unrestrained by law; gambling houses and houses of prostitution have increased to a fearful extent; and yet through all these years under the wise persistent measures of preventive charity, juvenile crime is either absolutely diminished, or has failed to keep pace in its advance with the increase of population.

66 MEANS EMPLOYED."

"The movements of preventvie strategy, if we may so call it, which have brought about these great moral successes in New York, were in the following directions: 1. Education, including industrial training, as well as school teaching, moral instruction by the fortunate classes of the unfortunate, and, above all, the influences of religion; 2. Shelter, including training in habits of order, punctuality and saving, with provision for the body; and, 3. Emigration, or the transference of destitute and homeless children to well-selected homes.

"In 1852 and '53, a number of new preventive agencies were either founded or enlarged to deal with the problems of childish poverty and crime in New York. Among them we would specify the Five Points Missions (founded much earlier), the Wilson Industrial School, the Juvenile Asylum, and especially the Children's Aid Society."

Here follows a general history of the workings of the different charitable institutions of New York, and the relation of crime and ignorance.

From this paper it appears that the "children's aid society " has been a great motive power propelled by the christian churches of Brooklyn and New York in sending west, what have been called in the state of Wisconsin "iron clad orphans."

This process is called by eastern philanthropists "Moral Strategy." The influence of one of these waifs in a neighborhood for the few weeks of his sojourn spreads more evil and mischief than can be cured by the good work and prayers of the united benevolent societies in the land for years thereafter. It is a misdemeanor to scatter and sow noxious weeds on the prairies and in the openings of Wisconsin, but it is "Moral Strategy" to annually scatter three thousand obnoxious" iron-clad orphans," juvenile criminals among the peaceful homes and in the quiet neighborhoods of the state.

66 PLACING OUT."

"The third of the great methods for prevention employed by the Children's Aid Society, and to a limited degree by other charities in the city of New York, has been the transference and placing out of destitute and homeless children in rural homes. This has been carried out on an enormous scale by this association, they having placed out during the past twenty-one years over 20,000 of these children, a great number of whom have grown up to be respected men and women, and some of whom are now filling places of trust and honor. The circumstances favoring this in America are the great demand for children's labor, the peculiar humanity of the people, and the good, social position of the youthful laborer in a farmer's family. All these combine to make a judicious and wellplanned system of emigration of children from the city to the country, the best possible preventive measure. And, though here and there these street children may not at or ce do well, yet the great popularity of this movement, both in the west and east, for the past twenty years, and the demand for children's labor from rural districts, beyond all possible supply, show that this preventive effort has been as successful as it falls to the lot of most human efforts of charity to be. The economy, too, of this method of prevention is a singular argument in its favor. Thus, during the past year (1873), the Children's Aid Society sent to rural homes over 3,000 children, yet the average cost per head, including salaries, railroad fares, clothing and all expenses, was only $7.16. In prison these children would have cost $141 per annum, or about twenty times as much, that is, prevention was twenty times cheaper than punish

ment.

"This, then, is the simple,

'' MORAL STRATEGY

Which has produced such a marked diminution of juvenile crime in New York. It is a movement in three different lines, of 1. Education; 2. Shelter; and 3. Emigration. It is deffective in one respect. Were this deficiency filled out, it would bring forth even more glorious victories of humanity. It is not supplemented by law. Were only a simple and stringent act passed, compelling every child engaged in a street trade to have a license, which license should be made dependent on his or her attending a "half-time

school" (whether public or private), we should at once break up all that remains of juvenile vagrancy, and have a law not too severe or too onerous on a self-supporting class of children for courts

to execute.

"Till this be done, we shall never succeed in our struggles with the evils of vagrancy and poverty among boys, to the same extent as among girls.

"We shall check its natural increase with population. But we shall not show so large an absolute diminution. We earnestly invoke the aid of congress in securing from our legislatures the passage of such an act, enforcing half-time schooling on the street children of cities, employed in lawful avocations."

After the reading of this paper a general discussion was raised. It was principally conducted by the managers of industrial schools for boys. About the same number of ten-minute speeches were made as on the day before upon prison discipline. A synopsis, only, of this interesting branch of reform can be allowed in this report.

