New-York tribune., 1867-07-27
OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
wRETCurD CONDITION or THE sCHOOL-HOUSES
or THE METROPOLIS-THE KILN" VI
TEACHERS AND PUPILS BY FOUL AIR


Constant rotation Of The unweaned wae. "a
I1 @ beautv SiSIy ifi heT feTfty aTi1 She dread.
hlirstaats pause and lives but while she m''ci
I,,o reyolyescy uphois the World
Winds from all quarters agliAts the ar
Hs noSious Oceans rivers. lakes and streams
Al feel fresleuug impulse and are eeaosed
Quick to comprehend whatever had length
Or breadth or thickness the human mind persists III s
Oorng the intangible with Obstinacy that no an'o
Of argument seems able TO overcome. "ha' sooS ~
the stomach twice or thrice every "a hours Is %
matter of mOmentous importance; but "a' sooS NV -
iungs with every breath in no way concerns H'iAi'
Notwithstanding that the questions OF uses'lon anu
ION are so intimately connected as to be INSOFAR
sbe Respiration the last act of digestion and essen
&al 10 it," and in every "a hours there How TO the
lun GO hogsheads OF air and so hOgsheads OF blood the
purty of the latter depending upon the purity OF the
Sormer Indifference to the atmosphere by which we are
surrounded nothing less than suicidal Says NJ bau
feIocdue celebrated French writer: "Invariably IL VIII
be efound on examination that truly scroous disease Is
souSej nv yiafed air and Il not Arrays necessary
aus, ,S "! J 5Sre been n 5ionged stay SUch al
SlOspheTe Often hours each day Is sunceht ana
itl thus persons may live in the most healthy country:
pass The greater part of the day in the open ar ana ye
become scrOfulous because OF Sleeping III VU
place where the air has not been renewed. tgPthhhs
5eyer AN especial product OF foul air and as by the
laws OF "sympahetic association no one part Oh % the
body be injured without detflment 10 an S es % 19
evils wrou ght by the absence Of proper ventilation may
be set down As beyond computation In no coGn'I IN ar
lea The connection between the stomach ana Dln De
Ing intimate it follows that insanity must De noLt %
r1t here than elsewhere the greater part OF when can
he traced 10 an nordiuate Of intoxicating liquors
but let be remembered that there Is no greater
such being the disastrous consequences 0i ittp1t;on
sSo,J he paid 70 the subject Men and women OF un-
doubted general INTELLIGENCE sleep IN IoOiS ~ me- SnI
slut doors and windows, taking good care II D0 M
IneT ~ have the chmueys well stuffed with papers that
TooSs dke that Of Steiway Hall, for example, theaters
and churches, where oxygen is unknown anu Sato%Oc %
acid gas drug and terribly ignorant OF the fst RIh
oIpes of existence, the pabugn UttG without Whlon
every breath is step toward the opIv
praoticcd throughout the civilized world Bao as arr aS
places OF %oTP 0 bad 9 t6ey aTe we never Knew until we
beheid whahe readers Of THE TRIBUNE may now see by
looking through unprejudiced pair OF spec'acies
GRAMMAR SCHOOL No. 49,
Recnninc his tour of investigation our reporter hiSt
ited Grammar School No 49, between Ninth and Tenth
aves briIt about years ago. Entering the Urinary
Department, which invariably occupies the hrSt hoor-
tbe second floor being appropriated to the grs ana te
last floor ~ the Boys Grammar Department-the NS'o
saw quite large hail. covering the entire length ana
breadth of the building portion OF which was Occu
pied as schOOrOOm, while the back part sHt on ~
the main room by means OF sliding d0OrS was ueHou
Tier upon tier Of benches whereOn little chldens warmed
Similar sliding doors divided this gallery INTO Two eo
nartmcnts a miserable arrangement very geneIaiiy
adopted one vanly sought for ventlaOrs IN Ihe w.
