Between the dark and the daylight : ms., undated

University of California • Berkeley

University of California The Bancroft Library/Berkeley

Regional Oral History Office

BETWEEN THE DARK AND THE DAYLIGHT

by
Kenyon J. Scudder

©1972 by Kenyon J. Scudder

This manuscript Is made available by an agreement between
Kenyan J. Scudder and The: Bancroft Library, dated June fc,
1972.

All literary rights In this manuscript, Including the
right to publish, are reserved to Kenyon J. Scudder, until
June 1, 1982. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for
publication without the written permission of the author or
the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of
California at Berkeley •

Requests for permission to quote for publication should
be addressed to Kenyon J. Scudder, 2295Q Via Puerta,
Laguna Hills, California, 92653» or the Regional Oral History
Office, 486 Library, and should Include identification of the
specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages,
and identification of the user.

j

Mr. Kenyon J. Scudder
2295 Q Via Puerta
Laguna Hills, California

Bancroft Library
University of California

Sirs:

Through the courtesy of the Regional Oral History Office
of the Bancroft Library, University of California, it is
possible to make available to both faculty and students
interested in the Humanities, copies of my manuscript,

BETWEEN THE DARK AND THE DAYLIGHT

with the hope that some may consider a career in the chal
lenging field of Corrections where the need is great.

/ *^wvun^
/I /~~^

Kenyo/n J //Scudder

\J [/

-

CONTENTS — KEN YON J. SCUDDSRi Between the Dark and ti» Daylight

EDITOR'S NOTE 1

AUTHOR'S SUMMARY 11

KEN YON SCUDDER, Outstanding Criminologlst. Leo tare "flyer",

1971. Ill

I Early humanitarian concerns! 1

Understanding Becky; assistant vocational director
of Washington State Reformatory; harshness toward the
inmates; work Is not training; a harrowing escape
attempt.

II Prisons in 1914 t 32

Guards are hard on new Inmates j hopes for vocational
training and guidance; the machines that never came;
a first look at intelligence and aptitude tests*

III Preston School of Industry! 50

Daily routines; escape worries; theories of discipline;
report on effects of punishment; end of the lash;
drafted.

IV World War I and return to Preston i 81

Testing riflemen; postwar uncertainties; politics
at Preston; feeble-minded inmates; inmate bosses;
Ihf lueri za s t r ike s .

V Restless staff and inmates « 113

Conflict between acting superintendent and trustees;
Scudder takes charge of Preston when acting super
intendent leaves.

VI Acting superintendent of Prestoni 131

Chairman of trustees imposes on Preston; parole
system; Fourth of July field day with Whittier
State School; Fred C. Nelles* Influence; first
superintendent reappointed.

VII The trustee chairman's bathtub i 151

Robbery for an ailing wife; return to physical
punishment; Scudder departs.

VIII U.S. vocational adviser In San Francisco « 172

Disabled veterans* training and placement! Los
Angeles Bureau in 1921 i C. C. Young becomes
govemorj Scudder appointed superintendent of
Whlttier State School i better food and surroundings
for the boys; younger boys* needs » Dr. Norman
Fenton's Bureau of Juvenile Research and child
guidance clinic j Committee for the Study of Problem
Children .

IX Whlttier State School: 20?

Staff and inmate relations improve; new ideas in
vocational training? academic education? self-* :
dTselpline .

X Whittier State School, continued i 232

Boys* views of management and staff; visit from a
child movie star; remodeled reception services.

XI New ideas at Whlttier i 253

Dramatics and music become Important school
activities; Boy Scout Cottage; Rotary Club support.

XII Whittier inmates learn to playi 276

Camping; scouting; the U.S. Navy and other
friends; a 1928 election parade; pets.

XIII Whlttier, the best boys* institution in the nation i 298

U.S. Children's Bureau findings; 1930 politics cloud
the scene; Dr. Toner becomes director of state
institutions; a struggle for the superintendent's
position ensues.

XIV Support from Whlttier trustees! 320

Scudder* s forced dismissal; furor over appointment of
Claude Smith as director; Scudder becomes first
fulltlme probation office of Los Angeles County; case
loads mount; power of the courts.

XV Whittier School falls on bad days»

Spoils system succumbs to civil service legislation;
investigation of brutality; runaways increase;
Governor Olson appoints special commission; Franklin
Potter's Assembly Committee reports; troubles of
Juveniles in other states.

XVI Youth Authority law ushers in new era in 19^1:

New buildings and new programs for early adjustment
and release; rising costs of custodial correctional
care; improvement of commdhTty conditions needed.

I

i

•
-

3

•

'

XVII Imperatives for change in the 1960s i 376

Community treatment projects develop; insights
into social maturity of state wards; society's
longterm responsibility.

XVIII Probation subsidies introduced! 39^

Performance principle encourages new types of local
services for delinquency prevention! moves to limit use
of detention? tax payers' savings? toward community
help and understanding.

INDEX

EDITOR'S NOTE

The manuscript of Between the Dark and the Daylight
came to The Bancroft Library in the course of the Bart Warren
Oral History Project. While preparing for interviews on the
development of the California Youth Authority under Warren,
Kenyon Scudder's name was repeatedly mentioned as a significant
source of Inspiration and accomplishment for both the Youth
Authority and the Department of Corrections.

A brief interview with Scudder was recorded in April, 1971f
focussing on his view of Warren's Influence on state correctional
services, which saw major changes toward humanitarian condi
tions under Warren fs leadership. During this conversation, Scudder
several times referred to the typescript of his book. Upon further
discussion, it was agreed that the manuscript should be deposited
in The Bancroft Library and other selected archives with a par
ticular Interest in criminology. Arrangements were also made for
the Regional Oral History Office to index the manuscript. This
is the final draft of the manuscript, rather than printer's copy,
so the reader will find a moderate number of typographical errors,
which in no way affect the readability of the work.

For the potential or practising professional, this is a
vivid reporting of the dire conditions that prevailed in refor
matories and prisons not too long ago, as well as a useful
guidebook to the attitudes and policies that have worked in
helping confined Individuals develop their self-sufficiency and
abilities. For the layman, it is a poignant and painful reminder
of the continuum between delinquents and other young people. The
boys described in specific events differ only In degree, not in
kind, from their socially successful brothers.

Researchers may wish to consult the two-volume oral
history of Scudder's life done by the University of California,
Los Angeles in 196? » and "Beginnings of Therapeutic Correctional
Facilities11 in "Earl Warren and the Youth Authority," Regional
Oral History Office, 1972. Scudder has also published Prisoners
Are People (Doubleday, 1952) and The Twenty Billion Dollar
Challenge (Putnam, 196!).

Gabrielle Morris
Index Editor

29 November 1972

Regional Oral History Office

4b6 The Bancroft Library

University of California at Berkeley

^UMMARY Wordage 112,100

BETWEEN THE DARK AND THE DAYLIGHT

.-•

Kenyon J. Soudder

For two-hundred years America has struggled with her
number one social problem, delinquency and crime, but with
meager success.

In spite of our best efforts, America is still known as
the greatest crime-ridden nation on earth and it's high time
we changed our methods. We wait until the crime has been
committed and then in fear, spend billions of dollars to
protect ourselves against a repetition of offenses by build
ing prisons, reformatories and detention facilities, only
to fill them up and keep them filled - an expensive and
stupid policy that does not work. And yet all of the time
we knew, at an early age, these boys and girls were headed
for trouble, but failed to reach them.

This book, a semi-autobiographical account of three in
stitutions for boys and young men, two of which I administered,
is written for average citizens who know very little of what
goes on in these institutions and care less until perhaps
it effects their own. We take them in to see for themselves
the enormous problems faced by those engaged in the challeng
ing field of corrections and their courageous attempts to
adjust young people when it is often too late.

This is a shocking book in parts, but a warm and true one,
further dealing with administrative problems caused by politics;
including especially the disastrous effects of political
patronage across the Nation, which should have no place in an
humanitarian program effecting children in trouble.

The latter part of the book deals with the more promising
"Community Treatment" program in place of detention and the
"State Probation Subsidy" program which ploughs back into
the local communities adequate funds to reduce commitments
and encourage adjustments in the local community at a fraction
of the costs.

America today stands at the crossroads. We can continue
as we are and spend ourselves into bankruptcy building insti
tutions for the many non- violent cases who do not need con
finement, or we can change our methods now and begin to close
down our institutions by adjusting these unfortunate people
in the local community under close supervision. The tools
are in our hands. Let it not be too late.

KENYON J.

SCUDDER

Outstanding Criminologist

Author o/

NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF
FIELD SERVICES, OSBORNE ASSOCIATION

Former Superintendent of the
California Institution for Men at Chino

Past President of the
American Correctional Association

"PRISONERS ARE PEOPLE'

"THE TWENTY BILLION DOLLAR CHALLENGE'

"BETWEEN THE DARK AND THE DAYLIGHT' (soon to be released)

KENYON J. SCUDDER'S work and travels as National Director of Field Services of the Osborne Association, a
prisoners' aid organization interested in correctional standards for the different states, gives this outstanding
criminologist a unique opportunity to spread the minimum-security prison program for which he has become
nationally famous.

He was a Delegate to the Third United Nations Congress, Delinquency and Crime Prevention, Treatment
of Offenders — Stockholm, Sweden. Mr. Scudder is now making a Study of Youth Problems in Australia and
the Orient.

It was this noted humanitarian, long recognized as one of America's leading penologists, who pioneered a
radical departure from traditional penal institutions when he became Superintendent of the California Institution
for Men at Chino. In the fifteen years under his leadership, Chino became the kind of prison where men are not
locked behind bars, guards carry neither guns nor clubs, families are permitted to picnic with inmates on Sundays
and where each prisoner must make his own decision whether to escape or not to escape.

Kenyon Scudder 's experience in the correctional field has been long and varied. A graduate of the University
of California— he holds a master's degree from the University of Southern California and was awarded an honorary
degree of Doctor of Humanities by the University of Redlands— he worked at prisons and reformatories in the
Northwest before becoming Probation Officer of Los Angeles County. In the nine years in this post, he established
the Log Angeles County Coordinating Councils out of a conviction that delinquency and crime can never be con
trolled until the local community is alerted. Today, after twenty-five years, there are several hundred of these
councils, functioning with great success in California and throughout the United States. It is noteworthy to add
that a camp for Los Angeles children was recently dedicated to this outstanding advocate of humane treatment
for delinquents.

Mr. Scudder's well-received book, "Prisoners Are People," formed the basis of the
motion picture, "Unchained," the first true prison film to come out of Hollywood.

MANAGEMENT

GERTRUDE PURPLE GORHAM Artists' Manager

GERTRUDE PURPLE GORHAM — MARGO GORHAM SHEARER — EDWARD DORING

291 So. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills, California 90211 — Phone Oleander 5-8678 • Licensed Agency

Between The Dark - 1

"In Durance Vile, here
must I wake and weep
And all my frowsy couch
in sorrow steep"

Ibid-Epistle from Esopus
to Maria.

CHAPTER I

My first look into the grim, resentful world of our
American prisons took plaoe on New Year's Eve 1913, when I
entered the gate through the high wall surrounding Washington
State Reformatory at Monroe, carrying my violin.

Another young man and I had come up from Seattle at the
invitation of the Chaplain, to give a holiday entertainment
for the prisoners. We looked upon the journey as a mild
adventure, a casual sampling of a strange unknown life, and
an opportunity to do a favor for Chaplain Withington. He and
his wife had left a thriving pastorate to come to the
reformatory because of their interest in wayward youth, and
in less than six months had worked their way deep into the
hearts of the young prisoners.

Between The Dark - 2

How could I possibly have guessed that this short
interlude, as an amateur entertainer, would start roe on a
career of half a century in prison work, and would
introduce me to the girl I was to marry as well?

It was at the Chaplain's house on the prison grounds
that I met Becky. She came downstairs just as dinner was
announced and as we arose Mrs. Withington, the Chaplain's
wife, said, "This is my sister, Rebekah Jewett, from
California, who knew your sisters at Mills College."

Our eyes met for a moment as she extended her hand,
and we walked together into the dining room. By the end of
dinner formalities had vanished and werwere calling one
another by our first names.

The entertainment for the men was to be given the next
evening. After dinner we returned to the living room to
practice our trio: violin, flute and piano. The fir logs in
the fireplace crackled and snapped , sending a warm glow
throughout the room. Becky was a good accompanist. She also
had a lovely voice and in soft, smooth soprano sang old songs
of the south, and we joined in on those we knew. She agreed
to help us on our program and to sing for the men. It was a
happy evening of music, laughter and fun, and passed all too
quickly.

The following day we practiced our dramatic skits with
some of the inmates taking minor parts. They seemed to enjoy
it as much as we did and we soon forgot they were prisoners.

Between The Dark - 3

That night the assembly hall was ^packed with men as
Howard and I faced our critical audience. We gave a concert
of semi-classical music and were encouraged by their rapt
attention and generous applause. They called for many encores
and Howard scored a special hit with his flute solo, "Home To
Our Mountain."

Now it was Becky's turn. She stepped to the piano and
her fingers moved lightly over the keys. A deep silence
descended upon that crowded assembly as she sang in a soft,
sympathetic voice, "I Hear You Calling Me." For some, the song
meant wife, for some sweetheart, sister, or mother. For others,
it meant utter desolation.

For a moment the silence deepened as the song ended. Then
with a rush the applause came. It continued until she sang again,
This time it was a rollicking negro melody. Cb,uekles came from
the men as they listened to the lines:

"Went dis mo'nin1, hyeah it's night,

Dah's de cabin dah in sight.

Who's dat standin' in de do'?

Dat must be Mirandy, sho',

Get up, Suke, go longi

"Got de brookstick in her han'
Dat look funny, goodneas Ian1,
Get up, Suke, go longl "

When the music stopped, Becky turned toward the audience arid
quickly rattled off the old negro's alibi, as he heaped the

Between The Dark - ij.

blame upon his mule:

"Eft hadn't a be'n fur you, you slow
ole fool, I'd be'n home long fo1 now."

The applause was deafening as they clapped, whistled and
stamped their feet. A demonstration like this at Monroe was
unusual. There was consternation among the guards along the
walls, as they slipped off their high stools and moved to
the ends of the aisles. Were the men getting out of control?
I glanced at the Chaplain, the smile on his face reassured me,
as Becky rose from the piano and took a seat on the front row
among the men. As the applause continued, she arose and bowed
several times. When she resumed her seat the din quickly sub
sided.

An inmate accompanied me as I played familiar tunes on my
violin. When we reached "Let Me Call You Sweetheart," the
whole assembly took up the song. How those men could sing!
Yes, even some of the guards were singing.

As we left the assembly hall, at the close of the perform
ance, the whole group again broke into applause. It had been
a great evening for us all. With reluctance I left on the
morning train.

For days after I had returned to Seattle I couldn't get
those men out of ray mind . As the Chaplain told us about them
and of the challenge which they presented, it had opened for
me a strange vista.

Between The Dark - 5

As a boy I was a prodigious reader: Waverly Novels,
The Melting Pot, New York Ghettos, Oliver Twist and his
bowl of thin porridge, the storm that descended upon the
hungry lad when he asked for "just a little more.'1

Then at Oberlin College, I had been stirred by Dr. Kuhra,
the only living white man who had then crossed the great
African Sudan, where hundreds of cannibal tribes had never
seen a white man. Would I join a Mission Team as a
Vocational Teacher and help bring to this area the first
semblance of civilization? My father was born in India and
the Scudder family since 1819, had given more than a thousand
years of service in the mission fields. Perhaps it was in
my blood, for in a moment of emotion I had signed on as a
"Student Volunteer" to go to Africa.

Later it was Charles Reade who had stirred me the most.
I had just read his book "Never Too Late to Mend," a story
of a prison in England in the last century and the terrible
treatment given the prisoners by a stupid sadistic Governor
who was never so happy as when he was savagely torturing or
punishing his 180 helpless inmates. With the arrival of a
new Chaplain, who was horrified by what he saw, a desperate
struggle ensued between these two, each with a different
philosophy of treatment. Here in this jail there flourished
the "Separate and silent system." Each prisoner was required
to wear a cap of coarse material with a visor which concealed
the features except for their eyes which, glittering like
cat's, peeped out through two holes cut for the purpose. In

Between Tbe Dark - 6

this way no prisoner could converse with or recognize
another. There was none but useless "made work,"
shoveling a hole, only to fill it up, or turning a friction
crank so many thousands of revolutions during an eight-hour
stint. If he did not make the required number of revolutions,
he was denied his food and returned to the crank until he
did, or was whipped until he passed out.

For the slightest violation of the rules, the dark hole
was used to break the spirit, or the vicious jacket in which
the man was tightly trussed, so that he could scarcely breathe,
and hung upon a hook, there to dangle in agony and excrutiating
pain, until he swooned or was taken down. In many cases this
resulted in death or insanity.

As the noble Chaplain witnessed these terrible methods of
revengeful punishment, he finally broke under the strain, but
in a period of delirium dreamed of a different kind of prison.
"One with intelligent labor for every creature in the place.
Later, occupation provided outside the prison gates on parole,
and return to the prison at night. Since good or ill depends
upon men, not machinery or system, our officers will be
picked men out of all England for intelligence and humanity.
They will cooperate with me. Our new jail is one of the
nation's eyes. It is a school, thank Heaven, not a dungeon."

With these last words, he had come to himself. What a
contrastl "Butcherly blockheads in these high places, and
himself lying sick and powerless, unable to lift a hand for
the cause he loved.

Between The Dark - 7

But right prevailed. The Governor was dismissed and
charged with manslaughter of a seventeen- year-old lad, whom
he drove to suicide in his cell.

The Chaplain found himself in charge. He brought in
teachers and skilled artisans, who prepared these prisoners
for honest toil when released.

I was especially intrigued with a professional thief who
all his life had lived in and out of prison by his wits.
An artisan instructor interested him in the graining of wood
for doors, which looked like beautiful mahogany or walnut.
The thief became so skilled in this trade that when he was
released, found himself accepted and sought after by his
neighbors, not as a reformed thief, but as a man with a skill
they were willing to pay for. A different prison
indeed.

There must be a lot of young men in prison, I thought,
who could be helped to stay out of trouble, if they were
carefully trained in some vocation so that they could secure
and hold a job.

A few weeks later I received a letter from the Superinten
dent of the Washington State Reformatory at Monroe, offering
me the position of Assistant Vocational Director. For the
past thirty months I had been teaching manual training in
the Seattle public schools, trying to save enough money to
return to college. Why give this up now to go to a reforma
tory?

But the letter had mentioned elaborate plans for
vocational training for these men, each to be given an

Between The Dark - 8

would be a wonderful experience and had great appeal for
me. Why not try it out?

Then, too, I couldn't get Becky out of my thoughts.
She grew on me from the first, not because she had known
my sisters at Mills College, but because of her own charming
self: the joyous, happy way she spoke, the sweetness of her
smile, and the cordial, courageous loyalty which seemed to
radiate from her whole body. Then there was a roguish humor
about the corners of her mouth that was reflected in her
soft gray eyes when she laughed.

I think it was the cordial note from Becky that really
decided me. In it she enclosed a clipping from the institu
tion paper telling about our entertainment. I still remembered
her song that night and would certainly enjoy seeing her again.
At any rate I resigned ray position and headed for Monroe.

The bloodhounds were baying in the enclosure, the institu
tion was dark, and over it bung that deathly pall which settles
down over a reformatory at night after the lockup. Ominous
and foreboding, the great wall loomed before me. The wooden
gate was open and there was no light in the gun tower.

Mounting the steps of the Administration Building, I
turned to get my bearings. Off to the left was the little
town of Monroe with its church spires and twinkling lights.
It had paid scant heed to me as I trudged through its de
serted streets and struck out along the county road. Carrying
ray grip and violin, I had walked the two miles from the
station, a new worker headed for a strange job.

Between The Dark - 9

The good people of Monroe cared littled about the great
reformatory on the hill. They were not interested in what
went on there, except to pass from mouth to mouth the wild
stories told by the guards. Mothers used them sometimes to
frighten their recalcitrant children into obedience, but few
gave any thought to the young men confined there. Why should
they? They were not their sons.

On my right, beyond the dark wall, I could see the lights
of the Superintendent's residence. Heavy timber rose behind
it, towering into the sky. The moon had risen, and its soft
light filtered through the great cedars, their branches stand
ing out in silhouette-like sentinels silently watching the
scene below. Further on I could faintly hear the roar of the
river.

Suddenly, out of the night came the sharp crack of rifles.
A strange feeling gripped me, and turning quickly, I entered
the building.

In 1912, the Washington State Reformatory was new. The
contractor who built the institution, received his political
appointment as Superintendent before the completion of the
project. He was an able builder and had put his best into
the structures. He could tell you the number of square feet
in each room of his magnificent fifty- thousand-dollar residence,
the cost of its imported mahogany doors, the number of screws
in the hinges and the mix of paint to bring out the best color,
but he had no training in penology and no interest or understand'

Between The Dark - 10

ing in the readjustment of men in trouble.

Each morning at eight this contractor- superintendent
made the rounds of the great wall to see that the men were
at work. He wore a Van Dyke beard and carried a gold-headed
cane. That first day I was allowed to go with him, for it
offered me an opportunity to see them, too. Quietly I
followed him from tower to tower. A catwalk on the outside
of the wall connected the towers, and a quick word of
greeting came from each guard as we passed along.

Down in the big yard were the men we had come to see.
They were pulling stumps, clearing and grading acres and
acres of this logged-off land within the wall. What was this
inspection, a parade of one wooden soldier? A murmur to that
effect seemed to coine up from the men below, for even if he
did not glance at them, they did not hesitate to glance at
him - glowering, shifting glances, stolen pauses in work to
watch us pass.

This would be my first experience in a prison and below
were the men I was to work with. Perhaps it was their
shabby clothes and duckbill caps that now made them look
tough and hard, or was it the wall and the confined area in
which they were trapped? Suddenly I felt sick, or was it a
wave of fear? They looked so rebellious down there. How
could any one ever reach them? For a brief moment I was sorry
I had accepted the job.

Pew free people ever have an opportunity to see the inside
of a maximum security prison with its walls, towers and
bristling guns. Those who do, have the same initial reaction

Between The Dei»k - 11

that I had as they look upon offenders for the first
time. They too find it hard to take, and quickly breathe
a sigh of relief once they are again outside. They leave
id.th the feeling that these are hopeless people, hard,
tough people who do not care.

But the night Becky sang in the assembly, I bad seen
another side. Could these men in the big yard, with their
shifting stolen glances, be the same men we had entertained
that evening? Yes, they were the same, only that night they
were relaxed and we had seen them not as prisoners, but as
normal human beings who had made mistakes and now found them
selves in trouble.

Now we were approaching the kennels, for I could again
hear the baying of the dogs. Six of them were down there,
milling around in their enclosures: six restless, sniffing,
baying bloodhounds. They were fed raw meat as we looked on.
What were bloodhounds doing in an institution for first
offenders, built by a noble state to guide back to citizen
ship young men and boys from sixteen to thirty?

"The runner takes them out in pairs twice a week," the
Superintendent explained. "That keeps them in good trim."
Later I learned that a "trusty" would be turned loose and
the dogs, in leash, would pick up his scent and make the
circle through the timber, back to the institution.

As we arrived at the guards' quarters, where I had spent
the night before, I was shown the adjoining armory with its

Between The Dark - 12

guns and ammunition.

"When an escape occurs, each man arms himself and stands
in readiness for assignment," the Superintendent said. "No
one leaves the reservation until the dogs go out. In that
way we are sure the first trail off the place is our man.
These men must not escape."

I had come to Monroe as assistant to the Vocational
Director. Vocational guidance was a new term, but it sounded
promising, especially for the men at Monroe. If we could
only place "square pegs in square holes," all wight be well.
But as I made the rounds that day with the Superintendent,
the important things seemed to be strong buildings, gun
guards, the great wall, an arsenal, no escapes.

But were they really so important? What of the men
themselves? Suddenly I felt better. Now I was doubly sure
there were more important things at Monroe than gun guards,
bloodhounds, an arsenal and the great wall.

Now after fifty yeara working with men and boys in
trouble, that trip around the wall is as vivid as it was then,
for it opened up a new world to me - a dark, neglected,
misunderstood world where in those early days, brutal force was
in power to shade out any semblance of treatment and under
standing. These were the condemned, the dangerous, the
convicted, and society meant to deal with them severely, and
it did.

Between The Dark - 13

I had been at Monroe only a few weeks when I met Pui.
Former track captain at the University of California in 1913»
a quarter-railer and fleet as a deer, they called him "Pui"
in the fret house because it suited him, and it stuck. His
real name was Dwight Wood, and we became roommates in the
Guards' Quarters, and close friends. Dwight was assigned
to the farm as assistant to the head supervisor, and I
entered the classrooms and shops. We were both filled with
enthusiasm for the job, and wanted to know more about the
inmates with whom we were working.

The first inmate I interviewed was Lawrence. He was only
twenty-one, a scrawny, hatchet-faced lad, and they called him
"Rat." He looked the part and was not much brighter. He had
been in the "hole" on bread and water for smoking. Most of
the inmates had used tobacco in some form or other for years,
but at the reformatory it was taboo. The authorities were
very careful in this process of reformation; the inmates could
not have tobacco in any form, but the guards could chew and spit,
That was different. Most of the program at Monroe was about
as logical.

And so, for this infraction of the smoking rule, "Rat"
was sent to the "hole." This resembled a huge, wooden packing
box, built into the hallway on the second floor of the main
building, whl4hwas but one aperture through which light could
filter: a small, barred transom over the heavy door. The only
thin^ inside the room was a night bucket. The prisoner was
allowed one blanket at night and had to sleep on the floor.

Between The Dark - lij.

As superintendent, one had to be careful about the
welfare of these inmates. It would not do to leave "Rat"
too long without an inspection, so on the fourteenth day,
the superintendent and head turnkey stood before the "hole."
A rattle of the lock and the wooden door swung open. They
stood in silence looking at the slight form clad in a dirty
nightshirt, which reached only to his knees, and then, with
great dignity, the superintendent addressed the boy.

"Well, Lawrence, do you still wish to continue smoking?"

We might suppose that one has a right in such circumstances,
with the law at one's back, to expect a quick and courteous
reply. Instead, no answer came. The figure in the soiled
gown blinked out at the two men in silence.

"Come, come, young man, we're not here to be trifled with.
Once more, now, have you had enough and are you willing to
behave?"

In his eagerness to impress the lad, the superintendent
had moved into the opening. His well-groomed beard was
thrust forward into the cell. Quick as a flash, the boy«s
arm shot out, his fingers grabbed that heavy beard and,
giving it a vigorous yank, be bleated like a goat. The
superintendent jumped back. Hurriedly, the turnkey slammed
the door, the lock clicked, and covered with confusion, he
turned to soothe the ruffled dignitary. Prom within the
"hole" came a muffled shout, "Go to hell, you old bastard"l
This was "reformation." The word quickly spread and from
then on the superintendent was known as "Whiskers."

Between The Dark - 15

For some reason, I liked the "Rat" after I heard about
that episode. He now worked on the new cell- block and rode
the hook. Standing with one foot in the chain, the great
arm of the crane would slowly lift him far above the structure
and lower him gradually to the ground for another load of
steel. Then up again it soared, the "Rat" still holding on
with one hand, waving the other to bis comrades below. They
called him "nuts," but he was merely bidding for attention
and praise.

School was closed and all inmates were at work, many on
the cell-block, others on the farm and a large crew was
cutting the winter supply of wood. My job was to handle the
concrete mixer on the new cell-block. Three wheelbarrows of
gravel, three of sand, one sack of cement and enough water.
Hour after hour the long chain of wheelbarrows came constantly
up the plank runway. It was fascinating to watch the men
work, with the roar of the mixer almost deafening and cement
dust filling the air. Three wheelbarrows of gravel, three of
sand, one sack of cement and enough water! The monotony of
counting caused my thoughts to wander, but a roar from the
foreman above would rudely yank me back to my place in the
scheme of things.

"What the divil'a the matter with ye down there? Sure,
and ye left out the cement in this mixture!?

Grins from the inmates, glances in my direction, and then
from above came the final thrust, "Oi told the boss yez
college guys was no good; ye can't even count!"

Between The Dark - 16

And through it all "Rat" rode the hook and seemed to be
really trying to make good as he was the only one in the
lot willing to take such chances.

A month later school was out again. It was always out
when there was any work to be done. School was a farce, as
was most everything else about the institution, and the men
would rather be out than in school, even in the rain. And
how it rained I Days and nights, weeks on end, rain, rain,
rainl Then just when it seemed to be through, it would
start all over again.

"Whiskers" had lost out a few weeks after my arrival
because of a change in the state administration, and now
another politically appointed superintendent was learning
the ropes. He was a good-hearted coal dealer from Seattle
who had scarcely heard of the institution before he was
appointed. We dubbed him "ole," but because of his
experience in Alaska as an officer in the National Guard,
he was more generally known as "Sour Dough."

One day Pui and I were working on the farm, each with a
crew of fifteen "trusties." My group was spraying the lower
orchard far from the main building, and Pui and his crew
were working near the cow barns. To save our good clothes,
while assigned to the farm, Fui and I dressed in blue denim,
like the inmates. The wood crew was between us and the in
stitution, pulling stumps and cutting logs. A heavy fog
had settled. The oft-repeated shriek of the whistle as the
signal- boy pulled the cord, told us the donkey engine was

Between The Dark - 17

working full blast. We could hear the cables slap together
as the rattling druras took up the slack and the great fir
logs moved slowly over the skids. It was weird hearing those
sounds coming out of the dense fog and to know that men were
working just a hundred yards away and yet we could not see
them.

Ten o'clock. In another hour the crews would start back
to the big stockade for lunch. They were always going out
to work or coming in. . .marching men, going back and forth in
order to meet the schedule.

Without warning the big whistle blew. I had never heard
it before. Low and grumbling at first, it rapidly rose to a
great shriek of protest and there held its terrifying note.
The men stopped working, silence fell. Furtive glances
exchanged between the crew, with some shot in my direction*

"What's that?" I asked.

The answer came in a low chorus. "Man gone."

My first thought was to count my men. Yes, there were
still fifteen. We stood waiting, I didn't know what to do
next, as the minutes dragged. A dim figure loomed through the
fog, it was the new superintendent. This was his first
escape, and he was excited and out of breath as he shouted
to me.

"Hurry I There's a man gone I Give me your crew, I'll
turn them in. I think he headed for the timber and the
river bottom. You and Wood try to head him off I"

Between The Dark - 18

Just then Pui came up and away we went through the dense
fog. Who were we after? What did he look like? Where was
he going? Why did he run away? These thoughts raced through
my raind as Pui and I tore through the woods following an old
skidroad long since abandoned by the loggers.

This was easy for Pui, he thought he was back at Berkeley
sprinting for dear old Gal, but not so for me, my flat feet
were hitting the skids as rapidly as I could make them go,
but in spite of my best effort, Pui was drawing away.

"Drop down that ravine, Ken. It comes out on the river
bottom. I'll stay on this ridge until I hit the county
road. We'll meet below and head him off." With that,
Pui disappeared around the bend.

I gazed down the ravine before roe. What a tangled mass
to go through - underbrush, great ferns, devil's club --
but I plunged in. It was a long way down, but finally opened
on to a large meadow. The fog had lifted here and the sun
shone: one of those rare treats in April. A mile away
across that open space I could see the willows, where the
river swept in a great curve and was swallowed up by virgin
timber. I left the underbrush and stepped out into the
meadow.

Suddenly, I heard the dogs baying on the ridge I had
just crossed. Why were they up there, I hadn't seen any
trace of the man, was I on the right trail? As I paused,

Between The Dark - 19

the baying drew nearer. I stepped farther out into the
meadow, but no one was in sight. Fui should be waiting down
by the big bend in the river and I headed in that direction.

I could hear the dogs clearly now. Were there two, or
was it just one? How did these dogs work? Oh yes, "Whiskers"
had told me the first day when we looked down at them from
the wall. What was it he had said? Something about officers
not going out until after the dogs: "Then we know the first
trail off the reservation is our man." That was good procedure,
but "Whiskers" was no longer superintendent and "ole" never
mentioned the dogs when he sent us out, neither did he give us
guns. Yes, that was the other thing "Whiskers" had said when
we were in the arsenal. "When an escape occurs, each man arms
himself and stands in readiness for assignment." What was I
doing out here unarmed and ahead of the dogs?

Then it suddenly dawned upon my thick head that perhaps I
was in a spot. What was to prevent the dogs from picking up
my trail instead of the man who was trying to escape? But
that couldn't be I Perhaps I was on the right trail and the
dogs had picked it up too. At any rate, I was unarmed.
Suppose the dogs were on my trail? What was to be done?

I looked around for a weapon - a club, rock, anything, but
there was nothing to be found. The farmer must have dragged
that meadow with a hay rake. I was well out in the open now,
not a tree in sight, except the willows, still almost a
mile away. The dogs were closer now as I stood still in a

Between The Dark - 20

panic and listened to the baying. The sound started way
down in the chest and reaching the throat, broke into that
blood-curdling, indescribable howl that a bloodhound gives
when he is on the scent. Fear gripped me.

The dogs were crashing through the underbrush as they
tore down the ravine. The runner was with them, I could
hear him floundering around, cursing as the devil's club
struck him across the hands and face.

With a sharp yelp, the dogs struck the opening, and I
saw, coming toward me over the rise in the meadow, one dog,
his head low, tongue extended, flapping ears close to the
ground. I shall never forget that sight nor the horror that
raced through me as on he came. He had not seen me, nose
still to the scent, he followed my zigzag attempt to find a
weapon. Yes, there was no doubt now that he was on my trail.

Pear froze me in my tracks. The hound was almost upon
me before he saw me. He jumped up on me and placing his paws
upon my chest, sniffed at my blue denim. He seemed confused
and turning, picked up again my zigzag trail, which led him
back to me.

I must do something. Didn't bloodhounds tear people to
pieces? Should I turn towards the runner who was just enter
ing the clearing? If I moved, the dog might attack me. I
hesitated.

We had raised dogs at home, lots of them. I liked dogs and
no dog had ever bitten or attacked me. I knew "Bud" was the

Between The Dark - 21

name of one of the bounds. Was this Bud? If so, he was
savage and I must do something.

I called, "Bud I Here Bud t " The dog paused, maybe it
was Bud I "Here, Bud. Come here, boy I"

Still confused, the dog came toward me. I held out my
hand as he came slowly on. Cautiously, I reached for his
collar and said, "Good Bud, here, Bud I" His tail moved
slightly. This was a new one. Why didn't the man run? He
wasn't supposed to call his name. This was a queer prisoner
to run down. Oh, well. Here was the runner and he'd know
what to do.

Red Hamilton came up, his hand on his gun, ready to take
me in. When he saw who it was, he stopped short and stared
in amazement. 1 was still trembling and was I glad to see
him.

"What the hell are ya doin' out ahead of the dogs?" he
snarled. "If the bitch had been runnin1 with Bud, she'd
have torn ya to pieces. Where's ya gun. Git yourself a
club and don't take no more chances. I don't suppose ya
even know who you're chasin' , do ya?"

I shook my head.

;'Well, it's Rat Lawrence," he added. "And he's a mean
one. Don't let him get close or he'll tie into ya . Come
on, Bud. Now God damn it, we gotta go clear back to the
ridge and start again."

Old Red had muttered something else as he headed toward

Between The Dark - 22

the ridge. "Rat says he'll never be brought back unless it's
with guns." When I reached the river, I found a club. I was
still shaking from ray experience and I was taking no further
chances. Now I knew how a prisoner felt when the dogs ran him
down.

Fifteen minutes later I heard the dog baying again on the
ridge. Perhaps this time he was following Rat.

I looked for Pui, he was nowhere in sight.

Whenever the whistle blew, the surrounding ranchers knew
that a man was gone. Women shuddered, girls were called in
side the house, windows were locked. The man in the field
hurried to the house to get his gun. Everyone had guns. That
was part of the ranch equipment. Washington, in those days,
had abundant game. On our little ranch in West Seattle, we
were pestered with cougar, bear and wildcat. Many times the
coyotes came clear up to the windmill, within thirty feet of
the house, and we often shot them from the back porch in the
early morning. Almost everyone knew how to shoot.

And so the ranchers nearby knew these men only as dangerous
criminals. How else could it be, when every one within miles
of the place had been informed of the generosity of his State?
"FIFTY DOLLARS REWARD FOR THE RETURN OF ANY PRISONER DEAD OR
ALIVE."

Fifty dollars to ranchers on logged-off land in 191U. was a
lot of money. Many never saw that much cash in a single year.
Most of the ranchers had never visited the institution. As

Between The Dark - 23

they drove to town they saw it spreading out on the hill and
wondered what went on behind that wooden fence. "There must
be desperate men within that great stockade."

Stories drifted between the cracks and were passed about
the countryside - stories of attempted riots, shootings by
the p-uards, men killed as they tried to escape. True stories,
too, only greatly embellished with each repetition.

And didn't the State verify all this? Why, it paid fifty
dollars if you caught an escapee. Fifty dollars, dead or
alive. One must be careful; these were desperate men, so
they said, more so than at Walla Walla, where they were
locked up and couldn't get away. Now these young fellows -
that was different. It was only a step to the timber and they
took their chances. They talked also about the hounds. The
stories they told about those dogsl Another thing, you didn't
have to wait for your money because they gave you a check as
soon as you delivered your man.

After Pui had left me, he soon came out on the new county
road where the going was much better. The Wilson ranch
bordered the new road. Before it was cut through, Wilson was
back in the timber, but now his clearing could be seen long
before you reached his crude gate. That morning, when the
whistle blew, he dropped his axe and headed for the house,
and came out with a shotgun and placed it against a tree.
Prom the knoll where his house stood he could see quite a
distance down the road in each direction. He waited - minutes
passed. The whistle, after its long blast, had given one short

Between The Dark -

toot. That meant that only one man was gone. This new
road opened up the country, and escaping prisoners had
already tried it, as it was a quick way out. The last
fifty dollars reward had pulled Wilson out of an awful
hole. Of course, there was only a chance that this man
might come his way, but the other time it had paid to be
ready.

Pui had Just gotten his second wind as he tore down
the county road toward the Wilson ranch. Wilson, waiting
by the tree, suddenly became alert as he saw the running
figure coming his way, bareheaded, coatless, yes, and in
blue denim. This surely was his man and he reached for
his shotgun.

Wilson said later that he had called to the man to halt,
but his call may have been drowned by the roar of both
barrels fired in rapid succession. Pui was stopped in his
tracks. Buckshot peppered the road and trees all around
him. By some miracle he was unhurt.

The rancher hurried toward the gate trying to reload his
gun, but the shell stuck. Pui rushed him, grabbed the gun
and shouted - "Put that gun up, you fool. You might have
kille ruel I'm no inmate, I'm an officer from the institution,
trying to head off an escapee I"

Fui had dark skin, but it had suddenly paled. Wilson was
even whiter. He had almost killed a man and it was the wrong
one I Handing the gun back to the frightened rancher, Fui

Between The Dark - 25

vaulted the fence and continued down the road, but with
more caution, wondering how many more ranchers were on
the lookout.

He was rapidly approaching the river and knew I was
back there somewhere. It was best to keep out of sight
so , leaving the road, he entered the woods. The country
was more open now and cow trails through the spruce and
young fir made it easy to reach the river.

Pui didn't know who he was looking for, either. He
just knew a man was gone and we were to "head him off."
His path came out on a little rise where he could see the
sweep of the river on his left, and back of that was the
big meadow and the willows. No one was in sight. Keeping
within a clump of young fir, he waited to get his bearings.
The fog had cleared here too, and it was beginning to warm
up.

Presently he saw the brush move on the river-bank below
him. Someone was trying to cross that swift current, but
he couldn't make it. He was swept farther downstream where
he tried again. Now he was out of sight beyond the knoll.
Pui felt sure this was his man. He must head him off. Ken
would be coming along the river-bottom and he must place
the inmate between them. Cautiously he ducked back up the
cow- path and worked his way around the next rise. Here the
timber came down to the river and he slipped behind the big
cedar and waited. It was unlikely the fellow could cross
the river there, he should have tried by the willows at the

Between The Dark - 26

big bend where the water was deep and the current not so
swift.

As Fui waited, suddenly he too realized he had no gun.
Who was this man he was after? What sort of fellow was he?
Could he handle him alone? He probably was desperate after
coming this far, and almost making his getaway.

He saw him again, closer now, working his way along the
bank toward him, and as he turned Fui recognized "Rat".
Placing his hand on his hip pocket, Fui stepped out from
behind the cedar.

"Stand where you are, Lawrence, or I'll let you have it,"
he called.

With a startled cry, the haggard boy looked up, and realiz
ing he was caught, dropped exhausted to the ground. Fui stood
over him. Why, the lad was cryingl Great sobs shook his slight
frame and his breath came in short gasps. He was supposed to
be dangerous. Was he really dangerous, or was it because he
had shown the temerity to tweak the Super's beard and call
him a bastard?

Soon the desperate desire for freedom got the better of
his emotions. He stopped sobbing and lay still. Slowly he
raised his bead and with that quick furtive glance, which gave
him his nickname, he searched the face above him for signs of
sympathy.

Fui knew his man. He had worked him in hi a farm crew for
a short time and had turned him in as unreliable.

Between The Dark - 27

Now the boy began to plead. "Lemme gol Don't take me
backl They'll put me in the hole againl God! I couldn't
stand thatt Ya just didn't find me - see?"

A lump rose in Fui's throat. It was tough. He knew the
boy had been sent up for stealing a couple of blankets from
a cabin. A generous judge thought it would be well to give
this lad a chance in a reformatory where he could learn a
trade. A trade at Monroe! Laughter! And in that same court
the week before Lawrence was sentenced, a banker with a
clever lawyer had gone free on a technicality. Two blankets
as against the banker's thousands!

But after all, Fui was an officer of the State, he had
taken an oath to uphold the law and he must deliver this
crumpled, fawning youth back into the hands of that law.

Still holding his hand on his right hip, he spoke sharply
to the wet figure on the ground. "Get up, Lawrence! We're
going back, so let's get started."

The boy saw no sign of relentraent in the silent figure
waiting for him to rise. Slowly he stood up.

"Listen, Mr. Wood," he pleaded. "Won't you let me go?
I know I didn't make it on your crew, but I'm fed up on that
daim place. I can't go back!"

Pui stood, waiting. The boy was hysterical from fear and
exhaustion.

"Sit down, son," he said, "and rest up a bit. You're all
in. How many times did you try to swim the river?"

Between The Dark - 28

There was no answer. The lad sank down on a log and
beld bis face in bis hands. He aust be made to talk,
perhaps that would calm him.

Pui repeated bis question. :<How many tines did you try
to cross the river?"

Slowly cane the muffled response. "Six. But I got
scared. The water was so swift and cold, it tried to drag
me under. I couldn't make it.1'

They talked together until be bad calmed down and felt
warmer in the sun. Then they started along the bank, "Rat*
in the lead and Fui following five feet behind bin.

It was hard for Lawrence to give up. For weeks he bad
waited for that fog. But be hadn't figured on that swift
current. Even then be might have made it if the fog hadn't
lifted. But was it still hopeless? They were miles from the
institution. He would give the officer the slip! The old,
furtive look returned and be began to loiter. Fui spoke
sharply to him.

They had left the river behind and were working back
toward the county road. Suddenly "Rat1' spied the barbed
wire fence. Here was bis chance! But Fui had seen it, too.
He stalled for tine. They couldn't go under that wire to-
getherl

"Let's rest a moment, son," he said, and sat down on a
log. "Rat" leaned against the fence toying with the wire.
The three strands were taut, but there was space below to

Between The Dark - 29

crawl under. He could bold the bottom wire and let the
officer go first. That would be his chancel He waited.

What was the officer saying?

"I hate to carry a gun on these hunts. I'd hate more to
have to use it. Another officer is coming along the road
just ahead, so you can't make it. We're going through that
fence one at a time, but you're going first. When you get
through, continue on five paces and stop. Stand there and
don't look back. Understand what I mean?" His hand still
on his hip, he ordered the boy to proceed.

Slowly "Rat" bent down to crawl under the bottom strand.
A look of mingled hate and fear came into his face. He'd
have to act quickly if he was going to do anything. If he
could just get that rookl A sharp command caused him to
withdraw his hand, as it came away empty. He cleared the
wire and waited five paces from the fence. Pui went under
like a rabbit and they moved on.

It was "Rat" who saw me first. I was trailing Pui's
footsteps and making a pretty poor job of it as suddenly
they appeared through the trees. Very little was said as
we trudged up the road, the boy between us. We were all in
and were tempted to call the surrey, but that would mean
entering a ranch house and there were few phones. It also
would take a long time to harness the horses, and we really
didn't want help. We would show them we could bring him
back alone, and without guns.

Pui deserves full credit for that capture, but he

Between The Dark - 30

generously insisted on sharing it with roe. Afterward, he
said, "Ken, if you hadn't oome along just then, I don't
know what I'd have done I" But I knew better. He would
have brought him in alone. He was like that.

As we drew near the institution, I imagine we were quite
pleased with ourselves, probably because of the tremendous
razzing we had experienced as a couple of college kids
trying to break in on a bunch of hard boiled guards who
kept saying they knew "just how to handle these young
bastards," at any rate, we did bring him back and without
guns.

When the story leaked out, the inmates thought it a
greet joke. Not so "Rat" Lawrence I He had boasted he
could not be brought back without guns, and his pride was
hurt. As they continued to guy him about it, his resent
ment grew until he swore he would get us both if it was the
last thing he did.

When I returned to visit the institution eighteen months
later, "Rat" was still there. I saw him on the same wood
crew from which he had tried to escape. He recognized me
before I saw him, and when I extended my hand, he grasped
it eagerly and we talked and laughed about the time I had
helped bring him back without guns. He had settled down
now. After doing his second spell in the "hole," he had
determined to make good and was now a trusty again on the
old job. Not a word about "getting" me. He was like all

Between The Dark - 31

the rest of his type ... hungry for friendship and
recognition.

Even in those early days, delinquency was already
becoming a serious social problem. Society felt forced
to detain and bold, for possible rehabilitation and adjust
ment of anti-social attitudes, those young people whose be
havior having reached the danger point, called for at least
temporary control of their lives and actions. With the
proper amount of discipline and redirection and the awaken
ing of their better instincts, their lives might be so
changed that they could later be returned to a free community
better prepared for a useful life than when they entered
detention.

But was this possible without trained personnel and
proper equipment? What had Monroe done for "Rat" Lawrence?
For stealing two dirty blankets the State had taken his
freedom and given him in return an institutional record he
could never erase. Under such a system would he not someday
come out worse off than when he entered?

Between The Dark - 32

"Necessity can set me
helpless on my back, but
she cannot keep me there;
nor can four walls limit
my vision."

Michael Fairless

CHAPTER II

"Old John" had been at the reformatory from the beginning,
even before the main building was erected. In those days
the men slept in the bunk house on the farm and a long,
narrow tunnel of barbed wire extended for a quarter of a
mile to where the new buildings now stood. It was impossible
to escape from that narrow tunnel without wire cutters. Each
day the crev; wont through it to work, the gun-guards
following on the outside.

Returning one night at dusk, the crew had almost reached
the bunkhouse. Suddenly a slight figure left the group and
started running wildly back up the wire tunnel. The rear
guard shouted once for the boy to halt, but he gave no heed.
Orders were to shoot to kill if he did not stop. He was

Between The Dark - 33

running swiftly now, soon he would be swallowed up in the
gathering gloom. He was one hundred yards away when "Old
John" shot him in his tracks and he fell like a crumpled
sack and never moved. There was trouble in the bunkhouse
that night.

After this happened, John was under orders never to
enter the stockade for fear of his life and was assigned
to the wall, as it was not considered safe for him to come
in contact with the men. The feeling against him never
died, as word was paSfled on to each arrival that "Old
John" had killed a boy. His post now was on the tower gate
opening on the innter stockade, a high wooden fence completely
surrounding the main building where the men lived.

"Old John" was on the tower the first time I had entered
the inner stockade. When I neared the gate, a sharp challenge
came from above: "Stop ten feet away!" This was followed by a
muttered count, "Three in the party, no inmates."

With a great clatter of bolts and wooden crossbars, which
he worked with a lever from above, the crude mechanism was
thrown back, the door swung slowly open and we were allowed
to enter. We found ourselves in a bare room about eight
feet square with no roof, and could see the guard above throw
ing the wooden lever back in place as the door slowly closed
and locked behind us.

Now "Old John" was stepping around to the other side of

Between The Dark - 314.

his tower still looking down at us. We could see his rifle
in the corner and his six-shooter hanging from his heavy
cartridge belt. He had plenty of ammunition - enough, it
seemed, to hold a fort and yet, in all the years since he
had killed the boy, it had not been necessary for him to
fire a shot. Not until he had thrown the lever on the other
side of the tower and opened a second door, were we able to
enter the inner stockade. I was a free man, but as I
entered that stockade I felt like a convict. If it affected
me that way, how did the inmates feel?

The new arrivals were called "fresh fish" and the
traveling guard brought them in from the courts on a "dog
chain'1 - a long chain running the length of the group and
hooking the men together at the wrists. It was humiliating,
to say the least. When they stood in the administration
building and the shackles were removed, most of them were
really determined to make good. But when they entered the
inner stockade and gazed up at the armed guard, many of
their good intentions vanished. This was going to be
rough, was it? Well, if they thought he was so hard, he
would show them. That was one thing that had set off "Rat"
Lawrence. Clyde talked about it, too.

Clyde had driven the stage near Walla Walla and had been
to the penitentiary many times, but not as a convict. He
was twmty-eight and played violin in the institution
orchestra. He read music rapidly and loved it, but had

Between The Dark - 35

little talent. We practiced many hours together and I
soon knew him well. He was up for murder. They found
the victim's body slumped over in the stage and Clyde had
some of the nan's effects on him when the police pulled
him out of bed. Clyde claimed he didn't remember anything
about it because he was too drunk. It was all circumstan
tial evidence, but the court had little doubt of his guilt
and he had considered himself lucky to be sent to Monroe
and escape the noose.

Clyde worried me. What would he do when he was released?
In school he was a complete failure. Reading was difficult;
arithmetic seemed impossible. The simplest figures baffled
him completely. He kept saying, "It's the alcohol. I used
to be drunk for days and I guess it burned me out upstairs."

But there were other things wrong. While he was friendly
and responded to decent treatment, he showed no remorse for
the murder he had committed. Oh, yes, he was sorry for the
man1 a family, but what could a guy do if he was drunk? And
as the months passed, he seemed to feel he never should
have been convicted of murder because he couldn't remember
anything except that he was drunk.

Clyde was only one of dozens who puzzled us. We just
couldn't seem to break through on these fellows. Clyde too
was in and out of "the hole" for smoking. He wouldn't let
it alone. Pew of the men were hard to handle, but they
would do anything for tobacco and took long chances.
Smoking was no crime, why didn't they let the men smoke?

Between The Dark - 36

Why didn't they do a lot of things?

America was becoming greatly distressed about her crime
problem. Reformatories and penitentiaries were full and
the courts continued to jam then in. The more progress
ive Wardens were complaining about housing old and young
together. The young men sat in idleness at the feet of
hardened, experienced offenders. That they learned rapidly
was evidenced by the high percentage of failure on parole.
And so the State was now completing this new institution
for the young men, the first offenders, who were to remain
but a few months. Should we expect them all to respond to
the same treatment? Were they all alike?

We studied many of these problems during my brief six
months at Monroe* Outside, there was much talk about
industrial efficiency, employment management, mental
capacity, intelligence tests, vocational aptitudes, the
right man for the right job. Did you treat a person for
these things or could he be trained for them? What of his
employment two or three years later when he returned to
society.

It was the Chaplain who first called these problems to
our attention. We discussed them around the fire at his
home in the evenings. I slipped into the library in
Seattle and began to dig around. The universities were
interested, too, but very few seemed to really know bow to
apply these new ideas.

The big obstacle was selection. How could we know,

Between The Dark - 37

without a long tryout period, that a nan might soon become
proficient in the thing he wanted to do? If we could
accurately select and classify, then the training process
would be quite simple.

Only one- third of the men were in the school and most
of them were the "fresh fish." Academically, we were
trying to pour gallons into quart jugs. They often ran
over and we spent much of our time trying to make adjustments,

The administration at Olympia was full of grand plans.
The paper carried articles of a great industrial shop
program for this new reformatory for first offenders.
Buildings were being erected for that purpose and soon
"Monroe would be one of the finest trade schools in America."
Two shop buildings were about completed and now we were
waiting for the machinery and equipment.

Teaching manual training in Seattle had aroused my
interest in vocational guidance. The institution at Monroe
should afford an opportunity to experiment in this new field
of vocational education. If we could select and train men
for specific jobs, and later return them to society and the
job they were best fitted for, that might be a partial
solution of the crime problem.

We made plans, and we marked on the shop floor the places
where the machines were to be set up and then waited for the
machines to arrive. We waited and waited, but they never
came. They lust never came. I visited Monroe in 1931f
seventeen years later. The machines had not yet arrived.

Between The Dark - 38

Most of the shop building were then devoted to storage
space and commissary supplies. There was little evidence
of trade instruction. Great piles of wood, hundreds of
cords discolored with age, were stacked in the big yard
where we had carefully constructed a fine ball diamond.
There was scarcely room left for a soft- ball field.

"What is the wood piled here for?" I asked the
intelligent young guard who was showing me through.

"That's the emergency supply for the powerhouse in case
we run out of coal," he answered.

"How long has it been piled up here on the ball field?"

"It was here before I came," he said.

"Have you ever run out of coal?"

"No," he replied, smiling, "not during the ten years I've
been here."

I made no comment.

Our big problem in 1911j. was selection. Were we to accept
a man's statement that he wanted to be a machinist? What
about the future of the automobile industry. They had Just
bought two for the institution. The "Super" had one for his
personal use. It was a grand- looking monster with brass
headlights and big rubber tires. They said the "Super"
wouldn't let his wife learn to drive it, and he was right.
Women should never be allowed to handle those things. We
noticed that when the Board arrived for a parole meeting,

Between The Dark - 39

the carriage met them at the station. The guards at mess
joked about it. "Guess the Old Man ain't takin' chances
on not get tin' "em here."

In spite of these uncertainties, most of the inmates
wanted to study auto mechanics. I was interested, too,
although I never dreamed that some day I would own a car.

Clyde said he didn't think the livery stable would want
him back again because he had beard their business was
falling off. No, it wasn't because he had killed a nan;
they all understood he was just drunk. It really was due
to the horseless carriage.

Then there was another field opening up called Bookkeeping
and Accounting, which required clever, intelligent men. But
some were coming into the reformatory for manipulating the
books. A few had embezzled thousands of dollars. Others
were crude and the shortage had been quickly discovered.

Washington was a pioneer country and these were pioneer
days in the field of vocational selection. What kind of men
should we select to train as bookkeepers? Did they differ
in any way from men who wanted to become auto mechanics?
Certainly it took brains to be a bookkeeper, but it also
took brains to get one of these "horseless carriages"
started once it stalled on the road. Did the mechanic need
heavy hands for the wrench, and the bookkeeper slim fingers
for the pen? But these same slim fingers had gotten some

Between The Dark - i;0

men into Monroe. These men also clamored for training,
but who would employ them after their incarceration?

In spite of an age range from sixteen to thirty, the
men at the reformatory were all herded together with no
attempt at classification. Trade placements were based
not on any special ability or aptitude for the job, but
on the shortage in the work crews, as the men did most of
the maintenance work in the institution. Little thought
was given to what these men would do when released. The
main concern was to keep the institution running. That
still is true of too many institutions in America today.

There were, of course, the usual so-called vocational
jobs in which a man could gain some experience - for
example, cooking, baking, laundry work, tailoring, dairying
and general farming. But either the men just happened to
be selected for such assignments or were clever enough to
manipulate themselves into a soft Job. If they worked
hard and caused no trouble, the instructors urged them to
remain because it was easier than breaking in new men.
But few desired to follow this employment on the outside.

The school was merely a place of detention within the
stockade. We were to have the inmates only a few months
until they could be trusted to go beyond the enclosure.
No one seemed to take these men seriously but the Chaplain.
He worked night and day trying to help them adjust their
individual problems, and was the only person there who would
listen to whatever the men wanted to say.

Between The Dark - 14.1

Very little was known about general intelligence or
aptitude tests and we bad to try each person out in
different trades until we bad a measure of bis ability.
Some men had more ability and personality than others,
but usually we thought a man could make a success if he
had the drive.

The Vocational Director came back from the east with a
strange story of tests which would tell something about
general intelligence and mental age. A Frenchman by the
name of Binet had developed a set of tests after years of
experimenting with school children. A professor at
Stanford by the name of Terman was bringing out a new
series based on this amazing experiment from France to be
called the Stanford Binet.

The German psychologist at Elrayra- Reformatory in New
York had given our Vocational Director a copy of hi a own
crude translation of Binet from the French and a book of
instructions. We seized upon it eagerly. Some of the
questions were very funny.

The article, translated, appeared in the Bulletin de la
Society Libre pour I1 Etude Psychologique de 1' Enfant, April
1911. It was the Binet-Siraons "Method of measuring the
Development of the Intelligence of Young Children." These
were called "tests."

Great things were predicted for this method. It was
claimed one could tell whether a person had the mentality
of a child or an adult. If a man had the mentality of an

Between The Dark - l\2

adult, be was considered normal. If he had the mentality
of a child, that was something else. We believed we had
several of the latter in the institution, but we had not
been sure. Why shouldn't this new test help us in our
attempt to classify the men? It certainly ought to help us
in placing them in school. Did anyone know how much
intelligence it required to become a bookkeeper or an
auto mechanic?

I took the translation, a little goldmine, and sat up
with Binet far into the night. Psychologists may scoff,
but a week later I attempted to test Olydei

Orchestra practice was over early and I told Clyde I
had something I wanted to show him in the school office.
He came eagerly, because it meant a little change from the
deadly routine. It was necessary, of course, to secure his
complete cooperation before giving him the mental test. He
must not feel he was selected because he was goofy or dumb.
And then, I didn't know whether he was or not. He had a
fair vocabulary, at least he carried on a limited conversa
tion. True, one had to drag it out, but he could talk.
He still blamed Old Man Barleycorn for his sluggish
reactions, although he had not had a drink in ten months.

Everything was in readiness as he faced me across the
desk. I opened up cautiously.

"Clyde, you have been dissatisfied with your assi/^nnent
in the kitchen. Washing dishes softens your hands and you
said it interferes with playing your violin. You don't

Between The Dark - ij.3

know what you want to do around here besides your music.
All the fellows have to work, so why not pick out something
that you can do outside? You may not be able to get a job
in a dance orchestra, and you can't go back to driving
a stage."

The boy looked at me with his sluggish gaze.

"Some fellows," I continued, "like certain jobs and
others do not. I want you to do me a favor. I'm trying to
find out what you can do best. I may fail, but I'd like to
try. I want to give you a little test to see just what you
can do with it. We can have a lot of fun doing this
together if you are willing to help me. I'm going to ask
some of the other fellows to do it too."

Clyde was a willing follower until I mentioned the word
"test." Then he had a strange reaction. He shot me a look
I had not seen before - a look of mixed inquiry and suspicion.
His face flushed, and I thought there was a flash of dislike,
even hatred. It stumped me. Something was wrong with my
procedure. Well, we would go on anyway.

The boy was more alert now than I had ever seen him. He
watched my every move as though I was trying to trap him. I
could read in bis expression: "I thought you were my friend.
So you're like all the rest around here, all against mej" I
talked on and soon his emotion seemed to subside and he
listened, with added interest.

As I look back at my fumbling attempt, I wonder that we
ever got through. But the test was really interesting and

Between The Dark -

he soon seemed willing to follow instructions. We
started at the eight-year level by asking him to compare
two remembered objects.

