Lela Silver (1909)
As seen in the case of Florence Goyette, parents sometimes arranged to have disobedient daughters committed to the Industrial School. This was the case with Lela Silver of Newport who, at 15 years old, was compelled by her parents to plead guilty to a charge of petit larceny when all she had done was borrow (and lose) her mother’s watch without permission. Apparently, Lela’s father desired her commitment to the Industrial School because “she had become unruly,” but he did not want the larceny charge, which was reported in the newspapers, to reflect badly on the family.
There seems to be a wrong impression as to the charge against Lela Silver which Mr. Silver desires to have corrected. It appears that Miss Silver wore her mother’s watch without her permission and when she returned did not have it in her possession. Mr. Silver wished to have the girl sent to the industrial school and therefore took steps to bring it about. After inquiring into the matter, he found that the only way was to bring her before the court on the charge of stealing the watch and proceeded to do so, The charge is merely a technical one and only brought for the purpose of sending her away as she had become unruly.
Burlington Free Press, June 10, 1909
