The Topeka state journal., 1898-11-12
BEGGING THE SCHOOLS.
There Ought to Be an Ordinance in
Every City Stopping It.


Superintendent Stryker is back at his
desk once more and has resumed his ed
ucationaI work. Among other thing he
found on his desk several requests that
he should recommend to the teachers of
Kansas that they should take up con-
tributions from their pupils for various
benevolent objects. Such things do not
meet with his approval, and he made
the following statement regarding
them:
Il have been asked recently to assist
in making collections from the school
children of the state for various pur-
poses, among them the building of two
war ships one to be called The Ameri-
can BOy another The American Girl
for the Lafayette monument, and an
other for a national peace jubilee.
Each of these has been ignored. Stih
the requests come in to me and the
country and city superintendent. 1t
has come to be an evil which I deem it
my duty to condemn. Tt is not a ques-
ton alone whether the purpose is WOr-
thy, but of its effects upon the schools.
I wish to urge that in no instance the
public schools be used for such purpOs-
es. Voluntary charity by those able
to be charitable should always be en-
cOuraged: but when an appeal is made
TO the children which in whatever way
it is put, amounts to a demand, it ceases
to be charity, and is instead an unjust
and unWarranted burden upon a large
>
but who viii not humiliate their chill
dren by refusing them what others can
easily give.
IF the governmentwa warships. let
it build them. If an organ is needed let
the district buy or rent one If any To-
cal charitable need should be met, let
it come voluntarily and through some
other channel Too many children ara
out Of school now because of inability
of the parents to provide books, clothine
and other necessaries. The burden up
on each should in no way be increased
Il wish also to urge the Importance
of careful investigation of the cause o.
upwards of 10000 children who should
be in school, but are not there. The
cause once located, a remedy may more
easily be found. Possibly more good
can be done by those desiring to benefit
their fellow men by a little effort local
iy along this line than by voluntary
contributions toward a. battleship.''
Assistant State Superintendent Amis
says it is entirely wrong to 90 to the
public schools for contributions. Chill,
dren are very sensitive on those SUBJ
iectS" he said. Il believe in teachina
children to be phiIanthrOpic and gener-
ous but many of them feel their pover-
ty keenly when they do not have money
to give as much as some other child.
I know of two little girls in Topeka
who worked hard to help get a little
money to buy themselves some shoes
before they started to school. The COM
mittee in charge of making flowers for
the Fall Festival offered to pay the
street car fare of all who would as
sist in making the flowers. These little
girls went to work at it, but instead OF
riding down town they walked both
ways each day and saved that street
car fare. In this way they made ten
cents a day and at the end of a week
they had sixty cents each. They were
proud of the fact that they helped earn
some of their own shoes. Those little
girls are proud and generous hearted,
and if a proposition to give money to
some benevolent object was presented
to the school they attend their feelings
would be hurt if they could not give the
same as other more favored children,
but it would WORT a hardship to them
TO give them a nickel, and I say that it
is not right to call upon a school as a
body to give money to any object"