Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-04-28
COMPULSORY EDUCATION,
A Number Of Addresses on the Ad-
vantages of Such a Law.

Compulsory education and child labor
in the District Of Columbia was the sub
ject of an interesting discussion under the
auspices of the Hungry Club at the Eb-
bitt House last evening. Children of school
age out Of school was the topic assigned
to DR.. Emslie Young OBrien. The speaker
said there are over 6,4OO children in the
District between the ages of eight to four
teen who are not now in school A review
of the legal phase of the question was
made by Mrs. Ellen Spencer Mussey. who
told OF the enactment here in 1864 of a
compulsory education law which was
neither enforced nor enforceable She spoke
briefly of the compulsory education laws
Of other states and told of the successful
which had attended their administration.
A letter was read from Mr.. A. T. Stuart
superintendent of public schools regretting
his inability to be present at the confer
ence, and stating that the board Of edu-
cation was about to submit to the Com
missioners the draft of a compulsory edu-
cation law, which it was hoped would be
preciatively of the interest taken in the
| matter by many people and said that it
would help greatly in securing the passage
of the law and it's effective enforcement.
Mr.. Raymond Riordan. principal of the
Greenleaf school, who Is also at the head
of the night school and the vacation school
held at that building, spoke of compulsory
education from the standpoint Of his OBJ
servations. He thought that the enforce
ment of compulsory education law should
be in the hands Of the school officials and
that the widest latitude should be afforded
them in its administration. He also thought
| that good teachers and good methods could
minimize the amount of truancy. Miss Car
| oline Whitman. an agent of the Associated
Charities, spoke of the necessity of help
ing poor children to be suitably clothed for
school. Many children she felt sure would
be in school today If they. could dress de-
Gently. She said that charitably disposed
DeODle could greatly assist the school
thorities by visiting poor families and en-
couragtng school attendance.
-ar. John w. Douglass agent of the
| board of children's guardians spoke at
some length on child labor in the District.
He said that while there were no fac
| tories employing large numbers of children,
boys employed newsboys, messenger
| boys, shop boys. etc, and considerable
number Of girls of school age in the
| stores.
| The other children out of school were for
the most part on the street where the COM
| bined influence of bad associations and
| idleness made them enter easily either the
| criminal or the pauper class. Mr.. Douglass
thinks the remedy for these conditions is
| in the enactment Of a compulsory school
| law, truant officers, a truant school, re-
child labor and enlightened public senti-
ment which would furnish the needed CO.
| operation with the authorities to the end
| that all children of school age should be
| put in school. Mr.. Charles 8. Clark one
of the supervising principals of the public
schools. spoke briefly. He said that it
| would not be possible at the present time
to care for all of the children out of school,
but he believed that much could be done
| in this direction at once and that as the
| demand increased the facilities would come
| He said that the proposed compulsory edu-
cation law was greatly needed and would
without doubt go a long way toward the
| correction of existing evils
These addresses followed dinner the
l SacOud IN a series given nv a If
men interested in various phases of phil
| anthrOpic work.