"You have seen butterflies. You know what they are."

"Yes."

"Are they alike, a fly and a butterfly?"

"No."

"In what way are they not alike?"

Similar questions were asked about wood and glass,
paper and cardboard. Clyde got through this test and it
seemed to give him confidence. In counting back from
twenty to zero he encountered trouble; did fairly well on
omissions in pictures; repeated five digits, but was lost
when asked to give the day and date. I didn't think the
latter was significant for it was easy to lose track of
time in the institution. I even had trouble that way,
myself.

Clyde stumbled through the tests in age nine. He had
settled down and was really trying. Beads of perspiration
appeared on his forehead. He kept moving his fingers and
hands. It was difficult for him to sit still. Through
it all I smilingly encouraged him.

According to the manuscript, I must show satisfaction
with the answers whatever they were. Above all, I was
not "to aid the child" by supplemental explanation which
might put him on the right track. But I Just couldn't
help it I He was having a terrible time and I was really
somewhat alarmed. Why did he act this way over a few

Between The Dark -

It was in the ten- year group that the explosion
occurred. We bad reached the third test in this group
and he was expected to criticize absurd phrases.

"Clyde, I am going to read you some sentences, each
of which contains something foolish. Listen attentively
and tell me each time what it is that is foolish."

I was counting on this one because the manuscript had
stated, "This test generally proves interesting on
account of its novelty." It certainly did. There were
five sentences in the group and I had saved the third for
the last. Clyde had been floundering around but now was
greatly agitated. I should have stopped right there, but
instead I continued.

"The body of an unfortunate young girl cut into
eighteen pieces, was found yesterday on the fortifications,
It is thought that she killed herself."

The lad stiffened. He glowered at me with a mixture of
distress and fear. His red hands became suddenly white as
he clutched the table.

What had I touched? Why this emotion? Suddenly, he
began to tremble. It was pitiful to watch. I became
alarmed. Suppose he should become violent. We were alon»
on the third floor and it was almost time for the lockup.
Soon the silent "lines" in stocking feet would be
ascending the stairs to the dormitories. Never mind the
test now. I had better get him back where he belonged,
and before something happened.

Between The Dark .- lj.6

Attempting to speak calmly, I said, "Clyde, you are
too tired tonight to do any more."

I gathered the papers together as he stood up, still
leaning on the table.

What was that? Two shots rang out in rapid succession.
A shout from the gun- tower, running feet, a crash of
splintering wood.

The tension between us snapped* We rushed to the
window and gazed out through the heavy wire screen. The
fog had come in. About twenty feet below we could see the
guard on the inner stockade fence. He was yelling and
waving his gun. We glanced in the other direction. What
were those figures doing down there in the stockade? All
inmates were supposed to be in the assembly.

It's a break I There's a hole in the great fence!
There - that fellow is pushing through! Why doesn't he go
on? The guard will kill him there 1 Wait I He can't get
through - the hole is too small! He's stuck! Now the
other fellow is pushing him! No, it's no use! Now he's
pulling him back! The guard is yelling like mad! Why
doesn't he shoot? There, the man is free but still on the
inside. The figures turn quickly and run back toward the
front of the building and are gone.

Clyde looked at me and we started to laugh.

"The crazy nut should have sawed two boards instead of
one," he said.

I looked at him in astonishment. Not so dumb!

Between The Dark lj.7

The guard was still yelling, trying to attract the
attention of the man on the front tower, who could not
see him on account of the building.

"Who are they?" I asked.

Clyde looked at me and did not reply. It was plain
that he knew. Then I realized that in the eyes of the
men, I too was considered a guard. The two boys slipped
back into the assembly hall and the officers never found
out who they were.

I turned Clyde in at the dormitory and the night captain
gave me the signal that he would be included in the count.
1 then went back to the office and spent another hour
pouring over Clyde's test sheet, but couldn't make anything
out of it. It was beyond me. How was I to interpret these
replies? Why did be become so emotionally upset when we
reached the ten-year group? Was it because four of the
five foolish questions dealt with death in some form? Per
haps he was extremely sensitive over the fact that he had
killed a man. This talk about just being drunk might be
a front to cover his inner feelings. He certainly was upset
over something and I had tried to be so careful.

Again I turned to the manuscript. "Sometimes, after an
examination," it said, 'one hesitates on a diagnosis."

That was just the way I felt about it now.

"Use an isolated, quiet room."

It was certainly quiet on that floor until the guard
started shooting and yelling. The test was over by then.

Between The Dark - £4.8

I couldn't get around the next one. "A child has the
intelligence of that age all the tests of which he succeeds
in passing. "

Clyde had passed all the eight- year tests, but stumbled
along through nine and went to pieces in the ten-year group.
The translation said another year was to be added for every
five tests passed above the ege group in which all tests
were passed. This would make him about nine years mentally.

He had passed one in the ten- year group. But couldn't he
have passed all of them if he hadn't been so upset? Then
there were other tests in the adult group, which were not
even tried.

As I poured over his test sheet and referred to the
manual, I became more and more confused. It was apparent
I was over my deptb. Binet said, "if a child was to be
examined a second time, we should wait a period of at least
six months." I couldn't wait that long. Certainly Clyde
wouldn't willingly consent to go through this again, and
yet I was convinced that the test measured something.
Something was wrong I

I found it in the final paragraph of the manuscript.

"A last word for these persons who desire to employ the
method. Anyone can use it for his own personal satisfaction
or to obtain an approximate evaluation of a child's intelli
gence; but for the results of this method to hove a scientific
value, it is absolutely necessary that the individual who uses
it should have served an apprenticeship in a laboratory of

I

Between The Dark - 14.9

pedagogy or possess a thorough, practical knowledge of
psychological examination," - another man-hunt for which
I was unprepared I

I had been at the reformatory six months when I tried to
test Clyde. The institution seemed to be bogged down in
the political mire. The Vocational Director was planning to
leave and I was offered his job. One hundred and fifty dollars
was big money in 1911|. for a kid halfway through college, »hy
not take it for a couple of years and save up?

But that experience with Clyde kept returning again and
again. I had failed in that test because I was not prepared.
I left the reformatory to enter the University of California.
A few weeks earlier Becky had gone south.

Between The Dark -

''Blindness we may forgive,
but baseness we will smite."

William Vaughn Moody

CHAPTER III

America was in the war and men were enlisting right and
left. For weeks the Berkeley campus had been seething
with excitement - Seniors and grads were leaving to enter
the Ambulance Service overseas. We could no longer
stand for this slaughter of American citizens and
destruction of our property. Our ships had a right to be
at sea. There were those who thought we also had a right
to ship large quantities of arms and ammunition to the
Allies and still be considered a neutral power.

With many others in 1917 » I endeavored to enlist but was
rejected because of "defective vision." Wasn't America
troubled with the same defect? "A war to end wars,"
"Safe for Democracy," - They sounded well and stirred a
populous, but proved to be empty platitudes.

Between The Dark - 51

I bad just graduated from the University of California
with a major in Psychology and Vocational Guidance. During
one Easter vacation, I had visited the Preston School of
Industry at lone, California, on invitation of the Superin
tendent, Calvin Derrich. He was quite famous in the field
of corrections, having spent many years before coming to
Preston, at the George Junior Republic, and was a great
booster of "Daddy George" who toad founded the school in New
Jersey, and who had done so much pioneering in that field.

Derrich was convinced that the same plan would work with
the boys at Preston, ages 16 to 21, and had installed there
an elaborate system of self-government, which was at its
height when I visited the school in 1915.

I was allowed to sit in with "Monte,11 the assistant
superintendent, as he administered the Stanford Binet
Psychological tests to the boys. This was the first time
I had seen it done since my crude attempt to test Clyde
at Monroe. I told Monte about that experience, and we had
a good laugh together.

During two years of undergraduate field work, under the
direction of Dr. Olga Bridgeman, Professor of Psychology
and Psychiatry at Berkeley, I was allowed to give psycholo
gical tests to prospective adult probation cases in the
Superior Courts of San Francisco, and to place the findings
before the court to determine whether the man was a good or
a poor risk for probation. This testing was done two days a
week, and the sheriff gave me a little room under the stairs

Between The Dark - $2

in the jail in which to work. The jailers knew I was a
student, but insisted on dubbing me the "Nut Doctor,"
and looked with skepticism upon my efforts.

My findings showed the great variety of cases passing
through the courts: psycho tics, neurotics, homosexuals,
feebleminded and alcoholics. Many cases were pathetic
with little chance of success. Several cases showed up
from Monroe, men I had known there, but now in further
trouble. Coffman was one, a simple stupid person, good-
natured and easy-going, but with limited ability and
almost entirely lacking in ambition.

I had once asked Coffman in an interview, what he
intended to do when released from the reformatory. He
looked at me with a puzzled expression. It had never
occurred to him that he would be expected to support
himself outside. Then he said, "When I get out of here,
the first thing I'll do with ray $5.00 gate money is to buy
a dollar's worth of tobacco and a teabone steak as big
around as a chair." The work of the courts had been a
wonderful training experience for me.

The sister of the Chaplain's wife was now ray bride.
One month earlier I had been appointed as Psychological
Examiner and Vocational Director for the Preston School of
Industry at lone, California, and we were returning from
Washington, D. C. to report for duty.

Between The Dark - 53

We got off the train at Gait at five-thirty in the
morning and we were hungry. Gait was just a railroad
junction; a few stores and a handful of people and as
the train pulled out for Sacramento we stood on the
station platform with our luggage and looked around.
There was fog here too, just as at Monroe.

We had plenty of time - the train for lone did not leave
until eight o'clock. Beyond the main street we found
breakfast at a boarding house, a typical farm-hands meal:
hot mush, ham and eggs, hot cakes and coffee - all this
for twenty-five cents.

On our return to the station we inquired when the train
would be through and the agent pointed to a string of freight
cars on a siding and said, "The engineer is making her up

now."

"But we are not freight; we're passengers," I laughed.
The agent smiled as he informed us that a day coach would
be added to the end of the freight and we would be properly
cared for.

Taking my bride to my first job and a new home in a
freight train was something. I glanced at Becky to see how
she was taking it, but she gamely smiled encouragement.

Finally with much screeching and groaning the freight
with its one coach, pulled off the aiding and we entered the
last lap toward a new adventure. Back in '89, that might
have been a good passenger coach. Now its red plush seats
were faded and worn smooth. The back half of the car was
for passengers, the front half for baggage.

Between The Dark - #4.

Slowly we rolled and rocked out of the station and
headed for the old gold fields of California, Sutter Creek,
Jackson, Bunker Hill, the Mother Lode; what history was
buried in those rolling hills. We crossed the Placer Mine
country, miles of it, washed away by the steady sluicing
of miners panning for gold. After these many years we
could still make out some of their well-built irrigation
ditches which brought water to the "diggings."

There were three other passengers on our train and the
nosey old conductor, who soon knew all about us, for he
had a way with him one could not resist, and he in turn
gave the impression that his was the best and most important
run in California. After collecting tickets and gathering
our life history, there wasn't much else to do.

We were climbing now and through the doorway we could
see the faded red freight car ahead, swaying back and forth,
as we slowly rounded the curves. As we approached the
little junction known as Clay, the conductor came through
the train with a rifle and entered the baggage compartment,
closing the door. Was he expecting a hold-up? Bandits
used to ride these hills - mining camps, trains and stage
coaches had all been raided at times.

A shot rang out followed by two more in rapid succession.
We looked at each other in amazement and filled with
Curiosity, we rushed to the baggage compartment.

Between The Dark - 55

The side door was open and the sun was streaming in,
but seated on the floor, his hat pushed back on bis head,
feet dangling over the side of the oar, sat our nosey
conductor, who fired another shot as we entered.

"Got himl" he said. "That's two of 'em. One better than
last trip." Our gaze followed bis aim. A big jackrsbbit
leaped into the air and lay still. We could laugh now since
the train was not being robbed. He seemed surprised at our
amazement, evidently shooting .jackrabbits from the baggage
compartment was just one of bis daily-dozen. Several times
his rifle was heard before we neared our destination.

The train was passing through the scrub oak country now
and the hills added their beauty to that of the day.

We watched for a first glimpse of the institution.
There it was about four miles away on the hill. It would
take this old freight another twenty minutes to make the
station.

I asked Becky later what she had thought of it as she
had remained silent at the time. "When we got our first
glimpse of those antiquated red buildings," she said, "it
made me feel depressed and disappointed."

Our conductor became very busy as we neared the station.
He was everywhere at once and as solicitous of our welfare
as a colored porter looking for tips. Evidently he had
cleaned up on all the rabbits, for the gun had disappeared.
We saw him grooming himself before a little cracked mirror
in the baggage compartment as we rounded the curve and headed
for the station.

Between The Dark 56

Now he was ready for the last act. The train was
slowing down as thia was the end of the line. Flecking
off the last particle of dust from his faded blue sleeve,
be squared himself, adjusted his cap and started through
the short passenger coach calling in a loud voice, "IONE,
CALIFORNIA."

Becky glanced at me and said, "No doubt he would like to."

No one net us at the station, as they didn't know just
when we would arrive, but we both had a strange feeling as
we climbed into the bus and jiggled toward the little
village.

lone with its interesting history, nestled in the fertile
little valley now bearing its name. William Hicks, a pro
spector, had come into the valley in 181|£ and entranced by
its beauty he built his house of poles, covered it with
hides and set himself up in the cattle business.

That first trip from Sacramento forty miles away, was
made by cart. It was rough going. He had to make his
own road and the rickety old wheels groaned and complained
under a heavy load of trinkets and supplies for the Indians.
Beads, jewsharps, calicoes and whiskey brought much gold
dust in return. Always the whiskey.

Long before the town was started, they had a row over
its name. Thomas Brown was at the bottom of it. He was
a prodigous reader, books were scarce and he had to
scurry the countryside to satisfy his appetite. Someone

Between The Dark - 57

had loaned him a copy of Buliver's "Last Days of Pompeii."
The beautiful "lone" intrigued him. He couldn't get her
out of his mind. That would make a good name for the
town forming around Hicks' hide-covered poles. "lone," -
yes, that was beautiful. But the other settlers couldn't
read. They had never heard of the beautiful "lone." When
Tom Brown tried to sell them on the idea, they laughed him
down.

"Freezeout" was proposed.

"Whiskey," shouted another, as both were greeted with
roars of laughter. There was a he-man's name for a mining
town - "Whiskey." It almost stuck.

There were other names proposed. Why not "Wooster?"
Hadn't he come in there and later discoverd the Big Trees?
But Brown wouldn't give in. A meeting was called to name
the town. Maybe he had it stacked as hot words passed,
but the beautiful "lone" won.

We left the little town and rattled across the old bridge
over Sutter Creek. The water looked like a stream of blue
clay, it was so heavily loaded with silt from the mines at
Jackson, the county seat, twelve miles above.

The Preston School of Industry, like Monroe, was also
built upon a hill. In the early days an Indian camp had
covered its slopes. Heavily wooded with digger pine,
scrub oak and nanzanita, it made a fine retreat for the
red man. There he looked down upon the coming of the whites
with mixed fee!5.ngs of distrust and fear. And why not?

Between The Dark - £8

They heard about a man named Sutter, who had white skin
and was building a fort. When the curious Indians went to
see, they were corralled and forced to work. Later their
land was seized and they retired to higher ground around lone
After such. --treatment they often retaliated by raiding the
cattle and destroying the ranches.

The Indian camp had a real history, too. The first stage
road passed over the ground on the north side. Here the
lone stage had been robbed by bandits in one of the boldest
holdups ever enacted in the whole area. Now on these same
slopes, where the driver of the stage had been killed, stood
a school of correction.

The bus slowly climbed the big curve as we entered the
grounds. It was a barren looking place, the old brick
buildings had long been in need of repair. Built in 1893*
they represented a type of architecture long discarded. In
stitutions, in those days, were built on the theory that all
should be housed in one building. That was safer. If you
had only one building to lock, there was less danger of
escape and should a disturbanc occur in the boys' guarters,
the guards were near at hand.

The institution had long outgrown the main building and
now spread itself over the hill and down the surrounding
slopes, but the old building still housed two companies of
cadets, and most of the personnel.

Between The Dark - 59

Old John met us at the window, a combination of post-
office and waiting-room adjoining. John was a fixture.
He had been at the institution a quarter of a century and
acted as chief clerk, postmaster and genaralissirao in
times of escape. Six feet two, he towered above as he
greeted us across the counter. His gray moustache
partially covered the bulge in his right cheek, as fre
quently he disappeared behind the postal boxes and we could
hear the squirt of brown juice as it struck the cuspador.
In some way this too reminded me of Monroe and another
"Old John."

John was gruff, and just couldn't be hurried. For years
he had followed his own routine pace and we had to wait until
our presence fully dawned upon his consciousness. He could
be very genial and an occaional smile showed the real spirit
back of that gruff exterior. We came to know him well and
he proved to be an honest, faithful employee.

We had expected to be assigned to quarters with house
keeping accommodations, and were greatly disappointed when
it became apparent that all such plans had been forgotten.
To John we were just new arrivals and were assigned a room
for the present.

It was almost an hour before we followed him down the
hall where he stopped and placed a key in the door. It
was only twenty feet from the office and across the hall

Between The Dark - 60

from the Personnel washroom. This was to be our room.
He hoped we would find it comfortable - he had lived
here too when he first carae to the school twenty-five
years before. With that he was gone.

As the door closed behind us we looked over our new
home. The old-fashioned high ceiling made the first
impression. Those architects certainly believed in air
space. A double bed by the window, a dresser, washstand,
table and two chairs, and you had it all.

It was my turn to feel disappointed. For the present
we were to have our meals in the officer's dining room.
Certainly this was not what we had expected.

I assured Becky that the Superintendent would fix
things for us later, and we settled down to make the best
of what appeared to be a bad bargain.

iMy office, with psychological laboratory, was located
on the second floor of the detail office, just a few steps
from the main building. The first floor was given over to
the Detail Officer, who was really the chief supervisor.
He was responsible for the custody and assignment of all
boys in the institution and also handled disciplinary cases
as well.

Any boy assigned to school kitchen, shop or farm must
first clear with the detail officer. No shifts in the
crews could be made without his approval. He must know
where each boy was at all times and was a very important

Between The Dark - 61

individual in the management of the institution. At
Monroe, the age range had been sixteen to thirty. Here
it was sixteen to twenty-one, and should have been a
more promising group to work with.

Discipline was strict. Military drill played an
important part. A self-government plan by Calvin Derrich,
the former superintendent, was on the wane. Derrich was
now warden of Siig Sing Prison in New York. A few months
earlier he had wired me at the University to join him as
Director of Trades at the penitentiary, but later, I was
glad that I had not accepted. His personality had held the
staff together and made lone a great school for its day.
Now that he was gone, it was beginning to crumble - the
boys were restless and disturbed and there was a depress
ing atmosphere about the place.

"Monte," the acting superintendent, was well liked. He
had stepped in when the other man had left, and was trying
desperately to bring back the old spirit, but it was a
hard pull.

War was in the air here also. Boys wanted to join the
services, so why couldn't they be released? Wasn't
Washington calling for men? Why, they were even going to
draft an army. When would they reach their names? All
of this added to the unrest and made it difficult to hold
the boys in the institution. Here again the old fear of
escapes. These boys must be held and the worst offense a
boy could commit was to run away.

Between The Dark - 62

The officers were jittery, too, What was going to
happen to them? How many would be called in the draft?
Wasn't it better to enlist now rather than be forced to
join? You could select your own outfit if you volunteered,
but the draft would just assign you and that was that.

From the beginning of its establishment, the problem of
escapes had been a serious one at lone. The founders tried
to take a "liberal view" of the situation but often re
sorted to drastic measures. The records of 1898 read:
"When low or base things are practiced it becomes necessary
to resort to vigorous punishment, which however, is inflicted
with discretion."

Company F housed the "bad guys" of the institution.
Twenty individual cells on two floors. Most of the boys
incarcerated here had attempted to run away and a few
others were involved in stealing or fighting. The group
worked in the brick plant and also built roads. It was a
hard grind. The guards, on this company, were mounted and
carried guns. They were called supervisors.

Another unit of eight cells was located in the basement
of the main building. Runaway boys and disciplinary cases
were placed in this smaller cell unit on bread and water
until their spirit was broken. Sometimes it took a week,
sometimes much longer. They were visited irregularly by
the detail officer and occasionally by the acting
superintendent .

Returning to the room one evening, about three days after
our arrival, I found Becky crying. I asked her what had

Between The Dark - 63

happened. She wanted to know what was under our room.
Then it dawned upon me that we were directly over the
small cell unit in the basement.

The detail officer had just whipped two boys and as
their screams of pain came up from below and she felt
sick with horror and fright. She could hear them begging
him not to strike again. It had been terrible.

This was even worse than the hounds at Monroe. At
least there had been no whippings there. We were so upset,
dinner was forgotten and we went for a walk and entered the
sleepy town.

What a time to call on the undertaker, but he was
building a little bouse on the one hill above the town.
He had shown me through the place a few months before and
solemnly assured me there would be no fleas, flies or bed
bugs. Perhaps that was why I had engaged it before it was
completed. Could we speed him up now*; Tonight more than
ever, we wanted our own home away from the depressing
atmosphere of the school.

He said it would be another month before it would be
ready for occupancy, so we strolled up the hill to look
over our first home.

Knowing that we were newlyweds, he had selected a glass
for the front door. It carried an etching of a large buck
looking out of the willows by the river. We called the
place "Deer Lodge." The whipping was forgotten and we had
a good laugh and could hardly • wait to move in.

Between The Dark - 614.

A few weeks later two boys ran away from the tailor
shop and were caught just after they crossed the road.
They were headed for the Sutter Greek and the wild country
beyond the town of lone.

I met the acting superintendent as he came from his
office in the main building. He was just rounding the
curve in the direction of the detail office.

"You wanted to witness a whipping, Ken," he said, "and
here is a good chance. We are going to whip two in the
detail office. Come along." I followed reluctantly.
True, I had asked for this, but now that the time had
arrived I wasn't so sure.

The scene comes back to me after fifty- three years as
vividly as though it were yesterday.

A straight- back chair stood in the middle of the
cement floor with all other furniture pushed back against
the wall. Over in the corner the superintendent seated
himself at a desk with pencil and pad, as the Board of
Trustees required him to be present and keep the tally.
I stood to one side, my back to the window, the chair in
front of me.

The detail officer removed his coat and rolled back his
sleeves. He was a tall thin wiry fellow, nervous and
quick. I didn't know him very well then, but he gave one
the impression of being constantly on the alert as though
he trusted no one. Formerly a clerk, he had gradually
worked his way up to one of the key positions in the
institution.

Between the Dark - 65

If any boy ran away, he considered it a reflection
on his good judgment in making the original assignment.

Now he was to administer the punishment. Was there
an element of satisfaction in this set-up? His face was
white and drawn with anger.

The two boys were brought in - they looked shaken and
pale. They were both about eighteen - one was large and
heavy, evidently the aggressor; the other was a mere slip
of a lad and it would be his first experience with the
lash.

Things moved quickly as everyone seemed to know what to
do. The boys stood facing the desk, their backs to the
chair. They had glanced at it as they entered - now it
remained waiting behind them. The Superintendent was
speaking.

"You boys know the penalty for running away - fifteen
lashes apiece. I'll count aloud so you'll know when it is
over." That was all.

I studied their faces. The heavy lad was surley and hard
and I imagined he was saying to himself "The hell with you,
lay it on and see if I give a damn." This was his third
attempt to get away - he knew what was coming but it hadn't
deterred him.

Not so the other. His white features were stamped with
terror. He trembled and tried to control his kneew, then he
glanced quickly about like a hunted thing looking for
some way of escape.

Between The Dark - 66

Why had they run away? Were they homesick? Had
someone in the company made it so unbearable that they
couldn't stand it any longer? No questions were asked,
there was no need, they had run away, they knew the
penalty, therefore there was nothing to be said.

The detail officer was just coming out of the closet.
He carried something black in his hand and for the first
time I saw the lash. The boys called it "the sap,"
that described it better. It was made of two strips of
black leather sewed together to give it body - four feet
long, three inches wide, and a quarter of an inch in
thickness. A black handle with a leather wrist thong
completed the whip, so it could be swung with both arms
with terrific force.

The heavy lad was first. Someone "frisked" him, his
back pockets must not contain any articles that might be
driven into his flesh. The detail officer was all business
now as he bruskly took the boy by the arm and shoved him
toward the chair.

"Lean over and grasp the seat," he said. "Stay there
and don't move or I'll tie you down."

The big boy glanced around. That hard look was still
there. He didn't need to be told. Had they forgotten that
he had been through this ordeal twice before? With a shrug
he slowly bent forward and grasped the chair seat. He did
not have long to wait for the detail officer was as quick as
a snake. The heavy lash descended upon the buttocks of

Between The Dark - 67

the boy, with a crack like a pistol shot. The boy's
hands reached back, be straightened up as a groan escaped
those hard lips.

"Get back there," the officer shouted, and he again
bent over the chair.

The Superintendent was droning the count - four, five,
six... but I scarcely heard; I was watching the boy. He
had settled down now and barely moved as the lash descended
with regular strokes, the crack of leather filling that
little office. His face was ashen pale, the cords in the
neck distended and his body trembling with pain from the
force of the blows. It was terrible. After that first
groan, not a sound passed his lips, he could certainly
take it.

"Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen" - the lash stopped.
Silence fell. The boy did not rise but still grasped the
chair. Had he lost count or was he showing them he could
take it? A sharp word from the officer and he stepped
aside. So this was "discipline."

Now it was the other boy's turn. He had been standing
motionless with his back to the chair, his head in his hands.
A touch on the shoulder and he sprang to life, as with a
sudden cry he turned toward the Acting Superintendent and
began to beg for mercy.

"Oh, sir, don't let them whip me. ..I'll never do it
again. I was homesick. I guess I lost my head. Oh, please,
give me another chance."

Between The Dark - 68

The Superintendent motioned the detail officer to begin,
but the lad was terrified and was not going to give up so
easily. Quickly he glanced at each face in that room -
no one moved. He must have read sympathy or horror in ray
expression for he came toward me with hands extended.

"Oh, Mr. Scudder, won't you do something for me? Don't
let them whip me, I can't take it, see? I'll never do this
again." I shook my head. Sinking to the floor be grasped
me about the knees, sobbing and pleading for help. I did
not move.

The detail officer jumped into action. Grasping the boy
by the shoulders he half dragged, half lifted him across
the chair. The lad slid off onto the floor. His sobs now
rose to screams of terror that could be heard all over the
institution. It seemed as though the windows would blow
out of that little brick building. Suddenly this same
terror seemed to give him courage as he became defiant
and threatening. "Go on and beat me, then, if you want
to," he sobbed. "You're all a bunch of dogs! I'll run
away again, I will... and you can't stop me I"

His cries were rudely checked. An officer seizing him
by the seat of his pants forcibly placed him across the
chair and held him down. There was a slight struggle, -
legs kicking wildly in midair.

The detail officer stepped back for the swing. The
lash descended with a crack. The boy seemed stunned. He
did not move. The second crack brought him to life. A

Between The Dark - 69

crash, the splintering of wood as the chair collapsed,
officer and boy struggling on the floor, - muffled sobs,
confusion, chairlegs and rungs spread in all directions.
Four men trying to whip one boy.

At last it was over. Somehow, fifteen strokes had been
administered the rule had been observed and the lad was
quietly crying with pain. Both boys were locked in the cell
unit under our room and placed on bread and water.

As we walked back to the office the Superintendent said,
"Well, Ken, what do you think of it?"

"It's revolting and ineffectual," I replied.

"I don't like it either," he said, "but I don't dare knock
it out. The whole school might run away."

"I wonder," I replied.

That night, as I recounted my experience to Becky, I added,
"If it's the last thing I do, I'll smash this thing and abolish
the lash for all time."

I reported this event to Dr. Warner Brown of the University
of California, who was consulting Psychologist at Preston and
had been responsible for my appointment. Together we began
to make a thorough study of the claimed deterrent effect of
corporal punishment. Those who believed in this form of
discipline claimed it accomplished four things :•* "It made
the guilty suffer for his sins. It aroused dread in the
hearts of those who heard about it and so acted as a potent
deterrent. A lasting impression was left upon the mind and
so served to prevent a repetition of the same offense. And

•M-The Thirteenth Biennial Report of the Preston School of Indus try
Sixty Eighth and Sixty Ninth Fiscal Years. July 1,1916 to June 30, '9c

Between The Dark - 70

last, it resulted in a mental and physical surrender to a
force which was both beneficial and lasting." In short, the
lash was supposed to break the lad's spirit.

Were we to blindly accept this theory just because it had
been in practice for sixty-nine years? Perhaps we could
concede the first claim, but did the others hold? Was there
really a "potent deterrent" or was this wishful thinking?

We had been at lone three months and how the time flew!
The season was well along into August and the temperature
mounted to a new high. The grass under the scrub oak on
the surrounding hills had turned yellow and brown, as the
heat seemed to scorch everything.

For several weeks we had been in our new home on the
little hill overlooking the town. Becky had gone to
Vacaville for furniture from the Jewett Ranch and had
ridden the seventy miles back on the front seat of the
truck.

The forty miles from lone to Sacramento was a trip to
be avoided. The road wound across barren wastes of red
soil left in mounds by the Placer miners of long ago.
There were miles and miles of these rolling hills of washed-
out land. A few scrub oaks clung with dogged perseverance
to the soil. Everyone dreaded that drive. In good
weather it was bad enough, but when it rained it was next
to impossible, as the water tore in torrents along the
washes and one had to find a new way to cross the gullies
and ravines.

Between The Dark - 71

Many stories were told at tbe institution about those
trips to Sacramento or Stockton; the classic one coming
from the business manager. He made frequent trips to
Sacramento to confer with the State Board of Control. On
one he was accompanied by the school nurse. Without a
doubt she was the largest woman I have ever seen. Some
said she weighed three hundred and forty pounds. I thought
they were just trying to be kind. She completely filled
the front seat of the old Model T and the little business
manager was crowded into a corner behind the wheel. He
held to his own theory about driving rough roads. When
approaching a bad stretch ahead he would open her up and
try to hop across the rough spots. Twenty- five miles an
hour in those days was really traveling.

Rain fell heavily the night before, but by morning most
of the water had run off. The sun was shining as the two
sped along until they struck the Placer country. Here the
road was difficult to drive, even in dry weather, with its
rolling bills, deep gullies, up one side and down the other.
The little car panted along under its heavy load as they
came up over a rise and descended quickly into the next dip.

He knew the road and was watching for the bad spots. So
far his puddle- jumping technique had worked, but the rain
had tricked him at last, for this gully was really washed out,
He didn't see the danger until it was too late. About a
foot of soil and rock had been carried off the night before.

Between The Dark - 72

The little car tore down the slope and fairly leaped into
the middle of the wash. Fortunately it landed on four
wheels. With a tremendous bump, up went the nurse, back
flew the top, as they collided in mid-air. Down came the
nurse with full force, bending the gas tank under the front
seat. Behind the wheel sat the little business manager,
himself stunned by the force of the impact.

If he had been crowded for space before, now he was really
in a vice, with the head and shoulders of the unconscious woman
jammed between the wheel and his chest. One soft arm encircled
his neck. He couldn't move.

Somehow he managed to wriggle out from behind the wheel.
He tried in vain to move or revive the nurse. Could she be
dead? Grabbing his new hat, he rushed up the wash and dipped
from a puddle, then dashing the cold muddy water in her face,
brought her to with a start. Fortunately both survived the
ordeal.

Becky had made this same perilous journey home in the truck
because the driver had never been over the road, and she was
afraid he would get lost. She arrived without mishap in spite
of the heat, and I found her in the town's ice cream parlor,
as I returned from work.

We were just settling down to a happy married life. Things
were going much better at the institution, and I was enjoying
my work and feeling there was really a chance to do something
constructive. Many things had happened in the field of psy-

Between The Dark - 73

cbology and vocational guidance since the time I had
attempted to test Clyde. Now we were testing all boys who
entered the school and interviewing them at length regard
ing a vocational choice.

The Acting Superintendent was interested, and even the
detail officer began to seek information about the boys
before making his assiapiments. A trades' council was formed
and we met each week with the Superintendent, the school
Principal and the detail officer. This was quite different
from Konroe . If only they would give up the lashl But the
whippings continued and there was little we could do about
it. Most of the personnel firmly believed it would be dis
astrous to abolish corporal punishment. Why, that was the
only hold they had on the boys. Of course they wouldn't stay
if the school did away with the lash. You couldn't use guns,
there was no wall about the place, things were wide open...
whoever heard of such stupid talk as not being able to whip
a boy? These were just reformers. They just didn't under
stand .

Somehow we got along together in spite of the whippings,
but these things were discussed in the dark, as we waited at
the Sleugh House or under a bridge, looking for some boy who
had escaped. I must admit that after being up for two or
three nights, hungry, cold and weary, waiting and looking for
boys, it did seem quite different as we became irritated and
sullen.

Old John was merciless on us when a boy was gone. We all

Between The Dark - 71;

went out, all those who could be spared, and we remained
out until the boy was picked up. John would call us once
a day by phone - the message often relayed by some farmer.
When a call came we hoped it would be to come on in, or that
John was sending dinner out. It became quite a joke. More
often it was a message to move further out and make a larger
circle about the institution. If we found food, all right,
but it was up to us. These boys ought not to run away; it
was goo upsetting. It caused irritation and great incon
venience to the personnel. I could see their point of view,
and began to realize why they believed in the lash. It wasn't
because they were brutal, but just to avoid more work and in
convenience.

Institution people love routine, they thrive on it. Things
must always click to a schedule, everyone must have definite
duties assigned and there must not be any interference with
the schedule.

And some of these boys could become very exasperating.
They came from broken homes, poverty and distress and many
had been reared by their parents to steal and lie, "because
you had to if you were going to get along in the world." Why
should we expect them to suddenly settle down and reform?

But an escape threw all this into a cocked hat. Then came
resentment, even a desire for revenge upon this offender who
caused all this trouble.

One day Dr. Warner Brown submitted our study of the effects
of corporal punishment. It was thorough and had a far-reaching

Between The Dark - ?£

effect. In brief, it said : "One of the moat vexing disci
plinary problems met by all institutions for delinquents, is
that of custody. Whenever the freedom of a group of boys is
restricted and exact rules of conduct are prescribed, there
is bound to follow a certain amount of discontent. The de
sire to escape is the natural feeling, which results from
confinement. Experience has indicated that when a boy has
really decided to run away, he gives little thought to the
consequences of the act. Attention is focused upon the gett
ing away, and even though they all see boy after boy returned
after being out one or two days, each one has confidence that
HE possesses the ability to elude the authorities where others
have failed. A large proportion of the escapes take place
from those company quarters and work squads which are supposed
to be under close surveillance. These cases involve a match
ing of wits, the boy against the officer. The fact that a
boy runs away is no indication that the hope for reformation
in such a case is lost."

The study covered the period from January 1, 1916 to
February 25, 1917. In one hundred and twenty-five instances
of escapes the lash had been applied to one hundred and one
boys. Thirty-one had been previously whipped in the institu
tion before these dates, while fifteen had tried to escape
again and again. Ten of the boys had been lashed three or
more times during their sojourn in the school. Eighty percent
of the second whippings occurred within six months.

Between The Dark - 76

"This evidence indicates that in a large proportion of
the cases, the administration of this form of discipline does
not succeed in altering the boys' attitude enough to prevent
them from committing a very serious offense again. The boys
in the school share the opinion which is prevalent in the
public mind, that corporal punishment is out of date and
brutal."

What could the school do about the situation? Was it safe
to abolish this old custom with one quick stroke? It would
take courage.

Another year passed and in spite of the lash escapes
continued at the same rate.

One morning in 1913, there was an air of tenseness and
expectancy as the boys assembled on the detail grounds to
be assigned to their trades. In spite of avowed secrecy the
grapevine had been working. No one can account for the way
rumors spread through an institution. As the companies
arrived and took their places, silence fell row on row over
the assembled group. The acting superintendent mounted the
box and waited. They sensed something was going to happen.

"Boys, I have an important announcement to make," he said.
"For several years we have been studying the various types of
discipline administered in this institution. You young men
have been involved in serious trouble. The law requires that
you remain here until you are officially released. Most of
you recognize that fact. Your conduct is good and you cooperate
with the management.

Between The Dark - 77

"A small percentage, however, do not. They take ad
vantage of every opportunity to run away. We could build
a wall around this place, but that would be unfair to you.
Those who have attempted to escape have been whipped. Some
times that just makes a boy worse.

"We should like to try an experiment. If you will do
your part in helping to maintain discipline and reduce the
number of escapes, we will abolish once and for all the use
of the lash."

Pandimonium followed. Without orders, they broke ranks,
shouting and surging toward the box. Caps were thrown into
the air. They crowded around, a chattering mob, trying to
express its feelings. The lash had been thrown out.

What happened in the next few months? Dr. Brown's follow-
up report stated :

"There is no doubt that their respect for the school and
willingness to cooperate with the authorities has been in
creased. This refers to the attitude of the cadet body at
large .

"No change in the attitude of the boys has been observed
since corporal punishment was abolished. There has been no
wave of crime. It is the opinion of all who have been in
close toujh with the disciplinary situation, including a
number of officers who are firm believers in the efficacy of
the strap, that serious infractions of discipline are
more frequent than before.

Between The Dark - ?8

"In general it may be said that the greater the boy's
self-respect is, the more he will be humiliated by this
form of punishment and the deeper will be his resentment."*

The lash was out and it worked.

Several of the personnel coming off shift, were gathered
in the outer office. John seemed unusually slow in distri
buting the mail. There was much kidding, but he couldn't
be hurried .

Into my box was shoved a long official-looking envelope.
Opening it, I stood for a moment stunned. It was my summons
from Washington. In a corner was the figure 1.

An officer close to me said, "What's the matter, Ken, has
the sheriff caught up with you?"

I handed him the official-looking document and said: "I'm
the last to come and the first in Amador County to be called
in the draft."

Silence fell for a moment. Then they crowded around.
Jfost of them were over the age of the first call, but they
were curious to see the notice. The men thought it was a
good joke on me. The women were more serious. I heard one
say in an undertone, "Too bad. I wonder what his wife will
do."

I left the building and headed for the open field below
the institution. Tonight I would take the short cut to the
old Chinese swinging bridge across Sutter Creek. It was a
narrow rickety thing, suspended from old rusty cables. Only
the Chinamen used it now. It led into the little Chinatown

-"-Thirteenth Biennial Report. Dr. Warner Brown. Preston School
of Industry.

Between The Dark - 79

of lone, a few shacks and an old ornate temple were all that
remained of the mining- town boom of long ago. A few old
Chinamen still hung on, eeking out a bare existence by
working over the old diggings, rarely panning more than a
dollar or two of gold a day. I always waved to them as I
crossed the bridge, but tonight no one was in sight.

As I climbed the last hill toward our little retreat,
my pace became slower and slower. We were so happy. How
would I break the news that after all I was going to war?
If I whistled now, she would come down the hill to meet me.
Should I tell her before we reached the house? Her aunt
and cousing were there from Oakland. It would be better to
tell her first.

She met me below the gate and we stood there for a moment
looking down at the town. I drew in my breath and forced a
smile. "Becky, I have some good news." She sensed something
was wrong - I could see it in her face as I added, "I'm the
first to be drafted in Amador County."

Silence fell between us. She tried to smile through the
tears that would not be forced back, as she said slowly,

"And do you really call that good news?"

My arm tightened around her as we slowly started up the
path. "It will be hard," I said.

"I'm glad you really want to go, Ken, but I don't see

how I " She stopped. "They wouldn't take you in

Berkeley," she continued, "why should they pass you now?"

Between The Dark - 80

We were a long time reaching the gate. Becky quickened
her step as we approached the house and called to the two
women on the porch in a voice full of enthusiasm and
apparent joy.

"Aunt Jenniel Elizabethl Ken has been called in the draft,
Isn't that great?" They were good sports too - they came from
the same noble stock.

America has never fully appreciated the loyalty of her
women during the war - it was profound. Now they joked at
table about my first being rejected, and then called. What
a strange government this was. Would I enter the Navy?
Remember the time we went to Seattle and Ken was sea sick?
Oh yes, and there was the "Scud," that thirty-foot cruiser
we had on Puget Sound. The smell of the motor always drove
us on the deck when it was a bit rough. We were grand
sailors I And then the time we were up in North Bay and
crossed the field where the big bull was loose! Elizabeth
was carrying a loaf of bread, and Ken, who was behind her,
roared like a bull. The fresh loaf was flung high in the
air, as Elizabeth started on a wild scramble for the fence.
The rest of us had roared with laughter because the bull
was so old he wouldn't even look in our direction. It was
a grand evening of fun and I began to feel better about the
draft.

Toward morning I was awakened. The bed was shaking. I
turned and found Becky trying to drown her sobs in her
pillow. Noble little Trojan, it had all been a grand front.
Of course she didn't want me to go.

Between The Dark - 81

"With doubt and dismay
You are smitten,

You think there's no chance for you, son?
Why, the best books haven't been written
The best race hasn't been run."

Berton Braley

CHAPTER IV

It was December, 1918, when we arrived in Berkeley,
California. The war was over and I was on the hunt for a
job, along with thousands of other ex-servicemen. I was
still in the uniform of a buck private, which would make
it more difficult to crash past office secretaries than if
I had received the promised commission as a first lieutenant.

Becky was ill with the flu, our baby was about due, and
we were scared. To top it all, Dr. Warner Brown of the
University of California Department of Psychology, who had
placed me at Preston, wrote that Monte, the Acting Superin
tendent, didn't want me back. He had given the excuse that
his budget was short and now he had no position as psychologist,

Between The Dark - 82

Dr. and Mrs. Brown invited us for Christinas dinner. We
were so low in spirits we hesitated to accept, but when we
arrived, their gracious reception quickly put us at ease.
The table was beautifully set with decorations, place-cards,
a large harvest home fruit dish in the center, fall-colored
leaves on the gleaming white cloth, and Christmas candles,
which gave a glow to the warm family welcome. Mrs. Brown
might well have been entertaining the President of the
University, and what a dinner1.

As our spirits rose, I began to tell about our funny
experiences during my eighteen months at Camp Lewis, while
Becky chimed in with her own charming self. One hour in
that quiet home atmosphere, and we were made over. Now we
felt there was hope ahead for us too, that we might again
find our place in this old war- torn world.

Dr. Brown was especially interested in the rifle tests
for poor shots Walter Heller and I had developed for the
Army, as he had loaned us a great deal of scientific equip
ment from the Psychology Laboratory at the University. We
also had a good laugh about my educational survey of the
Development Battalion School, the indignant major, and the
arrest and threatened court martial of one Buck Private
Scudder "for daring to criticize a superior officer" in my
survey report on the Development Battalion. Also the later
row with our own officers when Heller and I insisted on our
right to sign the report to the Commanding General of our
own research findings in testing poor shots, later acopted

Between The Dark - 93

by the United States Army.

Finally we got around to Monte and his reasons for
not wanting me back at Preston.

"It isn't that he doesn't like you personally, Xen, "
Dr. Brown stated. "He is in serious trouble with his
Board of Trustees, who for the last two years have
withheld his appointment as Superintendent and have kept
him in an 'acting1 capacity. That's a hard situation to
meet. Monte is now desperately trying to cut down his
budget and make a showing with the hope this will bring
him his appointment. I have been going to Preston
weekends during your absence, Ken," Dr. Brown added, "but
I can't do it much longer because of the pressure of
University duties. Why not go up and see Monte and look
the situation over yourself?" He didn't really think
there was much chance, but all our things were in the
lone house, and we would have to get them out if we were
to move away to another job.

On the trip back to lone, the only person we knew
was the nosey conductor who wanted to know all about our
experiences at Camp Lewis. No one knew we were coming,
so we took a taxi to our little home on the hill. It was
so good to get back, if even for a short time, that
Becky insisted we take two weeks vacation before we decided
on anything.

"This has been an ordeal, Ken, and we may face others
very soon. We are both tired and need to relax."

Between The Dark - 814.

That was a wise move. Word slowly got around that we
were back, and friends began to drop in.

One day during the first week of the new year, I
strolled over to the institution to say hello to my
friends. It seems strange now, but it never occurred to
me to demand my job back. If Irnonte didn't want me, well
that was enough.

My civilian clothes felt uncomfortable. They were
slightly out of style, but we couldn't afford new ones
just now.

The officers greeted me cordially, and it seemed ~ood
to be back. Monte sent word that he was too busy to see
me, and although I had just come back from the war, I
understood .

A few days later we were at dinner when a message
arrived. Monte wanted me to have breakfast with him at
six- thirty next morning, and go with him to Sacramento.
Why this sudden change of front? I wanted to go to
Sacramento anyway. There might be an opening in the
State Department of Education.

Monte was very cordial when he greeted me, and we
talked together as we covered the forty miles to the
State Capitol.

I called on Dr. Snyder, Commissioner of Education.
He had taught manual training in the schools of Alameda,
California, when I was a small boy. My older brother
was in the eighth grade when he was accidentally struck

Between The Dark - 35

on the head with a baseball bat and suffered a severe
concussion which kept him out of school for a year.
Dr. Snyder had taken the boy under his care and called
him his assistant in his manual- training shops just to
have him occupied and to keep up his courage and morale.
It was a generous, thoughtful act, and contributed
greatly to the boy's complete recovery.

I hadn't seen Dr. Snyder for eighteen years, but he
remembered all about our family, especially my brother
Joy, and he made me feel at ease. He told me of
vacancies in Los Angeles and gave me a letter of intro
duction to Arthur Gould, Assistant Superintendent of
Schools, who might help me.

On the way back to lone, I told Monte I had a good
lead on a job in Los Angeles and would go down there
soon and look around. As we drove along he began to
thaw out. He talked a lot about his troubles with his
Board of Trustees, and why his appointment as Superintendent
had been delayed so long. He seemed very discouraged and
needed encouragement. I listened without comment. Suddenly
he stopped talking, and we drove on in silence. Then
turning to me he said -

"I'm sorry, Ken, I didn't mean to unload all this on
you. Tell me about your stretch in the Army."

I told him of my first eight months in Company M of
the 363rd Infantry of the Ninety-First Division at Camp

Between The Dark - 36

Lewis, and of my first experience with army discipline.
The first two weeks we were learning to drill, when one
day the Sergeant said, "Scudder, the Lieutenant wants to
see you." The company had been allowed to "fall out" for
rest, and I walked over to where the officers were
gathered.

Saluting awkvr9rdly, I stood at attention.

"I understand you've had some experience in cooking,"
the Lieutenant said.

"Yes, Sir, a little while going to college," I replied.

"Well, report to the kitchen at once. You are the Mess
Sergeant," he said.

I was stunned. I'didn" t know enough about cooking to
take over the mess for 250 men. As I stood there, not
knowing what to do, the Lieutenant said, "Is there some
thing wrong?"

"I should have said, "Yes, Sir. God have mercy on you.
You don't know what you're in for." Instead I mumbled
something about coming into this army to fight, not to
cook.

"Well, I don't care what you came into the army for.
You are expected to obey orders without comment," he said.
"Report to the kitchen at once.1"

As I saluted and turned to go, the Lieutenant called me
back.

"Just a minute. Didn't you tell me you were a
psychologist?"

Between The Dark - 3?

"Yes Sir," I replied.

"Well," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "if there's
any place in this God damn array we need psychology, it's
in that kitchen."

I got eight months.

Monte laughed heartily. "How did it turn out?" he in
quired.

"Oh, we got along. Fortunately I had some fine cooks.
I told them frankly I didn' t know nuch about running
a mess. They laughed and we became a fine team, but I
still occasionally slipped out after breakfast to drill and
later became a Platoon Sergeant.

After eight months my feet gave out and I was
recommended for "limited service" or a discharge. I didn't
want the latter and asked for a transfer to the Psychological Ex
amining Board at the same camp, which was more in line with
my training, and interests. I was now a private again.

Monte began to forget his troubles. The laugh had
seemed to help him and now he wanted to hear more. "What
happened then?" he asked.

I told him briefly of the exciting events of my last
eight months at Camp Lewis - how Walter Heller and I had
been assigned full time by our commandinT; officer, to develop
psychological tests for riflemen. It came about in this way.

There were too many poor shots in the draft who failed to
grasp the importance of the "trigger squeeze" in firing the
Enfield rifle, which had just been adopted by the Army because

Between The Dark - 53

it lacked the vicious recoil of the Springfield, had a
peep-sight and was easier to shoot. The drill sergeants
spent hours in training recruits, only to find a large
number spraying the targets when they got on the range
for practice - resulting in a great waste of ammunition.

Our assignment was to develop tests which would demon
strate accurately, just how to squeeze the trigger.

It's too long a story, Monte, but the results were very
exciting and rewarding, especially when eight months later
the tests proved so successful that they were recommended
by the Division Commander for "general use throughout the
Army . "

"By the way, Monte, while giving those tests I came
upon an old friend of yours. Do you remember Harold ?"

"Do I remember Harold I" he said.

"Good Lord, was he in the Army?"

"Yes," I replied. "He came over one day with a group
of poor shots from the J4j.th Regiment. As soon as he left
Preston he was drafted and the Array, who up to that time
had resisted the use of psychological tests until it was
forced upon them, couldn't understand why he couldn't shoot."

"Why he had the intelligence of a nine-year-old kid. I
tested him myself" he added.

"Yes, I remember," I said. "When he got out on the range
he had a wonderful time spraying shots everywhere except at
the target until a Sergeant, in desperation, crept up behind
him and took away his gun. They still wondered why he couldn't

Between The Dark 39

shoot. Vie transferred him to the development battalion,
where he would be safe for democracy."

When I had informed Monte about the good job I had a
line on in Los Angeles, he began to really thaw out. He
had told me a .great deal about his troubles with his
politically appointed Board of Trustees. How they had
tied his hands, withheld his appointment, held him
responsible for everything that went on at Preston, and
yet gave their own orders to the personnel over his head
without consulting him in advance. As a result, no one

•

knew who to obey and the school was in a constant uproar.
Such uncertainties infected the boys and personnel, and
the kids were running wild. Runaways were so numerous that
escape crews were out most of the time. He really unloaded
on me, and it seemed to relieve his tension to be able to
talk to someone about his troubles.

As we approached the school property, he turned to me
and said, "Ken, I've been checking my budget. I can finance
your old position until July 1st, and I'd like to have you
come back now. If you want to look for another job, then,
let's talk about it later."

Did he have money in his budget all the time and could
have put me to work if he had wanted to? Now he couldn't
wait, and wanted me to start the next day. It was the end
of our two-weeks vacation and I was glad of the chance.

Between The Dark - 90

Vhen I got home that night I told Becky to hang on to
her hat, I had my job back. Tears of relief and gratitude
filled her eyes. She had been so brave and had kept
saying, "Don't worry, Ken, we will get something, for things
usually turn out all right." All this with nothing in view
and the baby soon to arrive.

The rest on the hill had worked wonders for us both.

Monte had other troubles. He had been away from the
school a good deal the past six months and had exercised very
little leadership. The self-government system at Preston in
stalled by Calvin Derrick, the former Superintendent, with
its two houses of parliament, President (Congress), Chief
Justice, and various other elective positions, had also been
neglected and was rapidly slipping on to the rocks. Abuses
of the system were many, for it is a dangerous procedure, in
my opinion, to allow adolescent delinquents to govern them
selves in an institution setting, when they could not control
their own conduct in their communities.

In one Boys' Republic in California, the self-government
got so far out of hand, on one occasion, that the boys tried
the Superintendent, found him guilty, and locked him in their
"jail cage" for three days and wouldn't let him out. In some
miraculous manner they kept the secret from his staff, who
thought he was away on a trip. By chance, a member of his
Trustees happened to drop in, and suspecting something amiss
finally located the ruffled gentleman and insisted upon his
release.

Between The Dark - 91

Monte still clung to the self-government idea, however,
and wanted to try out a revised version in which the boys
would share in an advisory capacity but without authority.
We worked hours together trying to devise such a plan, but
threw it all overboard when we found the President of the
Republic, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Chief
of Police and the Prosecuting Attorney secretly congregated
in the tower of the Administration Building where they had
cached away six slabs of cut plug chewing tobacco, twenty
sacks of Bull Durham and twelve cartons of tailor-made
cigarettes as a shakedown payoff from weaker boys. It was
a terrible scandal, which not only marked the fall of their
administration, but put an end to self-government at Preston
for all time.

For months there had been no whippings since Monte had
announced the lash was out. Now old timers were calling
for its return.

"We ought to beat hell out of 'em for that tobacco
deal," they said. The younger officers thought it was a
good joke. "Not very different from politics outside,"
they said. While the amount found seemed small, yet in a
tobacco-forbidden institution it was worth its weight in
Sold.

A new Chairman of the Board, a prominent attorney, had
been appointed by the Governor. He and his wife spent a
?;reat deal of time at the institution and their constant
criticism and complaining made Monte even more nervous and
insecure.

Between The Dark -92

I was now doing routine testing and vocational
counselling. It was pretty discouraging because there
was scarcely any vocational training available except
maintenance jobs to help run the institution. In fact
this deplorable condition existed at Preston for the next
thirty-five years with less than a third of the boys able
to get into vocational classes. As a result, most of them
left the school unprepared to hold a skilled job in any
field. The parole violations were exceedingly high.

The courts were also sending many feeble-minded boys
to Preston because it was so difficult to get them into
the Sonoma State Home For The Feeble Minded. The waiting
list for the latter ran into the hundreds and the Home
did not like to take delinquent boys. So many were com
ing to Preston they created a serious problem. Other boys,
recognizing their mental deficiency, played tricks or
plagued them continuously and as a result they were in
constant trouble.

In desperation we formed these defective lads into a
separate company for their own protection and to keep
them avray from their tormentors. For about two months
they seemed quite happy and contented. Fights ceased
and it was much easier to handle the group. However, the
experiment was soon abandoned when the normal boys referred
to the group as the "Mutt" Company or "Goofie Gang" and
this so upset the lads they all clamoured to get out.

Between The Dark - 93

The only way we could transfer the more serious cases to
the State Hone was to return them to the Juvenile Court for
commitment. This was difficult to do and often misfired.

One exceptionally disturbed lad needed to be transferred
and I was assigned to carry it through. He had been sent to
Preston for arson, having attempted to burn several buildings
in Fresno. After working the case up I took him on the after
noon train for Fresno. There was a freight wreck ahead and
we were delayed on a siding for hours and did not arrive at
our destination until the next morning. All through the night
the boy kept up a constant jabber, wanting to race through
the train, probably with the intention of giving me the slip.
It was a rugged night but we managed to get through without
further mishap and appeared in court at ten o'clock.

The judge briefly glanced over my report with its re
commendation for commitment to Sonoma, questioned the boy
briefly, and to my amazement and dismay turned him loose to
return to a broken home with little or no supervision. Three
weeks later the boy burned down a warehouse at a loss of
$100,000. After that the same judge committed him to Sonoma.

The same morning the judge turned the boy loose, I received
a wire from Preston to proceed on to Los Angeles. An Indian
and a white boy had escaped ten days before and the Sheriff's
office in Los Angeles had the Indian in custody in the County
Jail. I was instructed to assist the police in apprehending
the white boy and bring both back to Preston.

Between The Dark - 9U

I knew these two boys, the Indian a large burly
youngster, close to six feet tall and a good athlete.
The white boy was a thin blond with a pinched face, which
reminded me of "Rat" Lawrence of Monroe. I had never trans
ported prisoners, nor had I any idea where to look for the
white boy. The two had separated before the Indian was
picked up, and I thougtt I might get some information by
interviewing him in the County Jail.

I first called on Eugene Biscauluiz, who was then Chief
Deputy to Sheriff Traeger in Los Angeles. He was most
helpful and gave me a lot of good advice how to proceed.

I didn't get much out of the Indian boy except that
he had decided to part from the white boy for fear they would
be picked up together. He did say they had both spent
several nights at Solomon's Dance Hall, and that gave me my
first lead.

Two officers from the Los Angeles police department were
assigned to help me stake out at the dance hall and I
arrived there about eight that evening.

Solomon's Dance Hall in 1919 was a penny dance and a
very popular and we 11- at tended place of amusement. Prom
the outside it looked like a big barn, but inside the place
was really beautiful. Great colored streamers in varying
shades were gracefully festooned from the ceiling, giving
a rainbow effect against soft lighting. The floor was as

Between The Dark - 9i>

smooth as glass and around the sides of the hall behind a
low railing were the boxes or booths for spectators and
dancers to sit in during frequent intermissions between
dances. Several ticket takers were stationed at intervals
around the hall adjacent to openings in the railing. At
the end of each dance the floor was cleared and almost
immediately the orchestra would strike up the next dance
and the penny-a-dance tickets were dropped into -rlass
boxes as the dancers streamed onto the floor from all
sides.

By eight thirty the place was crowded. Young girls
with their escorts, single girls looking for a partner,
middle-aged couples and many single men jammed the boxes
and lounge waiting their opportunity to dance.

The two officers had pictures of the boy we were looking
for and we showed them also to the chief "Bouncer" who
promised to help us.

I moved slowly about the hall behind the railing trying
to locate the lad. It was almost a hopeless situation with
the dull lights, which cast a shadow on all faces, and the
crowded area behind the railing which became jammed whenever
the music stopped and the floor was cleared. It was hard
to distinguish features, but as the evening progressed the
newness began to wear off, my eyes became adjusted to the
low lights, and I felt more encouraged to continue the
search.

Between The Dark - 96

Many people had criticized Solomon's Dance Hall as
a tough place and hangout for underworld characters. I
had the same impression until I got there and watched the
people as they danced. There was good order and everyone
seemed to be having a good time. While some women were
dressed in tight- fitting gowns, which showed off their
figures to best advantage, they were in the minority and
I had the feeling that the rest were there because they
enjoyed the dance. Several women approached me with the
request that I dance, but I declined and kept slowly moving
about all evening. At twelve the dance closed and we
had not located our boy.

For three nights we kept up the vigil and then word
reached me at the hotel that the boy was in custody. He
told me later he was at Solomon's the second night I was
there and had spotted me and left the hall. The police picked
him up in the act of stealing a car. Since he was already
a ward of the Juvenile Court, and an escapee from Preston,
further prosecution was waved and he was held in the County
Jail for transfer back to the school.

I was in a hurry to get back to lone, but Gene Biscuiluiz
persuaded me to wait another day and go with his deputy,
Prank Cochran, who was to deliver a prisoner to Polsom Prison
and was an experienced officer.

"The last trip Prank made," Gene added, "he was almost
killed by a prisoner who struck him over the head with a

Between The Dark - 97

glass tumbler in a sock and a battle royal ensued. They
made so much noise thrashing around in the drawing-room. of
the pullman that the porter opened the door just as Prank
was about to faint from loss of blood." Gene added, " The
room looked like a slaughter-house, but Prank and the
porter subdued the man and put him back in irons."

I thought of the six-foot Indian and the rat-faced
white boy and quickly accepted Gene's offer to travel with
an experienced deputy... and I was ready to take advice.

Frank was very friendly. He was a heavy-set man with a
determined jaw and he said he was n;lad to have me along.
This was his one-thousand-and-first man to deliver to
Polsora Prison, and he apparently had not forgotten his
last trip.

There were five of us in the drawing-room as the train
pulled out for Sacramento. My party was to get off at
Gait early in the morning and take the slow passenger
freight to lone. When we were ready to turn in, Prank took
all our clothes and locked them in the toilet room. We
were pretty crowded. My two boys were handcuffed together
and placed in the upper berth. Prank took the lower with
his prisoner, placing him in leg irons next to the window
and taking the added precaution of placing one handcuff on
the prisoner's right wrist and the other on his own left
wrist. I slept on the narrow couch seat opposite the lower
berth.

