Stadium Construction Site Leads to Youth's Arrest
A 15-year-old student finds himself behind bars after interfering with the construction machinery at the new high school stadium.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Emil Elfrith, a 15-year-old boy, was arrested at the high school this afternoon and taken to the police station, where he was locked up in a solitary cell. The warrant was sworn to by the Western Engineering company, who have the contract for the high school stadium. Young Elfrith, it is alleged, pulled a lever this noon that allowed a quantity of gravel to flow out of a large bin. The construction company has had a great deal of trouble with mischievous boys and has determined to put a stop to it. Elfrith was arraigned in police court this afternoon.
“The construction company has had a great deal of trouble with mischievous boys and has determined to put a stop to it.”
This incident highlights the tensions between private contractors and the public in a rapidly building city. Placing a 15-year-old in a 'solitary cell' for a prank on a construction site illustrates the harsh, punitive approach to juvenile behavior common in the early 20th century.
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