New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-09-21
4,549 Girl
Pupils Cooped
In Firetrap
Walls of Julia Richman
High School Cracked
Open and Plaster Falling:
Condemned 10 Years Ago
Laid to Hylan Misrule
Double Sessions Conducted
in Dingy Rooms; Dis
tinct Menace to Health

More than ten years ago the dincy
structure at 60 West Thirteenth Street
was condemned as unfit for school mr.
poses' but this year there are 4.549
girls registered there as high school
Students The ancient building is dig
mined by the title of Julia Richman
high School, and within its gloomy
rooms the girls are now being in
structed in double sessions for the first
time in its history.
This condition arises from the fail
ure of the Hylan administration 70
construct single high school during
Its four years in office, despite the cam
palgn promise of "seat for everv
child"
The school is an old public school
building, four stories high, left strand
ed IN commercial district by the res
ldential migration uptown. After its
usefulness ended as an elementary
school, it was turned over to h;cb
school purposes. Great assures exist
along its walls, and the front of the
building threatens to part company
with the rest of the aged structure at
any moment. The sanitary arrange
ments, especially those in the small
ana gloomy yard, are of the most prim-
iliVe nature and are distinct menace
10 the health OF every girl who is COM
pelled to attend the school.
Condemned by Women's Inquiry
wit 1@,>
those singled out as the greatest men
ace in the history of the Committees ~
RAN and Programme, composed Of rep
resentatives of twelve women's civic
organizations which visited forty Of
the clty's schools last spring and in
Vestlgated conditions in them.
=, Upon the application of this report
Mayor Hylan denied that the school
was at all bad, but at the same time
SAID that 1T would be transformed into
modern structure during the summer
months by extensive repairs, for which
thousands of dollars would be ex-
pended.
So far as the exterior is concerned.
the painters have succeeded in making
a halfway decent job of their task.
Inc window frames, doors and
sashes have been painted over and
carefully grained to give them the ap-
pearance of being new but that is
where the painting operations ceased.
The women in their report declared
that the floors of the aged building
We're, extremely dangerous, with many
bad holes in them. During the sum-
mer months as much as 1000 feet of
new flooring was laid, and the build
ing in that respect has been made
modern in accordance with the Mayors
promise given under the pressure
brought to bear upon him by his ira
ducers.
Electricity for Gas
AS a concession to the expected
needs of the building, the old gas lets
have been removed, and in their place
electric lighting has been installed.
This change, however, was done be-
cause it was expected that the school
would have to go on double session.
Such is the sum total of all the re-
pairs that were made in compliance
with the Mayors promise that the
building would be made a modern
structure in every way.
ASIDE from these meager repairs, the
building is still dangerous fire trap.
The mortar is still falling from be-
tween the bricks that form it's walls.
and within the dingy classrooms the
plaster is still dropping from the walls,
no repairs having been made either to
the plaster or the metal ceilings.
The walls of the classrooms are still
filthy. 1t is impossible to tell what
the original color scheme was. The
desks and benches received their an
nual scrub from the janitor with soap
and water, but that is ALL They were
not scraped, neither were they var
nished.
Six Scattered Annexes
Such are the conditions in which the
girls of the city are receiving their
higher education. In addition to this.
however, the school is very badly or
ganized. Owing to the smallness of the
building on Thirteenth Street, it has
been necessary to spread the school
register over six other annexes which
are maintained in six scattered public
school buildings in the uptown section.
IN hve OF these schools elementary in
struction is also going on at the same
time.
1t appears that while these condi-
lions exist in the schools of the city.
sinister interests are operating to
prevent Commissioner of Accounts
Hlrshfield from making a complete IN
vestigation of the conditions. At least,
that is what the vigorous Commits
sloner has just written in a letter.
In it he says:
ut is unfortunate that the traction
interests and the 100000 slush fund
leaders, who four years ago
urged Mayor John Purroy Mitchel's re-
election for Mayor and this year arc
behind Major Curran, are backing the
inside ring in the school system in it's
opposition to an investigation of the
Department of Education by me as
Commissioner of Accounts, in spite of
the fact that the board itself is favor
able. | will, as a result, again be
Obliged to have recourse to the courts
In order to further establish the city's
authority to find out how it's money'is
being expended. This, of course, will
cause q further delay of from six