Between The Dark - 98

In the middle of the night we were awakened by the
boys whispering together in the upper berth. They were
restless and moved about in bed. Prank called out for
them to quiet down and the white boy complained that the
handcuffs were too tight. I offered to loosen them, but
Prank looked at them himself. Instead of being too tight,
they were too loose, so Prank tightened them up. Later we
found out the white boy had a flat watch spring and had
nearly sprung the cuffs. He told me afterwards it was their
plan to get the cuffs off, drop down on me from the upper
berth, smash me with the handcuffs and then knock Prank out,
release his prisoner and all three escape at the next station.
They nearly made it.

At dawn we stopped at Gait and the three of us got off.
We had breakfast at a little cafe a few yards from the
station and I removed the handcuffs before we went in.
After breakfast I asked the boys if it was going to be
necessary for me to put the cuffs back on again and they
both assured me there would be no more attempts to escape,
We strolled back to the station and sat on a baggage truck
waiting for the lone train to be made up. The boys had
little to say, but looked with longing eyes at the open
grain fields ahead. I kept an alert watch while carrying
on a conversation and was greatly relieved when we were
finally aboard. The two boys kept their promise and we
were met at the station by the institution bus and arrived
at Preston without mishap.

Between The Dark -99

I learned a lot on that trip. Inexperienced officers
can be seriously injured if they don't know their business.
We knew little about these prisoners and two of them were
determined they would not return to Preston. Prank's
precautions paid off. I don't think his own prisoner
would have joined the boys, as he was a check writer and
these men seldom resort to violence.

On the other hand, my trusting the two boys at Gait by
taking off the handcuffs in spite of their intended
escape seemed to completely disarm their resentment. They
told me later they didn't think I meant it, and were so
amazed when the cuffs were removed, they decided not to
let me down. In all the years since that date I have
never found it necessary to place handcuffs on any prisoner
and I have consistently discouraged their use by others
working with me.

I asked the boys why they ran away. "There's nothing
at that dump but rough stuff," the Indian replied. "But I
knew I was wrong to go as soon as I crossed the road," he
added. "I'm willing now to go back and make it out the
right way."

The white boy said, "I couldn't get along with the cadet
captain. He was always riding me or trying to beat me up.
I guess you know, Mr. Scudder, it's not the supervisors who
run the companies, it's those tough thugs they select as
Captain or Lieutenant - any kid who can lick every other

Between The Dark - 100

boy in the company. I took all I could, and blew my top.
That's why I don't want to go back. I know they are laying
for rae and I'm afraid it only means more trouble."

I could sympathize with his position for I too had
witnessed the results of the vicious monitor system at
Preston and Monroe. It is my strong conviction that no
inmate in any institution, either for juveniles or adults,
should ever be n;iven power or authority over any other
inmate. To allow this is to court abuse.

The late Albert Deutsch,* in his book OUR REJECTED CHILDREN,
had this to say about such a system:

"Whenever the monitor system prevails
there inevitably arise "leaders" who
use their power - some are authorized
to beat up or otherwise discipline their
fellow inmates - to make flunkies of the
weaker boys, to extort bribes, to inflict
sadistic punishments and even to force
homosexual relationships."

While true, it is an understatement of the real abuse
allowed by the monitor system once it is approved by the
administration. It had been in existence at Preston for
fifty-five years.

•::-Our Rejected Children, Albert Deutsch
Little Brown and Company - Boston

Between The Dark - 101

Thirty- five years later, when Superintendent of the
California Institution for Men at Chino from 19^0 to 1955,
I received many graduates from the Preston School of Industry
who had been released on parole and who had then committed
serious offenses, which sent them to prison. I interviewed
many of these young men and they invariably told the same
story about the terrible abuses they had experienced from the
monitor system at Preston when they were there.

Here is a typical example of several unrehearsed tape
recordings of such interviews, which I took myself at the
Chino Reception Guidance Center in 19514- :

"How did you get along at Preston when
you were there?"

"Not too good at first until I became
a Cadet Captain."

"How did you get the job?"

"Well, we had a Cadet Captain named
Johnson who nobody liked. He was a
big bully and pushed us around. One
ni.^ht the supervisor in charge of the
company said to me, 'Jack, how would
you like to be Cadet Captain?'

"What's in it for me?' I says.

"I'll recommend you for extra credits
and that will get you out of here six
months to a year earlier."

"What do I have to do to get the job?"
"Lick Johnson," he says.

"I'd already sized Johnson up and thought
I could do it. The supervisor said he'd
go into the toilet and stay there. I
walked over to Johnson and said,

Between The Dark - 102

'Look, punk, I've taken all I'm goin'
to off you. I'm takin' over the company
right now.' He was bigger'n me, but I knew
I could lick him. We squared off and had
a hell of a fight. The other kids just
sat silent at their benches and watched.
I was doin1 okay and nearly had him when
suddenly from behind someone slipped a
towel around my neck, crossed it at the
back and two guys began pulling on each end
while Johnson pummeled me from the front.
They choked my wind off and I went out like
a light. When I come to, my eyes were black
and my face a pulp where Johnson had con
tinued beating me while his two lieutenants
held onto the towel.

"The supervisor came out of the toilet and gave
me hell for starting a fight, and I landed in
the jug. When I got out of that discipline
company I was returned to the same company
where Johnson was still Cadet Captain and
things weren't any better. That night the
supervisor called me up to his desk and said,
'If you want to be Captain, you still have to
lick Johnson, but wait until he's alone before
you try it again. '

"That six to twelve months off my time looked
too good for me to pass up. I waited a few
nights and when the right time came I jumped
him again and this time I won. The supervisor
transferred Johnson to another company as a
trouble maker and I took over as Captain."

"How many fights did you have to hold your job?"

"I averaged five a week, held the job ten months
and earned an eight-months-early release."

"Did that mean you had to lick every kid in the
company to hold your job?"

"Yes and no. You see, I didn't do it alone. I
remembered that towel and when some new kid in
the company would get smart and I thought he
might be after my job, I'd wait 'till the
supervisor went to the toilet (he always did
when I asked him to, 'cause he knew what was
cooking), then my two lieutenants would step
up behind the kid, flip the towel around his
throat and hold him while I beat him up. If

Between The Dark - 103

he tried to get rough, they cinched up on
the towel and he passed out the way I did.
It didn't take long that way and the other
kids didn't want that kind of treatment.
That's the only way they could do it."

"What do you think of such a system?"
"I think it1 a lousy and should be stopped before
some kid sets killed, but you see, I wanted to get out of
that hell-hole and was ready to do anything."

This same interview was repeated periodically over a
year, with former Preston inmates who were former Cadet
Captains. All told the same story but none had any
respect for the system and condemned it without reservations.

When I visited Preston in 1956 and sat briefly with
the classification committee, a lad about seventeen appeared,
insisting on a transfer to another company because he feared
for his life. Now he was afraid to talk and said he had
changed his mind and thought he should remain in the company.
After much questioning by the committee as to vrhy he had
changed his mind, he finally broke down and sobbed out his
story. He had asked for the transfer because he was afraid
of the homosexual Cadet Officer who had tried to trap him
in the toilet and had later threatened hin with a knife and
would use it on him if he asked for a transfer from the
company. He was assured he would be protected and the
transfer was put through although the boy was still in a state
fright. The Assistant Superintendent said he would investigate
the Cadet Officer and the case was closed. No one at the
meeting suggested the cadet system be thrown out.

Between The Dark -

There had been no whippings at Preston since the
announcement by Monte that they were out, but with the
Board of Trustees dabbling in the administration, giving
orders without first clearing with the Acting Superin
tendent, interviewing any boy who sent in a complaint
and accepting as truth the boy's statement, things were
in an uproar. With the place about to blow up, any
disciplinary action became a real problem. Some of these
boys had real cause for complaint, but others were quick
to take advantage of the unsettled conditions and stirred
up trouble.

Since the whippings were out, the only punishment left
seemed to be solitary confinement, and the discipline cells
were full to overflowing.

Part of the fault lay with Monte. Instead of standing
up to his board members and calling for a showdown, he
tried to smooth things over by endeavoring to please every
one. He was in a tough spot because he was still the
Acting Superintendent and that limited his authority.
There is no group in the world who will take advantage of
such a situation as quickly as inmates or prisoners.

Then too Monte was away from the institution a great
deal. He had just secured a divorce from his wife, and
that had stirred up hard feelings on both sides. This
happened while I was in the service, so I knew none of the
details and felt it was not any of my business.

Between The Dark -

The flu epidemic of 1919 was a killer and thousands of
people had died before it was checked. We had been very
lucky at Preston without a single case and had all worn
flu masks for weeks. One Sunday night, "Daddy Man," the
laundry supervisor, came back from a weekend in San Francisco
and brought with him the flu bug. He was the first to
topple over and they carried him to the hospital where he
nearly died. Soon the hospital was full of boys and officers
as the epidemic spread rapidly through the school. One of
the boys' cottages was taken over as an emergency hospital,
and soon more than half the officers and a third of the
boys were seriously ill.

When the head cook went down, Monte sent for me. Hadn't
I been a mess sergeant in the army, and handled the mess
for two-hundred and fifty men? Why couldn't I take over
both kitchens at once?

For the next three weeks I was in the kitchen from
6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The boys in the kitchens were fine and
worked like beavers. They knew we were all on the spot
and seemed to rise to the emergency. The cook had done a
good job of training and they knew what to do and did it
without a murmur. In fact they really enjoyed the responsi
bility which I had to give them. Not one got out of order,
and not a boy left his post. Several went down with the flu
as the epidemic spread, and we had to break in new boys to
take their places.

Becky was in Berkeley, as the baby was soon to arrive,

Between The Dark - 106

and I was glad to get her away from danger. Monte gave
me a room in his quarters so I could stay on the grounds
and not have to go back and forth to the town of lone
where the epidemic was also at its height.

By night I was fagged out and usually took a hot bath
as I came off duty. One evening I found myself locked
in the bathroom and couldn't make the key turn the lock.
After calling at intervals for an hour, Monte came in
downstairs and heard me. He rushed upstairs to see what
was wrong and couldn't find me. The bathroom was located
halfway between floors and he had passed right by the door.
When I called again he came back. I explained my predicament
as I passed the key over the high transom, and could hear him
chuckling as he tried to unlock the door from his side. When
I appeared with only a towel, he roared with laughter. By
that time I thought it was funny too.

I was still uncertain about ray job after July 1st, and
was studying to take the U.S. Civil Service Examination for
Vocational Advisor with the Federal Board for Vocational
Education, who were now retraining veterans of the late
war who had a service-connected disability. The examination
required a statement of qualifications and experience and
the writing of a thesis on vocational training.

I had received the necessary blanks and was now working
on the thesis, which had to be in Washington within the next
thirty days. I was only halfway through when I had landed

Between The Dark - 10?

in the kitchen, so each night after the hot bath, I
worked until midnight and frequently fell asleep over
ray writing.

There was great rejoicing when we finally got through
the flu epidemic without the loss of a single boy or .
officer. There had been no runaways during that period,
and the whole school seemed to have risen to the emergency,
a remarkable record because within a mile people were dying
like flies in the little town. I was pretty proud of our
lads in the school.

Word reached me that the 91st Division was returning
from France and that the 363rd Infantry would be demobilized
in San Francisco. Monte was going down to the city and I
begged a ride. I could also visit Becky over the weekend.

Next morning I stood in front of the Palace Hotel as
the Division marched up Market Street and my thoughts
went back to our Captain.

There had been quite a stir in Company M when Captain
Abercrombie arrived. He was a big fellow with a firm jaw
that meant business and we thought he was going to be a
tough one. His commands were given in a stern voice and he
put us through drill with an ease that was astonishing.
Under that rough exterior we found an officer with a real
heart and within a week every man in the company was for
the new Captain.

A veteran of the Spanish war, he had left his wife and
six children and a good law practice in Portland, Oregon,

Between The Dark - 108

Co "help make the world safe for democracy."

Often at five- thirty in the morning the Captain was
in the kitchen inquiring about the food. "How's the
coffee, Sergeant? Remember the men like it heavy," he
would say. Quietly he gave ordea and they were willingly
obeyed. If any discipline was administered it was done
quietly and with no one looking on. He was a prince of a
fellow and without question every man in the outfit would
follow him through hell.

For ten weeks we had been quarantined with the measles
and couldn't have any visitors in camp. It was almost time
for M Company to go overseas. The Captain sent for me and
his eyes shone as he said, "Sergeant, the men need those
musical instruments for a jazz band. Go into Tacoma and
see what you can pick up." As I started for the door, he
called out, "If you should see your wife while there, I
suppose you will remember we are in quarantine?" He grinned
as I saluted. . .and I spent the weekend with Becky.

The crowds were still gathering on Market Street as the
parade started, yet my thoughts wandered back to the Captain.

As we pulled into Portland, Oregon, after my discharge,
I had made for a phone booth. We could scarcely wait to
hear word from the outfit, so I called the Captain's house.
His sister answered the phone. No, Mrs. Abercrombie was
not there.

In answor to my ea jer inquiry, a lon^ pause followed :

Between The Dark - 109

then slowly the voice came. "Then you have not heard?
The Captain was killed in the Argonne."

Dazed and shaken, I stood in the tiny telephone booth,
ataring vacuously at the silent mouthpiece* . Our Captain
was dead? It just couldn't be true. The voice continued:
"Both legs blown off... died in a hospital. . .exposure and
loss of blood."

It all came back with a rush - those first months after
America had entered the war, Company M, the mess hall, the
tall fine- looking Captain, his interest in the men, the
oarly morning calls to the kitchen, the grin on his face
when he let me break quarantine. With kaleidoscopic
rapidity a hundred other things passed before my unseeing
eyes. And now he was gone. What about his wife and family?
How happy they had been whenever they visited campi

Slowly I became aware of something heavy in my hand.
It was the telephone receiver. . .dead, too. The party had
hung up long ago.

Butchered, his body shot to pieces, because he had dared
to go "over the top" with his men. That was all. There was
no other reason why they should kill him.

It seemed to me I couldn't leave that telephone booth.
He was alive to me when I entered. Now, when I went out, he
would be dead. It couldn't be I

Then I remembered that Becky was on the train, alone,
waiting for me. Perhaps I had missed itl I must hurry.

Between The Dark - 110

The air in the booth was fould and close as I placed the
useless receiver on the hook. Suddenly a white-hot wave
of anger and grief pounded my veins. My eyes were
blinded with tears, ray head splitting. Flinging back the
door, I pushed into the station. .. .the Captain was deadl

As I stumbled along toward the train, I found myself
repeating aloud what I had heard so often from the lips of
enlisted men: "I'd like to kill the god-damn bastards who
30 1 us into this war!"

Now the parade was underway, the bands playing, colors
flying, men, thousands of them, in full battle array, march
ing in close order. It was a thrilling sight for the thousands
lining the sidewalks and leaning from the windows above. What
a reception the city was giving them! Then someone shouted,
"Here they come, the 363rd J San Francisco's own!"

The crowd went wildraa people broke the lines and rushed
toward loved ones in the line of march. The parade was
clocked but no one seemed to mind.

Suddenly I spotted Company M and looked eagerly for my
friends, when someone shouted: "Hey gang - there's old
Sarge Macaroni, the belly robber. Let's kill the son of
a bitch."

With that I was quickly surrounded by a dozen men I
could scarcely recognize.' in their tin hats and full regalia.
It was a happy back-slapping hand-shaking hugging melee. It
was good to see them again, and safe home.

Between The Dark - 111

The marching had stopped and the crowds seemed to break
into bunches around each squad and their loved ones. There
were so many strange faces, and so many familiar faces
missing. I looked about for more of the old bunch.

"Where is Top Sergeant Hoffie?" I said, "and Tommy....
and Mike?"

Silence fell on that excited group for just a moment.
Then someone said, "Didn't you know Sarg? The first time
over the top Tommy got it between the eyes. Hoffie was
killed in the Ar^onne. He was a brave one. You knew about
the Captain, didn't you? He was a swell guy."

Hoffie, Tommy and I had been in Officers' Training Camp
before my feet gave out and we had all three been "benzined"
back to the Company because they said we lacked "physical
ascendency. "

"Tell me about Hoffie," I said.

"Well, when we were in the Argonne, after the Captain was
killed, we were ordered to advance in columns of squads
against machine-gun fire, and we were mowed down like wheat,
while air raids raked our line of march. It was terrible.
Some damn fool had blundered, and our Company was almost
wiped out. All the officers were killed and Hoffie took
command. He kept yelling, 'Stay with me, you guys, and I'll
get you out of this '...and by God he did. Two weeks later
he got his."

Out of our two-hundred and fifty men only a handful had
returned .

Between The Dark - 112

I'd heard enough. Much of the joy of this meeting
went out of me. I couldn't bring myself to attend the
363rd celebration that night. Instead, I spent the even
ing with Becky, and we talked about the Captain and the
others. But for the grace of God, I too would have been
missing.

At midnight I quickly called a taxi and took Becky to
the hospital, and at 3:30 a.m. Franklin Fairbanks was born,
a fine boy weighing nine pounds six ounces. Two days
later I returned to lone.

Between The Dork - 11?

"Courage brother, do not stumble,

Though the path be dark as night;

There's a star to guide the humble

Trust in God and do the right."

Norman Macleod

CHAPTER V

Three Mexican boys had taken off the morning I returned,
followed by two white boys that afternoon. Crews were
dispatched to various points to try and round them up.

Mexican or Negro boys rarely ran away, it was more
often the white boys who tried it, as they were in the
majority and were the closest watched. They ran for
various reasons: rebellion against incarceration, which of
course is natural to anyone; homesickness in strange
surroundings, regardless of the squalid conditions and
family turmoil back home; a sense of insecurity and too
often the result of rough treatment by personnel or other
boys at the school.

Between The Dark - lllj.

Two of us were dispatched the forty miles to Stockton
to check with the police departments enroute and shake
down the freights which passed slowly through Stockton on
the hour. It was a long two days and three nights.
Checking the flat cars was no problem, but to also watch
the rods under the trains on which tramps often rode was
more difficult.

On the third night I was squatted on the ground checking
the rods as a big freight pulled slowly past the station.
I was so absorbed that I failed to notice a second freight
bearing down from the opposite direction on the track
behind until it was upon me, traveling faster than the
other one and the suction from the two frightened me, so I
threw myself flat on my face until they passed.

We finally picked up the three Mexican boys as they
attempted to enter a box car in the freight yards, and
returned them to Preston. The two white boys had headed
for Silver .Lake "to hunt, fish, and hide out until the
heat was off." They had neither supplies nor guns, just a
wild kid scheme. When found near Jackson, the county seat,
they were ragged, scared, half- starved , and glad to be back.

Those were rough days at the school with boys running
right and left, and a feeling of uncertainty and turmoil
that infected the whole staff. P Company was filled, as
were the bear-like cages under the administration building.

Between The Dark - 115

The officers on F Company were mounted and carried juns.
The discipline was strict and the boys were on silence,
with no privileges and their attitudes were sullen,
cancerous and repressive. They worked as a discipline
squad in the old brick plant, in spite of the fact there
was no market for the bricks, however they continued to
make them, with $reat stacks of finished products fill
ing the yard.

One officer who supervised the work was on foot,
while those Mounted formed a large circle in the back
ground. The boys showed little fear of the guns or
guards because in spite of escapes no boy had ever been
shot. The supervisor on foot wore a big six shooter on
each hip. He was a large man with sharp beady eyes and
when giving instructions would ^lare at the boys trying
to stare them down. Some called him "Snake Eyes,"
others "Demon 3ile."

The first time I had noticed Bile was in the officers'
dining-room. He and his wife had just finished their
neal. Carefully he folded his napkin into a square, then
placing it in front of his mouth, took his fork and
slipping it behind the folded napkin, sat there picking
his teeth. The napkin was apparently his idea of good
table manners.

One day he had an argument with n lar^e boy on P
Company who refused to work in the hot sun. He tried to
stare the boy down. For a while they stood there with

Between The Dark - 116

necks extended like a couple of roosters about to clash.
All work suddenly stopped on the crew as the boy dove at
the officer's legs and together they rolled on the ground.
When they got up, the boy had the two guns and "Snake Eye"
was as white as a sheet, certain he was going to be killed.
Instead the lad stepped toward him with a sarcastic grin
and extending both hands said, "Here are your guns, Mr.
Bile, you may need them." It is to the officer's credit
that he decided his guns were useless and he never wore
them again.

The Board continued to interfere with the management
by issuing orders and counter orders, with the personnel
wondering who was in charge. Monte had remarried and
brought his new bride to the school. For some reason
this infuriated the members of the Board, although they
said nothing to him about their displeasure, they continued
making things unbearable for him.

Two weeks passed. Monte sent word he and his wife were
driving to San Francisco and asked me to join them. It
was a beautiful April day with green hills and vineyards
through Lodi and Stockton, but the roads were narrow and
poorly paved and we were tired when we arrived in San
Francisco, and put up at the Stewart Hotel. As we were
getting ready to go down for dinner the phone rang. It
was long distance from lone. Monte took it and there
was a long pause of silence. He glanced at his wife and

Between The Dark - 11?

then turned his eyes to me, his face was drawn and
white.

"How did it happen?" he said into the phone.
Another long pause and then, "We will be back late
tonight. Yes, phone the Board before this hits the papers."
With that he hung up and sat staring into space.

"What's happened?" his wife asked.

"A boy has been shot trying to escape from P Company and
is not expected to live," he replied. "You stay here a few
days until I get this straightened out. Ken, you better
come back with me. We will leave at once."

I went back to my room and in fifteen minutes we were
on our way. As we drove, Monte told me how it had
happened. A boy had hurled a rock at a mounted guard and
knocked him off his horse, and then three others made a
break for freedom. Two stopped with the first shot in the
air, but a third kept running toward the hills. When he
oame to the barbed -wire fence he placed his hands on a
post and leaped over. He was still in the air when he was
shot through the lung, and collapsed on the ground, the
guard claiming he had stumbled as he shot and never in
tended to hit him. "It looks to me like a pretty accurate
shot for a stumble," Monte said - "Of all times for this
to happen."

At 9:30 we stopped at a night cafe in Pairfield, tired
and hungry. Monte couldn't eat much, he was too nervous
and unstrung. I don't think he was afraid for his job,

Between The Dark - 113

but was genuinely concerned about the boy. While waiting
for his meal he went to the phone and called the school.
The detail officer answered and said the boy was still
alive, but very weak. Monte scarcely touched his food
and I seemed to have lost my appetite also.

As we approached the outskirts of Vacaville, a car
shot past us in the fog, traveling close to forty miles
an hour, more than cars could take in those days.

"What a fool to drive that fast in this pea soup,"
I said .

About three miles down the road we came upon the wreck.
It was the reckless driver who had struck a horse crossing
the road and had caught him amidships, tossing him over
the car, striking the windshield and tearing off the canvas
top. His wife was cut in the face with splintered glass
and the man was badly hurt. A baby in the woman's arras
had been covered with a blanket and escaped injury.

We stopped to give first aid and asked a passing
motorist to get help from Vacaville. The horse was not in
sight, apparently it had not been seriously hurt, and had
disappeared in the fog. As soon as the ambulance arrived
we hurried on toward lone.

When we arrived, Monte rushed up to the hospital on the
top floor of the administration building, but the boy had
died one hour before. Next day there was a coroner's in
quest regarding the death and it was declared "accidental."

Between The Dark - 119

That afternoon the Board arrived and held it's own
investigation. They declared the affair was inexcusable
and a reflection on the true conditions of the school.
Monte was sick about it, and frightened, but I felt he
was more genuinely upset over the boy.

I was called before the Board, as were several others
and encouraged to give damaging statements regarding the
treatment of the boys and the general conditions at the
school. I refused to enter the controversy as so many
of the things referred to had taken place while I was in
the army. Monte had always treated me well and I knew
nothing that went on during my absence. I could be loyal
at least to that extent even if I did not approve of some
of his policies and methods. I reminded them that it was
Monte who had shown the courage to act upon Dr. Brown's
recommendation to abolish the lash. When I made that
statement I saw the chairman sit up with alert, but he
made no comment.

There was great secrecy about board action. Rumors
flew that "Monte was to go... no, he was to stay and fight...
a new board was to be appointed by the Governor and the
old one thrown out." The boys heard these rumors also
and became more restless.

On top of all this the State Board of Charities and
Corrections came swooping down from Sacramento for a hearing.
These were politically appointed lay people who had an
over-all responsibility to the Governor for the administration

Between The Dark - 120

of child welfare in the state. They had been shocked
to learn that P Company guards carried guns and that
any boy could be shot.

These were five well-intentioned people who had
been to the school on many occasions and should have
been aware of conditions. They had apparently never
visited the discipline quarters, and as in the case with
most such boards, knew little about the school except
what they were told and shown during those visits. Such
visits usually were limited to a report from the Superin
tendent, a hasty tour of the institution, followed by a
fine dinner, after which they would leave.

Now they were greatly concerned with what had happened
and held an investigation of their own. Their excitement
mounted as they interviewed many boys and members of the
personnel, for the stories were conflicting and it was
difficult for them to get a true picture of what was
going on.

The secretary was a tall thin spinster, a trained
social worker who took shorthand notes of everything that
was said, she sat in on all interviews and followed
members around as they toured the grounds. She wore her
glasses well down on her nose and gave the impression she
was smelling out anything she could find.

It was soon apparent these people knew little about
running an institution for delinquent boys between 16
and 21 years of age.

Between The Dark - 121

One morning at eight they appeared on the detail
grounds where the boys were to be dispatched to the
different shops and crews. As the companies arrived and
stood in silent formation rank upon rank, three of the
women began interviewing boys and calling them out of the
lines in little groups. The detail officer was becoming
impatient. He had 500 boys and many personnel to release
to their assignments for the day, and had not been in
formed of the Board's intention to hold these interviews,
of all places, on the detail grounds. Such a procedure
could only result in confusion, as the boys craned their
necks in the direction of the women, while some of them
left their places in the ranks in order to see better.

The detail officer blew his whistle for silence and
the group started to quiet down, when around the corner
of the administration building rushed the secretary. She
was late and her glasses had slipped again as she held
her notebook extended in one hand in in the other a long
yellow pencil. As she ran up to the nearest group of
boys being interviewed, I heard one older boy in the ranks
remark, "Hey gang, here comes ' Anything-dirty-tell-raef . "
Even some of the personnel had to laugh. Such procedure
only made matters worse and after several days they re
turned to Sacramento to prepare a report to the Governor
and Board of Trustees.

Between The Dark - 122

As escapes. continued and the cells remaind full, it
became increasingly difficult to maintain discipline,
and old-timers again clamored for a return of the lash.
They longed for the good old days when discipline ruled
with an iron hand. "What's this place coming to? It
used to be we got some respect from these bastards, but
now... one boy calls me a rubber-necked son-of-a-bitch,
and I can't do nothing to him."

Another officer said, "Look at the way these kids are
running. Why? 'Cause we can't use the lash. A couple
of good 'sappings' would slow 'em up. If someone don't
stop it, there won't be no boys left and we'll all lose
our jobs."

Monte had been working on his budget for the next year.
One day, shortly after the investigation, he asked me to
have lunch and accompany him to Sacramento. I gathered
it had something to do with the State Board of Control. He
was to be gone one night and I was to drive the car back.

I had never driven a Buick, in fact the only car I had
ever driven was our little Saxon roadster. Becky had named
it "Tiddle de Winks" and that described it perfectly. The
first time I had driven it I landed on the sidewalk in
Taooma. Monte said not to worry, he would show me how to
handle the Buick.

On the way I studied the chuck holes and rough roads
as he drove, and thought of the return trip alone over
these old gold fields. Fortunately it had not rained for

Between The Dark - 123

some time. We carefully crossed the ditch where the
business manager had tried to jump the car across, only
to knock out the nurse instead and when we hit the
paved road north of Gait, I took over.

We arrived in Sacramento about three o'clock and
Monte asked me to drive to the Sacramento river boat to
place his wife aboard, as she was going to San Francisco.
He carried her baggage up the gang plank and soon returned
to the car. I was about to open the door for him when he
stopped and extended his hand.

"Ken," be said, "I'm through. I can't take it any more.
Here are the keys to the institution, go on back. You
are in charge." Then still holding my hand in a firm
grasp, he added, "The Board told me of your loyalty to me.
Thanks," - and with that he returned up the gaig plank and
disappeared in the cabin. The whistle blew as the lines
were cast off and the big stern-wheeler moved slowly down
stream and disappeared around the bend.

I stood there stunned and speechless. Then it dawned
on me what had happened.- They were gone - Monte had
skipped. What was I to do? Twenty-eight years old, in
experienced, handed a sack of cats on a clothes line and
expected to tame them.

I thought of the Chairman of the Board whose constant
complaining had made it impossible for Monte and tried
to get him on the phone, but his secretary said he was out
and would not be back that afternoon. When I came out of

Between The Dark - 12i|.

the phone booth I felt my knees were about to buckle as I
got back in the car and headed slowly for lone.

At seven- thirty, as I drove up to our little house on
the hill, Becky greeted me, her eyes wide open when she
saw the car. When I kissed her, she said, "What happened?"

"Get the baby and a few night things," I said. "Monte
has skipped and I'm in charge. We are spending the night
at the school until I can get hold of someone to find out
what to do." As we drove along I filled her in on the
details. "It will only be a day or two, I'm sure," I
said. "The Board will meet and we can then be back in
town. "

Late that evening I finally reached the Chairman at
his home in Sacramento, and told him what had happened.
Instead of being concerned, his voice sounded elated.

When I asked for instructions he said, "Stay where
you are, it's all right."

"Will you be up in the morning?" I asked.

"No," he replied, "We can't have a Board Meeting for
two weeks," and he hung up.

There were five board members: an attorney, the
Chairman; a tailor; and a minister; - the other two
rarely attended board meetings and I had never met them.

Next morning I placed an announcement on the bulletin
board that Monte had left and I was in charge. Word had
already spread so I guess they knew all about it.

Most of the officers were as surprised as I was, and
sensing my predicament, jumped in to help. The detail

Between The Dark - 125

officer expressed his desire to follow any policy I might
suggest. I had none so far except fair play and
elimination of brutality.

My first day in charge started with a bang. The head
cook got drunk on vanilla extract and bay rum and fell down
a flight of stairs. When I arrived the officers and boys
were carrying him up the stairs to take him to the
hospital. He had a bad scalp wound and was bleeding
profusely, but still conscious.

"Sorry, Mr. Scuter - my foot mus a slip. Hones1 I nev'
ha1 a drop... I..." but before he could finish he was out
like a light.

In spite of the fact that he was a good cook, this
was the third time he had been drunk on the job and as
soon as he was properly cared for, I had to let him go.

Breakfast that morning was late and poorly prepared,
but the boy cooks had done their best and again rose to
the emergency until the new cook arrived.

We had moved into Monte 's apartment in the administration
building, very spacious and comfortable quarters. Pull
maintenance was allowed for the Superintendent and family
and we had a housekeeper who was the sister-in-law of the
former Superintendent, a fine woman and an excellent cook.

Self-government had ended with the tobacco episode in
the tower, but the vicious monitor system still prevailed

Between The Dark - 126

with cadet officers exercising power over weaker boys and
the company officer standing back, allowing the monitor
to administer discipline he himself would not dare to
give. It was difficult to discover this and to be able
to take action against it.

Whenever I entered a company quarters the officer
would receive me with the assurance everything was under
control. The boys were on silence most of the time, as
their noisy conversation would disturb the officer who
was required to put in a twelve-hour day with meager pay
and a heavy strain on nerves. The boys just looked at
me. They appeared a beaten lot. What could we do about
it?

Then there was the "credit" system, one of the most
senseless systems ever devised and open to frightful
abuse. The credit system naively assumed that all boys
at Preston were alike and therefore should be treated in
the same way. Each boy was informed on arrival that he
would be required to earn 5,000 credits for good behavior
and strict application to work before he could be released
on parole or returned to his home. He could earn these
credits at the rate of 180 each month, if his conduct
was considered satisfactory, and thus would be released
in twenty-seven months. As far as I could determine its
only use was to place in the hands of the officers a power-

Between The Dark - 12?

ful whip over each boy, which tended to make of him a
conforming or fawning individual, afraid to move for fear
he would lose some credits and extend his stay.

At the close of each month the Company Officer sub
mitted his report on each boy, recommending either for
or against the granting of 180 credits. If the boy had
violated any of the rules or had given the officer any
trouble during the month, the credits in part or in whole
could be disallowed. With the type of officers employed
and the small wage paid, this was a terrifying weapon to
place in their hands. It was as though each boy was re
quired to swallow each month 180 little white pills in
order to bring about his rehabilitation at the end of
twenty- seven months.

My arguments against the credit system were met by
staunch support for the system. "It gives the boys an
incentive. They liked it because they were always eager
to discover each month how many they had gained or lost."
It was also a great convenience to the personnel. When
ever a boy approached one of the administration officials
with the question, "Mr. Jackson, when am I going home?"
he always had an answer for the lad.

"How many credits have you earned, my boy?"

"Three thousand, sir."

"Well then, you know the system; as soon as you have
earned 5000 you can go home."

Between The Dark - 128

Some of these people fairly worshipped this system.
"It is unique - nothing like it anywhere." At least
that part was true. Many times I heard officers roar at
a boy for some minor offense, "That will cost you 180
credits," when he could have said 10 with greater results,
but under the system, the officer was always right and
in fact must be backed up, right or wrong. This is one
of the curses of institutional life where ignorant un
trained officers, who have never before experienced the
exercising of power over others, suddenly find almost
unlimited power placed in their hands. It is not surpris
ing that it was so often abused.

These officers could also place a boy in the cells on
restricted diet by reporting his case to the detail
officer who also felt he must back up his men regardless
of the offense charge.

When the offender stood in front of the detail officer
he was sharply questioned. If he denied the charge or
tried to explain, he was usually cut short with, "Well,
here is the written report from the officer. It must be
true or he would not have sent it in." Then, "Eight to
twelve days in the cells." There was no appeal and as
a result the cells were always full.

The two weeks passed and there was no board meeting,
nor had I heard any word from the Chairman.

Up at 5s30 I checked into the kitchen to see about the
mess. Detail at 8:00 with assignment of boys to the shops,

Between The Dark - 129

school and maintenance work. This was followed by the
necessary office routine of the day and after dinner a
tour through the dormitories with the night watch. At
nine I was back in our apartment. I couldn't keep this
pace up indefinitely, but it seemed necessary for a time
to get hold of the situation, at least I knew what was
going on, and found so many places that needed patching.

I interviewed boys in the cells, as some had been there
a long time without a visit from the administration and
released several to return to their companies. Most of
them were there for smoking. The trouble was not so
much with the boys; they didn't want trouble, they wanted
to get out and go home. It was more often a personality
clash with the officers whose nerves were on edge most of
the time. Some were afraid of the boys, and a few had
good reasons to be.

There were other stupid forms of discipline. Standing
on "guard line" required the offender to remain rigidly
at attention on a line marked on the floor or in the dirt
on the play field. He looked straight ahead and could
neither' speak nor move until told to by the officer. This
lasted from thirty minutes to several hours, depending on
the officer and the offense.

The "silence bench" was another favorite method of
disciplining a boy. He was required to sit on a bench in
silence and observe the games in which he could not partici-

Between The Dark - 130

pate. This could go on for days, as no one even
questioned the officer or gave him instruction regarding
limits and abuse.

There were many fine officers at Preston who
understood boys, enjoyed their work and really tried to
help these lads. The poor officers, however, made it
very difficult for the conscientious officers to secure
the desired results, and many of them became discouraged
and left.

Another problem was a shortage of water. This was
really serious for we never knew when it would be shut
off. The water for cooking and drinking was filtered,
but the rest was copper-colored with a reddish silt.
When one took a bath one came out of the tub with a
Hollywood tan, which immediately wiped off on the towel.
The swimming pool for the boys was a dirty mud -hole and
a wonder someone didn't come down with polio.

Three weeks after Monte left^ the Board held a meeting
and I was officially appointed Acting Superintendent at
$300 a month, plus maintenance for self and family until
a permanent Superintendent could be secured. Quite a
jump in those days from $125 a month, and I could surely
use it to help pay our debts acquired during the war.

Between The Dark - 131

"Seal up a small tea kettle,
place it over a flame
and it will wreck a house.
But let the powerful vapor
escape and the kettle sings.

Anon.

CHAPTER VI

Things started out well, the three active board
members were cordial and cooperative and expressed
satisfaction over the change. The Chairman and his wife
spent a great deal of time at the institution. I'm sure
his intentions were sincere and that he wanted to know
at first-hand more about the school. Gradually, however,
I began to receive the impression that since he had
suggested my temporary appointment to the board, ttet he
now looked upon me as his fair-haired boy who would
without question carry out his every suggestion. Within
two weeks he began issuing orders not cleared with me,
which soon resulted in confusion. Perhaps this assumed
authority went to his head. At any rate, I began to
realize some of the problems Monte had been up against.

Between The Dark - 132

It was a relief to me when the Board decided to meet
each week for a time "to help with the re- organization."
They would arrive in the early afternoon, but instead of
getting down to business they fooled around for hours,
joking and visiting and it was usually nine o'clock in
the evening before they convened their meeting. The
sessions would run until one in the morning, after which
they expected a midnight supper and it had to be good.
We didn't feel right to arouse the housekeeper at that
hour, so Becky stayed up and took charge. It was two
o'clock before they broke up and then expected a late
breakfast at ten.

Soon I realized that whenever the Board was present,
the place was in a turmoil. In the evenings before the
Board meeting, the Chairman and his wife, who had no
children of their own, liked to visit the dormitories for
the younger boys sixteen and seventeen. Some were
large lads who knew their way around. Before they reached
the dorms, the boys were in bed and the night Supervisor
in charge. To have a woman enter at that time in itself
caused a stir.

Here they seemed to seek out complaints and accepted
the most outlandish stories told by some of these wise
kids who looked at them with wide open innocent eyes
"that just couldn't lie.... it must be true, what he told
me." And when some attractive little fellow made a real
impression, the woman with the best of intentions

Between The Dark - 133

impulsively kissed him goodnight and tucked him in. This
gave the night Supervisor concern because of the wise
cracks made by other boys behind her back. These became
quite general when the couple left with boys calling out
"Harry got kissed, Harry got kissed I Moms tucked the
little angel in bed for the night. Good night, Harry
darlingl" It was sometime before order was restored.

Then we began to have complaints about the food
served at our table. The Chairman's wife was quite
dissatisfied and outspoken. If she didn't like what was
served, no matter who was present, she would say,
"Chicken again? Why can't we have turkey?" It became
quite embarrassing to all present, but she didn't seem
to notice.

Our waiter was paroled and a colored boy was assigned
to take his place. The lad was nervous; this was his
first day and he tried so hard to please.

The Chairman ordered fried eggs and bacon for break
fast. In taking the other orders, the boy became confused
and brought him two beautifully poached eggs on toast
with bacon.

"I ordered fried eggs," he said. The boy was shaking
in his shoes. I smiled at him and shook my head and he
left the room, as I didn't think it mattered. But the
Chairman was angry and although he didn't ask for a change,
he wouldn't eat the eggs and sulked through breakfast.
Guess I muffed that time.

Between The Dark - 13lj.

That Sunday evening the first explosion occurred.
They didn't show up for dinner that night. When they
came in at nine o'clock, the Chairman said, "We had
dinner at L. Cottage tonight with the house parents
and the boys. The food was better than at your table.
I believe we will eat there after this." I looked him
in the eye and said, "I think that would be a splendid
idea." I could have bitten my tongue off, but it was
too late. His face turned white as we stood there
glaring at each other. Gradually the color returned
to his face and I saw a friendly glint in his eye as
suddenly he laughed and slapping me on the back saying,
"Ken, that was a good comeback. I guess I had it com
ing." Placing his arm around my shoulders, we turned
and entered the apartment. Two men who had begun to
understand each other a little better.

Another board member sent his whole family up for
a free two-weeks vacation on the state. Apparently
we were expected to run a resort hotel. They too
became quite choosy about food and service, but they
were nice about it. During the four months I was in
charge, Becky and I had not more than six meals alone,
there was always someone present.

The first month we approved thirty boys for parole.
I had often wondered how these young men felt when they
were about to be released. Why not ask them to express

Between The Dark - 135

their feelings about the treatment they had received and
what suggestions they might make to improve conditions at
the school. The parole officer had suggested a parole
dinner in the officers' dining room. Instead, we decided
to hold it in our apartment, perhaps the boys would be
more apt to talk.

We invited the parole officer and his wife, as well as
the board members, but the latter declined because of other
plans. The long table was beautiful with flowers and one
of the early phonographs played aoft dinner music in the
background. The boys were in civilian clothes and looked
quite handsome but ill at ease. The parole officer and
his wife were at one end of the table and Becky and I at
the other. As soon as the meal was under way, the boys
relaxed and began to laugh and converse with each other.
Toward the close of the meal the Chairman of the Board
arrived with his wife and we made room for them at the
table. I was glad they had come. The parole officer
said a few words of encouragement and then asked me to
speak.

I told the boys why we had called them together. First,
we wanted to commend them for their good efforts while at
the school and to wish them well. "The real purpose, how
ever, was to give you a chance to discuss your treatment
while here and to suggest ways we might improve conditions
at the school for those boys who will take your places."
Then I added, "You have been approved for release, and I

Between The Dark - 136

can assure you tbat nothing you say here tonight will in
any way affect that release, so let's be frank with each
other."

This was met with silence on the part of the group as
they glanced at each other across the table and then
dropped their eyes. Finally one boy spoke up.

"Well, there's one guy I liked in this place, Mr. Scudder,
and that's old Cap. Harris. He was the first officer I met
and I'll never forget his kindness. He dressed us in and
gave us our outfits and some good advice." There was a
pause but I spotted general agreement up and down the table
as heads nodded approval.

"He said to me," the boy continued, ,"' Look, son, I know
you didn' t want to come here and part of this is going to be
rough. We didn't have anything to do with you're being sent
to Preston. You got yourself into this trouble. Take a
little tip from a friend. Don't figure on leaving because
then you'll really mess things up. I've been here since
this institution opened twenty-five years ago and that's a
long time. I have known a lot of boys. Most of them get
through here without trouble. You can be one of them.
There are others who get tough and then it really becomes
tough for them.1"1

The boy stopped for a moment and then added, "He said
something else, Mr. Scudder, I never forgot. 'Son,1 he
said, 'If the going gets rough, you look me up.' And I
often did. He'd always listen, and then cracked a little

Between The Dark - 137

joke or told a funny story, and I always felt better.
He never preached, he just told ya. I wish there was
more guys like Cap around this place."

As he took his seat the boys gave him a big hand and
that seemed to set them off. Many good suggestions were
made that night. They were both pertinent and constructive.
Finally, as they left to return to quarters there was a
warm return grip to the handshakes.

The Chairman of the Board said, "I'm sure glad we came.
That was a fine meeting. What that boy said about Cap
Harris really touched me." "Yes," I replied, "we should
spend more time with these boys when they first arrive,
but it takes the right kind of people to do it."

Summers at lone are very warm, but in spite of the heat
we decided to speed up the recreation activities and keep
the boys busy during their leisure hours. Monte had hired
a young man as athletic director just before he left and
the new man had organized many new activities.

Instead of the useless military drill in hot uniforms,
the boys were now issued track suits and tennis shoes for
field events. We also started classes in boxing, wrestling,
and weight lifting for some of the rougher boys who seemed
to need that type of activity to hold their interests.

Many so-called delinquents have never learned how to
play. Once their interest is aroused and they find that
they too can perform with credit, they become good athletes

Between The Dark - 138

and also acquire habits of good sportsmanship and fair
play. A we 11- organized recreational program plays an
important part in the process of rehabilitation. Now
in place of the guard line and the silent bench, these
same boys who were formerly always in trouble were en
joying the fruits of good conduct and an inner sense of
belonging and of acceptance by the group. There was
definitely a decline of petty disciplinary cases in the
school and for the first time since I had been at Preston
we sensed the beginnings of an encouraging group spirit,
due in large measure to the efforts of the director of
recreation.

Company teams were organized and as the intramural
competition increased, even the officers became infected
and found it was much easier to handle their groups than
before. We also noticed less tension in the dormitories
at night. The fourth of July was to be our first big
field meet, to be topped off in the afternoon with a
baseball game between Preston and the boys from the
Wbittier State School in Southern California.

There was great excitement in the air, for the Whittier
team enjoyed a great reputation and had not been defeated.
Superintendent Pred C. Nellis was bringing his team by
motor caravan the 500 miles to Preston and would arrive
the morning of the Fourth. Preston's first team had
practiced for weeks and felt they were red hot for the
game.

Between The Dark - 139

The weather had been scorching for days, but the
Fourth of July dawned cool and clear, a perfect setup
for a field meet, and the whole school was in attendance.
The detail officer had nearly blown his top when I
suggested he release the boys from P Company to see the
fun. "You mean, turn these escapees and discipline
cases loose to mingle with the boys?" he asked. "No,
let them sit off in a separate group," I replied.
"Don't you think the officers would like to see the meet
too?" That seemed to soften it, and he reluctantly
nodded approval.

Several larger boys had been selected to help run off
the events. The games were well organized and more than
a hundred contestants had signed up. After the races,
boxing and tug-of-war, came the greased pig. Thirty boys
entered this event and they looked like a small army
compared to the young pig who was to be their victim.
He was in a crate and had been thoroughly smeared with
axle grease used for the farm wagons. They let him out
in the center of the field and removed the crate to the
side lines. When the starter gave the signal, the pig
didn't like the looks of that hord descending upon him
and started for parts unknown. One boy shot out ahead
and with a flying tackle had the pig in his arms, but as
they rolled over the pig popped out like a cork and
started running agin. Soon he was overtaken and eight
kids piled on him, each struggling to be the victor.

Between The Dark - ll|.0

When the heap was unscrambled one boy had him securely
in his arras and was declared winner. As he turned to
the bleachers he was greeted with a roar of laughter.
That boy was smeared with black axle grease from head to
toe. Even his face was black.

But the event that caused the greatest sensation was
the greased horizontal pole on legs. This was a smooth
highly polished log, about six feet in length and eight
inches in diameter. It too was heavily greased and
placed in the centar of the field. There had been a lot
of questions about this event because no one had ever
seen it.

In spite of the mystery, twenty boys had signed up.
The coach picked up his megaphone and in a loud voice that
reached the bleachers described the rules for the event.

Two contestants were to mount the log and face each
other, about two feet apart. Each would be given a
pillow and at the signal would knock his opponent off the
log. The one who could knock over five opponents was
champion. A murmur of disappointment went through the
crowd. Was that all? Why, anyone could do that. Now
the first two boys were climbing cautiously aboard. As
each reached for a pillow they teetered precariously on
the greasy pole. At the signal each struck the other on
the right side of the head and like a couple of spent
pinwheels they spun in opposite directions and landed on
the ground. A roar went up from the bleachers. Say, this
was going to be good I

Between The Dark - lij.1

One boy knocked two off, but the third contestant got
him in return. Now there were many of the best athletes
who wanted to take a try. Someone in the bleachers
shouted, "Let the 'Chief try it." This was immediately
taken up in a chant of "Chief I Chief! Chief I"

"Chief" was a full-blooded Klamath Indian from the
reservation. He was twenty years old and was committed
for assault when drunk. He had never been in trouble
before and this was his first taste of loss of freedom
and he didn't like it. He was a well-built boy, but
sullen and uncooperative and had been in and out of F
Company for fighting. On the Klamath River he had been a
trapper and guide. At Preston he was a lost soul thrown into
a strange environment he couldn't understand and he rebelled.
So far no one had been able to reach him.

As the cry "Chief" continued he shook his head. Didn't
they know he was in F Company and could not compete? I
nodded to the detail officer to release him. Slowly the
boy arose, and as he reluctantly entered the field, a
shout went up from the crowd. Several boys, as big as the
Chief, were standing in line for a chance for the five-
dollar prize to be placed on the books for the champion.

The Chief was not to be hurried. He walked all around
this strange horse, then placed his hand on the greasy
log and with a quick leap landed astride. Another boy of
equal size and strength soon faced him. It was apparent
that both boys were right handed as they accepted the

Between The Dark - Il\2

pillows. The Chief quickly shifted his to his left hand.
The wily Indian had figured out a plan. When the signal
was given the white boy struck with all his strength,
but the Chief leaned back so the blow lost most of its
force, at the same time striking the white boy on the
right side of his head and spun him to the ground.

The next boy up was left-handed, so the Chief shifted
his pillow to his right hand and the same thing happened.
When he had unseated his five victims he calmly slipped
off the pole. But the bleacher crow cried for more.
"How many can you take?" they shouted. When he had
taken care of eleven boys the coach declared him "Special
Champion" and raised the prize to six dollars.

Just then the Whittier baseball caravan drove onto
the grounds and the Preston boys gave them a great welcome.
That afternoon the game was a close one, six to six in
the eighth inning with both teams playing beautiful ball.
Preston struck out in the first half of the ninth and a
Whittier boy batted out a home run to win the game.

That evening both teams enjoyed a fried rabbit dinner
in the personnel dining-room, as well as the boys who
helped put on the field-day program.

That night I had a long talk with Nellis, as we walked
about the grounds. He was a tall well-built handsome man
with a warm personality and a friendly smile. He had
been a member of the State Board of Control, an engineer
by profession, and had been sent to Whittier following a

Between The Dark - l[j.3

riot to find out what was wrong with the school. He
found a terrible condition. Boys of eight, nine and ten
were mixed with those of eighteen, nineteen and twenty, as
the age range was 8 to 21; and impossible mixture of popu
lation.

Untrained, underpaid politically appointed guards,
brutal inhumane treatment, the cat-o-nine tails and the
cruel Oregon Boat weighing ten pounds welded to the boy's
ankle to keep him from running away. Girls were also at
Whittier, and were kept in a separate place on the far
end of the grounds.

Nellis told me of the things he had found, unspeakable
conditions that made him ill. His report to the Governor
and to the Board of Control was a sensation and was re
ceived by the public as a scandal. The Governor agreed
with the Board that Nellis was the only person who could
straighten the place out, and after many trying years he
had succeeded in making an outstanding school for boys out
of a disgraceful reformatory. I told him of conditions
at Preston. He knew more about the place than I had
realized.

"It's going to be tough," he said. Then turning to me,
he asked straight out, "What are your plans? Do you ex
pect to be appointed Superintendent?"

"No," I replied. "Not because its going to be rough,
but I really don't feel I'm ready for this, and I'm hop-

Between The Dark - li|ij.

ing they soon get someone to take charge." Later I
discovered the Board has asked Nellis to recommend
someone and apparently that walk around the grounds that
night had given him a ohance to sound me out.

Mr. Nellis invited the Board to a conference at the
Whittier State School. They would take their wives and
I was to go too. Rich, the mechanic, drove the Velie
with the attorney and the tailor and their wives. I
drove the Buick and had the rector and his family and
the Business Manager who was also Secretary of the Board.
The four hundred and eight miles to Whittier can now be
made on our present highways in about nine hours. It
took us three days and two nights over terrible roads
with frequent blow-outs to make the trip - a tedious,
dirty, uncomfortable ride. In both cars there was much
crabbing during the trip.

Rich was a good mechanic, but an irratic driver and
when we passed cars on the narrow road he failed to slow
down and his rear wheels would often swerve violently
onto the road shoulders, tossing the occupants about.
This always evoked screams of fright from the Chairman's
wife in the back seat, followed by a general calling
down each time it occurred. Poor Rich was exhausted be
fore we arrived.

In my oar the rector had brought their little daughter.
About every ten minutes the girl became restless, as she
sat between her parents on the back seat, and would slide

Between The Dark -

off and jump about, with the mother calling out,
"Margaret Ruth, get off my feet." I'm sure I heard that
pitiful cry at least £?6 times before we arrived. It
later became a by- word in our family for years. When
ever Becky or I became distrubed about something, we
would call out, "Margaret Ruth, get off my feet." It
always made us feel better.

It was a relief when we hit the roadsign Los Angeles
<3ity limits. But we were still far from civilization
as we drove through miles and miles of hills and oaks
to the outskirts of Hollywood, on through the budding
City of the Angels and another twenty miles to Whittier.

The next two days were extremely interesting as we
discussed problems of administration and observed an
institution in action. Here was a fine school. Beauti
ful grounds, many old antiquated buildings, some new ones,
but a splendid spirit permeated the place. This was due
to the presence of a fine relationship and understanding
between the boys and the Superintendent. Yes, he really
had made a fine school out of a hard-boiled reformatory
of many dark yesterdays.

The tedious trip back was uneventful except that on
the last evening enroute the Chairman of the Board asked
me if I would accept the appointment of Superintendent
if it was offered. I thought a moment.

"I have enjoyed these four months, even though they
have been rough," I said, "The job has a great challenge
and appeals to me, but I honestly feel I am not ready for

Between The Dark - llj.6

it, and would prefer that you find someone else."

"Would you carry on for another six months?" he asked.

"No, I think not. It would be better for you to find
a suitable Superintendent as soon as possible so the staff
and boys can settle down. I'll stay until you get someone."

When we returned, the school was quiet on the surface,
but was still seething underneath. Becky handed me a
letter from the Federal Board for Vocational Education,
notifying me that I had passed the Civil Service examin
ation and my name was on the eligible list for appoint
ment as Vocational Advisor, and asked when I could report
for duty. Now I had "an anchor to windward."

The State Board of Charities and Corrections had
completed their report and met with the trustees to dis
cuss it at the school. The report was a rough inditeraent
and contained many recommendations. Most of them were
sound.

They wanted a permanent Superintendent appointed
immediately and were sure they had found the man. He
was then a successful probation officer in San Francisco
and was interested in the job. I thought he would make
a good Superintendent. The Board was not to be rushed,
however, but agreed to give it careful consideration.
It was near midnight when they adjourned.

Later I learned that the tailor was opposed to the
appointment of the probation officer and wanted to bring

Between The Dark - llj.7

back the first Superintendent who had opened the school
twenty-five years before and who had "never experienced
any trouble in handling the boys." The attorney and
the rector were skeptical, but the tailor insisted that
they at least call him for an interview, and they agreed.

He arrived a week later, although I had not been told
of his coming. He was closeted with the Board for two
hours and when they adjourned for dinner I met him for
tb,e first time. To my surprise Becky knew him. He had
been Superintendent of their Sunday School and his
youngest daughter was in her class.

He was a short stocky man, with curly hair and wore a
pair of pinch-nez glasses with a black ribbon that went
back of one ear and fastened in his vest. He greeted
her with his effervescent nature and held out a friendly
hand to me. I liked the man.

Nothing was said about the interview and as soon as
dinner was over he requested that someone drive him to
Stockton so he could take the train to the city. I agreed
to take him in the old model T Ford, the only car then
available.

He was quite talkative as we rode along, and sounded me
out about the self-government. I told him its history and
was relieved when he said he didn't believe in it either;
it was too open to abuse. He was very cordial and said
he hoped I'd stay on as Psychologist and Vocational Director,

Between The Dark - 114.8

He didn't mention his appointment; perhaps he thought I
knew. At any rate he chuckled over the prospect as he
said, "This is going to be the easiest job I ever tackled,
You see, I'll just take up where I left off twenty- five
years ago."

He told me how he had opened the school in the early
nineties by taking seven younger boys out of San Quentin.
"It was just like a family and we all ate at the same
table," Later, as committments came from the courts, the
little group of seven was expanded to fifty. The fact
that there were now five hundred boys didn't seem to
present any difficulties to him. "It will be a cinch,"
he said .

The next morning the Board had another closed meeting.
While still in session the Chairman came into my office
and informed me they had decided to dismiss the detail
officer because they thought he locked up too many boys
and still wanted a return of the lash. He implied that
the new Superintendent was in accord, but wanted me to do
the dismissing. I asked him if they had talked with the
officer and he said, "No. We want you to dismiss him."
I said, "Won't you give him a chance to defend himself?
He's been here a long time." "That is not necessary." he
replied.

As he turned to go, I said - "Wait a moment. You are
giving me an order to dismiss a man without a hearing. I
don't like it. I will only tell the man that your Board

Between The Dark - lij.9

has instructed me to notify him of his dismissal, but
that I had not been consulted and it was not my action."
Without further comment he turned and left the room.
What a yellow-bellied way to do business, I thought.

When I called in the detail officer he turned white
with the news. It was sometime before he spoke.

"What are the charges?" he said. When I told him of
my conversation with the Chairman his face flushed with
justifiable anger.

"If I were you, Prank," I said, "I'd cross the hall
and knock hard on that door, open it and demand a hear
ing. I think you'll get one."

"Thanks," he said, and did so. The Board was so
startled when he entered they asked him to sit down and
heard his statement. But it was no use for they remained
adamant and he left the next day. They did tell him the
new Superintendent didn't want him.

I had felt he was tempermentally unsuited for the job,
as he was extremely nervous and quick to anger and seemed
to feel that whenever a boy broke the rules or ran away
it was a reflection on himself, and he had become
punishment- happy. He was not entirely to blame; it was
the system. At least he had remained loyal to whoever
was in charge and had tried his best to cooperate with
me even though it had gone against the grain on many
occasions.

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He oame in to say goodbye before he left and thanked
me for my efforts in his behalf. "By the way," he said,
as he started out the door, "I was pretty hot that day
you let the "Chief" out of P Company to enter that con
test. But something's happened to that kid. He's
back in his company, has enrolled in school, so he can
learn to read and write, and is out for athletics,
and he hasn't had a fight." He grinned and was gone.
He had a lot of good traits and with some in-service
training and help, could have overcome much of his
difficulty.

Between The Dark -

"Here is another bead on
the string of confusions."

William E. Woodward

CHAPTER VII

For the next three weeks I was still in charge
but had very little authority, and no one knew the
exact date the new Superintendent would arrive. It
was to be sometime in September. The personnel
bitterly resented the abrupt dismissal of the detail
officer, and began to speculate among themselves who
would be next.

I appointed the blacksmith as acting detail officer
until the new man could take over. He was a large,
quiet, powerful person, very popular with the boys
and staff. He handled his crew in the shop with a
firm hand, but had their respect because he was fair.

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Rarely did be find it necessary to report a boy for
disciplinary action. Then too he was one of the few
old-timers who had despised the lash. We had
discussed it one morning when I had stopped in his shop
as I made the rounds.

"I've been here over twenty years," he said, "and
it's just no good. Instead, it makes a boy worse."

He quietly took over his new duties and things began
to clear. Several more boys were removed from P
Company and returned to their groups, and to the
disappointment of some of the staff, the place did not
blow up.

The Board Chairman expressed dissatisfaction with his
apartment in the administration building, and ordered a
complete renovation. He complained especially about the
tub in his bathroom. It was no different from all the
other tubs in the building and yet it wasn't big enough.
The night I had locked myself in the bath and had
called Monte to get me out, I had been able to lie full
length and with room to spare. I am five feet nine, and
the Chairman of the Board was shorter. True, these tubs
had been in use since 1893 » but they were all still in
good condition.

At any rate he demanded a new tub and had instructed
the Business Manager to get one. They finally decided it
was necessary to have one made to order. When the tub

Between The Dark - 153

arrived it was sent out in front of the building. It
was eight feet long and staff members passing muttered,
"He must be planning to wash a baby elephant." Ten
husky boys carried it to the second floor and found they
couldn't get it through the door. The engineer was
called and declared the door opening could not be en
larged, so they carried it down again.

After consultation it was decided to tear out a
window frame and part of the outside brick wall, then
haul the tub up with a derrick. When the tub finally
reached the apartment they couldn't get it into the
bathroom, so had to tear out another wall. There was
much joking about the Chairman's tub, but he never
waivered. When the apartment was redecorated, and a
new rug, beds, dresser and chairs installed, it was
really beautiful, but at an unwarranted expense of
several thousand dollars to the State.

