The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1908-03-18
Should Governments
Support All Children =?
by w. E. CURTIS.

The Briti1h Parliament il expected
to pass an act granting a pension OF
s1.25 per week for every mar and
woman, rich or poor, lazy or indus
trious, drunk or sober, in the United
Kingdom who passes the age of sixty
five years. When their grandfathers
and grandmothers are taken care OF
in that way, the labor unions and
other socialistic organizations will in
sist that all children fourteen years
and under shall be supported by the
public treasury.
They reason in this way If it is
lawful and proper for the State to
give the children of its subjects a free
education, it should provide sufficient
nourishment to put them in condition
to make the best of the instruction
offered them. Again, if it IS proper
and lawful for the State to provide
books for the education of the chill
dren, there should be no objection to
providing boots and shoes, under
clothing, jackets, trousers, dresses
and overcoats to keep them warm and
preserve their health, so that they
can make good use of the books. And
still farther, if it is proper and law
full to furnish lunches at school re-
cess to poor children, why is 1t not
equally proper and lawful to furnish
them breakfasts and dinners?
BY this process of reasoning the
advocates of the State maintenance
convince themselves that every child
between five and fourteen years of
age should be fed, clothed and edu-
Gated by the national government in
order to make healthy, intelligent,
honest and industrious citizens of
them.
In certain sections of London and
several of the provincial cities of
England monday meals are both at
public. and private expense. Last
year the Salvation Army, which never
gives anything away, on the theory
that too much generosity creates pau
perism, sold 100000 children whole
some lunches Of bean soup and bread
for a ha'pennys or n cent in our
money, each. These meals are fur
nished from wagons that drive up to
the schools in the poorer districts at
recess time. The men in charge dip
out generous portions from enormous
kettles as the children bring their
buckets, plates, cans, sardine boxes,
tin pans, bowls and every other sort
of receptacle they "a obtain.
Every child is expected to have a
copper ready to pay, but many a time
the rule is broken when some poor
little hungry urchin has lost his coin
or his drunken father and mother
have failed 10 give MIN one.
Similar lunches of wholesome. but
Of the cheapest materials, such as fish
and potato pie, hash made from the
cheapest cuts of beef, mixed with
rice and vegetables, pea soup, vege-
table soup and other healthful and
savory food are served to school chill
Gren in the manufacturing towns dur
ing the MONDAY recess, either free or
for the lowest possible price. In
some cases the funds are supplied
from the municipal or parish treas
uries, in other places by private sub
scription.
There is already an act of Parlia-
ment authorizing school authorities
to feed children who are insufficient
ly nourished at the public expense
and to levy a tax of a penny a pound
on residential and business property
to pay the cost. There is a clause in
the act authorizing the prosecution Ct
parents who fail to provide nourish-
ing food for children that are being
educated at the public expense, but
I cannot find any report showing that
this provision has lever been enforced.
The Government of Great Britain,
as we'll as the Government Of the
United States, is spending a great
deal Of money to improve its breeds
Of horses, cattle, sheep, swine and
poultry; to increase the productive
power of its soil and the quality of
its crops Of grain, vegetables, plants
and flowers. It provides proper shell
ter and nourishment and care for
both animals and plants, and it might
be q logical deduction to expect SIM
lla3 protection and nurture for The
crops of human beings that are CON-
Ing along every year and are now III
the schools for nurture and admoni-
ton.
There are 5,S25,043 children Of
school age in Great Britain and Ire
land, and probably one-third Of them
require or would accept Government
aid if such a bill were passed. No
effort has been made to ascertain
how many families would permit
their children to be fed and clothed
at public expense. Many of them
would consider it a humiliating prop
o~sition. The number would probably
depend very largely upon the manner
in which such maintenance were ap-
piled. No one refuses the advantages
of the free public schools, although
a very large proportion of the chill
dren in Great Britain are being edu-
Gated in private institutions. But
those details will have to be deter
mined in committee after the bill is
introduced into the House of Com
mons. The proposition originated
with the labor unions, AM i: sup
ported by many politicians as we'll as
humanitarians, for obvious reasons.
No one has suggested how the
money to pay this school bill is to be