The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1912-08-04

wealthy people who may take advan-
tage of them. The moderate classes
have some Of the aforesaid pleasures
and also the delights of home as
ISOLATION which hallow their lives and
make their hearthstone a monument
of filial affection. We must, therefore,
pay special attention to the weary
wage earners to see that they are not
denied their rightful Inheritance of
rest and recreation. 1t is as much
the duty Of the cities to provide this
form of education for the adoleScent
and the adults as it is to provide in
struction for the young. Happiness"
says one author lis akin to effort"
The young man or woman who is pro-
vided with recreation advantages at
night will not only desert sinful pleas
ures. but after a refreshing sleep will
begin a new day of toll with a thank
full spirit and the ambition to do life's
full duty.
The churches are now beginning to
recognize the needs of recreation as
a fair part of the requirements of
modern religion, and social service is
gradually receiving the attention Of
most clergymen. There will, however,
be many people who will be too BIZ
goted or tlliberaI to take advantage
of the opportunities which the modern
institutional church will afford. Be
sides 1t is unfortunately true that
many of the church officials still fail to
heed the call of duty and are too busy
stargazing to hear the voices calling
to them from the lower ground. Arch
itectural limitations of many of the
churches are such that there are not
many rooms available for recreative
purposes and a gymnasium or play
ground is often impossible.
Use the School House.
"The second remedy left is to erect
buildings especially adapted for this
purpose, as has been successfully done
in Chicago and Los Angeles. These,
however. are necessarily expensive and
most municipalities will be unwilling
to undertake any additional financial
burden entailing such a. real estate
proposition. 1t remains, therefore, TO
use the school buildings for social and
recreative purposes. This is, in my
judgment, the wisest plan for the fol-
lowing reasons:
~ They are already located in the
centers Of congested neighborhoods.
or They represent the investment
of millions of dollars. (The buildings
and sites owned by the Board Of Edu-
cation of New York City are valued
at over $4,000, 000).
(3) AS a rule, they are fairly well
adapted for play purposes and social
"a Parents have full confidence in
our public schools and look upon them
as affordirg a safe shelter for chill
dren and young people.
(5) A closer assimilation OF school
and home Is therefore possible, as
both parents and children come to
have a proprietary interest in the same
building.
Many of our modern school build
ings have Fairgrounds on the hrst
floor, which by the installation OF sim
pie apparatus become very available
gymnasiuns. The ceilings are SUI
ficiently high TO permit the playing OF
basket ball, which game appeals TO
many because Of its team spirit, its
combination Of running and throwing.
quick action necessary to shoot the
goals, and the general spirit OF CO.
operation without which no team can
win many games. Trained gymnasts
are provided as teachers and sySte-
matte instruction IS provided for all
zha desire regular gymnastic drills.
There Is - roll OF attendance, so thai
the men feel free - come and go when
they please. In some ceuters young
men who are preparing for the physi-
cal tests required for applicants for