268 LYMAN D. DRAKE 



institution, depriving it altogether, although an institution 

 for juvenile delinquents, of a semblance of that which partakes 

 of a penal institution. With athletics as prominent as is 

 made by the highest and best institutions of learning through- 

 out the land. With such inviting surroundings, boys would 

 live in an altogether different atmosphere, dwelling in a re- 

 freshing sunlight, which, in my opinion, would be absorbed by 

 nearly the entire population, and only those who from heredi- 

 tary tendencies would be found upon the debit side of the 

 ledger when a final summing up was made. 



Such an institution as above described, is in my opinion, a 

 possibility. Much has been done; more may be done. A 

 superior business system in the management of institutions, 

 together with the cooperation of a generous people augurs well 

 for delinquent boys and girls. It has been my observa- 

 tion all through my years of experience that the reformation of 

 boys is regarded with too little importance, the primary thought 

 being to rid society of a boy whom they considered a menace. 

 If investigations were made leading to the cause for the neces- 

 sity of such restraint, society would in all probability be found 

 responsible. The neglect of the child has led in a majority 

 of cases to its delinquency. It is difficult to appreciate the 

 necessity for the proper supervision of children unless the mat- 

 ter be made a personal one. When it concerns our immediate 

 family, our interests become intensified and we wonder why 

 conditions which have lead to certain effects have not in some 

 way been counteracted before such injury was sustained. 

 The world has been too busy with affairs of a vastly different 

 character, and, as they are pleased to term it, of more impor- 

 tance. Does it occur to you that there is any thing more im- 

 portant than the saving to society of a human life? Were this 

 question given the attention it merits, conditions would ere 

 long show a greater improvement. People, generally speaking, 

 are too unfamiliar with our institutions. The boys who go 

 from them attract no particular attention. The good boy 

 is never spoken of; the bad boy soon claims greater prominence 

 than he deserves, and the school suffers accordingly. The 

 public should be held responsible for this feeling, as their atti- 

 tude toward the youth emerging from our institutions is such 



