7-/Z3 §mMll Hlmtimitg Jibwg BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF 1S91 KxA4-7qno 3lial/:< LC130 .H2T" ""'""'''' """^ ''^SJ.^!.'i?.*i9.(?..°' <=i*y school children olln 3 1924 030 605 152 ^u^ Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030605152 REGISTRATION OF CITY SCHOOL CHILDREN A Consideration of the Subject of the City School Census BY JOHN DEARLING HANEY, Ph. D. TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION, NO. 30 PUBLISHED BY ^mtiftts OlolUsr. (flolmnbm MntvfrBttg NEW YORK CITY 1910 V- -fw Copyright, 1910 By JOHN DEARLING HANEY PREFACE In this monograph I have endeavored to trace the principles underlying the city school census, to discover the salient features of present systems of school censuses, to apply general laws to them, and to account for their failure or success. The historical presentation offers evidence, which is believed to be convincing, of the reluctant admission on the part of edu- cational boards of the inefificiency of our compulsory education laws and their so-called enforcement. The failure to see the proper function of the police in regard to school administration, is believed to be at the root of the difficulty, and the school census thus appears only as another point of approach from which the schools may control that element of the population which is most in need of school training. But that it must stop with even the attainment of that aim, the needs of modern social economy and the spirits of the boards that supervise the employment of under-age children and juvenile delinquents, emphatically deny. It is therefore toward the extended use of the registration of children that the author most eagerly looks and in which he sees the real economy of what still appears to many administrators of school systems as a futile expenditure of money. Throughout the work he has endeavored to emphasize the possibility of (a) an effective school census in contradistinction to a general census; (b) a current or continuous census as dis- tinguished from a discrete census; and (c) an effective exten- sion of the census of children beyond the purposes of mere " compulsory education." In the hope that the suggestions herein contained may prove of value to those whose vision anticipates the growing complexity of municipal education, the author ventures to present them. JOHN DEARLING HANEY New York, March 1910 ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction — ^The Problem „ Page Growth of the municipal community 1 1 Mode of dealing with its problems 1 1 The laboratory method 1 1 The problem of childhood 12 Child Conference for Research and Welfare 13 The present status of the registration of school children 14 The dissertation 15 Part I. Analytical 15 Its divisions 1$ Method of approach 15 Part II. Constructive 15 Summary and Conclusions 16 Definition of registration 16 Relation to compulsory education 16 Aim of registration 17 Scope 17 Chapter I. — Germany Early account of Schulpflictigkeit 18 Modem treatment of the subject 18 Laws concerning it r 19 School administration in Germany 20 Political divisions 20 Definition of terms 20 School control 23 Inspectors 23 School deputation and school commission 24 Rector 24 The School Commission 24 Size, Members, Powers, Duties 25 School lists 25 Admission to school 25 Discharge 27 Absence 28 Parochial and evangelical schools 28 Directions to parents 30 Neglect of school duty 31 The school lists of absentees 32 5 6 Table of Contents Page Potsdam Regulations 3 2 The school lists 33 The Solingen Regulations 34 The case of Hans Berg 34 Chapter n. -^Prance Loi sur I'Enseignement Primaire Obligatoire 36 Admission to school 36 School lists 37 Discharge 37 Absence 38 Private schools. ...-.,... i . .j 39 School, neglect 39 Loi sur I'Organisation de I'Enseignement Primaire 40 Inspection 40 Public schools 40 Private schools .' 41 School councils 41 Letter of the Minister of Education on School Lists; 42 Chapter III. — England: London Report of the Education Committee of the London County Council, 1909 46 Status of Attendance in London 46 The supervisory staff. ......,..,..,.;,,... ,t ..,,. ., 46 The Census 47 Mode of canvass and punishment for illegal absence 47 Statistics of attendance 48 Relation of the census lists to compulsory attendance 49 Annual versus biennial scheduling 50 Where the book register fails, .50 Chapter IV. — Compulsory Education Laws and School Census Laws in the States of the United States Digest of the state laws concerning compulsory education 51 Digest of the school census laws of the states 53 Digest of the school census laws designed to control attendance. ... 55 Chapter V. — Philadelphia History of the school census law 50 Object of the school census law in Philadelphia 61 The census and the Bureau of Compulsory Education 61 Scope of the school census 52 Law of July, 1 901 g2 The census and the enrollment g^ The law in practice g. Table of Contents 7 Page Census districts 64 The ward division 64 Map 65 Statistics of school population in Philadelphia 66 Value of the statistics 67 Enumerators 68 Attendance officers versus assessors 68 Distribution 69 Appointment 69 Ability 70 Method of enumeration 70 Time 70 Cost 71 Field work 71 Two plans of work 72 Instructions 72 Reports 75 Co-operation of parochial schools 73 Authenticity of the information 75 Taking the census : Field work 76 Conditions 76 Work of enumerator C 77 Work of enumerator R 79 Work of enumerator W 8i Work of enumerator W (second day) 83 Cautions 83 Time of year 85 Efficiency of the system 85 Report of principals and district superintendents 86 Chapter VI. — Boston and Chicago Boston. The law 87 Mode of enumeration 87 Opinions in regard to the character of the census 88 Value of Boston statistics 89 Development of the statistics 89. Chicago. The law 90 The census of 1908; a general census 90 Enumerators 91 Field work 91 Map of wards 92 Method 93 Instructions ." 94 Statistics 93 8 Table of Contents Chapter VII. — Providence and Detroit Page Providence. The law 9" Conclusions of the Supervisor of the School Census 96 Methods of enumeration 97 Cost 97 Field work 9^ The record. 98 Clerical staff 98 Co-operation of other departments 99 Detroit. The law 99 Its execution 100 Enumerators 100 Cost 100 The law of census lists and enrollment loi Its failure in places other than Detroit 10 1 Its failure in Detroit loi Co-operation of other departments loi Chapter VIII. — New York History of the School Census law 102 The census of 1906 102 Field work : Method 102 Police as enumerators 103 The statistical results 104 Analysis of these 105 The law of May 11, 1908 107 The law examined and criticised 109 Attitude of the authorities toward the census no Partial census of other departments not co-operating in Mobility of school population 112 Chapter IX. — Summary Chief points of the foregoing systems 1 13 Why the United States' systems have failed 114 Value of an adequate registration of children n6 Chapter X. — ^Recommendations Frequency of enumeration 117 Bureau of enumeration 118 Cost up Time of year 120 The enumerator j2i The enumerator's record 122 The superintendent's report 124 Table of Contents 9 Appendix ■d„ „ Jr'age 1. List of all children, Solingen, Germany 13 i 2. List of all school children, Solingen 132 3. School Commission's record of the admission of a pupil, Berlin. 133 4. School Commission's certificate of admission issued to pupil, Berlin 134 5. School Commission's report to the school of the admission of a pupil, Berlin 134 6. Headmaster's and Mayor's report of the transfer of a pupil to another town, Solingen 13 5 7. School Commission's report of transfer within city limits, Berlin. 13 7 8. Headmaster's report on absences: Mayor's order for citation and warning to parents on citation, Solingen 137 9. Mayor's order for punishment of delinquent parents with police certificate of execution, Solingen 139 10. Mayor's order against delinquent parents by mail where personal service fails, Solingen 140 11. Mayor's warning to delinquent parents, Berlin 140 12. Mayor's repeated warning to parents that report illness, Berlin. 141 13. Headmaster's report on absences to the School Commission, with the latter's voucher to the Headmaster or the School Police, Berlin 141 14. Police entry of fine, and notice to delinquent parent, Berlin .... 143 15. Order to parent to appear or pay fine in arrears, Berlin 144 16. Order to levy on property of delinquent parent for non-pay- ment. Sheriff's return, Berlin 145 17. Decree of imprisonment for non-payment, Berlin 146 18. Police record of imprisonment in lieu of fine, Berlin 147 19. Quarterly report of the Headmaster to the School Commission on school registration, Berlin 147 20. Quarterly report by the Headmaster to the School Commission on pupils exempt from afternoon session to go to work, Berlin. 148 21. Card used for indexing all pupils of Philadelphia schools 148 22. Page of enumerator's street book, Philadelphia 149 23. Weekly report of Philadelphia census enumerator 149 24. Newport, R. I., census blank similar to that used in Providence, R. 1 150 25. Instructions to enumerators, school census, New York City, 1906 151 26. School census blank proposed for New York City by the Com- mittee on Physical Welfare of School Children and N. Y. Child Labor Committee for the school census of 1906 152 27. School census for the Borough of Manhattan, City of New York, 1906 153 Bibliography 154 Acknowledgment 156 REGISTRATION OF CITY SCHOOL CHILDREN INTRODUCTION The history of the last decade shows fundamental changes in the methods employed by investigators in economic fields and a constant widening of the areas of study of economic topics. The laboratory method of procedure has come to be recognized as the most accurate and satisfactory way of dealing with the propositions that confront the sociologist, and sociology has itself broadened until it includes all kinds of political study and reform. One phase of this, a phase partly indiiced by the modern ten- dency, yet unchecked, to migrate to the city as the readiest source of wealth, has been the development of the science of municipal administration. Throughout the world there has arisen a feel- ing that the work that the great city corporations have to per- form, cannot be left to the haphazard treatment of politicians and men untrained in the business of handling the enormous forces of municipal power. Just, for instance, as the United States government has come to recognize the advantage of using its consular positions as the best school for its future Ministers, and has made of the higher offices in the consular services civil service positions to be gained by examinations arranged to de- termine peculiar fitness for consular activity, so there has grown up a determination to have the municipal corporations admin- istered by men that have proved their capacity for this purpose in offices and positions of less importance. Men of wealth have set aside large funds for the purpose of facilitating study of the adequate management of public corporations, and private means have furthered the investigations of all kinds of public corporate waste. Specific evidence of those statements can be readily found. 1 2 Registration of City School Children There is the fund of ten million dollars given by Mrs. Russell Sage for the study of the Improvement of Living Conditions; there is the fund established by Mr. Rockefeller for the study and treatment of the anemia of the poor whites of the southern United States; there is the fund that brought into being the New York Bureau of Municipal Research ; there is the fund con- tributed from various sources that supports that department of the New York Charity Organization Society known as the De- partment of Improvement of Social Conditions. Specific evidence of the results of activities fostered by these means can be as readily found. There is the Pittsburgh Survey, reported in the volumes of the Russell Sage Foundation, a sta- tistical investigation by experts into the living conditions of the city of Pittsburgh with its foreign population, its furnaces, its absentee landlords, its saloons, its liabilities and its schools. There is the exhibition in New York, at the 22d Regiment Armory Building, of the City Beautiful, with its illustrated dis- cussion of Tenement House Reform, Sewage Disposal and Water Supply, Location and Decoration of Schools, Tree Plant- ing, and Tuberculosis Prophylactics. The subjects of Housing, Child Labor, Compulsory Educa- tion, Charities, Playgrounds, Children's Institutions, and Fac- tory Inspection are being gone over anew with the laboratory treatment, to discover truths overlooked before, and better ways of handling the problems of wasteful living and the perplexing questions of our modern concentrated existence. The Commer- cial Club of Chicago, at an expense of $75,000, contributed by disinterested merchants and professional men, gets out a Plan of Chicago by the architect of the World's Columbian Exposi- tion of 1893, that that city may develop centers of intellectual life and civic administration so related as to give coherence and unity to the municipality. Dr. Edward T. Devine, in his study of Misery and Its Cause, inquires into the cases of 5,000 families in order to discover generic principles for the distribution of charitable funds. In Germany this activity has led to the new study of " Stadte- bau " which movement, reflected in America, finds expression in Eliot's " City Planning in America." A host of books bearing Introduction 1 3 on the general problem of city construction ^ finds admirable support in numerous magazine articles all treating of the same subject. As the discussion ramified and the topics segregated, a broad area of unexplored territory relative to child life appeared. It was discovered that, in the city, property grew so valuable for other purposes that it was not left vacant for the random play of children and that the child's territory was being gradually swept away from him and his life was narrowing and hardening. There sprang up The Playground Association. Similarly, it was found that the old negligent way of dealing with the juvenile delinquent was making work for the State instead of safeguard- ing it, and there arose the institution of Children's Courts. And then it came to be realized that, after all, society knew very little in a scientific way about the social life of children, and there came into being the Child Conference for Research and Welfare. A few moments' consideration of the projects of this society will show how far the world has progressed from the stage at which its only dictum was that children " ought to be seen but not heard." The Conference proposes to pubHsh reviews of the work of all movements relating to children throughout the world, and to bring together the workers from the different movements for the welfare of children so as to produce a more unified and effective action. When it is understood that there are more that twenty-five journals, exclusive of educational periodicals, devoted to the study of childhood, and that in the United States alone more than seven hundred school laws are passed yearly, a better idea of the field of usefulness for such unity and har- mony is obtained. Before, however, any steps can be taken to minister to the necessities of the children, two questions must be answered: Where are they? and How many are there of them? Before these questions are answered, others are more or less premature. ' H. E. Deming: Government of American Cities. L. S. Rowe: Problem of City Government. P. C. Howe : The City : The Hope of Democracy. W. B. Munro: Government of European Cities. F. J. Goodnow: Municipal Government. 