Mr. Bigham stated the condition of juvenile reformatory institutions in Pennsylvania. There are two houses of refuge in that state. That at Pittsburg has only been in existence a short time. Another is at Philadelphia. In both there are three departments-white male and female, and black. We adopt the family system. Half the time is devoted to study. Girard college is partly educational and partly reformation, holding many who would otherwise find their way into reformatories. We have many orphan schools which perform the same office-soldiers' orphan asylums-and the state has contributed them over $5,000,000. In the various reformatories, legal and voluntary, there are 40,000 children. Perhaps 50,000 or 60,000 children, between six and sixteen who do not habitually attend public school, and half subject to no parental instruction, the great body of the remainder neglected, who stand to our orphan asylums as the Rocky Mountains, with its wells, springs and melting snows, do to the Mississippi. It may yet come to compulsory education in our state.

Dr. Howe, of Ohio, principal of the Ohio Reform School, spoke of the family system there in that school, now the largest of the kind in the country, containing 460 boys. Some six or seven similar schools have been established since in other states. A greater freedom is extended to the boys than perhaps any other reformatory in the world, and we have arrived at a point we did not

anticipate. We anticipated the necessity of a place of confinement, and we built a small stone-lock, but there hasn't been a boy in it for years, and it is now used as a meat-house. We have proved to the world that it is not necessary to lock boys up. I know in the depth of my heart there is no such necessity. The people of our state would be glad to place every boy who has no home, only it is not large enough, and it is confined to the criminal classes. The secret of success is little government, none for the sake of government. Hardly a boy has been struck for years. Our boys don't run off. Why? I don't know. If we built a wall around them they would. And it is just so with men in prison. Our farm is so large, our discipline so easy, that the boys don't care to go away. There are only four that we can't trust to go to Lancaster, seven miles away.

Mr. Canisius, of Ohio, spoke of the school of Dr. Howe, which he had visited on one or two occasions. One secret of the institution was the influence of woman over the boys. The matron is a mother to them all, and admirably seconds the work of Dr. Howe.

General Minor congratulated the convention on the general acquiescence in the principle of kindness, which was more widespread now than even at the last meeting at Baltimore. Men are

but children of a larger growth, and he had never yet seen a child or man so debased as not to be subject to the influence of kind and generous treatment. This principle of kindness is now an established principle in the future government of all institutions of this kind.

Mr. Johnson, Superintendent of the State Reform School of Michigan, spoke of that school, which has been conducted after the plan of the Ohio school. Mr. Johnson said, with complete success, we have less trouble with the boys outside the buildings than inside. Liberties and privileges are contingent on good conduct. It is not sunshine all through. We have always felt that about seven-tenths of the boys are reclaimed. Standards of reformation differ. There is a reformation for a boy who never saw a year that his parents were not in the work house, which would not be a reformation for your boy. One of the boys from our school is now worth $70,000, and compeer of the best men where he lives. Another is town treasurer in his place of residence.

Prot. McCarty, Principal of the Iowa Reform School, gave an account of that school, which had been very successuful. There is a

farm of about nine hundred and fifty acres.

This year we are cultivating three hundred and fifty. We have two family buildings. We do not have to lock up any of the inmates. Our boys are cheerful—they are generally industrious and studious. In regard to discipline, the first thing is to send the boy to the bath room. I then have a full talk, find out everything about him and his family. The boy is always treated with politeness and respect. We insist always upon obedience. Our chief punishment is to place the boys alone in rooms provided for that purpose. The school is divided somewhat as the Ohio schools are.

Mr. Griffith of Maryland, said the principal reform schools of Maryland are in Baltimore. In the Boys' Reform School there are about three hundred inmates. Every appliance is used to bring about a moral reformation. There is no regular chaplain. Voluntary religious instruction is given. There is a Sunday school. There is a preaching service in the afternoon of each Sabbath, by ministers of different denominations. There is a reform school for boys and girls, under the management of the Catholics. A Sabbath school paper is regularly published by the inmates of this school, which has quite a large circulation. There is a school of refuge for colored children some little distance from the city, conducted on the family plan.

Mr. Fulton of Rochester, spoke of the Western House of Refuge of that city. He favored the plan on a much smaller scale than yet practiced. He would have the boys divided into families of ten or fifteen, the different families each pursuing a different trade or business. But he felt he could not, for various reasons, carry out this plan. There is a system of merit badges in one. We change the diet of unruly boys as a punishment.

Gen. Bain, of Illinois, favored practical education for children, so that they would not become vagrants. They should early be taught the rights of property, the laws of health and sanitary laws.

Mr. Reynolds, of Illinois, thought great injustice was done to boys by teaching them trades which were of no account. They should be taught occupations they could follow. In the Reform School in Illinois, they were taught shoe making and brush making, and would soon be taught blacksmithing and cabinet making. They encouraged them in farming and stock raising.

Hon. C. R. Gibbs, of Wisconsin, spoke of the Wisconsin Industrial School for Boys, at Waukesha.