The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-11-03
FHE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF NEW YORK.
SCHOOLS ovERCRowDED AND THOUSANDS
EXCLUDED.
New York Sup

New York Sun.
About a week ago a panic caused by a
false alarm of fire or by the uproar of the
departing children occurred in a public
school in Houston street. 1t resulted in
one of those wild scenes of terror and con-
fusion where human beings, whether they
are young OF old, part with their reason
and behave like dumb animals, rushing
into actual OF greater danger in order to
escape real or fanced danger in which
they are ; just as horses will break the
halter by which they have been led out of
. burning stable to throw themselves into
she flames from which they have been
reecued.
The greatest panic was in the primary
department of the school in the lower
story, which contained $50 young children.
Some of the boys jumped out of the win
dows, twelve feet from the street, but most
Of the youngsters were 80 jammed together
on the stairs and passages that many lives
we're threatened. Fortunately, however,
only one child was seriously Injured.
or course, these public school panics
will take place occasionally, but rigid dis
ciplns can 90 very far to prevent them
and can save the children from the grave
results which m ust follow their escape from
tho control of their teachers. We are glad
10 Ray that in the case in Houston street,
the teachers behAXcd with IN uch discI elton
and that generally they preserve perfect
order in the schools. Bot the trouble is
aot with them. 1t is with the Board Of
Education which, though provided by the
people with an abundance of money to
tnTnish proper school accom- III odations for
All the children who seek an ducation at the
aublie experse, persistentIy oVerctowd
tho schools, and particularly tie primary
departments.
At the time of the opening of the public
schools in September the Sun prognoeticat-
a l,..F,, II nnl ha
TO report that they were not only crammed
With pupils, to the injury of the health of
Inc children, but also that thousands of
ooys AT d girls had been turned away from
them hecsuee they had not the space for
Ghe youngsters to stand or cit in. And
What we expected has happened.
Mr. kiddle, the Superintendent OF the
City Schools, last week informed the Board
of Education that 3 623 children have this
autumn been refused admission to the
schools for lack of room to accommodate
them. o! these l,l99 were in the Nine
$eenth Ward, 7O7 in the Seventeenth Ward.
SO in the Twenty second Ward, and 44S
in the Tenth Ward. Some of them, he
says, have been able to get into other
schools, bat what has become of the rest
Have they not just as much right to learn
Abe alphabet at the public expense as the
children who could be equeeZed into the
schools
NOT Only arc InPBe LuTeS LDOuSa0O chill
aren either wandering about the streets
and getting into mischief for lack of any
thing else to do, or thrown on private and
pRrochial charity for their instruction, but
those who can get into the schoolrooms are
30 numerous that in many cases they are
penned mp like sheep. "Some of the
achoos arc SO crowded." reported Mr..
Kiddle, "that the rule of the Board, limit
ing the class number to IS in primary
schools and to 60 in the grammar schools,
is not complied with" The truth is, the
RohOols are greatly overcrowded in the
most populOus districts of the city, aud the
children exposed to the dangers of in
sufficient ventilation and panics such as
that which occurred in Houston street.
Moreover, they cannot be properly in
stTucted in such droves. The limit of the
classes, the exceeding of which the over
sIoWding necessitates, has been proved to
Dc essential to good discipline and the
eiacient performance of their work by the
teachers.
Never before was the average daily at
tendance on the public schools 40 large as
i is now. During the last month it has
reached ll2 OS3, an excess over last year
Of 1928. Most of the children of the city
are in these schools, the proportion attend
ing private schools being very email,
hOugh considerable number are in inst-
!utions supported by churches, particularly
by the Roman Catholic Church. Bat
great as the number of pupils aud of child
Yen desiring free instruction lie, the people
pay enough and more than enough to pro-
vide them all with school room, and there
il no excuse either for overcIOwdiDg or for
t1TniDg scholars away.