The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1910-04-28
THE LIQUOR SALOON AND
THE PUBLIC SCHOOL

saloon IN community makes the
public school more expensive I'm.
had iorcible illustration in condi-
tons in the city of Chicago. The
workers who secured the necessary
number of petitions for the local Oh.
ton election which is to he held I'm
tn" near future were frequently con.
ironted with the objection that there
/ would be Il loss of school revenue
and corresponding diminution in the
educational forces in the city should
| the saloons he abolished from tho
municipality This objection has
been completely answered by Mrs.
w. c. II. Keough, former mem
Der Of the Chicago Board Of Educa-
ton, who aliirms that not one farth-
ing of the stuppudous revenue de-
rived from the 200 saloons In the
city ever reaches the school fund.
But on the contrary the school
funds are continually drawn upon
for money to support many thou
sands of pupils who are made needy
by the operation Of the saloons.
Mrs. keough presents n convinc.
ing set Of statistics to show that
many Of the boys and girls of Chi
rago are obliged to quit school as
soon rs they come TO an age nj
which they may assist in filling the
family pockctboOk. Between the
ages of thirteen and sixteen the Mt.
tendance falls almost two-thirds. |
and between sixteen and seventeen
almost one-half. Some of these fail |
out OF the public school in order to
take up school work elsewhere, but |
when an allowance is made on this
score the falling of must be re-
tarded rs abnormal.
Further, conditions in Chicago
nave forced the school authorities
INTO providing agencies for taking
are Of portions of the school popu-
alton, which are II source of grcnt
Expense to the taxpayers of the city.
4 compulsory department has been
'rcatcd 10 take care of the truants.
Parents who drink even modcr atcly
ire handicapped to secure employ
ncnt. Their failure to secure re-
employment makes it
for them To- take care of
heir families properly. Conse- i
uently children too young to work I
re forced by their hunger to run ,
way from school and seek for some Q
ind OF work by which they may c
ct meager something to eat, or T,
lse they engage in begging. Dur !
ny lW9, 5000 truants passed through j
he compulsory department. Dur :
NJ that year l,472 warning notices I
'ere served upon parents who failed
. send their children to school, ana /
y were fined, and such as could a
OF pay their fines were confined n
nd maintained AT the expense of !,
no taxpayers. This compulsory de- o
artment cost the city of Chicago
lst year $4,000. h
Chicago has also Parental y
to which are sent certain =
Hpils whose parents are incompe- p
mt to take care of them. Into this Is
,hool last year there came it4 BOYS u
lnging from seven to fourteen
bars of age, with an average daily 90
of 300. The superintend-
1t testifies that intemperancc is the
lief reason for the existence of n
lis school. The Parental SchooIm
'st last year SOC, 900, which includes II
othing, food and other necessities Y
'sides the education which must c.
, furnished to the boys of saloon
lstomers.
Besides these items Mrs. Keough
axes the declaration that Seventy
edical inspectors, during ten
onths of the school year, attend
the needs Of saloon customers
lildren, receiving salary of $3.50
n month each for their services,
I'd 40 nurses at $50 per month each,
I'd one at $40 per month perform CT
y the natural duties that should
properly attended to by parents"
Iperintendent Bodine startled the
ltion last year by announcing that
had discovered that $4,000 child
n had been sent unbreakfasted to
hool. .
These are not all the counts I'm
@ expense of the saloons of Chica-
!, but they are enough. Facts like
ese can no doubt be discovered i'm
cry saloon-ridden city. They have
hibited themselves In Chicago i'm
Is rather extreme form because
the large number of saloons i'm
@ city. 1t is reported that there
@ no less than 1900 regular H.
nsed saloons in the city on the
akes, beside as many as $500
peakeasles, which are run I'm
olation OF the license law. This
a larger number of saloons than
LIST In twenty.four States of the
mon.
The saloon In any community
ii initiate against the success Of
0 school, cutting down it's eff
'ncy and burdening the taxpayers
the support and education of the
Capcad hy fha <.-~ |