Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-03-18
FIRE TRAP SCHOOLS
Statistics Show There arc Thousands
In. the United States.

In the United States.
Tens of thousands of school children
housed in fire traps and hundreds of
thousands of them either on half-time
or in make-shift buildings is the con-.
dition in 429 cities Of the United
States as disclosed in report made
public -;,es55.e>---
The report was issued by the nation
al committee for Chattiber Of COM
merce cooperation with the public
schools on survey conducted by the
American city bureau.
The committee was organized In
February, 1920, to inquire into school
conditions. It's executive committee is
headed by George D. Strayer Of
Teachers college, Columbia university,
New York.
The evidence presented Shows
clearly that there are tens of thousands
Of children now housed in old, insan-
itary dangerous buildings" says Mr..
Strayer in his introduction to the re-
port MANY of. these structures are
best classified as fire traps
Data was received from 429 cities.
The report says: "These facts, OBJ
tanned from rs per cent, Of all the cit
les reporting, show that in these cities
even excluding those housed in an
nexes where conditions may be normal
there are morei than $4,000 children
who are either on half-time because
of lack of building space or are housed
in portables, rented buildings, attics,
easements or corridors. 1t would re-
quire an average Of two thirty-room
buildings in each Of these cities to
properly house the groups Of children
alone"
"The report sets forth statistically
the inadcquacy Of playground space
on the playground than is supplied in
the classrooms in which they are
taught" says Mr. Strayer in the in
PRODUCTION.
"Three million six hundred thous-
and children are represented in this
report on Fairgrounds" it is stated
land the study discloses that one-half
of them-1,SOO,OO children-have no
playground at all.
On the subject of fire hazard in
schools; the report states: "Only 5 per
cent Of the total number Of buildings
are of the types of construction US
ually called fireproof. Only small
number have fireproofing elements to
lessen the first hazard to the children.
At least % per cent of the two poor
est types of buildings are Of two or
more stories and, do not have re-es-
cape"
The report directs attention to "the
large number of children between the
ages of 13 and 16 years who leave the
public schools" There is probably no
more serious problem or none more diff
ficult to solve now facing the people of
this country" it says.
According to the reports from 29O
cities, per cent OF the chlldren nave
left school before their thirteenth year,
10 per cent. before IA, IS per cent be-
fore Is and 81 per cent before they are
16 years old.
I'm the geographical groups" the
report continues, "thc highest per cent.
of these children remain in the west
crn cities. Next in order are the Great
Plains cities, then the southern, the
Great Lakes. and lowest Of all are the
eastern cities. In this last group only
20 per cent of the children 16 years of
age. and Sc per cent of those from IA
to 16 years, inclusive. are in school,"
Attention is directed to 10 notable
falling off in attendance" at evening
schools during the last six years, a
period Of unusually high wages"