Credit system. - A boy on entrance was listed for a stay of 12 months. For each month of
perfect conduct during his first two months he was allowed five days off his total "time". If at
the end of these two months he had won five days for each month, he was given an extra 10
days off, which made a total of 20 days of his institution stay [...]
Disciplinary measures. - Cottage officers, teachers, trade instructors, and other officers who
had boys under their supervision were permitted to place a boy "on line" for minor
misconduct. This means that the boy was withdrawn from all the regular activities of his group
and had to stand on line wherever he might be, whether in school, shop, or cottage. It was
stated that no unusual strained positions were permitted.
When an officer felt that a boy required more severe punishment than being placed on line, he
reported the case on a "blue slip" to the court officer [...] Complete responsibility for the
administration of discipline within the limit set by those general policies was vested in the court
officer, and every day he held "court". There each case was taken up and discussed with the
boy in person [...]
Discipline meted out by this court took several forms. Time might be added to the period which
a boy must complete before he was eligible for parole. This might range all the way from a day
or two for minor infractions of rules to the entire year which was regularly added in case of an
escape. Boys guilty of sodomy were required to remain six months longer. For such offenses
as insolence, disobedience, persistent talking on line, fighting, and smoking, varying numbers
of days were added.
It was stated that there was no curtailment of food for any offense; that is, no boys were ever
limited to a bread-and-water diet. Withdrawal of the privilege of attending the occasional
motion-picture show or athletic games was used as a medium of discipline. For more serious
cases a discipline cottage was maintained. Boys were sent there by the court officer for
specific periods to 30 days. Boys in this cottage attended school but did not do shop work. In
lieu of their trade classes they were assigned to do the hardest and most unpleasant manual
labor around the institution. They were barred from all games and entertainments. The
discipline cottage itself was one of the oldest buildings. It had a living room and dormitory
similar to those in other cottages. The living room was quite bare, stiff, and colorless in
atmosphere. No talking was permitted at any time in the living room [...]
Corporal punishment was administered only on order of the court officer. Individual officers
were forbidden to strike any boy or to use any physical force upon him unless the boy became
violent and attacked other boys or an officer. The corporal punishment used was known as
"paddling". The paddle was a flexible piece of leather shaped like a regular paddle about 6 or
8 inches wide and 12 to 15 inches long, with a stiffened leather handle at one end. The usual
number of strokes was 6 to 9, though in extreme cases 12 to 15 might be given. The boy's
clothing was not removed for the paddling. Each paddling had to be witnessed by the
superintendent, the assistant superintendent, the physician, or the Chaplain; and this officer
signed the discipline slip as witness. It was stated that boys were paddled only in extreme
cases of persistent repetition of offences, sex offences, continuous insubordination, or some
action regarded as a particularly grave delinquency. Among the latter were sex offences and
escape from the institution -- unless they came back of their own volition.
The court often gave an order for paddling and then suspended the order so long as the boy
maintained a good conduct record. The court officer believed this procedure had effectively
deterred certain types of boys from repetition of offences, as he found that some of the
vainglorious, would-be gangsters were "yellow" when threatened with physical pain [...]
Source: Institutional Treatment of Delinquent Boys, Part I. Treatment programmes of five state
institutions, by Alida C. Bowler and Ruth S. Bloodgood (United States Childrens' Bureau
Publication No. 228, Washington DC, 1935)
For a photograph of the strap used in this same institution 25 years later, see The Archive.
