The Topeka state journal., 1897-11-18
A Teacher in Clay School Says
They Must Go
Or Rather That They Must Not
Come.
CHILDREN SENT HOME
Who Garry Onions in Their
Pockets or Eat Them
To Such an Extent as to Be-
come Offensive.

War has been declared on the often
sively odoriferous onion at the Clay
street school in this city.
Tuesday Merritt Hodson and Harvey
Warren, two boys in Miss Elmora Mo
Gays room, We're sent home from
school by that teacher for carrying
onions in their natural state in their
pockets. Yesterday afternoon Miss Nc
Cay went a step farther and sent home
for 'ffumigation'' as she terms it, Max
Hermann, one of the Orphans Home
children, for having eaten onions at
dinner.
Now Miss McCay announces that she
will continue to send home for "fumiga-
tons all children who come to school
accompanied by the odor of onions Of
sufficient strength to render the child's
presence Objectionable to other chill
dren, be the odor acquired by either as
sociation or the eating of onions. Bdr.
o. p. NJ. McClintock, principal of the
school, states that in his opinion such
action on the part of Miss NIcCay would
be sustained by the rule of the board
of education which specifies that a child
may be sent home from school by his
teacher when from any reason his or
her presence is Objectionable.
If Miss McCay perseyeres in her in
tentlOn it viii mean that practically the
diet of the children attending Clay
school must not include onions This
will be an educational step which here
tofore has never been taken, but which
may have some cOmmendable points
I detest onions myself" said Miss
McCay in speaking of the matter this
morning, but my attention was first
called to the boys in question by other
pupils. Pupils who sitting near the
two boys who had the onions in their
pockets on Tuesday complained of the
OdOr, and did not think it was right
that they should stay in the room and
annoy other children. | rather sus-
pected that Max Hermann had been
carrying onions around with him be-
cause the OdOr was so strong, but he
told me that he had not handled onions
and had simply eaten them at dinner.
He is a boy l am inclined to believe, but
the OdOr of onions was so strong that L
decided he should be sent home for
fumigatiOn.' In the future, unless
Principal McClintock objects. all chill
dren who come to school with the odor
of onions so strong as to be offensive
I intend to send home as L sent the
three boys in question"
Mr. McClintOck was present but he
did not enter an objection to the pro-
posed course of Miss McCay. Instead
he said:
Il think the point is covered in the
rule of the board of education which
gives a teacher the right to send home
from school any child who for any rea-
son is Objectionable to other children.
For instance, if a child came to school
with a large supply of assafOetida,
ima gfne that he or she would be sent
home When I was principal of Jack
son school last year L remember of
sending a certain cOlOred girl home
regularly because she came to school in
such a condition that her presence was
Objectionable to the other children.
While / confess that I rather like on
ions myself and recognize them as
wholesome articles of food yet ] always
have sufficient consideration for others
to eat them only when I intend to go
directly to bed, without seeing any one"
Max Hermann. the boy sent home yes
terday afternoon, had not been carry
ing onions about, and the Odor objected
to by Miss McCay was the result or
having eaten onions at dinner at the
Orphans Home.
Should this matter be taken up by
parents, and the board of education de-
eide that the rule cited by Principal
McClintock really covered the eating OF
onions and that for such conduct chill
dren could be sent home from school by
teachers, all kinds of trouble in the To-
peka public schools may be looked for.