Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1917-11-07
TO ENFORCE COMPULSORY EDU.
CATION LAW.

An effort is being made by Super
intendent George Fox, of the Anne
Arundel County Board of Education,
10 enforce the Compulsory Education
Law.
Ii took much effort on the part Of
mary people interested 10 have this
law PASSED by the Legislature. II Is
a good law and it should be enforced
Children of school age, especially
oolored children, are permitted to run
the streets at random all hours, day
and oftentimes night, as well. The
street is a bad schol for children. II
is the hotbed of crime and foster Grim
inals. We speak of children of the
street" when we refer to the lowest
type.
Superintendent Fox should be en-
courage in his effort TO compel par
ents TO obey the law by sending their
children to school.
In speaking OF the conditions around
Annapolis, wherein the colored race
evades the Compulsory School Law,
Mr.. Fox said:
"In some cases colored children
claimed that they were attending night
school Upon investigation we found
the supposedly teacher of the night
school to all appearance under the
influence of liquor. | wish to warn
those parents whose children claim
to be attending night school that such
schools must be approved by the
County superintendent, and that un-
less It can he shown beyond doubt
that the child is securing an educa-
ton equivalent to that provided by
the public school and that there is a
good excuse for the child attending
said night school the bare statement
of the parents will not be accepted
'If as is claimed by many of the
parents whom we visited they are un-
able TO provide for their children,
these children should be put where
they will be properly clothed, fed and
educated, and the parents should be
locked up until they are willing to
work and pay for the actual expense
incurred in caring for their children.
There is plenty of work at this time
for those who are willing to work and
the community should demand that
these people make use of the oppor-
tunity provided by law for educating
their children.
What is true of Stanton School, is
also true to large extent in few OF
the rural white schools of this coun-
". Indifferent, selfish or avaricious
parents are making slaves of their
children and it is high time the
community demand that such parents
fulfill their obligations to the future
citizenship of our county. The at
tendance officer has travelled miles TO
visit delinquent parents only to find
that after few days the child is out
of school again. The old story of
Flannigan's. of again, on again, gone
again, is typical of the way the at
tendance law works when no penalty
is attached to the offense.
Our patience has been exhausted
in dealing with these habitual offend
ers and we feel that we have reach
ed the point where the guilty parties
should be given wholesome lesson
on the meaning of the law. The Com
pulsory Attendance Law of this State
is an excellent enc. but there can be
no real progress in enforcing it until
there is strong public sentiment
back of the law We ask for the
hearty co-ope ration of every public
spirited citizen of the county in Sc
curing better attendance and we ask
for the loyal support of these citizens
when we come to the point of enforc-
ing the Compulsory Attendance Law"
Concerted action on the part of citi-
zens interested in this matter should
be taken at once, and Superintendent
Fox should be co-operated with in his
effort TO make the law effective