The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1920-02-20

nreS were III at = q. m, soon enough
to heat up the entire house if the fur
mace and pipes were in good order. AS
a proof they were not, he said that
often after the fires had been burning
for hours some Of the pipes would be
hot and others cold. Mr.. Whiteman
comes from up north and says he is
we'll acquainted with steam heating
apparatus. AS the reporter and Mr..
earn started for their car, they saw
q lot of oak wood piled up by the door
next to the furnace room. This is
good fuel for freplace-after it gets
to burning. and about the worst that
can be had to put under boilers. If
the school has to depend on such fuel,
it's no wonder the furnace won't func-
ton.
Another thing worthy of notice
was that on the north side of the
building, and in it's shadow, the tenn
perature was several degrees more
chilly than in the sun a few yards
away. About the time Mr.. earn and
the reporter left the square, the Their
mometer on the Court Pharmacy
corner registered so degrees and the
temperature was pleasant. We don't
know what the temperature was on
the north side of the school but it was
very perceptibly lower than down
town, and must have been felt in the
study hall and the other rooms on that
side.
The primary school children also
have their hardships. Their building
is better constructed and more easy
to heat than the high school building.
The fire in the primary furnace build
ing is lighted some time in the early
morning, and then left to take care of
itself. When the teachers and pupils
arrive at nine o'clock the fire general
ly has died down, and the principal
has to marshal crowd of the biggest
boys, go down in the basement and
build it up again. Meantime, if it is
chilly. rainy day, the children who
have wet feet have to huddle around
the tepid radiators for half an hour
or more. The primary school is much
better built than the high school, and
the heating apparatus in better shape,
ard the principal trouble with it
seems to be lack of attention.
Superintendent earn says it is q
mistake to suppose the county is toe
hard up to remedy these evils. He
says that while the county board is
hard-pressed for money. it could have
made some arrangement to prevent sc
much suffering among the children Il
it had known in time.
| N,,-. alo~k - o1x ox1ov h11t
there will be q number Of chilly days
yet. Something should be done al
once to insure the children from be-
ing punished for going to school.
It is the Stars opinion that while il
is impossible to make any extensive
re pairs at the high school during the
present term, that the scholars shoulc
not be allowed to suffer in the dis
agreeable days we are bound to have
before permanent warm weather set
in. There is no necessity for any ex
traordinary measures to be taken Il
; insure this. The district trustees
should instruct the teachers to i'm
mediately send home any child wh'
comes to school cold and wet and can
be Immediately put in a comfortabl
room. And if there are any more COLI
, days and the heating apparatu
doesn't work. school should be dis
missed for that day. It is much les
harm for any child to miss few les
sons than to be taken down sick an
possibly die.
, We don't suppose our advice will b
l taken on this subject. We hav
? never yet made suggestion about tn
evils that afflict our schools withou
= being informed that remedy was i'm
e possible because of the law. red tape
. lack of funds or some other reaso
more important than the health O
life of child or its parents ability
> pay doctors bills and taxes. We ar
glad to say, however. that we hav
:, found in Superintendent earn a ma
who seems to understand these thing
and think more of the health of tn
: children and the pockets of the ta1
> payers than rushing studies thru o
express train schedule.