The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-28
PLANS FOR THE WINTER
WORK PRELIMINARY TO OPENING
GIRLS INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.
Graduates of This Institution Have
No Trouble in Securing Employ
ment-Clothing Needed.

Women interested in the Girls Industrial
School will meet in Tomlinson Hall to-mor-
row afternoon TO complete the work and
plans preliminary to the opening of the
school next Saturday afternoon. Twenty
women assembled last Saturday afternoon
and cut up two bolts of muslin, but this is
not nearly enough and much work remains
to be done to receive the 1000 little girls
that are expected to attend the school this
year. Last year the enrolment was 927
an increase over the previous year of
about 100. and the same relative increase
is expected this year.
Mrs. F. A. Blanchard, superintendent of
the school, says the children always
come poorly and thinly clad, each
year wearing the faded calico gar
ments provided for the summer time
She has requested all persons having
cast-off clothing to give it TO the school
any Saturday. Last year she gave seven
wagon loads of old clothing to the children,
and that was not enough. She says each
child is investigated before clothing is is
sued, and visit is made to its home to
ascertain If assistance is really needed or
If the child merits it.
The demand for graduates from the
schools, Mrs. Blanchard says, is greater
than the supply. Out of twenty graduates
last year at the special request of s. p
Sheerin, of the New Telephone Company,
eight were sent to him for exchange girls.
He asked for the girls because he had five
former graduates employed. and they had
proven satisfactory. When the Indiana
Trust Company finished its improvements
and put in private exchange, John p.
Frenzel asked Mrs. Blanchard for one of
her girls to manage the board. A girl was
found for the position and she now has it.
There is no difficulty in placing our
girls, said Mrs; Blanchard, and we get
them positions that pay from 81 to Sc and
~ a week, according to their age. The
trouble is that not enough graduate. Some
are taken out in the last year of the course,
which is so essential and go to work
where they can find employment. The child
labor compulsory education law helps US
keep the girls in school until they are four
teen, but just as soon as they reach that
age, many are compelled to seek employ
ment. 1t matters not how far along they
are or how near they are to graduation,
they must help earn a living"
The school has been put to great disad-
vantage ever since 1t was started because
ii has had no adequate and permanent
meeting-place. 1t has held it's sessions in
Tomlinson Hall on Saturday afternoons,
when the hall was not rented for other
the time. Last year the school had the hall
seven Saturdays out of fourteen. This
year. however, the school will have the hall
for permanent meeting place. City Con-
troller George Breunig has announced that
he will not rent the hall for Saturday after
moons, and provision is made for weekly
engagements that the hall shall be given
over to the Girls Industrial on Saturday
afternoon. The only thing that will take
the hall away from the school is political
conventions that must be held on certain
dates, and even then Mr.. Breunig will do
what he can to give the hall to the school.