Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1906-04-10
THE HARD DAYS WORK
 OF THE TRUANT OFFICER


 truants have been caught and thei
 returned to the public schools of this
 city in a single year, so it is plain tt
 be seen that the truant problem o
 New York is very serious one. oi
 the total number. however, less thau
 five per cent are so incorr1glDle thd'
 they have to be con'Eit;"d to reform
 schools: and of these conn" tied, not
 to the ordinary reform schools, Waere
 discipline is a perfunLtory following
 of traditional rules, bat to a model
 r, f1m school like the New York Jul
 yenile asylum, the IL; ority d-Te 'ole
 into good and useful citizens.
 However, tr'ants ,'e not th2 alis trts that give the st' col auth I.ties
 trouble. In twelve months tie l
 t.ant officers tttc uyestiS1 ea
 many as 1os ,41S ses of ID Il ;3 :,s.a school: ult tr's does 1t rep
 resent all their work by any means,
 for nearly 15.O00 of these cases re ouired more than one investigation. Cases of truancy are the most lnl- portant of all, but some idea of the Ignorance and negligence prevailing in the city may be derived from the fact that during the year these truant ecers discovered some 5000 children who did not go to school because
 not compelled ito and some l,S0o children who were employed during school hours. All these children were, of course. sent to school by the officers as soon as discovered.
 It is no exaggeraticn to Say that the lot of the New York truant of- fcer.. like that of the policeman in the Pirates of Penzance,' Is not happy one. He is largely responsible for the enforcement of the law that eight and fourteen must attend the public school regularly. and the en- forcement of this law in districts like those of the lower East Side, where it is not uncommon to find several hundred persons living in a single fve-story tenement house. requires tireless vigilance. The mere physi' cal task of climbing stairs and ques- tioning the residents in five or six tenements scattered from one end of district to another is itself a great drain on a mans patience and energy. For it would never do to conduct these visits perfunctorily. As a rule these cases of non attendance at school have too many peculiar or extenuating circumstances to war rant disposing of them according f hard and fast rules; and the officer must play the part of just judge. $
 The work of truant officer be- gins when that of parent or guardian has apparently ended For example, when the usual notice mailed to the home of child who has been absent fl om school is neglected, or when some unsatisfactory excuse is made, then the truant officer makes it his business to visit the child's home and the case himself: and anyone who wishes to see East Side life as it really is, behind doors gen orally closed to all but officers in uni form. would find it instructive and in- teresting to accompany the truant seeker on his daily rounds.
 First on his list today. say, is Russian-Jewish name that would be- wilder the native eye and defy the native tongue. The officer goes down l side street. crouches to enter a ailapaated four-story tenement house through a low doorway, picks his way through dark entry and goes ap the creaking stairs into an atmos- phere composed of bad air and the odors from several kitchens. He knocks Gn one of the four doors on the landing at the head of the second flight of stairs. A middle aged wo- man appears, and, placing her arms 2 kimbo. regards his inquisitively He speaks to her in Yiddish, telling her who he is and what he wants. and then she makes way for him meekly enough and mods towards the farther end of the room. It is typical East Side room, about ten feet square, with window opening upon an air shaft. and with a table. a gas stove, and a couple of wooden chairs for At the table sits boy. his cap on his head. an empty cup and a ernst of bread before him, Evi- dently he has just had his breakfast.
 "T'hy aren't you at school?' the officer asks.
 1he boy suiks and does not an swel. His moth.' explains that he w.n't gO tU cchnri' neither will he so