The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-05-06
URGE AYGROUNDS
AND CURfEW HERE
parsnt-T eaehsrs Association at the
Meeting Yesterday, Goes on Rec
ord and viii Work For
This Program.
70 FIGHT ALLEY SCHOOL
CITY Council viii be Asked to Pass
Law Which viii Send
Children OF the
streets.


more supervised Fairgrounds for the
moral and physical welfare OF the idle
4 boys and girls during the summer va
cation, and that Keokuk should also
have q curfew law to take the chill
dren off the street at late hours OF the
night were the two issues decided
unanimously yesterday afternoon at
the mass meeting OF parents and
teachers held In the high school as.
sembly room. Mrs. O. w. Weyer call.
ed the meeting to order and stated
the object Of the meeting, to discuss
the question Of supervised play
grounds. She then introduced Super
intendent Aldrich who presided dur.
ing the meeting.
In his Introductory remarks he
said he believed very sincerely In su-
peryised play grounds and he felt
that there Is an urgent need here for
one or more such grounds. Some peo-
pie speak disparagingly Of schedule
Of games for children on the grounds
that boys and girls should have tasks
10 occupy their time. He said 1t was
far from the intention to take any boy
or girl away from work which their
parents wished them to do. But how
many Of the 5000 school children have
any definite tasks to do? It were bet
ter for them II they did have some
duties each day. The great majority
Of children are idle through all the
long summer days and every fall
there comes back to the school
group OF boys who are petty criminals
who have gotten their training in the
idle summer
Alley School 10 Bad.
It is absolutely necessary that these
children have some wholesome, safe
employment or play, to prevent y
REPETITION Of this alley school 0.
crime he said. II is not safe to caI
these children together without some
supervision, because we want the
play grounds q fit place for the boys
to congregata, where bad language
and immortality is barred. Commission
er Collins has promised that police
man shall be detained to look after
the grounds and zee that gang rule
does not creep in. We must secure
sufficient funds to pay . supervisor
who will see that only clean sport
fills the hours"
Have One At start.
superintendent Aldrich then intro
duced d. A. Glascoff, secretary Of the
United Charities. who said 1t had been
his privilege to be connected with the
first supervised play ground establish
ed In Washington, D. c., city which
now has eighteen such grounds. He
said: IL have seen children here play.
Ing ON dump heaps, in dirty alleys and
In other unwholesome places. Many
children are deliberately kept out OF
their homes because they retard the
work there. / have seen children in
Keokuk out until all hours Of the
night and until and o'clock in the
morning. II these children were pro-
vided with place where this surplus
energy could be worked off and they
we're tired out with play, they would
go to bed by 3 o'clock. Begin with
one play ground and work up to hav-
ing one in every district and make
the school center OF influence long
er than just the nine months Of the
school year.
DR.. j. C. Christensen was then call
ed on and made a splendid speech full
Of sound logic and telling points. He
had for = auhiAct "Holpf1ll or Harm