The Unlucky Fate of a Runaway Teenager
After being detained by detectives, 16-year-old Lillie D. Cline faces institutionalization as local authorities attempt to force her back into a domestic role.
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.
Lillie D. Cline was arrested in the American House at 4 o'clock yesterday morning by Detective Philbrick, and when taken to the police station booked as truant. She is supposed to have run away from her home, and is about 16 years of age. She claims to be older and told several fairy tales to the officers. Her father and three brothers are said to live at Ballard. She has lived at the Windsor hotel for several weeks, and is said to have been very loose in her associations. She was turned over to the police matron and Chief Jackson will try to have her placed in the House of the Good Shepherd unless her parents will do something with her.
“She claims to be older and told several fairy tales to the officers.”
This story highlights the era's paternalistic approach to 'wayward' girls, where police power was used to police gender and social norms. The 'House of the Good Shepherd' was a common institutional destination for young women deemed to have 'loose associations,' reflecting a punitive approach to youth homelessness.
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