SCHOOLS FOR NEGLECTED CHILDREN. 319 
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ares to prevent the cause, and so to the same degree lessen the effect. 
This, it is claimed, would be the result of the government becoming the 
varent, and taking entire charge of neglected children. 
It is submitted that every child capable of receiving instruction is 
antitled to a sound education, no matter what the circumstances of the 
parent may be. Not unfrequently parents claim the right to the services 
of their young children (instead of sending them to school), because of 
sheir own (the parents’) affliction, such as sickness, being cripples, blind, 
paralyzed, and so on. The benevolent who simply regard the surface will 
say, under these conditions children should be exempted from attendance 
at school. But these kind-hearted people support unwittingly the perpe- 
tration of gross cruelty ; they sacrifice the children for the exigencies of 
‘he parent, and so the children are ruined for life, for they can never 
compete on equal terms with the educated, unless educated themselves. 
Succor should certainly be forthcoming for those in need, but most 
Jecidedly not at the cost of the future of a single child. 
It may be urged that the already established reformatories, where the 
children convicted of crime are committed for a term, might also be util- 
ized for all neglected children. To adopt such a course would be mani- 
festly unjust to children who have not developed into criminals, and to 
associate them with those who have would be very unwise. The schools 
proposed for the slum or neglected children of the world are not reforma- 
sories, but (to coin a word) are formatories ; that is, not for the purpose 
»f reforming character, but to form character. 
Lastly, from a financial standpoint it is submitted that although the 
sutlay required for these schools would be considerable, yet the benefits 
‘ollowing a marked decrease of crime, increased security to life and prop- 
arty, the reduction in the number of tramps and disorderly women, the 
essened cost for the arrest, punishment, and detention of criminals, would 
not only amply repay the cost of the formatories, but would leave a sub- 
stantial balance to the credit of the nations, even without taking into 
iccount what is of much more importance—that is, that many of the would- 
aave-been scourges of society would instead be incorporated into the 
army of respectable workers of the world, and thus further demonstrate 
‘hat ¢¢ prevention is better than cure.” 
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