youngest son, Willie, was
accidentally shot by servant who
picked up squirrel gun which he
had Just returned to the house after
a hunting trip.
Given As Memorial to Son.
When the Junior Republic was
organized here, Maj. Newbold gave
the organization the farm as a
memorial to his son. The republic
was operated through the financial
help of prominent business and
social leaders in Washington and
Baltimore.
The Welfare,soard, at its monthly
meeting Friday, approved the selec-
ton of the Rapid Treatment Center
at Gallinger Hospital as a tenn
porary place for non-delinquent
children, who will have to leave the
Lincoln Hall Building at the Ma
tional Training School grounds be-
cause Representative Koran, of
Washington, condemned it as a
firetrap.
The Health Department agreed
to permit the Welfare Board to use
the Gallinger building with the un-
derstanding it be vacated this fall
when the Health Department will
need If for jts owr, llSe
The board then decided to estab-
lish a temporary home for the
children at jolly Acres when they
are forced out of the hospital.
The boys who made UP the pop
Iilation of the old republic were
sent there by the Board of Chill
dren's Guardians, the Juvenile
Court and from needy families in
the city. They had a constitution
based on the United States Con-
stitution except they held an elec-
ton twice year.
Unemployed Arrested.
There were usually about so boys
at the republic, and each one had
a special job or had to attend
classes. Any citizen of the republic
who was without employment was
arrested on a vagrancy charge tried
and if convicted was sentenced to
the Institutes Jail.
The workers were paid 10 to 1917
cents an hour and those who went
to school were given the same
amount of pay. The money was
paid in aluminium coins which
were deposited, in a bank there.
Checks were drawn on the bank for
all expenses, including board and
lodging, clothing and fines. The
Use of legal currency was considered
q breach of the laws and any boy
found with it was arrested. The
use of tobacco, liquor and playing
cards also was considered breach
of the law.
But willie the boys ran the re-
public there were paid superin-
tendents, school teachers and a
board of trustees from Washington
and Baltimore. These included AL
bert C. Ritchie, of Maryland, Bryon
S. Adams, Rudolph Kaufman,
Henry P. Blair, John L. Newbold,
Admiral william H. Brownson, Mrs.
Mary S. Lockwood, Mrs. William E.
Tendall and Mrs. Archibald Hop
kins, all of Washington.
Meeting Held in 1900.
One of the outstanding efforts to
raise funds for the institution was a.
meeting held here in the Columbia
Theater in March, 1900. Among
those who spoke in favor of the re-
public were Cl1auncey M. Depew,
Blair Lee, District Commissioner H.
B. F. MacFarland, John Joy Edison
and Thomas C. Noyes, who was the
first president of the republic.
President Mckinley and other high
Government officials were in the
audience.
Shortly after World War I began
most of the boys enlisted or were
drafted and the republic was discon-
tinued. The property was acquired
by the Inner Mission Society of the
Lutheran Church of Baltimore, and
the District bought it in June, 1S4o.
The property was obtained through
condemnation proceedings after
District officials objected to the
$4,000 asked for the property by the
mission society. A Maryland Fed
L. ~