Evening star., 1922-04-04
PLAY SITE NEGLECT.
BRANDED CRIMINAL
BEFORE CONGRESS
Educator Tells Committee
All Schools Should Have
Spacious Grounds.
DECLARED AS ESSENTIAL
TO CHILDREN AS BOOKS
Inadequate Spaces in Washington
and Need for General Improve.
ment Strongly Emphasized.

ment Strongly Emphasized.
Erection of schoolhouses without
adequate Fairgrounds to provide suf-
f1cient space for all the children
which the school will accommodate
is criminal. Senators and members
of the House who compose the joint
congressional committee on schools
were told this in emphatic terms by
Thomas E. Finegan, superintendent
of public instruction Of Pennsylvania.
The committee for many months
has been investigating the needs of
the public schools system of the
District of Columbia. and called be-
fore it number of educators who
were successfully running the schools
of their states. Every one told OF
the Importance of Fairgrounds. The
committee is considering the matter
of providing additional buildings to
relieve the crowded condition in the
| local schools. and, it was pointed out,
| if they follow the suggestions of
their witnesses they will attach just
as much Importance to the matter of
relieving the crowded conditions
which now prevail on the local play
grounds.
Neglect Declared Crime.
When Representative Woodruff ask
| ed Mr.. Finegan If it was his idea that
Fairgrounds should be provided at
each school. he said:
Il think 1t is a crime to erect school
houses without Fairgrounds, il you
enters just as much into the INTEL
1ectual and moral development of the
child as classroom work. 1t is not a
fad or frill. 1t is sound sense. Men
like to play. We all like to play.
Don't you Representatives and sem
ators get away occasionally to play.
1t is beneficial to all Of US to get
| away from our work, to go new
places. to take in theater. etc. That
is play to us. We take our play in
different forms. Adults generally like
some kind Of play. They need it. So
do children
so-called school Fairgrounds in
| merely equipped spaces, 1t was point
ed out. Most of them are Just small
spaces around the building. 1t was
never the original intention that they
should be used as Fairgrounds. and
they do-not provide the facilities for
playground would furnish.
Open, Only Short Period.
Then. the school Fairgrounds are
open only for a short period during
the summer. the six-week period Of
the vacation schools. Prior to the
entrance of the country into the war,
it was pointed out. Congress made an
nual appropriations for the mainte-
nance of school Fairgrounds during
the summer months. In that year
the method of appropriating for the
summer Fairgrounds alone was dis
continued and Joint appropriation
for vacation schools and Fairgrounds
were made. Since then, with such
joint funds, schools for coaching have
been maintained during six weeks Of
July and August and in connection
under supervision from $3.50 am. to
1870 PM, during five days of the
week.
Thexe are forty-three school yards
equipped with school funds. but
which are at no time under the su-
pervisfon of trained lady leaders. This
does not take into consideration
twenty-four unsupervised school
yards with more or less apparatus,
are not included in the above figures.
The play apparatus in most of these
yards, it was pointed out, is used
mostly by the very small children.
twelve years upward have practically
no place to play but the streets and
a lot or two which may be found in
their respective neighborhoods. There
is no place in the cramped school
yards for them to play basket ball.
which require a great amount Of space
for the freedom of action which such
play requires.
Must Resort to Streets.
It is this condition around the
schools of the city which throws a
great many children out into the
streets. where there Is great danger
from the vehicular traffic, and where,
too, there is always the possibility
that in their play they will violate
some minor police regulation and thus
increase the percentage of child de
linquency" for their territories.
A few of The schools, up to several
years ago. did have fair sized school
yards adjoining the buildings. How
ever with the rapid growth in the
school population during the war Pc
riod, the bulky portables have been
erected, thus gradually forcing the
children out on the streets. The chill
dren's bureau experts who examined
the local Fairgrounds situation point
ed out that there Is no assurance,
even now, that those schools which
do have some Fairgrounds will not be
robbed of this space by the addition
of buildings without the accompany
ing addition Of grounds. All Of this
they poitned out, tended to destroy
any development p;ns It, Of a sta9dard play
also pointed out that very few of the
school yards, even now, are OF ssuf-
ficient size and shape to be used for
ex., y,loty