The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-01-12
FOR SCHOOL SANITATION.
The Subject Discussed at the ParIor
Conference.

The commodious parlor of the Commercial
club was filled last evening with an assem-
blage of ladies and gentlemen who attended
the twenty seventh "parlor conference" OF the
Associated Charities. For School Sanitation"
was the interesting topic of discussion. Rev.
S. G. Smith. the president of the Associated
Charities, occupied the chair. The attendance
was not only large. but the principals and
teachers of the public schools were well rep
resented
The programme announced that DR.. Alex
ander j. Stone would first discuss What the
Municipality Can Do" but Dr. Stone not ar
irving till later in the evening. supertntend-
ent of Schools V. G. Curtis told of What
the School Teacher Can Do" Supt. Curtis
said that if people were to compare what
the school teacher does with what ne should
do, there would be no equation. But the de-
fects in the present sanitary condition of the
schools were not entirely due to the teachers.
most Of whom were conscientious in making
reasonably good use of such information as
they possessed this subject. Supt. Curtis
believed that normal schools should give
special attention to instructing teachers in
the sanitary science of the school room. Too
little attention, the superintendent thought,
was given to this important subject in the in
struction of teachers. Supt. Curtis suggested
that it might be quite advisable to employ
q supervisor of health as supervisors of other
departments.
What the Parent Can Do" was the topic
assigned to Mrs. Charles X. Croft, the presi-
dent OF the Jefferson school union. Mrs.
Croft said that the success OF all public
measures depended for their success upon
the amount of voluntary interest and action
that the people exhibit. In this movement
to improve the sanitary condition of the
schools the parents of the school children
we're naturally the ones to take the keeneSt
interest. They could evince their interest
by starting their children from home in a
sanitary condition with clean hands and
faces. Mrs. Croft dwelt feelingly upon the
virtue OF cleanliness and suggested that any
wealthy citizen could better honor his mem
CRY by establishing q free public bath house
than by endowing a church or chair IN a
college.
Mrs Croft was listened to with the closest
attention when she declared that she Oh
jected to the use of free text books in the
public schools She believed that they were
mediums of conveying disease germs. Neither
did Mrs. Croft approve of the common use
of pencils and drinking cups. Some of those
present who received their early schooling
under the free text book system but escaped
diseased germs said nothing during the regu-
lar conference but after it was over several
gave expression to the opinion that the dan
ger of disease from this source was slight.
DR.. Stone enlightened the assemblage con-
corning the citys relation to the matter of
public health. The health commissioner
spoke of certain Of the public schools. Bad
ventilation and defective plumbing were by
no means the only menace to health. There
were conditions existing outside the school
buildings and grounds, such as stagnant pools,
which became dangerous as they dried up,
the cess pools at the homes OF the children,
and the accumulations of garbage. Dr. Stone
instanced the case of the diphtheria epidemic
in a certain portion of the Eighth ward,
which was so effectually headed Off by a
proper cleaning up of the surroundings that
the number of cases was reduced from "a
to three inside of three weeks.
Referring to systems of ventilation, DR..
Stone said that the best ever known was
the old CRATE or fire place.
A general discussion followed, after which
the conference adjourned.