14 Registration of City School Children Yet there is not a city in the United States, and very few in the world, that can give an accurate answer to the inquiries.^ It has, accordingly, been my task to investigate some of the leading systems of enumeration of school children in cities, espe- cially in cities of the United States, to see what their cases present and what efforts the authorities have made toward a solution of the difficulties, and with what success they have achieved their results. In order to do this the more thoroughly and comprehensively, I have examined some of the European systems with a view toward ascertaining their merit and of' find- ing out how far their procedure is adaptable to our own country. ^ The report of the State Superintendent of Education of New Hamp- shire for 1908, is candid and interesting. He states, p. 155, " The first question which naturally occurs is: How large a percentage of the total number of children of school age are going to school ? The statutes of New Hampshire do not constitute any range of age as ' school age ' unless the census requirement, ' between the ages of 5 and 16,' consti- tutes school age." " Prior to 1895; the school census was usually taken by the assessors of taxes as a part of their duty. Since that date it has been made by the local truant officer or by some other agent appointed by the school board. Under the former arrangement the enumeration was entirely worthless since, at times, it would report scarcely one-half the children known to be in school. Under the present arrangement, although far from being strictly reliable, the returns are a vast improvement on those formerly made. They will never be what they should be until the public school system of the State as a whole is overlooked by men trained for the purpose, and who have no other business." There then follows a very confusing discussion involving figures drawn, without reference, from two tables, one in the front of the book, and one in the rear of it, and some from no evident source at all. The value of his argument is much impeached by this obscure discussion, but the intent of his remarks is clear and soiind enough. He continues : ' ' Prom all these considerations, I conclude that the enum.eration is probably too small by at least 3,000 to 8,000. Setting it at the latter figure, we should have as an outside estimate 82,000 children between the ages of s and 16 in the State. Of these approximately 75,000 (i. e., 74,065) are accounted for. Where are the other 5,200? In the first placci a large number of them are children between the ages of 5 and 8, law- fully detained at home by their parents; another considerable number, probably less than a thousand, are in orphanages, the school for feeble- minded, the industrial school, and similar institutions. The remainder, precisely how large a number we cannot say, are doubtless in various stages of educational neglect." * * * " -phe school census must be taken with greater promptness and greater thoroughness every year. Introduction 15 The dissertation divides into two parts: I. Descriptive and expository with illustrative matter; and II. Critical and con- structive, suggesting plans of work and remedies for defects. Part I includes two sections: Foreign and Domestic. The Foreign section treats of the systems of Germany, France, and England. The German division shows a perfected centralized scheme with ramifications for procuring universal education by the rigid application of a compulsory education law whose foundation is the registration of children. It is illustrated by forms used by German municipal communities. The French section is briefer. It presents the more democratic but looser and less efficient French system. The English section, also brief, shows a system practically our own, except for the very impor- tant feature of the size of the executive force. The two former systems are national. The system given as English is really the London system. The domestic section of the dissertation breaks up into several parts, each dealing with a separate community, e.g., Philadelphia, New York, Providence, Chicago, and other western cities and States that have a systematic registration or semi-registration of school children, e. g., Michigan, Idaho, Nevada. The Philadelphia system is taken up in detail because the city in which it is applied is a large one, and has that kind of popula- tion that makes the application of a scheme of registration diffi- cult. This system was viewed at first hand by the writer who participated in the enumeration. This is followed by briefer expositions of the New York situ- ation, Providence experience, Chicago experience, etc., etc., with a view toward collating the various procedures and estimating their merit. Part II, the constructive portion, is a critical examination of the foregoing evidence, with a treatment of such topics as Census Districts; Census Takers, their appointment, equipment, and It is recommended that all school boards use the card method, entering all the data for each child upon the same card, the card then to be filed away for use in subsequent years. The census is the only way by which we can establish our base line and ascertain just how many and what children we have to deal with. The department of public instruction must obtain more complete reports from all classes of institutions dealing with minor children, and the reports must be better classified than they are now." T 6 Registration of City School Children management by a central bureau ; Relation of public, private, and parochial schools by means of census; Uses of the census for purposes other than compulsory education, e. g.. Health Inspec- tion, Factory Inspection, Tenement Inspection, Controlling the Physical Welfare of Children, Improving the Condition of the Poor, etc. The industrial growth of the American community as well as the tendency of the American youth to be his own master at as early an age as possible, and the increased standard of living, are all tendencies that urge the child into the labor market. With these forces the compulsory education laws and the laws against the employment of under-age children in factories, mines, shops, etc., wage ceaseless war, and the registration of the school population is a matter of more and more pressing concern to those that look toward the enforcement of the laws as the founda- tion of civic righteousness. For the purpose of our discussion, therefore, " registration " will, in general, mean the getting of the name of the child on the books of the school so that he is not thereafter lost sight of by the educational authorities until, by age or schooling, he is no longer within their jurisdiction. It is true that this is usually attempted in one effort by com- munities that take a census of school children, but it does not have to be so. A child may be registered as well through the action of the attendance office that has picked him up on the streets, as by an enumerator that seeks from his parent the data of his life history. But for the sake of brevity, succinctness, and definiteness of discussion, this dissertation is mainly limited to those projects made in a concerted way to discover the num- ber of children of and approaching school age for which the community feels responsible. But because the matter of enumeration so nearly concerns the matter of the enforcement of the compulsory education laws, some digressions must be allowed on the heads of truancy and methods of checking absenteeism. The registration of school children has for its aim several well- defined objects. As conducted by foreign governments, where army service is compulsory, the registration of school children has an imperative meaning that instantly makes it one of the most serious duties of the state, and gives it so definite a goal Introduction 1 7 that the whole development of the system, with its accompanying information, is most rigorously prosecuted and guarded. Noth- ing is left to chance. In the United States the registration of school children has come to mean, as performed by the state governments, the deter- mination of an adequate basis of taxation or apportionment,' and as performed by the municipal authorities, part of the fol- lowing : 1. An enumeration of those at the time, or soon to be, under school authority ; 2. A location of these; 3. A brief description of them : a. For the educational authorities So that the compulsory education law may be enforced ; b. For the health authorities So that the laws of public and private hygiene may be enforced ; c. For the charitable authorities So that relief may be offered to the needy, the hungry, and the lonely and neglected ; d. For the child labor bureaus So that the factory inspection, and the provisions of the child labor laws may be carried out. There is no municipality in the United States at present that takes a census with all these things in view. The isolation of the school census is its vulnerable point. Neither enumerators nor directors know exactly what they are after, and their ques- tions are rather random, and their published figures frequently mere iteration or more or less unprofitable tabulation. ' E. P. Cubberley, v. School Funds and Their Apportionment. Ch. IX. Columbia University Contributions to Education, No. 2. CHAPTER I GERMANY History The material in regard to Schulpflichtigkeit and Schulzwang, or the duty of going to school and the power of the state to compel attendance at school, is, in regard to Germany, very voluminous. But the material concerning the method of registering children is so intimate a part of the general German system of the regis- tration of population, and the relation between the School Police and the general body of police is so close and so generally assunied by the German writers on the subject of School Atten- dance, that information concerning the registration of children has had to be got at indirectly by original pamphlets and blanks prepared for the instruction of parents and school boards, and secured by the writer after considerable wrestling with the con- servatism of German bureaucracy. There are, however, certain works that, in treating of the whole matter of school attendance, make reference to the regis- tration of school children. Among the first of these is that of Victor Cousin in the early part of the last century. Yet in the translation of this in 1835, Sarah Austin writes : " I have always been astonished that no researches have been made by any German into the antiquity of Schulpflichtigkeit in the several parts of the empire. The only work I know that touches on the subject is that of J. K. F. Schlegel ' Ueber Schulpflichtigkeit und Schulzwang, 1824.' " Since this report, and especially since the formation of the present empire of Germany, the works have become much more numerous. One of these is the " Organization und Unterichts- folge der stadtischen Volkschulen in Deutschland," by Emil Schwartz, Berlin, 1907 (Rheinhold Kiihn). This work gives an idea of the general laws of the kingdoms and the empire that now control the matter of school attendance in Germany. He says, in Chapter I, on School Duty in the German Federated Germany 1 9 States: In the largest state, in Prussia, these regulations (con- cerning the beginning and ending; lengthening and shortening of the time at school), are determined on the basis of the Charter of January 31, 1850, and of the General Law of May 2, 1794, Part 2, Title 12. According to Art. 21, of the former, parents and those in parental relation must not allow their children and wards to go without the instruction which is prescribed for the public common school. From the General Law, the following paragraphs apply : " Sec. 43. Every inhabitant who cannot or does not wish to provide the necessary instruction for his children in his own house is constrained, after the fifth year is passed, to send his children to school." " Sec. 44. Only on the authority of the magistrate and the clerical school superintendent, may a child be withheld from school for a longer time or be removed from the instruction of the school for some time on account of intervening obstacles." " Sec. 46. The school instruction must be continued until the child has attained, according to the inven- tory of his pastor, that knowledge necessary to every qualified person of his rank." These regulations were established for the whole Prussian monarchy by the Cabinet Order of the 14th of May, 1825, hence for those parts of the country in which the general law had not, up to that time, obtained. Similar regu- lations occur in the cases of other German states. In the king- dom of Saxony school service is regulated by the school law of April 26, 1873 ; in the Empire, by the order of April 18, 1871. For Prussia, however, some of the earlier regulations con- cerning the control of attendance can be seen from the trans- lation from Cousin mentioned before. Quoting from the Entwurf eines allgemeinen Gesetzes ueber die Verfassung des Schul- wesens im Preussischen Staate, Berlin 1819, he says : " Every year after Easter or Michaelmas, the committees and municipal authorities shall make an inquiry concerning all the families lying within their jurisdiction who have notoriously not provided for their children that private education which they are bound to give them in default of public education. For this purpose they shall make a census of all the children of age to go to school. The baptismal registers and those of the civil authorities shall be open to them at the commencement of every year, and the police must afford them every possible facility and assistance. 