New-York tribune., 1910-08-26
FRESH AIR RULE IS MILD
Management Forhids So-CaIIed
Punishment of Children.
ATTENDANT STATES HIS PLAN
Writes of Good Results by Ap-
pealing to the Reason
of Bad" Boys.

The real success Of the Fresh Air work
depends to very considerable extent upon
the attendants a. the fresh Air homes
Send from fifty to three hundred and nifty
lads and lasses from the New York streets
to the country and let them run wild. They
would doubtless get fresh air and grow
strone-hut think Of the poor farmers
Think. toe of the hair pullings among
the girls and the hoy baitings' among the
stronger sex, Discipline is A prime neces-
sity.
Strange 70 relate. now and then bad
boy" or q naughty girl somehow Is IN
cluded in a Fresh Air party. Any klhd
of so-called punishment" of the children
al the homes is frowned upon by the man
agement: corporal punishment is absolutely
forbidden What is to he done, then. Win
the young scapegoats and scapegraces that
insist on misbehaviIlg?
Adolph II. Meyer. an attendant AZ -.
HeIen's Home Interlaken. Mass. thinks
he has solved the problem. Mr. Meyer Is
an UNDERGRADUATE at Columbia during the
portion of the year when his Fresh Air in
tereste permit. and a thoughtful student in
several Of the courses in philosophy given
al that institution
In one of his bi-weekly letters to Or
ney-ine the manager of the Tribune Fund.
after briefly outlining some ideas gathered
in one of his courses. he continues:
Just as I tried to apply my theories on
food and eating. so I have made an at
tempt to apply my theories about reason
We get as you well know, children or All
sorts. some well behaved. some very pad,
etc In every party there are several chill
dren. usually boys. who are always doing
the things We call bad. ! have singled out
these boys and taken especial pains WIN
them Instead of merely Furnishing them
for offences and letting it go at that nave
explained as thoroughly and as caretully
as I could why il was wrong TO do as
they did
The results in some cases were very
gratifying. one boy in the last party
Harold Oehler. seemed lacking on arrival
IN anv sense or obedience. He got INTO
trouble all day long at first and was pun
ished both by the attendants and the boyS-
Well. 7 took him aside whenever he got
into difficulty and told him why the ruieS
had 10 be obeved why he must not take
offence at every little thing etc The BOY
became very much attached TO me and
learned 10 obey much better, and entered
into the spirit of my instructions TO such
extent
rIanatfon as TO why this or that was the
right thing to do.
There IS d boy of the same type III TINS
9srtv and | believe I have already mace
him nv friend by the same method.
II is the testimony Of a witness that Mr..
NTaver's boys are we'll governed, and one
~ the bows himself in a letter to MI
NTever-s fellow attendant. gives unconscious
evidence TO the fact that a lasting impress
eior? is made upon the bOys-by the man
himself If not by his theories He writes:
Dear Mr. Miller: I hope you are having
= good time while you are there. / wish
YOU would write letter to me and put IN
vo,,r first name. I don't know it, and
wish YOU would put in Mr.. Meyers first
name and his address, and the address
where YOU live; not St. Helens Home. but
vo1!r own home. The address of my mousse
is No. 364 West S9th street, New York City.
I miss yo,3 a lot I hope you are both there
next ear so I can see YOU again Your
friend, CONRAD WEI1hI1-
Scarcely a child leaves Tribune home
but goes treasurinc the address of ms
teacher and promise that that teach
err will write 10 him during the winter.
And the attendants. or teachers SO
srvled. receive foods of postals and letters
from their former charges with express
eions Of kind remembrance and deep affec-
ton
When il is borne in mind that each at
4endsrt is taxed with the oversight of
TWENTY-FIVE children from o'clock in the
morning until at night. and even sleeps
with them during the hours of darkness. Il
VIII be evident that the young men ana
women vino are able tn win and retain TINS
T-aeard are Of no ordinary caIihre and are
deserving n great credit