Nick, the Russian boy, was twenty when he got into
trouble for the first time. He had married a nice girl
and just when they were expecting a baby he lost his
job. For days he haunted the employment offices and
pounded the streets, but all work seemed to elude him.
The larder was empty and he couldn't feed his wife. In
desperation he lost his head and rolled a drunk one night

Between The Dark -

in a dark alley off Mission Street in San Francisco.
The victim carried a big roll, but Nick took two twenty
dollar bills and slipped the rest back in the man's
pocket. Rushing to the store he purchased a large bag
of groceries, milk, eggs, and staples for his ailing
wife. Next day he was picked up, charged with assault
and robbery, and committed to Preston.

He was a bitter, disturbed boy when he arrived, but
it soon became apparent he didn't intend to stay. In
fact he was frank about it, and informed us he would
run away at the first opportunity. The Salvation Army
had agreed to look after his wife, but that made no
difference in his attitude. He kept brooding over her
and was convinced she would die if he wasn't there to
look after her.

One night he started to run, but was picked up before
he left the grounds and landed in P Company. There he
became defiant and went to pieces. I visited him often
in his cell and it seemed to relieve him to talk things
out. He felt he had been dealt with unjustly by the
court and kept saying, "I only did it 'cause my wife was
pregnant and hungry and I couldn't get work."

A few weeks later he had settled down, was made a
trustee and helped with the food cart sent down to P
Company from the main kitchen. One evening, at dusk,
he accompanied the officer to the door to receive the food

Between The Dark -

and when it opened he dashed through and disappeared
around the building. The officer was alone and could
not leave the company. Hastily he locked the door and
rushed for the local inside phone. Another fifteen
minutes elapsed before any of the officers could be
released and by then Nick had left the grounds. For three
days they searched the surrounding country, but could find
no trace of the boy. He seemed to have vanished into
thin air. We called the search off and brought the men in.

At ten o'clock the third night I received a call from
the sheriff at Sutter Creek about twenty miles back in
the hills. "Your man broke into a settler's cabin and
stole an old blunderbus, balls and a pouch of powder. You
better come up and get him."

*I3 he in custody?" I asked.

"Hell, no, he ain't in custody. He's armed, I tell ya,
and I ain't sending my deputies out to pick up no armed
criminal. That guy's tough and means business."

"Well, where is he now?" I inquired.

"I don't know, he's somewheres between here and Amador."

"We'll be right up," I said. I thought, what a brave
sheriff, and called the new detail officer. "I'll go along,"
I said.

It was ten thirty when the car pulled up with two extra
officers in the back seat. The detail officer handed me a

Between The Dark -

revolver and holster. I said I didn't need it, but he
quietly slipped the belt around my waist and snapped the
buckle. "Perhaps not," he said, "but we can't take
chances. You know how determined that boy has been, and
how upset he is about his wife."

It was a long, narrow, curving road to Sutter's Creek.
As we climbed through the hills the night was dark, and
the car lights were not bright.

When we arrived at Sutter the sheriff was out. No
further word had been received, so we started for Amador.
A car was coming toward us and we flagged it to a stop on
the narrow road. The two occupants were "winos" and very
happy .

"Did you see a man on the road carrying a gun?" we
asked .

"I'll say we seen fim, buddy. He's got a regular
machine gun on his back." With a "whoopee" they drove off.

As we approached Araador, we slowed down as it was an
almost deserted mining town. "Let's drive slowly through
as though we are going on, then turn around and park the
car in the dark," I said. No one was on the single narrow
street. While they parked the car, I walked back toward
the only light in the silent town. Several men were
sitting around a pot-belly stove in the little store and
I asked if anyone had passed in the street in the last
half hour. They glanced up and one man shook his head

Between The Dark - 15>7

•

without comment.

Crossing the porch outside I stepped into the street.
The officers were coming from the parked car. As I
glanced in the direction we had come, a dim figure
appeared. Stepping behind a post, I waited - sure it
was the Russian. He came slowly down the road carrying a
long gun on one shoulder and a bag slung over the other.
Suddenly he spotted the figure behind the post and grabbed
for his gun. I stepped into the light and called sharply,
"Nick! Don't move. You are fully covered." The gun was
halfway down before he froze in his steps. He saw the
others closing in and offered no resistance. When the detail
officer stepped up and took the gun away, it was rammed full
of powder and shot and would probably have blown his own
head off if he had shot it. The sheriff was right, it was
an old rusty blunderbus.

I was not aware that I had drawn my gun and still had
him covered. It must have been a reflex action in a tight
spot and now it frightened me. If his gun had come down
just a little further, I might have pulled the trigger.
Never again did I take a gun on an escape.

The boy was exhausted, hungry and badly frightened. He
had been without food for two days and had no idea where he
was or where he was headed. It had been much rougher than
he had thought, but never uttered a word as he sat between
the two officers on the back seat.

Between The Dark -

When we reached Preston, I phoned the sheriff at
Sutter Creek. His deputy answered. "Tell the sheriff
we picked up our boy," I said.

"You did? Any trouble?"

"None at all," I replied.

"Well, I'll be damned," he said.

"You might thank the sheriff for his help," I added,
and hung up. I just couldn't resist it.

Two days later the faithful Salvation Army phoned from
San Francisco - "Tell Nick he's the father of a fine
eight-pound boy and his wife is doing well. Tell him not
to worry."

"God bless them," N^ok said, and settled down.

Two weeks later the new Superintendent arrived with his
wife and married daughter, and took charge. Tho daughter
became his secretary. His wife was appointed head matron,
and his son-in-law soon arrived to become superintendent
of the farm. A family affair from the start, and each
snugly settled on the state payroll. I wondered if that
was what he had in mind when he said to me in Stockton,
"This job is going to be a cinch."

That night I felt like a new man and wanted to jump and
shout. It was as though a great burden had rolled off my
shoulders and now I was free again. Becky wrote in her
five-year diary: "Ken's duties as Acting Superintendent

Between The Dark - 159

ended at midnight tonight. We both feel ten years
younger." Now we could at least have a few meals alone,
as we moved back to our little house on the hill over
looking lone .

The following day I was back in my laboratory over the
detail office, and took up where I had left off four
months before as no one had been testing and I was way
behind.

Soon it became apparent there was a deep undercurrent
of unrest on the part of the boys and staff. The escapes
had been less frequent during the last two months, but
now they were running again and several of the staff had
quit. It was rough on the new man. Why didn't they give
him a chance? Some said, "He acts like a good-natured
Daddy." Soon boys began taking advantage of what they
misunderstood as a weak hand at the helm. He wasn't weak.
He was just taking up where he had left off twenty-five
years before.

In September the State Fair opened in Sacramento and
each year the Preston band was invited to attend. They
usually stayed several days and were always well received.
We had worked up a little strolling group of minstrels and
had played for the boys on the grounds; two Mexicans, two
white boys, with guitars and mandolins, and my violin.
Someone had heard of it; at any rate we were invited to
play at the Fair for one day.

Between The Dark - 160

I took the group in a car and we strolled about the
fair Grounds that morning. The boys made quite a hit.
W* were all dressed in white duck, and some of the crowd
followed us about from building to building. When an
unexpected invitation came to play at the Governor's
luncheon, the kids were scared and so was I. We knew we
were not that good, but when the party insisted, we agreed
to give it a try.

We were announced as "The Preston Boys Strolling
Minstrels," and that really gave us a jolt. Apparently
it went well because the guests kept clapping for more.

When we got outside the guitar player, Sanchez, said,
"Mr. Scudder, did you hear what the dame said who had her
glasses on a stick?"

"You mean a lorgnette?" I smiled.

"I don't know what she called it. I never seen one
before, but when she looked at you she said to the other
lady, "Who's the big fellow? Sad, isn't it? Wonder what
he's in for."

We all doubled up over that one.

We arrived back at Preston at midnight and the boys
said, "Thanks a lot, Mr. Scudder; we sure had a bust."
Then they started to laugh again. It was still one on me.

Pour days later, for the first time in years, seven
band boys ran away from the fair. We were out three days
and nights rounding them up. It was very discouraging.

Between The Dark - l6l

Thirteen years later, when I was Probation Officer of
Los Angeles County, my secretary announced that a man
wanted to see me and said it was urgent. It was Sanchez,
the guitar player. He just wanted to say hello. He had
once violated his parole and gone back to Preston. After
that he settled down. "I have a lovely wife and two fine
children, r he said with pride. "And do you still play
the guitar?" I asked. "Oh yes, and my children play too.
I heard you were here and had to come and tell you I never
forgot that day at the Pair when you treated us guys like
other people. "

As we shook hands, a smile crossed his face. "Remember
what the old dame said about you that day?"

"Never mind dragging in any dead cats,"! said, and he
left with a laugh. God bless him and his little family.
The trip to the Pair had finally paid off.

Now there was a new detail officer and the blacksmith,
who had done an excellent job, was returned to his shop.
In his place was the supervisor of the cottage where the
Chairman of the Board had found better food than that
served at our table. He had been with the new Superintendent
when he opened the school, and the latter had great
confidence in him.

Two more busy months rolled by and I was catching up on
the testing. There was trouble in P Company and the
Superintendent was often there to try and quiet the boys
down.

Between The Dark - 162

One afternoon he asked me to accompany him. He
carried a wrapped package in his hand. "There's a boy
I want you to see," he said. As we approached we could
hear several boys yelling back and forth between cells.
Most of the others were at work in the brick plant, but
these had been left in isolation. The boy in cell eleven
had run away twice and now was making a disturbance.

The Superintendent talked to him in a fatherly tone
and tried to reason with him. The boy listened a moment
and then said, "Aw, go to hell." The Super recoiled as
though he had been slapped in the face. His glasses
dropped from his nose and dangled on the black ribbon
tucked behind his ear, as he stood in shocked amazement
looking at the boy.

"Very well," he said in a voice trying to restrain his
anger, "If you don't appreciate decent treatment, we have
something else." Slowly he unwrapped the package he had
brought and took out a thick leather paddle with a wooden
handle. The boy's face blanched, but he said nothing.
Turning, the Superintendent held out the paddle to me.
"Spank him," he said. I did not take the paddle, but felt
the hot blood surging through my brain.

"Let's step outside a moment," I said.

"No. If you have anything to say, do so here."

After a pause I replied, "Very well, you asked for it.
You know that eighteen months ago the lash was outlawed."

Between The Dark - 163

Before I could finish he broke in with, "This is not
the lash. It's just a good old-fashioned spanking."

"Lash or spanking - call them what you will - they mean
the same to me. I can't obey that order. If there is any
whipping, you will have to call on someone else, or do it
yourself," I concluded.

"Very well, my boy," he said. "I'll do it and you can
bo a wi tne s s . "

I started for the door. Then turning, I said, "To be
a silent witness is for me to consent to what you are about
to do." With that I stepped out and closed the door.

As I walked down the long corridor I could hear the
crack of the paddle striking the boy's buttocks with a sharp
slap, but not a whimper came from within.

The next day the Superintendent said, "I know how you
feel, Ken, about yesterday, but I'm sure you'll find out
that some of these cases call for more drastic action."

A month later, the boy ran away for the third time.
This time he made it because we couldn't find him.

Old-timers welcomed, with acclaim, what they considered
a return of the lash, as several more boys were "spanked'.'.

Twenty-six years later, as the first Superintendent of
the Minimum Security Prison at Chino, California, I was
interviewing a man at San Quentin who wanted to come to
Chino. "You don't remember me, Mr. Scudder, but I'm the
boy you refused to whip at Preston in 1920. Remember?

Between The Dark - 161).

Evidently, the whipping by the new Superintendent had
not worked. I approved his transfer to Chino where he
made a successful adjustment.

The Superintendent went to San Francisco for three
days and left the detail officer in charge. He was known
as "Gap" and was elated to be given this responsibility.
He was also still in charge of a company of boys, and
relied a good deal on the monitor system with its cadet
officer keeping the boys in line. It was difficult to
know what really went on in these cottages during the long
evenings when boys sat on benches in the basements and at
the slightest disturbance or horse-play were quickly placed
on silence or roughed up by the monitors. A twelve-hour
day is rough on any officer no matter how conscientious he
might be. Nerves were on edge and tempers flared over
little things.

The State had no right to expect so much from any human
being. Then the pay was so meager it was hard to maintain
a happy family at home. I was on an eight-hour shift, but
the job in an institution is never done and I usually put
in ten.

The first two days, while the Superintends* was away,
were eventful except that P Company was filled again
and one disturbed boy was shouting and cursing those who
came near him.

On the third evening I was at the Officers' Club House

Between The Dark - 165

in the little ravine below P Company. It was a
gathering place for parties and for those who lived on
the grounds. At nine o'clock I stepped out on the porch,
hoping it would be cooler in the night air, when I
spotted two figures sneaking around toward P Company.
Not knowing who was there I stepped over to investigate.
It was "Cap," the detail officer, and the institution
painter. They looked rather surprised and sheepish and
I felt for some reason I was the last person they had
x*anted to see. We were right below F Company and the
disturbed boy was yelling at the top of his hoarse voice,
"I hate every son-of-a-bitch in this cockeyed place" and
then added a few more choice invectives of his own
invention.

Cap looked at me and said, "That does it. I'm going
to shut him up for good. Come along if you must," and
headed for the far end of the building, followed by the
painter. Not knowing what they had in mind, I went along.
When we entered, the boy's screaming was met with shouts .,
from other cells of "Shut up, you lousy bastard, we want
to sleep." This was reinforced with loud hangings by
others on the cell doors. We looked for the night
officer. Apparently no one was on duty. The narrow
corridor, like a "cat- walk " on the second floor led us to
the boy's cell. Cap undid the padlock and as he opened the
door he handed something to the painter and the two rushed in,

Between The Dark - 166

The boy was quiet now, lying on his back on the bunk.
Cap threw himself on the prostrate form and held him
down while the painter uncoiled a cat-ot-nine tails
Cap had handed him, and started lashing. The boy screamed
with pain and fear as he fought to get up. Again the whip
descended, and in the melee the lad kicked the painter in
the face. That made the painter furious, and grabbing the
boy's foot he twisted the leg trying to turn him on his
stomach so he could get a better shot at him with the whip.
It looked like he was going to twist it off.

I tried to remonstrate, but they were so furious they
didn't even hear me. I grabbed the painter's arm, but he
thrwme off. Now Cap had the boy by the throat trying to
choke his curses. Again the painter's arm was free for
the lash. I grabbed it and held on. "Get out of here
or I'll report you both," I shouted. He turned and
with his face close to mine almost screamed: "No son-of-
a-bitch is going to call me a son- of -a- bitch. Why do you
have to but in?"

Somehow it was over with the boy fighting to the last.
The men hastily retreated from the cell and slammed the
door. As the padlock clicked, Cap shouted through the
little aperture, "That's just a small sample of what you'll
get next time if you don't shut up." I suppose he expected
silence and submission. Instead, the storm burst anew, and

Between The Dark - 167

a torrent of abuse poured forth, as we retreated down the
corridor. The boy continued to yell all night. He just
wasn't right.

If he had been in a State hospital in those days,
where he really belonged, he would have been given a
sedative to quiet him down, so that he might later listen
to reason. But this was a reformatory and the treatment
was different because "no son- of -a- bitch is going to call
me a son-of-a-bitch."

The Superintendent returned the next day and I went in
to make a report on my psychological testing. He assumed
I had come to report the affair in P Company because when
I started to speak he said, "Yes, I know all about it.
Cap told me." Then placing a fatherly arm about my
shoulders he said, "It's all right, Ken. I accept full
responsibility for what happened in P Company last night.
Perhaps you're still too young to understand, but in a
place like this, drastic actions are sometimes necessary."
Was he announcing a new policy, a return of the lash?"

In my mind I could still see the "cat-o'-nine ' tails".
All these years Cap had kept this ugly thing. Was it as
a relic of the past, or perhaps with a deep-down hidden
desire to use it again as in the old days?

Quietly I left the room without making the report I
had intended.

Between The Dark - 168

Becky and I talked far into the night. What was the
use of wasting one's energy and best years in an institu
tion as hide- bound as this, and with a Superintendent who
gave silent consent to such brutal methods? These lads
had already run the gamut, with plenty of rough stuff in
the past and had failed to respond. Now they were to re
ceive more of the same dose, when what they needed was
understanding, encouragement, and treatment. Could I
continue to work for a man in whom I had lost confidence,
and to whom I could not now give complete loyalty?

I had received two calls from the Federal Board for
Vocational Education as Vocational Advisor in San Francisco,
and each time had requested to be passed up for the present.
Here was a real challenging job. The next morning I made
a call to San Francisco. Yes, the position was still open.
There was a desperate need; men were coming in rapidly,
could I report in two weeks?

I resigned ray position and we closed out our little
home on the hill, taking two weeks vacation at Carrael-by-
the-Sea before starting the new job.

One day, as we sat on the beach and watched the breakers
roll in from the Pacific, Becky said, "Are you sorry, Ken,
that you left Preston?"

I though a moment. "Yes and no. There are many fine

Between The Dark - 169

lads there who need help and are not getting it. But
there must be some better way to attack delinquency and
crime than locking people up in an artificial environment
like an institution. It just doesn't work out because
it's too late. If we could only reach them earlier, we
could keep them out of trouble.

We sat in silence for a time.

"There are several problems which stand in the way of
progress," I said, "and these are quite general across
the nation. Members of Boards of Trustees are usually
appointed under the political patronage system - too
often for political favors, a pay-off for campaign
contributions, a sort of honorary recognition. Most of
them are inexperienced, untrained people who know nothing
about the problems of running an institution for
delinquents or adult offenders and receive no coaching or
preparation before taking office. True, they receive no
remuneration except expenses, and in a few instances a
certain fee for attending each meeting."

"Well, don't they appoint the Superintendents?"
Becky asked.

"Oh yes," I replied, "but these too are usually sent
to them by the party in power as another pay-off. That's
been the trouble at both the Washington State Reformatory
and Preston for so many years. These Boards are supposed
to be a policy- forming group and not administrative.

Between The Dark - 1?0

With a weak Superintendent, however, they too often take
charge and as a result ohaos, confusion and brutal treat
ment follow. They meet infrequently, I continued, more
as a social affair, know little about what goes on except
that reported to them by the Superintendent. They are
reluctant to take any action which might bring adverse
criticism to the party and too often have endeavored to
hush up any such information reaching the public.
Fortunately a few States are adopting the merit system
and Superintendents and staff personnel are placed under
Civil Service for their protection and to assure a
continuity of program."

After a moment, Becky said, "I think it might help if
we could interest more citizens in these unfortunate
people in trouble. Perhaps then we would be able to
correct these situations."

"You have put your finger on the real problem," I
replied. "I wish someone would write a book about these
places, a book so vivid that the reader would feel he
was there himself witnessing the things we have experienced.
The greatest obstacle is the apathy of the uninformed public.
They know nothing about these institutions, are often re
stricted from visiting them and as a result take no interest.
There is no lobby for institutions and their budgets are
usually the last to. be considered by the legislature and then
with meagre results. Someday a different system must be de-

Between The Dark - 171

vised if these places are to do effective work. I guess
we will just have to wait and see. Meantime, I don't
think I ever want to go back to any institution."
Six months later the Superintendent was dismissed.

The next seven years passed quickly and were full of
excitement and hard work. In 1921 the Federal Board for
Vocational Education became part of the newly formed
Veteran's Bureau, and I was appointed District Manager
of the Bureau for Southern California and Southeastern
Nevada, and we moved to Los Angeles.

Two years earlier, the office had been opened by one
man carrying a brief case and looking for veterans of
World War I who suffered from a service-connected dis
ability. He told them of their rights to federal re
training to overcome their vocational handicaps, and
now they were flocking in by the thousands.

By 192? our office had expanded to a treatment and
training center with a personnel of three hundred and
fifty. This included Doctors, Dentists, Psychiatrists,
nurses, training officers, stenographers and clerks,
and a case-load of thirty thousand disabled veterans.
It had become the third largest office in the United
States.

Between The Dark - 172

"Life that dares send
a challenge to his end,
And when it comes,
Say, Welcome, friend."

Richard Crassaw

CHAPTER VIII

The vocational training and trade placement for these
disabled, had, in general, met with success. Ninety
percent of those enrolled were sincerely interested and
tried to make the moat of their opportunities. Many
were now performing in industry and reflecting great
credit to the Veteran's Bureau. The other ten percent
were not interested in training, except to remain on the
payroll as long as possible. These so-called "gold
bricks" caused us more grief and effort than all of the
ninety percent. They failed to report regularly to
either training or placement and were often drunk on the
job.

Between The Dark - 1*73

In such oases it often became necessary to remove
them from the payroll until they could show a different
attitude and settle down to training in earnest.

One of our training officers had a half-breed Indian
named Led better who had been warned again and again that
he would have to settle down and produce or he would be
removed from training. Finally with our approval he

x

was called into the office one Saturday morning and told
by his training officer that he was through that day.
The man became angry and shouted, "All right, if that is
the case, I'll be waiting for you outside." This was
not the first time he had threatened violence, but the
officer failed to report to us this last threat. He went
out to lunch about 12:30 and entered a restaurant across
the street from our office in the Pacific Mutual Building
in Los Angeles. He had a gun in his brief case. We were
not aware of this, but later found he had carried it for
sometime because of the threats of Ledbetter, who had
dared him to cancel his training. Looking out the window,
he could now see Ledbetter and two rough- looking thugs
talking together and nodding in his direction - evidently
they were planning to waylay him when he came out of the
restaurant.

Taking the gun from his brief case, he slipped it
into the right-hand pocket of his coat. As he emerged
from the restaurant, Ledbetter jumped on his back and

Between The Dark - l?lj.

with a strangle hold tried to throw him to the pavement.
Now he could see the other two men crossing the street,
on the run, in his direction. The officer shouted to the
half-breed to get off or he would shoot him, but the man
only tightened his hold, as the other men closed in. He
dare not wait longer and turning the gun in his pocket,
he shot the Indian in the hip.

The man went down and rolling in pain, shouted to the
gathering crowd that he was a disabled veteran and had
been shot in cold blood. The other two men quickly
disappeared in the throng. The man on the ground claimed
he was dying and the cnawaf became incensed and turned
toward the officer who still held the gun in his pocket.

A police officer intervened, called an ambulance and
a patrol car, sent the wounded man to the hospital
and the training officer to the station, where he was
booked for an assault with a deadly weapon. Within an
hour we had him out on bail and later his case was dis
missed on the basis of self-defense.

At first, some of the Veteran's organizations became
riled up over the shooting, but when they heard all the
facts at a hearing, one Legion Commander said, "Why did
you shoot him in the hip? Why didn't you kill him?"

We had a disabled Major in the office who was always
in trouble and we spent many hours trying to get him out
of the scrapes he would get himself into. All his cases

Between The Dark - 1?5>

had to be checked by another training officer to be sure
he was handling them right. The man meant well, but just
couldn't say no to anyone and made outlandish promises
that he couldn't keep. We had suspended him twice and
then would feel sorry for him and put him back to work.
Following the shooting episode, we placed the Major in
the outer waiting-room as a sort of guard where we could
at least keep an eye on his activities.

A few weeks later we had forgotten about the shooting
episode. When Ledbetter got out of the hospital, he came
back to the office to see if we could get him a job,
since he was now out of training. The first person he
met in the waiting-room was the Major. Without our
knowledge, he took him in tow, and assured him of a job
in the Pacific Mutual Building. He told the Building
Manager a sob story about a wounded veteran, and thinking
we had sent the Major to him, he gave the man the job as
a janitor. With two other workers he had the run of the
building, sweeping out the offices at night.

A book of signed cashier's checks disappeared, and soon
phony- checks began coming back to the Pacific Mutual
Company to a total amount of $500. Detectives traced the
checks to a drug store on the corner where they had been
presented by a man in the uniform of the company. It
was Ledbetter, but he skipped before they caught him, and

Between The Dark - 1?6

was later shot and killed by a sheriff in Arizona when
he tried to jump him as he had the training officer.
That also ended the Major's employment with us.

Aside from that, we had a wonderfully loyal staff,
and our office had a good name across the country for
courteous treatment and prompt action on veteran's
cases. Our field men hunted down cases that had not
been properly adjusted. They located one man who was
both blind and paralyzed. He had never heard of the
Veteran's Bureau and his faithful wife, who cared for him,
also took in washing to keep the little family together.
She too was physically at the breaking point. The
officer started working on the case, helped them secure
the necessary evidence for a service connection of his
disabilities, and a few weeks later the man's case was
given a rating as "double, totally disabled. " His first
check for back compensation from the date of his discharge
was $7»000. The wife cried with joy and relief.

One morning a negro came into the office looking for
trouble. He had had several drinks and had reached the
noisy belligerent stage. He started to argue with the
man at the front desk, demanding his rights and wouldn't
listen to anyone and refused to quiet down. One of the
staff stepped out into the lobby and tried to quiet him.
Stenographers and clerks stopped work and looked on as
the negro continued to yell and curse.

Between The Dark - 1??

The officer placed his arm around the man's
shoulders and said, "Come on, buddy, let's go outside
and talk it over." He tried to gently steer him toward
the door, but with a roar of rage the colored man threw
him off and whipping out a big razor, made a lunging
slash at the officer, slicing through his coat and vest
and opening a slight cut on his abdomen. Another ounce
of pressure and be would have laid him wide open.

In the meantime another training officer pulled open
the center drawer of his desk and took out the rung of a
chair, which he had evidently been saving for some such
emergency, and leaping clear over the front counter,
brought his weapon down on the negro's arm with great
force. The razor flew out of his grasp, sailed through
the air over the top of a wire insurance cage and landed
right in front of the insurance cashier, a young women,
who almost lost her nose.

Out in the lobby, several veterans piled onto the
negro and held him down until the police arrived. He was
later sentenced to five years in San Quentin for assault
with a deadly weapon.

Another veteran brought in a gun which he tried to use
on one of the psychiatrists in the office who he imagined
had been talking about him. By quick thinking and
presence of mind, the doctor was able to keep the man
from shooting until help arrived and he could be taken

Between The Dark - 1?3

to the psychopathic ward for observation. Later he was
sent to the Government Mental Hospital at Palo Alto.

The training program was coming to a close, and all
trainees must be out of training or absorbed in industry
by 1925. Business was good, the employment problem less
acute and disabled men were getting better jobs. Many
reports from employers indicated they found our men
well trained and reliable. "They don't fool around like
some of the other workers, and they want to get ahead."

By 1927 the challenge had gone out of the job for me.
With the training over, we would soon become a Pension
Bureau with its deadening routine and were now responsible
for 50,000 cases of compensation, war risk insurance, and
medical care.

I accepted an invitation to teach a course in vocational
guidance at the University of Southern California Summer
Session, and this made me even more restless for some new
challenge.

There was a new state administration in Sacramento,
and one of the veterans, attorney Earl Jensen, was
appointed by Governor C. C. Young to the position of
State Director of Institutions.

A few months earlier there had been complaints
against the Government Hospital for Mental Cases at Palo
Alto, and Jensen had been appointed by the State Department

Between The Dark - 179

of the American Legion as a member of the
investigating committee. He knew little about institu
tions, but wanted to find out more. I took him to
Patton State Hospital and other places and we became
well acquainted. Now out of a clear sky he found himself
in charge of all State Hospitals for the Mentally 111,
the Homes for the Feeble-Mind ed, the three Ii^dustrial
Schools for boys and girls, and the Adult Home for the
Blind .

One day he came to the office to see me about a
veteran's case he was interested in, and during the
conversation informed me of the untimely death of Fred.
C. Nellis, who had been Superintendent of Whittier State
School for eighteen years, and who had made a real school
out of a once tough and hopeless reformatory. Now he
was looking for someone to take Nellis' place. There
were many applicants but none with the proper training.

So I said, "Why not offer the appointment to me?
That's my old field, you know."

He didn't know, and started to question me. We talked
about my experiences at Monroe and Preston, and my trip
East in search of better methods of care and treatment.
The longer we talked, the more I warmed up to the old
subject, which had been buried for me for the past seven
years. After he left I thought no more about it but a
few weeks later, Earl Jensen called on the phone.

Between The Dark - 180

"Remember our conversation about Whittier?" he said.
"I wish you would put in an application and state what
you have done in that field." That gave me quite a start.
Becky and I had sworn when we left Preston, "never again
in any institution." Now after seven years, we were not
sure.

I talked with university professors and friends. Most
of them advised me to go ahead. Professor Edwin Lee,
Dean of the Department of Education of the University of
California at Los Angeles said, "Ken, you are in the prime
of life. Go after that job and give it all you have."
Some were skeptical, however, as was Dr. Jessica Peixotto
at Berkeley, who wrote back and asked, "What have you
done that makes you think you can handle a job that
practically killed Fred Nellis?" I couldn't answer that
one, so filed my application for the job.

The most vigorous candidate was the Business Manager
who had been at Whittier for several years under Mr.
Nellis. He not only filed an application, but according
to Mr. Jensen, now demanded the appointment as his right.
He became quite belligerent in his attitude and urged
his friends to write the Governor in his behalf.

Word leaked out that I was being considered and
opposition developed from a most unexpected quarter. Two
women professors at the University apparently were much
set against my appointment. Instead, they wanted a man

Between The Dark - l8l

from Stanford University, a former Assistant Superintend
ent of Whittier, a very fine chap by the way and one I
had known at Oberlin College years before. One professor
had been antagonistic toward me while I was Manager of
the Veteran's Bureau. She was dissatisfied with the rating
given by our Rating Board on the case of a young veteran who
she had adopted and thought I was personally responsible for
the rating because I didn't have it changed to suit her.

The fact that I had no jurisdiction over the rating
boards made no difference. She wouldn't listen to anything
except that the rating should be changed and I had better
do it. Time and again she came to the office and complained,
The case was reviewed by the rating board, but the doctors
could find little wrong with the man and the original rating
stood. Finally she became abusive, threatened everyone she
talked with, and I was to be reported to the Director and
to her Senator as an incompetent manager.

Now that I was a candidate for appointment at Whittier
it seemed to be the signal for a fresh attack. The two
women interviewed the Governor personally and urged others
to do the same.

A memorial service was to be held at Whittier for
Mr. Nellie, and Dr. J. Harold Williams who had done such
a terrific job as the first Director of the California
Bureau of Juvenile Research at the Whittier School

Between The Dark - 182

extended me an invitation. Dr. Terman of Stanford was
to give a paper on the fine work Nellis had done at
Whittier. I knew Dr. Terman very well and had gone
to him for assistance when I joined the Federal Board
for Vocational Education. No psychological tests had
been given to these veterans anywhere in the United
States, and yet we were supposed to advise them in their
selection of a future vocation. I had found trainees
in the Universities who lacked the intelligence to do
the work. They wanted to become "business managers"
and other outlandish requests. Some didn't know what
the terms meant.

Dr. Terman had made it possible for me to use his
"Group Test of Mental Ability," which could be given to
a group at a time, and this had disclosed some of the
most terrible mistakes in vocational counselling I had
ever run across. It was necessary to make many changes.
Now I wanted to see him again, and accepted Dr. Williams1
invitation to attend the memorial services for Fred
Nellis.

The luncheon was held in the Officers' Dining Room,
to be followed by the address. Unfortunately Dr. Terman
could not come, but asked Dr. Warner Brown, who had been
responsible for my appointment at Preston, to deliver
his paper for him.

Between The Dark - 183

My attendance at the meeting was seized upon by
the two women professors, as a very indiscreet act on
my part. They certainly made a lot of it - I had come
out to the memorial service "not out of any respect for
Mr. Nellis, but to look the ground over... I just
couldn't wait." A few days later Earl Jensen called on
the phone and asked if I had been out to Whittier. When I
told him the circumstances he said, "Well, I am glad to get
the straight of it, for a great deal is being made of your
visit."

Several weeks passed and I heard nothing from Earl.
My university class met at 2:00 p.m. and I was taking my
annual vacation in the afternoons so that I could be free
for the class without interfering with ray work in the
office.

One morning about ten thirty, Earl called. He seemed
to be upset over something. "Ken, can you go out to
Whittier with me right away? I am going to appoint you
today." I told him about my class and he assured me we
would be back in time.

I phoned Becky the news, and started out in Earl's
car. He had decided to appoint me in spite of the
opposition and especially because of the recent attitude
of the Business Manager, who he said was so demanding he
wouldn't appoint him under any circumstances. The latter
had stirred up the local Legion Post and they had come

Between The Dark - l81j.

down on Earl after appealing to the Governor.

On the way out we talked a good deal about the
school. The boys were restless and he didn't like the
look of things and someone must take charge immediately.
I began to realize I was again getting into something.

"By the way, Earl," I asked, "What is the salary on
this job?" Up to that time neither of us had mentioned
the subject. He looked at me and laughed. "Pour thousand
and maintenance," he said. "I guess I forgot to tell you."
That was less salary than I was getting, but the maintenance
made it about even. At any rate here was a new and real
challenge.

We entered the school office and were greeted by Mr.
Knox, who had been secretary to Mr. Nellis for several
years.

"Here is your new Superintendent," Earl said. Knox
was very cordial and as we had met before, we entered
the inner office and visited for a while. Then Earl
sent for the Business Manager. As he entered the office,
Earl repeated his statement to Khox, that I was the new
Superintendent .

Although we had met before, he merely glanced in my
direction and then turned his back. "I couldn't work
with him," he said. "We just couldn't see things alike."

"I am sorry you feel that way," I said, "for I would
be glad to have you stay on here in your present capacity."

Between The Dark - 185

"No," he continued, still ignoring me and speaking
to Earl. "No, if I can't be Superintendent, I'll re
sign. It just wouldn't work." Then he continued,
"I'm about to head up a million dollar corporation
anyway soon, so I might as well quit this job right now."
Then nodding his head in my direction he said, "Let him
run it if he thinks he can."

"All right," Earl said, "if that is the way you feel
about this appointment, I will accept your resignation."
With that, the man turned on his heel and left the
office.

Later he requested two weeks to get his things
together, and thawing out a little said, "In the meantime
if I can help any to put you on to the ropes, I'll do
what I can."

We had lunch with Knox in the officers' dining room,
and at one fifteen started back to Los Angeles. There I
got my own car and started for the University with
barely time to reach there by two o'clock.

It was a terribly hot sultry July day. Of all times
to have a flatl I couldn't get a garage and had to
change the tire myself in the broiling sun.

As I entered the classroom fifteen minutes late,
dripping wet, my collar melted about ray neck, the class
was still waiting for me.

"I have just been appointed Superintendent of the

Between The Dark - 186

Whittier State School, and have had a flat tire. Put
those two together and you know why I look like a
wreck. "

We all had a good laugh at my expense, and we talked
of Whittier and what I hoped to be able to do for the
boys.

That night I wired my resignation to General Prank
T. Hines in Washington, D.C., one of the finest men I
ever worked for, and recommended my assistant, Major
Dave Borden, to succeed me. General Hines sent a fine
letter of regrets, and appointed the Major as District
Manager. We were glad to keep it within the office, as
a well-earned promotional appointment free of politics.

The department gave a farewell dinner to Becky and
me, presenting her with beautiful flowers, and to me a
Waltham gold watch and chain. The training officers
had worked up a quartet and rendered a funny song about
"Old "man Scudder is going to jail." It made little
difference that I was only thirty- seven. What a grand
evening and a warm send-offi

Next morning at eight, as I apprached the school, I
offered up a silent prayer that I might be able to
handle this job and accomplish something worthwhile for
the lads confined there.

Between The Dark - 18?

It was necessary for me to sleep on the place
nights until the end of July, when we could then move
the family to the school.

Whittier was an entirely different school from
Preston. Located in the heart of the orange and
walnut section of Los Angeles county, it bordered the
little Quaker town of Whittier, just fifteen miles from
the heart of the metropolitan area. The spacious
grounds were beautiful, with brick buildings tucked
away among the eucalyptus trees and many huge oaks.
The school was wide open with no fence, and its
spacious lawns gave the appearance of a college campus
instead of a school of correction. I asked Mr. Khox
to show me through the buildings and shops and for the
first time got an idea of what the place was really
like, for I had not been through the school since the
conference in 1920 when I was in charge at Preston.

That night the boys were called to chapel for the
weekly show and movie. I thought it would be a good
time to speak to the group and get acquainted. Mr.
Knox told the Business Manager that I would like to
address the group, but he had decided there would be
no speeches that night. I stepped over to him and
said that I would like to have him present me to the
boys, as I intended to say hello to them. Reluctantly
he went down the aisle and I followed.

Between The Dark - 188

He was apparently angry as he addressed the assembly.

"You boys know I have been in charge here for the
past two years during Mr. Nellis's illness. Now I have
resigned because another Superintendent has been
appointed over ray head. I am leaving in a few days and
take this opportunity to say goodbye."

Turning to me, he said to the boys, "Here is your
new Superintendent, Mr. Scudder." With that he walked
to the back of the chapel where he stood against the
wall, watching the proceedings.

Three hundred boys stared at me in silence. I could
feel them taking me apart. Six hundred youig eyes were
wondering what kind of fellow this new Superintendent
was going to be.

I talked to them quietly and with utter frankness.
I was sorry that the Business Manager was leaving and
I was sure they were too. He had done a good job in
holding the school together during a trying period.
I had asked him to stay on, but he had felt he could not
do so. Let's give him a hand for the good work he has
done and wish him the best of success in the future.

That broke the ice as the applause cut loose and
every boy turned around to wave to him. I think I
know how he felt. For several years he had done his
best at Whit tier and during the long illness of the
Superintendent the whole responsibility had been his.

Between The Dark - 189

Now he had been passed up and an outsider had come in,
one whom he didn't want and felt he couldn't work with.
When the boys burst out in applause for him, it was the
last straw, and quite overcome, he quickly left the hall.

These boys ranged from eight to sixteen years of age
and came from all over the State. All had been in some
kind of trouble and most of them were serious behavior
problems in their communities. Now the applause had
died down and they were expecting me to continue.

"You boys have just experienced a great loss in the
recent death of your Superintendent. I knew Mr. Nellis
very well and had a high regard for him and for the fine
things he accomplished for the school. But I can't be like
Mr. Nellis; no one can. I have to be just myself. But I
want you fellows to know that I will try my best to carry
on the fine things he stood for. I want to know each one
of you personally, and to discuss with you your own
problems. I will try to be fair to you and I certainly
hope that you are going to like me."

I waved my hand as I started up the aisle to the back
of the chapel. The applause went straight to my heart and
seemed to say they believed in me and were willing to go
along.

The school certainly had the appearance of being run
down at the heels. The boys' clothing, a sort of olive
tan overalls with shirts of the same color, were ragged

Between The Dark - 190

and dirty. There was a marked shortage of clothing and
not enough for frequent change. They had to wait each
week for the wash to come back.

The little fellows, age eight to eleven, about forty
of them, sent to Whittier as bad boys the community
couldn't handle, were housed in an old condemned wooden
building, which was a veritable fire trap. We tore it down
and moved these boys into some brick buildings at the
other end of the grounds where they were out of danger
and could also be kept away from the older boys who
delighted in tormenting them.

The main institution dining room was an old brick
building, one of the original on the place, and needed a
lot of work to make it clean. The diet was mainly
starch. There were fresh vegetables raised on the farm,
but the cook didn't prepare them, as it was much easier
to open a few cans. We immediately ordered a quart of milk
for each boy every day and the first time it was served
they almost mobbed the cook with delight.

Jensen backed every request I made and we soon had a
different spirit in the place. More clothing, more sugar
for the energy they needed, and many other additions were
approved.

Just as at lone, some of the personnel felt the
institution was for them instead of for the boys. Anything
the boy did to upset the routine and cause extra work was
resented by this group. As a result, they sent many boys

Between The Dark - 191

to the discipline company and it was usually

from these same officers that the boys ran away.

Others were more interested in the boys than in themselves

and these officers scarcely ever had to report a boy for

bad conduct. They handled their own problems quietly and

effectively.

We were determined to make the institution over for
the boys and not the personnel. These lads were just
like any other boys outside if given the proper chance in
life. Most of them came from broken homes, places of
insecurity, bickering and strife. They had never known or
experienced the thrill of a decent environment. But we
hoped they could be adjusted and returned to their
communities better for the experience. That was the big
job ahead.

An atmosphere of suspicion and restraint permeated the
place. This had crept in during the two years Nellis had
been so ill. Every move a boy made, no matter how natural
it might be, still meant something nasty to the officer,
something to watch out for. If two boys should become
chums and one put his arm around the other's shoulders,
it was "Look out for that combination, they may be
homosexuals," Many a lad's heart was broken by such a
charge as the officer separated them, perhaps sending one
to another cottage group.

The situation had grown to such an abnormal proportion
in the case of certain officers that something had to be

Between The Dark - 192

done. We invited Dr. Norman Van Emery, Director of the
Child Guidance Clinic of Los Angeles to come out and
speak to the men of the staff. When he arrived he up
braided me for having a stag affair, and said the women
in the cottages needed to be put right on this subject
as well as the men. The situation was so tense, however,
that I hadn't dared to include the women. Afterwards I
wished that I had.

Dr. Emery talked frankly to the group about the whole
problem of homosexuality, masturbation, and how these
should be handled in an institution. We could have heard
a pin drop as he talked; it was just the sort of thing we
all needed to place our feet firmly on the ground and face
the problem. His talk was followed by questions and a
lively discussion of cases occupied the rest of the
session. The men were very enthusiastic over the meeting
and others were planned, in fact we had someone come in
once a month and discuss frankly with us some of the
problems we were facing. These meetings included the
house mothers.

Within a few weeks the tension seemed to let up and
we had less trouble from then on with that problem.
Everyone seemed to feel that we could .now take a rational
view of the situation and do something to help these lads.

Nellis had tried to get through legislation to make
Whittier into a twenty- four hour school, where boys could

Between The Dark - 193

be sent by the parents or public schools, and not wait
until they had to be sent in by the Juvenile Court. It
was a far-seeing plan and one that met with general
favor, except for the expense involved. At the last
session of the legislature he had succeeded in getting a
bill passed to create a commission for the Study of
Problem Children in California, and to determine the need
for a Twenty- Pour Hour School. A wire from Governor
Young announcing my appointment to the commission, was
my first knowledge of this legislation.

One of the women professors, who had opposed my
appointment, was still in charge of the California Bureau
of Juvenile Research at Whittier. We had worked hard
on the commission bill, and had expected to be appointed
to membership. I called her in to find out what the
appointment from the Governor was all about, and as soon
as she saw the wire, she resigned her position in a huff.
I had tried to get along with her since coming to the
school, and on the surface all seemed to be well. I had
never mentioned her part in the fight against my appoint
ment, but treated her the same as anyone else. Now when
she blew up over the Governor's appointment to the commission,
I told her I would accept her resignation, as I supposed she
knew what she was doing. Frankly, I was glad she had re
signed. Later on we became good friends.

Between The Dark - 191).

The American Congress of Corrections was meeting in
Tacoma, Washington, and I asked Mr. Khox if he would
attend for me. It was his first trip to attend this
group, and was a big boost to his morale, for he was
a splendid secretary and had given many years to the
service. He was also extremely loyal to me.

Becky came out to see our home on the grounds; a
beautiful two-story eleven-room English brick house in
a large garden, with huge pepper and eucalyptus trees,
and a few days later we moved in.

One morning two boys ran away, but were quickly
caught and returned by two Boy Scouts at the school.
They struck out right after them, didn't even wait to
have the Supervisor give them the okay. They caught the
boys as they were crawling through a street drain about
a mile from the school, and fought with them until they
both agreed to come back with them. The four walked
into the school all alone before the men out on the hunt
knew anything about it. I was so pleased that I took
six months off their stay for returning the boys alone,
a policy that Mr. Nellis had installed.

It was September, and the temperature was scorching.
Boys were required to wear heavy underwear all year. We
abolished the custom and purchased B.V.D.'s for each boy.
When we also bought colored shirts and corduroy trousers,
to replace the Sunday woolen uniforms, there was great
rejoicing. Prom four colors of trousers each boy could

Between The Dark - 195

select his own color. They strutted around like Hollywood
sheiks. A little hair oil from the five-and-ten, pocket
combs and neckties rounded out the ensemble. Old timers
feared the boys would run away if they were not dressed
in the regulation khaki suits of the school, which made it
easy to recognize a boy on the highway. But the new cords
pleased the boys so much perhaps they wouldn't want to
run away.

Becky hired a colored maid named Willie. She came on
the recommendation of the colored chef who now handled
the boys' and officers' mess. He had been a dining-car
chef and certainly knew his business. The boys were wild
about the food he put out, and so we took his recommend
ation for a maid without question. She was a good cook and
did whatever she was told, and we were pleased with her work.

One month after the first two boys had been caught and
brought back by the two Scouts, a whole cottage of thirty
boys ran away on Sunday afternoon. A new officer was in
charge and the boys took advantage of the opportunity.
This was a cottage of older boys, sixteen and seventeen,
and represented one of the hardest groups in the school.

They had picked out two new members of their group
and threatened to beat them up if they didn't run away.
As soon as the boys started the whole group used that
as an excuse to try and catch them and bring them back

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on the theory that the ones who caught them would get
six months off their stay at the school. They were
gone two hours and all returned, loaded with cigarette
stubs and cigar butts, tired and hungry, but unable, so
they said, to catch the two boys they had forced to
run away. We had to discipline the whole group, at
least make a pretense of the same, and abolished the
idea of time off for the return of runaway boys. They
were just too foxy for us that time.

In place of the old boarding-house style of placing
all food on the table, where it got cold before the boys
arrived in the main dining room, we established a
cafeteria service where there would be a choice of items
and a fair distribution of meat and desserts. This
stopped the young "hogs" found in any such group, from
grabbing the choice foods and the little fellows getting
what was left. Three of the companies had been eating
in the cottages with the housefather and mother, a good
idea in some instances but a difficult task of
administration to send the food out hot and appetizing
from the main kitchen.

The boys in the "mud" trades built an attractive
counter of green tile. We abolished the silence system
during meals and while it was noisy, with three hundred
boys talking, it was no more so than many private schools

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for the rich. The boys in the three cottages now
clambored to eat in the cafeteria, so we abolished the
cottage feeding and gave the cottage parents a little
relief. The boys liked the cafeteria much better^than
the old method and took more time at their meals, which
was a good thing. The tables had chairs for four, and
boys could sit anywhere they pleased.

Mr. Nellis had kept the credit system out of Whittier,
but had held the boys stay at Whittier to twenty-four
months. There were some exceptions, but the boys under
stood it was twenty- four.

Fortunately we did not have a parole board to come
in from the outside and try to decide in a few moments
by reading scant records, that a boy was ready for
release. The records at Whittier, however, were quite
complete due to the efforts of Dr. J. Harold Williams,
who had established and directed the California Bureau
of Juvenile Research on the Whittier grounds. Careful
case histories were developed and boys appeared before
a committee of the personnel in reference to release.

We decided to strengthen this group with the top
staff and the Superintendent as Chairman. It soon
became apparent that much more preparation was necessary
in advance of the boy's appearance before this committee;
that a definite plan for the release of each lad should
be made ahead of time - home investigation, job opportunity,

Between The Dark - 198

or replacement in school. We secured two more place
ment officers to speed up the processes and to release
boys earlier, if we felt they had adjusted and were
ready for release.

The average length of stay was reduced from twenty-
four to eighteen months, and earlier placements were
considered on special cases.

I didn't believe in reformation. Boys just didn't
automatically reform. We hoped they could be adjusted,
for many were not really responsible for their trouble.
It was usually the family or community in which they
lived that had let them down. If we could adjust and
change their attitudes and inspire a new incentive
together with a close helpful follow-up on release, that
was about all we could expect.

When we reduced the time to eighteen months and heard
special cases of boys who had made a good adjustment,
the morale of the school improved. Now it was up to
every boy to work out his own release date.

I wired Dr. Terman at Stanford to recommend someone
to direct the California Bureau of Juvenile Research,
since the professor had resigned. We planned to re
organize the Bureau to provide again the fine program
instituted by its first director. He suggested DP. Norman
Fehton, professor of psychology at a colleg in Athens, Ohio.
"You will be lucky if you can entice him. I consider him

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the most able person in America for the job."

When Dr. Penton arrived he went right to work re
establishing the Bureau of Research and Guidance and
fully justified Dr. Terman' s recommendation. The
testing program had all op ceased, and we wanted to
get at the causes that had brought so many lads to
Whittier who we thought could well have been adjusted
within the community.

Dr. Penton set up a clinic for all new arrivals.
Again we began to receive a flow of information on each
boy. A study of the home invironment, psychological
tests, vocational opportunities for employment in that
field in the boy's community. This made it possible,
the day the new boy arrived, to start getting him ready
for his eventual release.

Mrs. Penton assisted with remedial reading and
interested them in the library. Boys who had never been
able to read became prodigious readers, which opened up
a new world for them.

Then there were those of limited intelligence who
could not go much further in school and for whom we
should find something they could do with their hands.
This still presents a real problem today in our public
schools and unless helped, these children soon find
themselves in trouble.

There were so many small boys, eight and nine years
old, who were being sent to Whittier from the Juvenile

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Courts. Their communities claimed they lacked the
proper facilities to handle "these tough kids."

Why should anyone feel that an eight or nine-year-old
was beyond handling?

One day the papers carried the headlines - BOY BANDIT
OP MONTEREY. He was nine, and there followed the comment:
"This community has no facilities for handling such a
desperate character, and he has been committed to the
Whittier State School until he is twenty-one."

One morning my wife and I visited the Junior Cottage
on the far end of the grounds. A soft-ball game was in
progress. She sat on a bench nearby while I stepped
over to watch the game. Glancing around she noticed a
little fellow at the edge of some trees watching her
intently. She smiled and turned her attention to the
game, but when she glanced again in his direction, here
he was at the end of her bench and now she could see him
clearly for the first time. He was a little nine-year-old
with white hair, white eyebrows, the pink eyes of an
albino, and like the "white blackbird" of Alfred DeMusset,
he had been rejected by the group because he was so
different. She smiled at him again and placed her hand
on the bench, and like a little crab he scrambled beside
her. Soon she felt a small hand touch her soft cheek.
She said she didn't know just how it happened, but now

Between The Dark - 201

he was in her lap and she was holding in her arms the
"Boy Bandit of Monterey."

The game stopped and all the little boys gathered
around the bench, not to ridicule, but to gaze with
hungry eyes upon that which had been denied them in
their own disrupted families. Suddenly, as if by magic,
the little fellow had gained status because he had been
accepted by the woman who understood. This lad didn't
need Whittier, he needed a home, warm loving care and
a feeling of being wanted. We found him such a home
and let him go, and as far as we know he never got into
trouble again.

Dr. Penton suggested we send out a traveling Child
Guidance Clinic in California to demonstrate to commun
ities how they might adjust their own cases in place of
sending them to the State School. At the next session
of the legislature, the Commission for the Study of
Problem Children secured fifty thousand dollars for
this purpose, and we set to work. The clinic went into
a community only upon invitation. If they asked for
help, they could have it. The psychiatric social worker
gathered the social history; the psychologist administered
the necessary tests, assisted when necessary, by the local
psychiatrist and physician.

When all the facts were in, an^ Educational Conference
was held with the school principal and teachers concerned,

Between The Dark - 202

especially those who had suggested the child was in
need, together with representatives of case-working
agencies. The social worker read the case history
and now for the first time all present had a true
picture of the child's problems and needs. This pro
cedure opened the eyes of many school officials, as
well as community agencies, to the methods they could
use to adjust these children. As they sat around the
table, one after another suggested ways their agencies
could help. Often teachers remarked, "If I had only
known what this boy was up against, I'm sure I could
have helped him more." In many instances it wasn't the
fault of the community. Either it didn't know what to
do with these cases, or was like the judge in San Diego
who claimed he was a "practical guy" because he could
send a boy to Whittier for only twenty dollars a month
while it would cost the county twenty-five per month if
he sent him to a foster home. For a saving of five
dollars per month the boy was given an institutional
record he would have difficulty living down all his life.

Now the calls were numerous and the clinic spent
almost full time in the field with excellent results.
Later several of these communities were able to establish
Child Guidance Clinics of their own, and we noticed a
marked drop in the number of small boys, eight and nine
years old, sent to Whittier. Communities were beginning
to help themselves.

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For ten years Dr. Feriton's clinic traveled throughout
California keeping hundreds of small boys out of Whittier
by encouraging local communities to handle their own cases,
Fifteen years later a check was made of the records of
San Quentin Prison and only fourteen of the four- thousand
cases handled by the clinic had reached the prison.

The Commission For The Study of Problem Children
sponsored an enabling act which later became law and
has had a far-reaching effect in arousing communities
to the needs of rejected children. This would allow
local school boards and communities to establish and
maintain recreational programs and encourage the
expansion of public recreation. It provided a tax of
three cents on every one hundred dollars of assessed
valuation of real and personal property to carry out
the provisions of the act. Dr. Fenton's clinic found
many communities where children were forced to play in
the streets because stubborn school boards insisted on
closing the school playgrounds at three o'clock. This
enabling act made available the necessary funds to
open these grounds with adequate supervision for the
children. A properly directed busy child seldom becomes
a delinquent. Great credit is due George Hjelte, then
Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Los
Angeles, who was the moving force behind the establish
ment of this important legislation for California.

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Mr. Jensen was having his troubles in trying to
change some of the archaic and antiquated methods of
treatment then administered in the State Hospitals For
The Mentally 111. Too many superintendents still
relied on the old straight- jacket for a disturbed
person and the straps to hold patients in bed. His
efforts to abolish these were met with protests and
stubborn resistance.

There was also trouble at the Girls' School at
Ventura, which was under a regime of severe discipline
and repressive treatment. Here again changes were
resisted and there began to gather among some professional
groups an organized attack upon him.

We had expressed our desire to do something for
emotionally unstable children at Whittier by eventually
providing facilities for such a group. I was invited to
attend a meeting of the Psychopathic Association of
Southern California, a group formed by the late Dr.
Brainard, an eminent psychiatrist, for the purpose of
furthering the cause of the mentally ill and for
providing proper facilities for the Teeble minded
children of Southern California. It was composed of
psychiatrists, doctors, and private citizens interested
in this field, and it was through their efforts that the
Home For The Feeble Minded at Pacific Colony, and the
State Hospital at Norwalk, had been established.

Between The Dark - 20f>

It was a closed group limited to forty members, and an
invitation to attend was usually followed by a second
invitation to join if the membership approved.

Becky and I went that night and were graciously
received. It was quite a social affair. I knew some
of those present and we were soon in conversation.

I kept hearing Earl Jensen' s name mentioned by
several groups, and it disturbed me. "We have got to
get rid of this man Jensen." "That man Jensen is just
impossible to work with." Again and again they took
Earl apart and no one said a good word in his behalf.
Two other State superintendents were present and by
their very silence they appeared to acquiesce.

At the close of the business meeting, Becky and I
were presented, and the President asked if I would like
to say a word. It came unexpectedly, but once on my feet
and expressing our thanks, I couldn't remain silent in
the face of that attack on Earl.

'"When I came in tonight one of the first remarks I
heard was, 'We must get rid of Mr. Jensen'." Silence
fell. The hostess paused as she started for the kitchen
to start serving refreshments.

"I think there must be some misunderstanding of
Mr. Jensen," I continued, "for I have found him to be
a very earnest person desperately trying to do something

Between The Dark - 206

for the thousands of patients under his care. I would
not feel that I was loyal if I remained silent in the
face of the criticism I have listened to tonight. Why
not invite him to attend your next meeting? I'm sure
he would come and this would give him a chance to
defend himself." I paused a moment and then concluded,
"Some of you have never met the man, and there are
always two sides to every issue."

I sat down and to my surprise the group broke into
genuine applause. One of the doctors who had been most
outspoken in his criticism quickly moved that Mr. Jensen
be invited to attend the next meeting. On the way home
I told Becky I guessed our goose was cooked as far as
that group was concerned, but a few days later we were
invited to join, and accepted.

At the next meeting, Earl appeared. He had a grin on
his face when I met him at the door and introduced him
to the group. They asked a lot of questions, which he
answered with disarming frankness, or admitted he did
not know the answer. The two doctors who had been so
unfriendly were now open in their admiration, and one
proposed that Mr. Jensen be made an honorary member and
attend whenever he was able. He was very pleased with the
outcome, for this was a very influential group and were
able to help him a great deal in his program from then on.

Between The Dark - 20?

"Because the road was steep and long
And through a dark and lonely land,
God set upon my lips a song
And put a lantern in ray hand."

Joyce Kilmer

CHAPTER IX

Becky gave a tea to the entire personnel of the
school, with hours from four to five for the night
shift and seven to nine for the others. Some of the
night group I had not been able to get acquainted with,
and Becky had not met any of them. We included the
families as well so that we could know them all. One
hundred and six people came and stayed in the evening
until ten- thirty, playing games on the lawn. The
colored chef and the chief supervisor won the potato
race, and the baker, who had been on the place twenty-
three years, said that was the first time he had ever
been inside the superintendent's residence. We broke
a lot of ice that night.

Our first Christmas we followed the usual program
worked out by Mr. Nellis. Santa Glaus at 5:00 a.m.

Between The Dark - 208

would make the rounds with a big bag of candy and nuts
for each boy. This was followed by games in the after
noon and a big turkey dinner. The big event was a party
in the evening, with presents for every boy.

Deep secrecy surrounded Santa Glaus, who was usually
one of the heavier men. I decided to tacikle the job
myself. Becky helped truss me up with pillows, painted
my cheeks and lips, all at l4.:30 a.m. It was great fun
for they were all fooled completely, even the larger
boys sixteen and seventeen failed to recognize me. My
voice was hoarse by the time I made the rounds of the
ten groups scattered in separate buildings on the
grounds.

The Christmas party was held each year in the
combined chapel and auditorium. That evening we invited
people in the town of Whittier to come down and see the
fun. The boys gathered for the entertainment, and this
year we wanted to add something different.

There was much mystery connected with a platform in
the rafters, which had not been there the night before.
Rnraor spread through the junior group that Santa was
going to descend in a parachute.

The usual signal for the arrival of Santa was the
shooting of the school cannon. The year before, in
the excitement of the moment, the boy cannoneer had
pointed the cannon too close and had shot off one of

Between The Dark - 209

Santa' 3 pant legs by mistake. This year we thought
we would vary the procedure by having the old escape
whistle, which had not been blown for years, follow
immediately the shot from the cannon. That whistle
with its deep vibrant tone, like a steamboat, woke up
the whole town and three motorcycle cops came tearing
down from the Whittier Police Department, thinking
there was a riot. We invited them in to see the fun.

All eyes turned toward the rafters waiting for Santa
bo make the jump. Instead, little white flakes floated
down from that platform, and soon the whole chapel was
enveloped in a whirling snowstorm as fans secretly
installed blew artificial snow in the form of untoasted
corn flakes down upon the assembly. They were so in
terested in the storm that Santa was halfway down the
aisle before they spotted him. He called to them and
jollied as he went along. Pandimonium broke loose.
Three hundred boys with vigorous lungs were standing
on their chairs, yelling. It was a great entry.

Orange County had sent in £00 Christmas boxes left
over from their Christmas tree celebration. Santa
distributed these first. Each box contained candy,
nuts and a toy whistle. Of course f>v«»y boy started
to blow. It was deafening.

The Business Manager had returned to see the show.
He said to one of the officers, "Better look out, this
place is going to riot." Perhaps it did look that way
to him.

Between The Dark - 210

We let them blow for a full five minutes to get it
out of their systems. It was now time to go on with
the show, so I raised my hand for silence and the boys
were so out of breath they were glad to stop. Just
normal boys, blowing off like normal boys. They put
away their whistles except for an occasional toot and
the distribution of presents began.

The teachers had done a fine job. As each package
came in to the school for a boy, he was notified of its
arrival and informed that it would be on the great
Christmas tree on Christmas night. To make sure that
all boys were remembered, the Whittier Rotary Club sent
down fifty dollars for presents for those boys who did
not receive any through the mail. No one was forgotten.
Each boy came forward and received his own present as
Santa called his name and in half an hour they were all
distributed. All this followed with a motion picture.

