Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-08-04
Some Public Schools ditions
Menace General Health. MIDI

Menace General Health. huiIdinss
there is SO large percentage of immi-
grant children whose parents give little
| attention to the sanitation of the home
1t frequently happens that even in we'll
| to-do communities the public schools are
| so poorly cared for rs to be a menace
| to the health of the general public.
An exhibit for the purpose of improv-
| ing the sanitary conditions of the public
I schools was held in Greenwich. Conn.,, a
| few months ago. and it had the desired
effect of arousing public sentiment to
| demand immediate action regarding some
| of the worst conditions. Greenwich is
| said to be the second richest town Of its
| size in the country. 1t includes in a
population of 1900 at least fifty-seven
| millionaires and larger number OF near
| millionaires. 1t seems that the rich
people have established themselves there
| without wishing to be troubled with local
| improvements outside of their own
grounds. And in q town where living
people are working too hard to make
both ends meet to take any interest in
the conditions of the school attended
chiefly by the poorer classes.
The exhibit included photographs of
crowded halls narrow stairways and eel
lars with water standing upon the floor
so that the janitor had to go through it
TO reaCn the IuTndC0 anu COctl lHCT0
were buildings in which the number of
school children crowded into a single
low-ceilinged room made it impossible to
give them the proper amount of breath
| listless and sickly. The undrained cellar
was shown to be responsible for a
scourge of malaria which in damp
| weoher considerably lessened the school
buildings the partition walls were so
thin that they seemed to serve as sound
ing boards. Accompanying the photo
graphs showing these things were the
following verses:
Eye strain nerve strain. noise and worry,
Johnny Jones declines to study.
'Twould hardly seem experient
To call him disobedient"
collection showing broken-down fur
naces, ceilings with holes in the platser,
broken walls battered water buckets and
clippers on a broken bench and other de-
fects bore the legend:
when school is old
Does it incucate
In the childish pate
feeling Of self respect:
X x
Stirring addresses made by leading
physicians and other public men succeed
ed in Great
CamDaipn for Social ing fu-
Hygiene Promises Well. vor of
social hygiene campaign in that town
that promises well for the sanitary
equipment of the schoolhouses in the
near future.
The disgusting and menacing water
bucket and its single dipper. used indis-
criminately by all the children, has been
abolished Sinks have been put In with
neat faucets and a good supply or rum
ming water which each child may drink
from his own cup. although the introduce
ton of the paper drinking cup is advo-
Gated.
The introduction of medical inspection
into the public school has had mighty
influence in the development of interest
in school hygiene. When a child is taken
to a physicians Office to be treated. the
physician is frequently unaware OF the
conditions under which the child pur-
sues his daily studies. When physician
is brought into the schoolroom, his
scientific sense quickly reveals the fact
that the air Is bad, causing headacne ana
INDIGESTION: that the room Is overheated
at times and chilly at others. causing I'M
necessary colds: that the lighting is bad.
causing unnecessary eye strain, and a
thousand and one other things. which
even the teacher is too absorbed In ner
work to heed.
Much attention is now given to school
| architecture with view to obtaining
the best sanitary conditions In the build
| ing. The heating and yentilating engt-
neers. master plumbers. oculists and
many other specialists are all interested
| in obtaining the best results In school,
| room ARRANGEMENTS now, because public