Photo courtesy of Pixabay – vintage school
Carl Babcock was only eight-years-old, but in 1913 his teacher deemed him incorrigible. As punishment for misbehaving, the teacher tied the boy up by his thumbs in such a way that it compelled him to stand on tiptoe for 10 to 15 minutes.
Charges of cruelty were brought against the teacher, 25-year-old Edward Bradshaw, in the District Court in Fredonia, Kansas. The lawyer for the prosecution called the punishment meted out to the boy as ‘inhuman, ungodly, an outrage and the most disgraceful occurrence in the history of Wilson County,” and further that it was a “return to the medieval ages and the days of the Spanish Inquisition.”
In reporting on the story, the newspaper demurred, saying “That is pretty strong.” Apparently, the jury thought so too and returned a verdict of not guilty. They only deliberated for an hour. The teacher presented no other defense than to say numerous other methods of punishment had not worked with the boy and had no effect in correcting his behavior.
The incident with the punishment of the boy took place the previous spring near the close of the term (1912). Bradshaw taught the remaining ten or twelve days of school, but his certificate was not renewed. Bradshaw was a teacher with several years of experience. “He has been working in the western part of the state for some time.”
UPDATE: I’ve been unable to find details of Carl T. Babcock’s life, only that he was born in 1904 in Wilson County, Kansas. In the article, it mentions that he was the adopted son of Charles Babcock. Elsie Lee Jackson and Charles Allen Babcock had been married 7 years by the 1904 birth of Carl. Was Carl an orphaned child from someone else in the extended Jackson or Babcock families? Maybe the Babcocks needed a son, so they adopted him from an orphan train? Their daughter, Inez, was born in 1901.
If anyone knows what happened to Carl T Babcock later in life, I’d like to hear from you.
Then and Now 
Interesting story – does make one wonder if the Carl was angry at life in general, which is why he was acting out. Depending on where he came from, if he was off the Orphan Train, he may have become street tough.
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