Next year the boys still wanted to hear the escape
whistle again, so in fear of another police raid, we
invited two motorcycle officers from the Whittier Police
Department to ride their motorcycles down the center
aisle with sirens screaming and Old Santa seated behind
the second machine. That entry was a sensation. The
police officers enjoyed it as much as the kids.

Our vocational courses had little or no correlation

Between The Dark - 211

with the work in the academic classrooms. Whittier
was supposed to be offering trade and vocational
classes and preparing boys for work in industry. We
had jurisdiction over them until they were twenty-one.

Most of these lads would eventually wind up in some
field of work calling for acquired skills with their
hands. The majority hated school and had been turned
out as failures. If they did not receive the proper
skills now, they never would.

To this day, only a handful of our Industrial Schools
for boys and girls and even a smaller number of our
prisons in the United States have adequate facilities
for vocational training. As a result, they leave these
inadequate institutions no better prepared to earn a
living than when they entered, and soon violate their
parole, only to be returned to the same places for a
longer confinement. A steady torturous march toward
prison gates.

We must give these schools and prisons more adequate
support to enable them to prepare their graduates to
earn their own way in life. Without such support, much
of our tax money is wasted, nor are we protecting
society against future depredations.

In order to check up on our program and improve the
service, we requested the State Department of Education
to make a vocational survey of all the academic and

Between The Dark - 212

trade training offered at Wbittier. Mr. Nicolas
Ricciardi and John Beswick came down to look the place
over and decide upon the type of survey to be made.

The survey, when completed, showed us to be less than
forty percent efficient. This gave us the necessary
ammunition to secure an appropriation from the legis
lature to really teach vocational training at Whittier.
They recommended a General Shop where boys could start
on an exploratory try-out period, taking a little of
several trades until the instructor could determine with
the boy, what he was really interested in and what he
might best be fitted to do. The shop was fitted out
with different types of machines and equipment covering
several vocational fields. New arrivals were assigned
to this shop for a period of a month. A careful study
was made during this try-out period and the vocational
committee discussed each case with the boy before a
final assignment was made. If he showed a lack of
interest in their suggestions he was encouraged to say
so, and other plans were explored.

Only a handful of the boys were in trade or shop
training and that was mainly maintenance work to keep
the institution going. Shop men didn't want any more boys,
said they were in the way and they couldn't get the work
out if they had to stop so often to teach new boys.
It was quite clear to us that the trouble was with them
selves.

Between The Dark - 213

They were good tradesmen, but they didn't know how to
teach their trade to others.

Arrangements were made to send these tradesmen to the
University for teacher- training work. They were allowed
a half day on State time, three days a week, and they
attended until they received their teacher's credential.
Then we raised their pay and started in to also fill
their shops with eager boys. Within six months we had
over eighty percent of the boys in training in some
form of vocational work. The shop men finished up all
the maintenance work in the school and the auto shop
was taking some work from town and repairing cars for
members of the personnel at a nominal charge in order
to give the boys an opportunity to work on the different
makes of cars in use. Now the shop men were anxious to
keep full classes because they picked the more advanced
boys to help on the maintenance work in the afternoon.
The boys in vocational classes now felt they were getting
some real training and we had very little trouble with
discipline cases and rarely any in the shops or school.

A vocational director was appointed to keep the work
going smoothly and to see that the boys were assigned
to the proper classes. In the school a new system was
installed to meet the needs of these particular boys.
Most of them had hated school and had run away or played

Between The Dark - 211j.

truant so many times that they found themselves in
trouble and so far behind their classmates that they
often became discouraged and sullen. Now we were ex
pecting these same boys, who hated school, to quietly
accept the same system at Whittier and like it. No
wonder we had trouble.

A conference with the teachers in which they were
asked for their opinions brought forth some very valuable
suggestions, which were adopted. The result was a com
bination of the Dalton and Winnetka plans of education,
a system of contracts for each boy in each subject.
The summer months were devoted to the building up of
these contracts and the teachers were kept on salary and
given a chance to devote full-time to this work. By the
fall semester they were ready for the new plan.

The teachers now became tutors instead of classroom
instructors. There were no more recitations with the
brightest boys showing off to the embarrassment of the
dull ones. Each boy had a certain number of contracts to
finish each week and these were arranged to fit his mental
ability. Three grades of contracts were available -
brightest boys, average, and dull; but nothing was said
to the boys to indicate any difference. They just
started where the tutor indicated and were each expected
to complete their contracts by the end of each week.

Between The Dark - 215

Boys wfco had never been able to do the school work of
their grade now found themselves going ahead rapidly
and the teacher was free to help each boy as he needed
help. Instead of instruction and recitation periods,
the teacher remained at her desk and each boy came to
herfor individual help on his contract.

The next job was a correlation of school and shop
work. The tradesmen were now in a position to help the
teachers work out the proper arithmetic problems for the
mud trades, the plumbing shop, paint and carpentry; in
fact all of the trades on the place. Then followed shop
English, the history of the trade, secrets of the trade
and in short, the widening of the field of vocational
interests and opportunities for all boys in the school.
Some boys were not interested in any vocation, but
demonstrated the ability to do regular classroom work
and an expectancy to return to regular school when re
leased. These boys were given the straight elementary
or high school courses and their credits were accepted
by the public school system when they were released. All
of our teachers had their state credentials and the school
was accredited with the State Department of Education.

The teachers at the school were exceptional people.
They were carefully selected for their training and more
important, their interest in these unfortunate boys.

Between The Dark - 216

They seemed to understand them and many a lad poured out
his hungry heart to them.

A new conduct and progress rating system was installed
and each boy knew just where he stood at all times. The
former rating had been on a quarterly basis, officer and
teacher sending in a rating of the boy's school, trade
and cottage conduct and progress. Too often injustices
occurred under such a system. Perhaps the boy had a fine
record up to within fifteen days of the quarterly rating
period and then began to slip. He became troublesome and
had to be reported. It was quite natural for the officer
to forget the two and a half months of good record and as
he made up the report card, to remember the latest episode
where discipline was necessary. The new rating system re
quired that a daily record of conduct be kept in school,
shop and cottage. The cottage conduct record was posted
in the dormitory for each boy to see just where he stood.
If his mark was not satisfactory he could ask the cottage
supervisor what was wrong and how he might improve his
record. The latter was required to tell him what was wrong
and help him improve where he was weak. These record sheets
were turned in to the office every thirty days and entered
on the boy's permanent record card in his folder.

Day by day his record was being built up for the day of
his release and as we were releasing boys six months
earlier than before, this was a very important record to

Between The Dark - 21?

have. When we started taking the outstanding boy in each
cottage each month and bringining his name before the
placement committee regardless of the length of time he
had been in the school, this record was then of double
importance. Usually it was the deciding factor in the
case.

As the boys became accustomed to this system and as
the officers got over their early resentment at having to
explain to a boy why he did not receive a good mark, two
thing^ happened. First, the boy was more careful of his
conduct because he was now working for himself as well
as the group. Second, the officer was more careful of his
marking since he had to explain it to the boy. Under the
old system the officer was never questioned, in fact the
markings were secret and the boy was not told how he stood,
A new spirit pervaded the school, the beginnings of a
spirit of frankness and understanding between boy and
officer.

Cottage competition in athletics and in conduct record
was stimulated. Each cottage that went through the month
with no boys running away was given a group reward in the
form of a treat. This usually meant going uptown to the
movie, or a trip to the beach for a swim. These were
looked forward to with a keen interest and the problem of
running away was greatly reduced.

Between The Dark - 218

The problem of discipline in this school was intensely
interesting. It had gone through a period of evolution.
In the days when Whittier was a strict reformatory of the
old type, the age range had been from eight to twenty-one
years. That meant serious adult cases were mixed with
children. Mr. Nellis had finally secured legislation to
make the top age at Whittier fifteen years, and all other
cases were to be sent to Preston. That took the older
boys out of the school and allowed Whittier to center its
whole effort and attention on the younger boy.

The girls' school was also located on the grounds and
many riots occurred in that department. Later they were
transferred to the State School For Girls at Ventura.

A portion of the old discipline cells remained and one
could see the large hooks in the concrete wall where
recalcitrant girls were hung up by their thumbs and left
for hours in agony and pain. Openings in the same wall
disclosed the dungeon- like tombs with their iron-grate
doors. Girls were thrown in here and locked in solitary
confinement after being whipped. Those were rough days
at Whittier State School and are still rough in a few
girls' schools in the United States.

Shortly after the passage of the above legislation,
the older boys at Whittier had staged a riot. The whole
school was then housed in one main three-story brick
building similar to the main building at Preston. One

Between The Dark - 219

night they threw out the night man and barricaded them
selves in the third-floor dormitory. Calvin Derrick had
told me the story of that first transfer on my visit to
Preston in 191ij.. The riot had continued for several days
and when the boys found they in turn had been locked in
and couldn't get out, they started dumping the furniture
out of the third- story window onto the lawn below. The
place was soon a shambles and still the riot continued.

Nellis made some quick arrangements to transfer the
whole group to Preston and asked Derrick to help him out.
A special sleeping car with the windows barred was backed
onto the siding at the school and the boys were then
herded onto the train. It was evening when they started,
and they were immediately put to bed and their clothes
taken from them. They had planned to riot and make a great
demonstration when they reached the Los Angeles Depot.
Derrick had stood in the doorway and told them that he
wouldn't stand for any noise and that each boy was to
remain in his berth. All curtains had been removed and
he had a view of every boy. The bluff worked, for there
was not a sound, as they went through the station. The
boys were fed in the car and Derrick phoned ahead for the
band and two companies of cadets from the school to be at
the station in lone to meet the train.

As the group detrained, they found themselves flanked

Between The Dark - 220

by the two companies of cadets and with the band in the
lead they marched down the one street of the town,
crossed the bridge over Sutter Creek and headed for the
school on the hill. The whole shift was made without
any demonstration and without losing a single boy.

At Whittier these big boys had been big frogs in a
little puddle. At Preston they were now little frogs in
a bigger puddle and soon adjusted to the new program
because they were now among boys of their own age. This
simplified the discipline problem at Whittier and made
possible the fine program which followed.

When Mr. Nellis first took over the school the lash
was the important discipline, along with the Oregon Boot.
If a boy ran away, this ni»-pound implement was welded
on to the ankle and left there for weeks at a time,
often resulting in permanent injury to the boy.

The last whippings at Whittier occurred shortly after
Nellis came. Rumor has it that they took place in the
basement of the hospital building, and that three boys
and the Superintendent were involved. The boys had run
away and the penalty was then six strokes of the lash.
Nellis said he didn't want an officer to apply the
punishment, but wished to see for himself how effective it
really was. He never told anyone except his secretary,
Mr. Knox, what had happened, and swore him to secrecy

Between The Dark - 221

while living. I repeat it here as a lasting tribute
to this man's courage and understanding.

The lash was brought out of its hiding place and the
boys removed their shirts. Then a strange thing happened.
As they turned around, determined to take their raedecine,
they found that the Superintendent had also removed his
shirt. Picking out the largest boy, he handed him the
lash, saying, "You can be the one to swing the whip, but
it will be on my back first." The boy drew back in
astonishment and chagrin. What game was this man playing?

But the Superintendent was in earnest and insisted
that the whipping begin. The other two boys had drawn
back out of range and stood there silently watching the
proceedings. The big fellow still hesitated as he stood
there toying with the leather lash. He didn't want to
hit the man.

At a sharp word from the Superintendent, the lash fell,

"Harder. Strike harder," the man called, and the boy,
forced to obey, began to feel sick all over. He hadn't
bargained for this when he ran away. The harder he hit
the man, the more he was encouraged to strike with greater
force. At last the six strokes had been given and the
lad stepped back in confusion. Now he wanted to vomit.
Nellis took the lash from the boy's hand. The latter was
glad to get rid of it.

"That is all for today, boys," he said. "You can put

Between The Dark - 222

on your shirts. I have taken your whippings for you."

Not a boy moved. They stood there in stunned silence,
looking at the tall man who had just allowed a boy to
whip him, rather than administer upon them the brutal
punishment they had expected. This was a new kind of
Superintendent.

The big fellow was the first to find his voice.

"But that isn't fair, Mr. Nellis. We're the ones that
ran away. You've got to whip us."

There in the semi-darkness of the old basement, a
secret pack was formed, a pact between three boys and a
man they could respect. They agreed there would be no
more running away. Instead, they would help him clean
up the school. There was to be nothing said about what
had just occurred. That was a secret between them. In
turn, he was to administer the six lashes to each boy, as
they had bargained for that, when they ran away. They
would keep that bargain.

Silently they shook hands, then the whippings began.

Nellis swore there would be no more whippings at
Whittier. There must be some other way to appeal to these
boys. In place of force and restraint, why not give these
youngsters some incentive to stay with the school, to have
a part in its development, to help protect its good name?

If a boy would not conform, he should not be given the
same privileges the others enjoyed. He should be placed

Between The Dark - 223

apart for a time until he both expressed and demonstrated
a desire to work with the group for the benefit of all,
rather than himself. Out of this idea the Loi Privilege
Cottage was formed. Here boys were sent, not for
punishment - in fact that word was no longer in good
standing. He was sent to the Lost Privilege Cottage until
he could adjust himself and he was the one to decide when
that had occurred.

A special building was constructed for this purpose,
housing a total of thirty-five boys - the population
varying from time to time.

A living room, kitchenette where food from the main
kitchen could be served, showers, a dormitory with the beds
fastened to the floor and in the rear of the building four
cells, called quarantine rooms, sound-proof and secure for
the boy who became violent or needed to be by himself.

Boys in quarantine in those days were placed on a bread
and milk diet instead of the usual bread and water, which
had formerly prevailed. The boy could have all the milk
he could drink, but nothing else except the bread. The
length of stgy in these cells varied from a day to many
days, depending upon the attitude of the boy. While in
this cottage, all privileges were denied. While other
boys enjoyed the movies and football, three meals a day
and companionship with other boys in the school, the lads

Between The Dark - 221).

in the Lost Privilege Cottage worked on the road crew,
were kept out of school and were placed on silence in
the cottage and at work. This treatment was much more
effective than the lash. Now each boy was his own
disciplinarian. He had gotten himself into the cottage
by his own actions and now it was up to him to get himself
out again. No one was going to do that for him and no
one seemed to mind how long he desired to stay there.

Rewards in the other cottages were increased and there
were many incentives held out to boys to build a good
record and to work together for the good of the group.
Cottages that went thirty days without a boy running away,
were given special recognition and treats. A much-
coveted banner was passed from cottage to cottage as a
six-months period elapsed without a run- away. Then there
were trips uptown and to the beach for a swim in the surf.

We had been at Whittier only a few days when one of
the boys tried to take his own life by slashing his wrists
with a razor blade. He had been assigned to the plumbing
shop where he worked a half day. The doctor patched him
up and although he lost a lot of blood, he was not
seriously injured and soon the cuts healed over. The lad
was psychopathic and unstable. He wept on the slightest
provocation and seemed to be unable to get along with
other boys in the group. The Lost Privilege Cottage had
seen him enter its doors several times for picking locks

Between The Dark - 225

around the school. There was no doubt of his ability in
this field, he seemed to have the touch that was required
and could skillfully open any lock on the place. Since
it was necessary to keep doors locked in some of the
groups, this boy's mania for picking locks represented
quite a serious problem.

He complained about his company officer and charged
that the man often struck him about the hand. A few days
later we caught the officer striking the boy, and dis
missed him on the spot. He couldn't see why he shouldn't
be allowed to handle his own discipline in his own way.
Later we transferred the boy to Preston where he could be
under closer supervision for his own safety, but afterwards
I was sorry, for I believe we should have been able to
handle him better at Whittier.

One of the most serious problems faced by these
industrial schools was the absence of trained personnel
and adequate facilities to handle the ever-growing number
of emotionally disturbed youngsters committed to their care.
Today they form .30$ of the population of these places and
the public schools are glad to get rid of them by passing
them on to the State.

It was January 1st when Ned arrived at the school and
we soon realized that San Francisco had handed us a hot
New Year's present. He had been in the Receiving Cottage

Between The Dark - 226

only a few hours before he made his presence known to
all. These boys did not eat in the cafeteria; their
meals were sent from the main kitchen. That morning the
boys were served cornflakes for breakfast and the meal
was well started when suddenly Ned jumped to his feet,
grabbed the edge of the table and hurled it over onto
the floor with all the breakfast for four boys. He
threw himself across the upturned table, kicking and
screaming that he had been poisoned. The officer on the
cottage had been there fifteen years and had never seen
such a case. He tried to pick him up and quiet him, but
to no avail. This same performance was repeated at two
other meals and in between he was constantly annoying
other boys, making himself generally obnoxious. The
officer felt the lad was just putting on a show, but
when these episodes continued he wondered if he was a
little "off".

When he reported it to the office he said, "I really
don't know how to handle the boy and need help."

The case history showed that Ned had been in many
public and private schools, but had been returned to court
each time by the school heads because they said he was
wrecking the place and they couldn't or would not put up
with him any longer. Finally he had been placed in a
sanitarium and the psychiatrist recommended a stay at
Whittier. The Juvenile Court Judge had been glad to

Between The Dark - 22?

follow the suggestion and get the boy out of town.

The father and mother had separated and he was placed
with his grandmother. Then followed a shuttling back
and forth between the three, the boy usually getting his
own way because no one would say no. The history showed
a stormy period in the community, yet he was only twelve
when he arrived at Whittier.

His favorite stunt had been to ride his bicycle on the
tracks just in front of the street car. The motorman
would clang his bell for him to get off, but he rode on at
the same speed and paid no attention. When the car stopped
to avoid hitting him, and the motorman got out to haul
him off, Ned would ride around the block and repeat the
stunt on the next car.

There was an episode in Golden Gate Park in San
Francisco where a police officer had picked him up, clad
only in B.V.D.'s, because his grandmother had refused
him some request. He would get on the street car and sit
in the passengers' laps uninvited. He would grab the
newspaper out of their hands and throw it on the floor.
He was accused of cruel treatment to cats and dogs, and
once he tried to burn the toes of a little girl down at
the beach.

Ned was a sweet- faced quiet- spoken little lad when he
was in a good mood. Then he was liked by all the boys and

Between The Dark - 228

for a few hours would be quite popular. But it never
lasted long. Soon he was throwing another tantrum and
all the kids were down on him again.

He had formerly been whipped so many times that it
seemed to make little impression on him. He rather
expected such treatment to follow his outbursts and was
very much surprised when the officer on the Receiving
Cottage, Mr. Robbins, didn't strike him.

After the conference we tried out another method of
treatment on Ned. Everyone now was deeply interested in
his case and tried to help him solve it. We decided to
still leave him in the Receiving Cottage.

Next morning at breakfast, Ned, true to form, started
in to make a scene. He tried to kick over the table again,
but the other boys, who had seen him do it several times,
were on the watch and held onto it. Seeing that he
couldn't do that, he threw himself on the floor, kicking
and screaming as usual. The officer quietly picked him up
and took him into another room and set him down in the
hallway and locked the door, first telling him he could
come out whenever he was ready to act like other boys.

Well, that didn't work at all. Bedlam broke loose as
the door was closed. He kicked and pounded on the door,
yelling at the top of his voice, turned on and off the
electric lights, sent in an alarm system in the corridor,
and made such an uproar that the officer finally had to

Between The Dark - 229

take him into one of the quarantine rooms used as a
last resort. Again he told him as he closed the door,
"Let me know, son, when you are ready to come out."
This was a room with bare walls and a cot in the corner.
Soon the noise quieted down, as no one could really hear
what he was saying and it wasn't any fun listening to
himself alone.

An hour later the officer opened the door and there
stood Ned, his hand outstretched, a smile on his face as
he said, "Let's shake hands, Mr. Robbins, I've had
enough. "

Out he came immediately and joined the group. In half
an hour he blew up again, and in he went. This time the
officer left him two hours. By then he was ready to come
out again and got through the rest of the day without
any more trouble.

For weeks this same procedure continued. Sometimes
he had a good day, but more often he was placed by himself
because he couldn't get along wifti the group. His case
and what we were trying to do was explained to a few of
the boys and they jumped in to help him out. When they
saw him getting ready to pull off one of his tantrums,
they would try to attract bis attention to something else
or start playing some game. This seemed to help him.
Gradually his tantrums became further and further apart
and of less violence. Once he went two days without

Between The Dark - 230

trouble and when he went a whole week, we all had a
celebration. By that time, every boy in the school
knew about "that nut Ned," and some of them teased him
to make him perform. We soon put a stop to that and the
lad had a better chance.

Ned didn't cause any trouble in school, for he was a
bright boy and stood out in all his classes. He seemed
to have an abnormal craving for attention, and was always
anxious to recite. In athletics he was clumsy and awkward.
Here too he would perform with a crying spell or temper
tantrum if he didn't get his own way. But the spells
became wider apart and we were at least making progress.
We didn't send him back to court, as every other place had
done, and he couldn't quite understand why he couldn't
get anyone's goat as he had before.

But there were other cases besides Ned that called for
special attention. Two boys in the plumbing shop detail
suddenly showed up in the hospital with a bad case of
gonorrhea. They wouldn't tell where they had become
infected and we couldn't find out where they had been.
They swore that they had not been off the place and we
did not know of any cases in the school. We kept the
boys in the hospital where they could have proper treatment
and not infect anyone else. Here they stayed for several
weeks before we got the story out of them. It was our
colored maid, Willie. The boys had been sent by the plumber
to fix the drain in the Superintendent's residence while we
were away. The maid had invited them in.

Between The Dark - 231

The doctor came over and told me he had a confession
from his two patients. I was horrified and dismissed
her at once with the admonition never to shoitf up there
again. Two weeks later we got rid of the colored chef
who had recommended her so highly. He blew up in a huff
over the actions of some of the boys and became so
abusive that we parted company.

The affair was immediately reported to the Director
in Sacramento, who approved the transfer of the two boys,
who were nearly eighteen, to Preston where they were
equipped to give the proper treatment. The whole thing
was a regrettable incident, but the boys recovered later
with no ill effects.

Between The Dark -232

"Not understood. How many
breasts are aching for
lack of sympathy."

Sir Thomas Bracken

CHAPTER X

During the four years at Whittier State School, I
learned many valuable lessons that were to stand me in
good stead later on.

One of the most critical problems in any institution
is the manner in which discipline is administered. It
must be firm, but fair. Without careful attention and
supervision from the administrative head, it can be
severely abused.

Too many boys were being sent to the Lost Privilege
Cottage and it was becoming a dumping ground for certain
members of the staff. In order to find out what was
going on, I decided to take over the discipline cases
myself. All cases sent to the Lost Privilege Cottage

Between The Dark - 233

must clear over my desk and I would interview these
cases in the cottage at least once a week during their
stay there. Sunday was the best day for this purpose,
as the boys remained in all day.

We set up a table in the corridor off the dormitory
and each boy came by himself for the interview. None
of the others could see or hear what took place.

At first some of the boys were suspicious and sullen.
They didn't trust me or anyone else. Many of them had
run away and were expected to spend two months in the
cottage before they could be returned to their group in
the school.

I knew why the boy was in the cottage - the interview
ing card, prepared in the office, told all about it.
There also was before me the boy's record in the cottage
since he had gotten into trouble. We seldom discussed
what he had done to be sent to the school or to Lost
Privilege. Instead, we talked about himself, how he
was getting along, where his home was and what he might
expect when released from the school. He couldn't quite
figure out why I didn't upbraid him. As we talked
quietly together, tears often came into his eyes at a
little praise and encouragement. He seemed starved for
just that.

Soon these Sunday morning visits became an established
part of ray routine and the boys seemed to expect a visit
and many of them pointed proudly to the record of the past
week when it showed marked improvement.

Between The Dark - 23l|.

During these interviews alone with the boys, I picked
up a lot of valuable information about the management of
the school and got a line on the officers as well. Some
of the men seldom had boys in trouble. The boys stood up
for them because they felt they were being treated fairly.
Other officers had boys in trouble most of the time; in
fact the larger group came from the same officers.

The boys talked freely after those first interviews.
They stopped lying and told me the truth, often blaming
themselves for what had happened. I made it clear that I
was not inviting tale bearing. It was the little things
that slipped into the conversation that told me most.

These were the serious problem cases in the school,
and by keeping in touch with them, I soon had my hand on
the pulse of things. Then, too, these interviews meant a
great deal to me for I was beginning to understand these
lads more each week.

I remember vividly the first time I talked to Bob.
A tall gangling boy with a sullen and sad face who seemed
to feel that all the world was against him. He had been
in Lost Privilege often for minor offenses and now he had
just been returned for running away.

He didn't want to talk to me or anyone else. After
several attempts to pull him into the conversation, I
sent him back to the group with the promise I would see
him the following week. Without a word or glance he arose

Between The Dark - 235>

and left the room.

The case haunted me; I couldn't get him out of my mind
for he seemed so unhappy. The case folder in the office
told little except that the boy suddenly developed a mania
for stealing cars. He took one after another, drove them
one night, left them in a deserted spot and the next night
took another. When he was sent to Whittier, at the a 30 of
fifteen, he had twelve stolen cars to his credit.

He came from a good family and his parents were terribly
upset over his committment to the school.

The next interview I made no further progress. The boy
was very much on the defensive and still wouldn't talk. His
record for the week was bad. He had gotten into two fights
and again attempted to run away.

The third week he began to thaw out a little and slowly
and cautiously answered ray questions, watching me with a
stealthy expression, as though I must surely be trying to
put something over on him.

The fourth week he was ready to talk and poured forth
in a torrent against his father and mother for lying to him
and kept repeating again and again that he would never go
back to them. This was something new, for the folder in
dicated a happy childhood and a deep fondness for these
people. He wanted me to promise him that whatever happened,
we would not return him to his home upon release.

Between The Dark - 236

I said, "I can't promise you that, Bob. What is the
reason?"

With that, the story came out. One day when he was
thirteen, he was returning from school when a boy stopped
him in his tracks with the statement, "I know something
about you, Bob. You're adopted."

At first he didn't take it all in. What did this fellow
mean by the statement, he was adopted? The boy proceeded
to tell him. He listened until he understood and then
with a fierce denial on his lips he proceeded to lick the
boy roundly for daring to tell him such a lie.

Like a frightened deer he fled for home and bursting
in upon his mother, called out in a tone of agony and
despair,

"Mother, it isn't true... say it isn't truel"

"What isn't true, Bob, what are you talking about?"
she replied.

"The kids say I am not your boy, I'm adopted. It isn't
true, is it, Mother? Tell me it isn'tl"

She stood there looking at him in astonishment. He was
watching her face, eagerly, for some sign. She was
frightened now, and her face was a pasty white, as her hand
stole to her throat. Then with a great effort she said,
"No I No, Bob, it isn't true. Of course you are our son."

Somehow he instinctively knew that she was lying. It
was true then and they had kept it from him all these years.

Between The Dark - 237

If he wasn't their son, then whose son was he? Where were
his own father and mother? What were they like? Were they
living or dead? Why hadn't they told him this long ago so
that he might find them?

In a flash, his love for this woman, whom he had called
his mother, turned to a blinding hate. She tried to explain
and comfort him, but he shook off her attempts and rushed
out of the house.

"I wasn't going back again," he said, "but the police
picked me up and took me home." Then had followed a
stormy interview with his adopted father, which all but
ended in blows.

He began to lose interest in his school work and to stay
away from home as much as he could. It was then that he
started to steal cars. "I didn't want the cars, it was
just something to take my mind off my troubles," he said.
He found it easy to steal a car, as so many people failed
to lock it or left the key in the ignition switch. As long
as he didn't keep the car, but kept changing, there wasn't
much danger of the cops catching up with him. "I wasn't
really sorry when they finally got me," he continued,
"because coming to the school meant that I wouldn't have to
go home again."

Several months had passed since he had come to Whittier,
but he still carried a deep and bitter resentment toward
the man and woman who had lied to him so often about his

Between The Dark - 238

birth. Tears of anger blinded his eyes, as he talked
about them now. Big sobs began to rack his body, as
he placed his head on his arras on the table.

I waited silently until the storm subsided. This was
no time to go further. "I am glad you told me, Bob," I
said, "and I want to think over what you have said. Per
haps we can work this thing out together so that you can
find out who your folks are and whether they are living
or dead. Isn't that what is really bothering you?"

"Oh yes," he said, looking up from the table. "If I
only knew they were alive. They might need me."

I promised to see what I could do and the boy showed
his relief by smiling through his tears. That was his
first smile since coming to Whittier.

Next Sunday I had some news for him. His folks had
died shortly after he was born and he had been placed in
an orphanage until he was four. His present foster parents
had adopted him and tried in every way to consider him as
their own child. Then there arose the feat that some day
he might find out they were not his parents and that he
might turn from them and they would lose him. Every bit
o* evidence about his own parents was destroyed and every
safeguard was taken to make sure he never found out the
truth. So deeply were they concerned about his birth that
they moved to California hoping that no one in their old
neighborhood would follow.

Between The Dark - 239

During the interview, the boy had eagerly taken in
every word. Now he wanted to know more about his parents.
What were his father and mother like? Had they died in
want? Where was he born? "Your parents were fine people,
Bob," I continued. "But for more information about them,
you will have to ask your foster parents who raised you."

The old resentment against these people seemed to come
back with a rush. His face flushed as he stiffened up in
his chair. "I don't want to see them again," he exclaimed.
"They have lied to me all these years about my people and
I can't believe them now. "

It was useless to argue with him in this state. Wait
ing until he had calmed down again, I said, "We won't be
able to talk longer today, Bob, but there is one thing
I would like to have you think about this week. Just go
over in your mind all the fine things these people have
done for you since they took you in, for that is what they
did. "You see," I continued, "they didn't have any children
of their own and they wanted a boy. They wanted a special
kind of a boy, not just any boy. In order to find that
boy, they made a visit to all the places in their community
where children were placed for adoption. It took them a
long time, for they saw and talked to many boys. Finally
they saw you and knew that you were the boy they were look
ing for."

Bob was listening to what I was saying, but I wasn't
sure just what effect it was having.

Between The Dark -

"Just remember this one more thing," I concluded, "if
you were really their boy, they wouldn't have been able to
pick you out the way they did. They really wanted you and
that is the only reason you were adopted. It was their
love for you that created this false fear that you would
some day find out. They made a serious mistake and they
know it now, in not telling you as soon as you could under
stand." With that we parted.

The next time I saw Bob he was a different fellow. He
greeted me eagerly as he took his seat beside the little
table in the corridor of Lost Privilege Cottage. Much of
the sullenness had left his face and there was a clearer
look in his eyes. I extended my hand and he returned the
grip as though he meant it. This time it was Bob who
opened up on me.

He had been thinking things over. Now that he knew his
father and mother were dead, there had come to him a feel
ing of relief. He was sorry for the way he had treated
his foster parents and was now anxious to see them. An
arrangement was made for them to visit the school and Bob
was given a chance to see them alone. They were a happy
reunited family. A few months later, Bob went home and
there was no further trouble.

If all people who adopt little children would tell the
child as soon as it is old enough to understand, they will
prevent many tragedies and heartbreaks throughout our

Between The Dark -

country. Don't be afraid to tell the child the truth.
Instead of losing his love, it will cement that sacred
relationship between parent and child we all desire.

Gradually the population in Lost Privilege Cottage
was reduced to the few lads who really required close
detention for a time. This was partially due to the in-
service training of the staff and a clearer understanding
of firm but fair discipline. We abolished the bread and
milk diet and served instead the full meal, including
dessert, to all boys in detention. Our objective was to
change attitudes and this cannot be accomplished by
denying a growing boy his food, for it only causes resent.-
ment. Soon the staff realized the results were rewarding.

I have often wondered since, what later happened to
the many disturbed lads I interviewed in Lost Privilege
Cottage on those Sunday mornings. How did they turn out
in later life? Did we help them or if they later
succeeded, did they do it themselves in spite of our
efforts?

Pat was a very disturbed boy when he arrived in 1928
and after several interviews with him in Lost Privilege
Cottage I had lost track of him. It was thirty years
later that I discovered him again. He was married with
children of their own, a happy close-knit little family.
He had earned his Degree in Social Work and was success
fully administering an important intricate social re-

Between The Dark - 2\\2

search project in his community. We met after that on
several occasions and he consented to let me make a tape
recording of his story, of why he came to Whittier and
what happened to him there and in the after years. This is
briefly what he said :

"I was born in a foreign country of parents
of different national background. Early in
my life they came to America and settled
in Los Angeles in a very poor, rough
neighborhood. My father was an intelligent
person, but died of chronic alcoholism and
tuberculosis. My mother, an illiterate
peasant woman, worked at night cleaning
buildings and took in washing during the day
in order to eake out an existence for her
two boys.

During my first year in school I was a butt
of many of the jokes for the other kids. I
said certain things to teachers, which I
thought were salutations, but which were really
filthy epithets for which I was often severely
punished. When I began to learn the language
things went better for me.

The neighborhood was noted for its thieving,
drunkenness and prostitution and I became a
part and parcel of this situation. When I was
eleven my mother was taken to the county
hospital and I was set adrift in this rundown
neighborhood. Had it not been for the kindness
of several Mexican, Italian and Yugoslavian
families who generously took me in, fed and
housed me, I don't know what I would have done.

One day my case was called to the attention of
the juvenile authorities and I was picked up and
sent to Juvenile Hall. There I was scrubbed,
deloused and fed. Here for the first time in my
life I began to feel the stability that comes
from three meals a day. I became interested in
the school program and made rapid progress
during my short stay.

I was sent to a foster home in Los Angeles,
my first experience in living outside my
own family. The foster mother was extremely
punitive and played favorites. The food was

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not good and the treatment rough. When I
began to rebel, both in the home and at the
local school, I was returned to Juvenile Hall
and the whole process began again.

The second foster home was run by a Mrs.
Wagner, a wonderful woman, soft, good and who
had an ability to be firm in a very friendly
way. She made life very enjoyable. I was
entered at the Chatsworth Elementary School,
my grades soon picked up and I became one of
the few A students in this class.

The foster home was in a rural setting with
many things for youngsters to do. In summer
we picked cantaloupes and watermelons and did
other odd jobs for money. Mrs. Wagner gave
us her individual attention and care. She
was understanding and tended to make us feel
as if we were a part of her, had emanated from
her womb and she loved us all.

There were three other boys from Juvenile Hall
in this foster home. There was also a crippled
lad on crutches, a victim of polio. He was a
very sadistic angry youngster who would hit us
with his crutches and yet when we would retaliate
Mrs. Wagner seemed to understand.

The biggest tragedy in this foster home was that
Mrs. Wagner died. This time I felt as if she had
rejected us, or shall I say I felt she had
rejected me. I was again returned to Juvenile
Hall to await another placement, but this time
for something I had not done. I was malicious,
angry, frustrated. Angry perhaps at Mrs. Wagner
for die ing and leaving us. I was also angry at
myself. Had I killed her? Was it something I
had done to push her over the cliff? I also
accused her. 'Why were you so good and kind and
then you leave to punish me, for in your dieing
you took all this away. If you want me to love
you more, you come back.'

I became so difficult to handle I was finally
committed to Whittier State School as a dependent
child who lacked a proper home. There, as you
know, my hostility and anger continued and my
first few days were extremely turbulent. I
would lash out verbally at officers and
physically rebel against other inmates, until
I landed in Lost Privilege Cottage.

Between The Dark - 2ljl|.

After a few days I had coold down. I was now
fifteen and was transferred to D Company, which
was considered to be the bad-boy cottage in a
bad-boy school. I guess they thought I was
tough and I did too. There my adjustment was a
difficult one. I remember vividly one evening,
a youngster, a monitor of that cottage told me
in no uncertain terms that he was the boss and
then struck me in the face to letHce know that
he meant business and that was my first
experience with the "Duke's System."

The "Duke's System," similar to the "Monitor System"
at Preston, is still found in many Industrial
Schools in the United States.

Our supervisor, Mr. Hamilton, was a very
understanding person, strict, even rough at
times with those who were looking for trouble,
and yet ready to help any boy who would respond
to the rules and sought his guidance. I well
remember when the school was struck with spinal
meningitis and we were quarantined in quarters.
This gave "Ham," as we called him, more time to
devote to the individual boy and I was very eager
to talk to an adult, to tell him about ray feelings
and aspirations. "Ham" was very good to me. He
talked to me in a fatherly way and was the first
person who really listened to my story and gave
me many valuable suggestions concerning my conduct
and training for the future.

One evening he said to me, rPat, what you need is
to start reading some good books and I'm going to
bring you Dana's TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST.' Well,
Ham did bring the book and I read it very quickly
and of course this created an insatiable desire
and he brought more books - Sabatine, Scaramouch,
Captain Blood, Alexander Dumas' books and even
started me on Guy De Maupassant before I left the
school.

To make a few comments about the school itself.
My feelings are now that institutions of that type
are too formal and too concerned with operating
and giving themselves to the routine instead of
dealing with the human beings there. It tends to place
us all in an assembly- line type of situation, which
creates greater anonymity than does life in the

Between The Dark - 214-5

community, does not give personal attention
nor sufficient time to the individual to
help him with his problems and to really
see himself as he \s_.

I can say vividly what had helped me more
was the very fact that Mr. Hamilton had given
me enough time to encourage me in reading.
"Ham" took a personal interest in all our
activities. I learned to conduct myself with
more patience, to accept routine and to feel
that if the school would let him, Ham would
do a lot more for us.

On leaving Whittier I was full of fears. I
did not want to go back to my old neighborhood
because I oould almost smell the bed bugs and
see them crawling up and down the walls like
Romans in Phalanx. I wanted to tell these
people I would like to stay, but somehow they
said, 'Well, no, you've got to get out and
start again, sometime you can come back and
visit us if you want to.'

I was brought home by an individual whose name
I can't remember, who dumped me and left. My
mother said, 'Well, I see you are back.' I
said, 'Yea,' and she said 'Well, be a good boy,'
and then she went about her business. That
night the bed bugs began crawling up and down and
I used to pop them and could smell my own blood
on my fingers.

I then entered Belmost High School. My first
experience during the week I remember well.
There was a blond, curly- ha ired , good-looking
coach in the gym class. We stood in a circle
whiles he instructed us. Somehow he knew I had
just come out of Whittier.

I had formed a friendship with John Moore and we
were signalling to each other when the coach
looked in our direction. He stopped and said to
me, 'You were making a gesture. You are a jailbird
just out of a reformatory. ' It was done in
front of the whole class and there was a
degree of embarrassment, but not that much
because I was really proud of having been
out to Whittier. It was the first time in my

Between The Dark - 2)4.6

life I felt I belonged to something, so I
rather belligerently said, 'Yes, what are you
going to do about it?' He said, 'You're
tough?' I said, 'Well, I think I'm tough.'
Then he said, 'Why don't you put the gloves
on with me?'

Of course he was a big man, but now I felt I
could not back down, even ' tho I was scared.
We put the gloves on and started in. He was
fast and knocked me down four times, bloodied
ray nose and cut my lip. Fortunately for me
the head coach came in and stopped the fight
and bawled his assistant out for taking on a
student. The man apologized to me and we
shook hands. I felt I was half to blame and
took the affair as a learning experience for
me.

I soon adjusted at school due to the
understanding help of two fine teachers who
seemed to fill the void that Mrs. Wagner left
when she died. One interested me in English
and the other in sociology. They invited me
to their homes and I did odd jobs around the
place.

Upon graduation from High School I became an
apprentice riveter, joined the army in World
War II and served in Africa and later on was
injured in a jump as a paratrooper. Having a
service-connected disability, the Veterans
Administration put me through college and I
received my degree in Social Work.

As a youngster, somewhere along the line, I met
certain people whom I latched onto as parent-
sarrogatas and these are the people who were
like bench marks in my life. There is no
substitute for the human quality of understanding,
for taking an interest in individuals. In all
our efforts in the field of social strife there
is so little time to allow us to really get
close to human beings who need our help and this
is rapidly becoming more so.

As we face automation we must find a way
for a closer understanding between the worker and
the client. Institutions tend to eventually
perpetuate themselves, their needs, feeding of
the children and the routine. It just doesn't

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pay good dividends. There must be a better way
and that's what we are trying to do on this
project."

He had placed his finger on so many of the problems we
face today.

It was in January, that first year we were at Whittier,
when we started the Harmonica Band. One hundred boys
responded and with the help of the Whittier Rotary Club
each boy was given an instrument of his own. An in
structor from the Los Angeles Playgrounds was engaged and the
band was a great success. It was remarkable the way these
boys, who had never played an instrument. . .and many of them
had difficulty in carrying a tune... took hold of this
activity. Soon the group was playing in Whittier and
surrounding towns to admiring audiences and the Harmonica
Octette was in great demand. The music seemed to do some
thing for the boys, and filled many a leisure hour on the
playfield and in the cottages.

Jackie Coogan and three of his friends, from a Military
School, came to lunch at our home and to see the school.
We had great fun with Jackie, who was just a real boy. On
the way out the boys had become hungry and their escort
stopped and purchased hot dogs all around. This however
did not seem to affect their appetites for lunch, as they
dug in with a will.

Jackie was especially entranced with some chopped pickle
that Becky served as a relish and seemed content to make a

Between The Dark - 214.8

meal off that, as he kept reaching for the dish until it
was all gone. When I asked him if he would like something
more to eat, he shyly asked if there was any more of that
pickle in the kitchen. The dish was replenished and for
once Jackie had his fill of relish.

After lunch the boys went down to the stables to see
the horses and when our son Franklin showed Jackie his own
horse, nothing would do but that he must ride her. Without
waiting for an okey from his escort, Jackie had the saddle
on in a trice and was tearing around the grounds on old
Bess. Before we bought her, she had been hauling a milk
wagon around Pomona, so there wasn't much danger that
Jackie would get hurt, but when the Major, who had brought
the boys, heard that Jackie was riding a horse, he thought
of the boy's contract with Hollywood and came tearing out
of our cottage and tried to get him off for fear he might
be thrown and break an arm or leg. Jackie didn't want to
get off and the good Major couldn't catch him on two feet,
so the lively youngster rode down to the other end of the
grounds and back, a distance all told of one mile, while
the Major followed in his wake trying to make him understand
that it was extremely dangerous for him to be riding a
strange horse. The whole episode ended without injury to
Jackie and we all had a good laugh, but felt that the
Major had his hands full, to say the least, and that all
of the minor behavior problems were not at Whittier.

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That afternoon we had a special show for the boys at
the school in honor of Jackie's visit, and showed his
picture, LITTLE ROBINSON CRUSOB. We asked Jackie to tell
the boys how the picture was made, and he gave a nice
little talk and dwelt especially on an old alley cat who
had surprised everyone by calmly diving off the raft into
the water, yet that wasn't supposed to be in the picture.

Jackie made a great hit with the boys and everyone was
watching for the diving cat. When we came to that place in
the picture and the cat dove overboard, the boys broke into
applause and all turned to look at Jackie in the back of the
chapel. But Jackie was so engrossed in his own picture and
laughed so heartily when the cat jumped over, that he didn't
know that all the boys were looking in his direction.

Upon their arrival, new boys were kept in the hospital
for a period of ten days to allow for necessary tests and
physical examinations. Then they were transferred to the
Receiving Cottage. Here they were to remain at least thirty
days under very close supervision until they demonstrated
that they did not intend to run away. This fear of boys
running away seemed to permeate the institution and every
one was on the alert all the time.

The first time I entered the Receiving Cottage, I wanted
to run away too. It was the most desolate-looking of any
room on the place, a God-forsaken hole. Any new boy enter
ing this cottage for the first time must have had a sinking

Between The Dark - 250

feeling in the pit of his stomach. The place was almost

1
bare of furniture except for a few tables and d iissipa ted

chairs, many with their backs out and rungs broken. The
table tops were whittled and splintered and the remainder
of the paint seemed to cling on in dirty spots. There
were no curtains on the windows and the bars on the out
side accentuated the feeling that from this place of
detention there was no escape.

The dormitory adjoining was more attractive, perhaps
because the beds were neatly made and there was an air of
order about the place.

The Receiving Cottage was an exact duplicate of the Lost
Privilege Cottage, in fact it was the other half of the same
building with the same arrangement of facilities, but much
more attractively furnished. New boys were required to
memorize the rules and regulations of the school, mainly a
series of "Don'ts" contained in a little book with a dirty
yellow cover. If the boy learned rapidly and did not cause
any trouble in the cottage, he soon moved out and joined
one of the other groups. If he had difficulty in mastering
the rules or was unwilling to apply himself, he remained
in the cottage, perhaps for months.

Prom this cottage came the largest number of attempts
to run away, and many of them made it. Others, emotionally
unstable to begin with, went to pieces in this atmosphere of
detention and desolation.

Between The Dark - 2f>l

We decided to do something about the Receiving Cottage,
to fix it up so that it would at least look attractive to
the new boy when he entered for the first time. The women
fixed up some colored draperies, the painter put on a
stipple finish on the walls, using bright colors to liven
up the place, and new chairs and tables replaced the old
wrecks, which had long since outserved their usefulness.

When the place was finished we staged a party for the
boys in the Receiving Cottage. The new rugs on the floor
gave the place a warm club atmosphere and new games kept
everyone occupied throughout the evening. Some of the boys,
from the Scout Cottage, came in their uniforms to become
acquainted with the new boys and to tell the latter about
the school and what was expected of them. Ice cream and
cake wound up a grand evening.

Now the boys took a keen interest in their cottage and
endeavored to keep it clean and in good condition. One new
boy, attracted by the color of the new draperies, reached
out his hand and felt them. His hand was quickly jerked
aside by another boy who said, "Keep ya hands off our
drapes, will ya? Do ya wanta get 'em dirty?"

New boys worked in the laundry where they could be closely
supervised, as they were more apt to run away the first two
months of their stay in the school. If they got by that
period they usually stayed with the school until released.

Between The Dark - 252

Only about five percent of the boys tried to run away.
The great danger was that the whole policy of the school
would be built to keep the five percent from running away
and to forget the ninety-five percent who could be relied
upon to stay with us. What if some of them did run away?
We could soon pick them up. Those particular boys had run
away many times before coming to Whittier, so why should
we expect them to suddenly settle down just because the
Court had sent them to us?

Whittier was an open school and since there was no fence
around the place, what was there to run from? We tried to
instill the idea that it took courage not to run away. Only
the weak and cowardly who couldn't take it, would run. The
boys and officers together must encourage these weaker
fellows to stay with the school. Both groups caught the
spirit, and the running away was greatly diminished.

Between The Dark - 253

"The applause of a single human
being is of great consequence."

Samuel Johnson

CHAPTER XI

Dramatics and music began to play an important part
in the school program. Most of these lads were hungry
for praise and recognition. This seemed to be true of
the more serious behavior cases. They performed their
stunts in order to be looked upon as tough or trouble
some by the other boys. Usually it went back to a feeling
of inferiority and a desire to appear well in the eyes
of their companions. Why not let them perform, but
under controlled conditions? Miss Genevieve Downs, a
dramatic teacher, was secured and given a free hand
to see what could be done with the more serious behavior
oases by interesting them in the field of dramatics.

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We need a play that would both stimulate these boys
and at the same time be interesting to the other boys in
the school. Teachers in this field of dramatics may
wonder at her temerity, but her first play selected was
Drinkwater's ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Carefully she selected
those boys in the school whom we felt were starved for
recognition. It didn't matter to her whether they had
ever been in a play or not. All parts were to be played
by boys. Mrs. Lincoln was a little fellow who couldn't
control his temper. He flew off at the least provocation.
The boy who played the part of the sentry, who was found
asleep at his post, was a little hatchet- faced lad from
upstate who had stolen a saddle and rifle with two other
boys, carried them to the mountains and there they
barricaded themselves in. The sheriff was called and
with several deputies they tried to drive the boys out
into the open, to no avail. After several shots had
been exchanged, they finally sent for the boys' probation
officer. He approached within range of the boy's rifle
where they had been shooting at the sheriff's posse and
called out, "Enos, come out of there right now."

The little fellow replied, "All right, Mr. Harris,"
and stepped out to where the officers were gathered. He
had been to a wild-west show where he had gotten the
idea of barricading himself in the mountains. The lad

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had caused other trouble, and after this last escapade,
was committed to the State School at Whittier. He was
a quiet sweet-faced boy with a wistful expression in his
eyes and a voice like a boy soprano. It was hard to
believe he was sixteen, he was so young looking.

Dick was selected to play the part of Abraham Lincoln
because we thought he needed the part. He was a tall
gangling lad of seventeen, soon to go out on placement.
Dick had been in serious trouble before coming to the
school. There were several stolen cars and he had been
involved in a hold-up in which a man was shot and
seriously injured. His youthful years saved him from
the penitentiary.

Dick wasn't getting along very well - the other boys
didn't like him and he was in petty trouble with someone
most of the time. His father and mother were separated
and he had refused to listen to his mother who was forced
to work to support the family.

The boy took to the part from the first. He read
everything he could get his hands on about Abraham Lincoln.
He hounded the library, asked the officers for any book or
stories about the Great Emancipator, and couldn't seem to
satisfy his thirst for information. Then he began to live
the part. He put a drawl into his speech, slowed down his
walk to a stroll and when he sat down in a chair, would
slowly cross one leg over the other as he imagined Lincoln
would do.

Between The Dark -

And so the cast was drawn, not on ability, but the
need of each boy who was to take part. They were a strange
crew the night of the performance and an amused murmur went
through the audience as the boys saw the names of the cast
on the printed programs. This was going to be a flop.
Those kids couldn't act.

A titter went through the group when Mrs. Lincoln first
came on the stage, but only a titter. She was dressed in
a beautiful gown, her hair piled high on her head in the
style of the times, and as she began to speak, the boys
became so interested in the lines they forgot that Mr.
Lincoln was a little boy.

Dick was a great success. His mother was in the audience
and was quite overcome with his interpretation of Lincoln.
The boy's makeup was perfect and he carried himself with
that awkward grace for which Lincoln was famous.

It was little Enos who stole the show. The scene was
a farmhouse near Appomattox near the close of the Civil
War. President Lincoln had called on General Grant who
informed him that a sentry was to be shot at dawn for
falling asleep at his post. He had completed a twenty-
three mile march that day and volunteered to stand watch
for a sick friend. It was a vital post, with the
Confederate Army under General Lee seeking a place to
break through.

Between The Dark - 2j?7

When Lincoln requested to see him alone, a boy of
twenty was brought before him. Lincoln quietly questioned
the lad .

"You were doing double duty?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Who ordered you?"

"Well, Sir, I offered."

"Why?"

"Enoch White - he was sick, Sir. We come from the
same place."

"You live there?"

"Yes, Sir. My we've got a farm down there."

"Who has?"

"My mother, Sir. I've got her photograph, Sir."

Looking at the photograph, Lincoln says, "Does she know
about this?"

"For God's sake, don't, Sir."

"There, there, my boy. You're not going to be shot."

Gazing into Lincoln's eyes, the boy says, "Not going
to be shot, Sir?"

"No, no! "said Lincoln.

Then, as though talking to his mother, with hope driving
out despair, the lad cries out, "Not^going. . to. .be. .shot,"
and breaks down sobbing.

I doubt if there was a dry eye in the little theatre
that night.

Between The Dark - 258

We gave a guest performance for the Conference of
Superintendents of State Institutions, and invited many
guests from Los Angeles and Hollywood. Pour hundred
people laughed and wept as those delinquent boys lived
the lives of Lincoln and his associates. It was a great
success.

But the after-effects were the most important. It was
what the play did for each boy that counted. Dick couldn't
take the characterization of Lincoln so seriously without
being affected himself. He became more studious, took
renewed interest in his high school work, and dug into
his practice on the linotype with new vigor. Honest
Abe had gotten hold of him and he was more considerate of
his mother than ever before, so much so that she remarked
about it in the office.

Abe Lincoln had done so much for these disturbed boys
we decided to try another play. This time the whole
performance would be staged by the worst behavior
problem cases in the school, provided we could induce
them to perform. The play selected was titled SKELLEY
DIGGS and called for only three characters - a doctor,
nurse, and a little crippled boy in a wheel chair.

For the doctor we selected a case of emotional anger.
A few weeks before, this boy had nearly killed another
boy who was tormenting him. In a rage he picked up a
knife in the hospital and hurled it with such force and

Between The Dark - 259

accuracy that the boy ducked just in time to save his
life and the knife stuck in the wall about the position
his heart had been. When aroused, he would weep violently
and create a scene. The boy went around with a sullen
sad expression, as though he had lost his last friend in
the world. As the doctor, he was expected to be calm,
carry himself with poise and self-control.

The nurse was a boy named Jack who was constantly
running away from the school and when returned, would
dwell at great length over his troubles, and talked
frequently about taking his own life. He had no parents
and was so emotionally upset that there was great doubt
whether he would be able to adjust himself outside. As
the nurse he had to be constantly thinking of others and
trying to serve their needs instead of thinking about
himself.

For the little crippled boy, we selected Ned, who had
now become a famous character about the school for his
many emotional outbursts in Receiving Cottage and in the
group to which he was now assigned. Ned was really trying
to get hold of himself and a little praise seemed to go
much further with him than the old-style whippings he had
experienced before coming to Whittier. As the crippled
boy in the play, he was the principal character and all
attention centered and revolved around him.

The story was about this little crippled lad and the
efforts of the doctor to cure him. The dramatics teacher
had her hands full getting these three to work together

Between The Dark - 260

without getting into a fight or throwing tantrums.

The play was given before all the boys in the chapel,
now known on such occasions as "The Boys' Little Theatre."

Again they tittered when they saw the cast. But it
was not long before they were completely absorbed by the
play and forgot about the three queer lads who were putt
ing it on. Much to the surprise of everyone, the boys
entered into the spirit of the play and put on a fine
performance. For one little hour, they held the stage
and were the center of attention for the entire school.
They seemed to fairly expand with the applause, which
was showered upon them by this audience of their own
playmates.

Next day I met Ned on the school grounds and he wore a
broad grin. "How did you like the play?" he asked, and
when I said I thought it was splendid, he said, "How did
you like me in it?" I really meant it when I replied,
"Ned, you were great. I never saw a better performance."
There it was, hunger for attention and praise, perhaps
also a deep longing to be accepted by the group. By
means of dramatics, many of the most serious behavior cases
were helped in their adjustment. It was now a very
important part of the school program.

Mr. Nellis had made one of the cottages into a Boy
Scout Troop and they were accepted into the Scout Council

Between The Dark - 261

in the Whittier District the same as any other troop.
The first real cottage at Whittier had been given
over to this purpose and the boys quickly earned an
enviable record in the district. They were soon en
grossed in the merit badges and other activities of the
Scout program. In this cottage there were only twenty-
four boys and each boy had his own room. This was quite
an innovation in correctional schools and proved a
success from the first.

We increased the Scout program and now had three troops
and a group of Pioneers, which later became the first Cub
Pack in the district. Now more than a third of the
population were Boy Scouts or Cubs in good standing.

When there had been only one troop, the other boys used
to guy them and call them sissies. When the three troops
were formed and the Scout Cottages began to clean up on
the others in football and track, this heckling disappeared,

But even Boy Scouts sometimes failed. One night
three Scouts slipped out of Scout cottage and taking
the school truck from the garage near the stables, drove
down the Coast Highway for parts unknown. There was
great excitement at the school over this affair. Some of
the old-timers shook their heads and longed again for the
good old days when all boys were locked in one building
and there was no problem of escapes. The newer men tried

Between The Dark - 262

to figure out what had gone wrong as the three boys were
among the most trusted of all the boys in the school. Had
something upset them that afternoon, or was it just
another hair- brained escapade of three boys?

For three days, with several men out looking for them,
we received no word. Then the truck, unharmed, but out of
gas was picked up by the police and two of the boys were
soon arrested in the vicinity and returned to the school.
About ten o'clock the next night we received a call from
Colton that the third boy had been shot through the chest
by the Chief of Police when he refused to stop when
challenged. Caught in the act of stealing another car,
he had started to run down the railroad track trying to
get away. I was out all night trying to get at the
bottom of the shooting. The boy was taken to the county
hospital where he finally recovered and was returned a
month later to the school.

The three Scouts could give no reason for taking the
truck. All were doing well in their work, liked the
Scout program and had no thought of going until one of
them proposed the plan in the afternoon and they thought
it would be a good time to go. They had planned to only
go for a joy ride in the truck, but after they started
down the highway they were afraid to come back and so
decided it was best to keep going. I'm sure they learned
a good lesson for when they completed their stay in Lost

Between The Dark - 263

Privilege we returned them to their troop with no further
trouble.

Paul Rieger, Chairman of the Commission for The Study
of Problem Children and Past District Governor of Rotary,
was asked by the President of the Los Angeles Rotary Club
what their Boys' Work Committee could do for under
privileged boys. Paul sent for me and asked what I would
suggest. "You better ask plenty," he said, "for they
have lots of money to spend."

For some time I had been trying to get from the State
a public address system and a radio loud speaker in each
cottage. This was going to cost about three thousand
dollars and the Department wouldn't approve the request.
I told Paul about this and he said he would ask the Los
Angeles Club to give it to the boys.

A committee came out for lunch and went through the
school. The band boys put on a little concert for them
in their cottage. It was the first time any of these men
had ever visited Whittier. They were amazed at the attitude
of the boys who met them without fear and visited with them
the same as any other group of boys would do. The men had
expected to see a high wall about the school, in fact
several had passed the grounds many times driving along
the highway toward San Diego and had been under the
impression that the place was a college or private school.

Between The Dark - 26ij.

They were greatly taken by the boys and decided to
investigate the public address system and see what it would
cost. The result was a gift to the boys of a central
system with a loud speaker in each cottage and a public
address system as well. We had a microphone installed in
our cottage so that I could talk to the boys and we could
put on entertainments when guests visited us.

Through a member of Rotary, the equipment was installed
at cost and worked perfectly. We also had two loud
speakers installed in the little theatre and each Thursday
evening, when the show was on, we would turn on the Stanford
Symphony Hour and use the concert as incidental music for
the silent picture on the screen. It was surprising how
well the music fitted the picture. Big Bill Hart in a
western thriller, and The Ride of the Valkyries were really
made to order, although Wagner never intended it should be
so used. Sometimes in a death scene, the music would take
on a lively tone and go dancing off with the corpse, but
the boys didn't seem to mind.

There was great excitement the first few nights when
the music was turned on in the cottages. The boys didn't
like the choice of high-class music at first, and called
for jazz. For three solid weeks we gave them nothing but
jazz until they were sick and tired of its jigging
racket. Then one or two cottages asked for organ music
instead of the jazz. Others sent in requests for better
music and gradually the tone of programs was raised. The

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whole school was developing music appreciation without
realizing it.

Before the radio system was installed, the hour and a
half in the dormitories just before lights-out had been
the most difficult in the entire day, from the standpoint
of discipline. Boys went up to the dormitory at seven and
undressed for bed. Then followed an hour and a half in
which they could read or play quiet games. But this soon
became monotonous and trouble for the night man usually
followed. When the radio was installed our problem of
discipline was reduced to a minimum. The boys came to
depend upon it for entertainment during that period and
if the group did not behave themselves the radio was
turned off for the evening. That meant that the whole
group lost a privilege because a few boys failed to
conform. This happened but a few times and the boys took
care of those few who were spoiling their evenings of
good music and comic skits on the air. Within a month it
was unusual to have any kind of a disturbance in the
cottage at night, thanks to Rotary.

The school department was able to use the radio in
connection with their classes and the central station
was in use many hours of tho day. The real climax came
when we put on the World Series for the boys during their
lunch period in the dining room.

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The boys were so grateful for this unusual gift that
they wanted to show their appreciation in some form. The
class in the mud trades made up a plaque, using the
Rotary Wheel as the center and a place for the name of
the Boys' Work Committee of the Los Angeles Club to be
inscribed and the plaque to hang over the radio set in the
central station located in the power house. This was
presented to Rotary at one of its meetings in the Biltmore
Hotel in Los Angeles when the Band Boys were guests of the
club and put on the program for the day.