20 Registration of City School Children "If parents and master neglect sending their children punc- tually to school, the clergymen must first explain to them the heavy responsibility which rests upon parents; after that, the school committee must summon them to appear before it and address severe remonstrances to them. No excuse whatever shall be deemed valid (exclusive of the proof that the education of the child is otherwise provided for) except: certificate of ill- ness signed by the medical man or the clergyman; the absence of the parents and masters which had occasioned that of the children ; or the want of necessary clothing, funds for providing which had not been forthcoming. " If these remonstrances are not sufficient, coercive measures are to be resorted to. The children are to be taken to school by an officer of the police, or the parents are to be sentenced to graduated punishments or fines, and in case they are unable to pay, to imprisonment or to labor for the benefit of the parish. The punishments may be successively increased but are never to exceed the maximum of punishment of correctional police. " The fines are to be awarded by the school committee, to be collected if necessary with the aid of the police and paid into the funds of the committee. The execution of the other punishments rests with the police. If all these punishments are found fneflfectual, a guardian shall be appointed especially to watch over the education of the children." Deftnitions Before any English reader can get a definite idea of the con- stitution of the German school system and its method of con- trolling the registration of children, he must become acquainted with some of the more frequently used terms of the various writers. For the purpose of making the subsequent discussion clearer, some definitions are here inserted: Prussia is divided into 14 provinces. Each of these provinces is divided into departments called Regierungs-Bezirke. Each of these is subdivided into Kreise, and each of these into Ge- meinde. Each department has a council, called a Regierung, with a president. The province has an Ober-prasident. In every province, under the direction of the Ober-prasident, is an insti- tution dependent upon the Ministry of Public Instruction and in some sort a copy of it. As the Ministry is divided into 3 sec- tions (Instructional, Ecclesiastical, Medical), so the Provincial consistorien are divided. The first, for ecclesiastical affairs is the Consistory, properly so-called, (Consistorium) ; the second. Germany 2 1 for public instruction, ( Schulcollegium) ; the third, for public health, (Medicinalcollegium). The mechanism of the administration of popular instruction is in a few words as follows : Primary instruction belongs mainly to the Regierung and the Gemeinde. Every Gemeinde must have a school, and the pastor is in virtue of his office the inspec- tor of this school. Associated with him is a committee of adminis- tration and of superintendence, composed of some of the most considerable persons of the parish, and called Schulvorstand. In the urban parishes where there are several schools of an order higher than that of the country schools, the magistrates form a higher committee which presides over all these schools with their several committees and arranges them into one harmonious sys- tem. This committee is the Schuldeputation or Schulcommission. There is, moreover, in the chief town of the Kreis, another inspec- tor, whose authority extends to all the schools of that circle and who corresponds with the local inspectors and committees. This inspector is almost always a clergyman. His title is Kreisschulinspector. He corresponds with the Regierung of every Bezirk through the president of that Regierung. The Regierung includes several councillors, among others a special councillor for primary schools, a Schulrath. He is a paid inspector. He keeps alive, by inspection, the zeal of the Schulinspectoren and Schulvorstande and the Masters. He is the true director of primary instruction in each Regierung. He is responsible to the Ministry of the Interior, and to the Minister of Public Instruction. Gemeindeschule is another name for Volkschule and is gen- erally used in Berlin instead of Volkschule. It is not a parochial school in our sense of the term. Gemeine or Gemeinde originally meant any community of persons. It is now chiefly used to express the smallest divisions of Church and State, the two most important communities in the world. Town — or Village — Gemeinen have, as parts of the State, their Burgermeister or Schulze ; as parts of the Church, their Pfarrer. — See Krug, Phil. Lex. A Gemeinde is the administrative unit of Prussia, as the Commune is of France, and the Parish or Township of England. The chief magistrate of each Gemeinde is the Schulze, whose functions are, in some degree, similar to those of the French 2 2 Registration of City School Children Maire. The Schulze is assisted generally by two Schoppen. They form the village court of justice for the punishment of slight offences. The immediate superior of the Schulze is the Landrath or Kreisdirector. A Kreis is the lowest or smallest division of territory for purposes of administration of state laws. A Kreis usually includes 2 or 3 cities and the intervening country, but a single large city may constitute a Kreis in itself. A Kreis contains an inde- terminate number of Gemeinden. There are 345 Kreise in the Kingdom of Prussia — the chief magistrate is the Kreisdirector or Landrath, appointed by the government. Under him are 6 deputies of the Kreis chosen by the electors, who are taken in equal number from the owners of land and the inhabitants of the towns and rural parishes. Each of these classes sends 2 deputies. A Regierungs-Bezirk contains a number of Kreise, varying firom 4 to 22. There are 28 Regierungen in Prussia. The word Regierung is used to express both the district and the body by which it is governed, more accurately called Regierungs-Col- legium. This council or board, consists of a president, vice- president, several councillors (Regierungs-rathe), assessors, and other subordinate officers. Magistrat. This term is frequently met in the documents and blanks concerning school administration, and is apt to be mis- leading to the English reader. It is a name applied to the city, or, district school authority, e.g., the Stadtschulrat (City Super- intendent) and one or two others appointed to work with him. It seems to correspond, in general, to an Executive Committee of the American " Board of Education." It is not to be under- stood in the sense of " magistrate," as police magistrate. Vorstand. This term is likewise confusing, as it is used in different senses. There is a Vorstand for each school as well as for each city or district. For the school the Vorstand may be the Rector, corresponding to the American " principal." For the Kreis, it is, on the supervision side, the Kreisinspector or Schulrat; on the general management or business side, it is the Kreisinspector or Schulrat and various other persons represent- ing various interests appointed for the purpose; e.g., representa- tives of the City Council, or of the churches, or of the citizens. Germany 23 In the country, the most important member is always the pastor, together with the Ortsrechter or Dorfschulze (Mayor) and from 2 to 5 representative citizens. It is doubtful whether the term is properly applied to the Rector alone. It is rather the gov- erning body corresponding to our " Board of Education." School Control Das " Ofifentliche Unterichtswesen im Deutschen Reiche," by Dr. A. Petersilie, Leipzic, 1897 (C. L. Hirschfield) is a very complete work on the subject of the public school system of Germany. After indicating the rise of school codes in the various states of Germany after the Reformation, he gives the imperial attitude toward the subject of school law in the following words : " A school law must include primarily all schools collectively, public and private, lower and higher, with the exception of the professional schools and universities, which do not belong in a school law." It is this universality of the school law that, in Germany, gives it its tremendous effect. He then continues with an account of the various supervisory bodies and governing boards that control the school situation in Germany : The chief officer is the Minister of spiritual, instructional, and health affairs. His authority is general and supreme. The Provincial Schulkollegium has immediate control of the higher schools, but has supervision of the whole pedagogical system of the lower. The council for the Regierung, which is a church and school division, oversees the whole lower school system of the regierungs-bezirk, including the private schools. The school committee, or schulrat, must be summoned once a year by the president of the regierung to a meeting of the Provincial Schulkollegium. In Part 2 the author takes up the matter of inspection and points out in detail the duties of the various inspectors. We are concerned mainly with the following : Kreisschulinspectoren. To these belongs the duty of over- seeing all " inward and outward affairs." All officers of the Lokal (a certain prescribed minor district), particularly the inspector, school boards, and teachers must obey their rulings until the inspectors are superseded by the Regierung. They must hold district and school conferences, watch the private schools, and nourish the Sunday schools and the Continuation schools. 24 Registration of City School Children Concerning attendance they have to direct particular attention to the careful performance of the regulations in regard to school neglect. They are obliged in their tours of inspection to examine the attendance lists and punishment lists, the enactments of the Lokal inspectors, the school vouchers, and to supervise the " magistrats " and district commissions (Deputationen and Commissionen) . Where it appears necessary, they can order produced before them for revision, the punishment lists and the Vacatbeschein- ungen before further action is taken by the local police authorities, but these lists must be at once returned. It is the office of the Lokal inspector to keep up enthusiasm for school work and so to arrange matters that no time is lost. He also inspects regularly the absent-list and allows no neglect in this regard to go unpunished. The School Deputationen for cities (School Vorstande for outlying districts) are regarded as essential organs of i\x state overseeing authority. Created in 1811, they are made up accord- ing to the size of the place : From one to three " magistrats " ; as many of the city council (Verordnetenkollegium) ; an equal number of men educationally informed; and a representative of the private schools. We shall hear a good deal about their importance in the con- trol of attendance later. The Rector or Head-teacher is subject to the school Vorstand, the organ of the School Deputation, and to the Lokal inspector who is a member of the Vorstand. The rector admits children to school, maintains the chief books of the school, controls the class lists, and supervises the matter of school neglect (of pupils left or not appearing) in accordance with the Instructions for School Commissions. The School Commission In order to give a definite idea of the function of the school commission, the writer has translated the sections of a pamphlet issued for Berlin, in 1907, entitled, " Instruktion fiir die Schul- kommissionen hiesiger Residenz," but only those passages that concern the keeping track of school children are given in full. The others are summarized. Germany 25 1. The school commissions are, each in its own part of the city, the local organs of the city school deputation, for all affairs not given over to the school boards ( Vorstanden) . 2. School Inspection Districts. 3. Members of the Commissions : The school commission con- sists of the chairmen of those city districts that are included in the district of the commission, and of a number of citizens of the district (among whom there is always a lay member of the respective school boards, and the head-teachers of the schools of the district), and the chairmen of those private elementary schools supervised by the committee in which children are instructed at the cost of the community. 4. Size : in the smaller districts, not less than 20 ; in the greater not more than 25. They are selected for 3 years by the city council, and are subject to the ratification of the " magistrat." 5. Officers. 6. Re-election. 7. Resignation, only by permission from the deputation. 8. Duties of the Chairman. He appoints those that make up the lists of children that must go to school. Neglect of duty by the members leads to charges before the deputation. 9. Journal of his office. 10. Reports signed. 11. Meetings. 12. Quorum. 13. Votes. 14. Jurisdiction of the Chairman. His authority is valid in all proper cases. 15. Messengers. 16. Duties of the commission : The making and executing the lists of children of the district that ought to go to school. (18) Admitting children to the gemeinde schools, taking into account the private elementary schools in which children are maintained at public cost. Controlling school attendance. The granting of supplies. 17. Assignment to school. The commission has no authority to place children in middle schools, Lutheran schools, or Jewish schools, or grant partial or absolute dispensation from school instruction. Those commissions having Catholic or evangelical schools in their districts, must decide whether the admission shall be to one or the other, in accordance with the regulations included in the Appendix to these instructions (Cf. App. 2) post. 18. School lists. In accordance with the direction of 16, the reports of police, in regard to changes of address, shall be sent quarterly, by the school deputation to the school commission. 19. Admission into school. The General Law, Sec. 43, Tit. 12, decrees : — Every inhabitant that cannot or will not look after 26 Registration of City School Children the instruction of his children in his own home, is compelled to send them to school after the sth year. On the school com- missioners there devolves the duty of convincing themselves whether this legal requirement, which, for Berlin, reads, "to send them to school after the 6th year," is carried out by the residents, and to see to it, that no child, not mentally deficient, blind, or deaf, that has completed its 6th year, remains without instruction. Control over the resulting disposal of the children in public or private schools, must be made after careful investi- gation by the commission, on the basis of the aforesaid lists, and the parents that have neglected their legal duty are to be admon- ished to fulfil it. If this admonition is ineffectual, the children are to be entered in school in due form by the commission, and the parents are to be informed of it by appropriate resolution to that effect. If the children do not then appear in the indicated school, the punishment of the parents on account of the remiss- ness, in accordance with the Regulations concerning the Consti- tution and Punishment of School Absences, ensues. 20. Entering a child in the gemeinde school. 21. Time of admission. Except for orphans, who may be admitted at any time, children are admitted only twice a year, at Easter and Michaelmas. They divide the children according to the available space among the schools of their district so that no class in the upper grades exceeds 6o, and, in the lower grades, 70. If there are both gemeinde and private elementary schools, at the disposition of a commission, consideration is first given to the filling of the gemeinde school. In order to keep the commission currently informed of the attendance at the various schools, the head teachers and principals are to send to the school commission copies of the quarterly lists sent to the school deputation, Feb. i, May i, Aug. i, Nov. i. Form E. (Cf. App. 19.) If the commission believes the school too full, it reports this fact to the deputation. 22. .When a child is brought for admission to school, the com- mission will make out Form A (App. 3), according to the state- ments of the individual applicant at the time, and submit to the latter at the same time a copy of the instructions with the order to take note of the same for its own interest. * * * The certificate of application (Schulzuweisungsschein) Form B (App. 4), and the notice to the head teacher or principal, Form C (App. 5), are to be filled out by the commission. The former is sent to the parents ; the latter, to the teacher. 23. Roll Books, etc. Of those children that are sent to a private elementary school, a roll book is kept by a committee especially appointed for each of these schools so that on the basis of it the accounts of the principal may be, by the assigned committee, with the guidance of the roll book, audited and at- Germany 2 7 tested. The certificates of children assigned to private schools are, before being sent to the parents, to be submitted to the member of the committee charged with the maintenance of the roll book for the execution thereon of Note a, Form B. (App. 4.) 