aud though he found none the seSe M S Ii Dos We're
way outraged, for the reason that an u tnS
open This manner Of obtaining fresh AR Deh CON
sr,iaS Saerles which are dependent upon the windows
bove the top Of benches for light and ar ana "nere
Does not this bad air affect your was asked OF d
teacher whose pale face interested US US b headaches
OF course, IL does We very often nave heauaonoo,
and teachers never have good blood Later, MS SqT NV
So o3dr who we're divided into two classes she teach
ING one division while the assistant Deslue her JduS1
the other None OF the other recitation rooms were quite
az mis- extreme case nevertheless, they were
all Objectionable, and without other thah ~lhIoT @ soS "
Iation Every contained twice as many c9ren r aS
there was for them to breathe. Passlpg 70 tne @
Department we were usheSd INTO d IFS tb Iu sc cT
Portable looking nall, ornamenteu at one emu " @ ~,
fural texts among which was the command " Love thy
neghbor as thysef" 1t may be satisfactory TO the oe
IN know that IL strengthened US IN
i4speotQr and benefacOr There was nothing gpplle
provision had been made iDP that as usual no adequate
Sontiater was asked " BY means OF windows Ih0s5
two venblators are almost useless
Then the sun came brightly and striking adjOin
Ing wall sent in reflected light that to bear Tor any
sS6t Does not this light affect your eyes T. theI
Inquired "Oh, yes" replied the teacher they have
eyes impairs others. Grammar School No. 50 win hay
into the playground we found that the yardOOm open
20 the sky exceedingly small and that most OF the re
being open to the air side is called covered yard
The ceiling low no sun ever penetrates within and th
Through OF children stood about and inhaled
BIgDant carbonic aed gas at breath Instead Of
braeing the lungs TO endure the bad air Of recitation
rooms aggravates rather than diminshes the evil
A statement holds good many other Nausea
ted made way the yard to primary section
which owing to the oyercrowded condition Of the school
building has taken refuge in the basement OF an adoin
ing church This basement several feet under ground
Is always camp amp even III the %arnest "eatner.o5 tne t
darkness abOminable ventilation and general unheathi
Winter the rain took possession Of the foor until hole
made the door, whereby the invading element
dampness And this basement, for which annual rent
Of $500 paid has been occupied during the last three OF
four years Complaints have been made TO the Board OF
Education, who have referred them committee, and
there the matter ended. That such scandal should
De tolerated is a marvel, and not the children OF
this Ward OF poor paTentage the fact would long since
have been made public Because children are wretch
edy accommodated at home however is no reason why
they should obtain nothing better at school, and TO sub
ect educated teachers such pestent prison add
Ing Insult 70 INJURY
GRAMMAR SCHOOL no. 80.
Grammar School No 49, in Thirty -hfth-st. near Ninth
ave. is every way superior TO School No. 80. The
play ground is c0mmOdiOus, and consequently
much less odorerous while the hall Of the Primary
Department possesses far less Objectionable features
Passing through the recitation rooms however, the
second story, found the same neglect OF ventilation
the same dependence upon Windows and the same sys
tem Of overcrowlng Two back rooms are partcuIafly
obnoxious and there were none 10 deny their unhtnes
for human babitatiOn. Though the one window was
open and draught between and the door established
in which the children sat OF course they do n all the
schools the sill Of the windows usually being level
with their heads and little girls bare arms and neck
thereby laying up store OF coughs and consumption
the atmosphere impure and the thermometer the
18th June, when the heat by oppressive
stood at 7So Fahrenheit
GRAMMAR SCHOOL NO IT,
We entered Grammar school No. II, in FOrtyseyenth
st. between Eighth and Ninth-aves with expectations
somewhat raised by the fact that rebuilt in 1852 the
modelling had been the signal for the inlaying Of
be slab wbereOn is inscribed the of the Commits
soners architect &c. "This that the work has
beon well DONE" said TO ourselves thankfully and en-
OF one string by asking how the building was Ventilated
Tho old refrain, BY opening the windows" fell upon
Decentralization had been abolished and stoves put in
its place. Consequently the heat is very unequaly dis
trbuted. evil that becomes serious in the small
recitatOnroom where the pupils in the Deghb0rhood Of
the baked, while those at distance suffer from
cold This particularly the in the galleries, where
all light and air from the one window Immediately
behind the highest bench II inc window IS open, the