This remarkable organization was not framed up by its architect, Mr. William R. George, on the lines of a preconceived theory, but took its shape slowly from suggestions of experience as they came. {84} He began in 1890 to take companies of boys of the hoodlum class from New York City to his place of summer residence, at Freeville, a few miles from Ithaca and not far from Auburn, New York. He found it hard to rule them, and no satisfactory corrections of wrong-doing and bad behavior could be devised. Physically they were bettered by their summer outings, but he could not see much gain in other ways. This continued for some seasons before his experiments with them began. The first to be applied was a rule that such articles of clothing and the like as had formerly been given to the boys must be paid for in work. At the outset they resented the idea; but before the summer was over they were all cheerfully at work, and the tone of the party was much improved. In the next year culprits, who robbed orchards and committed other misdemeanors, were arraigned before the whole community, for a hearing and a public verdict as to their guilt. Hard labor at stone-breaking and the building of a road now became the penalty for wrong-doing, and, presently, there was a boy constable to see that they did their work. So, step by step, from year to year, the fabric of self-government and self-supporting industry was constructed, until the Junior Republic emerged, with its President and other executive officers, its representative legislature, its courts, its police, its own monetary system and bank,—a political and industrial commonwealth of boys and girls (for both sexes have been included), taken out of a derelict class for treatment by this simple inoculation with social responsibilities. Writing of the George Junior Republic in 1908, Dr. Lyman Abbott said: