Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1913-11-08
THE COUNTY SCHOOLS.
Their Malignant Diseases Should be
Checked. Legislation to That End
More lmDeratiyeIy, Needed Than
Anything Else-NO Time
for Carnivals.
Communicated


To The Editor As usual, 40 soon
er do the country schools get under
way than various contagious or infec-
tious diseases appear among the chill
dren brought in from the fields and
woods. Transferred, as they are,
from backwoods parents to those sup
posed to possess the highest intelli-
genee they are also too often trans
ferred from rosy health to beds of
sickness, from which, again, they
sometimes 90 TO their death. In the
meantime, outside children and in
fants in arms are also contaminated.
In the name of humanity this sac
rifice of health should be stopped.
Edmond Box, after due investiga-
ton, long since exposed the sacrifice
and proved that so, 600 children were
needlessly killed yearly and double as
many more injured for life. Ills
findings have not abated "the slaugh-
ter of the modern innocents, albeit in
some cities nurses, doctors and spec
ialists have been put on the pay rolls
TO watch things up.
Just at present the Maryland State
Board of Education is trsversing the
State in the interest of more legis-
lation for public schools. In a big
series of carnivals it is seeking to
captivate parents, pupils and the
public generally. At the very same
instant of time mary little public
school children are lying on the fiat
of their backs in their homes suffer
ing from diphtheria, scarlet fever,
measles and other diseases that the
said board is largely responsible for.
One immediate need is that teach
ers be empowered to send home any
pupils with sick symptoms. A lead
inc physician Of the State says that If
at FIRST sight such pupils sent home
and were compelled to stay there un-
I'll given normal indications, the
spre ad of contagious or infectious dis
eases would be checked. Where sick
pupils have thus presented them
| selves s, the schools in question should
see the pupils sent home for the day
and the school-house subjected to a
five-hour Immigration. Blanks should
be supplied the teachers to fill )ut for
the parents in the above cases.
A teacher who sensibly enough
took upon herself to send home sus-
pieious looking boy, was bounced
upon by the parents the next day and
told that she had children sent there
to educate and not to play doctc +
1 over. Hence we see the need of
higher authority Right in public
school near here q couple of weeks
ago appeared boy very much under
the weather. Teacher and pupils
alike remarked upon HIM. He was al
lowed to mix with the children the
entire dav. The result has been q
general spread of measures far and
near and upwards of a months loss
of schooling TO all who have not had
the disease. Infants have been in
cldded
Up the country five schools are
actually closed because of diphtheria
and scarlet fever-two of the most
malignant diseases and if all this Is
happe ming in one section of the State
what must be the total of disease for
all secfioas7 1t is time that some
common sense application of "famil'
lar science was made. The country
schools are VIGOROUSLY insanitary.
1t is no common thing for pupils to
sit for hours in coal gas smoke and
the dust that rises after sweeping by
children with windows down. Every
stove should have its large pan OF
water for evaporation. All isinglsss
should be kept in stove doors. Al
stove pipes should be securely hung
All windows should lower at the tor
and teachers should be taught com
mon sense in ventilation If they dc
| not know.
All schoohouses should have venti'
lators as large as dinner plates in the
middle of their ceilings and for theil
better use roofs should be tour-sidet
and brought II q peak. Let legisia
ton on other points lgive way Z
| these necessities at once.
FRANCIS BUCK LIVES EY
West Friendship. Md.