The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956)(about) |
Previous issue
Friday 12 September 1952
Next issue
Send to:
|
No corrections yet
"I am \n the place where * I am demanded of con- science to speak the truth, therefore the truth I speak,
impugn it luhoso list.",
ITkeÄl
Arg"«!
I FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER l8, 19.12 | I
Has anybody an old
dungeon to let?
WITHIN a week lately
two delinquent girls, one aged 13, the other 15i, were sent to Pent- ridge.
They are still there.
It seems they were, for all their tender years, "uncontrollable and in- corrigible."
The storm their plight roused, both inside and outside Parliament, has yielded a.lot of words but not much action.
The only positive result has been to elicit an as- surance from Mr. Dodg shun, Chief Secretary, that a new security remand depot for delinquent girls is to be provided at Royal Park.
' And when will this security remand depot be ready? By Christmas or early, in-the new "year, says Mr. Dodgshun. i
State's way
MEANWHILE, it is, to
be . supposed, other "uncontrollable and in- corrigible" children will have to be flung into Pentridge.1
This seems to have been the State's way of dealing with the problem for some time past.
It is admitted that a number of "uncontrollable and incorrigible" girls, aged 17 or less, have been sent to Pentridge for short
terms in the last l8 months.
It would be a pretty poor community which was not shocked by such a confession of its own failure -' for the failure falls squarely into the lap of this community - which means every one of
us.
Dirty blot
IT is a pretty poor
Government that will not drop everything else for 24 hours or so, and take whatever action may be necessary to wipe out so dirty a blot from Vic- toria's record.
The Argus has received many letters demanding
such action.
Here is a specimen:
"We are all deeply interested, distressed and
concerned at your editorial in The Argus on September 4, and unitedly agree with you that we cannot adopt a 'holier than thou' attitude to the plight of a young girl condemned to Pent- ridge.
"It is a disgrace to our present child welfare institutions that such girls should leave their care labelled incorrigible, and be forced, through lack of decent homes where they can be given proper guidance and training in becoming potentially good citizens, to be sent to Pentridge, and 'forced to mix with hardened criminals.
"Not only because of this one girl, whose case we know of, but also for such children in future, whose fate it is still within our power to influence, we demand, in view of your strong editorial, that you give the people of Victoria, and especially the mothers, the opportunity of rectifying what is surely a blot upon our social- system.
"We ask that you launch an appeal im- mediately for the raising of funds for the build- ing of an establishment which will provide such girls with proper guidance and training.
"To prove our sin- cerity we back up our demand by enclosing with this letter cheques to start your fund, which, wer know, will only be the first of many.
"Perhaps when the people of Victoria have built this establishment, and proved not to be lacking in social re- sponsibility, the Govern- ment may condescend to provide the funds for its
maintenance."
The letter was signed by Mrs. Mascotte Brown
(Toorak), Mrs. Geoffrey Kiddle ( Malvern^, Mr. G. R. Kiddle (Mal- vern), Mr. N. Stephens (Toorak), Colonel and Mrs. J. J. L. McCaJl ( Malvern ).
Attached to the letter were five cheques to a value of £30/9/.
Big task
THE ARGUS would
like nothing better than to see a home of the kind the writers of this
letter have in mind established in Victoria.
But The Argus believes the raising of the large surr, of money which woukj be required, selection of a suitable building to house "un- controllable and incor- rigible" girls, appointment of suitable staff, and the whole conduct of the affair is not one that
private enterprise could properly undertake.
Such a task can be effectively done only by
the Government. It is the Government's obligation to do it.
The Argus does not lay on the McDonald Go- vernment all, or even most, of the blame for the cruel fact that "uncon- trollable and incorrigible" girls have to be sent to an adults' prison becauss there is nowhere else to send them.
Earlier State Adminis- trations, which neglected the problem, must bear a full share of the reproach.
Duty to act
T>UT it is the McDonald.
^ Xß Government that is
! in office now, when this ; scandalous business has \ been dragged into the
daylight - and it is the
j McDonald Government's
1 duty to act.
The people of Victoria should sec that it does act before more "uncon- trollable and incorrigible" children are thrown into ? prisons, because nobody ' seems to care what be - comes of them.