The boys grinned as the President, big Bill Kilgore,
said, "I don't want my name on any plaque, but you guys
see that you spell it right." The band put on a fine
concert with a variety of pieces which the men liked. One
by the brass octette made a big hit as the boys seemed to
toss the music back and forth across the big ballroom,
with half of them in the balcony and the others near the
head table. The real climax came when the whole band played
The Stars and Stripes Forever. As the little piccolo player,
standing on a chair, played his solo and was gradually
joined by the other players until the music swelled into
a great crescendo, three hundred and fifty businessmen,
supposed to be hard-boiled and difficult to arouse, were
on their feet applauding and yelling in their excitement
as the music came to an end. It was a great program and
Rotary felt fully repaid for its generous gift as its

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members realized these boys were perhaps no different from
their own sons.

A few months later, Paul Rieger visited the school and
I told the boys his part in securing the radio equipment.
Paul was heavy-set with a large bay window and a Van Dyke
beard of which he was very proud. He responded to the
introduction and gave the boys a nice talk. They listened
with attention to his words and gave him a fine hand when
he was through, for he knew just how to talk to boys.

The Junior lads always sat in the front two rows so
that they could see and hear all that went on in the
theatre. Little Jimmie Shoemaker was next to the aisle
when Paul was addressing the boys. He was a mick of the
first order. Only nine years of age, he was supposed to
be an incorrigible, and the community had thrown up its
hands as had the public school and declared that Jimmie
must go. We had little trouble with him, except that he
was so effervescent and full of life that he fairly ran
over with energy.

He had taken a special shine to Paul, as he had talked
with him on the playfield that afternoon. Now he watched
the big man with intense interest as he talked. When
Paul started up the aisle, Jimmie leaned out and attracted
his attention. When he was sure Paul was looking at him
Jimmie took his fingers and scratched his own little chin
and gave off a little sound like a bleating goat. Paul

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laughed heartily as he ruffled the boy's hair and the
little fellow's delight knew no bounds.

Ten days later little Jimmie came down wih a severe
mastoid and was rushed to the hospital. Streptococci
infection set in and the doctor couldn't stop it. The
boy became weaker and weaker, his color turning pasty
white. As the days wore on he failed to show any signs
of recovery, and it soon became evident that a blood
transfusion was necessary. Our facilities at the school
were inadequate, and the doctor recommended the Murphy
Memorial Hospital in Whittier. We couldn't wait for
an approval frora the Director of Institutions, as it was
necessary to move him immediately if his life was to be
saved. Some technicality prevented us from sending him
to the County Hospital and I gave the order to move him
without waiting for approval.

Word was sent out through the school that a blood
transfusion was imminent and asking for volunteers to
determine who had the right type of blood. Fifty boys
volunteered without any hesitation and we loaded eight
in the car and took them to the laboratory at the
hospital. Finally three boys were found who had the
satisfactory number, and the doctor picked out the first
one, telling the others he might need them later if the
first transfusion did not turn the tide. The other two

Between The Dark - 269

boys were disappointed not to have been chosen. They
were all genuinely concerned about the little guy and
wanted to help. Several transfusions were necessary, and
the boy finally showed signs of rallying.

For several weeks he remained in the Whittier Hospital
because the doctor was afraid to move him. We had
thought he would be there only a few days for the
transfusion. The bill was steadily mounting, but it
never occurred to me that the State would not meet such an
emergency.

In the meantime I had reported my action to the
Department and received no reply. There wasn't anything
I could do now except wait until he had recovered
sufficiently to be moved back to the school.

When the bill came in it was over seven hundred dollars
and I sent it blandly on to the Sacramento office. This
time I did not have to wait for an answer. It came by
return mail. I "had no authority to send this patient to
a private hospital and there was no way that the State
could pay the bill." I was dumbfounded. Here was an
emergency, if ever there was one, and action had to be
taken immediately. I was the legal guardian of these
boys for the State of California, and if anything
happened to them, through negligence on my part, I was
to be held legally responsible. For weeks the correspond
ence went back and forth until I finally appealed directly

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to Mr. Jensen, explained the case in detail, and after
receiving a good calling down, which I had coming for
having acted without authority, he found a way to pay the
bill. In the meantime we saved the life of a little boy
and returned him to his mother. The next time I saw Mr.
Jensen I thanked him for his action. He grinned and said,
"Ken, if I had been in your shoes, I'd have done the same
thing, but boy, was I in a hell of a spot to get that bill
paid."

When Bruce, a little Jewish boy, came to the school, he
begged to be allowed to send home for his violin, and when
it arrived the lad became quite a sensation. He had a
beautiful tone and for his age played very well. Bruce
had been in trouble in his community, partly because of
stolen cars and a broken home. Raided by his grandmother,
who fairly worshipped him, the boy was torn between her and
his own mother who had remarried. He also was greatly
attached to his father, who worked as a barber, but who
showed little affection for his son. There had been a great
deal of bitterness and bickering in the home and Bruce,
with his sensitive nature, didn't seem to know where he
stood most of the time.

The boy caused little trouble in the school, but asked
to be allowed to practice his violin each day. When I
first heard him play in our cottage with Becky as
accompanist, I was struck with the feeling and fine quality
of his tone. A few weeks later, I had him play for the

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Wbittier Rotary Club, and he was received so well that
several members remarked that the boy should be given
additional lessons. The Club's Board of Directors voted
to foot the bill, and we made arrangements for Miss Vera
Barstow to give him lessons. She was the outstanding
violinist in Whittier and a member of the Faculty of
Whittier College. Miss Barstow took a deep interest in
the boy and he made rapid progress under her direction.

The grandmother was the serious problem in the picture.
She was very emotional and each time she visited Bruce the
boy was upset for days. He would become stubborn, defiant
and un-cooperative in many ways. She thought Bruce had
been framed and sent to the school without just cause, and
she told him so and made him very unhappy. Finally we
decided to stop her visits, but the old lady set up such an
uproar and then promised to be careful what she said to
the boy, that vie allowed her to continue, for a while longer,
until Bruce himself asked her not to come. She put on a
great scene, but the boy stood pat. He was really trying
to make a good record and he now recognized his grand
mother's visits were holding him back.

For fifteen months the Whittier Rotary Club paid for
the violin lessons until Bruce left the school and
returned to his grandmother's home on placement. They
had spent one hundred and twenty-five dollars, and it was
a good investment, for his music was one of the most

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important elements in his adjustment, and although he did
little with it after he left Whittier, it acted as a
steadying influence during a very critical period in his
life. We heard him once on radio and lost touch with him
after his case had been dismissed.

Eight years later, one of the officers went into a
barber shop in a beach town near Los Angeles and took a
chair as he asked for a shave. The barber placed the
apron over him and let the chair back into position. Then
standing over the officer with a razor in his hand, the
barber said in a quiet voice, "I ought to cut your throat,
Mr. Moss." The officer was startled, but asked what was
wrong. The barber replied, "It is evident you don't know
me. I am Bruce, and was at Whittier. Remember?" It was
a great joke and the officer, who now recognized him,
joined in the laugh at his own expense. Bruce owned the
shop and had two other chairs. He asked for me and then
talked about his days at the school and the fine thing
Rotary had done for him in giving him lessons on the
violin. He was ashamed that he had never followed up
his music as a profession, but still played for pleasure
and for his friends. It had been a great influence in
his adjustment.

#

In spite of one's best efforts, in any institution,
some boys get upset and take off, seemingly for no reason

Between The Dark - 273

at all. We were awakened at midnight by the phone ringing
at the head of ray bed. It was some moments before I could
gather my senses, and Becky was already on the phone.
She turned it over to me. A cafe man at El Monte, the
oldest town in California, was calling. He had a boy who
had stopped in at his cafe and requested that he phone me
that he wanted to come home to the school and asked that
I come and get him. He said his name was Rodriguez.
The lad was a large fellow and had left the school three
days before and we were looking for him. I asked if the
boy was in any trouble and the proprietor said no.

It had been rather exciting when he had left the school
for he had secured a gun from someone and had taken a shot
at one of the officers who went after him, and then
disappeared in the river bottom. We were very much upset
when he left, for the boy had a fine record in the school
and would have been released in two more months.

Before he came to Whittier he had caused a great deal
of trouble in the community. Several burglaries were
checked out against him and when he was taken to Juvenile
Hall he created such a disturbance they had to take him
to the county jail. Here there were no facilities for
boys and so the lad was finally transferred to a jail in
another county where there were facilities for boys.

Between The Dark - 2714.

When he arrived at Whittier the officer, who wasn't
taking any chances, delivered him in leg irons and handcuffs,
We were so incensed about it that we removed the irons and
turned the boy loose in the school, putting him through
the same routine as any other boy. Now ten months later
he had gone to pieces again and had for some reason run
away.

When I told Becky I was going after him myself, as I
didn't want to disturb an officer at that time of night,
she insisted that she was going too. She would drive the
car back and leave me free to hold the boy in the car if
he tried to get away. She said she wasn't going to take
any chances of the boy hitting me over the head. It was
either consent to take her or get an officer, so we
compromised by both going. I didn't expect any trouble
because he had sent word he wanted to come back.

When we pulled up at the cafe, at one o'clock in the
morning, I told Becky to get behind the wheel and I would
go in and bring the big fellow out and place him in the
back seat with me. Then she was to pull for home without
delay.

Just then the cafe door opened and the proprietor
came out to meet us. Rodriguez was right behind him.
Our eyes opened in amazement. It wasn't Rodriguez, the
boy who had run away. Instead it was a little shrimp of
a lad by the same name who had been in Junior cottage,
and who had become homesick for Whittier and had left

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his foster home and started for the school.

The little fellow climbed in the car without a vrord
and after offering the cafe man some money for the food
he had given him, which he wouldn't take, we headed for
home. I could hear Becky chuckling to herself, as we
drove along. Finally she turned her head half around,
still keeping her eyes on the road, and said, What a
transition. You never know what to expect next on this
job!"

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"And the night shall be filled with music,
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

CHAPTER XII

Just as at the Preston School of Industry, many of
the boys at Whittier had never learned to play. They
were misfits on the playgrounds and also in school. Not
being able to shine in either field, they became dis
couraged, ashamed and resentful. Often this feeling of
inferiority led older boys into serious trouble. Some
began carrying firearms to give themselves a feeling of
confidence and to make an impression upon their peers.
When they arrived at Whittier the resentment was still
there and now that they could no longer carry a concealed
weapon, the feeling of inferiority returned. They
wanted to just sit around and brood instead of joining
into the group activities on the company playgrounds.

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These were small play areas for thirty boys in each
group, which made it possible to keep the different
units separate. But we needed a regulation size football
field and a quarter mile track for intramural sports in
order to feature athletics and eventually pull all boys
into the games. There was one such area on the south
side of the property line, large enough for this purpose,
but the lower half had a drop of about six feet and
would take a lot of grading to put it in shape.

We told the boys we had no money in our budget, but
thought with their volunteer help, we could do the job
ourselves. They agreed to work evenings and on Saturday
afternoons on their own time. The State Department of
Architecture surveyed the field and gave us the grade
levels and we started in, with two dump trucks, a couple
of scrapers, and four teams of mules from the farm.

The tractor ripped up the soil and fifty larger boys
shoveled dirt into the dump trucks while others handled
the mules. After a month we had hardly made a dent in
the project. There was just too much dirt to move to the
fill, but they kept at it.

One Saturday afternoon Mr. Jensen visited the school
and I showed him what the boys were trying to do for
themselves. It was a busy scene. He looked the project
over and then turning to me said, "Do you mean that these
boys are volunteering to do this work on their time off?"

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"Yes," I replied, "It will take us a long time, but
they are staying with it."

He made no further comment, but when he returned to
Sacramento he sent word we could hire more dump trucks,
scrapers and teams in order to push the work to completion.
Thanks to his help we soon had a splendid turf field,
surrounded by a quarter-mile cinder track and the school
was doubly proud because they had built it themselves.
I think in the process we again got a few boys over the
"fear of work. "

There were nine companies in the school and we soon had
two football teams in each group. That meant twenty- two
teams when we included the first and second varsities.
Someone remarked, "The whole gang are football crazy";
even the Juniors had their team.

Formerly the varsity had been the only group playing
football. Now nearly everyone in the school was on a team
or had some kind of responsibility as a yell leader, water
carrier, or stretcher bearer. The latter were often a busy
group. The inter-cottage competition became very keen and
the games were enjoyed more than those with outside teams.
These were lively kids and they needed lively sports to
work off their surplus energy.

That Thanksgiving the football game in the afternoon
between the Juniors and the Twelve- Year Group was a real
classic. These little fellows, eight to ten, played ban

Between The Dark - 279

with everything they had. Their football pants came
clear to their ankles and the headgears, which fitted
like inverted pots, spun around with each flying tackle
and you couldn't tell in which direction the boys were
going. What excitement when the Juniors won!

For basketball we divided the field into several
courts with A, B, and C teams in each group. Socker also
became a popular sport and of course the swimming pool
was always used to capacity.

Some boys were shy and fearful when they came to the
school, while a few others were belligerent bullies. In
order to encourage the frightened lads and hold off the
others we decided to start boxing classes in the Receiving
Cottage. Each new arrival was given a few lessons in how
to protect himself against the rougher group. Both were
included in the class. Just before the class was started,
one troublesome lad had landed in Lost Privilege Cottage
for constantly fighting. When he came out a few weeks
later he started in again to lord it over smaller lads.
One boy whom he had especially abused, stood up to him and
didn't back away as before. He quietly asked the other
boy to let him alone, and when this failed to work,
sailed into him and knocked the big fellow flat. As the
boxing lessons continued we noticed a decline of fights
on the grounds and boxing and weight lifting soon became

Between The Dark - 28 0

an important part of the athletic program.

If two boys thought they had to fight, they were often
taken to the gym and the coach would referee the bout.
There was no audience, neither were there any rounds.
They couldn't hurt each other with the big gloves and the
coach kept them at it until they were exhausted. As
they stood panting for breath the coach would say, "How
about it? You boys had enough?"

One would reply, "Well, yes, but I'm not quitting.
The other would chime in with, "I'm not quitting either."

The coach would laugh and assure them they had put up
a good scrap. "Come on, now, shake hands. I'm calling
it a draw." Often the two fighters left the gym arm in
arm.

Occasionally this failed to work so the coach saved it
for a grudge fight on boxing night before the assembly.
Pour rounds and no hard feelings afterwards. It always
seemed to work out that way.

The building program at Whit tier had long been
neglected, not through any fault of Mr. Nellis, but
because a reluctant legislature refused to spend any
money. Condemned buildings were still in use and others
were in sore need of repairs. At the last legislative
session before his death, money was finally appropriated
for a new administration building, hospital, dining room
and kitchen, two new cottages for boys, and a new shop

Between The Dark - 28l

building for the teaching of auto mechanics, machine
shop, electrical shop and aeronautics. Much of the
equipment was donated by generous firms interested in
seeing that these boys received proper training in their
fields of interest.

We spent long hours over the drafting tables in the
State Architect's office in Sacramento and within two
years our new building program was completed and the school
took on a fresh modern look and now we had room in which
to work.

For twenty-five years, Mr. and Mrs. William Wrigley
had given a free camp site to the Whittier State School.
It was located on Catalina Island, thirty miles off the
coast of Southern California. The site was at the mouth
of a secluded canyon, two and a half miles north from the
town of Avalon, and could only be reached by boat. It
had been a tent camp for many years and the boys were fed
in an open area fitted with picnic tables. The cooking
was also done out-of-doors under a large tarpolin. This
was camping in the rough and while exciting for the boys,
presented many problems of supervision and food handling.

Each cottage group of thirty boys, with its officers, spent
one week on the Island each summer and this was an event
in the lives of these boys never to be forgotten, for most
of them had never experienced a camping trip and might
never have another. They had a glorious time and there were

Between The Dark - 282

few problems of discipline.

Our first year at Catalina, however, developed many
problems. The most serious one was the absence of water
at the camp site. Each morning a group of boys went
down the coast a mile in our little launch to a large
rock from which poured a small stream of pure spring
water. Containers were filled and they returned to camp
with the water for the day. It proved unsatisfactory,
inconvenient and dangerous.

Half a mile up our canyon we found a small spring,
which we developed into an adequate water supply and
piped it into camp.

We needed a good cookhouse and screened mess-hall
because the flies swarmed in at chow time to be followed
by another swarm of yellow jackets and it was almost
impossible to eat a meal in the open.

That winter and spring we made great improvements in
the camp by constructing a mess-hall and kitchen, a
dormitory for fifty boys and tent cottages for the
personnel. The Catalina Island Company gave us free
transportation for all the boys and staff and we only had
to pay for the freight charges on supplies. It was a most
generous management and every person in The Catalina
Company treated us with the utmost courtesy and
consideration; in fact, we were their honored guests.

The motor in the little launch had outserved its

Between The Dark -283

usefulness and was constantly breaking down. Each
afternoon the wind would rise and the water become rough.
Several times, when the motor gave out, the Coast Guard
had to come out and tow us in and on one occasion we were
almost blown out to sea before help arrived. This was
dangerous and we decided we needed a larger, safer boat
for the camp» one that could haul freight and supplies
from Avalon and also accommodate more boys.

We were informed that the Navy Yard at Mare Island
near Vallejo, California, had surveyed off several shore
boats and these were available to the Boy Scouts of
America for use of the Sea Scout troops. Many of our
boys had outgrown their troops and in order to hold their
interests in Scouting we had decided to form a ship. All
of our troops had attained such outstanding records in
Scouting, we had no difficulty in securing the backing
of the district office.

In December Becky and I drove north to place our bid
for a boat. We looked over several at the Navy Yard and
decided on a thirty-six foot motor sailer. It was built
of solid oak and was still in excellent condition and
worth about four thousand dollars. The Navy said we
could have it for nothing.

The next problem was to get it down to Los Angeles
Harbor on a flat car at a cost of one hundred dollars,
but we had no money in our budget for that purpose. The

Between The Dark - 28I|.

-•'

young Lieutenant Commander who showed us the boat, hinted
that there was a possibility the Navy might bring it down
on a battleship provided we contacted the right party.
Then he suddenly "clammed up" and wouldn't say any more.

The next six weeks we experienced a good example of
what we called in the army "passing the buck." No one
knew how to get that boat to Los Angeles Harbor. "No,
it had never been done." "Place it on a battleship?
Impossible I"

"Who can give us authority?" I asked. That was met
with a shake of the head.

Finally, in desperation, we called on the Admiral of
the Pacific Fleet. We told him about the boat, the
Catalina Camp, the generosity of the Wrigleys, our empty
budget, the Sea Scout troop, and of our little launch
that was almost blown out to sea.

"We have been informed, sir, that no one, but the
Admiral, can give the order to bring the boat down on a
battleship."

"Who the hell told you that?" He pressed a button
and the door flew open as the Aide appeared.

"When's the next battleship due from Vallejo?"

"Next week Friday, Sir."

"There's a thirty- six foot motor sailer for the Sea
Scouts at Whittier. See that it's aboard. That's all."

As the Aide retired I could have hugged the Admiral.

Between The Dark - 285

I wanted to salute him too, but then he might recognize
I was from the Infantry and that could have cancelled
the order. Instead we thanked him for the boys and he
wished us well.

The following week we placed the boat on a long
trailer and hauled it to the school. All winter the boys
in the mechanical trade classes worked over that boat.
It woo a fine project and all were anxious to have It
ready for camp in the early summer. They removed the old
two-cycle engine that wouldn't perform when you wanted it
to and for three hundred dollars we picked up a used four-
cylinder Hall Scott motor from the Los Angeles Harbor
Commission that had originally cost three thousand. One
cylinder was smashed, but the boys in the auto shop soon
built a new one. We also built a deck with benches for
fifty passengers, enclosed the motor in the forward cabin
and now had a seven thousand dollar boat.

When all was ready next spring, we declared a simulated
launching on the grounds with a school holiday and a
parade for the occasion.

The Pathe News took motion pictures, as the boys lined
the road on either side. The band led the parade with a
stirring march followed by Father Time with his long white
beard and scythe, and seated in a little dogcart with
thick wooden wheels, drawn by a great big pig who had
never been in harness. Every fifteen feet the pig got

Between The Dark - 286

tired and lay down. It took several boys to boost him
into action. One of the boys, as Father Neptune, made a
big hit with his seaweed hair, beard and pitchfork, rid
ing in an old-battered Ford that leaped and bounced like
a bucking bronco and all but threw the old gentleman out.
There was action everywhere.

Then came the new boat with its shining white paint
festooned with garlands of flowers. All boys who had
worked on the boat were given the honor of riding on deck
until she reached the highway. As she slowly moved
through the grounds, the boys cheered with admiration
for the boat, which was now their very own. After that
short parade they could scarcely wait for the camp to open.

The following camp season was a great improvement, and
we extended the week to ten days for each group. Between
fishing, swimming and hikes up the steep canyons to the
ridge, where one could see miles out to the western sea,
the days were full and a campfire at night with stunts
and community singing sent the boys to bed weary, but happy,
in this unusual experience in the great outdoors. The new
boat was our only contact with the outside world, a truly
Robinson Crusoe adventure.

The Band Cottage, now a Scout troop, was the last to go
to camp in September. Each night they played an open-air
free concert for the people of Avalon or along the

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waterfront, and in this way showed their appreciation
to the Gatalina Island Company and especially to Mr. and
Mrs. Wrigley for their generosity to the school. The
concerts were well attended and the lads played well.
Our band leader was an excellent musician, a former
arranger of music for the great John Philip Sousa, and
he certainly knew how to get music out of these boys.

Mrs. Wrigley took a special interest in each group from
Whittier and had insisted that the concession people on
the main street of Avalon, treat the boys to ice cream and
soda and send her the bill at the end of each season.
She apparently meant business because when our groups
passed one of these places without stopping, the
proprietor often ran down the street imploring the cottage
supervisor to bring the boys back so he could send Mrs.
Wrigley the bill. Apparently he didn't want to have to
explain to this good friend of the boys why he had been so
neglectful. There were never any objections expressed by
the boys who thoroughly enjoyed all this. It was amazing
how much ice cream and sodas they could consume before
they reached the end of the street.

Catalina advertised its wild- goat hunting on the island,
Hundreds of wild goats roamed the hills in bands, feeding
upon the underbrush and rapidly multiplying. There were
many of these goats in our canyon and we had permission to
shoot all we could eat. We had several Spanish barbecues

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Now the band boys wanted to take the goat in the
parade next day, and doll him up with a big "Herbert
Hoover Prom The Wild West" sign on either side. The
the problem arose - - what about Al Smith?

The clarinet player, a tall rangy lad, solved that
one when he strolled into camp with a little kid goat
about three weeks old. He was to be MA1 Smith." Al
became no problem after he had pulled his fill on a
bottle of warm milk with an improvised nipple. After
that he accepted without question, complete and
permanent adoption.

The next problem was to get the wild goat to Avalon.

The Navy Sea Scout ship was anchored out from shore
in deep waber and we had to use a rowboat to place
people aboard. Next morning they tried to get that wild
goat into the row boat and take him out to the launch.
He fought like a tiger. Evidently he didn't like salt
water, and he surely had no use for a row boat. Finally
they got him in and pushed off for the bigger boat.
Everything was going well when the goat decided salt
water was better than this, and with a great leap, goat,
boat and boys turned over in the water. Mr. Goat headed
for shore with three boys on the tow line. They stopped him
at the beach and began again. After several tries they
finally made it and tied him into the cockpit.

Then came "Al Smith," who freely gamboled about the deck

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on the beach, as our cooks knew how to properly
prepare the goat meat.

It was the year Herbert Hoover ran for President
against Al Smith, and the band boys were to play and lead
the parade for the Hoover rally at Avalon. The day
before the rally, a large wild goat wandered down the
ridge that bordered the south side of our camp and stood
gazing over the ocean. The boys decided to try and run
him down. Several slipped quietly up the canyon and
came out behind him. They started him down toward the
beach where other boys were waiting. Before Mr. Goat
was aware of his danger he was surrounded by an eager
band who fearlessly closed in around him.

Two lads made a flying tackle for his hind legs, while
two others slipped in behind his horns. As the rest
piled onto the old boy, down he went. He put up a
terrific fight, for he was as large as a Shetland pony.
Somehow the boys dragged him to camp and tied him to a
tree. Never having been hitched, he started for the
canyon with a rush and when he reached the end of the rope
made a complete flip and landed on his back. He soon
tired himself out and the boys gathered grass and tender
branches for him to eat, but he was too wild and scared
to pay any attention to food. What a beautiful specimen
with his long black beard hanging from his chin and the
beautiful horns that swept from his head in graceful
curves three feet on each side!

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because he was with the boy who had that wonderful
bottle.

The real excitement occurred when the parade got
under way. The band led, followed by the goat, with
a ten-foot rope on each side so the boys could walk along
near the curbs and still keep the big goat in the middle
of the street, which was lined with a great crowd of
onlookers. The parade didn't last long because there
were only a fev; short streets in Avalon, but there was
plenty of action.

Mr. Croat didn't like the ropes and he didn't like
the big Herbert Hoover signs, which flopped against his
sides. In addition he was frightened by the crowds
lining the street. As a result, he became truly wild
and was in the air most of the time. As he reared back
on his hind legs and tried to shake the ropes from the
base of his horns, the crowd roared with approval, but
would surge back from the street to get out of his reach,
while the boys dragged back on the ropes trying to keep
him from getting away.

In contrast to all this came little "Al Smith" with a
sign that dragged on either side like a woman's skirt,
and a hangman's rope around his neck, his little tail
wagging rapidly and his small head extended eagerly
forward as he followed the bottle with the improvised
nipple and that glorious milk.

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Mr. Wrigley's photographer stopped the parade for a
picture to send to Mr. Hoover while the crowd grew
restless for fear the wild goat would break loose and
charge. When the parade did reach the end of the street,
the boys removed the ropes, and with a wild bleat the
old goat made a final plun# and finding freedom at last,
dashed up the steep slope and the last the crowd saw of
him was his yellow bottom, as he disappeared over the ridge
and entered the brush. We never saw him again in our camp.

As the season closed the boys took little "Al" and
eight other little kids back to the school where they
became the cottage mascots. They gamboled harmlessly
about the grounds for several weeks, always showing up
on time for their spot of milk. When their tastes
changed however, they began eating up the choice foliage
in the gardens. The final blow fell when little "Al"
mounted the old chaplain's porch and devoured all of his
wife's pet plant?,. His righteous indignation was so ^reat
we found a new home for "Al" and all the other little
goats, in the city of Whittier, in order to keep peace
with the church. Perhaps the chaplain was a Democrat
and couldn't understand why "Al Smith" should treat him
that way.

Disposing of the goats had been a great disappointment
to the cottages, for all their mascots were gone.

One day our Business Manager at Whittier, who had

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formerly been with me in the Veterans Bureau as Manager
of our office in Imperial Valley, recounted this story.
Each year the Elks Club gave a venison dinner for the
members, furnished by two famous hunters who always
brought in a couple of fat bucks for the feast. This
year the venison was especially tender and well served
and was acclaimed the best yet. After the meal there
were loud calls for speeches from the two heroes. One
responded to the call to describe the hunt and disclose
where they had discovered such a fine venison.

"As a matter of fact, fellows, it was a surprise to
us both," he said. "That was lovely meat and we are so
glad you all enjoyed the dinner, but for the first time
we failed to jump our bucks." Everyone was listening.

"We didn't want to disappoint you, so on the way back
we spotted a couple of young wild burros on the desert
and that's what you ate tonight."

When the roar of protest went up from that crowded
room, the two hunters dashed out before they could be
tarred and feathered.

That story gave us an idea. There must be a lot of
those burros on the desert running wild. Yes, the American
Legion had rounded up a bunch for their annual parade
and had them in a corral. If they were shooting burros,
why not get some for the boys? Not to eat, of course,
but as pets for the Scout Troops to replace the goats.

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They could be taught how to care for the animals,
how to prepare a pack and tie a diamond hitch.

The Business Manager got in touch with the Legion
boys who said they would donate four burros to the troops
if we would come and get them.

Nothing was said to the boys, but we dispatched Bill
Vaughn, the district Scout executive, with the school
truck to bring them back. Never having tried to load
wild burros onto a truck, he soon had his hands full.
He placed some sloping planks at the back of the truck
and for two hours struggled to get those burros aboard
but to no avail. Finally about to give up in despair,
a native of the valley, who knew how to handle burros,
strolled up and observing his predicament, said in a
drawling voice, "Partner, you'll never get 'em in that
way. Just back up to the irrigation ditch and place
the boards so they ain't so steep, throw dirt on the
boards, and that's it." Bill took his advice and the
burros walked on without hesitation.

He arrived back at the school at two in the morning
and stopped at the residence and woke us up. He was all
in and wanted to know where he could leave the burros.
We hid them in the barn and taking the barn boy into
our confidence, swore him to secrecy.

That afternoon there appeared on the grounds of the
school, as though from nowhere, an old miner with a long

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beard and a mining outfit strapped onto his burro. He
strolled up to the Administration Building and asked
for something to eat. It was just at detail time when
all the boys were coming in from school and shop, to
be returned to their cottage groups to get ready for
supper. This created much excitement, in fact even the
officers looked on with interest.

That night in the Little Theatre, just before the
picture was to be shown, I told the boys we had a special
guest who would give them a little talk. I referred to
the miner they had seen on the grounds and said be would
probably be waiting outside the door. There were two
doors at the front of the theatre, which opened onto the
orchestra pit where the band was seated.

We had the band go to the back of the theatre and I
went to the door on the right and opening it called :
"Come on in, Mr. Miner, we are glad to have you with us."
Only a black aperture met me as I gazed out into the
night. The miner wasn't there.

"Bhe boys began to snicker. This was nother stunt of
some kind. Going to the other side of the theatre, I
opened that door and Charlie whispered from the darkness,
"We can't get him to come in."

"Drag him in, then," I said, and stood back bo give
them room. A slight commotion outside was followed by
a call from Charlie. "Send out six big boys and we will
carry him in." I turned to D Company, the oldest boys
in the school, and said, "Six of you fellows give Mr. Moss

Between The Dark --29f?

a hand in bringing in our guest speaker. He seems to
be bashful."

The boys tumbled out into the aisle in their eagerness
to respond and hurried out the side door at the front.
Now every neck in the audience was craned forward,
wondering what was wrong outside. They could hear the
miner's voice calling in protest, "Look out there, you
can't do this to me."

A murmur of excitement went through the crowded room.
Just then, the hind end of one of the boys came through
the door. He was apparently trying to pull the miner in
after him. Something yanked him out through the door,
but he stayed with his task, and as he struggled back
again, still pulling, the boys broke into applause.

A head appeared through the doorway with a big straw
hat tied under the chin. Two large ears protruded
through the top of the hat and the boys in the theatre
stared into the face of a large burro. He stood there
calmly looking them over. Pandemonium broke loose and
with the first yell from that audience, Mr. Burro
remembered an appointment elsewhere and backed out of
the doorway, pulling the struggling boy after him.
Spontaneously the boys began to chant, "Bring him in.
Bring him in. "

They didn't have to wait long. The six boys rallied
and literally picking Mr. Burro up between them, skidded

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him quickly through the doorway and into the orchestra
pit. It was a rush through center and they made their
yardage.

Once in, the burro didn't seem to be disturbed. He
stood there blinking at the excited group. Besides the
big hat and the pack on his back, he had on two pairs
of blue overalls, one on his front legs and the other
on his rear. The straps from the latter came up over
his back and he looked almost human as his gaze shifted
from side to side. Behind him stood the miner, who in
the excitement had entered unobserved.

Suddenly one of the boys called out, "Oh, that's Mr.
Perkins I" The school farmer was found out at last,
although none had spotted him that afternoon on the
grounds.

He gave a little talk about mining and said that he
had decided to give it up. He heard that the boys at
Whittier had lost their goats, and thought they might be
able us use his four burros, which he was prepared to give
them for the Scout Troops. The applause broke out anew,
but accompanied by a few boos, as the other groups
realized the burros were for the Scouts. When Perkins
announced, however, that the animals were to be passed
around to each cottage for all the boys to ride and
enjoy, the farmer had never enjoyed greater popularity
than at that moment.

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It was now time for the picture and I motioned to
the miner to take his burro up the aisle to the back
of the theatre. The little fellow had become accustomed
to the boys by now, in fact while the farmer was
speaking, he had fallen asleep on his feet. But when
it was time to go, he suddenly came to life and decided
to spend the night in the orchestra pit. Pull as he
would, the miner couldn't move him. He just stood there
with his neck out and didn't budge. A dozen kids came
down the aisle to help and taking the little burro by
the pants, they walked him Spanish up the aisle and out
the rear door in nothing flat. It was the fastest
unwilling time a burro ever made.

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"When quacks with pills political would dope us,
When politics absorbs the live long day,
I like to think about the star canopus,
So far, so far away."

Bert Leston Taylor

CHAPTER XIII

It was Christmas week again. How fast they came
around. Teachers and Office Staff were busy with
packages and gifts for the big show on Christmas Eve,
and each boy was looking forward to the event. No one
would be forgotten. December is always a busy month in
any institution, and I had not been off the grounds for
three weeks.

One evening at dinner I told Becky we might go to
Pullerton and see a good show. She was glad to get away
also, but just as we were going out the door, at seven
o'clock, the phone rang and a strange voice said -

"Is this the Superintendent?"

"Yes," I replied, "what can I do for you?"

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"I'm at 6th & Broadway in Los Angeles, and the Joe
Scott group were to pick me up at 6:30 to come out for
the show tonight. What shall I do?"

"If they were going to pick you up," I said, "you
better stay right there. By the way, how many are coming?"

"Oh, about eighty of us, and we are bringing a swell
show 'for the boys'."

As I hung up I called to Becky.

"Did you know Joe Scott was coming out with a show
tonight sponsored by the Catholic Big Brothers"?

The blank look on her face didn't call for an answer.

"Well, I didn't either," I said.

Then I remembered that Mr. Knox, my extremely
punctilious secretary, had mentioned in November that the
Joe Scott Show would be on again this year.

For many seasons during Mr. Nellis's administration
this faithful group had put on terrific entertainments
for the boys around Christmas, but no date had been set
for this year. Now they would be here within an hour,
and the whole school had gone to bed.

I called the night supervisor and told him to notify
all dormitories of the show, and have the boys in the
Chapel by l:l\.5. Fortunately the band leader lived on
the grounds. I got him on the phone.

"Get your band boys in the Chapel by quarter of eight
and begin playing. We have a big show coming from Los

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Angeles and someone fluked. Can you do it?"

"I sure can," he said, and the phone clicked.

We couldn't reach the Junior cottage by phone, so I
jumped into my car and raced to the other end of the
grounds and up the stairs to the dormitory. These little
fellows played so hard during the day that as soon as
they hit their cots at night they were sound asleep. The
night man rang a bell and sleepy kids tumbled out
thinking there was a fire. I explained about the show
and six kids crawled back into bed and went to sleep.
The night man said, "Shall we let 'em sleep?" "No,
get them up," I said, "they will be terribly disappointed
later if they don't see this show." We finally got them
all dressed, put them in a bus and hurried back to
the Chapel. The little fellows were still dazed, but were
now showing signs of life.

As we entered, we could hear the band playing, and the
companies were already seated. What a staff and what a
job! I thought it was terrific.

The band was playing its second piece when the troop
arrived, led by Joe Scott. I met him at the door, and as
he looked over the packed house he said, "Say, this is a
fine audience, Ken, you must be having a show."

"Yes," I said, "but the boys are all waiting for you
to begin. It's all yours, Joe."

Joe Scott was one of the most beloved and respected men

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in California, an outstanding attorney and great civic
leader. He knew how to appeal to boys and within two
minutes he had them in the palm of his hand. Half of
the troop of eight were fond spectators, but it took
the other forty to put on the show.

If there were any sleepy kids when it started, they
were wide awake in five minutes, for that was one of the
best shows they had ever seen. Joe had entertained our
troops overseas in World War I. When he described his
boat trip in a storm as he crossed the English Channel
after having had a full meal of raw oysters and fried
clams, he ended with a little jingle,
Gr...rup came the oysters
Gr...rup came the clams

The kids were screaming with laughter and called him
back for three encores, as one boy told me afterward
"to make sure he 'got 'em all up."

One other act that made a big hit was a ventriloquist
tramp, who played a beautiful solo on a whisk broom and
for the life of them, the boys couldn't figure out how
he did it. The next week the house mother on Junior
Cottage reported that all her whisk brooms had vanished.
When she got them back half the straws were missing.

After the show both guests and performers were
delighted with their reception. "Have never played before
such an enthusiastic audience."

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As we walked back to the residence, after the boys
had returned to their dormitories, Becky said, "Ken,
who wears a charmed life around here"?

"I guess the Good Lord must have been with us," I
said. "That's the closest I've ever come to having my
hide tacked on a fence. Wouldn't it have been terrible
if that party hadn't phoned just as we were heading for
Pullerton? That's one I could never have lived down."

It wasn't until fifteen years later, when I was
Superintendent of The California Institution for Men at
Chino, that I had the nerve to tell Joe what had happened
that night. When he looked at me in amazement, I said,
"Now wait a minute, Joe, the statute of limitations has
run out, and anyway, I'm already in prison." Joe threw
his head back and laughed. It was just like him.

In 1930 the United States Childrens' Bureau was making
a survey of the ten best State institutions for boys,
throughout the United States. It was under the direction
of Dr. Harrison Dobbs, Professor of Sociology, Tiiiversity
of Chicago. He arrived at Whittier with a team of
research people and spent a full month studying the
program and treatment of the boys. They went into
everything, including the California Bureau of Juvenile
Research under Dr. Norman Fenton. They were especially
intrigued with the traveling child guidance clinic and
its successful attempts to keep children out of the

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State Schools by demonstrating to the communities how
they could well handle many of their own problesm. The
following year, when the survey was completed, we were
delighted to find that the Whittier State School headed
the list.

That same year, Governor C.C. Young announced his
intention to run for a second term. There was no law
against it, but the people of California had developed
a strange tradition that its Governor should only serve
one four-year term. At least only one Governor, Hiram
Johnson, had been able to crack it up to that time.

The Lieutenant Governor, Buron Pitts, also decided to
run. Then to really complicate matters, James Rolph, Jr.,
Mayor of San Francisco, threw his hat into the ring.
Three Republican candidates to fight it out among
themselves.

Governor Young had given the State a good administra
tion, free from scandal of any kind, but he was not a
good mixer, nor was he well known to the average citizen.

Buron Pitts was a good speaker with a fiery
personality and well known throughout the State. I had
worked with him when I was with the Veterans' Bureau and
he was State Commander of the American Legion.

James Rolph, Jr. had been Mayor of San Francisco for
over twenty years and was a public figure with a well-
organized machine back of him, a past master on political
patronage.

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In June Mr. Jensen called a Superintendents'
Conference at the Mendecino State Hospital near Ukiah.
The campaign for Governor was warming up and the air
was tense. We were supposed to keep out of politics
and so far had been able to do so although all the
Superintendents were appointed by the Director and
were subject to removal at his will.

Dr. Herman Adler and I roomed together at the hotel
in Ukiah. He was a famous psychiatrist and former
Director of the Illinois Bureau of Juvenile Research
in Chicago. Now he was a professor at the University
of California and psychiatrist with the State Depart
ment of Institutions.

The first evening the employees of the hospital put
on a dance and we were expected to attend. I was
looking on when Fred Bebergol, Superintendent of the
Institution for The Adult Blind in Oakland, stepped up
and said in a low tone -

"Ken, the Director has asked me to tell all Superin
tendents they are expected to contribute one month's
salary to the Governor's campaign fund." I was too
dumbfounded to speak. He looked at me queerly and said,
"Did you understand?"

"Yes," I said. "I got the message."

I watched him as he made the rounds. That night I
told Dr. Adler what I had heard. "I'm not going to do

Between The Dark - 30$

it," I said. "I never bought this job and I'm not
going to pay anything to keep it." Dr. Adler advised
me to stand pat.

While the Superintendents were gathered for the
morning session, Earl called me aside on the lawn.
"Did you get my message, Ken?" he asked.

"Yes, I did," I replied, "and I thought it was
pretty raw ."

"I'm sorry, Ken, that's it, and there's nothing
I can do about it," he said.

"Then you have my resignation in your pocket right
now, Earl," I rejoined. With a shrug he turned on his
heel. I could see he was angry. It was the first
time in nearly four years that we had disagreed.

I moved among the others and asked a few what they
intended to do. They didn1 t know.

Somehow word got around that I had resigned. The
air was charged when the conference was called to order.
As the morning wore on I was determined to express
myself. Just before adjournment the Director dismissed
all but the Superintendents. When the others had
retired he addressed the group.

"I'm sure we all want to see Governor C.C. Young
re-elected," he began. "The campaign funds are very low.
Each member of his cabinet has agreed to help. The
Governor has not been informed of this plan." He paused,

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and then added, "I'm not going to request you to do
this, but it would be a fine gesture of confidence in
the Governor if each Superintendent would volunbarily
contribute up to one month's salary to the campaign fund."

As I arose to ray feet the Director concluded, "There
will be no discussion of this matter. The conference
is adjourned."

Luncheon was served in the Superintendent's residence.
Dr. Adler and I planned to drive to San Jose that night,
a long drive and we left the table before the dessert
was served. I said goodbye to our host and as I started
from the dining room, Mr. Jensen followed and motioned
to me to enter his bedroom. Closing the door he said,
"Ken, what am I to tell your friends about your resigna
tion?"

Smiling, I replied, "Just tell them the truth, Sari."

"You know I can't do that," he said. "I'm awfully
disappointed in your attibude."

"Well, since I'm through, Earl, it's mutual," I said.
"You have been the best Director this State has ever had.
Ib's been an awful uphill fight bo throw out the restraint
and rough treatment of these mental cases, but you did it.
Wow those who were against you are all for you. You have
.greatly improved the whole .--service, and I especially
deeply appreciate what you did for the boys at Whittier.
I feel terrible obout this, but I can't 30 with you."

Between The Dark - 30?

Earl listened in silence as I continued.

"What do you owe the political crowd? Nothing.
And you well know that if politics gets a foothold
in these institutions, it will wreck the service and
all your fine efforts go down the drain."

Earl was evidently touched. Placing his arm around
my shoulder, he said, "I know you're right. Go on
back to Whittier, Ken, and forget the whole business."
Then slipping his hand into his coat, he pulled it out
and extending his empty hand said with a grin, "Here's
that mythical resignation you slipped in my pocket."
The empty hand took mine in a firm grasp and we parted,
still friends.

Dr. Adler and I talked about the affair as we drove
south. "I'm glad we parted friends," I said, "but I
still feel sick about it."

Earl Jensen had supported my every request at
Whittier, better food and clothing for the boys, the
new buildings, additional personnel, the clinic, were
all due to his backing. Now for the first time he had
asked me to do something and I had balked. But he
admitted I was right, and that helped.

As the weeks went by, nothing more was said, and I
was never approached again for a donation. Apparently
it was a closed issue with Jensen, but not so with his
assistant in Sacramento. He had become very disturbed

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when my action upset the applecart at Mendecino, and
I'm afraid he never forgave me. Nothing was said, but
now for the first time, my requests were questioned or
delayed. Often they were returned on some pretext for
more information. In many other ways I was annoyed,
and it gradually dawned upon me that I was in Dutch in
Sacramento. There wasn't much I could do about it
except to just keep trying, and avoid a conflict.

Dr. Walter Doxter, President of Whittier College,
phonal me that Governor Young was to address a gathering
in the public park and asked if I would introduce him.
The college had worked closely with the Sta.te School and
we had several of their senior students majoring in
Physical Education, working for credits helping our boys
with the afternoon and evening program in athletics.
We were also very close friends, and I realized that
bhis invitation was in no way political, as far as Dr.
Dexter was concerned. We had asked our staff to stay
out of politics, but to vote. "Vote for whoever you
want to, but be sure and vote."

I accepted the invitation in the spirit in which it
was presented. That night a large group of citizens
gathered in the park. When Dr. Dexter introduced me I
spoke briefly of the fine support given me by the
Governor and his Director of Institutions.

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"I'm glad to say that there were no politics in
ray appointment. I never had the pleasure of meeting
Governor Young until eighteen months later when he
attended the Superintendents' Conference at Whittier."

The Governor was very pleased and di^relt a moment
on the fact that his Director of Corrections had been
given a free hand in the selection of his personnel
without interference from his office.

In August that year my brother Joy was visiting us
from Seattle, and Dad had come up from La Mesa, where he
was Pastor of the Congregational Church. We planned to
drive up into Owens Valley on a fishing trip for a fei^
days, as I had scarcely been off the grounds in weeks.

A rule of the Department required permission to be
off the grounds more than twenty-four hours, and I wrote
to Mr. Jensen two weeks before we were to start. After
a wait of ten days, without a reply, I vjrote again,
telling my plans and asking permission to be gone five days
of my vacation. Thinking there would be no further delay,
I made plans to go, but the day of departure arrived with
no word about my leave being granted.

By then I was rather hot about the delay, which seemed
deliberate, and decided to go anyway. As we left I re
quested my assistant to make one more effort to reach Mr.
Jonsen in Los Angeles, as I couldn't get anything out
of Sacramento, but he was out.

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We were loaded with camping equipment and eager to
get started, as we planned to drive across the desert
that night and had a hundred miles to cover before we
reached its edge. With a goodby to Becky, we started
out, the first time the three of us had been off on a
trip alone together for years.

As we entered the little toxoi of Newhall, about
thirty miles out of Los Angeles, and passed the sheriff's
sub-station, my brother said, "Ken, you better slow down,
that officer was flashing a light at you." I slowed
down and could see him through the back glass, waving
his arm and running down the street in ray direction.
Stopping the car, I started to back up. Stepping to the
running board, he said, "Are you Mr. Scudder?" I thought
at first he was going to give me a ticket for too fast
driving. When I found my voice I said, "Yes, I am Mr.
Scudder. What is it?" "Your wife wants you to call her.
Something has happened at the school."

When Becky said goodbye to us, she entered the house
and sat down on the davenport to read. A sharp rap at
the knocker brought her to the front door, where my
assistant breathlessly asked for me. "He just left about
five minutes ago," she said. "Good Lord. We have to do
something. Mr. Jensen just phoned and said he can't go.
It wouldn't look right for him to be away two days
before election."

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Becky was so mad she couldn't talk. Finally she
said, "Of all the dirty tricks. He tried to get
permission and now I'm glad he is gone before this
word came."

Charlie said, "Guess we will have to wire him to
turn around as soon as he gets there and come home.
Jensen is pretty mad."

Becky said, "Let him be mad. It's three hundred and
fifty miles to the lake and I am not going to have him
turn around and come right back after an all-night
trip like that. Also he has planned this for weeks, and
gave them plenty of tine to answer his letber."

But Charlie insisted that something ought to be done
to protect me from the official wrath. When Becky
cooled down, she began to face realities. She must get
uord to me somehow and save the long return trip. Her
first impulse was to take the State car and try and
overtake me. But she knew that would be difficult,
and hard to find us. Next she thought she would phone
the police and see if they could keep a lookout for our
car. She started phoning ahead to Lancaster, Saugas,
and Newhall.

The motorcycle cops thought it was a great joke.
"Shall I tell him his wife wants him to come home?"

Becky tried to describe our car. "It's a green Nash
with a shovel tied on the rear spare tire," she said.

Between The Dark - 312

The cop roared with laughter. ;'Lady, a hundred cars
an hour go by here with shovels tied on behind. How
many people in the car and what is the license number."

She gave them a detailed description of the car and
they each said they would go right out and try to
locate me. Becky had told them I was Superintendent
of the State School, and that it was an emergency and I
was wanted back tb»re right away.

The Sheriff at Newhall was the first place she had
phoned, and I called her back, thinking that something
serious had happened. When I heard fthat was up, I was
so relieved that it helped take some of the sting out of
our disappointment. I wanted Dad and Joy to go on alone,
but they would not. Slowly we turned the car around and
headed for home. The nearer we got the madder I became.
There was only one answer to such treatment: somebody's
spite work. Jensen had been advised that it would not
look well for a Superintendent to be away when the
election was so near. It showed lack of courtesy to the
Governor. Earl never mentioned the incident and neither
did I. I don't believe he realized what his assistant
had pulled off. Joy and Dad were good sports about it,
but both regretted we couldn't talk about "the big one
that got away."

Fifteen days later, Governor Young was defeated and
Major James Rolph Jr. was the new Governor of California.

Between The Dark - 313

Now I began to realize the fat was in the fire.

A few days after the November election, incoming
Governor Rolph announced he would appoint Dr. J. M.
Toner, a former member of the Board of Supervisors
for the City and County of San Francisco, as the new
Director of Institutions and Earl Jensen would be out.

In December, Earl called the last Superintendents'
meeting under his regime, and invited Dr. Toner to
attend. When he introduced him to the conference, the
Doctor came forward and we had a glimpse of him for the
first time. He was a short well-built man with a bald
head and jovial mannerisms. He spoke with assurance,
thanked Mr. Jensen for his courtesy in asking him to
attend, so he could meet the Superintendents, and then
made as frank a statement about his appointment as I
had ever heard.

"I am a politician and make no bones about it. I
worked hard for Governor Rolph 's election and was
rewarded by this job. That's politics, ladies and
gentlemen, purely politics." He added a few kind words
for Mr. Jensen and sat down. There was no applause;
the staff was sick. It looked like trouble ahead for
everybody.

One of the Doctors who had opposed Jensen in the
beginning, now arose and paid him an outstanding tribute
for his courageous efforts in removing restraints and

Between The Dark - 31lj.

antiquated methods of treatment throughout the
Department, and expressed regrets for the staff that
he was through. The applause was thunderous.

After the meeting, Dr. Toner said to me, "Your name
Scudder?" "Yes," I replied.

"How long you been at Whittier?"

"Pour years."

"Oh yes, I remember. I"ll be down to see you."

Dr. Toner arrived in February and was most cordial,
expressed his approval of the school and was quite taken
with the free atmosphere of the place. He met two twelve-
year-old lads outside my office and engaged them in
conversation. After making much of them, he said,

"How would you two fine boys like a couple of nice
silk shirts?" I wondered .. .what was back of this move?

When the $7.00 shirts arrived, the boys were delighted;
the new Director was a great guy and rumor quickly spread
that all the boys were to have silk shirts because from
now on, the sky was the limit.

If the good Doctor was trying to curry favor with the
boys, it didn't work our very well to select just two
for gifts. When the other boys realized the rumor about silk
shirts for all was only a rumor, they taunted the two
"dudes" until a fight ensued and when it was over, the
beautiful silk shirts were in rags.

My first encounter with the Doctor was over Jerusalem
artichokes. Twenty cases arrived at our commissary, yet

Between The Dark -

no one had ordered any. When the Business Manager
brought in an open can he said, "Take a whiff of this."
I smelled it and knew what he meant. "Who sent them?"
I asked. ;'They came through the State Purchasing, but
we didn't order them."

Tasting them, I handed the can over and said, "Send
them back. That stuff could make the kids deathly sick
and they wouldn't eat it anyway."

The next visit of the Director, he opened up on me
with, "Why did you send back those Jerusalem artichokes
I sent down? They were sent as a special treat for the
boys." He didn't mention the State had paid for them.

"We opened a can, Doctor, and they were so bad I
couldn't feed them to the boys. That's why they were
returned." His face flushed with anger.

A few weeks later he stayed at our house for the
night and we began to get acquainted. He could be quite
charming when it suited his purpose. Nothing more was
said about the artichokes. Instead he praised the school
and our efforts. Everything was fine, and he assured me
he wanted me to remain. Then suddenly, turning and facing
me, he said, "It will be necessary for you to make a few
changes in your staff."

"What changes, Doctor? I have no vacancies at present
and when they do occur I can only appoint people who are
qualified . "

"Oh, rest assured, my boy, anj' I send you from

Between The Dark - 316

t

Sacramento will be fully qualified." Looking him
squarely in the eyes, I said, "Doctor, I hope we never
have to come to that." With that same flush of anger,
he abruptly left our house and headed for Sacramento.

No word came from Sacramento for several weeks. In
the meantime rumors began to fly that a man had
registered at the Hoover Hotel in Whittier and casually
dropped the remark he was to be the new Superintendent
of Whittier State School For Boys. He said he had been
in the trucking business in San Francisco and had
supported Governor Rolph in his election. Another rumor
indicated that the former Business Manager, under Mr.
Nellis, who had resigned in a huff when I was appointed,
was quietly working for the appointment.

People began calling on the phone and writing letters
asking if there was any truth to these rumors. I assured
them Dr. Toner had informed me I was to remain as
Superintendent and I suggested they not worry about the
rumor.

One morning when I was in my office, the door flew open
and Dr. Toner entered unannounced, followed by his
younger son, whom he introduced as his traveling secretary,
I didn't like the looks of things, so stepped to the door
and asked my secretary, Mr. Elmer Knox, to come in. The
Doctor got right down to business.

Between The Dark - 31?

"I have come for your resignation, Mr. Sc udder," he
said, and added, "This is no reflection on the way you
have run this school; in fact the reports on your
administration are very flattering to you. I'll be frank
with you. This is purely a matter of politics. You see,
I need the position for someone else."

I looked at him a moment and said, "Doctor, that's
rather a queer request. This school has been free of
politics for the last twenty- two years, and I mean to keep
it so. You say you are satisfied with my administration,
and then boldly demand my resignation because you need the
job for someone else."

"Sonny" Toner broke in with, "Mr. Scudder, when my
father lost out in his campaign for re-election to the
Board of Supervisors in San Francisco, he went to his
office next day, cleaned out his desk, and resigned without
a fight. That's politics for ya'...and you should realize
it."

Ignoring the young upstart, I turned to Dr. Toner.
"Do you realize what politics can do to this place? This
is not a political football, it's a State School for Boys
vjho are in trouble. They need treatment, understanding
and careful guidance that can only come from trained
dedicated people. That is impossible through political
patronage and you know it."

"I assured you, Mr. Scudder, that anyone sent from

Between The Dark - 318

Sacramento will be fully qualified," he repeated.

"Doctor, do you consider the former manager of a
trucking company of San Francisco, now residing in the
Hoover Hotel in Whittier, as a qualified Superintendent
of this institution? He has let it be known around town
the job is to be his." I was not aware the gentleman
was then sitting in the lobby outside my office, waiting
to be announced as my successor.

When the Doctor realized that the truck driver had let
the cat out of the bag, he appeared stunned. Before he
could speak, I said, "As things stand, Doctor, I cannot
resign. "

Now the familiar red flush returned, then gradually
faded. Once again he was in control of himself. With
slow deliberation he reached into the inside pocket of
his coat and drew out a sealed envelope, just far enough
for me to see it.

"I have here a sworn affidavit in this envelope, which
if released to the press, could be very damaging to you,"
he said. "Let's have the affidavit," I said. "Oh, not
so fast, my boy, not so fast. I'll tell you what it
contains, though, since you refuse to resign. Slipping
the unopened envelope back in his pocket, he looked at
me and said, "It seems that you had a colored maid at
your house who gave two boys a case of gonorrhea." So
that was it. He beamed at me with a glint in his eye

Between The Dark 319

which seemed to say, "Now I have you where I want you."

"Doctor, that happened four years ago. The maid was
immediately dismissed, as soon as we discovered her
participation in the affair, which was reported, in detail,
to the Director; the boys were transferred to Preston where
they received excellent treatment and a complete recovery,
and the case was closed."

"Well, it's not closed with me," he said. "That was a
very unfortunate occurrence and never should have happened."

"Just what do you intend to do with the affidavit?"
I inquired .

"Nothing, my boy, if you quietly resign with no further
trouble. "

"Dr. Toner, you are now threatening me with an
affidavit, in a sealed envelope you refuse to show me,
from a person you refuse to mention, and expect my
resignation on blackmail of this kind?"

"This is not blackmail; this is politics," he replied.

"Then I suggest you take your dirty politics and get
off these grounds before I throw you off," I shouted.

"You'll regret this! You'll regret this," he said,
as he quickly arose, picked up his gloves, derby hat and
cane, and with Sonny trailing, left the grounds, followed
by the manager of the trucking company from San Francisco.

Mr. Knox said, "I wouldn't have missed this for anything.
I've never soon you so mad."

Between The Dark - 320

"Night with thy black
mantle. "

William Shakespeare

CHAPTER XIV

I reported the interview to my Board of Trustees,
three distinguished citizens who had helped me so much
during the past four years - one of the few Boards in
the country free from political influence.

The Chairman was Elmer Murphy, a wealthy industrial
ist of Pasadena with extensive business interests around
the world; Rex Kennedy, owner and editor of the Whittier
Hews and a long-time friend and admirer of Fred Nellis;
and Ben Pearson, Public Relations Manager for California
Edison Company, who had been on the State School Board
for more than twenty years. With one acclaim they said,
"Stand pat, Ken, he won't fire you."

We continued our program at the school as though

Between The Dark - 321

nothing had happened, although I realized that the
Director of Institutions was now my sworn enemy.
Somehow that didn't seem to bother me, there were so
many worthwhile things to do.

Disturbing rumors and reports again began to float
about the school and town. "There were paid snoopers
in Whittier talking to the personnel." One nightman,
who was very disgruntled because he had been severely
reprimanded for going to sleep at his post, was doing a
lot of talking. His wife had been the nurse in our
hospital and handled the two boys who had been infected.
I began to realize where the supposed affidavit had come
from, if there really was such a thing. The trucking
contractor was still at the Hoover Hotel and still
talking a good deal.

Three weeks elapsed when one morning Dr. Toner and
"Sonny" again walked into my office unannounced. Sure
that this was the show-down, I asked my secretary, Mr.
Knox, to come and take down the conversation.

The Doctor got right down to business. "Have you
thought over my request the last time I was here''? he
asked.

"Yes," I replied, "I have given it a good deal of
thought. In fact, I have discussed it with my Board of
Trustees and many of my friends. They all feel as I do.

"And vrhat is that"? he demanded.

Between The Dark - 322

"They hold the same contempt for your methods in
trying to blackmail me as I do. I will not turn over
this school or these boys to you and Governor Rolph's
spoils system of political patronage. Therefore you make
it necessary for me to refuse to resign."

His face got so red I thought he was going to have a
stroke. He got up and quickly paced back and forth,
trying to regain control of himself. Then suddenly
stopping in front of my desk, he pointed his finger at me
and said -

"You know of course I can fire you. Is that what you
want"?

"I know you can, Doctor, but that's not what I want.
I'm asking you to leave this place alone and to keep
your politics out."

"So"! he said, "You're going to be difficult."

"If that's what you call it, Doctor, yes, I'm going
to be difficult."

Turning to Mr. Knox, he said, "Take a letter." He
continued, "Mr. K. J. Scudder, you are hereby notified
that you are dismissed as Superintendent of the Whittier
State School as of this date. Signed, J. M. Toner,
Director of Institutions."

We sat in silence while Mr. Knox typed the letter
and brought it in for signature. When that was
accomplished, the Doctor handed me the letter and said,

Between The Dark - 323

"Well, this is going to be easier than I thought
it would," and turning to his son he said. "Bring in
Mr. Smith, the new Superintendent."

I thought to myself, "Well, I guess Mr. Smith must
have put on a good campaign in Whittier to beat out
the Manager of the trucking firm in San Francisco."

When the door opened a total stranger stood before
me. His name was Smith, but I had never seen nor heard
of him before. We shook hands and he sat down.

Dr. Toner said, "I would like to talk to your Assistant
Superintendent, Mr. Scudder."

"Well, Doctor," I said, "I'm no longer employed here.
Perhaps Mr. Khox would help you."

