Superintendent Donohoe: One or two papers have been given by non-members of the conference-Mr. Reed, Dr. Field and Dr. French. I move that we express our appreciation to them by a rising vote of thanks. The motion carried. PROGRAM COMMITTEE REPORT. Report of program committee for the March conference was given by Dr. Stewart. 1. City Courts and State Institutions Hon. Hubert Utterback, Judge of District Court, Des Moines, Iowa. 2. Syphilis Treatment at the Penitentiary Dr. Thos. Bess, Physician, State Penitentiary, Fort Madison, Iowa. 3. The Child, The Supreme Wealth of a Nation Miss Ruby M. Byers, Principal of Junior High School, 4. Public Service in a Democratic State John W. Million, President, Des Moines University, Des Moines, Iowa. 5. Certain Aspects of Social Work Miss Margaret Moffit, Psychopathic Hospital, Iowa City, Iowa. 6. Inherited Insanities R. A. Stewart, M. D.., Superintendent, Independence State Hospital, Independence, Iowa. The committee for the June Conference is: Superintendent Mackin, Superintendent Voldeng and Superintendent Kepford. Member Butler: As Dr. Beach is about to leave us, it would be quite appropriate to draft suitable resolutions, not to present them to this conference at this time but to spread them upon the minutes of the conference. I would be glad to entertain a motion of that kind. Superintendent Kepford: I move that a committee be appointed to prepare suitable resolutions to be spread upon the minutes of this conference and that a copy of such resolutions be sent to Dr. Beach. The motion carried. Member Butler: The chair will appoint as such committee, Dr. Kepford, Dr. Voldeng and Miss Hanchett. The meeting adjourned sine die. RESOLUTION "A resolution passed by the quarterly conference of superintendents and agents under the Board of Control of State Institutions, Des Moines, Iowa, December 5, 1922: "Inasmuch as Dr. Lena A. Beach, for a number of years superintendent of the Women's Reformatory at Rockwell City and a member of the quarterly conference of the board of control has laid down her commission to accept a similar position under the board of control of Minnesota, and "Inasmuch as Dr. Beach has brought the Women's Reformatory to a high state of efficiency thus being a matter of pride to the board of control, as well as to the State of Iowa, and "Inasmuch as Dr. Beach has been a valued member of this conference whose womanly qualities and winsome manners have won the enduring respect of all; "Therefore, we desire by this inscription to express our deep regret that Dr. Beach is severing her relations with the state board of control and this conference. However, we offer our sincere congratulations to the board of control and the people of Minnesota. Dr. Beach will bring to you a highly specialized medical training, fine administrative ability but beyond this, all of the potential elements of a splendid womanhood. To address one's self to the problem of the unfortunate and the sad with an unselfish devotion is a more impressive eulogy than mere words. We anticipate for her a sympathetic understanding and generous support. Respectfully submitted: A. E. Kepford, Chairman, Ray M. Hanchett. Committee. THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF THE MEN'S REFORMATORY. H. M. Stiles, Superintendent of Education, Men's Reformatory. Anamosa, Iowa. Believing that an elementary education is essential in promoting a legitimate satisfaction of human wants and in establishing a common basis of relationship and obligations, the State of Iowa for the year 1921 paid out in round numbers, fifty-five million dollars to support a common school system. Her aim is to afford equality of education and opportunity to every boy and girl within her boundaries, hoping thereby to promote social efficiency in vocational life, in the home, and in civic activities; establish an attitude of good will, and lead to harmless enjoyment of leisure time. In short through education and training the state is attempting to fit her youth for a well-rounded citizenship. With this end in mind the board of control and Warden Baumel have established an educational system at the Men's Reformatory. Their aim is to so educate, train, and physically improve the young men confined in the institution, that in two or three years they can be returned to civil life, not a social misfit; but as men who know how to do something well, who have acquired a degree of efficiency in those skills which are regarded as fundamentally essential if one is to compete fairly for a livelihood; as individuals with a new concept of their relations and obligations to society; and as citizens who know something of their government-its machinery, its function, and the opportunities it affords to develop and achieve. The educational system through which the board hopes to accomplish these ends, has some advantages not ordinarily found. For the greater part they are inherent in the institutional life with its group of men over whom is exercised a full and complete authority with the attendant responsibility of conserving their health; and the demand that the reformatory be to a considerable extent self-supporting. The economic activities necessary to meet this demand afford an opportunity to correlate vocation and education-a most desirable combination in that it gives tone to both the mental and the physical, trains the senses, coordinates muscular movements, and develops the judgment. To the economic and health activities, in so far as possible, are added those social institutions which organized society has found best calculated to serve her needs. They number the school, the library, the church, and the recreative activities. All