Evening star., 1922-12-05
SCHOOL SHOOTERS
! OF CLIPS ORGANIZE
New York Teachers Ask Pc.
lice to Help Stop Bombard-
ment From Desks.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Thanksgiving holiday period ended.
is the putting down of what. for want
of a better name. has been charac-
terized the Junior Ku klux klan.
With no official-or any other for
that matter-connection with the
white-clad brethern whom Mayor Hy-
Ian has ordered chased from the city.
this junior aggregation not only has
sufficiently warranted it's title. but the
police have been requested to aid the
teachers.
The two days in which school has
been in progress following the holiday
lull has demonstrated that this is
real problem With the wildfre
growth which the "shifters" enjoy
ed some months ago, this new hap
hazard and distinctly lively and en-
thusiastic league of young people Is
haling fresh recruits to Its ranks
every hour.
They continue without an official
name. but the teachers have charac-
terized them. They have no apparent
rules other than the time-honorcd one
of annoying teacher. To qualify as
member the pupil must have an elias
tic band. supply of metal paper
clips and a sure aim. And this latter
qualification has not prevented the
girls being admitted.
From time immemorial school pu-
pills have winged teacher now and
then with 4 bent pin or piece of well
wetted paper. This is. of course. as
routine as whispering or throwing
notes. But officials say that never
in the history of education has the
practice of throwing things grown
the New York schools. Janitors COM
plain that the floors of the class
rooms are literally covered with
metal clips. twisted pins and pen
points.
Bombardment Is General.
Teachers in every school in the
five boroughs complain to the school
authorities that the singing little
missiles lombard them from all di-
rections. shooting clips" has be-
come positively epidemic. and all
efforts to stamp out the practice
this repspeet the Junior Ku Klux
resembles its older but scarcely
bolder brotherhood.
City schools are sadly overcrowd-
ed. This condition aids in the dis
order. Since SO large a percentage
Of pupils are on part time they have
only part-time awe for teachers
authority. Teachers themselves ad-
nit that the Difference usually felt
by the pupil for the instructor under
whom he spends five full days each
week is conspicuously absent. More
over. classrooms are so crowded that
maintaining discipline is almost i'm
possible. as the teacher is unable to
watch all of the children.
For these reasons and because
youth grows more mischievous and
unruly when elders half admit their
inability to enforce commands, the
clipshooters are progressing as mer
rily and defiantly as shifters. flappers
or the Juvenile cigarette smoker.
Thus it happens that while Mayor Hy-
Ian has ordered Police Commissioner
Enright to root out the ku klux.
Superintendent of Schools William
l.. Ettinger. has ordered his teachers
to root out the disturbing element in
in the schools.
Teacher Wants Policeman.
That the school superintendent re-
alizes the seriousness of the situa-
ton is shown by the fact that he
ordered all of his district superintend
ents to see that the clipshooting is
stopped If it means calling the police
into every school in the greater city
Under these orders If the teacher
order she either may call the police
man in from his beat or send to the
station house for those she needs to
put down this genera. clipshootlng;
But while the idea OF calling IN the
police seems to have made something
Of hit with teacher. it did not
arouse hearty cheers when 1t was
mentioned at police headquarters.
.Oh. Of course. if a policeman is
called he will have to CO.. said one
OF the captains on duty tnere. put
when he gets there what is he go
ing to do?"
That was about the general posi-
tion Of every one who had heard "hat
Superintendent EttinEer wanteo.
"If there was consideraabRle R o, oas;h1s ihGs
for the officer sent for to arrest some
of them for malicious mischief. an
otber one of Enright's henchmen ex-
niained. "He might. maybe. make a
charge of disorderly conducs o,Ia ,so; s,ick; aff
~ the Juvenile Court. And to call a
COP simply because a kid cannot help
shooting a clip at the teacher when
she can't see flim-well. seems to me
this ought to be up to the teacher.
What Next for "Cops"s
Eyes. l know conditions are bad or
the teacher would not think of calling
a cop. But what I want to ask is
this: Where are a po1icemanS duties
going to end If such things keep up:
booze runners and burglars and fires
and foods and male f1irts; stop runa-
way horses when there are any IN
these days of joy riders. see that push
cart peddlers have license and help
old women across the street-and no"
thew want him to help to teach school.
4 hired man. that's what a cop is
nowadays"
1t was suggested that. possibly: the
mere sight of an officer in uniform
would work as it does when he heaves
in sight as craps game is in prog
ress. Enrights henchman snorted.
Say he cried. ''if you can find a
New York kid now that is scared at
a cop. will you point him out to me-
Which, at that. may be one thing at
the bottom of the whole trouble.
Copyright. 1927