New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-12-09
SCHOOLS FOR THE vAGRANT.

Our system of public schools is an excellent
one-but new circumstances are coming up,
which render it, in some directions, ofno effect.
Those who are cOnversant with the poorer
classes of the City find large population of
children, who never attend school-who cannot.
They are children utterly without friends or any
TO care for them left on the street by the death
of parents, or cast off by those who were too
brutal or too poor to take charge of them
they are the children Of some emigrant, who
can not support them, and who sends them out
to pick up living in Whatever way they best
can. They sleep on the docks, under carts, in
cellars and barns. They live by bone aud
rag-picking, by pilfering from cOttOn-bags, by
street-sweeping, begging, thieving, peddling.-
They seldom enter q church and never q
school. They are ashamed to go to decent
schools in their rags, or they can not afford it.
They must earn their own bread. They are
hungry, and want to get something to eat, not
to learn.
There is no inducement in mere abstract
education to such class. They do not appre-
cate the value to their future usefulness of
learning to read the primer, but they do the
importance of picking up enough money to get
their pork and beans for one"
Besides, their parents, if they have any, can
not afford to let them go to school. The boys
must earn their own meals, and if they do not
they must 20 hungry. You will find that at the
approach of every winter hundreds of these
boys get themselves purposely committed to
Backwel's Island and the City Prison for the
sole purpose OF securing food and shelter.
With the immense immigration now coming
into New York, this class Of ignorant vagrant
children numbe rs its thousands growing up
TO be our future citizens and voters
Cannot something be done TO educate this
great multitude Imprisoning and furnishing is
of little use. These lads come out worse after
every fresh cOmmittal. Besides, our Courts are
reluctant naturally to sentence offenders so
young and under such a weight of temptation
The public schools do not reach the evil. What
them We submit to all who interest them
selves in the welfare OF humanity, plan which
is now under consideration on many sides.
Ii is to establish in the poorest Wards Day
Schools for vagrant children, where, after the
manner OF the London and Edinburgh Rag
ged Schools" meals are given to the pupils.
This is already done in part in Mr. Pease's
School at the Five Points, with great success,
and the plan has been tried with good result in
the Boston Chsnning.st School"
Numbers of these outcast children are drawn
in by the substantial inducement of dinner.
who never would enter for any other reason.
Ignorant parents, too, consent TO sending
children TO school to be fed, where they never
would to be taught. And in reality, it gives
the only means, TO very many, by which they
can afford il. The expense is slight-bread
porrldge, rice and molasses-a few plain arti.
cies would be enough. II is low inducement :,
but this is a low class, the of-shoot Of another
society than ours, and this is the ONLY motive
10 reach them. II would separate the very
poorest ifom those q little better of for
time but they are separated now in the worst
way-by begging, suffering and crime. 1t
would cost a little more than Common School,
but every one OF these little vagabonds costs
US all, In prisons, and police, and corrupt mfu.
ence, more than his schooling for lifetime.
Besides, these schools would only be prepare.
tory to the Public Schools; and, as only a lit
tie education is support in this country, the
boys would be more able as well as more will.
ing to attend them, afterward. The good hab-
its gained, it should be remembered, are quite
as important to such class as the mere learn
ing.
In one way, the expense in each Ward might
be greatly reduced by fam;y;s. ov;no ,h,;-