are educational agencies in that they promote both the "Ultimate" and "Proximate" purposes of education. They make for social efficiency, good will and harmless enjoyment; and they lead to good health, general information, abiding interests, high ideals, and right habits and attitudes. There are some excellent features about the reformatory educational system. It affords an education embracing instruction, vocation, spiritual training, recreation, and health supervision. The health department insures medical inspection and treatment, good wholesome food, plenty of sleep, and sufficient regular exercise. It has its physician, dentist, its well equipped hospital, its nurses, its dispensary in charge of a skilled pharmacist, its dietitian, physical director, and daily routine which in itself goes far toward improving and maintaining health through establishing regular habits of sleeping, eating and exercise. A chaplain and church services both Catholic and Protestant with their young men's christian organizations, the Christian Endeavor and the Volunteer Prison League, adminster to the spiritual needs of the men and tend to promote high ideals and right attitudes. The library with its librarian and eight thousand well chosen volumes in fiction, history, and science and current periodicals contributes both to information and enjoyment. To train the men in economic activities we have our various departments, offices, hospital, factories, shops, farms, a store, slaughter-house, greenhouse, and kitchen. Much of the labor is performed by inmates working under the direction of competent foremen, superintendents, and chiefs. In the departments and offices the men are taught clerking, accounting, filing, bookkeeping, and typewriting; in the factories, cheese making and tub making; in the shops, blacksmithing, tailoring, shoemaking, auto repairing, barbering, painting, carpentering, plumbing, pattern making, electrical work, printing, the tinner's trade, and how to run a linotype machine. On the farms they are taught scientific stock and poultry raising, dairying, grain farming, and gardening; in the slaughterhouse, how to kill, dress, and prepare meats; in the greenhouse, floristry; and in the kitchen, how to cook, bake and serve. We, also, have an orchestra and band which offer men with musical ability an opportunity to become quite proficient in the playing of various instruments. In connection with the weekly moving picture show featuring educational films, men are taught to operate cinematograph. A weekly paper is also edited and published by the inmates. Through engaging in these activities many men become quite proficient in some line of work and find good jobs at an excellent wage when released. Harmless enjoyment of leisure time is promoted through various recreative activities. We have our orchestra and band, our baseball and football teams, our other games, plays, and entertainments put on by the inmates. At present they are preparing a play to be given at Christmas time. It is a clean play full of good wit and humor. It was written and staged by the men and the scenery was designed and painted in the institution. In the winter time on Saturday afternoons the boys are entertained by a good picture show. All of these educational agencies are closely connected up with the school. The men engaged in each economic activity are part of the school enrollment. When they enter the institution, each man is sent to the school for examination which consists of two parts. The first is oral covering data concerning the chronological age, school grade completed, cause of leaving school, etc. The second consists in writing standardized achievement tests in arithmetic, reading, spelling, organization, and language. In giving these tests the time element is not considered. The object is to get a distribution of present ability. Those who do not achieve standardized sixth grade efficiency, disregarding the time element, are required to take work in the two sessions of day school. All others may if they desire attend the night school. Both schools are ungraded. The men are classified according to their needs into groups of ten or twelve and are encouraged to advance at their own rate. The work in each subject is simple, concrete and practical and insofar as possible the men learn to do by doing. The maximum attendance in the day school is about eighty; but during each year we probably enroll over two hundred different men. After about three months, the men get somewhat restless and we make it a practice to let them go for a while, filling their place with others. After a time these men come back to us with a renewed determination to study. In the night school we have an enrollment of about one hundred and fifty. At the present time in our day school we have twenty who are just learning to read and write; and about fifteen who can do second grade work. The others grade from third to sixth, except our class in bookkeeping. Men taking this subject must have a present achievement of seventh grade. The subjects taught are reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, language, geography, elementary history, civics, and economics, bookkeeping, sign-painting, mechanical drawing, and manual training. For instruction in the manual arts, we have a finely equipped manual training room and machine shop. Here the boys learn how to care for and use tools and machinery. They are under a competent instructor and they turn out some excellent projects. One of the most difficult tasks of instruction, is organizing the content in terms of the learner and preparing it in lesson form so that the inmate teachers can present it in a simple, con |