24. Discharge from school. If parents wish to take their children out of school on account of removal, they are to give notice of that fact to the head teacher, or principal, 14 days before their removal, or as soon as the new residence is resolved upon by them. The principal, or head teacher, endorses the certificate of application with the name and address of the chair- man of that school commission into whose district the aforesaid are going, and then hands to them the certificate with the direc- tion to betake themselves for the further schooling of their children to the chairman of the commission indicated by him. At the same time he fills out Form D (App. 7) and sends it to the chairman of the commission of his district for transmission to the commission concerned. If the discharge concerns a child who, up to that time has attended one of the private schools mentioned in 16, then, before the certificate is handed over to the parents, there must take place a cancelling of the name of the child in the roll book. (Note b, Certificate of Application, Form B.) (App. 4.) The commission to whom the certificate for re-entry of the child is to be presented must see that the above regulation is carried out. If the note of cancellation (item b) is not filled out, the re-admission of the child is not to be retarded thereby. The original is to be sent back to the former commission after the child has been admitted. 25. Half-day sessions. Every child over 12 that demonstrates to the head teacher, or school principal, that he possesses a "work-book" (Sec. 128 of the Industrial Ordinance of June 21, 1869) is to be allowed to dispense with afternoon instruction without further condition. The ensuing dispensation is to be noted on the Certificate of Application (q. v.) by the head teacher or principal under a declaration of the reason therefor. Every quarter, on Feb. i, May i, Aug. i, and Nov. i, the head teachers and principals must forward to the school com- missions, according to Form F, Appendix 20, an exact Hst of the children so emancipated and the commission sends them, according to prescribed form, to the school deputation. Applica- tions for dispensation from afternoon instruction as well as total dispensation from school instruction of children working in com- mercial establishments and factories, are, if they fail before the school commission, to be received by the deputation. 26. Those unfit to attend the regular day school. If a school commission discover any blind, deaf, dumb, or feeble-minded children of school age in their district, they must inform the school deputation of it, and the latter will enter an order whether. 28 Registration of City School Children to these children, instruction is to be imparted and how it is to be effected. 27. Absence and confirmation. The control of school attend- ance of children entered in school, and the punishment of ab- sences as well as attendance at the instruction for candidates for confirmation and punishment for absence from the same, are governed by the stipulations of the pamphlet on the Regulation of School Attendance, etc. (Cf. post). Control of school at- tendance includes children of all creeds. In order to accomplish these aims, the houses of the school district are to be appor- tioned in such a way that the inhabitants of a definite number of houses may be supervised by one member. (Signed) Hobrecht Magistrat of the local capital Berlin, Nov. 30, 1874. and imperial residence. There then follow three appendices, two of which are here given, the third, consisting of blank forms, appears in the Ap- pendix at the end of this volume. Appendix 2 directions for entering children into evangelical or catholic schools The edict for the year 1861, published as a guide for admitting children to evangelical and catholic schools, October 12, 1863, in No. 43 of the City Record, and later in Nos. 44, and 45 of 1861, and No. 5, of 1865, is hereby abrogated, and in its stead there are herewith collectively imparted for exact observance by all those persons interested in the placing of children under the local civic and school administration, the following legal pre- scriptions, which are in conformity with the Royal School Com- mission for the Province of Brandenburg, in admitting children to evangelical and catholic schools: General Regulations I. There is to be maintained the fundamental principle that, according to the General Declaration of Nov. 21, 1803 under amendment of the prescriptions of the General Law, Part II, Title 2, sec. 76: Legitimate children shall each be instructed in the religion of the father, and As long as the parents are agreed upon the religious instruc- tion to be imparted to their children, no third party shall have any right to oppose them therein. Germany 29 2. The legitimate father is, according to the law, the head of the family, and, as such, he only is legally authorized and em- powered to give to boards and school principals, at all admissions to school, definite directions whether his child shall enter an evangelical or catholic school. 3. So long as the father lives, if he has expressly conditioned the admission, there shall be no change, no matter what religion the father may have. Special Regulations 4. If the admission of a child to school concerns the religion of the father, no special regulation is required. 5. Should a child be directed to a school whose confessional character diverges from the creed of the father, and the child thus be led toward another religion than that of the father, it is to be strictly observed at such admission to school by all those interested, that the definite expressed statement relative thereto shall be made by the legitimate father of the child and the state- ment recorded. 6. In the case of every admission it is left to the province of the school commission to decide whether, in establishing the cor- rect name of the child, a baptismal record is necessary. 7. It is necessary that every appHcant representing himself to be the legitimate father must establish his identity. This certi- tude must be secured without unnecessary inconvenience to the applicant, either by recognition of him by known persons, or in any other convincing way. 8. No other member of the family, not the mother herself, so long as the head of the family is living, is permitted to apply for the admission of a child to school in any other kind of school than that of the creed of the father. 9. If the legitimacy or identification mentioned under 7 is ac- cordingly established, the admission to school according to the father's request must immediately follow. If any doubts of such legitimacy or identification which cannot be imme- diately discharged by the respective civic registrar, arise, a report is to be made forthwith to secure further lawful action by laying the matter before the school deputation. 10. If the father of the child proposed for admission is dead, the admission must be under all circumstances to that " confes- sion " to which the father belonged. In this absolute limitation, neither the guardian nor mother of the child may make any change. There are only two exceptions, as follows: a. No consideration can be given, according to the General Statutes Part II, Title 2, sec. 8r, to a change of creed on the part of the father on his death-bed. 30 Registration of City School Children b. The child, if he has been educated by the father for at least one year before the latter dies, in a creed other than that to which he himself belonged, will retain his condition. Hence the child pursues the confession-school selected by the father and in such a case continues the creed chosen by his father until after his 14th year. 11. After the death of the father there occurs, accordingly, at every new admission, a firmer and firmer establishment of the religion of the deceased. 12. After the 14th year it is in the sole choice of the children which religion they wish to acknowledge (Gen. Stat. Pt. II, Tit. 2, sec. 84). 13. Illegitimate children are to be educated in the faith of the mother until they have reached 15. 14. Those persons that adopt a child deprived of parents, suc- ceed to all rights concerning such children possessed by parents of the blood ; hence, also, the authority to decide in what religion such children shall be educated (Gen. Stat. Pt. II. Tit. 2, sec. 755, and sec. 104 of the Appendix to the same). In Appendix 3 there are instructions for parents and foster- parents " of children of school age, concerning the duty of attend- ing school, in general; attendance at the common (volk) school; half-day school; instruction for candidates for confirmation; and the legal punishment for the neglect of school." But as many of these sections duplicate the information given before, only those parts that seem worthy of more explicit mention will be given complete. Parents are warned that, in Berlin, 6 is the age for beginning school, and that April ist and October ist are the registration days, although February 1st and August ist are the days on which the prospective admittance of the child is to be announced. Vaccination certificate and baptismal cer- tificate must accompany the application. Discharge from school. If a child already admitted to school must leave because of removal, the parents or relatives must proceed as before indicated, and are warned that immediately after taking up the new abode they must place the child in the new school and give over the school certificate to the head-teacher. Certain of the exemptions in regard to half-day school are important, as they show how the authorities keep track of those that are not attending the full session. " An exemption from afternoon instruction can be permitted only to children that have completed 12 years and only in the Germany 3 1 following cases : a. When they are employed in a factory ; b. when they are employed in a distant place. For a. If parents wish to allow their child to be employed in a factory, they must secure for it, from the police, a " work-book " and show it to the head- teacher or school principal. On the evidence of this there may ensue the exemption of the child from afternoon instruction with- out further concern on the part of the teacher. For b. For the employment of children in a place of occupation not a factory in a legal sense, a work-book is not necessary." " The dispensation from afternoon instruction takes place only if: 1. The child has, according to the certificate of the head-teacher and the respective school board, attended regularly and has attained the requisite knowledge ; 2. The circumstances of the parents, according to the deposition of the president of the district, make the employment of the child absolutely necessary, and if, 3. The employer will give a written declaration that he will leave the child free to attend school in the morning. . . If the morning instruction thereafter is not regularly attended, the obli- gation of full attendance becomes once more operative." (v. Appendix 20, post.) " Every child is obliged to attend school up to the close of the semester in which he completes his 14th year. A child who is not fit for the middle grade of a gemeinde school, must remain after the close of his 14th year, and until he is promoted to the middle grade or, until, according to the judgment of the local inspector, a satisfactory outcome may be expected of his atten- dance. A child may be exempted from attendance before the end of his 14th year by an explicit request to the school depu- tation, only if he is, in the judgment of the local school inspector, as determined by the testimony of the head teacher, proficient for the first class of a gemeinde school, and if particular circum- stances make his discharge from school unconditioned. . . Until the dispensation issues, the parents are compelled, under penalty, to allow their child to attend regularly." Then follow certain regulations concerning confirmation and the punishment for neglect of school. Neglect of School Duty From a pamphlet dated City Hall, Room 76, issued at Berlin as Form 152, VI, we get the following information concerning the " Regulation of School Attendance for School Children of the Vicinity, and the Punishment for the Neglect of School Duty." 3 2 Registration of City School Children Sec. 4. For the making of the lists of all children that have become of school age, there are composed, half-yearly, by the Bureau of Police Precincts, directories, in which occur the names of all children that become of school age. The directories are issued by the police bureau to the school deputation not later than February 8th and August 8th of each year, and then sent by the school deputation to the school commission. Cf. Sec. 18, Instruction for the School Commission. Sec. 5. On Saturday of each week, each class teacher makes a selection, from the list of absentees and according to a pre- scribed form, of every child that has missed school one or more days without adequate excuse, and turns it over to the Rector who sends it forthwith to the Qiairman of the school commis- sion that has jurisdiction over the case. Sec. 6. The Chairman transmits these notices on the following Monday to the members of the commission, who investigate immediately, by personal inquiry, the status of the parents, guardian, etc., the reason for the absence, and endorse briefly on the notices, whether the absence occurred through the illness of the child or misfortune of the family, and whether it is to be regarded as excused. In this connection, the guiding principle to be adhered to is, that in regard to children between 6 and 11, only personal sickness can be accepted as excuse. Sec. 7. On Friday of each week the assigned member of the school commission, gives back the notices, thus discharged, to the chairman of the commission, who sends them early on Satur- day to the Rector, for distribution to the class teachers. The class teachers preserve the notices in order to make use of them in making out new notices in case of repeated neglect on the part of the same child, (v. Appendix: 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18, post.) Potsdam Regulations From Wilhelm Bockler's " Verordnungen betreflend das Volk- schulwesen des R. B. Potsdam," Breslau, 1905 (Ferdinand Hirt), certain other details concerning the registration of schod chil- dTen in Potsdam, which may be taken as an example of the usual German procedure, can be secured. The work is complete and gives the laws for all points concerning the admission and dis- charge of children, but only those sections that deal with the subject of registration are given. Under III, p. 12, caption " Schiilerliste," occur the following regulations : 12. Before the beginning of each new school year, each school (i.e. school of one class) and in case of schools of more than one Germany 3 3 class, each class, must prepare a complete list of all the children belonging to the school or classes. (Note: The list must have 6 columns: i. the serial number of the child; 2. the name and birthday ; 3. the day of beginning school ; 4. the day of ending school ; 5. the name, rank, and residence of parent, guardian, or master ; 6. remarks of the teacher concerning conduct, diligence, and progress of the child.) 13. In these lists are to be included those children for whose instruction care is taken outside of the public schools. 14. The officials have the right and duty to supervise the instruction of those children coming under Sec. 13, unless these attend an institution looked after by another board. If these children show that they are below the grade of similar children in the public school, they may be sent to the public school. 