New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-12-23
COMPULSORY EDUCATION.
list WHAT THE PROPOSED NEW LAW PRO-
VIDES.

HOW 1T GAME TO BE DRAWN TX -"
rENpENT MAXWELL, OF BRooKLYN-soaI
OF IT'S REST FEATURES POINTED OUT
THE MOST IMPORTANT SECTIONS
GIVEN IN FULL
Tho new Compulsory Education law. which was
agreed on at the recent council Of CITY supe'"'o
Of schools held at Utica, and which VIII 10 p'o'. ~
TO the Legislature early in the coming sess'on ="
the main the work OF william H. Maxwell 'he SUPP,
tendent OF Public Instruction In broohHn' M -
Wells qualifications for formulating such Ia" w
acoured nv his personal experience In attempuhs w
.,force the law of 1874 which is universally aunee"
to have been a failure In It's pracucai "oiAi"ss 30
he himself says. he could not have done '0 90
what he has been able to accomplish Sa|si"0Vi''
now Formerly the enforcement OF the 'ompuiso'S
law in Brooklyn was intrusted to superintendent
M Attendance under whose direction were numDor
40 attendance agents 1heil work pracuoaly
amounted 10 looking after a few Children VINO pdS'"
truani, and they only succeeded In bringing MY vi
sixty children into the schools In the course OF
year The enforcement Of the law was so nearly
a failure that It's complete abandonment had been
substantially decided upon, when in November, 1887,
against SUPERINTENDENT MaxweIps wishes. the matter
was put I'm his personal charge. The wisdom ol inc
Board of Education In deciding to do this mas Deeh
fully justified With about the same number OF
attendance agents. he has succeeded during me pesc"
year in causing some $50 children to attend school
by Mr. Maxwell to secure this result was by getting
the consent of the Commissioner of Police to an ar
rangement whereby the police officers throughout he
city were authorized 10 take down tho names anu
addresses of children found at large on the Streets VINO
seemingly ought 10 be In school. In addition to tho
concrete results already mentioned. Mr.. Maxwell has
had an opportunity for studying thoroughly the problem
of compulsory cduca ion. The result is seen IN the
proposed new law, full summary OF winch Is pup
ished herewith, and which he believes viii fully meet
The necessities of tho That the other city super
intendents agreed wth him is slight compliment to
Mr.. Maxwels comprehension of the subject ana his
success in putting his ideas into proper shape for the
action of the Legislature.
Mr. MaxweWs draft of a new Compulsory Education
law the outgrowth of a conference between hmsef
Superintendent Jasper OF this city each of whom
set out to prepare bin this subject. Mr. Max
wells subsequent study Of the question: however, led
him Independently to draw up the bill substantially as
approved by the council at Utica In this work he
had the assistance of Mr. Reyes the chief clerk in MS
ment who is a lawyer and was therefore able
to put the matter into proper legal shape
When the council met Utica bill on this subject
was reported by committee appointed in the previous
year Mr. Maxwell strongly criticised this bill and
offered his substitute for it, The matter was
referred to a committee of which he was made men,
per- and his bill was accepted with slight amend
mcnts.
TALK WITH THE AUTHOR OF THE BILL
day or two ago Mr. Maxwell received the first
printed copy of the proposed law in the form in
which II will be presented to the legislature
In speaking of the matter he said;
Il notice that In The TIlbune's comments on the
new bin last Monday, the unimportant was made
Of saying 1t agreed upon by convention OK
school teachers The convention, of course, was the
council Of CITY superntendents of Schools Tho
Tribune writer criticised that part of the law which
provides that children between the ages OF eleven
and sixteen shall only attend school fourteen consecu-
tive weeks in the year. Apparently the fact was over
looked that it is only children of those ages employed
in regular work who forced TO attend school that
length of time. All those not at work must go TO
school the entire year. Just all those between seven
and eleven are compelled to go. l think that this Is
all that should be required, because there arc multi,
tldes of children whose parents necessities compel
them to help earn a livelihood. There is one i'm
portant point in the law to which would direct special
attention Under the present law the penalties are
enforced by civil proceedngs-that is, when "a parent
retnses 10 force his child to 60 TO school judg-
ment Is entered against him but most OF the people
affected By this provision in large clues own 10
property that can be levied upon, and so don't care
a snap of the finger for any number OF Judgments
The people that get at are Italian rag pickers
and the nke SO the new act provides for fines and
imprisonment which think will have most salutary
effect upon the very classes whose children should DO
forced TO attend school.
"Then again we are asked why II is that, when there
are not sufficient school accommodations In New-fOrh
or Brooklyn for all the children who desire 10 attend
school, we have any need Of a Compulsory Education
law Now, the fact is that in Brooklyn there are
at present more in the public schools than there
are children to occupy them. The trouble is
that because of the shifting Of population
these are not and cannot be distributed in such way
as TO accommodate all the children Of scholastic. age
our present pressure is in the seventeenth, Eighteenth
Twenty-6rst Twenty third, Twenty-fourth, twenty
fifth and Twenty sixth Wads-the rapidly growing
portions of the city-whe in the older parts of the
city there vacant benches in all the schoolhouscs
And IL is in the older parts that the classes OF people
have mentioned, who do not send their children 10
school, are mainly found. Hence we viii find no
difficulty In finding room for children who are to be
provided for under the Compulsory law. think
too that requirement that in Ncw-fork and BrOoh
Ign school-houseS be provided for all children
OF school age 10y September l, 1895. and in other
cities by September l. 1892. penalty Of losing their
share of the pupc school money, will have an eXccent
effect in fastening the building of school-houses
although that work going forward with great rapidly
on both sides Of the East Eiver.
There is another excellent feature. to nv mind
in the proposed law. That is the provision that the
police shall assist in enforcing IT. That is just the
help that have succeeded in getting here in Brooklyn
and IL has been very helpful, indeed. OF course, II
is impossible for nine ten attendance agents to paro
the whole city and look after children who are mol
in school but the police everywhere and can dc
This work with cOmpal atively little trouble Nher
told Superintendent Ja,per what was doing IN re
spect TO this, he at said that the idea was an
excellent one and that be would apply to Police super
intendent Murray get The co operation OF the police
IN Now-YOrk There is no doubt that putting this
matter into the Will produce most desirable results
Let me also saw that our law contains the best features
Of the Mas law, though think 1t IS superior
taken as wnoie."
Following Is a carefully made abstract Of the law
a. approved by the tea Council The most Important
provisions given I'm full:
l. Every parent or guardian, or other person hay
ing the care and control Of any child between INC
ages Of and eleven years, shai cause sucn
Child 10 attend some public school In the cay Oi
school district IN which such child snail reside oi