The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-07-09

the school boards aud certain classes of
The poor and ignorant Tho state
through It's various statutory provisions
Tor compulsory free education. enacted
during The past twCnty-three years, In
effect says
You, Tiny Tot. aged five years. are to
attend such school as we may provide. or
your parents select every school dav of
your life, until you are thirteen years Of
age or have passed the sixth standard. or
we VIII clap youin a criminal institution:
and YOU, Tiny Tots father. must pay for
what we compel your child to do. or we
viii fine you for every absence recorded
against 1t, and tax you for the cost of its
Imprisonment whenever we finally shut
1t upj and then, if you cannot pay its ac-
crued fees and fines, and accruing iudg-
ments against yourself. we will also clan
you in jail until they are paid or are
hquidated by Imprisonment; when we
will then release you and again begin the
same wholesome care Of yourself and
your offspringl"
Out of this exquisite system has grown,
naturally and in order, millions of school
haters and liars hundreds of thousands
of petty law-breakers before the local
magistracy; tens of thousands of children
criminals among the good and bad alike;
an army of visitors" inspectors and de-
tectives, whose unempowered though UNI
ANGLSdllN -tACEClStD DIuI1ilIN among lelD-
less children and distracted and ignorant
mothers is inexpressibly infamous; and
hundreds of so-called industrial schools,
or ragged and ''truant" schools, as they
are more popularity termed, which, what
ever their merits of management on the
line Of their legalized purposes, are an in
eXcusable outrage upon the inalienable
rights of child-life and home-life in any
civilized land.
Tho HYscf bn
were found in a nOisOme court in which
the sunlight never came. On our APP
proach there was lively scattering in
every direction of that portion of the
half-naked population with whom we had
business, who either totally disappeared
or barred their doors against our en-
trance. Such unpromising negotiations
as were possible We're of necessity held
through keyhOles or broken paneS of glass
AS was the collectors custom here, he
shortly announced ina loud tone of voice
that, as he had nothing else on hand that
day, we would sit down and wait. We
did sit upon a filthy firm which had lust
been vacated Certain indications of
restlessness were soon plainly
audible from within. This seem
ed to communicate itself
to those neighbors on the outside who,
themselves being accustomed to similar
experiences from other sources, through
the natural alliance of misery, began a
series of maueuvers for our discontinue
A basin full of dirty water suddenly
rained down upon US, and the old court
suddenly rang with coarse laughter
Swapping barefoOted girls, in sort of
hOrse-play, began hustling us as if by &C
Cident, making handy use of their elbows
and fists while avoiding pretended tumb-
lings upon us and this became so threat
ening that the collectors stout stick was
called into effective use. Then some rot
ten garbrge fell softly upon us; and this
was followed by a well-directed discharge
of ciuders and ashes Goals could not be
spared. or our situation would have
proven exceedingly FESTIVE.
Then the women of the court began
edging up to US with croOned commisera-
tions for our prisoners. They lauded
their integrity: deplored their misfOr-
tunes and decried the sad spectacle of
such fine folk being worried for a beg
carly bit of rent Mr.. Evans remaining
unm0yed, they suddenly became hysteri-
cal with abuse; shrieking unprintable
maledictions and anathCmas until, in a
frenzy of sOrrOwful indignity, they barred
their scraggy breasts and besought us to
strick them down. as they were sure we
were brutes enough to do; experimenting
this by entreating us to murder their
''hinfant hoffsprings afore their hCyes, .
the said skinny mites of misery being
held out to US for that benetcent opera
ton.
The imperturbable Mr. Evans, in an
aside" to quiet my own rising trepida
ton whispered "the cows as no arm in
'em - and quietly taking a metal whistle
from his waistcoat pocket, gave it a sig
niticant movement to his lips, following
this with the soothing remark Ladies',
Hi ates to summon the polliSi" where
upon every one of the mob sCampered
away to her respective habitatiOu.
Final negotiations in this cesspool of filth
and degradation resulted IN serving two
notices to quit, a weeks full payment
from one tenant, solemn promises and
tears from others, and a SiXpence,
ha'penny from a blind female beggar
who swore, to strengthen her excuse,
that she had lost her dog, the latter
making farewell vicious assault upon
Mr. Evans heels in proof of her mis-
fortune and prObity
1t was now nearly noon and we were
gradually reaching the more open dis
tricts, though il seemed characteristic of
all tenements entered that the same hud-
ding and crOwding of humans, the same
want and SQualOr, the same filth and lg
norance, the same sOdden indifference to
the least of lifes decencies and the same
universal addiction 10 the curse of drink,
existed as are True IN JnG WOESu StttIOuS
of Cheapside, Shoreditch, Whitechapel
and the Minories. Attempts at decora-
ton and cleanliness, where in exceptional
cases cheap prints adorned the walls and
the tiny living rooms were fairly habita-
BILE from even occasional application
of soap and water, though the meanestne-
cessisties of life were wanting, were
rare; because frOwned down by the
vicious majority who seem merely to live
to drink and drink to live. We found
one place that had been completely
wrecked because the offending family had
dared put piece of cheap muslin over
the window This a settin' theersel's
hup DER their neigh Ors 'ad to be made
hexample ont" The daily tragedies of
lives with better aspirations, yet forced
bV want to this incOnCeivablY deddening
and hopeless association, was thousand
times revealed to me this day.
In one abode where we called for rent,
four naked children lay huddled in cor
ner of therbare room under a handful of
rags. because the Last clothing from their
bodies had been pawned for drink. The
father came home often enough to beat
the mother and snatch some utensil, scrap
of clothing or bit Of furniture and run
away with it for drink. WAITS body
to do with such houtlawsl' grOaned the
collector This place 'asn't paid the
missuses a penny'orth's rent in twelve
month" At a rag fair near ] got for less
than a shilling, garments enough TO cover
FOR apnthpr shilling left