The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1927-09-30
HANDS OFF THE SCHOOLS

"a little school girl in high excitement said tt
her father: Daddy, will you help me get lO
of subscriptions to these magazines (naming
familiar list controlled by New York publishing
cOncern), for have been elected head of class
team and we must beat all the other classes l am
general and l have several captains under me
and the other pupils are privates. l am going to
work all day Saturday and Sunday and get all of
your and mammals friends to subscribe. You see
we get commission each subscription and the
money is to be used to fit up the school gym A
man from the publishing company to school
today to organize us and the drive is to continue
for two weeks"
That sort of thing is going on in many cities and
towns, not only in the interests of magazines but
of various merchandise enterprises. A reporter
for KokomO, Ind. Dispatch recently exposed con-
ditons in the schools of indianapolis, where child
rem were being exploited in sampling stunts to adj
vertise brand merchandise of various Sorts such
as breakfast food, tooth paste, magazines, milk,
medical supplies and goodness knows what else.
There were prize contests with motion picture
tickets for the winners, parades for ONE slick en-
terprise, awards for this and that, until the kids
out there must be in daze. Even some newspa-
per circulators shOrt-sighted enough to hook
up with national magazines to use public schools
For unconsciOnabe commercial advertising.
I'VE believe this condition is great and rapidly
growing evil and menaces the finest American pub
lie institution. Unprincipled and unfair nothing
warrants it and can excuse it. 1t is a shameless
exploitation of child life. That the abuse is toll
Grated by stupid worse authorities is the amaz-
ing fact Those engaged in it may humble that
1t IS good thing to teach children to brush their
teeth, read good books and avoid disease, but we
know all that and so do public school teachers, who
are able to drive the lessons home without the as
slstance of the promoters of particular brands of
tooth paste, breakfast foods, magazines and so
forth.
Hands off the public schools! There are already
enough distractions to keep our BOYS and girls
from serious study. The indignity, harm and
sheer impudence of it may not be apparent to
them, but must be clear to every parent with a
sense OF appreciation of what the public school
means to America."-Editor and Publisher.
We learn that a nearby publication is guilty
OF the nefarious practice referred to above It is
putting on, through the schools of Mckenzie. Will
hams, Sheridan, Richland and Roosevelt counties
IN Dakota and Montana, campaign for subscrip
uons' IN which it offers playground equipment in
exchange for subscriptions.
School Boards should invetigaste this kind Of
bribery of the young The school districts are able
TO pay the trifling expense of playground equip
ment.
And the parents will be spared the humiliation
OF having their children act as beggars for papers
and magazines
Such practices sap the moral fibre and break
down the independence of spirit of the growing
child ~ eio"iiis
Don't allow your boy or girl to be used for such
mercenary purposes.