The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-03-10
School Board Also Starts to
Investigate Into Safety
of Buildings.
THE LARGER SCHOOLS BUILD
iNGS ARE TO BE EQUIPPED
WITH FIRE
FROM SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
ASSOCIATION Is RECEIVED AND
READ.

Ten Of the public schools of the
county are to be continued for q Pc
riod OF two months longer than such
would have been the case, through the
act Of the legislature, which gives
state aid to those schools where the
average attendance is not less than
so per cent. of the total enrolment
This was decided upon yesterday at
the meeting of the Board Of Public
Instruction Some of these schools
already had terms of six and four
months, and after this time exp ires
they will be run for two months at
the expense of the state.
The schools which have met the
requirements in attendance are Nos.
"a, %, 80, SO. SO, AZ, 4S, 81, so and ST.
Fire Escapes.
A committee composed of Supt.
Cook and Mr.. DeSilVa was named to
visit the large school buildings of
the city and county and make an in
vestigation into the safety Of the pu
pills should fire occur at time all of
the pupils are in the buildings. Where
1t is found necessary the buildings
will be equipped with proper fire es-
capes.
Prof. j. B. Jockey was authorized
to correspond with some noted in
structor and invite him to deliver the
annual address at the commencement
exercises on May %.
The matter Of re-districting the dis
tricts of the members of the board
was left with a committee. .
Report from Committee.
The committee from the School I'M
provement Association to investigate
the various schools, submitted a re-
J1-bia in
The lighting of the rooms was
given special attention as the eye is
probably the most active, the most
tried, and yet the most delicate organ
of the student. The eye demands
uniform light, just as any organ or
organism demands uniformity in its
surroundings. and it is injured by sud-
den changes. To get a uniformly
diffused light in a room, the ceiling
walls, doors, and other parts of the
room must have the same tinting or.
in other words, the same amount of
light must be reflected from all sur
faces. If different surfaces in the
room have different light absorbing
powers, the reflections will be Just
as varied, and the light of the room
will be shot through by speculate of
hight and darkness, This will neces-
state the child's eye being contin-
uously passed from one degree OF
light to another; the action of the
iris is not instantaneous. the retina
will be subjected to sudden changes
and thereby injured.
IN most of the rooms we found
not only great variety of colors. but
colors OF the widest possibly light re-
hecting powers in approximation;
these surfaces send forth widely diff
ferent degrees of light TO meet at
every conceivable angle throughout
the room and thereby making a very
uneven light
The committe observed that there
was no satisfactory means for pro-
-ectlng the eastern and western rooms
from the direct rays of the sun in, the
lore and after parts of the day re-
And lastly. in some
places unpruned trees were unneces-
saraly obstructing the light
Water for Drinking PURPOSES
The next object of our observation
vas the means and methods By which |
he children obtain drinking water. |
fhe universal method now is, a bucket |
'or the containing vessel and a COM |
non dipper, lie, one used in common |
" all the students, or something sim |
lar child takes a drink. the dip
Der goes back into the bucket or |
water. We cannot imagine a more |
perfect means for the transmission
II communicable diseases. It IS now |
Well established fact that almost |
sveFy disease without exception is |
by an Organism peculiar to |
ach disease, and without its presence |