The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-01-24

are being brought out at the hear
ings before the buildings and
grounds committee of the Board of
Education of Chicago, indicating that
scores Of school buildings are q
menace to life and health and should
be replaced by new ones.
Official Probe Not Started
1t was first declared by the board,
that the buildings and grounds com
mittee would investigate all such
buildings, but this was afterwards
narrowed down to a statement that
the investigation would be limited to
the J. N. Thorp school, seth street
and Burley avenue, which was con-
sidered the worst. The business
manager Of the Board of Education
and the superintendent of schools
were ordered to conductc the investi-
cation. Henry D. Hatch said yester-
day, that far as he knew they had not
begun the investigation.
The DAILY WORKERS own in
vestigation began with the ]. N.
Thorp school which the committee
seems to be avoiding. The Thorp
school is located in the heart of the
South Chicago industrial district. 1t
is attended by the children of work
ing class parents. Most of the pu-
pills are the children of foreign born
workers. The neighborhood in which
it is situated is populated mostly by
Poles and Slavs who work in the steel
mills Of South Chicago.
Hole-in-the-WalI Kitchen
In addition to the regular classes
there are classes for subnormal chill
dren and former truants. There is
also penny lunch room, run in con-
nection with the school which serves
more than two hundred children a
day. Many of the children during
the morning recess, buy their break
fast. The equipment for the lunch
room is of the miserably inadequate
sort found in school lunchrooms. The
kitchen is nothing more than a one
time cupboard, with hole in the
wall, connecting it with the lunch
room proper. All the food is cooked
and the dishes are washed in this
tiny den. The three employees are
continually forced to crowd each
other in the kitchen and walk on each
others toes.
The class room for subnormal chill
dren is in regular class room. It
lis crowded to overlooking with the
special equipment together with the
tables and chairs. Often "a pupils
are attending single class for sub
normals. 1t is impossible to teach
so many satisfactorily at one time.
They are sent from schools outside
the district regularly served by the
Thorp school.
The class for former truants is
crowded into one room. Manual
training equipment and a loom, in
addition to the regular desks, are all
jammed into the same room. The
loom is crowded against one window
where it cannot be handled because
of the proximity of the stationary
desks.
Firetrap of Worst Kind
The Thorp school building is vari-
table firetrap. The original building
was put up about $685., with an adj
dition in 1896. The addition is above
the floor level of the old building.
The old buildings stairs are still used.
They are winding, narrow stairs with
two landings from one floor to an
other. If fire should break out in
the older part Of the building, the
children would either have to pass
far to the front of the building or
down these narrow stairs. The light
on the stairs is wretched.
In spite Of city ordinances, no fire.
proof material is used in the interior