15. The office of the preparation of the lists belongs to the school deputation, and where there is not any such, to the teacher, not to the school board. Yet the school board must test the com- pleteness of these teachers' lists and perfect them. 16. In the cities, the " magistrat," and in the country the district board, have the power to provide the school deputation with the necessary communications between the persons of the district for the ^completion of the lists. He must also, if families with children of school age appear in the district, immediately communicate this fact to the officers assigned to the preparation of the school lists, who, thereupon have, by circuit, to complete the lists. 17. The school lists must be in the hands of the class teachers with whom the children are to be, within one week, at the latest, before the beginning of the school year. After the expiration of the school year, they are to be carefully preserved by the school deputation (commission, board). There then follows a section on Lists of Neglect of School Duty, and another on the Following Up of School Neglect. Under VIII occurs the following: 31. Where the school boards believe themselves not adequately supported by the police authority in executing this order (i.e., the provisions preceding), they may proceed to the president of the Provincial Court, and, in case of cities without the kreis, they may proceed to us (i.e., the Minister). Under 3 occurs further provision concerning the school list. It is made in a communication directed to the authorities and reads as follows : " The inquiries specially instituted by the Ministers of Spiritual, Educational, and Health Affairs in regard to matters of educa- tion in the army, have exhibited again how greatly important 34 Registration of City School Children it is for the common school system : that a complete manifest of the children of school age and those about to enter it should be given to the teacher; that the aforementioned list of absentees should not only be exactly made but carefully supervised; and that, finally, a certificate of discharge should be issued to the pupils of the common school on their leaving," etc., etc. There then follows a recapitulation of the regulations. Then, the letter goes on: " Particularly do we impose the duty on ' magistrats ' and Com- mittees of the Gemeinde of seeing that there is transmitted in •good season to the school authorities and the teacher, the neces- sary communications concerning the children of school age so that the school lists may be made ready 14 days before the begin- ning of the Easter term, or, where admissions are made twice a year, before Michaelmas also. So we direct, as duty of the ' magistrates ' and local boards, to have all children becoming of school age during the school year to communicate immediately with the school boards or masters so that the school lists may be kept continuously up to date. To the exact control of those children becoming of school age during the school year, in places having a fluctuating population, should be given the highest atten- tion. On this account the school boards and masters should have the school lists and lists of absentees carefully guarded in a firm book so that the administration of instruction may be in such condition that information may be given, especially to the military authorities, in regard to every pupil of the volkschool even after his discharge." The author then gives the laws controlling transfer, discharge, child labor, half-day instruction, etc., etc., which are substantially the same as for Berlin. The regulations controlling the schooling of children on ships that ply the rivers and of domestic gypsies are given briefly. Solingen Through the courtesy of one of the officers of the mayor's office in Solingen, there were secured a number of the blanks used in registering school children and an acfcount of a supposititious pupil, Hans Berg. As this account states briefly and vividly the procedure, it is given in full : " Hans Berg lives with his father in Solingen, and on April, 1909, becomes of school age. In March, 1909, Hans is entered on the Schulstammrolle (Form I) App. i, which is made and kept by the Oberburgermeister on the basis of the Register of Inhabitants in the Registry Office. The school commissioiifir (literally " leader "), of the district in which Hans lives, receives Germany 3 5 an abstract from the Schulstammrolle by means of the School List (Form II) App. 2. To the parents of the children entered in this list, the commissioner sends information that the child at such a time must be sent to school. By means of a notice in the public prints a date is fixed for admissions. If Hans through sickness is kept from school, the father must excuse him by application to the class teacher or school commissioner. If it is suspected that the child is not sick and is illegally absent, the school commissioner must personally investigate, and if the case requires it, bring the matter to the office of the Oberburger- meister to have the child examined by the school physician. If Hans plays truant or is absent without excuse, the father's name is entered on the police list (die vom Schulleiter dera Oberburger- meister Amt Polizei Verwaltung einzureichende Schulversaum- nissliste). The parents of the children contained in the list of absentees are warned, if theirs is a first offence; and, on the second or subsequent offence, punished. If Hans moves with his parents from Solingen to Berlin, the father must give to the school commissioner the date and place of the changed residence. By means of Form III, App. 6, the school commissioner informs the new district through the office of the Oberburgermeister of the departure. Hans must, on the day following his entry into the new place, apply at the school in the new district. This is controlled by the notification issued by the school commissioner of the district in which the father formerly lived. The child cannot remain from school to help about the house without per- mission of the commissioner. The commissioner very seldom gives permission for a child to remain to do housework at home even for a couple of hours." (v. Appendix, 8, 9, and 10 post.) CHAPTER II FRANCE The principal features of the French system of enumerating and registering school children, and keeping them at school, are to be found in the Loi sur I'Enseignement Primaire Obligatoire, du 28 mars, 1882. Its sections with annotations of subsequent acts of the Senate, can be found in the Petit Code de ITnstruction, etc., par A. E. Pichard, Paris, Libraire Hachette et Cie. The law of 1882 with the exceptions of sections 5 and 17 is still in force, number 5 having been repealed by chapter 2 of the Loi sur rOrganisation de I'Enseignment Primaire du 30 octobre, 1886. The sections concerning the registration of children follow : Art. 4. Elementary instruction is compulsory for children of both sexes that have completed 6 years and until they have com- pleted 13 years. It may be given in primary or secondary schools or in the family by the father of the family or any one chosen by him. (Cf. art. 18.) Art. 5. cf. post. Art. 6. There is a certificate for elementary studies. Eligi- bility for it is discovered by public examination at which children II years old may present themselves. Those who at that age obtain the certificate are exempt from compulsory attendance thereafter. Art. 7. The father, tutor, or person in parental capacity must, at least 15 days before the sessions begin, make known to the mayor of the commune whether he intends to give his child instruction at home or in a public or a private school. In the latter case, he is to specify the school selected. Families living near one or more public schools have the option of enrolling their children at one or another of the schools, whether or not it be within the commune, unless it has already reached the maximum number of pupils allowed by the regulations. In case of dispute,, and on the demand either of the mayor or parents, the council of the Department will give a final decree. Art. 8. Each year the mayor will make up, in co-operation with the municipal school commission, the list of all the children from 6 to 13 years, and inform those in parental relation of the date when the school will resume. In case of a failure on the part of the parents or those in parental relation to make a decla- 36 France 3 7 ration 15 days before the resumption of the sessions, he will assign the child to one of the public schools and inform the party respon- sible, of the fact.^ Eight days after the resumption of sessions he will send to the principals of the public and private schools the list of children that should attend their schools. A duplicate of these lists is to be sent by him to the elementary inspector. Art. 9. When a child leaves school, the parents or persons in parental relation, must give immediate notice to the mayor and indicate in what way the child will be educated thereafter. Art. 10. If a child is absent from school for a short time, the parents, or those in parental relation, ought to make known to the principal the motives of the absence. (But a note says: Aucune peine ne peut etre infligee aux parents qui ont refuse de faire connaitre les motifs d'absence. " La Commission (i.e., the committee that had the Education Bill in hand, reporting by its chairman), disait M. Ribere, rapporteur ( Senat-Seance du 14 juin 1881), a examine I'amendment pro- pose par I'honorable M. Paris. Cet amendment modifie le projet en ce sens que les parents euxmemes seront obliges de faire connaitre au director ou a la directrice de I'ecole les raisons pour lesquelles leur enfant n'aurait pas assiste a une ou a plus- ieurs classes. Le projet de loi n'impose pas cette obligation aux parents. Nous acceptons cependent, sur ce point, I'amendement de notre honorable collegue, toute en faisant remarquer que cette obligation n'est suivie d'aucune sanction.) The principals must keep a roll book which will establish for each class the absence of pupils therein contained. At the end of each month they will send to the mayor and elementary inspec- tor an extract from this roll with a statement of the number of absences and the reasons assigned. The reasons are to be submitted to the school commission. The only legal motives are as follows : personal illness ; death in the family ; obstacles arising from accidental difficulties of communi- ' Pichard, op. cit. p. 9. L'inscription d'office d'un enfant a I'une des ^oles publique, n'implique pas I'obligation de frequenter cette ^cole publique. Cf. Declaration du Rapporteur, Chambre des D^put^s — S&nce du 24 d^cembre 1880. " Lorsque le pere de famille aura oubli^ de faire dans les quinze jours la d&Iaration, le maire inscrira d'ofifice I'enfant a I'une des ^coles publiques. Mais cette inscription d'ofifice est un simple rappel au pSre de famille, et celui-ci n'a qu'4 dire qu'il inscrit son enfant h. une autre &ole et h le retirer de I'^cole publique." Similarly, Sfoat-S&nce du 18 mars 1882 ; These dates are undoubtedly correct. The statements are mere indications of a, practice thereto- fore pursued, antedating the act of March 28, or the sense of the com- mittee. 38 Registration of City School Children cation. Other circumstances, occasionally ascribed, will be passed upon by the commission.'' Art. II, Every principal of a private school that does not con- form, to the regulations of the preceding article, is to be, on the report of the school commission, referred to the council for the Department. This council may pronounce any of the following penalties: i. warning; 2. censure; 3. suspension for a month at most, or, in case of recurrence within the school year, sus- pension for 3 months at most. Art. 12. If a child is absent for at least half a day four times in any month without excuse considered adequate by the munici- pal school commission, the father, tutor, or person in parental relation, will be invited, at least 3 days in advance, to appear in the town hall before the said commission who will recall to him the text of the law and explain to him his duty. In case of non- appearance without adequate excuse admitted, the commission will impose the peiiaHy indicated in article 13.* ' The spirit in which these clauses are to be interpreted can be seen from M. Ribiere's replies in the Sfeat on 18 mars 1882, 10 days before the act became a law: — " U y a pour les commissions scolaires, pleni- tude d' appreciation pour les motifs d'excuse qui peuvent etre allegufe. Cela resulte des termes mSme de I'article 10 in fine. Nous donnons le sens le plus large k ce paragraphe dernier de I'article 10 et nous pen- sons que la Commission scolaire a toute latitude, tout pouvoir, pour recevoir les explications donn^es par les peres de famUle, et les d&larer parfaitement excusable." And:-^" L'explication dem_and^ par notre honorable collogue, M. Hervy de Saisy, est, je crois, facile k donner. II n'a pas examine d'assez pr^s la fin du paragraph 3 de I'article 10, d'apr^s lequel les autres cir- constances exceptionellement invoqu^es seront ^galement apprecifes par la commission. II est incontestable qu'il y a des causes d'excuse qui sont causes d'excuse absolus: la rnaladie de I'enfant; le d&Ss des membres de la famille. Mais lorsqu'il s'agit de la mala die d'un membre de la famille, il y a li une question d'appr&iation. Une indisposition ordinaire ne peut pas toujours Stre une cause d'excuse pour I'enfant; mais il est incontestable qu'aussitdt un membre de la famille est malade, s64eusement malade, et que la presence de I'enfant n'est pas seulement nfcessaire mais est utile, que c'est un acte d'afifection qui doit Stre accompli par I'enfant, la commission scolaire interviendra immediatement et excusera." ' Note: to Art. 12 : D6s que les quatre absences dont parle I'article 12 ont eu lieu, I'infraction est commise, et immediatement la commission scolaire peut proc^der, selon la cas, ou h la citation ou k la plainte, sans attendre la fin du moia pendent lequel se calculent les quatre absences. Also Pichard, op cit. p. 15, in regard to Art. 13, " Le contrevenant, h qui I'affichage a 6t€ inflig^, qu'il est ou non camparu, devient passible France 3 9 Art. 13. In case of a second offence within the two months that follow the first infraction, the municipal school commission will order the posting for 15 days or one month on the door of the mayor's office, the name, first name, and rank of the party responsible, with an indication of the act charged against him. The same penalty to those that have not submitted to Art. 9. Art. 14. In case of a new infraction, the school commission, or, in default of that, the elementary inspector, will send a com- plaint to the judge. The offence will be considered as a mis- demeanor and will constrain punishment at the hands of the police, pursuant to Articles 479, 480, et post of the Penal Code. Article 463 of the same Code is applicable. Art. 15. The school commission, ma}-, to children living with their tutor or parents, when the latter make a request for it, and give reasons, accord exemptions from attendance at school not exceeding 3 months in addition to the vacations. These dis- pensations, when they are for more than 2 weeks, are to be sub- mitted to the approval of the elementary inspector. These require- ments are not applicable to the children that will follow parents or tutors when the latter are temporarily absent from the com- mune. In this case an oral statement, or a statement in writing to the mayor or school principal is sufficient. The commission may also, with the approval of the council of the Department, exempt children employed in business and arrived at the age of apprenticeship, from one of the two classes of the day. The same option will be granted to all children employed in agriculture out- side of the famil}'. (This is slightly modified by the law of Nov. 2, 1892.) Art. 16. Children that receive instruction in the family, must, each year, beginning with the end of the second year of com- pulsory education, submit to an examination which will deal with the subjects of instruction prescribed for their age in the public schools, in the manner and according to the program determined des peiaes port^es par I'article 14, et justiciable du tribunal du simple police. (ArrSt de la Cour de Cassation du 4 aout 1883. — Affaire de Salaberry.) " And on page 17, in regard to Art. 14, Pichard reports that the Minister remarked: " Je trouve que I'infraction en cas de nouvelle recidive, est tellement grave qu'elle ne peut gtre rattach^e qu'4 la troisiSme cate- goire des contraventions. Et d'ailleurs, je fais remarquer, que la peine de la prison est facultative. L'Art. 479 punit d'une amende de i 4 15 francs les contraventions de la troisieme classe, et I'Art. 480 ajoute: Pourra selon les circonstances etre prononcde la peine de I'imprison- ment pendent 5 jours au plus. Le jug-e de paix pourra done, si le cas n'est pas d'une gravity extreme, se bomer h. prononcer la peine de I'amende, et, s'il juge nfoessaire d'y ajouter la prison, il pourra abaisser la peine jusqu'a un jour car I'article 463 peut toujours 6tre appliqu^." 