His face flushed as with a nod from me, Mr. Knox
asked my assistant, Charlie Moss, to enter. The
interview bit Charlie unexpectedly, but he took it on the
chin. He was to be allowed to stay on for one month to
break in the trucking contractor who would be the
Assistant Superintendent.

Now the Doctor was bustling around picking up his
papers and stuffing them in his brief case. Ignoring me
and turning to Smith, he said -

"Well, Superintendent, you are in charge. I'll have
to be going." Again with his son trailing, he left the
grounds.

I was standing by the window looking out into the

Between The Dark - 3214.

garden when Mr. Smith came over and said,

"I'm sorry about all this, Scudder, but for God's
sake, don't leave me. I never heard of this school
before yesterday and I drove all night from Arizona
to get here."

"Dr. Toner told me once," I said, "that anyone he
would bring in here would be fully qualified. What has
been your experience in running a boys' institution"?

"Helll I haven't any," he said. "My only experience
was running a chain gang once when I was Sheriff of
Jasper County, Texas."

Just then a group of twelve-year-old lads went by
with their supervisor on their way to lunch. They were
talking and laughing with each other. It was fortunate
they didn't know what was to follow.

"How do you handle these little convicts, anyhow"?
the new Superintendent inquired. I really felt sorry
for the guy. He appeared so frightened and apparently
realized he was well over his depth.

"Mr. MOSS will be around for a month," I said. "I'm
sure he can help you. He's very able."

"Thanks a lot," he said.

Later the newspapers disclosed how he got there.
The Director had received instructions from Governor
Rolph to appoint William A. Smith of Whittier. The night

Between The Dark - 325

before everyone got happy at a cocktail party in
Sacramento and the deal was discussed. The Governor
is reported to have said, "Quit fooling around and
settle the deal. Pire Scudder and send for Smith."
Alcohol does strange things, and either deliberately
or in a confused state, someone sent for the wrong Smith.
But that's politics. . .at its lowest level.

Gathering up my things I went over to the house to
break the news to Becky. She was as incensed as I
was when the whole story was told. As we talked
together in the quiet room, things gradually began to
clear. Prom a legal standpoint I had no case. In the
absence of Civil Service- the appointment was in the
hands of the Director of Institutions to both hire and
fire with no appeal. This I knew when I accepted the
appointment from Mr. Jensen. Now the Director was
perfectly within his rights and after all I had forced
him to fire me.

I called Elmer Murphy and Walter Dexter and informed
them I was out. They were furious. Murphy was a scrapper
and said, "Stay where you are. I have formed a Citizens'
Committee of 1000 and we will fight. This is the lowest
political trick I have ever seen pulled and we'll burn
the very pants off the Governor before we get through."

When I returned from the phone, Becky was waiting.

Between The Dark - 326

When I gave her Murphy's message, she said, "Ken, you
have often remarked, 'Never try to move a red hot
stove1. I think this is one of them."

I laughed and we both felt better and decided to
let things cool off for a few days. That night I
released a statement to the papers which explained my
stand. It was given wide coverage by the Associated
and United Press, in addition to the California papers.
With screaming headlines, the Los Angeles Record stated,

EX- SHERIFF BECOMES HEAD OF STATE BOYS' SCHOOL
ROLPH PORK BARREL GIVES JOBS TO 700

Then followed a resume of what had occurred as
described in these pages.

"'I always work with affidavits,1 Dr. Toner, the new
Director of Institutions is said to have explained. At
any rate, Dr. Toner obtained a number of affidavits
assailing K. J. Scudder's regime at Whittier. Scudder
was not allowed to know the contents of these affidavits
and none of his friends were allowed to see them. The
documents were presented to Governor Rolph.

Curiously enough, as the Citizens' Committee observed,
Dr. Toner on his first and second visits to Whittier
State School, expressed his approval of the way it was
being run and then finally approached the subject closest
to his heart."

Between The Dark - 32?

There followed an account of our clash over political
appointments.

"On his next trip, Dr. Toner demanded Scudder's
resignation. Scudder refused and was discharged. The
way was open for the former Sheriff of Jasper County, Texas."
SUPERINTENDENT SCDDDER ISSUED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT:

"As Superintendent of an educational institution and as
legal guardian of more than 700 young boys, victims of
adult negligence and social maladjustment, I could
take no other stand than I did against political in
roads upon an humanitarian program.

The law providing for the organization of The Whittier
State School provides for a Junior State School, an
educational institution for boys. It should in no way
be classed as a reformatory or penal institution.

These boys represent serious problems of behavior. With
an individual program for each boy, a thorough under
standing of his problems, and a training program of
adjustment in place of punishment and social revenge,
a trained and carefully selected staff of workers is
essential.

It is absolute folly to expect untrained and inexperienced
people to carry on such an institution without resorting
to brutal methods of treatment. Whittier has long since
passed that stage.

During those days of corporal punishment at Whittier,
when the main qualifications for employment were a broad
back and a strong arm for the lash, and when many a
child was maimed for life, the records show that 93$
of the boys continued in their delinquency and went
from Whittier to Preston to San Quentin and to Polsom.

Under the present program, the Children's Bureau of The
Department of Labor, Washington, D. C. in an investigation
just completed, verifies the fact that today at Whittier,
under the present educational program, 75> to 80$ make
good adjustments back in community life.

In order to preserve the program for these unfortunate
lads entrusted to the care of the State of California,

Between The Dark - 328

and whose responsibility it is to return them to
useful citizenship, I took the stand that I did.

I was told I was in the way. No charges were
preferred. My resignation was demanded.

Out of respect for the welfare of the boys, the
program of the school, the excellent work of the
personnel, I would not resign.

My dismissal followed.

Tomorrow the ex-sheriff comes onto the job."
The next day all Hell broke loose. The newspapers up
and down the State had a field week with editorials and
columns attacking the Governor and his Director of
Institutions.

Murphy's Committee of 1000 were active too. They
demanded a hearing with Dr. Toner in Los Angeles. He
promised to be there and then failed to show up.

Murphy began to receive threatening anonymous letters
and phone calls. One day, when he was driving his car in
Imperial Valley, a strange car came alongside and tried to
crowd him over into an irrigation ditch, so it would look
like an accident if he had drowned. When he got back on
the highway again the car had disappeared and he failed to
get the license number. When the papers published the
account, the administration disclaimed any knowledge of the
incident. The affair stirred the committee into more
vigorous action and they demanded a personal hearing with
the Governor in Sacramento and requested that Dr. Toner be
present.

Between The Dark - 329

Thirty-eight outstanding business and professional
leaders, led by Dr. Walter Dexter, President of Whittier
College, and Elmer Murphy, together with the Vice-President
of the University of Southern California, and many Rotarians
from the Los Angeles and Whittier Clubs, made the overnight
trip by train to Sacramento at their own expense.

The appointment was for ten o'clock. The Governor knew
he was in for a hot session, so pulled the old shopworn
political manoeuver of delay. His secretary was sorry, but
some important matter had to be handled first and they sat
in the outer office until 2 p.m.

When they finally faced the elusive Governor they were
really mad. A fine presentation was made by these loyal
friends of the Whittier School, but Dr. Toner was absent.
The Governor announced, "The Doctor won't be here today.
He is very sorry, but he is indisposed."

The Governor's twenty years as Mayor of San Francisco
had taught him how to handle such a situation in order to
get himself off the hook.

According to the Sacramento Bee, the Governor listened
while. . .

"Dr. Dexter told him that under the regime
of Dr. Scudder the Boys' School had been
advanced from the state of a reformatory
to an educational institution, which ranked
as one of the best ten of its kind in the
United States by the National Child Welfare
Commission. »

Rolph's answer...

"Governor Rolph replied that information he
had received from his Director of Institutions

Between The Dark - 330

convinced him that the quicker the situation
is cleared up at Whittier, the better it will
be.

He assured the delegation that whatever change
is made at the school will be 'for the better,'
and added that Claude Smith, named as the new
Superintendent, comes with the highest
credentials. (Apparently no one had told him
he had appointed the wrong Smith. )

'I am informed , * said the Governor, 'that
conditions at the school have been such as to
be a disgrace to the State of California. I
am told that moral conditions are very bad,
and the people of the district should consider
themselves lucky to get the matter cleared up. '

The Governor announced the appointment of D. J.
O'Brien, State Director of Penology, (his former
Chief of Police of San Francisco) to make a
complete investigation of charges of immorality
and political activity which have been made
against the institution."

With that the committee was ushered out without
opportunity for further discussion. They were furious and
the next day the papers roasted the Governor for this crude
brushoff ef thirty-eight prominent dedicated citizens who
had tried to save a group of youngsters from the hands of
the "spoilers."

When State Director of Penology, D. J. O'Brien, arrived
at Whittier to conduct the "unbiased investigation," the
watchful Murphy reported that D. J. stayed exactly twenty
minutes and left. That was the extent of the unpublished
investigation.

One should retain a sense of humor in this work. Two
weeks after the rebuff in Sacramento, Elmer Murphy and Dr.
Walter Dexter made a friendly call on Superintendent Smith.
Their interview was reported in the Los Angeles Record the

Between The Dark - 331

next day.

"ALARMED AT FREEDOM"

"Somewhat bewildered by the intricacies of a modern
curative educational system, the genial former sheriff
rubbed his eyes and looked around him.

If reports received by the Citizens' Committee are to be
trusted, he was alarmed at the freedom allowed the more
than 300 boys at the school. 'Authority' seemed to be
lacking. 'How do you find conditions here?' Dr.
Dexter, President of Whittier College, asked Smith
shortly after he was installed. 'Pretty bad,1 he replied.
'So udder was a fine gentleman and was well liked by the
boys and personnel, but I have already been here long
enough to tell that his administration was very laxative. "

MADE SOME CHANGES

"'So udder,' Smith observed, had gone in for 'that
vocational stuff.' It's my idea that the boys' time
could be better employed operating a lawnmower than
fooling around with shop machinery. ' He assailed the
lathes in particular. 'There are a couple of lathes
which have not been used for six months. What do we want
lathes for? We don' t make machinery.

The electric shop had also been abolished, as it was
'better for the boys to work with a pick and shovel.'

The article continued -

In the quietly beautiful home on the school grounds, to
which the Smiths fell heir, there was one eyesore, an
upright piano. It was too unpretentious to suit the new
Superintendent's taste. The Smiths, it is related,
asked the State Purchasing Agent for 'a grand piano
instead, for the sake of appearance only, as none of us
can play it. '

The Purchasing Agent said he could not allow more than
$150.00 for a grand piano, and the Smith's dream of
grandeur vanished. Smith's new assistant said the
Purchasing Agent was an 'old fogie' anyway.

A few days after my dismissal, Dr. Norman Penton who
had developed the traveling Child Guidance Clinic at Whittier
was given assurance his work would not be disturbed. This

Between The Dark - 332

was the first good news I had heard. Years later he told
me that he had been called on the phone by the new Superin
tendent.

"Dr. Penton, I have a bookcase hero in my office that
needs some books."

"What books would you like, sir?"

"Oh no, I just want books. Come over and measure what
I need to fill the cases. It wouldn't look right bo have
i t ernp ty . "

John Allen, a graduate student from Whit tier College,
had been appointed by Dr. Fenton as a counsellor for the
boys, a very important assignment. He was fired and an
ignorant farmer appointed in his place. Allen was
immediately hired by the Boys' School at Port Grant,
Arizona, but before he left the farmer said, "This would
be a hell of a fine place to work if it weren't for these
God-damn kids around here."

The in-roads upon our trained staff were terrific and
terrifying. They were replaced with a motley crowd of
political hacks, barkeeps and ex-pugs, and the Whittier
program of adjustment was on the skids.

Smith lasted three months, to be followed by fifteen
Superintendents over the next ten years.

Within twenty-four hours following my dismissal, letters,
phone calls and telegrams of sympathy, encouragement, and
offers of employment poured in. We could scarcely get out
of the house. Our wonderful friends certainly raised our

Betx^een The Dark - 333

morale.

Members of the staff dropped in. "Would I like to
speak to all the boys and tell them what had happened"?

"They probably know by now," I said, "but they are just
boys and calling them together might stir them up and cause
a lot of escapes, and that's just what the politicians would
welcome as an excuse to justify my removal."

Our fighting friend Murphy wanted us to remain on the
grounds and see if the Governor would dare order the
sheriff of Los Angeles County to eject us from the house,
but we knew that wouldn't get us anywhere. I had refused
to resign and had forced my dismissal. That at least was
comforting. We made up our minds to rent a home in Whittier
for a few months until we could clear our plans for the
future, and found one close to my parents and three sisters.
The great depression of the thirties was creeping across
America. The stock market had crashed, banks closed, and
several million people were broke and unemployed. It was
not going to be easy to find the right opening. . .and I
definitely wanted to stay in social work.

As we canvassed the situation, the most promsing was
the new position advertised for the first full-time
Probation Officer for Los Angeles County. An open written
examination was to be given in thirty days. This was the
result of a survey conducted by the National Probation
and Parole Association-::- of New York, together with Professor

The National Council of Crime and Delinquency.

Between The Dark - 33lj.

Emory Bogardus, head of the Department of Sociology at the
University of Southern California. The Rotary Club No. 5
of Los Angeles had underwritten the survey with $10,000,
and the main recommendation of the report was for a full-
time Probation Officer, separate from the County Welfare
Department.

We had planned to take a much-needed vacation, but it
would be necessary to bone for the examination, which would
include both juvenile and adult probation. Now the work
I had done, while in college for the Superior Courts and
Adult Probation in San Francisco, stood me in good stead.

Two weeks after the examination I received a notice
that I was No. 1 on the eligible list for appointment. It
would be at least thirty days before any action would be
taken by the Board of Supervisors in appointing one of the
top three candidates. If I was fortunate enough to be
selected, I would accept, because this new department would
present a great challenge and we did want to remain in
Southern California. We decided to take that much-needed
vacation and drove to Seattle to pick up our son Franklin,
who was attending school there, and was ready to come south.

One week after our return I was asked to appear before
the Oral Board and was appointed Probation Officer of Los
Angeles County, responsible to the Board of Supervisors,
but to serve the Juvenile and Superior Courts. It was
three months to the day since I had been fired from Whittier,

Between The Dark - 335

As I left the Hall of Records I ran into an old friend who
said, "Hello, Ken, what are you doing here?"

When I told her of ray appointment, she exclaimed,
"Are you out of your mind? Don't you know this is
the worst political set-up in the State, and that Board
can crucify you?"

"No," I said. "I don't believe they will."
"Well, I hope I'm wrong," she said, "but I'm afraid
you're going to be sorry."

There was only one attempt on the part of a member of
the Board of Supervisors to inject politics into the
Probation Department during the nine years of my admini
stration. It had been attached to the County Welfare and
had been treated as an unwelcome appendage. The depression
was at its height, with thousands of unfortunate frightened
people clamoring for relief, ^he harassed Director had no
time for Probation and as a result the division was in
turmoil. Pears gripped the personnel. With this re
organization of a new department, they too might lose their
jobs and little cliques and groups gathered in an effort
to protect themselves. I knew how they felt; I had just
come through it myself. In a few months we were pulling
together as a team of dedicated people, endeavoring to do
a job for other people in trouble and at the same time
protecting the public interest.

The Probation load began to jump and soon the courts

were complaining that our offices were delaying calendar
by not rrettinp- their court reports to the Judges on time

Between The Dark - 336

with their recommendations of either denial or the
granting of probation. It was plain we must have twelve
additional officers to handle the load. The budget for
the year had been adopted and there were no available funds
for this additional staff; so how were we going to get them?
What followed is an excellent example of the almost un
limited power of the courts when they can be induced
to work together.

Judge Samuel Blake of the Juvenile Court agreed to
get several judges to appear with us before the Board of
Supervisors and present this acute need. The eight Judges
dismissed their courts early in order to attend at Ij. p.m.
That was a great achievement on the part of Judge Blake
to induce his colleagues to come together on anything.

Two members of the Board were present, but the Chairman,
Prank Shaw, had not arrived. After ten minutes the Judges
became restless and it looked as though some might leave.
Just then the Chairman entered in a jovial mood. Seeing
the Judges present he said, "Well, I've never seen so much
legal talent in one room in all my life. How are you,
gentlemen?"

Walter Wood, who was then Presiding Judge of the Superior
Courts in Los Angeles county, known as a tough but honest
and sincere Judge, came right to the point.

"You're late, Frank," he said. "Sit down and quit
wasting our time. We want those twelve Probation Officers.
When do we get them?"

Between The Dark - 337

Shaw seemed to melt. "Well, I was just kidding a
little, Walter."

"All right; when do we get them?"

Turning to John R. Quinn and Roger Jessup, the other
members of the Board, the Chairman said, "It's all right
with me if you two approve." They were already sold on
the idea end nodded their consent. As the Judges left I
remained to clear up the details.

The Chairman addressed the other members. "Twelve
Probation Deputies, that makes four apiece," and turning
to me he said, "Ken, I'll send you my four tomorrow."

John Quinn looked up with a start. He and Judge Blake
had interviewed me for the appointment when he was
Chairman of the Board, and had assured ne there would be
no political interference. In World Ware I we were in the
same outfit in the 91st Division at Camp Lewis, only I
didn't know him then. Later he was a past National
Commander of the American Legion and had been nominated
by his loyal California friends as "The Western Cowboy
with a College Education." John was honest to the core
and I had worked with him when I was Manager of the U.S.
Veterans' Bureau for Southern California.

Now he turned to me with that little slant look in his
eyes when he was mad clear through. "Ken," he said, "As
long as I'm a member of this Board, I'll never send you
anyone." He never did and I never forgot it.

Between The Dark - 338

The County Counsel representative who served the
Board said to me, "What are you going to do, Ken? That
guy Shaw means business and will send you some men." I
told him not to worry about it.

Next day they began to filter in. Each man was given
a courteous interview. It was soon evident they were
entirely lacking in qualifications, but were undoubtedly
in need of a job, as were thousands of others. Two were
decent people, the others political hacks. I explained
to each that there was evidently a misunderstanding.

"You see there is an eligible list of candidates who
have successfully passed a rigid examination. If you
were well qualified for the job, I couldn't hire you
because under the County Ordinance covering civil service
positions, we are required to appoint only from an eligible
list. If you should qualify to take the next examination
and receive a passing grade, we could consider you. Two
of the men vjere very decent about it and expressed
appreciation for the interview, but the others were furious
One said, "He assured me I had the job. Mistake, helli
That dirty so-and-so knew all the time there was a list.
He's just giving us the royal runaround."

I guess the word was passed because in the nine years
that followed we were never bothered again, a tribute to
the Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles County.

Between The Dark - 339

Due to the terrific increase in the population of
Los Angeles County over the explosive thirty-two years
that followed, the Probation Department with its 2200
deputies and other personnel is now the largest in the
United States, and enjoys a very high rating.

My friends jokingly said, "Well, you were fired
from Whittier, Ken, but you really got kicked upstairs
because this is a bigger opportunity. Eventually I
felt the same way about it, although I never forgot those
boys at Whittier and their hunger for acceptance and
understanding.

Between The Dark - 3ij.O

"Whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster."

Edgar Allan Poe

CHAPTER XV

What followed at Whittier over the next ten years was
tragic indeed, and resulted in a scandal that rocked the
State. For two years, Elmer Murphy's Citizens' Committee
kept up their attack on Governor Rolph and were successful
in preventing the intended wrecking of the State Hospitals
and other Juvenile Institutions. The Rolph plan, as exposed
by the Committee , was to make a clean sweep by discharging all
Superintendents and replacing them with political appointees.
This would have made available at least 1000 jobs. Un
fortunately for them they started at Whittier and the furor
that followed brought a flood of editorials in protest over
the State with headlines:

"TIME TO KICK OUT POLITICS AT WHITTIER"
"GOVERNOR ROLPH IS THE FIRST CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR

Between The Dark - 3lj.l

IN TWENTY- TWO YEARS WHO HAS HAD THE BAD TASTE
TO USE STATE INSTITUTIONS FOR THE PURPOSE OF
BUILDING A POLITICAL MACHINE WITHOUT REGARD
FOR THE WELFARE OF THE INMATES.

WHEN WILL YOU GIVE US BACK WHITTIER TO BE
OPERATED UNDER A SUPERINTENDENT EXPERIENCED
IN BOYS' CORRECTIONAL WORK AND FREE TO CHOOSE
HIS OWN STAFF"?

Mr. Murphy kept me out of the picture by stating:

"Murphy claims his continued attack upon the present
administration of the school is not now in behalf
of K. J. Scudder, the former Superintendent, because
Scudder wouldn't take back the job if it was offered
to him."

The appointment of a parole officer at Whittier also came
in for attack by Murphy.

"The Committee Head says, the man, formerly a professional
boxer and rancher, was utterly without experience in
the handling of boys. Murphy further states, the man
has been on Dr. Toner's payroll since January, as a
paid informer to visit the various institutions in
the South in the hope of gathering complaints to be
used in case a dismissal seemed advisable.

It nov; became 'Jobs for Rolph's Boys, and the heads
of sixteen trained Whittier employees were lopped off.
The spoils system is going strong."

Over the years that followed, during the Rolph admini
stration, with boys running away in numbers, Superintendents
were displaced in rapid succession. As trained employees
were dismissed they were frankly told - "No charge against
you, but you must go. Those are orders from the Governor's
office. It's your job or mine, "...and that was it. A dis
gusting performance.

This policy could have only one result - the return of
brutal treatment "to keep the boys in line."

Between The Dark -

At the end of two years the Governor had taken all
he could stand. He asked Murphy and his executive
committee to come to Sacramento. When they entered his
office he closed the door and said,

"Just what do you people want? I'm sick and tired of
your unfair criticisms and harrassment. "

"There's been no unfair criticism, Governor, and you
know it. There's just one thing we want," Murphy replied,
"And that is for you to keep your spoils system out and
place these institutions under Civil Service where the
personnel can have some protection."

"Is that all?" the Governor inquired.

At a nod from Murphy, he said, "Very well. I can't do
just that because that calls for legislation. But I will
give my word there will be no more political appointments
at Whittier while I am Governor."

"Can we rely on that promise?" asked Murphy.

"You can," said the Governor, and further political
appointments were stopped at least at Whittier. Murphy's
committee was well aware that the Governor's promise did
not mean he would dismiss those he had appointed.

In 1936 a constitutional amendment was adopted placing
all State employees under Civil Service, which included
the Department of Institutions. The efforts of Elmer
Murphy's Committee of 1000 had paid off. They had rendered
a great service to the State of California and to its
unfortunate wards.

Between The Dark -

It's a sound practice never to return to a place of
former employment unless invited to do so. This gives
one's successor a fair chance without interference. One
morning in 1935>» the Honorable Robert Scott, then Judge
of the Juvenile Court, asked me to come to his chambers.
Karl Holton, my Chief Deputy, was also present.

The parents of a court ward at Whittier reported they
were sure their son and two other boys had been brutally
whipped and they had been refused permission by the
Superintendent, to see their boy. The Judge had ordered
the immediate appearance of the boys in Court, but the
Superintendent had explained, "the boys are ill in the
hospital with the flu and cannot be moved."

The Judge was angry over what he suspected to be a
subterfuge and asked that I go out and investigate and
make a complete report to the Court. I was eager to go,
but called to the attention of the Judge that anything I
would report might be considered as prejudicial to the
Administration, and suggested Karl Holton be assigned in
my place. To this the Judge agreed, and asked two
prominent attorneys to join with Holton. As we returned
to the office, Karl said -

"I wish you had taken this assignment. You know so
much more about that school than I do, but I understand
your position. Any suggestions how to proceed?"

"None," I said, "except to be thorough. This looks like

Between The Dark - 3ljij.

a cover-up job to me."

When they arrived at the school, the Superintendent
informed them the boys were too ill to travel and that
the parents were entirely wrong in their assumption that
the lads had been whipped. "I can assure you they have
not been in trouble," he added.

"We would like to interview the three boys here in
your office now," Mr. Holton remarked. After a pause,
the Superintendent said, "Do you think that would be wise
in view of their illness? The flu is contagious, you
know . "

One of the attorneys, a former Judge, said,
"Superintendent, we have a Court Order from Judge Robert
Scott to see these boys. I hope it will not be necessary
to serve it." With that the boys were soon called.

As they entered they glanced furtively around and then
stood waiting for instructions. They were dressed in
fresh white shirts and trousers, hair slicked back and
faces scrubbed clean. The three men glanced at each other.

These kids didn't have the flu. Instead they were
frightened and ill at ease. The Superintendent went back
to his desk, but did not offer to leave the room, as he
motioned to the boys to be seated.

Holton knew how to talk to boys, and tried to put them
at ease.

"How are you fellows getting along"? he inquired.

Between The Dark - 3lj.5

"Pretty well, Sir," one replied, while the others
nodded their heads.

"Do you like it here at the school"?

"Oh yes, Sir," said the same lad. He evidently was
the spokesman for the group.

"How do they treat you here"?

"With a quick glance at the Superintendent, the boy
replied, "Oh, just fine, Sir. We have no complaints."

The Superintendent smiled and seemed to relax.

During this short interview the Committee observed that
all three boys seemed to be uncomfortable in their clean
white shirba. They kept squirming in their chairs as
though the shirts were too tight.

Leaning toward them, Holton smiled and said, "Would
you boys like to do, something for us"?

"Sure," they replied.

"Then stand up and remove your shirts. Don't be afraid,
you are among friends."

A startled look came over their faces.

The Superintendent arose. "Just a moment, Mr. Holton.
Do you think that's wise? These boys are sick and should
be back in the hospital right now."

"Remove your shirts, boys, it will be all right,"
Holton said.

Slowly they removed their shirts while still facing the
visitors.

Between The Dark - 314.6

"Now turn around," said Holton.

As they did so, the three men sprang to their feet as
they gazed at three backs lacerated by the lash. The
cuts were deep and clotted with dried blood.

For a moment not a word was said. Then the boys were
ordered to undo their belts and drop their trousers to
the knees. Lacerations were across the buttocks
continuing almost to the backs of the knees. There
followed a moment of silent astonishment.

"How did this happen"? Holton asked.

This was met with a stony silence.

The Superintendent broke in. "I can explain it all.
You are taking a very unfair advantage and really have
no right to break in on me this way."

Holton looked him squarely in the eye. "Superintendent,
we wish to talk to these boys alone, after which we will be
glad to have you explain it all"!

When he had left the room the boys showed real alarm.
The spokesman said, "Mr. Holton, we don't want to talk.
We don't want any more trouble. Let's say we got what was
coming to us and that's all we will say."

Quietly fcae committee talked with the boys and allayed
their fears. They had been placed in the discipline cells,
which we had discarded years before, and had become
boistrous and belligerent. Refusing to quiet down they had
been dragged from their cells, one at a time, and severely

Betxreen The Dark - 314.7

whipped. They were afraid to mention names and begged
that the matter be dropped. They were again assured that
no further harm would come to them, but were cautioned
they had better mend their behavior, to which they agreed.

When the Superintendent returned he was no longer
belligerent. He explained that he became frightened there
might be more unfavorable publicity and they had received
too much already. He was investigating the affair and
would take the proper action once he could determine the
guilty parties.

"Why then did you try to deceive us"? Holton asked.

"Well, I'm sorry about that. I guess I just lost my
head," he said.

When the committee report was placed before the Judge
he immediately sent for the Superintendent to see him in
chambers. The committee was present and a stormy session
followed. The Superintendent put things on the line,
apologized for the deception, and dismissed the two
officers who had given the beatings. He swore before the
Judge that this would never happen again, and the matter
was put aside to be brought up in the future, if necessary.
Judge Scott knew the situation at the State School with
political appointments replacing trained people, but from
then on the commitments to Whittier from his court almost
ceased. Soon bho same action was taken by several other
Juvenile Courts in the State.

Between The Dark - 3i|.8

The three boys settled down, not as a result of the
whippings, but because of their promise to an understand
ing committee there would be no more trouble. They were
later released on placement and as far as we could
determine, did not get into trouble again.

With the death of Governor Rolph in 193^4-* Frank Merriara
became Governor, but little attention was given to the
damage already done to the institutions. His adminstration
was followed by that of Gulbert Olson in 1939.

In the meantime, as rough treatment at the school
increased, boys began running away right and left. The
town of V/hittier seemed to be in the papers every few days
with unfavorable publicity of conditions at the School.
Now the townspeople were calling for a new name to the
school and suggestions were made that it be closed and
turned over to the State for use as a Junior College,
including the entire beautiful campus.

One Superintendent, in desperation to stop the escapes,
resorted to the long-discarded method of shaving the heads
of all who ran away, and introduced outfitting them in
bizarre trousers with one leg blue and the other khaki.
A large group of such boys was observed by William Cox, of
The Osborne Association, cutting grass on the lawn adjacent
to the main highway which borders the school. This method
had little effect on the escape rate because most of theso
boys ran away again as soon as they were released from
Losb Privilege Cottage.

Between The Dark -

It was not until 1939-lj.O that the big scandal smoldering
for years, broke into flame at the Whittier State School
when two boys within nine months hung themselves in solitary
confinement.

The first was little Benny Moreno, who had run ax^ay. When
returned for the third time he was in solitary confinement
on a diet of bread and water. After two weeks of this
treatment he became seriously depressed and began screaming
"I can't take it any more. Let me out. Let me out or I'll
kill my self. "w

For several hours the officers paid no attention to his
plea. Finally they entered his cell and shook him up to
stop his yelling. Some claim they used the towel-around-
the-throat method and shut off his breathing until he passed
out. Failing to revive him, they tore up sheets and
simulated a suicide. At any rate, little Benny was dead.
Whether this was so, or whether he killed himself, the
Coroner's Jury could not find any evidence of violence and
finally called it a suicide. However, the death of this
little boy stirred up a new furor throughout the State and
this had hardly settled down when the second suicide occurred.

Willie Levia, 15» was placed in solitary for defiance
and running away, llo one knows just what happened because

•x-An Historical Study of California's First Correctional

Institutions for Juveniles. Master's Thesis by Thomas

Maxwell Lewis, Juno 1959, Long Boach Stato College, California,

Between The Dark - 350

the records were all destroyed, but he was found hanging
from a noose in his coll with his neck broken.

It was alleged that "Willie had told the boy in the
next cell that he was going to fake a suicide so that they
would take him to the hospital where it would be easier
to escape. The boy waited until he heard an officer
coming, and slipping a homemade noose around his neck,
stopped off his cot." No one knows the real facts, but
because the boy's neck was broken, the Coroner's Jury
again called it a suicide.

Little Benny Moreno and Willie Levia, txro young lads
who had made mistakes, but might have been adjusted under
a sound treatment program and be alive today as good
citizens of our communities had they not been trapped in
durance vile.

Governor Culbert Olsen appointed a special Commission,
headed by the late Judge Ben B. Lindsey, and three
prominent citizens, to conduct a thorough investigation of
the school and the charges made against certain officials.
The Commission found the general situation called for a
complete reorganization and pointed to sufficient evidence
of brutal treatment of the children, including sex
perversion, and called for a Grand Jury investigation.
"The Grand Jury failed to take action against the accused
officials. The County District Attorney, not satisfied,
made his own investigation, which resulted in arrest and

Between The Dark -

conviction of two supervisors for brutality to certain
children. It was indeed a regrettable and sordid mess.

"The State Personnel Board then preferred serious
charges against the Superintendent for maladministration,
dishonesty, and other offenses, and also against two
cottage supervisors for immorality with boys, against
seven supervisors for brutality and against the Chief
Supervisor for neglect of duty in that he knew of the
brutal treatment of boys and made no effort to prevent
such brutality."

Another committee was appointed to investigate further
and submit a plan of reorganization to the Governor. The
committee consisted of the Right Reverend Monsignor E.F.J.
Flanagan of Boys' Town, Nebraska; Mrs. Helen Mellinkoff of
Beverly Hills; and William B. Cox, Executive Secretary of
The Osborne Association of New York. As a result, Father
Flanagan took temporary charge of the school.

He notified the Director of Institutions, Dr. Aaron
Rosanoff, "we must dismiss these guards, many of them
political fossils, and substitute welfare workers and young
men who understand boys."-::-

One Supervisor called before the committee said, "The
present difficulties at V/hittier are due to abolishment
of the house mothers in 1932 for economy reasons (jobs for
politicians); abolishment of the fine Boy Scout Program;
and the abandonment of the Catalina Summer Camp." -::--x-

•"- Los Angeles Examiner k,13.kl
-::-::- Los Angeles Times li.20.kl

Between The Dark - 352

Father Flanagan then decided to do away with all locks
and restrictions. "Regardless of what the public thinks,
these boys can be controlled through kindness and interest,"
he proclaimed.

"With the best of intentions, he ordered the closing of
Lost Privilege and Receiving Cottages, so that the place
'would be wide open with no physical restraints of any
kind.' He called the boys together and announced, ''Boys,
this is an honor school. We do not have fences, we do not
have guards. There is nothing to keep you here except
that we intend to make this such a place that you will like
to stay here."

"When he dismissed the meeting, llj.0 boys left for parts
unknown. Some of them got hungry and had the gall to
return for lunch and leave again."

"Before it was over, 217 youngsters, out of a total of
332 at the school, had taken the road to nowhere, the
greatest mass exodus in correctional history."

The town of Whittier was in an uproar. "Cars were
stolen by escaped Whittier boys, and many burglaries
committed while other boys continued to leave the school
like water through a sieve."

Who were these boys? "Of the 332 lads at Whittier,
before the exodus occurred, 60 had been committed for auto
thoft, lj.1 burglary, 72 petit theft, 16 sex perversion,
5'3 incorrigible, 2 assault and battery, and 75 others for

Between The Dark - 3^3

such peccadillos as innocuous as stealing fruit or swiping
bottles to obtain money for food."*

The Chief of Police of Whittier was frantic. His staff
made every effort to round up the runaways, and return them
to the school. He estimated some $15,000 x;as stolen from
the town of Whittier by escapees. "They try to get an
automobile, a bicycle or some money to get away on."

When the boys were rounded up by the police and the
school was notified, the Chief was met with the amazing
statement, "We can't receive the boys back, we have no
authority to do so. They ran away, they must come back
themselves. "-::-

"What do the authorities do in a case like that after
all our effort to pick them up"? the Chief added.

Now the general public were demanding that Governor
Olsen once and for all end the chaos at Whittier. An
Assembly Committee tackled the job. The week before they
arrived, 5Q boys ran away. When questioned, Father Flanagan
explained to the group, "That is not serious. You'll always
have boys who will run away. The solution is to arrange
matters so they will want to stay." Thirty-- four more boys
left that evening.

Assemblyman Franklin Potter -answered the good Father
with - "as to Boys' Town, Father, I came from Nebraska myself
and back thero it was recognized ac a good thing that the

-::-Los Angeles Times !|.. 22.1^.1

Between The Dark -

State had its Industrial School for Delinquent Boys in
addition to Boys' Town."

Turning to the committee he added, "One aspect of Boys'
Town is seldom mentioned. That is, Father Flanagan can go
into Court and pick out the boys he wants, believing he
can do something with them. At Whittier, however, the
school has to take the boys committed to it by the Courts
from fifty-eight counties with no picking and choosing.
Your results at Boys' Town have been very fine, Father,
but that is not Whittier.

"Conditions at the school have become so disorganized
since the series of investigations and the attended
publicity that the Courts are refusing to send boys here."-::-

This was further born oub when Judge Robert Scott of
the Juvenile Court in Los Angeles County appeared voluntarily
before the committee to state why he refused to use the
State School. "I appeal to your committee to support my
unalterable opposition to corporal punishment in any form,
and would remind you that in 193& present officials of the
school gave a solemn promise that there would be no more of
the brutality that in that year sent three beaten Whittier
boys into the hospital, so severly injured that they could
not answer a court summons. "-;:-•::-

After a short stay, Father Flana;;an, a sadder and wiser
.nan for tho experience, threw up his hands and returned to

Los Angeles Tines lj..22.T|.l
Los Angeles examiner Iul9.1j.l

Between The Dark -

Boys' Tovm. where he had accomplished such an outstanding
job. He was followed by William Cox as Acting Superintend
ent for a period of six months, but he claimed so many
obstacles were thrown in his way that he too finally left
in disgust, another very disappointed person.

Let it be made clear that California is not the only
State that has experienced the unfortunate episodes
described in thic book, for similar experiences have been
found in every State in the union.

While there are many fine institutions today, there are
also entirely too many that ccnnot qualify under any such
rating.

Why is it that xro still allow corporal punishment to
raise its ugly head in many of our institutions for youth
as an accepted form of discipline? Is there something
about ib that we have failed to discover, or is it due to
our negligence in failing to inform the general public of
its evil?

In all my years of experience in corrections I have
never used it or allowed those working with me to resort to
its use. It is a vicious sadistic method of revenge and
has no place in any correctional program. The more
progressive States that have abolished its use are
thoroughly convinced of its negative disastrous results.
Those States who still use it in the absence of a
constructive program of treatment do so from fear of losing

Between The Dark - 356

control or to satisfy some deep and abiding resentment
against those unfortunates trusted to their custody and
care. That it is still used too extensively by many
States is graphically born out by the following statement
by Dr. Austin MacCormick, Executive Director of The
Osborne Association Inc. of liew York, a famous prison
society interested in improving the correctional standards
of the different States:

"it is a curious thing that many Superintendents of
Training Schools for juvenile delinquents, including
some of the best people in the field, react with vehe
mence to any public criticism of these institutions
and even tend to assume a vigorously defensive
attitude when brutality or some other scandal is
exposed in a specific school. Superintendents who
would not tolerate that sort of thing in their own
institutions seem to feel that any reflection on one
training school throws a shadow on all of them. Their
desire to make the public feel that a situation under
criticism is not typical of training schools as a
whole causes them to resist efforts to throw light int
some very dark corners where ugly things are lurking,
and to attempt to cast over the whole training-school
field an aura of sweetness and light, which does not
exist in most institutions .....

It is a grim fact, which nobody can escape, that there
have been in the past ten years, several deaths of
boys in training schools as the direct or indirect
result of beatings, which they received as official
punishment. The late Albert Deutsch has cited some of
these in his book OUR REJECTED CHILDREN. # He gave the
benefit of the doubt to one school in which two boys
committed suicide in the punishment cells after being
beaten. As a matter of fact, there was considerable
evidence that at least one of these boys died as a
result of a beating and was hung up by his belt to
simulate a suicide. The Iowa Training School, to cite
another example, will bo a long time living down the
tragedy that occurred a few yearn ago when a boy died
as a result of boing given a severe beating and then
being required to work on the cool pile in the broil :In

ITBert DeutscET*" OUR Iffi ^

Little Brown & Company 19

1DREN (POKE! X HD )

Between. The Dark -

sun. The lurid aftermath was a riot and mass breal:.
The first day after the boy died, 179 boys ran away,
[|i|. more two days later, and an average of 15 to 20 a
day for some time thereafter. State troopers were
chasing boys all over the State like rabbits for weeks.
In a half-dozen other States, in recent years, the
exposure of brutal punishments, which could easily have
resulted in the death of a boy, led to the dismissal
of the Superintendent and other personnel.

It is only fair to point out that the use of corporal
punishment in juvenile institutions and the excesses
to which it is carried, at times, stems directly from
the attitude of the public on the subject. The list
of sure-fire solutions for juvenile delinquency
proposed by laymen, is usually headed by the simple
solution that begins and ends with those familiar lines,
'Spare the rod and spoil the child.1 This probably has
more adherents than any other panacea, despite the fact
that most delinquents have had the daylights whaled out
of them for years by experts - by fathers and stepfathers
and step-step-fathers who are mighty handy with the roc'
they are sober and really good at it when drunk.

Many delinquents have had the double advantage of being
whipped also by experts who are paid to do it and
therefore have a professional touch that should succeed
vrhere the fathers and other amateurs have failed. I
talked to one of these 'lucky children' not long ago in
a training school of a proud and populous Midwestern
State. He was an undersized boy of fourteen with a
high intelligence and a low emotional boiling point.
His parenbs were divorced: his father had married a
woman the boy didn't like and his mother had married a
man who didn't like him. He had been sent to the train
ing school for running away from 'home.' For infractions
of the rules, mostly trivial matters, he had been flogged
six times in four months - spread-eagled out, held down
by four other boys, and whipped by the assistant
superintendent with a heavy leather strap. For some
strange reason, it did not seem to have helped this boy.
He still felt insecure and rejected. I suppose you
cannot expect even the best methods to work all the time."

Too many of these juvenile institutuions have for
generations, remained isolated in areas where the general
public seldom has a chance to visit. Therefore, people know
very little about what goes on in those places and through

Between The Dark - 358

public apathy, care less until it happens to be their own
children incarcerated there. Children and least of all
delinquents, have no vote nor is there, as has been
indicated, any legislative lobby in their behalf.

In 1950,- Albert Deutsch completed his study of fourteen
State Training Schools for delinquent boys and girls in
nine States and the District of Columbia. "Most of these
institutions were reputed to represent the best. Several
were icnown as "model" training schools. I was told by
competent authorities, familiar with the field, that on the
whole, they certainly were above the average among the ninety-
odd State Training Schools throughout the country, with a
total population of some twenty- three thousand children.

They called them "training schools," but I wondered
what they trained for... when upward of 10f> of their inmates
graduated into adult crime. In many respects they were not
even 'reform schools,' but rather juvenile prisons."

Deutsch referred also to the evils of the patronage
system in bhe States. "Nobody in Illinois was shocked by
the fact that every political turnover in the State admini
stration customarily brought in its wake, a complete change
in the personnel at the public institutions, including those
for children. A few years back a legislative commission
investigating conditions at the Illinois State Training
Schools for boys at St. Charles, observed that for the past
four decodes, n Republican had headod L'i;. Charlos undor i

Between The Dark - 359

Republican Governor and a Democrat under a Democrat
Governor. "

He described the brutal treatment then in vogue - the
hydrotherapy, a high pressure fire hose played full force
against the boy's spine. "It's like needles and electricity
running all through you," a St. Charles' boy who had
received hydrotherapy explained to me. "You yell bloody
murder and try to climb the wall. Your blood freezes.
It lasts a few minutes, but it seems like years."

Here also was another notorious "coal pile. I watched
boys working at the pile on a hot summer day, under a burning
sun, sweat streaming all over their begrimed faces. They
filled their heavy shovels at one pile, toted it to a
conveyer some twenty feet away and returned for the next
load." They were not allowed the use of wheelbarrows -
"that wouldn't have been strict discipline." At times
guards inflicted extra punishment by making them carry their
coal-filled shovels with their arms outstretched - an elbow-
breaking, back-breaking task.

About the time Deutsch was making his study, Professor
Harrison Dobbs, who had surveyed the Whit tier School just
prior to the Rolph Administration debacle, asked me if I
would consider the appointmen b as Superintendent of St.
Charles and urged me to visit the institution.

The Colonel in charge showed me through and as we entered
the basement of a building he t>ointed to the canre-like

Between The Dark - 360

discipline cells in which four boys were locked up.
"These are the masturbators, " he announced as we passed
before them. Later I learned that he had inarched each
cottage group through, as he made the same announcement to
the boys, who in place of being impressed by the Colonel's
attempt at moral instruction, snickered and grinned at
"the monkeys in the cage."

I noticed a slim anemic- looking lad, about thirteen, who
had a short-handled shovel handcuffed to his wrist, which
he was obliged to carry day and night. When I inquired of
the Colonel why this was necessary, he replied, "Oh, that's
just to slow him up. He has run away five times."

I visited the academic classes gathered in an assembly
and was asked to speak to the boys. The Colonel had
whispered "Ask them how many have been here before"? When
I di3 so, more than half the lads vigorously waved their
hands as though proud of the fact they had failed on release,

The expose by Albert Deutsch brought a heartening sequel
to the story of St. Charles. A new Superintendent, Charles
W. Leonard was appointed, a young progressive social
worker who made many changes for the better and finally
succeeded during the administration of Governor Adlai
Stevenson in having the entire personnel of the State
Dopartnont of Public Welfare pJb ced under Civil Service.
This cleared bho institution from tho hideous spoils system,
for the first time in forty years. However, Doutsch
concluded his study of St. Charles with... "One though; made

Between The Dark - 36!

me uneasy. Would all the inspriring efforts invested in
St. Charles be destroyed as similar efforts had been in
the past, when, and if this great State of Illinois
experienced another overturn in administration"?

If Albert Deutsch were living today I am certain he
would be gratified by the progress that has been made in
Illinois by the enactment of the necessary legislation,
which created the Illinois Youth Commission in 1961 and a
Division of Corrections quite similar to the California
Youth Authority. The report of the Commission, made up of
several outstanding loaders in the field of corrections in
the United States and published in September, 1962, is a well-
prepared most revealing document. The State Statutes now
guarantee tenure to the Superintendent of The Illinois
State Training School for Boys, although all other
Superintendents were still left vulnerable to possible
political manoouverings. The Commission makes a strong
recommendation that such guarantee be extended to all
Superintendents bo once and for all get rid of the abusive
and destructive patronage system so long in vogue in
Illinois.

With a capacity at St. Charles of ij.00 boys, the Commiss
ion found over 700, a dangerous overcrowding of lj.0;^, which
always presents serious disciplinary problems, yet found
"no indication of cruel or unusually punitive disciplinary
practices," another institution in which the cruel lash bed

Between The Dark - 362

finally been thrown out, due to the efforts of several
former Superintendents and the present incumbent.

During the nineteen thirties, the State Department of
Welfare at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, engaged my services
to survey the Boys' School at Morganza, just out of
Pittsburgh. Its beautiful spacious lawns and attractive
buildings on the hill gave a false impression to the
visitor of what went on behind that facade.

The politically appointed Superintendent, who had been
in charge of the school for twenty- five years, ruled it
under a system of corporal punishment, administered without
restraint by a sadistic Captain.

In spite of assurance from the Superintendent that it
was administered only as a last resort, what records I
could find, clearly indicated that five to seven lads were
severely whipped each week and in most instances without
the knowledge or consent of the Superintendent.

The method of procedure was unique, to say the least.
The supervisor of the cottage or work crew brought the boy
to the Captain's office with a complaint, written or verbal,
it didn't seem to matter which. Without questioning the
boy or the officer, the Captain opened the drawer of his
desk, drew forth the lash and handing it to the supervisor
said, "Okeh, since you reported him you can administer the
punishment yourself." Each officer had his own special
method of "laying it on" with a will. In addition to this

Between The Dark - 363

cruel method, it was the "conviction without a hearing"
that shocked me the most. The Captain justified this
method on the premise that "right or wrong, the officer
must always be backed up."

The whole school, at that time, \vas nothing but a false
front and in spite of the anger of the Superintendent, my
report to the Welfare Department exposed it as such. And
yet, even in the eyes of the general public, who crossed
those spacious lawns, listened to the boys band, clad in
attractive uniforms, and entered the attractive buildings,
the 1-lorganza School was to them "a wonderful institution
Tor which Pennsylvania could well be proud."

During the interviewing thirty years following my survey,
the Morganza School For Boys and Girls continued to rock
along under the spoils system with Superintendent and Staff
changing every two years with each new administration.
While there might have been some sincere people appointed,
they came with meager training and with little chance under
such a system to implement and follow through x^ith a
consistent, continuing program of treatment and social
adjustment.

It was not until 19f>7» after a major upheaval with its
resulting violence and chaos, that assurance was given by
the legislature that there would be no further political
appointments by placing the Superintendent and staff under
Civil Service.

Between The Dark - 36!;

When the State Bureau of Corrections was formed in 1955>»
Morganza still remained in the State Department of Welfare
and for a time was operated as a Youth Development Center,
but became in 1969, the Western State School For The Mentally
Retarded. The more difficult cases formerly at Morganza are
now sent to the well run State Correctional Institution at
Camp Hill.

It would take volumes to recount the courageous attempts
of so many dedicated people in the field of corrections,
working almost single-handed to bring about the necessary
changes to improve the administration of these schools
and reformatories for troubled boys and girls in America.
But despite many discouragements, their noble efforts have
not been made in vain, because thanks to many of them, we
now face the dawn of a new day in our battle against
delinquency and crime.

Between The Dark -

"Let us then be up and doing
With a heart for any fate.
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait."

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

CHAPTER XVI

The Youth Authority idea was proposed years ago by
the American Law Institute, a body of noted lawyers,
including Elihu Root and William Howard Taft, in a
revamping of the Nation's laws.

Its enactnent was hastened into law by the California
Legislature in 191-4-1, partly because of the Whittier School
scandal and in 19ij-3 Karl Holton, who had followed me as
Probation Officer of Los Angeles Counby, took over the
Authority as its first Director, and stated his philosophy
as follows:

"We begin with the basic concept that every boy and
girl committed to the care of the Youth Authority is an
individual human being. No two are exactly alike.

Between The Dark - 366

In order to devise effecbive programs, we must first
find out as much as possible about each boy and girl. That
calls for a series of medical, psychological, psychiatric,
educational and vocational tests in addition to the social
histories. Without these we would be working in the dark.
We must understand the home life and the adjustments or
lack of adjustments in the communities from which these
children come, for most of them have been under-privileged
in many ways.

We need a variety of small schools, camps and boarding
homes, each designed and equipped to meet the needs of
selected groups of boys and girls.

We will not permit corporal punishment or any other
cruel or inhuman disciplinary methods, but will insist on
firm but fair treatment for all. V/e know our program can
be only as good as the professional staff we can recruit
and train. The most important of those will be working
directly with the boys and girls. They must be well-adjusted
people who really care what happens to our wards, and must
have specialized training which will help them understand
why human beings act as they do.

Our entire program must be directed toward replacement
of these boys and girls back in the community where they can
become worthwhile citizens. We must therefore integrate our
work with that of the courts, probation, police, schools
and social agencies in each local community. If their
programs can be made truly effective, fewer boys and girls
will come to the Youth Authority." A noble prediction.

Between The Dark - 36?

In spite of their best efforts, it took the California
Youth Authority eighteen years, many of them discouraging
years, to clean up the situation at Preston and Whittier
because of the disastrous inroads of political patronage
during the four years of the Rolph administration.

Today the Preston School of Industry, described in the
early chapters, is now a very different place. California
has spent more than fourteen million dollars trying to
recreate this old institution in its isolated area of
Amador County. Old buildings have been replaced by
modern well-equipped structures. As a State's Correctional
System improves, the institutions are gradually used as
a last resort. This is proper, but it also means that
those committed are the most difficult cases from the ranks
of disturbed children - the homosexuals, the dangerous
psychopaths, the violent sex cases, all in need of intensive
psychiatric treatment and close supervision.

During the last ten years the Youth Authority has been
able to more than double the number of staff personnel in
each of its institutions, adding additional social workers,
psychiatric teams and a wide variety of other specially-
trained persons with very satisfactory results.

The monitor system was fi nally eliminated from Preston
in 1959, much to the credit of the then Superintendent,
Allen Breed, with the complete s upport of the California
Youth Authority.

Between The Dark - 368

Now no boy has power or authority over any other boy.
In place of the old credit system, the length of stay
has been reduced from two or more years, to five to ten
months, depending upon the boy's progress. It is now
practically up to the individual boy to demonstrate
conclusively to the Youth Authority Board just when he is
to be released.

All the boys are now enrolled in a full-time program, a
combination of academic and vocational classes or work-
related groups. Assignments are made after determining a
boy's interests, ability and special aptitudes. All classes,
both academic and vocational, are in charge of teachers
accredited by the State Department of Education.

"The regular high school has been completely revamped
and strengthened with six educational tracks for students,
seventeen vocational training classes, a job placement
bureau and a Junior College program offering transferable
credit units. With emphasis on individual instruction,
these former drop-out students are experiencing for fche
first time in their lives, the real thrill of achievement." -::-

The school now handles the most difficult cases in the
department. A new psychiatric unit for one hundred
emotionally explosive wards is staffed by a full time
psychiatrist, clinical psychologists and social workers

-x- C.A. Kuhl - Supervision Education
Youth Authority Staff News, 1971

Between The Dark - 369

who give individual attention to those boys in need of
treatiaent. V/ith case loads of only twelve boys per therapist,
these lads now receive the understanding and adjustment
they have long needed. A well-rounded athletic and
recreational program helps fill the former dead periods
after dinner, and all boys are urged to participate in
the intramural activities.

After recently spending two days at Preston, I was
impressed by the relaxed atmosphere and the understanding
relationship that exists between the boys and staff. I
left with a definite feeling that truly this institution,
after all these years, had at last come alive.

Whittier, now The Fred G. Nellis School for Boys,
has also undergone extensive changes in buildings and
program, and for the last twelve years, with the
addition of more professional staff, has been functioning
on a broad progressive scale of early adjustments, rabher
than extended detention.

In addition, the old Ventura School for Girls has been
abandoned and a new school for girls built on a new site,
one of the most modern in the United States.

Two Reception Center Clinics, North and South, give
careful study to each ward and determine the type of program
and institution to which he should take training for
release. Pour additional institutions for boys and girls,

Between The Dark - 370

and five conservation camps for boys 16 to 21 round out
the department's program.

Parole has been strengthened with smaller case loads
and closer supervision, together with intensive staff in-
service training throughout the entire Authority.

The second Director of the Youth Authority, Heraan
Stark, another veteran in the field of probation and
community organization, worked steadily towards a more
hopeful approach to the reduction and conbrol of delinquency,
He too urged identification of children in the early years
of childhood when anti- social behavior patterns oan be
adjusted without harm because far too many children in
need of help are allowed to drift until it is too late
and detention follows.

For several years the Youth Authority has experimented
with a shorter stay in the State Schools. When the time
was reduced from two years to 6 to 9 months, dire pre
dictions were made that trouble would follow, but nothing
happened.

Meantime, in cpite of enormous expansion and earlier
release, all Youth Authority facilities were seriously over
crowded. Per-capita costs a I; Whittier have risen from
$750.00 a year in 1931 to $j.,500.00 in 1969, and the
increase is based on the theory that if the boy is not
adjusted here, the State must repeat the expense at Preston

Between The Dark - 3?1

where the per-capita is just as large, and perhaps later
in San Quentin and Folsom. This situation is not confined
to Calif ornia, for it is found to exist in even greater
degree across the nation.

We fully realize today that the more we build institu
tions, the sooner we fill them up and keep them filled,
because the ''facility appetite" is never satisfied. It's
always the easy way out, but if we continue this policy
we can eventually build ourselves into bankruptcy.

It costs eighteen million dollars today to build a
prison for 1200 men, and that's only the down payment.
It will cost an additional $1,800,000 dollars a year for
the next seventy-five years to feed, clothe, supervise,
control and train a constant population of 1,200 men.
Soon there will be expansions and over-crowding. To take
one new inmate in we must take one inmate out, and this
goes on and on until the prison is ready to fall apart,
a stupid and costly program.

We spend more than Twenty Billion Dollars A Year... on
what? Detection, detention, custody and treatment of
those who get into trouble - and yet in spite of our best
efforts, 65?o to 70^ of the men and women released from most
of the prisons in America are back in prison again within
five years. We spend almost nothing on primary prevention.

We can't close our institutions overnight. We will
always have some, but over the next twenty-five years, need

Between The Dark - 372

we continue to worship blindly at the shrine of custodial
care? True, it's comfortable to find a place to get these
difficult behavior cases off our hands, and the
institution is always there. As a result we lock up 50$
to 60$ more than need to be there, while too many of those
who really should be detained are seldom apprehended.

How much is Twenty Billion Dollars? Do we really know?
Since it's too large a sume for us to grasp, let us look
then at just One Billion Dollars. Recently a mathematician
figured out that if a man stood before a large hole in the
ground and dropped one twenty dollar bill into that hole
every minute of the day and night, week after week, month
after month, year after year, it would take him ninety-five
years to drop one billion dollars into that hole. If we
were to witness such a procedure we would quickly declare
that person insane to waste so much of our money by dropping
it into a hole. But that is exactly what we have beon doing
with most of our funds in detention.

As I look back to the Reformatory at Monroe, Washington,
to Preston and ".Thittier in California and the many institu
tions I have visited or surveyed across the nation, I still
feel the darkness that existed in those earlier days of
brutal treatment, political patronage, ignorant unqualified
and untrained personnel; the almost total absence of ony
program of adjustment for the young people incarcerated

Between The Dark - 373

there. The greatest stress was placed on "protection of
the public" with little thought or effort on preparation
for release and the eventual return to the local community.
To a large extent this still exists across the nation.

There is no protection in punishment, purely for
punishnent sake. It's an expensive and unrewarding
philosophy because under its grim program too many boys
and girls emerge worse off than when they entered, only
to be returned again and again until they reach the
prison and the costs of this procedure are beyond belief.

Then, why not begin to change our methods by reaching
these people before they get into trouble? We must
start sometime, why not now?

True, we cannot reach our goal in one great effort, but
must take it step by step, cautious steps, but brave ones.
It calls for courage to take more calculated risks with
these children and adults in trouble. Most of them don't
want further trouble, but desire to live in a normal
community atmosphere, to be accepted instead of rejected,
to bo able to earn an honest living, raise a family and con
tribute constructively to community life.

Sixty percent of our troubled children have been
accurately classified as "Social Delinquents." They are not
emotionally disturbed, but are rebelling against unsatisfactory
home and community conditions that you and I have allowed to
develop and have failed to clean up.

Between The Dark - 37!}.

We must stop wringing our hands in despair and begin to
throw out those antiquated methods of the past that do not
work and retain and rarify those that bring light to these
dark corners.

Thousands of experiments have been tried and many for
a time proved successful. Then some unfortunate thing
happened and in our fears we discard the new and
return to the old system. It's more comfortable to do that
to avoid temporary criticism. As a result our research
shelves across the nation continue to gather dust on
thousands of worthwhile projects that will work again,
if we will give them a chance. We have the tools. VThy
not use them?

The sad fact is that as we study these cases of the
offenders we can follow the threads of behavior clear
back to the early years of childhood when their anti
social behavior patterns were clearly forming into
hardened acts of conduct that called for immediate attention
by society in the form of changing attitudes while there
was yet time.

It was the school that recognized the needs of these
youngsters and wanted to do something about them. Un
fortunately society has been unwilling to furnish the
necessary clinical facilities that should be available in
every school district in America to make these adjustments
possible.

Between The Dark -

The day is here when we must take some of the billions
ue now spend on secondary prevention when it is too late,
and properly equip our schools and social agencies to
help these children in their hour of need.

Today America stands at the crossroads and faces
two alternatives. We can continue to build more institu
tions to place people after they get into trouble... or ue
can change our methods now by reaching these children in
the early years before the trouble occurs.

Between The Dark - 376

"But he who knows how to cleanse the
current of a stream, begins by clear
ing out its source.

And he who would strengthen the end
of s process must commence by making
its beginning correct."

Laoist Inscription 203 BC

CHAPTER XVII

Several of our States are realizing that a change is
imperative, that in spite of our best efforts in corrections,
we are in large part failing in our endaavor. These dedi
cated people need help and an understanding support to
explore new methods, especially in the promising fields of
prevention before our youth gets out of control.

The population explosion in 195lp» found the California
Youth Authority faced with a huge backlog of 1100 juveniles
waiting long periods in Juvenile Halls and County Jails to
be admitted to State Institutions. But all institutions
were crowded beyond capacity with no vacant beds, causing
a furor of criticism from courbs, police and citizens for
an early solution. At an administrative meeting of the
Director of the Youth Authority Parole Board and Staff,
bhree courses of action were decided upon.

Between The Dark - 377

1. Try to secure funds for low case load experiments
with intensive treatment in the local community in
place of commitment.

2. Shorten the length of stay in institutions.

3. Accelerate efforts to have more coses handled
through probation at the local level.

It was determined that without such planning the State
faced a contemplated construction of at least seven additional
institutions by 1968-69, involving tens of millions of con
struction funds that would have set the sane old pattern of
correctional programming for the next century, unless new
methods were discovered.

Since 1961 the California Youth and Corrections Agency-:;-
has been experimenting with a promising new approach called
"Community Treatment" in place of detention to try to off
set the costs of institutional care. The study has met
vjith astonishing success and is strongly recommended by
the Presidents Commission On Crime and Delinquency Prevention.

