EIGHTH SESSION.

Thursday Morning, September 27,1883. The Conference was opened with prayer by Rev. O. C. McCulloch, of Indiana.

The State of Minnesota reported through Mr. H. H. Hart, Secretary of the State Board of Corrections and Charities.

REPORT OF MINNESOTA.

The Governor of Minnesota sent to Madison, last year, the largest delegation, except that of Wisconsin. That delegation brought forth fruit. Upon its return, several of the best men in the State determined to leave no stone unturned to secure the creation of a Board of Corrections and Charities. Mention might be made, among others, of Judge A. H. Young, M. McG. Dana, D. D., and Dr. W. H. Leonard. By the active efforts of these and other citizens, heartily seconded by the leading newspapers of the State, a law was secured, closely modeled upon that of Ohio. The Board consists of six members, not more than three of whom can belong to any one political party. The Governor of the State is ex-officio President. Except the power of investigation, the Board has only advisory powers. Governor Hubbard has shown a hearty interest in the work of the Board, and in securing the best men to serve on the Board.

The rapid growth of the country and th£ multiplication of population have compelled the development of public institutions in Minnesota within the past fifteen years such as have been the growth of half a century in other states. In looking back upon this pioneer work, we have reason to congratulate ourselves that it has been done so well. Our institutions have necessarily been modeled after those of the older states from which we came. Many faults have been copied; but, on the other hand, some faults hav£ been avoided, notably that of extravagant building.

A wise conservatism has governed legislation and execution hardly to have been expected in so young a state.

We do not believe in rotation in office in public institutions. Professor Ndyes, Superintendent of the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, has served for seventeen

years; Dr. Bartlett, of the First Hospital for the Insane, and Dr. Riheldaffer, of the Eeform School, have each served for sixteen years; Warden Reed has served for eight years, and there has not been a change of superintendents in any State institution since his appointment.

The Minnesota hospital for the insane, at St. Peter has a capacity of five hundred and fifty, and was built at a cost of about nine hundred dollars per capita. An annex is now being built at a cost of two hundred and fifty dollars per capita, to accomodate one hundred chronic patients. This chronic asylum will have its own kitchen and subordinate officers; but be under the superintendent of the first hospital. This arrangement secures competent supervision, skilled treatment, facility of transfer; while at the same time provision is made for the highest economy of buildings and maintenance.

The per capita expense is only $3.81 per week, notwithstanding the extra cost of fuel and clothing in our high latitude; yet we believe that ample provision is made for comfort and health.

The second hospital for the insane, at Rochester, is under the efficient direction of Dr. J. E. Bowers. This hospital, when complete will have a capacity of five hundred, at a cost per capita of not more than $800. About one-third of the male patients are kept on the open door system. Great attention is paid to out door exercise and labor.

The institutions for the deaf and dumb, for the blind and for the idiotic and imbecile, are also situated in or near the beautiful city of Faribault. They are,separate institutions, but are all under a single board of trustees.

The school for the deaf and dumb has a capacity of two hundred; cost $1,000 per capita and maintains about one hundred and forty pupils at an annual cost per capita of about $225.

About one-third of the pupils are taught articulation. In the industrial department, trades are taught which enable the pupils to become self-supporting. Shoe-making, tailoring, printing, broom-making, and coopering are taught.

The shops are run at a loss of about $300 a year, but we consider it money well invested.

The School for the Blind is superintended by Prof. J. J. Dow; attendance thirty-five to forty; cost of building about $600 per capita. The building is now being enlarged to a capacity of 80.

The School for Idiots and Imbeciles was opened as an experiment in 1879. It is now established in the confidence of the people. The building' now occupied cost about $500 per capita and has a capacity of fifty. Its capacity is to be doubled the coming year.

The State Reform School has been eminently successful in its proper work. It has been in operation for sixteen years, and after careful inquiry not more than three or four of the boys have been known to have been sent to any prison. We do not teach our boys chair bottoming or mattress making; very few employers want such work; and if they did want it, the very fact that a boy can do that work is evidence that he has been in the Reform School. Our boys are taught gardening and floriculture. Those who show aptness for it are taught the tinner's trade. A few learn baking or tailoring. The majority work in a shop where toy wagons, sleds, wheel-barrows, etc., are manufactured. Here they learn wood turning, painting, and something of carpenter work.

Our boys have no difficulty in getting remunerative employment.