40 Registration of City School Children by the Ministerial decisions announced in the Superior Council. The examining body will be composed of etc., etc. If the exami- nation paper of a child is deficient and no excuse can be admitted for it by the examiners, the parents are compelled to send the child to public or private school within the week of the notifi- cation, and to inform the mayor what school has been chosen. Art. 17 repealed. Art. 18. The Ministerial decisions given on demand of the inspectors of academies and councils for Departments, will deter- mine, each year, those communes, where by reason of the incapa- city of local schools, the requirements of Art. 4 et post on com- pulsion, cannot be applied. Further indications of the structure of public education that enables the French government to control the matter of the regis- tration of children, are to be found in the law of October 30, 1886, Loi sur rOrganisation de I'Enseignement Primaire, parts of which are here given : Title I. Ch. II. p. Inspection: Inspection of the establishments of instruction, public or private, is exercised by: i. inspectors general of public instruction ; 2. rectors and academic inspectors ; 3. inspectors of elementary education ; 4. members of the council of the Department assigned for that in accordance with Sec. 50 (post) ; 5. by the mayor and cantonal delegates; 6. in the ecoles maternelles, concurrently with the foregoing, by women inspectors general and women departmental inspectors of the ecoles mater- nelles ; 7. by the communal or departmental inspectbg physicians, etc. Title II. Ch. I. Establishment of Public Schools 11. Every commune must be provided with at least one public elementary school. But the Departmental council can, with the approval of the Minister, authorize one commune to unite with one or several neighboring communes for the establishment and maintenance of a school. 12. When the commune or union of communes numbers more than 500, it must have a separate school for girls unless authorized by the Departmental council to substitute for it a mixed school. 13. The Departmental council, after getting the views of the municipal councils, determines, subject to the approval of the Minister, the number, nature, and location of the elementary public schools that may be established or maintained in each commune, and the number of teachers to be associated therewith. 14. The establishment of the elementary public schools created by sections 11, 12, and 13 of the present law, is a mandatory charge on the communes. France 41 Title III. Education in Private Schools 37. Every head-master that wishes to open a private school must first state his intention to the mayor of the commune in which he wishes to establish it, and must indicate the premises. The mayor will immediately return to the applicant a receipt of his declaration and post the latter at the entrance of the office for a month. If the mayor believes that the location is not suitable for reasons moral or hygienic, he will present his opposition within a week and give notice of that result to the applicant. The same declarations must be made in changing the address of the school or to admit interne pupils. Other sections state that the higher authorities must be informed, and section 40 indicates that the opening of private schools in contravention of the preceding restrictions subject the head-master to a fine of 100 to 1,000 francs, and the closing of the school; and, in case of a repetition of the offence, imprisonment of from 6 days to a month, and a fine of 500 to 2,000 francs. Section 41 says that a head-master of a private school may be removed on the complaint of an academic inspector and forbidden to practice his profession in the commune or Department if guilty of immorality, and section 42 adds that any head-master not sub- mitting to inspection according to law, may be indicted before the Court of Corrections and fined 50 to 500 francs or, in case of repetition, 100 to 1,000 francs. If the two offences are within the year the school is to be closed by law. Title IV tells of the different councils governing educational matters. Chapter I gives the members of the Departmental coun- cil and states its jurisdiction, which, among other things, includes a determination of the public schools according to population and a yearly report on the needs of public and private schools. They designate a resident delegate or delegates to supervise the public and private schools of each canton. Chapter II deals with the school commissions which consist of the mayor and as many delegates chosen by the academy inspector as there are cantons in the commune, and of members chosen by the municipal council equal to one-third of the numbers of the council. In Paris and Lyon there is a school commission for every arrondissement. It is presided over by the m.ayor and is composed of one cantonal delegate chosen by the academy inspec- tor and of members chosen by the municipal council to the num- 42 Registration of City School Children ber of from 3 to 7 for each arrondissement. They must meet at least once every 3 months. It is prohibited by section 58 from participating under any circumstances in the subject matter or method of instruction. Its main duty is to get children into school and to keep them there. To secure the proper performance of his function Minister J. Duvaux, on the 7th of September, 1882, addressed a circular letter to the various Prefects on the enforcement of the compulsory law of March 28, 1882, which letter, after a brief opening, runs as follows : " The municipal school commissioners, named in each com- mune and completed by the nomination of the delegate academy inspector, are to fulfil the first part of their offices: it is their duty, according to Art. 8 of the law, to aid the mayor, in making up a list of all the children from 6 to 13 years. The essential elements for this task are furnished by the lists of the last official census of population. But changes of address and other various circumstances occurring in some communes, have changed the number of children to be enrolled. In order to prevent the chance of any error or omission, the law has given over to the local commissioners the care of revising annually the list of names of children of school age, and to that end I have already sent you a model roster. " If, as is hardly possible, any commissioners through negli- gence or any other motive, refuse to meet to complete the making of these lists, it will be your duty, Prefect, by virtue of your office to have them made without delay by the mayor, or, in his absence, by the delegate academy inspector or by the primary inspector. For the new lists, the old lists of the quinquennial census are to be taken as the base of the re-enumeration. " As soon as this has been done, there remains to determine according to law, if, and in what way, the education of every named child has been provided for. " The liberty of every father is complete. He can choose any one of these modes : Education at a public school ; at a free school; or at home. The law demands merely that, before the beginning of the school year, he will make known to the mayor, which of the three means will be adopted. " For the great majority of families, the choice has already been made before the time of the resumption, and there is, at this time, knowledge in the hands of the authorities which permits consider- able simplification of the formality demanded by Art, 7. "If the farriily sends, or continues to send, its children to a public school, the entry on the school register dispenses with all France 43 other statement. If it sends them to a free school, the entry therein, duly transmitted to the municipal school commission, is equivalent to a declaration. " As for the parents that desire to instruct or to have their children instructed at home, they have only to make known their intention in order to avoid having their children considered deprived of means of instruction. " In order to spare to families that are in the last-mentioned class any embarrassment or unnecessary inconvenience, the mayor, president, or municipal commission will proceed as follows : After enumerating on the general list of children of school age, the names of children educated in any school whatever, public or private, he will determine the names of all those not appearing on any school register and send to their parents as prescribed by Art. 8, a notice of which I send herewith a model : Republic of France Department of Commune of , 1882. Sir: — ^The law of March 28, 1882 makes obligatory the education of children of both sexes between 6 years past and 13 years past. In order to obey the requirements of the law, I have the honor to inform you that in terms of Art. 7. ' the father, tutor, or guardian of every child from 6 to 13 years, must make known to the mayor of the commune whether he intends to give the child instruction at home or in a public or a private school. In the latter case he will indicate the school selected.' I beg you to inform me without delay which of these three means you will adopt for your children. In order to avoid all confusion or delay, I am sending to you with directions to fill them out, as many forms as you have children of school age. You can return these signed by you, either by post or by any other means, unless you prefer to make an oral answer at the office where you will find me on Accept, dear sir, the assurance of my distinguished consideration, Mayor. President of the Municipal School Commission. " Parents having been tlius duly cited by this letter are to make known how they intend to provide for the instruction of their children. In order to facilitate reply, the mayor will add to his letter a form (see below) which the families will return to him if they wish to avoid inconvenience. 44 Registration of City School Children REPLY OF THE FATHER TO THE MAYOR Department of Commune of The undersigned states that the young (insert the name of the child) born on, , will receive instruction at (insert whether the instruction will be at home or in school or give the address of the school.) (Father, tutor, or guardian.) " On receipt of the response, orally or in writing, if the parents state that they themselves will educate the children, the mayor will deliver the acknowledgment as follows: Republic of France Department of Commune of , , (Date) Sir: — I have your reply of in which you state that your son (daughter) , born (will) receive (s) instruction at home. In acknowledging this declaration I wish to recall to you that by the terms of Art. i6, children instructed at home, must, from the end of the second year of compulsory education, submit to an examination which will involve the subject matter of instruction for children of that age in the public schools. You will be informed later of the date and place of the examination. Accept, dear sir, the assurance of my distinguished consideration. Mayor. President of the Municipal School Commission. " If they fail to reply, the mayor will, after a final letter of reminder (cf. post), and in virtue of his office, enroll in a public school and pursuant to Art 8 the children for whom instruction has not been assured and for whom the commission has not admitted motive for neglect. LETTER OF REMINDER BY THE MAYOR Department of . Commune of . . . Second and Last Warning Sir : — By my letter of I had the honor of inviting you to let me know, pursuant to the law of March 28, 1882, whether you intended to have your children educated at home or in a public or a private school. France 45 I have not received any reply to this request which I sent to you in the name of the law. I herewith repeat my invitation and warn you of the terms of Art. 8 of the law: ' in case of failure to state, on the part of parents the mayor will officially assign the children for whom instruction has not been provided, to one of the public schools.' Accept, dear sir, the assurance of my distinguished consideration. Mayor. President of the Municipal School Commission." The Minister then closes with a compliment to the Govern- ment that has shown itself on every occasion " resolved not to recede from any sacrifice that will serve to render complete the work of national education." CHAPTER III ENGLAND : LONDON The following account of the system of the registration of children in London has been secured by letter from the office of the Education officer of that city and from the Report of the Education Committee of the London County Council, presented to the Council, May, 1909, and dealing with the elementary school accommodation and attendance for the year ending March 31, 1908. The compulsory education law requires every child from 5 to 14 to attend school for " the whole time for which the school selected shall be opened for the instruction of children of similar age, including the day fixed by His Majesty's Inspector for his annual visit," " although a child between 12 and 14 years of age shall not be required to attend school if such child has received a certificate from one of His Majesty's Inspectors of Schools that it has reached the Seventh Standard prescribed by the Code for the time being." The Report presents figures extending over 10 years, giving the number of children of age from 3 to 5, 5 to 13, and those over 13 that are attending school. In 1898 the number of 5-13 and " Over 13 attending school " equalled 885,725. This grew larger till 1901, when it began to fall and reached in 1908 the number 882,834, to schedule which it took 5 weeks. To look after this large number of children there is a divisional staff in the department of attendance of 12 superintendents, 7 assistant superintendents, 41 clerks (5 temporary), 9 messengers (4 temporary), and 352 school attendance officers.