The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-12-07
TO HUSTLE TRUANTs
INTO THE SCHOOL
From TUESDAYS Daily.

Speclal meeting or the ScnOOl DOarU yes
terday afternoon it was voted to APP
point him truancy officer. 1t is proposed
later who shall give MS whole time TO
this and other work of a public nature.
The school board meeting yesterday
afternoon was attended by all of The
members except w. B. Davies, who was
busy in the district court. 1t was held
at the office of Andrews, & Holbrook
DIR. Beach asked what the cost would
be of having Mr.. Hoffman act as tru-
ant officer, and to this President Hughes
replied that he did not know, as Nh.
Hoffman had not yet arrived. DIR. Beach
said that the board wouIu be better pre-.
pared to act if it knew just what the
expenses would be, but such an official
is needed to get the children into school
that belong there. He moved that the
board engage Mr.. Hoffman to act as
truant officer until it was deemed advis-
able to do without him. Mrs. Smith Sec
onded this. DIR. Beach said that the Of
ficer could be stopped at any time if he
required unreasonable wages.
Mr.. Coughlan asked what labor in
spector gets, and President Hughes re-
piled that he understood that it was 81
a day. Dr. Beach said that he had been
told by Commissioner Williams that it
was So a day and that the inspectors
pay their own expenses. This he thought
was a fair compensation.
Local Man Cheaper.
Mr.. Coughlan said that it made no
difference for a short time, but that if
the truant officer was to ne maintaine~
for a long time the board ought to try
to get some local man at smaller wages.
Dr. Beach said that the officer ought
to wind up mis- work in two or three
weeks, and DR.. Snow said that strang
err could do it sooner than a local man
and without fear or favor.
Dr. Beach thought that it would be a
good idea if the people were asked
through the papers to report cases where
children ought to be in school but are
not.
Superintendent Mcconnell said that
the public school teachers have reported
so to IS names, which would be a start
er for the truant officer to work upon,
but that he had not heard from the
parochial schools.
President Hughes said that as re-
suit of the agitation in this city one
child has gone back into school in North
Mankato and several have applied for
excuses there.
Slim Results So Far.
Mr.. Mcconnell said that results in
North Mankato were better so far than
in this city. In the city schools one
had returned and several had applied for
excuses. He was satisfied that there are
large number of children out of
school that the teachers have no means
of getting the names of. One man had
dren who spent the time gathering coal
in the railroad yards.
President Hughes remarked that some
people think the present move only a
scare. Mr.. Mcconnell said that a num-
Der of children are merely waiting to
be sent for. DR.. Snow asked whether
these would not drop out again when
the officer leaves. DR.. Beach replied that
one or two prosecutions would have a
good effect.
Mr.. Mcconnell said that he believed
it was a good idea to have an outside
man for truant officer, but was not so
hopeful as to think that his services
could be dispensed with at the end of a
week. He would be needed right along,
but after the start has been made the
work can be done by local man. The
board was starting right
Duluth Plan Proposed.
w. d. Willard appeared before the
board as a representative of the Social
Science club and said that he was very
much interested in this move on the part
of the board The club had had the mat
ter under discussion at the last meeting,
and the vice president of the Dululh
Humane society had been present and
had told of the plan followed at Duluth.
A truancy officer was employed there by
the schools, and also acted as humane
officer and to look after --e poor, and
was paid jointly by the school board,
the city council, the county commission
ers and by voluntary subscriptions by
individuals. Besides enforcing the tru-
ancy laws he enforced the laws that
prohibit the selling of tobacco and liquor
to school children. The service was very
efficient. If similar combination could
be made in Iankato it would be posi-
BILE to keep man in the field all the
time and secure the enforcement of the
law about the sale of tobacco and