The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1915-10-16
\. s. INCREASE
IS 70 PER CENT
Building Is Crowded to Capa-
city by Addition of 222
Pupils Over 1914.
ALL DEPARTMENTS FULL
Arts, Science, Business Course
Rooms Are Congested-
Pupils Turned Away.

tn Oklahoma City there ls IA city
= Within II city, the population OF
which IS exactly 222 greater than ut
this same time last yeur-the high
school This Increase, however, does
not include the IS teachers, the janl-
tors and other employees. Five days
Ia every week the magnificent high
school building houses more people
than live IN thousands Of villages Ia
various parts of the United States
hut unlike many other cities, the
population or the high school has out.
grown It's available space, and nccord.
ing to Il statement Saturday By
MNyorprnclpal j. 4. Wellemeycr, the
officials of the city are hard put 10
arrange the population In such man
hrr as to keep the inhabitants from
trchdlng on each others toes.
Total Enrolment 1851.
"Our enrolment 80 far this year
Totals 1851 he said. This time Il
year ago the enrolment was .l29.
which means an Increase In 1915 Of
almost twenty per ceut."
Mr. Nellcmeyer who came here
from Chrcumh few days before
school opened, expressed himself as
hclug very much surprised at the
sudden growth of the enrolment. Il
had no Idea Of how oklahoma City
had grown, nor had no hint Of the
serious Oyercrowdlng about to be un-
lil ! attempted to engage a house and
could not find one desirable piece Of
rental property In the city. was
finally compelled 10 purchase resi-
dencc. That was the first intimatlon
J had Of the remarkable Increase Ia
the population Of this city"
Glasses Filled TO Capacity.
Practically every class Is filled to
capacity, Mr. Wellemcyer stated Is
pccially this condition holds true In
the manual training department. where
sryeuy-five boys deslrous Of taking
vocational courses were turned away
because uf the lack Of space and euip-
mcnt. Not that the 10000 worth OF
magnificent manual training apparatus
Is In any way deficient but because
~ the fact that when 1t was installed
no one believed that so soon would
such heavy demand for places In
the department be made. is due the
fact that these seyenty-riye boys could
not be- accommodated
A trip through the manual trimming
! department In the basement NJ the
building is revelation. Under the
supervision Of Ii f. Rusch, instruc.
tor hundreds Of boys are learning
useful trades such AS carpentry. wood
turning, pattern making, blacksmith.
ing moulding and machine shOpwork.
one sees row after row " benches.
turning lathes, forges, circular saws
aud other machinery until hr almost
wonders where the boys tu work at
them are 10 come from. Yet they
come and continue 10 come. Mr..
Rusch, who has been IN charge " the
department since It's Infancy ~ him
/ self the inventor OF several " the dlf
fereut pieces Of equipment. one "
which is the "Oklahoma city tyne"
OF manual training bench. widely
used throughout the United States.
All Departments Crowded.
In the business department the
crowded condition still obtains. The
classes In bookkeeping. typcwrItlng.
shorthand, letter writing, commercial
law, English and geography aud al-
lied subjects are filled To capacity.
Necessarily, like the maual training
department, the classes are limited by
the equipment
In the domestic science aud domestic
| art departments there exists the only
exception to the overcrowding rule.
but only I'm the upper classes IL there
dearth Of demand for the subjects.
/ The beginners classes In both sub.
/ iects were hopelessly filled the first
week Of school.
In the classics and fine arts Glasses
teachers are taking care Of far more
/ pupils than they can handle with eff.
cheney. At first the classes IN thoas
subjects requiring no special equipment
were limited To the seating capacity
of the rooms In which they were held
but ~ the enrolment continued Ia
swell daily something had tu be- done
to care for the influx, 80 seating cnpa.
city was thrown 10 the winds and A.
many pupils az could do so without
danger NJ suffocation were crowded
Into the class rooms The science
history, art. and music departments
also are caring for an unprecedented
number ~ scholars.
Pupils Are Shifted.
I'VE are trying to take care " m,
oyercrowding by shifting the pupIl,
when an opportunity affords from m,
more crowded to the smaller classes.
said Principal Wellemeycr we hny,
also changed the programs NJ such pu
pills rs were willing To take other sub
jeCts than those chosen at the first
of the year, and have put two suhsti
tute teachers on study hall duty n
order to relieve the regular teacher,
many of whom are teaching six In
stead of the usual five periods fol
regular duty.
Innovation Popular.
IAN Innovation, and very populai
one, this year. Is the addition 10 IN,
high school course NJ a teachers
training department Mr.. Wene
meyer continued. 1T is taken by pu
pills In the higher grades. and whe,