^ Of the total number of school attendance officers, 13 were employed as street officers, and 12 as special officers for Industrial School work, while 8 were unattached and subject to call in case of the absence ' About 80 additional assistants are hired temporarily at the time of the scheduling to do clerical work in order that the regular attendance officers may not be taken too much from the street work. The regular force covers the entire County of London, 77,495 acres with a population of 4,834,000. " Greater London " contains 448,293 acres and 7,500,000 population. 46 England 47 of a regular officer through illness or special assignment. The staff is divided into 12 sections. The salary of an attendance officer begins at i8o and rises annually to £156 in 15 years. For the purpose of ascertaining the number of children requir- ing elementary school accommodation, and for the effective admin- istration of the compulsory clauses of the Education Acts, a sched- uling or census of all of the children of the elementary school class is taken each year in the month of May by the Council's atten- dance officers. The results of this scheduling provide the basis of measurement of the sufficiency of the school accommodation provided ; they also show the extent to which the attendance of the children at school is maintained. Each of the 12 divisions mentioned above contains about 75,000 children of compulsory school age. As there are over 300 atten- dance officers to look after these, there are between 2,500 and 3,000 children to be followed up by each officer. A schedule or register in book form of all families in the district is kept. When a family moves. Form XI is sent to the officer into whose district the new address lies. The council seems to regard the annual scheduling as effective, for the secretary of the Education Committee writes : " After a census has been taken to verify all children that are attending school, a reasonable excuse is sought for all those that are absent. Having got all the children in the district on the books and in school (or a reasonable excuse for their absence), there is a weekly record of each child's attendance from the Head Teacher on Slip B. These slips are sent to the office where the attendance officers work. The officer examines each slip and selects for visit- ing those where the attendance is irregular." If the parent is recalcitrant the case goes to a Committee of Managers that sum- mons the parent and warns him. In case of no improvement, the Chief Attendance officer of the Division prosecutes on a summons issued by him. About 90 per cent of the defendants are convicted. The school attendance cases are not heard in separate courts, but the parties involved do not come into contact with other cases pending in the court. In addition to the house-to-house canvass there are, in each Division, two officers employed in taking the names and addresses of children found on the streets during school hours. Another 48 Registration of City School Children officer is always engaged with Industrial School cases ; that is, he makes inquiries in regard to children seen begging, wandering, stealing, etc. In addition to such children being dealt with as are found during the course of the officer's visits, periodical street raids are organ- ized. In these raids all the attendance officers of the division engage and the whole division is raided. Only 15 officers are employed as street officers solely. Their attention is directed par- ticularly to markets, railway stations, etc. Of the 14,878 found by street officers alone, 12,207 were already registered in the schools and 966 were subsequently admitted to school ; 96 were wholly exempt ; and 803 gave a wrong address. Of the 3,690 found by raiding, 3,250 were already registered in the schools; 159 were subsequently registered; none were totally exempt; and 116 gave a wrong address. In the former case 250 were ill, and in the latter, 83 were ill, and 38 were in London only on a visit. The remainder is comparatively small. The children were disposed of in industrial schools and other insti- tutions and so registered. Since 1901, London has maintained a nightly surveillance of her streets by the attendance officers, and during the year 1907-8, 320 children were arrested. Of these, 174 were sent to industrial schools and so registered; and 146 discharged on parole and kept under observation. The Council believes that this method of scheduling the chil- dren and street inspection is responsible for the continuous improvement since 1897 in the per cent of attendance. In the former year it was 80.7, since which time it has grown steadily to 88.9. This is for the entire city or Metropolitan District. For Whitechapel, in the L. C. C. schools, the attendance is 94.1, and for all schools, 91.7. The report adds : " It must, however, be borne in mind that, in order to maintain the high standard of attendance reached, it was necessary for the attendance officers to pay nearly 43^ million visits to parents during the year 1907-08, an average of over 13,000 per officer, in addition to serving cautionary notices and summonses. The Education Acts of 1870, and later, impose upon the local education authorities the necessity of making by-laws for the compulsory attendance of school children, and such by-laws must England 49 include provision for the exemption from attendance, on certain conditions, of children from 12 to 14 years of age. Variety of practice obtains, but, in London, attendance is compulsory up to 14 except for children of 12 certified as having passed the 7th Standard at an examination held by His Majesty's Inspector. Only 930 children obtained exemption in the year 1907-08. Whereas, in some manufacturing districts children over 12 who reach a certain standard, attend school for one-half the day and work the other half. The disadvantages arising from such a system have been so realized by the London authority, that since 1900 no provision has been made in the by-laws for half-time. So, also, different methods of enforcing attendance are in vogue in England, but, in London, the foundations of the work are the annual scheduling and the " slip system." Under the latter there is a return, in the form of a slip, for every child in attendance at school. On this slip the number of attendances made is recorded week by week during the term, the slips being collected from the schools each week and examined by the school attendance officers, who note on them the result of their visits, and return the slips for the information of teachers and the inser- tion of the current week's attendance. The question of an annual count as opposed to a biennial count is discussed in The Accommodation and Attendance Report, 31 March, 1907: " The question has recently been under consideration whether it is necessary to have a scheduling every year, or whether a less frequent census, say a biennial one, would suffice. The value of the scheduling as a census is perhaps greatest in those districts where building operations are proceeding, and where it is neces- sary therefore that the course of the elementary school popu- lation shall be continuously watched in order that adequate school provision may be made at the proper' time. It is, however, of almost equal importance that a frequent census should be made in districts, such as those in central London, in which the popu- lation is on the decline. This is more particularly the case at the present time, because, in certain central districts, proposals have been made for the provision of new Council schools to take the place of ' unsuitable,' non-provided schools, and it is pos- sible, with the help of the annual census, to regulate this pro- vision so that the accommodation to be provided shall not more than meet the needs. 50 Registration of City School Children " From the point of view of sciiool attendance work, however, the argument for and against an annual scheduling follow, to some extent, the reverse direction. The schedule books in each divisional office form a record to which continual reference is made during the year by the attendance ofificers; the names of new children coming into the district are entered ; removals within the district and transfers from school to school are noted ; and the names of children leaving the district or passing the age limit are struck out. In a densely populated and less well-to-do dis- trict, therefore, especially when the population is of a migratory character, the alterations in the schedule books become so numer- ous that it is essential that new books should be prepared at the end of each year. It would, of course, be possible to transfer the information from an old book to a new one, but this method would be liable to cause inaccuracies, and the amount of labor saved would be comparatively small. In the more sparsely popu- lated areas, as also in the well-to-do districts where the population is of a more settled character, the need for an annual scheduling is not so great. " The chief argument that can be advanced in favor of a bien- nial scheduling is the fact that, during the scheduling period, which occupies, as a rule, about a month, the attendance officers are not able to carry out their ordinary work of visitation. There is, however, little doubt that the systematic visitation carried out during the scheduling of every house of the district likely to contain elementary school children, has a moral efifect which is an advantage to the attendance work. It is possible, also, to minimize the loss of power occasioned during this period bv arranging, with the assistance of head-masters and mistresses, to deal with the very worst cases of bad attendance. This course of action is in some degree followed at the present time, and the question of enlarging its scope is being considered. " There is also the economy argument. During the scheduling it is necessary to employ additional temporary assistants at a yearly cost of about £550. It does not appear, however, from the consideration set out above, that a saving of £550 every two years by the institution of a biennial scheduling, would counter- balance the advantages which accrue from the present annual scheduling." Prevention of school neglect, rather than cure, is aimed at and cases of irregular attendance are taken in hand at the earliest stage and efforts made to obtain the desired result without recourse to force. The law is, in fact, appealed to only as a last resort. CHAPTER IV COMPULSORY EDUCATION LAWS AND SCHOOL CENSUS LAWS IN THE STATES OF THE UNITED STATES Digest of the Compulsory Education Laws of the Several States Alabama, none. Arizona, 8-14; 12 weeks, six consecutive. Arkansas, none. California, 8-14; 5 months of the public school year, 18 weeks consecutive. Deaf, dumb, and blind must attend unless excused by Board. Colorado, 8-14; entire school year; 14-16 must attend if not through the 8th grade. Connecticut, 7-14; entire session; 14-16 unless employed or if illit- erate. Delaware, none. Florida, none. Georgia, no child under 14 may be employed unless able to read and write and has attended 12 weeks, 6 consecutive. Idaho, 8-14; 14-16 unless needed for parents' support or other- wise excused; 12 weeks, 8 consecutive. Illinois, 7-14; not less than no days annually. Indiana, 7-14 inclusive; while the schools are in session. Iowa, reached 7, not passed 14; 16 consecutive weeks. Kansas, 8-15; while school is in session. If 14 and regularly employed for self-support or that of dependents, 8 consecu- tive weeks. Kentucky, 7-14; for full term-in cities of the i, 2, 3, and 4 class. Otherwise, annually, 8 weeks consecutive. Louisiana, none. Maine, between 7 and the 15th anniversary of birth; full session. Maryland, none. - Massachusetts, 7-14 ; entire session. Michigan, 7 through 15; entire session. Minnesota, 8-16; entire session. 51 52 Registration of City School Children Mississippi, none. Missouri, 8-14; and 14-16 unless regularly employed; half the session. Montana, 8-14; full time, not less than 16 weeks from the begin- ning of the term. Nebraska, all under 16, full time of session. This applies only in cities. Nevada, 8-16; during the time that the school is in session. Atten- dance is excused when the labor of the child is necessary for its own or its parents' support. New Hampshire, 8-16; 12 weeks, 6 consecutive. New Jersey, 7-17; all sessions unless over 15 and has completed the elementary school course. Absentees under 15 are truants. New York, 7-14; entire session; 14-16, if illiterate. North Carolina, the general assembly is empowered to enact that all 6-18 shall attend 16 months. North Dakota, 8-14; entire term. Ohio, 8-14; full time, not less than 24 weeks from the beginning. Oregon, 9-14 ; four months. Pennsylvania, 8)- 14; entire session, not less than 70 days; 14-16 if illiterate or unemployed. Rhode Island, 7-15; unless gradtiated from school. South Carolina, none. South Dakota, 8-13; 8-12 if destitute; 13-14 unless lawfully employed; 12 weeks, 8 consecutive. Tennessee, none. Texas, none. Utah, 8-16; 20 weeks, 10 consecutive; in cities of the ist class 30 weeks, 10 consecutive unless services are needed to sup- port mother or invalid father. Vermont, 8-15; 28 weeks consecutive, beginning with the school year. Virginia, none. Washington, 8-15 ; 4 months ; in cities, 7-15, 6 months, 3 months consecutive. West Virginia, 8-14; 20 weeks from the beginning. Wisconsin, 7-14; if unemployed 14-16. Cities of the first class, all sessions ; other cities, 8 months ; towns, 6 months. Wyoming, 7-16; 3 months each year. Compulsory Education Laws 53 Digest of the Census Laws of the Several States Alabama, none. Arizona, complete adult census on request, for municipal corpo- ration within the school district. Arkansas, none. California, annually, i5-30th of April, all children under 17 except tribal Indians ; house to house count by actual obser- vation and interview, and in cities a report back to the Board of Education. Colorado, annual, 6-21, apparently for school appropriation only. Connecticut, annually in October ; 4, under 16, inclusive. Agents compare lists with school registers. Cost under " Support of public schools." Delaware, none. Florida, none. Georgia, decennially ( ?) 6-18. Taken in 1888 and in 1893, with a recommendation to take a house to house census oftener than every 10 years. Idaho, annually, 6-21, in September by the Clerk of the District. Illinois, no specific regulation. Township Board does it, or that failing, the county superintendent. Indiana, annually, between the loth and 30th of April ; 6-21 by the school trustees of the township, towns, or cities. Iowa, annually, June 1-15, ages 7-14, names, ages, sex, parents' or guardian's name, with the number of days' attendance of each pupil, and the reason for non-attendance if for less than 16 weeks. Kansas, the law does not specify any particular method f«r cities, merely saying that a census is made. Kentucky, annually, in April, 6-20. Report to the County Super- intendent and clerk of the County Court. Louisiana, before July i, 1899, and every 4 years thereafter; 6-18, in triplicate for the State Board; Auditor of Public Accounts ; and the Parish. Maine, annually, correct to April ist; 5-21, by the Superintendent of Schools. Sent to the State Superintendent. Maryland, none. Massachusetts, annually by the school committee of each city, September, and completed before November 15; 5-15, and all minors over 14 not able to read and write. 