Evening star., 1952-10-12


All over town civic tongues
are wagging about Robert
Faulkner. rookie member Of the
District Board of Education.
The school system, says Mr..
Faulkner, is socialistic. because
1t provides free lunches. physi-
cal education and dental clinics.
His remarks, made initially to
the Northeast Council Of Cit
izens' Associations and later
amplified for the press, drew
swift and noisy reaction during
the past few days. The Rev.
Smallwood Williams. Negro
minister and president Of the
Browne Junior High PTA, took
to the radio to call for his resig-
nation or removal. Horace j.
Meyers. vice president Of the
Federation of Businessmen's
Associations. has begun a per-
Sonal campaign around the
civic circuit against this sort Of
thinking. The Commissioners
Engineer Commissioner Bernard
Robinson dissenting-said they
would press for legislation
transferring to themselves the
power to appoint school board
members. The members now are
named\ by the District Court
judges.
The story Of the "socialistic"
school lunch and penny milk
program here began in 1892. A
group Of women headed by Mrs.
John Boyle. jr.. felt the need for
providing free hot lunches to
needy children In the schools.
School officials were skeptical.
Welfare officials didn't like the
idea, fearing it would divert
funds from needy homes. Un-
discouraged. Mrs. Boyle's group
raised money privately and pro-
vided a few hot lunches with
volunteer help in a few schools
in 1893.
Then Mrs. Franklin D. Roose-
velt became interested. That
fall the Federal Emergency Re-
lief Administration began a
lunch project covering more
than 1000 pupils, mostly If not
entirely in the elementary
schools.
The following year the Works
Progress Administration took
over the project. feeding as
many as 5000.
But in fall Of 1897 WPA
money began to run out. WPA
officials said they could continue
to provide the labor if somebody
else put up the food. Mrs.
Boyle re-entered the picture to
try to help raise money. There
were flops and minor successes
and the Commissioners helped
out as best they could. Somehow
the project kept going. In 1912
WPA withdrew even the labor.
Congress Gets Interested
Just when there seemed little
hope Of keeping the project
alive, Congress became inter-
ested In q national school lunch
program for school children.
needy or not. In 1946 President
Truman signed into law a bill
under which States and the
District could receive matching
Federal funds for school lunches.
Needy pupils were to be fed
free. The Federal program op-
Grated through the Department
OF Agriculture. tying in with the
disposal Of surplus commodities.
The lunches were to be provided
in the junior and senior high
school cafeterias. Under the
same program. through contract
with area dairies. So-called
penny milk was made available
to the elementary schools. which
normally have no cafeterias.
The kids pay q penny and the
District and Agriculture De-
partment pay the rest.
For example, the District
share this year in Federal funds
under the Lunch Act is $154, ,693.
OF which $98,600 is for penny
milk: Because of it's average in
come level. the District must
put up $3.50 for each Federal
dollar. Here and across the Ma
ton some 8 million children get
hot lunches and milk today
under the program. School off,