The Wilmington morning star., 1940-03-17
1900 Students Are Fed
DoilyAtM MINIS Cafeteria

90
1t a bowl of soup. It's better for
them. Another thing, we could buy
more in~telligently if we had refrige.
ration in which to stow it.
Adequate refrigeration, by the
way, is our next project. But we
work on such a close margin-just
enough to pay salaries and fixed
charges-that it remains a chancey
matter"
There are many hundreds of
children who, as we have pointed
out, go home for lunch. At the be.
ginning of the school year the sig.
nature of the parent, made in the
presence of a responsible h / g h
school official, is affixed to a card
reading:
please permit my child to leave
the school grounds during the lunch
period. If granted this request, l
will assume full responsibility for
the child's safety and conduct. will
permit no loafing on the part of the
child in the vicinity of the high
school, and will agree to the cancel
latlon of the permit in case of the
child's failure to report back to
school in time for afternoon class
eS."
The reason these cards must be
signed before a responsible witness,
are not at first clear to so MANY
parents. But once it is explained the
parents have expressed qualification
at the high schools bending ever
effort to insure the safety and con.
duct of its hundreds of charges.
Mr.. Hamilton mentioned a case
which teaches the moral. Not long
ago a thoroughly alarmed man told
him of a n~ear-accident he had had
with a high school student who was,
seemingly, doing some reckless driv.
ing about the city during the school
time. The high school principal
ven to the file of lunch permits
and produced a card the students
mother had signed.
The parent assumes full respon-
sibility' for that child's actions" he
said. There's nothing I can do ex.
cept to caution him.
When the lunch permit system
was first tried, the children faxed
parent names and abused the priv.
lege to such an extent that drastic
measures were necessary. The aver
age school child is only human, and
the lunch period affords some grand
loaflng here and yon. The whole
thing could have resulted in. chaos.
Another example of t h e abuse
made of the lunch permits occurred
recently. A boy was reported leav-
ing the school grounds and jump
ing on a passing auto and riding
down street.
Outside Jurisdiction
A check-up show that the boy.
with a properly signed permit, was
beyond the jurisdiction of h i g h
school authority.
A firm control of the lunch period
activities is, therefore, justifiable.
There is a responsibility which the
entire faculty feels when those chill.
dren are turned loose. Their safe.
ty measures have reduced the ever
lurking accident toll to nothing.
But what of those who haven't
lunch permits and haven't the
few cents for a lunch at the cafe
terra? Last week it was pointed out
in these columns that the PIT. A.
provides hot lunches for 18 needy
students. Unmentioned were t h e
several teachers and individual pat.
rons who are taking care of a mum.
be" of others for which there has
been no provision made.
But with all this charity, there are
still a number of pupils who reach
school without breakfast-and face
the long day with no lunch, but the
high school authorities are doing
everything in their power to bring
this unhappy condition under con.
tro. so that when the cry, soups
on" comes young hungry stomachs
can place their feet under a table
and have themselves a time of it.