Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-08-25
TEACHERS WILL GET PAY
DURING SCHOOL CLOSING
CONTINUED From First Pagel

lSOUt1Ilucu tTOm EISI rage
G. Dixon. following his order of last
night postponing the opening of the
schools of Pennsylvania until Septem-
Der is, to-day gave out a statement
in which he suggests a change in the
vacation period. He said:
The shifting of the school period to
September Is to a few days later in
June would from a weather viewpoint
be worth the consideration of our
educators of the State for normal
times. The present step is a halt to
avoid walking into the midst of q
deadly enemy that is making a vicious
attack or our n~eighboring States to
the northeast. The most active line of
travel from these States to Pennsyl-
vania shows the high points of infec-
ton in u commonwealth"
DR.. Dixon until oon to-day had re-
ceived only n complaint against the
school order, from a man in Altoona.
who protested against the closing Of
Sunday schools on the ground that by
attending two more Sundays without
missing he would be awarded a gold
medal.
Frank Gunnel, of Erie, asked the
State Police Department for a detail
OF officers to prevent persons from
bringing children across the New York
State line into Pennsylvania. He was
asked to get into touch with the State
Health Department. A detail of off,
GERS was ordered from Greensburg to
Fulton county to enforce quarantine
regulations there. Superintendent Ger
Der, of the Philadelphia schools, wired
DR.. Dixon endorsing his order post
poning the opening of schools.
DR.. Dixon's Order
After a careful study OF the infan-
tile paralysis situation n a long
conference with the Advisory Board
of the Department, State Health Com
missioner Samuel @. Dixon last night
ordered that all schools and Sunday
schools be closed until September Is,
and that all Objectionable" movies
be closed wherever the department
deems it advisable.
DR.. Dixon ordered the following let
ter sent to city, borough and county
school superintendent in Pennsyl-
vania and to the heads of all parochial
schools:
The State Department of Health
of the Commonwealth of Penn
sylvania has decided that all
schools, public, private and paro-
chial in this State be closed until
Monday, September 10, with pos
sible readjustment then with ref
crence to geographical position,
age and attendance of resident
pupils.
4lAClNoC0 OOAACSCo
All academies and colleges are in
cluded in the words "all schools" DR..
Dixon said, and when resident pupils
are permitted to enter the dormi-
tories, such institutions will be sub
jected to a careful examination and
wherever it is found hat any students
come from affected districts such stu
dents will be kept under close super
vision a long time. Sunday schools
will be expected to abandon their ses-
sions from now until September Is.
I'VE decided to close all schools"
said DIR. Dixon, because we are just
entering upon the season of the year
when our past experience and the
department records show that infan-
tile paralysis makes the greatest gains.
Usually it is in the latter part of Au-
gust and September that the high
watermark of the disease comes, and
we felt it would be unwise to permit
the opening of the schools with such
conditions existing as now obtain
throughout the State. We decided to
close all the schools because districts
now unaffected might be affected at
any time because of the thousands of
persons who are either going for or
returning from their vacations. If we
had permitted some OF the schools to
OPEN. 1t might easily have been neces-
sary to have ordered them closed later
on. and we believe it will work far less
a hardship upon the schools to close