Evening star., 1896-02-15


High School in town
| and several OF the graded schools at lunch
hour. What my eyes have not seen Of the
character of school iuncheons 1 lave learn
ed from talking with the teachers and pu-
pills; then took on the dietary habits of a
school girl for a day myself. For break
fast, snatched bite of bread and gulped
down part OF cup of coffee. l luncfed on
| cream puff and a large cucumber pickle
bought in wratched, dirty hole-in-the-
wall where High School luncheons are
made specially. When school was out
N the afternoon, my stomach was SO
empty traded car ticket for three cents
worth OF almond cream candy-a pasty
mess, larse bulk of which l can obtain
for my money at another High School res
tanraHt When Inner served at 6
O'Clock, L was SO near starvation that |
GorSef. the result of the whole days ex-
peElehce being that the next morning I
was Egiy enough to pinch the baby disa-
| Sfeeabie enough to use a lorgnette and so
Aopeies3ly stupid l couldn't have written q
| iiie II my lie had depended on 1t. From
| the depth of MY inner consciousness which
| iof the time being was located entirely in
| fiy outraged stomach. l realized that the
| chafSe OF "cTammng," which tender par
| ents of bIokeil-down children are ready TO
| EfiRg against the public school sysiem
| nisht IN many Instances upon inyestiga-
| IN ne iouiu 10 De not cram ming of the
| praln, but of the stomach, and il oct.1,r-
red to me that the mote in the eve of tbs.
| public school system may possibly be not
so much in need Of public attention as the
| beams i'll the eyes of parents.
OF Course There Are Exceptions.
Oh, but your child always carries a nice
luncheon from home, and she always has
a proper breakfast In the morning?
! Yes, madam; l know your child does.
| Thank heaven. woman's clubs, female srf-
| frage and organized sociological endeavors
20 create Il new heaven and a new cart h
| nave not absorbed every devoted mother in
me Woiiu. But let me tell you all that |
nave learned of other children and under
standing that evil corrr,,oica ;jons NOV.
corrupt good dietary habits even Won do
Notel mothers may find your selfish in
tefe5t involved in the matter of school
iLnc caeons.
Before striking out to investisata what
schooi children eat, / secured from D,.
rue firector of tae food experiment sta
S!ons OF the Agricultural Department, a
iioitiSH 10 make analysis of specimen
I"iiCAe2hS which proposed to gather But
l 1ound condition Of affairs SO narre.tIy-
barDarous in the main as TO he in need Of
hoth!hs but common every day American
morse sense to determine the evils that
exist. IL does not require a chemists bal
ente 10 calculate the physiological effects
81 lunching eff half a pie and ) cents worth
or peanut taify, nor must q calor.Incter be
''C'i9i!t III W III owe IEe absence OF food
value IN a great green cucumber pickle
These High School pickles fairly haunt
me even dream about them for besides
rl!dpFeilihg 10 be my first revelation of High
.sStirol iuEcheoHs, they are the biggest and
Steenest and most puckery pickles / ever
saw.
ihoSc Monstrous Pickles.
went up to the Central High School
Just as the pupils were pouring out on tho
street at lunch hour, and as l mingled with
the crowd L was fairly horror-stricke at
the number of girls who passed me chew
ing o.. these monstrous pickles. l counted
nlteen at wink. and then I gave I'D count
ing. L found them-the pickles and tha
glfls-consumins each other in the corri-
dors OF the school building, and NV first
impression then became that High School
iuncheonS were all pickles But | foiIowej
MOB OF girls and boys across the street
TO confectionery store, and learned-one
thing l learned 1 must tel right away,
ana ana mat is the marked superiority of the
sense the boys displayed in the matter Of
eating. In no instance. in no school, did
l find boy eating pickles, and in ali the
schools I found that while the girls buy
ana ceVour quantities of unmista ka BILE
trash, the boys make the most of any op-
portunity to get reasonable meal At this
contect!oners across from the Central
High School large number Of boys but
not any girls were drinking hot coffee and
eating a sandwich. 1 spent the time of the
noon recess in there, and every girl who
entered bought candy, save few, who
bought chocolate eclaire, buns. small pies
and large chunks of some kind of dough
II at lad slices of apples on top.
Parents Are Responsible.
I afterward talked with DR.. Lane and
Miss Reynolds, the assistant principal, who.
as well as the other teachers, and Superin-
tendent Powell, with whom I talked ex-
pressed such deep interest in the matter of
the children's luncheonS that I want every
body to perfectly understand that for all
dietary abuses 1 have discovered Indifferent
parents are entirely responsible. The mis-
sionary efforts that teachers make to in
sure the education of the children in the
matter of eating are overcome and rem
dered useless by the unaccountable neglect
and unWarrantabie ignorance of parents
we realize perfectly" said DR.. Lane
the Importance of school children being
well fed ana we do ali that lies in our DOVE
TO fortify them Oh this point At the be-
ginning of the school year we issue print
ed card of regulations, on which We direct
The children to eat a substantial lunch at
recess. The teachers personally suggest
that the lunch be brought from home, yet
what can we do but talk, and it is danger
Gus to even talk upon the subject as MANY
parents are jealous of the public schools pre-
suning to exercise any authority over chill
dren except liz the matter of recitations.
we know positively that the chldrens
work in school is seriously conditioned by
What they eat, and 1 think that in every
instance where a charge of cver-study is
rought an investigation of dietary habits
would clear UP the case without the reform
Of the public school system which is invari-
ably suggested as remedy. We frequently
are able to trace this relation clearly. Not
lCng ago l recall a boy tainted away during
drill. l investigated the case and learned
that he had come away from home in the
morning without any breakfast, he had MOI
been home after school, and at o'clock in
the evening all Ee had taken into his stom-
ach during the day was banana and
glass of water
Serving Lunchccns Mt School.
Coming away from home with little or
no breakfast is 4 common habit of school
children, and the best luncheon they can
tring is not all the body needs. 1 would be
glad to see Washington adopt the system
that prevails in Boston, Philadelphia Chi
cago and Denver, of serving hot luncheons
TO school children. We tried at one time
having this done by the janitor of the build
ing, but the plan did not succeed. To pro-
vide such food as will attract the children,
and at the same time come within the lin
its of the small sum they have to spend, Is
a problem difficult to work out; yet 1 hope
some one even tually will solve it,