The State Prison is most unfortunately situated on the main street and close under the bluff at Stillwater. The administration of this prison is admirable, sanitation is good. Discipline is mild but firm; but it makes no claim to Jbe a reformatory prison. There is no grading of prisoners; no resident chaplain; no school. The success of the " good time" plan indicates that much might be done by systematic work for the younger prisoners.

The contract system prevails and three hundred free laborers # work inside the prison, with the convicts. The prison cost about $1,440 per capita. The current expenses average $196 per capita, and the jearnings average 98 per capita — just half. I regret to say that it is the ambition of the management to make this a large, self-supporting prison, and the last legislature arranged for the expenditure of three hundred thousand dollars to that end.

Adult reformatories are in their infancy with us. The city of St. Paul is building a work-house modeled upon that at Detroit. One wing is already occupied. Minneapolis is contemplating a work-house.

The county institutions of Minnesota are of the same character substantially as the eastern institutions after which they are modeled.

The small jails are usually better than the large ones. We find the usual herding together of prisoners of all characters and conditions for mutual converse and education. We find prisons filthy, unventilated, gloomy, cold, dangerous to officers. We find them built without plan, managed without system, administered without rules. Our poor houses are much better than the jails. They constrain few children and insane persons. Many counties have no poor houses, but either board their poor, or provide for all by out-door relief. One of our wealthier counties has just built a new poor house, at a cost of $8,000 or $9,000. On visiting it when near completion, our board found that the plan provided for no bath-room; a basement laundry with no drain; a large dining-room with but one window; no sitting-room for either se£. The pauper's exit was through the diningroom, and the front door of the overseer's residence opened into the pauper's kitchen. Heat was to be provided by a hot air furnace, in whic^. the inlet for cold air was one foot by three, while the chief ventilator in the room above was eix by eight inches. We hope to prevent such mistakes in future.

We are deeply pained to report the death of Mr. E. W. Chase, of St. Paul. Mr. Chase has been for years the efficient agent of the society for the relief of the poor. . His wise and helpful administration did much to diminish pauperism, and to establish the spirit of independence among the poor. He was a member of the conference at Madison, last year; returned home ill and lived but a short time. Minnesota feels his loss.

Hon. D. W. Ingersoll, President of the Minnesota State Reform School presented the following report from that institution:

The Minnesota State Reform School was opened January, 1868, with one inmate. The board of managers were all men who had had no previous acquaintance with or particular knowledge of such an institution. One of our number was appointed superintendent, and two visited reform schools, spending a short time in getting an insight into their methods of handling and governing large numbers of boys in companies.

Therefore, we had no traditional or professional theories to carry out, but were left free to pursue our own ideas as to the best methods of training children and reforming those who had gone astray.

The subject presented itself in this light. The youth sent to this school will constitute one or more families of which the superintendent and matron must stand in the place of parents, who must aim to govern and train those children with a view to their life, as they would their own children. What would they do with this boy if he were their own boy? They should require of him obedience, application to study, industry and good moral conduct, and by a study of his disposition, tastes and abilities, seek to prepare him to earn an honest living ahd serve his generation in that calling to which he is best adapted.

We have aimed to carry out this idea. In doing so we have depended first, on moral and religious teaching; second, on the instruction of the school room.

The school with us has never been a side issue, pushed into the early morning or late evening hours. School is made the first business of the institution; each boy and girl gets a four hour session of school each day under competent and faithful teachers.

Our next object is teach all the boys who are of proper age, some Useful trade or employment. We have turned out a large number of tin smiths, wood turners, workers with wood working machinery, carpenters, painters, some shoe makers and tailors. Our shops are maintained for the one purpose of teaching the boys trades at which they can command wages, and earn an honest living when they go out.

While we strive to make our shops self-supporting,, we do not claim that they yield to the state a present income equal to what might be earned at some other less skilled labor.

But we claim a larger profit to society in the future, by turning out to it intelligent and skilled workmen. For the encouragement of others engaged in like labor, we are able, with gratitude to God, to state that the fruits of our efforts have been most encouraging and we have been greatly blessed.

At the close of fifteen years of labor, we are able to count among our discharged boys, men in business for themselves in the various lines of trade, men conducting shops of their own, men foremen for other establishments, railroad conductors, railroad engineers, telegraph operators, book-keepers, students continuing their studies and some studying professions, besides hundreds earning an honest living in the various walks of life.

Our boys have a good reputation outside; and many who have employed them give them the preference. We esteem it a great advantage that we have had the opportunity of forming our institution from the foundation,, beginning with a single inmate and growing to about forty the first year, it was comparatively easy to form a healthful life and establish a moral standard which the imuates themselves grew into and help maintain. For