The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-03-14
SOVIET CHILDREN ARE HERDED INTO
 PUBLIC PASTURES
Tots Between Three and Eight Put Into Colonies, PreSum- ably to Let Their
 Mothers Work
By Associated Press

Philadelphia, March 13.-Children's gar dens, or colonies, in which boys and girls between the ages of three and eight years are kept throughout the day at public expense, constitute one of the most interesting phases of the soviet government in Russia. according to in- formation received by the American Friends service committed
 Arthur J. Watts. English Friend, who, with Anna J. Haines of Moorestown, N, J., is in Moscow inspecting institu- tions and distributing supplies for the American committee describes these colonies in a report just received here. MT Watts says that more than 25OOOO children are registered in children's gar oens in various parts of Russia Some of the gardens have nearly 1000 children enrolled. They go in the morning to the garden, which would be called play ground in America, and remain there throughout the day. They attend classes, exercises, play games. eat lunch and sup per and return home at night.
 LESSENS CARE
 This relieves the mother of a vast amount of responsibility and if she is a wage earner, she can attend to her Ia bors in the factory or store without hln | drance from her family. Besides these l gardens, or colonies, there are spec'a summer colonies for children located mostly in country districts The larg l est of these latter is at Dyetskoe Selo 40 miles from Petrograd, where the chil 1a1e in fxxfn 1Na a longed to the later Emperor Nicholas. was formerly known as the "Czars VII lage" Several houses, which formerl. belonged to the emperor's courtiers, have been converted into childrens colonies a group of three or four houses formint a colony, and 25 boys and girls, unde the direction of a manager, occupy Aeaci building.
 These colonies are conducted on the co educational plan, which is preferred, be cause of the natural comradeship be tween boys and girls. One of the colo nies at Dyetskoe Selo is conducted aloni the lines of the George Junior Repupil for morally defective boys and girls:
 Parents are permitted to visit thei children in these homes and colonies, an the atmosphere is not at all lnstllu tional" MT. Watts says. It IS made q homelike as possible. Russia has | OrDlAnaR6S. 1HeT6 are lllOaoohNo ON VI phans. but they are registered in tn eardens. boarding schools and colonle with more fortunate children who hay parents
 TANNING TABOO
 Corporal punishment is forbidden l these institu+' ms. boy or girl wh comes to the table with dirty hands punished by getting no food, and th disobedient child is isolated from Il playmates The feeding and clothing c every child registered in an insutuuo comes under the provisions of the rec ple's Commissariat TOT Supplies. This oi eanization has special kitchens and sur plies food to the httle loihs oii iani'' ration cards.
 Russian parents, for the most part, ar eager to send their children to the colo nies and gardens, because they kho they will receive meals regularly tner' which is not always the case in tn home. says MT. Watts. For this reasoi many parents who might be dlsinciine otherwise to place their children Tn tnes institutions are reconciieo 10 tne he i. system ,o haen so acute in Russia, owing to wa and blockade. that thousands of childre in these institutions, which are unde government supervision, are underIe and in many cases are reported as starv ing. Most of the children of eight year d of age and upward are sent to the da schools. where they receive one meal noon or to commune houses, otherWis known as children's houses, which corre spond to American boarding schools. M Watts said that 6.000,000 children are reg istered in the day schools where the arc taught manual training, such as cal nentrv. book binding, needlework and mi linery There are special schools for II struction in music and art.
 All this work is under the direction tha commissariat for public instruction Its work is supervised or preceded E thai of the commissariat for the prote' tion of health which exercises superv sion over the health of the child, D ginning it's work before birth. Under U Pussian system, according to MT. Watt mother who works in factory
 given a furlough of Is weeks with iu nav at the birth of her child-eight weef lbefore and eight weeks afterwards. M watts says that rest homes for mother maternity hospitals and maternity e bihitions on an extensive scale are Il cluded in the Russian scheme or chi welfare. The maternity exhipitions al y;s,an to show the dullest-minded wome : the need of proper care for Ootn moli' and child