The Portland daily press., 1898-06-21
PARK STREET sCHOOLHOUsE.
En- Investigation Made by a Number
of Citizens.

They Find an Alarming State of Affairs
They Will Urge Construction of =
New schoolhouse.
A number of prominent citizens direct
~ interested in Park street school have of
late been Investigating the condition OF
the building from a sanitary point of
view. The result discloses an alarming
state Of affairs. They say, in part:
A number of the residents of the Park
street school district having had com.
plants from their children of the unsatis-
factory conditions existing in the scnool
noticed the impaired health of their own
and other children attending the school.
determined recently to examine the build
ings and it's surroundings.
Each room is heated by coil of steam
pipes running around the sides Of the
room. No method of ventilating the
rooms is provided. The exits are not suit
| able. and in case of fire or panic, a
| portion of the pupils would be obliged to
go through several rooms in order to
escape from the building. The light is so
| imperfect, that in rooms where electric
| lights are not used, 1t is necessary, during
| portion of the year, either to dismiss
school early in the afternoon or to give up
all work requiring special application of
the eye In some of the rooms, by the
said aid of electric lights. 1t is possible to
continue the work longer. The sanitary
arrangements are SO defective, and the
odors arising therefrom so unhealthful,
that both teacher and pupils are constant
ly nauseated and rendered unfit for the
work of a schoolroom.
The whole situation results in such a
condition of headache, nausea, lack of in
terest on the part of pupils and inability
to properly attend to work on the part of
teachers, that those who have made this
examination are convinced that there is
but one remedy, and that, the erection of
a modern schoolhouse which shall accom-
MEDIATE this school district in manner
which shall produce the results to which
we are properly, as tax payers and
parents, entitled.
There are seven rooms in the building,
containing, on an average, about forty
pupils each, ranging in age from five to
twelve years. The pupils come from al ]
parts of the district and fairly represent
the families in the district. One of the
teachers, whose room is directly over the
sanitary arrangements, says: 81 have
had a great deal Of nausea among the
pupils in my room. That occurs
three or four days out of every week
tIOsO CllllOECA Olbeu tOIAlVs
think had only two cases last week. /
had one week. during that damp weather,
when had great deal of it. think
/ had one day, during that week, two
cases during the forenoon. During the
last two years, the trouble has increased
a great deal. On an average, l think,
there would be at least two children every
week who yomited. These are ordinarily
healthy children. I don't know of any
thing but the bad air and the conditions
here TO which it could be attributed. I
am constantly affected by the poor air,
frequently nauseated, and very frequently
Obliged to leave the room to get fresh air.
lily physician tells me that he has no
DOUBT that this condition is caused large
ly by the defective condition and sanitary
arrangements about the building.
An Their teacher, who has one of the
rooms where the little children are, says:
The odor In my room is very bad, and
the same is true of the passage way lead
Ing to the room. | have been in the
building but two weeks, and during that
time one little child has gone home i'll,
and is said to be confined at home with
sumo kind OF a fever. l had sore throat
after L had been in the school only three
or four days, and thought of leaving, as
attributed it to the bad air in my room. +"
In this room in the last year two children
have had typhoid fever.
Another teacher says: st have noticed
cases of nausea and have sent the children
out OF doors. Have had number that
have teen sick lately. 1 think the con-
dltion of the air here has affected my own
health. l had a great deal of sickness in
my room last winter, with colds, and a
great many OF the pupils were OUT
another teacher. who has been in the
building about two years, says: 81 have
noticed cases of nausea in my room.
Should say l have an average of one child
day. Today I had three children tell