Jointly financed by the National Institute for Xentti]
Health end the Gtate of California, the Community Treatment
Project is a combined experimental and demonstration re
search project designed to study the feasibility of sub
stituting an inbensive program in the community for the

•x-California YouTFf" and~X<fuT"t~C"or r e c t i on s Agenc y
Richc-rd A. He Gee - Agency Administrator
Heman Stark - Director Youth Authority
Walter Dunbar - Director Corrections

Between The Dark - 378

traditional State training school programs, vjith selected
California Youth Authority wards. The first units started
in September 1969 in the urban areas of Sacramento and
Stockton and continued through August, 1961j..

"Since the recidivism rates following release from
State training schools across the country remain, relatively
high, it is evident that far too many of our institutions
are not fulfilling their functions. We had no reliable
method to determine which boys should train in an institu
tion and those who would respond readily to intensive treat-
ment in tho community.

The project hoped "to determine the feasibility of
releasing selectee non-violenb Youth Authority wards
directly from a Reception Center to a treatment control
program in the community. They would at the same time,
compare this type of treatment with that of similar types
of wards in an institution. A further aim would be to try
and develop specific treatment plans for both groups in
the different settings. "•::-

"Tho typical wards selected for the experimental
group, both boys and girls, were just under 16
years old, Caucasians, committed for burglary or
theft including auto, came from a lower class
family, low normal intelligence, almost three
grades academically retarded, is attempting school,
dislikes school, has school problems."

•::- Marguerite Warren

Director Community Project

California Youth Authority
-::-::- Community Treatment project. Second report. First

Year of Action and Evaluation. California Youth and

Adult Corrections Agency 1963.

Between The Dark - 379

After developing this careful method of selection,
173 wards were screened for possible inclusion in the
project. Then by random assignment, £0 wards were
placed in the experimental group for community treatment,
and 81 in the control group for institutional treatment.
Case loads were reduced to eight per officer for the
treatment group to assure close supervision. Selected
wards were assigned to Community Agents according to
their "Social Maturity Level," namely— lowest, middle,
or highest. It was assumed from the start that the
lowest social maturity group would prove to be the most
difficult to adjust. The Community Agent assigned to
this lowest social maturity group gives the following
description.

"This ward's relationships with other
individuals are centered on whether they
give to him or deny him. He does not
get too emotionally involved with other
people. The whole world centers in him
and around his needs. His needs are
paramount and when they are unfulfilled
he blames others. He is unrealistically
optimistic about his future. He oftentimes
seems to be resentful, depressed, discouraged
and confused. His dependence is enormous,
using all to gratify his infantile needs.
He is extremely impulsive and often has poor
control over himself. His relationship with
his peers and others is often destructive."

We have failed to adequately equip our schools to
successfully cope with these lowest social, maturity
pupils.

Between The Dark - 330

"This is not an intellectually 'dumb'
individual, but he is emotionally impoverished.
Academically he tends to be a poor achiever
and is passed from one teacher to another,
and from one grade to another not always for
his benefit but often to the relief of his
harassed teacher."

This passing on to another grade when he is not ready
for it or able to do the work -

"triggers hie impulsive reaction - lashing
out towards students and teachers, he
petitions all to throvj him out. His attention
span is practically nil; he often is tardy
at school, despite the fact that he lives
three blocks from school and is sent off at
seven o'clock in the morning to a nine o'clock
class. Given any authority in the school
situation (such as a crossing guard) he
becomes a bully. During remedial reading
sessions he is apt to wander off to another
room or heckle his fellow students or annoy
the teacher by asking permission to go to the
toilet every five minutes. In the regular
school situation he is a regular toilet
petitioner, rarely coming back in a specified
time, wandering about the halls aimlessly."

And what of the families of these boys and girls?
Do they too present serious social problems?

"Of the first five youngsters worked in this
category, four came from Caucasian lower
socio-economic families. One came from a
family of high income, but it closely
approximated the cultural and social level of
the other four youngsters' families. All had
or have parents or parent-figures in
authority who have been extremely brutal,
neglectful or inadequate. These parents have
been convicted of such offences as hit and run,
battery, failure to provide and prostitution.
One youngster's parents have been convicted
of drunkedneos, assault with a deadly weapon,
failure to provide and other offences. In
all of bhe .families there is cultural

Between The Dark - 3P)1

deprivation, a non-emphasis on education, and
a notable lack of church attendance. All of
the families give the impression of being
isolated from the dominant values of society."

Just how do these parents act under such pressures?

"The parents:, beleagured by their own
frustrations and inadequacies, are often
brutal, both physically and otherwise; they
are hardly able to give consistent kindly
supervision. One child's stepfather would
lock him in the closet and scratch on the door,
telling him that the rats would eat him. To
odd to the confusion, these youngsters usually
come into contact with a variety of foster
parents. In the case of Harry, placement in.
eight differenb foster homes and one near
adoptive homo was sandwiched in between
detention in a variety of juvenile halls. It
is little i^onder that all of these youngsters
demonstrate a great deal of emotional confusion,
unstable social behavior and poor impulse
control. "

There exists in the mind of the average citizen great
confusion as to just how the "strange acting1' child should
be bandied.

"The general community sees this youngster as a
hopeless person, but does not view him as
particularly criminalistic. He is more often a
petty thief, occasionally he may steal a car, or
commit a burglary, usually led by a more droit
Individual or group. He may steal from his
parents, foster parents and siblings, and in the
opinion of this parole agent, is less likely to
become a graduate of our adult penal institutions,
but may eventually be committed to a mental
hospital, or as an adult be a frequent visitor to
our Municipal Courts for a variety of petty-
offenses. "

It is apparent that this type of individual gives those
who endeavor to supervise his activities a very rough time.

Between The Dark - 382

"He attacks his family, welfare worker, and
probation, officer, through his impulsivity,
uncontrolled acting out, explosiveness,
emotionally charged relationships and un-
neetablo demanding behavior. His guilt
feelings are minimal and his ability to create
guilt in others is maximal. Since he is the
product of an economically impoverished welfare
family and emotionally impoverished parents,
he does conjure in the professional middle class
workers, feelings of pity, despair and guilt.
He is costly in terras of money, patience and
man hours. Since his own family is in large
part the source of his trouble, he must be
placed in foster-home settings or intermittently
in detention homes. He needs to be fed, clothed
and medically attended. The formalized agency
may tend to pass him horizontally on a county
level to another agency, depending on the services
and wealth of that particular community, or may
pass him to a higher governmental agency for
foster home care and specialized treatment."

In so many cases it would appear this type of lad has
boon forced to live in a social vacuum.

"He is difficult to relate bo and since he can
not readily enter into a conversation outside of
his own needs, the worker may gain a sense of
loneliness and be ever eager to pass him on to
someone else. Irresponsible, hostile and
rejective parents or parent surrogates have with
held love and approval and have denied him the
socialization he so much needs. He tries through
infantile acts to force his parents and immediate
environment bo gratify him."

To begin with, the treatment goals of the Community
Treatment Project had to be tentative, for - -

"there was a great deal of skepticism as to our
ability to work with this lower maturity youngster.
We hoped to reduce the pressures of his social
drives and develop in him some minimal measure of
conformity by strengthening his self control.
Further we would try to reduce his cense of isolation
and rejection through a warm personal relationship
and we would protect him fron being scapegoated.

Between The Dark - 383

Consideration was given to his placement in a
group hone or tolerant foster home away from
his own difficult family group."

Most agencies in our conm unities are pressed to the
extreme to find suitable foster homes with the result
that too often they feel obliged to settle for what they
can find. In the Community Treatment Project, however,
great care has been given co the selection of only those
foster homes that showed sign:: of understanding and a
willingness to develop new skills. 7or example -

"One of our group homes, now in operation, accommodat
ing low maturity youngsters from the ages of 13 to
10, is operated by parents who have long passed the
test of maturity and ability to work with youngsters
of this type. The foster parent, 2 carpenter, earn
ing approximately $500.00 monthly, is a fairly
strict individual, but has ability to impose strict
ness in a kindly manner. The foster mother can be
pictured as an unseductive, plain housewife, who
has raised five boys of her own. They attend church,
but more importantly, they are involved in the
social affairs of their church and involve the
foster children in turn. They raise bees, can
fruit, go hiking, search for rocks, make occasional
trips to the mountains and involve the youngsters
in all these activities. They are not compulsively
clean, but believe in a relaxed standard of clean
liness. They place demands on the foster children,
but these demands are not unrealistic and are
geared to the individual ward. These people aro
sufficiently mature to allow several parole agents
to intrude upon their routines and have been
sufficiently secure to allow the natural parents
of these wards to make demands upon them and intrude
upon their home life."

In this group there is much social interaction within
the family.

"Group homo members eat together and do things
togotlior 'in a family group nncl to one our :i go
each mombor bo find for hlmsolf a positive
plnco in bho family configuration." %

v:-Commuhi ty ^relrtaTonTt YroToc t u, search Report No. 2, Juno 1963
Ambrose Daily - Community Agent • Stockton, California

Between The Dark - 3814.

The success with the low social maturity group looks
promising if we think in terms of eliminating delinquency.
But they will remain a long term responsibility for
society through the help and supervision of local
community agencies following release from the Youth
Authority. These young people are now alone in the
world because the family has faded away. They are
marginal individuals who cannot long hold a steady job.

-;:-:iWe have a young man, now 21, who has not been
in trouble, but must soon be released by the
Youth Authority because of his age. He will
need someone or agency to which he can turn if
things fail to work out and they don't seem to
work out for him very long. He is not a
capable individual, but not dull, has limited
social skills and is poorly socialized,
although he is much better than when we got him.

It is clear to us, however, that these low
maturity cases do not need an institution, but
can easily ibecone institutional cases for life.
They become hospitalized easier than any group
we have. Their needs are so great they must
have a protective environment. It remains then
of the greatost importance that these cases be
handled in the community instead of an
institution. This can be done at half the costs.
In fact, it^ is rather hard for us in the projec t
to find any ~group w_hp cannpj^ be ITandTed J^n _s_ome
way Th the c omm unTb y .^

Whet cooperation could the Community Treatment Project
expect from the local community?

"An important question raised early in the project
concerned the willingness of the study communities
to accept the immediate return of wards so
recently 'expelled' as intolerable in the
community setting. It was also important that
they not only tolerate but be willing to help in
the effort."

-::-Harguerite Warren
Community Treatment project
Tape Recording Tiopl;. 1.1, lr?6)i

Between The Dark - 385

Since over half of the selected cases had caused trouble
In school, the administrators, teachers and counselors were
contacted in advance and became sold on the experiment
before it started. The sane held for the police and
sheriffs who were at least willing to give it a try.

Assurance was given that the supervision would be
close indeed and that any child accepted back in school
would immediately be removed if trouble ensued. School
staff members have been enthusiastic about the strong
attitude the Community Agents have taken to control the
wards' behavior when, accepted back by the schools.

"Tonrny, age 13> a middle-maturity case and a
clever manipulator, was being considered for
permanent exclusion from school at the time
of his commitment to the Youth Authority.
Prior to the commitment offense, Tommy had
been arrested 7 times, the first at age 10.
He had never cared much for school, but for
the past two years had become an increasingly
difficult problem. School authorities
reported that he had been in trouble for
being defiant in class, truancy, fighting,
and setting fires in the rest room. During
Tommy's last 6 days in school, he had been
given 2o written disciplinary reports.

In several conferences with school
authorities, including the Assistant
Superintendent of Schools, the Supervisor of
Attendance and the Counselor from the Junior
High School Tommy had been attending, the
Community Agent and the Supervisor were able
to pursuade the school district bo allow
Tommy 'one more chance.' The agreement was
based on tho understanding that the Community
Agent would assure immediate action to control
the ward's behavior. On the day prior to
To;nmy's ro- enrollment, he was present at a
conference of all of his teachers, his
counselor, i/ho principal and vice-principal

Between The Dark - 386

of the Junior High School and his community
agent. The handling of these manipulators
called for a 'get tough' policy, making the
child realize you really care about him
because you are going to control him whether
he likes it or not.

Rules were defined concretely and Tommy was
•idvisod by his community agent in front of all
of his teachers that the slightest infraction
would result in his being sent to the
office, his agents being called, and
Tommj being placed in a detention situation.

During his first day in school, Tommy tested
bhe situation by 'sassing' a teacher, was
Immediately picked up by the Community Agent
and put into detention for a week. During
the six months' period there were two
additional rule infractions: name-calling
and bullying. Each of these infractions led
to an immediate call to the Community Agent
and a period of detention for Tommy. In spite
of these disciplinary actions, the school
system is tremendously impressed with both
the degree of determination on the part of
the Community Agent to prevent misbehavior
and the relatively good behavior on Tommy's
part. Tommy is still frequently called into
the school office, but it is most often now
for commendation on his good school behavior.

It should be noted that the methods of
controlling Tommy, a child who has no internal
controls and is totally dependent on external
controls of his behavior, are specific to this
type of boy. The methods of handling a more
mature ward (for example, one with internal
controls) would be quite different." •::-

How do girls react to this Community Treatment Project?

"Two women agents were assigned to girls' cases.
Out of the girls handled in the first three
years, only one has failed and had to be
removed from the community and placed in an

wCominuni. l/y Treatment project, Isb Progress Heport July
1st Year Report of Action and Kvnlu.ition
Mnrguoribo A. Grant Marten V/nrron - Keith Griffith
California Youth Authority

Between The Dark - 38?

institution. She did not get into serious
trouble but refused to abide by the rules
and regulations and failed to show an
appropriate attitude towards supervision and
treatment.

The case of Martha was entirely different.
She was committed to the Youth Authority at
the age of 16 for forging a credit card at a
large department store. She is a Negro girl,
brought up by white adoptive parents, who
insisted for years that she was not Negro
and adopted her with that understanding. It
x^as quite obvious to others that the girl was
Negro, but the adoptive parents kept
insisting that she was not. Here was a real
identity conflict because everything this
girl could observe told her she was Negro
and by accepting herself as a Negro meant
being banned by this extremely prejudiced
family who were otherwise very fond of her.
When finally convinced the girl was Negro,
the family labeled the child "bad" because
all the signs that she was Negro to them meant
"bad." A very unfortunate situation. As a
result the girl became a serious problem as
she struggled with 'Who am I'? 'Am I worthwhile
or am I not'? 'Is being a Negro bad'? 'I was
not considered bad before, so why now1?

Soon she was running around with the toughest
boys in the high school and showed signs that
she was deeply disturbed. It was then that
she used the forged credit card to make herself
look better by getting some very fancy clothes.
She was removed from the white home because
her adoptive parents could no longer accept her
as their child.

A good foster home was found and she adjusted
i^ell there. She is a very attractive girl, is
doing x^ell in school, is very popular, has
accepted herself as a Negro and has a part-time
job in a department store. She has been in
the Treatment Project eighteen months, is a
happy well-adjusted girl and is now eligible
for discharge from the Youth Authority."

Between The Dark - 388

Twenty-five out of the fifty treatment groujS were
placed in temporary detention for various reasons and
all but five were later returned to the project. The
latter were placed in an institution.

The staff reports that wards who looked the "worst"
to them in the initial staffing sessions, have later
proved to be more amenable to management in the community
than some of the better- appearing wards. Nearly all
have required strategic foster home placement with almost
daily contact from the Community Agent. The staff also
stated that 2^'fa of the cases they had declared ineligible
for the project could, in their opinion, have been handled
successfully in this program.

America is desperately seeking other methods of
treatment in place of so many unnecessary commitments to
institutions. If successful, this experiment could well
become an entering wedge toward a more rapid nationwide
reduction of our institutional population bo the "hard
core" twenty-five percent who do require close custody
and by attempting to treat the rest in the community
setting. It could eventually make unnecessary the
building of additional institutions. Expensive? Yes,
but it's a billion times more expensive to continue as
we are.

"Fortunately, an active program of community
interpretation continues to bo an important
part of the Community Treatment Project.
Discussion:: focused on the program in general
and on specific experimental wards are hold

Between The Dark - 389

frequently with law-enforcement agencies,
probation departments, welfare councils,
schools, recreation and youth agencies, service
clubs and citizens' groups.

Press coverage, both in the experimental
communities and in other California cities,
continues to be favorable. It is our
impression that the program is viewed by
the communities as a bright hope in the
generally disc our aging picture of
delinquent rehabilitation, and is recognized
as a solid attempt by reasonable people to
find a solubion to a serious social problem.
'./bile relationship with schools in general,
have been excellent; a few school administra
tions have felt that special favors were
being requested for Project cases and have re
acted negatively to this. This issue has
arisen primarily when the project was trying
to prevent expulsion of a troublesome boy in
a school full of troublesome boys.'1 -x-

What are the costs of the Community Treatment Project as
compared with institutional treatment?

"Including the contribution, both of the State
of California and the National Institute of
Mental Health (which included treatment
supervision, consultants, school tutors :and
school supplies) to the action program, the
monthly per-capita costs in 196)4. was .J;178.00,
as against the per-capita cost in Youth
Authority institutions for Juvenile Court
committed wards of $350.00 per month."

The real measure of the soundness of the Project depends
largely on how many succeed upon release and how many fail.

"It appears from violation material that the
experimental (community) group, as a whole, is
doing better on release than the control group,
in fact the revocations of the experimental
group have been at a rate that is approximately
half that of the juvenile parole population at
large and has already demonstrated its feasibility
as an alternative to ins Li tub Jon care."

F He-search IJcporL Mo. 3- August;, 1'Xo.

Between The Dark - 390

But more important is too demonstrated ability to
safely protect the community - in short, the Community
Treatment Project is well in control of its assigned
wards who ore eventually discharged without the lasting
stigma of an institutional record.

Much to the surprise of the Project staff, the low
Social Maturity group made the best adjustments while
the middle maturity manipulators and the high maturity
acting out neurotics have been the most trying groups
uo control in the community. They were originally looked
upon as the most hopeful cases, bub many of their anti
social behavior patterns were so set that it took long
hours of counselling and supervision to readjust.

The results of the first three years of this Project
have been so promising that It was extended an additional
five years, made possible by the National Institute for
Mental Health and the State of California.

"We hope to be able to definitely determine
what it is about the Project that results
in a different success with some types of
children. V/e plan to extend the Project
into a three-way experimental design
instead of the present two-way in San
Francisco and Los Angeles.

Sen Francisco Juvenile Court wards
will be declared eligible for the Project
under the present Community Treatment plan.
V/e feel that 75$ of the boys and 90/6 of the
girls could now be considered eligible for
community treatment in place of institutions.
Once eligible, they will be arranged in a
random assignment into the three- way breakdown.

Between The Dark - 391

One-- third will go through the regular
Youth Authority program.

One- third will be treated under the
present Community Treatment, using the
delinquency sub- types social maturity

levels.

The third alternative will be another
community program that will again be
skipping the institution. This one will
not be built around the treatment model,
but will be a guided group experience similar
to the Provo and Highfield Essexville model.

This affords an opportunity to look
closely at what contributions the Treatment
model is making: Is it advantageous to
skip the institution; can these programs
be run in other communities that are not^r
urban and perhaps more gang- oriented than
we now deal with? We will be answering the
questions: What is it about these community
programs that increases success with
certain types of children and makes it
possible to radically reduce our institution
population?" •::•

Again a high powered committee on the youthful offender
was appointed "to study and analyze all facets of the youth
and adult offender phenomena in California, to re-examine
the assumptions on which the earlier construction decision
was based and to specifically consider alternate proposals."

In February, 1963, the Committee presented its first
report on "The Youthful Offender in California," an ex
haustive, constructive, courageous analysis of the problem,
a nd due_ to the apparen t success of t he__C omniunity Tr e rrtra e_n t
Project as an al te rn.a t i v e t o i ns t i tut i5>£)£j_c are, re c ommen d e d
the planning and construction of only three institutions

-::- Marguerite Warren

Community Treatment Project

Between The Dark - 392

instead of the seven formerly recommended to meet the projected
needs, a savings of $72,000,000. if the committee report
was adopted.

By June, 1966, more than 600 wards of the Youth
Authority were being treated in the Community, making it
unnessory to have constructed an extra institution and a
half to provide beds for them if these services had not
been available, a savings of near $20,000,000.

Other recommendations included a more intensive
clinical treatment in the reception centers, strengthening
the foster and group home programs, the establishing of a
system of hostels for older youth in urban communities
and to provide o continuation of psychiatric case work to
wards on parole in the community; a bold, logical, solid
program.

Other States, facing the same problems, unfortunately
still see no other way out except to build arri built more
institutions to bouse the hordes of delinquents descend
ing upon them at a continuous cost of untold millions.

Ohio urged the construction by 1967 of six permanent
institutions and three training camps for juvenile
delinquents at a cost of forty-three million. Especially
emphasized was the need for expansion of staff and relief
of overcrowded conditions at the Boys' Industrial School.

In Louisiana, the Judge of the Baton Rouge Family
Court warned that che State faced "the worse holocaust
you have ever seen," unless immediate steps are taken
to alleviate the deplorable conditions at the State

Between The Dark - 393

Industrial School for Colored Youth in Scotland ville.
Designed to handle l+QO delinquents, the population is
over 900 and the school has faced drastic budget cuts.
Local residents, alarmed at the 70 escapes since
January 1961]., and other major incidents, demanded that
the facility be moved.

In Michigan, presiding at a recent conference on
youth, former Governor Rornney cited "Michigan's outstanding
accomplishment" in planning and accelerating the completion
of new facilities for delinquents, which this year will
have increased the capacity of State institutions for
delinquent boys - 80 percent over what they were three
years ago.

No doubt these were needed by the various States, but
this will never solve the delinquency problem because it
is again too late.

A more promising course of action has been suggested
by the California Delinquency Prevention Commission, that
the State provide an annual subsidy of three million
dollars to local communities for the purpose of developing
primary delinquency prevention programs similar to that of
the New York Youth Board and the Illinois Youth Commission.

At that time, the California Youth Authority was spend
ing less than one point one (1.1) percent on delinquency
prevention out of an annual budget of $32,000,000.

Between The Dark - 39l|.

''Darkness was on the face of the deep
And God said -'Let there be light'
And there was light."

Genesis 1 : 1-2

CHAPTER XVI II

"Since so small a number of offenders are caught and
convicted in America, legal punishment can no longer be
considered a major factor in the control of crime." -::-
For example, only 21% of reported armed robberies in the
United States are actually convicted and the record in
other kinds of thefts are not half as good. Delays and
backlobs of cases in our courts have never been as
high in all history.

"If you look at the record for 1969, recently re
leased by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, only 13$
of the Nation's burglaries were cleared by the police
- 1'3/S. That means that when someone burglarizes your
house, it is 5 to 1 that he won't get caught. And he
knows that if he is caught, by some fortuity, he can

•:c- Austin MacCormick

Executive Director Osborne Association
New York

Between The Dark -

tinker with the legal system for two years. Now that
in no deterent.

The legal system isn't working. It is like a scare
crow in the field that doesn't scare the crows anymore
because it is too beaten and tattered, and the crows are
sitting on the arms and crowing their contemptuous
defiance." •::- A sad commentary, but so true today.

"In 1970, a study of the slowing down of the court
system in the city of New York, revealed by the New York
Times, an estimated backlog of 3^0,000 to pOO,000 cases;
due in large part to Judges repeatedly granting requests
of defense attorneys for postponements and continuances,
a time-worn practice that frequently ends in bargain-
counter pleas - and due to these delays, hundreds of
these offenders cannot be found when their cases come at
last on Court calendars." -x--::-

In 1952 we suggested that "6ur courts could safely
double the number of cases now granted probation, which
means serving a sentence in the community under close
supervision and thus capitalize on the normal reaction
of contrition which follows almost every conviction.
In this way, many more promising first-offenders \rould
be able to make restitution for the wrongs they have

-::- Attorney Edward Bennett Williams

U.S. News Report - September 21, 1970

-::-•::- Austin MacCormick - Centennial Congress
Cincinnati, Ohio - October, 1970

Between The Dark - 396

done, at the same time support their families and avoid
the lasting stigma of a prison term. Furthermore, if
the use of probation were increased only eight percent
in each county in California and adequate supervision pro
vided, it would keep approximately one thousand men out
of prison each year." •::- That would have represented a
saving of $5*701,000 each year. But nothing happened.

In his recent book "The Grime of Punishment," Karl
Menninger states, "Our judicial system remains incredably
backward and the legal scientists, lawyers and judgec bear
some blame for this." -::--*

What happens when courts across the nation grant
probation?

The Court addresses the defendant. "I could send
you to prison for having committed a felony, but have de
cided to grant you probation. You will be placed under

the close supervision of a probation officer " How

the Judge is fully aware of the fact that the officer
already carries such an excessive case load of 150-200
cases, he can not possibly spend more than six minutes
a month on each case. It is high time our judges used
the power of their office to insist that adequate super
vision be furnished to correct this dangerous situation.

In November 1961)., the California Board of Corrections
released an exhaustive study of "Probation Supervision
and Training. The most important rocoinrnenda tions of this

•::-Pri3oners Aro PoopTo " "Tenyon J." ^cuddor - Doubleday '52, Pago 27lj.
-::-:;• The Crime of Punishment

Karl Menninger, tf.D. - Viking Press, 1969 Page 9l|.

Between The Dark - 397

study dealt with the necessity for more adequate super
vision of probationers, still woefully lacking, and
more adequate training and certification of personnel
working in probation. This encouraged the Board of
Corrections to support the Youth Authority in an
effort to obtain a State subsidy for youth and adult
probation based on a percentage of decrease of commit
ments to the Sbate.

First, the Youth Authority determined how much money
could be saved the taxpayer if each of the fifty-eight
counties in California reduced both its juvenile and
adult commitments to the State by a maximum of 25% each
year for the next ten years. Such a reduction would
mean that I6,00i|. youths, plus 17j67S adults not in need
of institutional care, would not be sent to institutions,
but instead safely placed on probation in the community if
adequate supervision, including some form of community
treatment were provided.

The total operational cost for Youth Authority Ward,
including capital outlay is $[(.,000, assuming he success
fully completes parole.

A reduction of 16, 0014. wards over the next ten years
would save the Youth Authority $61^,016,000,

A reduction of 17,6?3 adults to the Department of
Correction:: would save .100,700,601'.

A 23'/3 reduction per year in correctional
intake, both juvenile and adult, over the next decade
would cave the taxpayers of California l6h.,730,600,

Between The Dark - 398

Since these figures are accurate, how could we take
action? This question, also answered by the study, called
for a greatly enriched performance program of probation
supervision, then woefully lacking in all counties because
of a shortage of funds.

The study suggested a "performance principle" to make
funds available to the counties out of savings at the State
level, to initiate special supervision programs for selected
non- violent juveniles and adults who could safely be retained
in the community on probation. This would cost the local
taxpayer nothing, if the county's overall reduction of
uncommitted cases reached 25/£ or better because the State
could well afford to plough back to the counties $lj.OOO in
subsidy for each case from the $l61j.,730,600 the State must
spend during the next decade if this is not done. This
would still leave a savings to the State of $23,532,514-2 and
a possible additional $£50,000,000 after 1975.

A State subsidy of $[(.,000 for each uncommitted case is
28 times the cost of probation supervision today, and would
enable counties to greatly enrich programs of supervision,
crime control and more important, primary prevention. This
proposed bill established an incentive goal for reducing
commitments ranging from 1 to 25$. No county participating
in the program (and reducing its rate of commitments) could
receive less than $2,000 for an uncommitted case, nor more

Between The Dark - 399

than $[4., 000 to adequately finance the local performance
program.

There was some doubt on the part of the legislature as
to the soundness of this bill and an extensive study followed.
The more they studied these actuarial figures, the more prom
ising the bill seemed to appear and in 196)? it finally passed
both Houses without a single vote against it. Then the
problem arose how was it to be financed? Fifteen million
dollars had been appropriated to the Youth Authority to build
two more juvenile institutions of [|.00 beds each. If the sub
sidy plan was a success, these two additional institutions
would not be needed. Director Heman Stark took a calculated
risk and returned the fifteen million to underwrite the pro
bation subsidy program. The legislature made it very clear
that it expected increased protection for citizens and a more
even administration of justice. It expected counties to re
habilitate, thus reducing the need for commitments to the
State correctional institutions. This would afford probation
the opportunity to experiment with smaller case loads, treatment
bypologies, classifications and other activities that promised
real returns for new local efforts. By April, 1970, forty-eight
of the fifty-eight counties had submitted applications for pro
bation subsidy.

Just hottf would probation subsidy work?

% "County A - annual commitments (juveniles and adults)
average 23-

This year, County A commits only 13, a reduction of 10,
or l(3.1|-/o.

-::- See footnote - page 1+00

Between The Dark - i^OO

Percapita cost of institutional treatment ${4. ,000
times 10 equals $lj.0,000 State subsidy to County A.
to be spent on improved probation supervision.

County B - annual commitments (juveniles and adults)

averages 14.53.

This year County B commits only 327, a reduction

of 126, or 27.3$.

Percapita cost of institutional treatment $[4., 000

times 126 equals $£014., 000 State subsidy to County B.

County C - annual commitments average 765. This year
County C commits 731> a reduction of 314. or I;. 14.$.
Per capita amount $2,535 x 3)4. equals $%,190 State
subsidy to County C."-"-

By 1970, the Probation Subsidy program has met with
nstonishin/; success. Of the [4.6 counties now participating,
ij.2 have reduced their commitment rates between 30 and 50
percent for the year, with maximum earnings amounting to
$li4., 316, 569 returned to the counties, to be used exclusively
for improved probation supervision and treatment.
-;:-::- "From 1965 through 1970, as a result of this program,
10,837 boys and girls, men and women, have been placed under
close supervision on probation, who otherwise would have
been committed to California institutions and prisons. Now
there are many vacant bods and some institutions are being
closed. In this name fiscal year, 625 staff persons assigned
to special supervision programs, will be serving 25,000
probationers in California with case loads of fifty or less,
some as low as ten to fifteen per officer."

Recently the State of Washington adopted a probation
subsidy patterned after California and similar programs are
being considered by Iowa, New York, Texas, Canada and

England .

•::• Robert L. Smith, Deputy Chief Delinquency Prevention California

You th Authori Ly

•::-::• George lin'l.eeboy , Deputy Director Community Services California
Youth Au l;hor 1 (,./

Between The Dark - J+Ol

The value of this research has resulted in a current
move towards management of offenders in community treatment
in place of institutions. Staff and taxpayers are now
looking, with increased confidence, towards half-way houses,
work furloughs, and subsidies to county probation depart
ments to exert greater efforts toward primary prevention,
perhaps through county departments of community services,
similar to Los Angeles with its delinquency prevention
function to include a human relations function, a gang re
habilitation function and others in the area of social
adjustment or social psychiatry.

For example - In the winter of I960, a notorious juvenile
gang in Central Los Angeles was/ exploding in continuous
episodes of violence with six juvenile murders in nine
months. "A sub-group of the gang were responsible for most
of the violence. It was divided into two cliques, one
around a housing development, the other a city park. The
latter was deemed the most troublesome. A detached street
worker (Group Guidance Worker from Los Angeles Probation
Department) was assigned to work with this clique of Lj.3
members (Spartans). The other clique was to be used as a
Control Group with almost no service given (33 members)
(Gavilanes, Mexican Americans, East Los Angeles). A study
plan of six years was divided evenly into "before" and
"after" poriodr;.

Between The Dark - ij.02

Spartans were more in need of services than other sub
groups of the 300 gangs in the Los Angeles area because of
their violence, and also representing the highest initial
correctional costs - - Juvenile Court, Probation, Youth
Authority, County Jail, Superior Court, prison, parole,
juvenile arrests, detention, juvenile probation, adult
probation (costs per month).

Results of the street worker contact - reduced costs
over 3-year period of each of the [4.3 gang members by $3,2/4.1
(per member) - savings total $139,263, a savings of $lj.5»000
per year for the gang. The case worker - half-time at a
salary of $6,000, saved $[(.5,000 in costs each of 3 years.

The small costs of group guidance are returned many
times over in savings to the County and State in lower ex
penditures for arrests, court hearings, detention and super
vision. A delinquency-prevention service of this nature more
than pays for itself and should encourage much further activity
in research and development, "-x-

Several other States have approached this problem in
realistic ways. New York, Indiana, Ohio, Washington, Colorado,
Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Georgia and Virginia have, in
recent years, provided some support for local probation pro
grams.

The National Council on Crime and Delinquency reports that
in 1956, twelve Indiana counties had no probation services
and thirty counties only part-time services. Today, probation
services of a high quality exist in all Indiana counties. -::-::-

-::-Los Angeles County Probation Dept. Research Memorandum 65-3
A Cost Analysis of the Effectiveness of the Group Guidance Program.
Stuart Adams, Roger E. Rice, Borden Olive. Jan. 1965

-"-wNews Letter, National Council Crime & Delinquency, Majtch ' 65, ,.

Between The Dark - lf.33

In a broader program, New York has been able to develop
staff, provide scholarships for training probation officers
and improve training curricula for probation personnel in
cluding a new research program. -x-:c-

The next vital step must be to induce probation depart
ments and juvenile courts across the country to screen more
carefully the children they now detain in Juvenile Halls and
Detention Homes by insisting that detention be approved only
as a last resort.

Recent changes in the Juvenile Court law in California
brought through careful screening, a startling reduction
of 1|., 1^.00 unnecessary detentions in less than one year.

A most distressing situation existed in Los Angeles
County, which held an average of 1200 children in detention
each month with the facility so over-crowded that for the
last ten years, 350 children have been forced to sleep on
mattresses placed on the floor each night between the beds
of other children. In the morning these same mattresses
were shoved under the beds so there was room to move about.
And yet when these same children in detention appeared within
a week for their initial court hearing, more than 5»0$ were
released to the care of the parents. It would appear that
moat of these detentions were an unnecessary expense to the
county and that many of the parents would have been willing
and able to have produced the child in court at the proper time

-::--;;-News Letter, National Council Crime and Delinquency,
March, 1965 - Vol. #3

Between The Dark - i|.0lj.

A survey of the situation in 1953 by Catherine M. Dunn
of the California Department of Social Welfare revealed :
"The Intake and Detention Control Unit at Juvenile Hall
(Los Angeles) now performs a minimum amount of screen
ing on referral of cases and is extremely limited in the
exercise and control over detention. Its emphasis is on
the legality of detention, the compliance with police re
quests (to detain a child), the accuracy of petition filing
and calendaring of cases for the Court." -:c-

In short, almost every case at that time, was accepted
for detention.

"One reason for the overcrowded population in Juvenile
Hall is the fact that police bring children to detention
because 'that is a certain way to get quick action.' Thus,
the police bring more and more children to detention, and
Intake is more and more pressed." •i:-*

After the report was completed, an honest attempt was
made by Intake to screen these cases carefully and to deny
detention except in urgent cases. This caused an uproar
on the part of the police who then appealed directly to
the Court. The latter ruled that the Intake Department
would cooperate with the Police or personnel changes would
be made.

Since this was done in the presence of the police, the
morale of the probation officers struck on all time low.
"Why try and stop an avalanche"?

•::-Second Quarterly Report, Placement Study Los Angeles County
Probation Department. Catherine M. Dunn June 26, 1959 P. 5
Report by Catherine M. Dunn P.15

Between The Dark - lj.05

A final recommendation of the Dunn report called for
a coordination of services between the Probation Depart
ment, law enforcement, schools and social agencies to
stop duplication of efforts, to work in harmony with each
other in an effort to bring aid to troubled children be
fore they get into serious difficulty. While some recent
progress has been made, hundreds of children each week
continued to sleep on the floor.

As late as 1969, Los Angeles County still faced the
same old problem of excessive intake with an all time
high - 1,796 children because of inadequate screening
and was forced to build branch Juvenile Halls in other
areas of the County and unless the policy was changed,
these too would soon be crowded far beyond capacity, a
convenient way to sweep an unpleasant social problem under
the rug. But what of the children involved?

"Locking up children charged or suspected of offenses
before an adjudication, probably does more to contribute
to the army of habitual criminals than any other procedure.
It is difficult for an adult, who has not been through
the experience, to realize the terror that engulfs a
youngster the first time he loses his liberty and has to
spend the nights or several days or weeks in a cold im
personal cell or room away from home or family - - - the
experience tells the youngster that he is no good and that society
has rejected him. So he responds to society's expectations,
seos himself as a delinquent and acts like one."*-

-::-The Challenge of Crime In A Free Society.
President's Commission on Law Enforcement, 196?

Between The Dark - [j.06

A recent court case has played an important role in
controlling the unnecessary use of detention when on
March 17th, 1970, a petition was filed in the Juvenile
Court of Los Angeles County, alleging a sixteen-year-old
minor had sold marijuana to two police officers and was
taken into temporary custody pursuant to an arrest warrant
and in spite of his parents' assurance that he would
appear for further proceedings, he was taken to the County
Juvenile Hall to remain there until the detention hearing
in the Juvenile Court. The youth's attorney offered to
show that the young man was a good student at a local
high school, no disciplinary problems, and none before
arrested. The attorney further showed that under the
circumstances, the youth would not present an imminent
danger to himself and others. But the Judge said, "Anybody
who sells marijuana or LSD is detained here until his regular
hearing." No doubt the Judge was sincere in his decision,
but it conflicted with the State Welfare and Institutions'
Code, Section 626, which states - "In determing which dis
position of the minor he will make, the (Intake) officer
shall prefer the alternative, which least restricts the
minor's freedom of movement, provided such alternative is
compatible with the best interests of the minor and the
community, "-x-

-::-Californi3 Welfare and Institutions Code 602

Between The Dark - i|.07

An appeal was filed in the Supreme Court, which after
several weeks, issued an order directing that the minor be
released from custody until the jurisdictional hearing in
the Juvenile Court. Later this Court declared the minor
a ward of the Court and placed him in his parents' home
under the supervision of the probation officer. Harold
Muntz, Assistant Chief Probation Officer of Los Angeles
County states -

"This case has added muscle to the accomplishment of
what has been our objective, namely to individualize the
treatment of minors and to assure there are valid reasons
for detention before any child is placed in custody. No

longer can the police bring children in for detention,

'9 ^

because that is a certain way to get quick action. Now

all admissions to Juvenile Hall go through the centralized
Intake and Central Control Office of the probation depart
ment. Judges and Commissioners of the Juvenile Court and
police agencies have agreed to the same rules the law re
quires and by which the probation office governs itself. ' -::-
This, together with many new inovations too numerous to
mention here, have brought about, for the first time in many
years, vacant beds in Juvenile Halls and more intensive case
work in the community in place of unnecessary detentions."
Mr. Muntz concludes-- "No single effort or short-term program
has brought about these changes and it will, of course, re
quire constant vigilance to keep from falling back into our
old ways. However, we believe we have made a very significant

•KHarold Muntz, Assistant Chief Probation Officer,
Los Angeles County, California, Jan. 1971

Between The Dark - lj.08

break through, that we have convinced enforcement agencies
and some parents that our Juvenile Halls are not dumping
grounds, that we are using services in a much more intelli
gent and effective way and that our efforts are bearing
fruit, much to the credit of all parties concerned and a
savings of millions of dollars to the taxpayers."

"If we take these kids out of the community," says
E. Kenneth Kirkpatrick, Chief Probation Officer of
Los Angeles County, "and institutionalize them, we might
change their attitudes, but then you dump them right back
into the old environment and they revert right back to
their old attitudes." *

If Los Angeles County, with its enormous spread of
population, can lick this problem, other counties and
states throughout the Nation can accomplish the same re
sults, namely to use detention for minors only as a last
resort.

After fifty- four years, working in this field of correct
ion, I am convinced that in spite of the best efforts of
many dedicated people, no child is completely rehabilitated
in an institution where seven or eight trained workers
minister to his needs. Perhaps the best we can hope for
is to change his attitude and endeavor to instill in him
a determination to mend his ways.

^-Probation Department Juvenile Cases in Sharp Drop -
Jack Jones, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 7, 1971.

Between The Dark - lj.09

But real test comes when he reaches the streets and
stands face to face with reality. Now in place of the
seven or eight people who tried to help him, he must
rely on one lone parole officer who may have such a large
case load he probably cannot see him more than once or
twice a month and then only for a brief conference.

"As we look at the 200-year reign of the penitentiary,
the prison, the jail, the reformatory - - - as a base of
treating offenders and curing criminality, we now recognize
it as a failure in need of great modification." -::-

Why then not adopt the "Community Treatment" and the
"Performance Program" formula before commitment? If we
fail, we still have the institution for that 2.$% of hard
core cases that really need confinement. Also, let us
not forget that whether we like it or not, our laws are
so drawn that ninety-eight percent of the children and
adults we confine will some day return to the communities
from whence they came, to their homes and to their loved
ones, if they have any. They will be full of fears about
the reception they will receive. Will they be ignored as
unworthy and shunted aside to soon find themselves in
trouble, or will each community be willing to recognize
and receive them as their own by extending the help and
understanding they must have? There is nothing finer than
the love and loyalty of a good mother for her offspring,
no matter what may have happened.

-::-How Can We Promote Penal Progress?

Prof. Myrl Alexander, Center of the Study of Crime, Delinquency
and Corrections. The I|th U.N. Congress on Prevention of
Crime and Treatment of Offenders. Kyoto, Japan 1970.

Between The Dark - ij.10

It is reported that two men were riding together on
the train, entering New York City. One was a minister
who sat next to the window. The other was a pale young
man with a tense expression on his face.

For a long time neither spoke, then as the train
reached the outskirts of the city the young man said,
"I'm on my way home, but I'm not sure I'm going to get
off. You see, sir, I've caused my folks a lot of sorrow,
so I wrote mother I was coming by and if they wanted me
to return, to just tie a white rag on the cherry tree in
the front yard. If it wasn't there, I would understand.

You see, Sir, we live beside the tracks and the
troin goes right by our house, and now I'm so nervous
I'm afraid to look."

The minister said, "It's all right, son, tell me
when we get there and I'll look for you."

"It's the third house in the next block," the boy
whispered .

The good man scanned each front yard and suddenly
grasping the boy by the shoulder, pulled him toward the
window. "Look, son, lookl The whole tree is white with
ribbons!"

We must cause society to realize that these anti
social problems of crime and delinquency stem from un
satisfactory home and community conditions as well as

Between The Dark - lj.ll

our own apathy and that good things occur only when the
people act. Then and then only will we witness a
gradual fading of the darkness of our own ignorance as
it gives way to the brighter light of new methods in
the challenging field of corrections and the focusing
of our attention to those unsavory situations which
exist and flourish in each local community in America,
conditions that breed delinquency and crime. As we
clean them up, we will be forced to identify at an
early age those children who need help and bring it to
them, thus making it no longer necessary to lock so many
men and women, boys and girls, away from their freedom.

412

INDEX

Abercromble, Captain 107-109

Adler, Herman 304-30?

adoption 236,239-240

adult offenders 36, 358, 38!, 397

Allen, John 332

American Congress of Corrections 194

American Law Institute 365

American Legion 174, 179, 183, 292-3, 303, 337

athletics 137-139, 142, 217, 261, 277-280, 300, 369

Barstow, Vera 271

Bebergol, Pred 304

behavior patterns 62, 75-76, 253, 25«, 267, 370, 374, 378-387,

390 (see also: discipline, emotional problems)
Beswlck, Donald 212
Binet, Alfred 41-42, 48
Biscailuz, Eugene 94, 96-97
Blake, Samuel 336-337
blind, schools for 179
Bogardiu 3 , Emory 334
Borden, David 186

Boy Scouts 194, 251, 260-262, 283-284, 286, 292-293, 351
Boys1 Town, Nebraska 351, 353-355
Brainard, Dr. 204
Breed, Allen 368
Bridgman, Olga 51
Brown, Thomas 56-57

Brown, Warner 69, 74, 77, 81-83, 182
brutality 5-6, 63, 66-69, 75, 104, 143, 218, 220, 341, 343,

346-347, 349-351, 354, 356-363, 372 (see also: discipline,

emotional problems)

California Edison Company 320

California Institution for Men (Chino) 121, 163-164, 302

California State

Assembly 353

Board of Charities & Corrections 119-120, 146

Board of Corrections 396-397

Board of Control 71, 122, 142-144

Delinquency Prevention Commission 393

Department of Architecture 277, 281
Department of Corrections 397

413

Department of Education 84, 211, 215, 368

Department of Institutions 178-179, 231, 263, 268-270, 304,

314, 340, 351

Department of Penology 330
Department of Social Welfare 404
Personnel Board 351

Purchasing Department 315

Welfare and Insurance Code 406

Youth Authority 36!, 365-368, 370, 376, 384-385, 387, 389,

391^392, 397, 402

Youth and Adult Corrections Agency 377-378.
camping 281-283, 286-287, 291, 351
Catalina Island Company 282, 287
Catholic Big Brothers 299

child guidance clinics 192, 201-203, 302, 331, 374
citizen committees 325-326, 328-330, 340, 342
civil service 170, 325, 338, 342, 360, 363
Cochran, Frank 96-98

Commission for the Study of Problem Children 193, 201, 2i>3, 263
community attitudes 9, 23, 143, 170, 282, 308, 332, 348,

352-353, 357, 373-374, 376, 381, 389, 409
community organization 370
community treatment 199-202, 366, 373, 377-379, 382-391, 397,

401, 409

conservation camps 370
Coogan, Jackie 247-279
corrections 51, 246, 364, 376-377

costs 281, 370-372, 377, 388-389, 392-393, 396-400, 402
courts 51-52, 92-93, 96, 148, 193, 199, 202, 226, 230, 334-

335, 343-344, 354, 366, 376, 3B9-390, 392, 394-3^6, 402-407
Cox, William 348, 351, 355

"credit system" 126-128, 197, 368 (see also; release procedures)
crime control 394, 398

Dalton plan 214
Dana, Richard Henry 244
De Maupassant, Guy 244
demonstration projects 377-391
DeKusset, Albert 200
dependent children 243
depression (1930s) 333, 335
Derrick, Calvin 51, 61, 90, 219
detention 214, 402-408
Deutsch, Albert 100, 356, 358-36!
Dexter, Walter 308, 325, 329-330

discipline 61. 67, 69-70, 75, 77, 115, 122, 126-130, 355-356,
361, 366, 386

414

discipline (continued)

at Preston 141, 152, 154, 162-16?

at Whittler 191, 196, 213-214, 216, 21b, 232, 241, 265

at Ventura 204

(see also i Lost Privilege Cottage)
Dobbs, Harrison 302, 358
Downs, Geneveive 253
dramatics 253-260
Drinkwater, John 254
Dumas , Alexandre 244
Dunn, Catherine 404-405

education, inmate 16,35, 40, 42, 199, 211, 214-215, 242, 253,

265, 360
Slks Club 292
emotional problems, inmate 204, 225-247, 250, 258-259, 2?6,

367, 373
escapes 17-29, 32, 46-47, 61-62, 64-66, 73-76, 89, 93, 113-115

117, 122, 155-157, 159-160, 162-163, 194-195, 217, 393

(see also: runaways)
evaluation of inmates 37, 103, 197, 216-217, 232-233

feeble-minded 169, 204

Pen ton, Mrs. 199

Fenton, Norman 198-199, 201, 203, 302, 331-332

Pitts, Burton 303

Flanagan, E.F.J. 351-35^

foster homes 201, 242, 275, 383, 387-388, 392

foster parents 238-240, 383

Folsom Prison 96-97, 327, 371

gangs 401-402

George Junior Republic 51

girls, problems of 143, 204, 218, 386-387

gonorrhea 230

Gould, Arthur 85

grapevine, institutional 76

group treatment 391-392, 402

halfway houses 401
Heller, Walter 82, 87
Hicks, William 56-57
Hines, Frank T. 186
HJelte, George 203
Holt on, Karl 343^3^7, 365

415

homosexuality 103, 191-192
honor system 352
Hoover, Herbert 288, 291
hostels 392

Illinois Bureau of Juvenile Research 304

Illinois delinquency program 358-361, 393

Indiana delinquency program 402

Indians, American 57-58, 93-9^, 141-142, 150, 173-174

industrial schools 179, 211, 255 (see also: training schools,

state)

influenza epidemic (1919) 104-106
inmates:

attitudes of 3!, 35, 77, 233, 263, 379-387, 390, 408

bosses 99-103, 125-126, 164

later life 241 (see also: recidivism)

at Monroe 10-11, 15, 42-49

parents of 74, 192, 235-^0, 242, 245, 255-258

at Preston 88, 141-142, 150-157, 161

at Whittler 189-91, 194-196, 224-30, 251-260, 314, 352

(see also: escapes, runaways)
Institution for the Adult Blind 304
institutions, Juvenile 35^-357, 363, 365-367, 378-379, 388,

391-393, 397-400, 408-409
interagency coordination 366, 382, 385, 389, 405

jail, county 273, 402

Jensen, Earl 178-180, 183-1«5, 190, 204-206, 270, 277, 304-313,

325

Jessup, Roger 337
Johnson, Firam 303

judges, juvenile court 226, 336, 343, 347, 35^
juvenile delinquency 31, 179, 357-358, 370, 373i 392
juvenile hall 242-243, 273, 376, 403-408

Kennedy, Rex 326

Kilgore, William 266

Kirkpatrick, E. Kenneth 408

Knox, Elmer 184-185, 1»7, 220, 299, 316, 319, 321-323

Ledbetter 173-176

Lee, Edwin 180

legislature, California 192-193

length of stay, 126-128, 197-198, 368, 370, 377

Leonard, Charles W. 360

Levla, Willie 349-350

416

Lincoln, Abraham 255, 258
Lindsay, Ben 350
lobbying 1?0
Los Angeles City and County

Board of Supervisors 334-338

child guidance clinic 192

courts 335-336, 343, 354, 406-40? (see also: courts)

Harbor Commission 285

Juvenile Hall 403-40?

Parks and Recreation Department 203

Police Department 94, 404

Probation Department 161, 333-339, 343, 365, 401, 407-408

schools 85

Sheriffs1 Department 93-94, 333

Welfare Department 334-335
Los Angeles Record 326, 330
Los Angeles Rotary Club 263-264, 266, 334
Lost Privilege Cottage 223-224, 232-234, 241, 243, 250, 262,

279, 348, 352
Louisiana juvenile institutions 392

MacCormlck, Austin 356

marijuana 406

medical supervision and care 105-106, 118, 224, 244, 249, 258,

262, 268-269, 313
Mellinkof f , Helen 351
Kenninger, Karl 396

mental hospitals, California 16? , 1?8-1?9, 204, 304, 306
mental retardation 92, 179, 199, 204
Merriam, Prank 348

Mexican-Americans 113, 159, 161, 4ol
Michigan juvenile institutions 393
military schools 24?

monitor system 100-101, 244, 36? (see alsos inmate bosses)
Monroe Reformatory (Washington) 1-32, 52-53. 57, 59, 61, 63,

100, 169, 179, 372
I-Ioore , John 245
Moreno, Bonnie 349-350

Morgan za State School (Pennsylvania) 363-364
Moss, Charles 294, 311, 323-324
Mother Lode 54-57, 70, 78
Muntz, Harold 40?

Murphy, Elmer 320, 325-326, 328-330, 333, 340-342
music 1-5, 34, 253, 263-266, 270-272, 286-28?, 299

Preston School band 159

Whittier Harmonica Board 24?

-4-17

'Jational Child Welfare Commission 32?

national Council on Crime and Delinquency 333, 402

Mational Institute for Mental Health 377, 389-390

Negroes 113, 133, 176-177, 388, 393

Welles, Fred C. 138, 142-145, 179-181, 183-184, 188-189,

191-192, 194, 197, 207, 218, 220-222, 260, 280, 299, 316
Nelles, Fred C. School (see: Whittier State School)
nepotism 158, 316-317, 319, 321, 323
New York State juvenile correction program 41, 393, 403

Oberlin College 181

O'Brien, D.J. 330

Ohio state juvenile institutions 392

Olson, Culbert 348, 350, 353

oral history 242-247

Osborne Association 348, 351, 356

Our Rejected Children 100

overcrowding 361, 403-40 5

parents & family 74, 192, 235-240, 242, 245, 255-258, 270-271,
357, 3«0-383, 403, 1W6

r>arent- surrogate 246

parole 36, 92, 101, 134-136, 197-198, 211, 370, 389, 392,
402, 409

patronage 9, 16, 89, 119, 143, 169, 303, 313, 315-319, 322,
327, 337, 3^-0-341, 3^7, 351, 358, 367, 378 (see also:
politics)

Pearson , Ben 320

Peixotto, Jessica 180

Pennsylvania juvenile program 362-364

Perkins, 296

personnel 128, 130, 136, 139, 148-149, 151, 16 , 164, 190-19£,
207, 213-217, 225, 234, 298, 351, 4-03 (see also: superinten
dents, and staff under Preston and Whittier Schools)

pets 289-297

play 137-141, 276, 286-291, 293-297

police 209-210, 237, 254, 262, 27^, 310-312, 366, 376, 385,
389, 402-406

politics 303-308, 320, 325, 329, 335, 341, 361-362 (see alsoi
patronage )

Potter, Franklin 353-354

President's Commission on Crime and Delinquency Prevention 377

Preston School of Industry 52-171, 218-220, 225, 231, 244,
276, 327, 367-372

self-government 90-91, 125, 1^7, 351-354

staff 73-74, 83-85, 115-118, 122-124, 130-131, 136-139,

1*1-3-144, 148-151, 162-166 and 190-192 (detail officers)
trustees 64, 83, 85-91, 116, 121-124, 130-135

418

prevention 373-376, 384, 393, 398, 401-402

prisons 10, 36, 61, 96-97, 101. 146, 163, 177t 203, 327, 371,

399-400, 402
privileges 222-224

probation 51, 334-336, 366, 370, 3b9, 395-398, 402-404
probation officers 254, 272, 336
probation subsidy program 393, 397-400
psychologists 42, 69, 81

psychiatric problems 52, 167, 177-178, 224-225
psychiatric treatment 355, 367-369. 392
Psychopathic Association of Southern California 204-206
public opinion 170, 373 (see also: community attitudes)
public schools 202-203, 225, 245-245, 267, 366, 374, 379, 385,

389, 405 (see also: education of Inmates)
punishment 62-69, 73-74, 77, 91, 104, 148, 151, 162-163, 166,

218, 220-221, 341, 373 (see also: brutality, discipline, Los

Privilege Cottage )

Quinn, John R. 337

reception programs 101, 249-251 , 279, 352, 369, 378, 392

recidivism 36, 101, 211, 358, 378, 389

recreation 137-141, 200, 203, 217, 249, 263-265, 276-283,

285-286, 369, 389

rehabilitation 31, 138, 389, 399, 408
release procedures 126-128, 135, 197-199, 216-217
research, juvenile 181, 193, 199, 212, 302, 374, 377-382,

385-391, 401
Rlcciardi, Nicolas 212
Rlecer, Paul 263, 267
riots 143, 218-219, 357
Robbinst 228-229
Rolph, James 303, 312-313, 316, 322, 324-326, 328-330, 333,

340-342, 348, 359, 367
Romney, George 393
Root, Elihu 365
Rosanolf, Aaron 351

Rotary Club 210, 247, 263-266, 271-272, 329, 331
runaways 222-234, 249-252, 261-262, 275, 341, 348-349, 352-

353 (see also: escapes)

Sacramento Bee 329
Salvation Army 154, 157
San Francisco

Adult Probation Department 334

Board of Supervisors 313, 318 f 329
San Quentin prison 148, 163, 177, 203, 327, 371

419

Scott, Joe 299-302

Scott, Robert 343-344, 347, 354

Scudder family 112, 248, 309, 312, 333-334

Scudder, Kenyon

Chlno superintendent 101, 163-164, 302
and family 112, 2413, 309, 312, 333-334
Los Angeles Probation Department chief 161, 332-339
Monroe vocational assistant 7, 12-13, 36-48
Preston career 52-53, 78-99, 123-168
U.S. Veterans vocational adviser 168-178
University of Southern California instructor 178
Whittier School superintendent 179-208, 224, 230-240,

269-270, 278-281, 304-328
and wife (see: Scudder, Rebekah)
World War I service 7«-9, 82-88, 107-111

Scudder, Rebekah 3, 8, 11, 49, 52-56, 60-62, 69-72, 79-83,
yo, 105, 103, 109, 112, 124, 132-135, 145-147, 158, l6»-iyo,
IbO, 183, 186, 194-195 i 200, 205-208, 246, 247, 270-275, 283,
298, 302, 310-312, 325

sex perversion 350-351

Shaw, .Frank 336-338

Sing Sins Prison 61

Smith, Al 288-289"

Smith, Claude 323-324, 327, 330-332

Smith, William A. 324

Snyder, Dr. 84-85

social agencies 366, 405

social work 241, 246, 360

spinal meningitis 244

spoils system 343, 360, 363 (see also: patronageO

Stanford- Binet intelligence test 41, 51

Stanford University 181, 198

Stark, Hezan 370, 399

state hospitals 92-93, 167, 179, 204, 340 (see also: mental
hospitals)

Stevenson, Adlai 360

suicide 224, 34-9-350, 356

superintendents (of state institutions) 9, 14, 68, 81-83, 104,
143, 146-147, 221, 258, 304-305, 313, 341-348, 351, 356-357,
360-363 (see also: Smith, Claude)

Sutter, John J?8

Sutter County Sheriff 154-157

Taft, William Howard 365

Terman, 182, 198-199

testing

intelligence 41-45, 47-49, 159, 161, 182, 199
psychological 51-52, 82, 87-88, 92, 167, 366

420

Toner, J.M. 313-329,

Toner, "Sonny" 316-317, 319, 321, 323

Traeger, Sheriff 94

training schools, state 37, 211, ?25, 358-363, 37», 392-393

treatment programs 302, 355, 367, 372, 378-388, 391, 399

underprivileged children 263
United States

Army 107, 337

Board for Vocational Education 106, 146, 168, 171, 1«2

Children's Bureau 302, 327

Coast Guard 283

Navy 283-284

Veterans Administration 246

Veterans Bureau 171-172, 176, 181, 292, 303, 337

Veterans Hospital (Palo Alto) 178

University of California 18, 49-50, 69, 82-83, 180, 304
UCLA, Department of Education 180
University of Chicago 302
University of Southern California 178, 329, 334

Van Emery, Norman 192
Vaughn, William 293
venereal disease 230

Ventura School for girls 204, 218, 369
veterans services 171-172, 176, 178

vocational guidance and training 7, 12, 36-39, 43, 73. 84-85,
92, 106, 171, 172, 178, 182, 199, 210-213, 215, 281, 285, 36«

Washington State Reformatory (seei Monroe Reformatory)
"white blackbird" 200
Whit tier, California

Boy Scout District Council 260

citizen attitudes 208-209, 282, 348, 352

College 308, 329, 332

Murphy Memorial Hostpial 268-269

News 320

Police Department 209-210, 353
Whittler State School 138, 142-145, 179-372

Bureau of Juvenile Research 181, 193, 197-199, 302

brutality investigations 343-353, 365

Inmates 189-191, 194-196, 251-260, 314, 352

school program 214, 253-260, 327

staff 180, 183, 188-197, 241, 292-293, 332, 341

trustees 320-326, 328-330, 333, ,340-342

younger boys 190-191, 199-200 (renamed Fred C. Nelles School)

Williams, J. Harold la 1-182, 197

WlnnetKa Plan 214

Wood, Dwight 13, 16, 18, 23-29

Wood, Walter 336-337

World War I 50, 61, 78-79 f 82-88, 107-111, 171, 301, 337

World War II 24-5

work assignments 15-16, 40, 42, 60, 62, 72, 75, 105, 129,

230, 251, 258, 277, 285
Wrisley, William 281, 287, 291

Young, C.C. 178, 180-181, Ib4, 193, 303, 305, 308-309, 312
younger boys 190, 199-203

421

U. C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES

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