Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-11-23
The Cold School Houses.

reporter called upon Building Inspector En-
twsle to-day In relation to the shutting up OF the
schools for want OF heat Inspector Entwise
stated that the contractor for putting in the heat
Ing apparatus In the new school buildings is at
work with all his forces as hard as he can; he has
got his brick stacks done, the boilers all set in
their places, and Is now running his pipes and
coils to connect with the radiators. The boilers
had to be built before they could be set, and the
contractor has done the best he could
Rep.-"Dd you know that theGales andWebster
schools had to close this morn1ng?"
The fact is these new school buildings wem occu.
pied too soon they should not have been Until the
heRa sn nss t WAS put in"
A.-"Mr SOmerville, and he has done his best The
schoOl buildings will be all right in week or ten
days The schools. should have remained where
they were until the buildings were completed"
"Was this contract a separate one from the
erection of the school buildings?"
Certainly 1T was There was no provision for
heating apparatus at all in the contract for the
new buildings; the money was afterwards appro-
priated under deficiency act, and the work given
out after competition"
"When was the contract nader"
ION the 18th September, though some of the
1 Anoher thing was th n1 b aa1 n5
were not sufficiently dry, and the walls damp and
'.How about the trouble in the Jefferson school
building?"
There seems to be defect in the fues, which
we are n ow at work on to csrrect?"
WHAT SUPERINTENDENT WILSON SAYS
"All we are trying to do" said Superintendent
Wilson to STAR reporter to-day, talking about
the Webster and Gales buildings, sis to keep the
schools intact, so that when the buildings are In
proper condition the schools can 60 to work at
once. The teachers are instructed to let the chill
dren go If they are cold 1t is very demoralizing.
Why the salaries OF teachers and 1anitors in those
two buildings amounts to 800 day, and the
schools are practically useless People are not
apt to consider the educational loss but they will
think or the loss In money"
Mr.. Wilson said that no trouble was reported In
other schools about the heating apparatus, except
now and then, when some accident gave temper
airy trouble. Trustee Baum, OF the fourth
division had complained OF the heating apparatus
In the Jefferson building. The teachers had to be
very careful in the Gales and Webster buildings
as the children were not all equally we'll clad. II
one OF the children taken sick its illness was
at once attributed to the condition of the build
ing. One child, at the Webster building, had
been taken down with .diphtheria, and the
parents at once concluded that 1t was ON ac-
count OF the GOODNESS of the building
There had, however, been cases Of
diphtheria In other buildings where the heating
apparatus was all right. Mr. Birney, the president
OF the school board, Mr.. Wilson said, had been
very active in urging the speedy completion OF the
heating apparatus. For some reason, however,
there was delay in giving out the contract, and in
addition to that, the contractor did not have the
proper equipments for pushing the work forward
rapidly.