New-York tribune., 1918-06-30

interrupted q talk which the instructor -.
giving the use of potato -four and ,n..t.s
potatoes as substitutes for wheat one =
a long series of lessons and demonstrat;cn-
on food conservation which have been pfya,
throughout the term. In fact, no other ra,a
of cooking has been taught during the en4i,s
school year save that recommended bv ~.
food administration. And teaching the scv.
eign population to use the various substitutes
which the law requires is no easy task. Com
meal, potato and barley flour were absoluts.v
unknown to the dwellers of the East S,d.
until the reign Of Mr.. Hoover, and preiude.
and custom were pretty hard to overcom.
but, thanks to the influence of the puh,s
schools, these people are coming gradually a
accept the substitutes.
Jars Of dried vegetables and freshly cannea
fruits stood on the table, and from the window
of the kitchen we looked down on the school,.
war garden, a plot so feet by so feet IN
which the fresh green leaves Of the earlv
vegetables stood in even rows. Later thew
will be canned dried by the pupils and
sold to them at actual cost.
At the model fiat across the street, wher.
the domestic science classes are taught house
keeping and homemaking a war luncheon was
being cooked and served by group of Older
girls. The menu consisted of nut and cheese
loaf, with Italian tomato sauce, corn bread.
lettuce salad and lemon sherbet.
Compositions, History and Geography
Are Vitalized by War Interest
But the "war activities" of the school were
not confined to these special departments:
they played a very conspicuous part in the
work of the regular classrooms. In the Eng
lish classes the war furnished subjects for
debates and compositions and gave great op.
portunity for the display of oratorical powers
A squad of Junior Four Minute Men has been
formed by one of these embryo Demosthenes
and the speeches made on street corners
and in the moving picture houses of the
neighborhood have been the means of selling
many Thrift Stamp and Liberty Bond.
was honored with a private hearing of tho
speech that the schools twelve-year-old cham
pion orator (neither of whose parents speaks
word of English) is to deliver at the inter-
borough competition. Many speeches far less
stirring have been delivered by distinguished
orators on the steps of the Public Library or
under the shadow Of the Liberty Bell in City
Hall Park.
History and geography studied in relation
to the war are no longer the grind that they
were in times of peace, and the movements Of
the troops as shown on the maps of the walls
of the schoolroom are a source of daily ex.
citement.
Many of the schools have welfare COM
mttee which makes census of the brothers
of the pupils who go into service, and not
only provides these men with all extra COM
forts in the form of knitted garments, to-
bacco and reading matter, but keeps close
watch over the family at home, and if the
necessity arises makes them temporary loan
from the school fund. If the school can af-
ford to do so, if all the money collected is
not needed for relief work at home, it adopts
a French or a Belgian baby.
Think of the influence that all this war
work is bound to have on what we are pleased
to call "tfre rising generation" Think Of
the kind of citizen-and the kind of soldier
that is being developed in that atmosphere
Of loyalty and patriotism and honest en-
deavor, and give full credit to those earnest,
ndefatigable men and women who are d-
recting the "war activities of the public
schools.