Evening star., 1938-02-13

by all means-but do not neglect their
equally hungry brothers and sisters
and parents at home!"
This is the trend of tide of Senti-
ment among social welfare authorities
as the District Commissioners strug-
gle with the problem of the f1nan-
cially- -harassed school lunch program.
Pending action by Congress ON a re-
quest for an emergency appropriation
of $4,000 with which to continue the
lunches through the school term, the
Commissioners, as temporary eXpe-
dent, have pressed into use some sur
plus relief funds, and have taken over
from the Citizens Permanent Com
mittee, Inc, the job of carrying on
the feeding.
Meanwhile, the Commissioners have
called on the committee for an audit
OF its accounts. The committees
funds are said to be exhausted.
The threatened collapse of the lunch
project may prove to be blessing in
disguise, it is thought, since agitation
over the lunch dilema has given I'M
petus to concerted public demand
for immediate relief of thousands of
men, women and children who are
face to face with starvation in the
Nations Capital.
Feeding in Home Agitated.
All of which has served to revive
controversy over the desirability of
feeding children in the school rather
> than in the home.
That there are strong arguments
on both sides of the question became
apparent to The Star canvass of So
Cial workers and others interested in
charity.
Defenders of the school lunch plan
contended it is better to feed hungry
children at school than to let them
starve because there is not enough
money to feed whole family at home.
Critics, while agreeing that public
lunches. are better than nothing"
declared the plan is wrong in prin-
ciple. in that it involves dscrimina-
tory relief and is embarrassing to re-
Cipients; that schools are not equip
ped to administer relief efficiently
and that some of the methods of
Embarrassing used by the committee
in charge have been uncertain and
expensive.
Movement Began in 1882.
The movement to provide free
lunches for needy school children
began in February of 1882, when the
Washington Herald, in cooperation
with the Home and School Associa-
ton. organized the Washington School
Chlldrens Lunch Committee with a
|, nucleus of the following members
Mrs. John Boyle, jr., president of the
Home and School Association of
Chevy Chase: the Rev. John A. Ryan,
Mrs, Leslie B. Wright, Mrs. Eleanor
Patterson. publisher of the Herald,
and Matthew F. Boyd of the Herald's
editorial staff
That the project was launched un-
der difficulties is evidenced by state
ment printed in the official program
for the Inflated velvet ball: Almost
Immediately incredible obstacles and
delays were thrown in the path of
establishment of such a project. Off,
cials doubted the proprety of intro
ducing relief in the schools. They
said it was extra -curricular' They
doubted whether hungry school chill
dren would accept the free meals.
They doubted the accuracy of esti-
mates of the number of hungry chill
dren. They summoned Health De-
partment officials to object to the
diet. They suggested surveys. They
said that no funds were available to
do anything anyhow"
Finances Provided.
The committee was not deferred by
the opposition, and finally Mrs Pat
terson agreed to solve the money
question by financing the project for
one school term in an effort to prove
its soundness. Mrs. Boyle and Mr..
Boyd organized a corps OF woman
volunteers to serve the lunches.
The first lunches were distributed
on February 81 1888, to 10 schools in
Georgetown. BY the end of the term
LOO children in As public and paro-
chial schools were being fed daily
About one week later, DR.. Frank w.
Ballou, superintendent of schools,
wrote letters to the Board of Public
Welfare and the Council of Social
Agencies, inquiring if these agencies
thought the lunch program was "a
desirable activity for the schools to
take up" He inclosed a QUESTIONABLE
which it had been proposed the schools
should send to parents to determine
whether children were in need of
free lunches
Il am particularly concerned with
this" DR.. Ballou wrote, because the
schools have no employees who could
visit the homes and more particularly
because many parents might resent
putting in writing the information
called for on the sheet Moreover it
undertakes to set up distinctions be-
tween children, which it seems to a
school man, ought to be avoided"
Advised Questionnaire.
George S. Wilson, then director of
public welfare, replied it was "unfor-
tunate that the schools should be
called upon to undertake such task,
but there may be some justification
for it in the existing emergency"
Under the circumstances, he told DR..
Ballou. the QUESTIONABLE seemed the
best method available to select ben
ef1ciarles, but he recognized sit would
not be full and accurate" and that it
'involves some embarrassment grow
ing out of the apparent discrimina-
ton or invidious distinction between
families whose children may be in
need of hot lunches and those who
would probably resent the offer of
such assistance"
Mrs. Franklin d. Roosevelt became
interested in the project and dis
cussed it with Federal relief officials.
In the fall of 1888 the Federal Emer-
gencA Relief Administration took
charge. Approximately 7,400 school
children were fed with the F. E. r. A.
money.
The Works Progress Administration
~. l.