A recent ruling of one of our city judges, after reprimanding two lads brought before him for a trivial offence, decided that they should be birched in “the good old way” prescribed by King Solomon, and he further declared that children brought before him in future may be punished by public school teachers just the same as they would be by their own parents, and he bases his ruling on Section 713 of the Penal Code, which reads as follows: “When a person under the age of sixteen years is convicted of a crime, he may, in the discretion of the court, instead of being sentenced to a fine or imprisonment, be placed in charge of any suitable person or institution willing to receive him, and may be kept there until reaching his majority, or for a shorter term, subjected to such discipline and control of the person or institution receiving him as a parent or guardian may lawfully exercise over a minor.” For several years some of our best American prison reformers have been in favor of the restoration of a mild infliction of corporal punishment in reformatories and other institutions where juvenile delinquents are kept. Indeed, after ten years of experience as Chaplain, I am satisfied that a sound birching would be a godsend to many a New York boy in the early stages of crime, and in a large number of cases might possibly cure him of his foolish delusions. As many persons consider the phrase “corporal punishment” offensive, I am willing to accept ex-Superintendent Brockway’s suggestion, and call it “corporal treatment.” And I am inclined to believe that the word “treatment” would not militate against it as much as “punishment.” “The object of punishment,” says Horace Mann, “is the prevention of evil.” If corporal punishment does not inspire our youth to do good works, it certainly in many cases deters them from doing evil ones. It is interesting to know that four-fifths of all the school teachers and principals of Greater New York are in favor of the revival of corporal punishment for bad boys and have petitioned the Board of Education for its restoration. When this matter came before the Board a few months ago it was lost by only three votes, but it will come up again—and may possibly become a law next time. A large number of our school principals and teachers of wide experience believe that something ought to be done to the boy who calls a teacher a vile name and wilfully despises his superiors, besides turning him out of school as an incorrigible. By that one act the Principal who is unable to punish him for his bad conduct simply puts him on the street to begin a criminal life. The only thing a bad boy fears is a spanking. And as there is no discipline in thousands of homes, the Principals of our City Schools in their appeal for the restoration of the rod, affirm that used under certain restrictions it would save yearly a very large number of our youths from moral shipwreck.