Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-08-13
ROLLER SKATING FAD
All Chicago, Old and Iounu, Rey-
 cling In the Sport.
EFFECTuaL STOP TO TRukkCY
School Children Have Added lnsrira- tion to Hurry to StuGies-Makes Pu. pills Drowsy, Some Teachers Claim. Girls Go Shopping on Skates.

Within the last two months it has swept the length and breadth of the city. It knows no bias, is no respecter of persons or locality, for it is as prev aIent in the Ghetto as along Grand boulevard or Prairie avenue-in fact, more so. for 1t long has been noted that the stork is partial to the Ghetto and the Italian districts. The new fad is roller skating, says the Chicago Tribune.
 The report from the records on at. tendance and punctuality compiled by clerks of the school board that since the roller skating season reached full sway tardiness in the public schools has decreased 30 per cent has aroused interest. Upon investigation it was found that the terror striking prestige of the tardy gong in the schoolhouse i:, doomed at least temporarily by the roller skating fad.
 Unconsciously Chicago's army of school children, 1SO,O00 strong, has been solving its traction problem. It has erased from the blackboards all public school records for punctuality. 1t has made going to school a joy to such an extent that the child who used to be pitied because he had to walk mile to school or run the risk of catch. ing a street car now is the object of envy of his schoolmates. The farther be lives from school the longer the skate.
 It is acknowledged that the roller skating fad is reaching beyond the school children and that the grownups ns well are becoming inoculatcd.
 "Out in Oak Park it is a standing joke that after the children go to bed their mothers and big sisters-who are noted fer their tiny feet-sneak out the roller skates and try them on the back sidewalks under the shelter of dark ness,' said John Farson recently. Mr Farson is looked upon as the patriarch of the new fad in Oak Park
 ''Oak Park intends to maintain it's lead by building the first society ska' ing rink Then the society women will not have to skate only in their own back yards
 But like all popular diversions. tha' of roller skating has it's vexing prob. lems It has been observed by teach CTS that the children often fall asleep at school. They skate to school in the morning They skate home for lunch at noon and back to school again. The result, so some teachers claim, is drow- siness. Teachers in the public schools of Pittsburc recently complained that roller skating had spread an epidemic of that tired feeling" among the chil. dren, so that they neglected their studies and mapped when they should be studying.
 Members of the Chicago school board who have pinned their faith on roller skating maintain that Chicago chil, dren are stronger physically than those of Pittsburg. They credit any evi- dence of the tired feeling" to the an nual advent of Spring fever.'
 Dr. James F. Chvatal. member of the school board, believes in roller skating.
 '1 am heartily in favor of it. he said "Of course I suppose 1t will not be long before my colleagues on the board come out for public ownership of roller skates. Roller skates make the school children as independent as automobile owners"
 Dr. Wladyslaw A. Kuflewski of the school board does not attribute thc tired feeling to too much roller skat- Ing, He said lack Of proper nourish. ment and nervous strain of city life were two causes of fatigue.
 As to the tired feeling feature. Johu Farson went one better than the mem. bers of the board of education.
 "Tll bet it isn't the children who are sleepy. It's the teachers" said Mr. Farson Anyhow thet's what's the trouble out in Oak Park-not only with the teachers, but the school board toe They ought to adopt the chiIdren's amusement of roller skating as 6 means of getting walked up."
 The latest in the roller skating fad is to go shopping on skates. On recent Saturday afternoon couple of fifteen year-old girls were seen In State street buzzing along on roller skates, theiI arms full of department store bargains The shopping feature" is common o, the south side along most of the cross streets. So desirous are the childrcl to "go somewhere" on their roller skates that the delivery work Of th, grocery and meat shops of late ha> been relieved.
 The superintendent of compulsory cd ucation was duty bound the other day to convey to small boy the sad mes sage that learning from books and at tending school was of greater impor tance than learning how to manipulate pair of roller skates.
 "A small boy who attends the J. NJ Smyth school was mysteriously absent from school a couple of days durin. the week without excuse" said Super tntendent Bodine the other day. "The lad was found going through all sorts of gestures and star seeing on smooth sidewalk in Fourteenth street on new pair of roller skates. The child brok'