The record-union., 1895-03-22
VIENNA'S HUNGRY CHILDREN.
An Organization That Provides Desti-
tuto school Children With Food.

An Organization That Provides Desti-
tuto school Children With Food.
Vionna is a poverty-stricken city; at
every turn there are signs of misery, for
wages are low and the working classes
| have heavy burdens 20 bear. Yet oddly
enough, all through the winter you may
wander about for the hour together, and
in the very poorest districts, too. without
ever seeing hun9ry-looking child.
Even the most ragged Of street urchins
has, as rule, q comfortable, well-ted air.
In some OF our London board-schoolS it
is pitiable to see how many Of the chill
dren linger about the classroom door
whom the dinner-hour comes. Evidently
they know it would be a waste of time on
their part TO hurry home on the chance OF
midday meal. In Vienna, however,
things are different. There, the moment
lessons are over, children troop out Of the
school with all possible speed; for even
the very poor among them are we'll aware
that dinner awaits them-a good one,
too. " here 1t comes from, or how it hap
pens to be theirs, they have no more idea
than the birds of the air, and would never
dream OF asking; for, thanks TO the Verein
zur Bekosigung armer Schulllinder,
dinner is for them the most natural thing
| in the world.
! This vereln is a voluntarily constituted
! society whose special business it is to see
| that the children who go TO school are
| properly fed. Once a year, in autumn,
/ they make an appeal for funds, one
! which, even In the worst of times, always
meets with generous response, The En-
! peror gives them 81 800 q year; the city of
! Vienna S2, 500; and ali classes according
TO their means. They have entered into
an arrangement with the directors of the
! peoples kitchens t(workingmen's rest
aurantSl, under which these latter under
! take, from November lst to March 3Ist,
| to provide dinners at the rate OF a penny
each for rs many children as the society
/ chooses to send them. II there chance to
! be a peoples kitchen near the school, the
/ children dine there: if there is not, the
society must hire 2 dining-room, or have
! one OF the cIassrOoms. Then the food re-
! quired is sent from the nearest kitchen,
/ hot and ready for eating, in sealed metal
cases; and Is served out TO the children
| by members of the society, who take it in
| turns 10 perform this duty. In one dis
! trict they have organized a kitchen of
/ their own, where they have the pro-
visions cooked; but this is found to be
/ both more costly and more trou blesome
! than buying them ready cooked OF the
/ Kitchen Association. On March 3lst the
society closes its rooms, but even then
there Is little danger of the children being
! left dinnerless, for the peoples kitchens
are always there, and the teachers in the
| Nolkschule are kept well supplied with
tickets for distribution.
! The whole business is managed in the
| simplest possible way. AS soon as the
mornings work is over in the Volks-
schule the teachers distribute paper
tickets among the children. In some
districts they give to every child in the
/ schools: III others 1t is q case OF picking
and choOsing-One, though, that involves
no great difficulty, for it is easy for them
10 find out where help is needed. AS
/. often as not among those who receive the
/ tickets are some of the best-dressed of
! their pupils; but then-as the teachers
/ know, though the children do not-these
are paid for by the parents, not the So
/ clety. In the tavOrlten District, where
| numbers OF work people live, 800 school
children dine in the Peoples Kitchen
every day. And a very interesting place
/ this kitchen is. especially during the
/ three-quarters Of an hour it is the chill
dren's own private property. They make
their way in the most busin ness-like
fashion, for the tiniest among them is
fully alive to the fact that in a Peoples
Kitchen all must be done decently and in
order. Ticket in hand, they advance to
the counter, where ladies are standing
ready to attend to their wants. \ por-
ton of food and a spoon is handed to
| them, and thus equipped they take up
/ their places at one END OF the long, mar
row tables, and settle themselves down
| with an air of supreme content.
On .hree days ~ the week their dim
Eers consist of large plate of vegetables
peas, lentIls, cabbage, etc.-beautifulIy
cooked and served with gravy. Twice a
week they have milk pudding, and once
/ sauerkraut. They have, too, every day,
! 4 large white roll or, if they prefer ii. a
/ still larger slice of black bread. This,
| however, they Tor the most part take
home with them for their Jansen" Tor
without 1t their dinner is as much as
most of them can manage. The children
do not sit long over their meal, Tor they
quite understand that they must all be
! away before the men come in from the
factories. As they pass out of the room
| they each hand their plate and spoon in
at the scullery window.
There Is not prettier or brighter set
of school children 10 be found in aH'Eu-
rope than these little Eiennese, with their
golden hair and large dark ewes. Dirty
they many OF them are and ragged. but
they are well-develOped, strong of limb.
agIle-quIte on a par. i'll fact, physically
with the sons and daughters OF the bur
geois. When their school days are over
they deteriorate, it is true, for their life is
q hard one, and they live in q terribly
trying climate. They are bright and iu-
teiligent. too; full OF life and gaiety: quite
different beings rom our poor dinnerIess
children, with their preternatural age
and wisdom. The Vienna Childreu's
Nerein certainly spends its money to good
purpose. Nor Is 1t so much that 1t spend 8
after ali; hundred pounds goes a long
way wnen distributed in pennios.-PalI
Mall Gazette.