The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-02-15
Local Women's Organization
Makes an Inspection and
Sends Letter Of Protest to
the Superintendent.
AIR IN ROOMS FOUL
ODOR is SICkENING
Campaign to Have Woman
Elected to School Board
Now Being Considered by
Organization.

Statements declaring that sanitary
conditions in the grade schools of tho
city through lack OF proper ventila.
tion and inadequate toilet equipment
are extremely bad and dangerous to
the health OF the children were made
today by Mrs. Ben Bartel. following
an investigation made on behalf OF the
Women's Collegiate club.
A letter calling attention to the un-
sanitary conditions and asking him
and the school authorities to take
some action to remedy the situation
was sent to Supt. Mott today. by Mrs.
Bartel.
The Vaile, Finley Warner. Starr and
Whitewater schools were inspected on
Monday, and the Baxter school last
Friday. 4 found said Mrs. Bartel,'
that there was not a complete change
of air in the room from the time the
children and teachers arrived in the
morning till they left at noon"
Starr Building Worst.
Mrs. Bartel declares the Starr build
ing Is In the worst condition OF any in
the city. The odor Of the toilet
rooms," she said, lis simply awful,
permeating all parts Of the building.
One Of tho teachers told me that after
smelling the odor for five days in the
week she felt that she could never get
away from it,
The proposition Of starting a cam
paign for placing a woman member on
the sHhool hnard ia being. constsisred
| BY the WOmcn's Collegiate club as q,
step toward securing better conditions
In the schools. Mrs. Bartel said she
asked one Of the teachers In school
inspected II she thought q .woman
member on the board would be OF
benefit and the reply was: 1T GER
tainly would To this same teacher
she addressed the question Have you
anything to say regarding the sani-
tary conditions?. Not now. but when
! get out can talk" was the answer.
In one OF the rooms OF a school"
said Mrs. Bartel. i asked the teacher
why there was such poor ventilation,
allowing such an offensive odor from
the children to fill the room.
She said they We're not supposed (the
word allow was not used) to raise
the windows. I asked her by whose
authority they were not supposed 10
do this and she replied, the superin-
ltendent's."
In only two cases, at the Baxter and
Vaile schools. during the noon hour.
when the teachers were absent, Mrs.
Bartel declares, did she find the win
dows in any room open. She called
attention to the fact that the inspec-'
ton was made about noon, which
should be the most favorable time for
allowing fresh air to enter the build
ings.
At the Starr building where the
odor' of lavatories II 30 prevalent.
Mrs. Bartel said the toilet conditions,
were very bad. The odor she said
seemed largely attributable to de-
feet in the drainage Of the urinals, Of
which there are three on the first floor
and three on the second. The hoor
around the urinals was wet for dis
tance Of seven or eight inches. Ac-
cording to Mrs. Bartel no windows
in the room were raised and the smell
was terrible.
What Teachers Said.
Mrs Bartel was told that about two
years ago three teachers from a
Ineighboring town visited Starr school
land that they stated to one Of the
teachers that they didn't get away
from the smell OF the lavatories from
the time they got there until they left.
Attention was called by Mrs. Bar
tel to the fact that tin cups are used
for drinking purposes by the children
in all the grade schools with the ex-
Iception of those OF the kindergarten
and first grade, who are requested to
bring individual cups. She said. how
ever, that at least in two buildings the
modern drinking fountains have been
installed, but were not used to any
Iextent, principally because Of their
location. At the Starr building the
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