Evening star., 1908-01-25
SUPPORT OF CHILDREN.
Demands to Be Made on Brit
ish Government.
WILL COST, MANY MILLIONS
Current Practices in the Way of Free
and Cheap Lunches.
HABITUALLY HUNGRY YOUTH
Coming Problems to Be Met by
Parliament-Educational Reform.
Increase Income Tax.
HABITUALLY HUNGRY YoUT1
By WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

By WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
i Herald.
4 AS stated in one of these letters the
other day. the British parliament at it's
approaching session IS expected to pass
an act granting pension OF $1.25 per
week for every man and woman. rich or
poor lazy or Industrious, drunk or sober,
in the United Kingdom, who passes the
age of slxty-fvc years. When their
lgrandfathers and grandmothers are taken
care of in that way. the labor unions and
other socialistic organizations wiN insist
| that all children fourteen years and un-
der 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 it's subjects free educa-
| ton, II should provide sufficient nourish-
ment to put them in condition to make
the best OF the instruction offered them.
Again, if 1t is proper and lawful for the
state to provide books for the education
| of the children, there should be no OBJ
lection to providing boots and shoes, un-
fderclothing. jackets, trousers, dresses and
overcoats to keep them warm and pre-
serve their health. SO that they can make
good use of the books. And still farther,
| if 1T is proper and lawful to furnish
lunches at school recess to poor chill
dren. why is it 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 be-
tween five and fourteen years of age
should be fed, clothed and educated by
the national government in order to
make healthy, intelligent. honest and in
dustrious citizens of them. In several
countries free lunches are provided for
children in the public schools because SO
many parents are unable to give them
nourishing food
Free and Cheap Lunches.
| This is done in Sweden and Norway in
Switzerland. in many places in Germany,
| Belgium and France. 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 pauperiSm. sold
$4,000 children wholesome lunches Of
| bean soup and bread for ha penny, or
one cent in our money. each. These meals
| are furnished from wagons that drive up
/ to the schools in the poorer districts at
| recess time. The men i'm charge dip out
generous portions from enormous kettles
as the children bring their buckets, plates
| cans. sardne boxes, tin pans. bowls and
every other sort of receptacle they can
| 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
| to give him 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 vege-
| tables, pea SOUP vegetable soup and other
| healthful and savory. food, are served to
| school children in the manufacturing
| towns during the MONDAY recess. either
| free or for the lowest. possible price. In
| some cases the funds are supplied from
the municipal or parish treasures, in
other places by private subscription.
| The reports of the board of education
of the parishes of London show exactly
| how much of this is done in that city,
| and some of the statistical almanacs con-
| tain the figures. At Newcastle-on-Tyne.
for example, 800 children were furnished
one meal day during the last school
year at cost of $500. a little less than
3 cents child. This is about the report
made by the authorities of other cities.
There is already an act of pariame Mt
authorizing school authorities to feed
| child ZEN who are 'insufhciently nouriShed
| at the public expense and to levy a tax
| of penny on the. pound on residential
| and business property to pay the cost.
/ There Is a clause in the act authorizing
| the prosecution Of parents who fail to pro-
vide nourishing food for children that are
/ being educated at the public expense, but
| / cannot find any report showing that
this provision has eve- been enforced
Habitually Hungry Children.
| Last year the London county council
| issued circular to all the schools in the
metropolis asking how many children
We're unable to enjoy the full advan-
tAge of the free education provided 'or
! them by reason of the lack of proper
| nourishment: and second. the estimated
number of children In the public schools
| for whom meals should be provided
| The first reports showed that there
| were 1881 habitually hungry children
| in 100 schools and that 6,779 of them had
| been fed either at public or private ex-
pense in ia different schools. These re-
| ports srow 1OS. 14s, 27S. 245 and SO on
children in different schools whose par
ents could not or did not give them
| sufficient nourishment to enable them to
| take advantage of the free education pro-
| vided and paid for by the taxpayers of
| London. Many of them came to school
in the morning without breakfast or had
nothing to eat at noon day. or. perhaps.
| both which conditions a-e habitual and
| require that some form of regular and
| permanent relief shall be provided II the
purpose of the public school system is
/ to be fully carried out. 1t goes without
| saying that the same number of chill
dren. or possibly more. are insufficiently
clothed, and there Is very little use in
| trying to teach a child who is suffer-
| ing from both cold and hunger even the
| rudiments of an education.
| 1t may be said that these children are
| compelled to go hungry because their par
ents are not willing to so thirsty. Enough
| money is spent for gin and beer by the
| workingmen of Great Bitain to feed and
| clothe more children than they have in
their families The curse of intemperance
is more far-reaching there than anywhere
| else on earth. 1t is familiar saying that
| "a public house stands on every corner in
| England" and the statistics Of the sale
and consumption OF liquors are appalling.
The national income from liquor licenses
is more than sl5O.0OO.00O. and the per
capita consumption Is greater than that OF
any other country.
To Improve the Human Breed.
1t will be admitted that these are power
! ful arguments in favor Of the mainte-
nance of school children by government
which profits to so large degree upon
the intemperance of its subjects. and they
are used with effect upon parliament 1t
is also true. as many advocates of this
measure have urged, that the degeneracy
and brutality of the British workman and
his Incorporate habits are very largely
/ due to insufficient nourishment and lack
Of education in his childhood. If the gov
ernment can give the next generation a
good education mentally and morally and
i warm clothing and sufficient nourishmen mt
at the same time. 1t will be much more
competent to take care of itself and
TO advance the interests of the kingdom,
4. ,1f pH L.