54 Registration of City School Children Michigan, annually; 15 days preceding the first Monday in June; 5-19- Minnesota, the reports of attendance are the basis of apportion- ment. There is no city census. Mississippi, none. Missouri, none. Montana, annually, between September ist and 20th, by the school clerk; all 6-21; sex, names, parents or guardians. Separate list of all under 6 with sex. Separate census of deaf, dtunb, and feeble-minded. Nebraska, annually, 5-21. Nevada, annually, between May ist and 31st. Over 6 and under 18. Report results to the County Superintendent before June isth. Name, color, age, sex, father's name. "Where practicable " the census marshal shall visit the home and enumerate by actual observation. He may administer oath. New Hampshire, annually, during the " fall term," 5-16. Before 1895 made by tax assessors ; since then by truant officers or agent of the Board. New Jersey, may not be taken oftener than every 5 years and not in the years when a state census or a national census is taken. Payment of 4 cents per name by the district. New York, in cities of the ist class with a permanent census board to be taken in October, 1909, and kept thereafter cur- rent by amendment from day to day. Taken and amended by the police ; all, 4-18. In cities without a board, in October, 1909, and every 4 years thereafter. Cost defrayed by the city or district ; but in cities without a board and in districts, repaid by State. North Carolina, none. North Dakota, annually, in June, 6-20. None specifically for cities. Ohio, annually, in the 2 weeks ending on the 4th Saturday in May; all unmarried youth, with sex, between 6 and 21, in 4 groups: 6-8; 8-14; 14-16; 16-21, also of blind, deaf, and imbecile. Oregon, incomplete data. Annually, 4-20. Pennsylvania, annually, at the spring registration of voters ; 6-16; name, birth, age, sex, nationality, residence, school district, Compulsory Education Laws 55 parent or guardian, name and location of school, or cause of non-enrollment, andj if under 16, name and address of employer. May be made by attendance officers. The secre- tary of the school district shall furnish each principal or teacher with a list of the children in his district. Rhode Island, annually, in January, 5-15 inclusive. Cost payable from appropriations for public schools. South Carolina, none. South Dakota, annually, for the year ending in June. Tennessee, annually, in June by the District Clerks; 6-21. Texas, house-to-house census, apparently for apportionment only. The State Report is rather detailed but gives no age group- ing, merely stating " over school age,'' " under school age." Utah, annually. In cities of the ist and 2d classes, July 15-31. In other districts between the 1st and 3d Monday in July. Over 6 under 18; name, age, sex, color. Separate census for deaf, dumb, blind. Vermont, annually, by the Clerk of the School Board, before February ist; name, age, parent, guardian. He receives from the town, 4 cents for the name of each person of school age. Virginia, apparently none. The State Superintendent prints under certain age groups, 7-9, 10-14, 15-17, 18-20, totals of children, presumably enrollment. Washington, annually, in June; 8-15. West Virginia, annually ; 6-21, married, single, black, white. No date given in report. Wisconsin, annually, between July loth and 15th. All 4-20 by district clerk, sworn statement to town clerk of the number, names, ages, sex, parents, or guardians. W}"oming, incomplete reports. State Censuses Taken Apparently with the Idea of Con- trolling Attendance Alabama, none. Arizona, none. Arkansas, none. California, none. Colorado, " in all cases a copy shall be kept in the office of the Secretary." The census goes to the county superintendent, 5 6 Registration of City School Children and in districts of the first class (over 1,000) or second class (350-1,000) to the principal teacher or superintendent. Connecticut, school visitors are to compare the annual October lists with the registers. Delaware, none. Florida, none. Georgia, none. Idaho, section 1 100 of the Laws of 1905 requires that the Board of Trustees of each district furnish, on or before the first Monday in September, the principal in each public school, a list of all children 8-14 years of age, taken from the school census marshal. Illinois, none. Indiana, the enumeration is filed with the County Superintendent, but on the first day of school the trustees or commissioners furnish the truant officers with the names of children of com- pulsory school age that are enumerated on the lists. Iowa, none specifically for the control of attendance, but the census should show the number of days' attendance of each pupil and cause of non-attendance. Probably for appro- priation of state money. Kansas, the law reads in part : " In order that the Compulsory Education Act may be more definitely enforced, it is pro- vided that enumerators shall ascertain annually, etc." Kentucky, none. Louisiana, none. Maine, none. Maryland, none. Massachusetts, not definite, but cf, the report from Springfield quoted post, Ch. X. Michigan, Act 200 of 1905 : Secretary of the Board of Educa- tion at the commencement of school, furnishes a copy of the last school census to the superintendent of the school. It is the duty of the superintendent to compare the list with the enrollment at the opening of school, and to report to the truant officer the names of those not attending. In rural schools the teacher gets such a list. Minnesota, none. Mississippi, none. Compulsory Education Laws 57 Missouri, none. Montana, monthly, every month from September to June, all principals and teachers of public, private, and parochial schools, report names, ages, and residences, of all pupils in attendance at the school " to facilitate the carrying out of this act." (i.e., the compulsory education act.) (Note that the school lists go to the clerk and not the clerk's lists to the school, hence the law hardly helps to enforce com- pulsory attendance unless the clerk compares the lists and follows up the cases. Nothing is said about his duty so to do.) Nebraska, no specific census to control attendance. Nevada, Art. XVIII, Laws 1905 : It is the duty of the Board of Trustees to furnish the principal of each school with a list of all children 8-14, taken from the report of the school census marshal. At the beginning of each school month thereafter it is the duty of the principal to report back. (This clause was apparently a dead letter, according to the report of State Supt. Orvis Ring, 1907-1908, and was re- pealed March, 1909. There is now no checking of the census lists.) New Hampshire, nothing specific, but the census is made in the fall " so that it may correspond with the enrollment in school." New Jersey, none. New York, see post, Ch. VIII, where the law is given in full. To be taken in October 1909 and " amended from day to day by the police " ; 4-18. A permanent census board in cities of the first class. In other cities the census is to be taken every 4 years if there is no census board. North Carolina, none. North Dakota, none. Ohio, none specific; all teachers must report monthly from Sep- tember to June, on proper blanks, the names, ages, and resi- dences of pupils. (Cf. Montana.) Oregon, nothing specific. " The compulsory law is just begin- ning to be effective." (State Report for 1908.) Pennsylvania, the assessors' lists are forwarded by them to the county commissioners who send them in turn to the secre- 58 Registration of City School Children tary of the school district prior to July 15, and he furnishes the principal of each school. An enumeration by attendance officers may be authorized. Rhode Island, see post, Ch. VII, where the section is given in full. The relation of the law of compulsory education to the school census law does not appear in the statute book, but the laws are so prosecuted by the supervisor of school census, who is also truant officer, that they really do mutually contribute to each other. South Carolina, none. South Dakota, none. Tennessee, none. Texas, has a house to house census but apparently only for ap- propriation of funds. The system is elaborate. Utah, none. Vermont, the clerk of the Board of School Directors on or before the first day of each term provides the teacher of each school with a list containing the names and ages of those required to attend the school during the term. Virginia, none. Washington, the secretary of the Board of Directors of the sev- eral cities shall furnish the truant officers the names of all children between 7-15 found on the census rolls of the current year and not enrolled in any of the public day schools of the city. At the end of the first month of school, it is the duty of the teacher to report to the clerk of the district the names and ages of all children enrolled and at- tending, and the number of days attendance. (Note that this makes no provision for parochial or pri- vate schools.) West Virginia, " Principals and superintendents of graded schools shall report to the truant officers all cases of the violation of this act among the enumerated youth of the district, and assist in the carrying out of the act " (the compulsory edu- cation act). The enumeration is made by the teachers of the district at the command of the Board. Wisconsin, the law is primarily for appropriation, but amend- ment of 1907 seems to make the law apply to compulsory education, for sec. 439c, b demands the census in triplicate. Compulsory Education Laws 59 One copy goes to the superintendent and one to the teacher or principal when school opens. The clerk's office is to be open to principals and teachers to help enforce the com- pulsory education law. All teachers of private and paro- chial schools must keep such a record. It is the duty of superintendents to compare the reports of attendance and enrollment with the census reports and ascertain the names of all children not complying with the law and report to the truant officer such names. Wyoming, none. CHAPTER V PHILADELPHIA History of the School Census Law Estimated population 1906, 1,441,735; area, 81,828 acres. After a long campaign in the press, the first compulsory edu- cation law of Pennsylvania, the Farr law, was passed January 28, 1895. Five years later it was declared to be a dead letter, certainly so for Philadelphia where it was never operative. It was amended July 12, 1897. The enrollment made in May 1897 by the assessors of voters, proved, like its predecessors, to be utterly untrustworthy. In November 1897, the Board of Public Education took advantage of a clause in the law and placed its execution for that city under Superintendent Brooks. The city was divided into 30 districts, and 25 men and 5 women took the enumeration. There was no attempt made to force the incor- rigible or vicious into school. On July 11, 1901, the bill was amended again although much of the wording of the 1897 measure was retained. In 1902 the Bureau of Compulsory Edu- cation was formed and took over the work of the enumeration of school children. Its reports have been irregular and the statistics are practically never compared with each other and no percentages are worked out. It has been difficult to get out of them figures that mean anything, owing to the peculiar and sometimes unmeaning classifications, and the lack of continuity of the items. For instance, the report for 1902 gives only a total, and the figures had to be obtained by special request. They are for male and female only. The figures for 1903 are for male and female, but those for 1904 are for male, female, white, and colored. The figures for 1905 are given in the same way, while those for 1906 and 1907 were not published but had to be ob- tained by request. This renders the comparison of the efficiency of the Bureau in the various years difficult. (Cf. post. Value of the Statistics.) 60 Philadelphia 6 1 Present Object of the School Census in Philadelphia It will be seen from the history of the school census in Phila- delphia that it came to be taken by the Board of Public Educa- tion as a means of securing, from the state, an adequate appro- priation of the state money devoted to educational purposes. The discrepancy in the figures of the City Commissioners and the school authorities was so glaring, that the impression, even to-day, still largely prevails that the main object of the census is to find out hozv many children of school age there are in Philadelphia. This factor seems to loom largest in the eyes of the enumerators. Next in importance, comes its application in regard to compulsory education and the checking of attempts at evading the requirement of the compulsory attendance law. It is to be admitted that ascertaining the number of children is an extremely important function of the census, but it is obvious that the efficacy of the information will depend upon its ac- curacy. The accuracy is dependent upon a variety of considera- tions, not the least among which are : the conviction on the part of parents and guardians that the Board keeps a continuous and reverified record; the time of the year when the enumeration is taken; the nationality of parents; the financial standing of parents ; the prosperity of the " times " ; and the conscientious character and general intelligence of the enumerators. The Census and the Bureau of Compulsory Education The Philadelphia school census has for its chief officer one whose significant title is, " Chief of the Bureau of Compulsory Education." Under him there are an assistant, 4 clerks (2 of whom are stenographers) and 43 attendance officers. The attend- ance officers are the field officers and their results are largely codi- fied and arranged by the office force, though the attendance officers themselves submit a weekly report (v. app. 23) showing what ground has been covered, and, in a general way, the results of the enumeration. The time of the office and field forces devoted to the enumeration is about 7 weeks. The law requires that the list of children belonging to a school be furnished to the school, and accordingly a duplicate list was made on cards. One set, on white cards, was kept at the Bureau and a sheet list was sent to the school. Later, a yellow card list was used instead of the sheet list. (See Appendix 21 for these card forms.) 62 Registration of City School Children Latterly, however, this use of the yellow cards has been dis- continued except for those reported to attendance officers, and they are thus employed now only in case of supposed truancy; and no lists, in spite of the law, are furnished to the schools. (Cf. the letter of the Philadelphia school principal, post, Scope of the School Census.) Theoretically the school list method is ideal, but the American community is not yet able to work it out. (Compare the case of West Virginia, Michigan, Nevada, Ch. X.) Scope of the School Census The scope of the school census is best understood by reading the law of July, 1901. This act. No. 335, is the chief legislative enactment in regard to the compulsory education of children in Pennsylvania, and section 4 of it refers to the taking of the school census. That section reads as follows: " It shall be the duty of the assessors of voters of every district, when not notified to the contrary by the school board, at the spring registration of voters or as soon as possible thereafter, to make, in a substantial book, provided by lie Superintendent of Public Instruction at the expense of the State, for that purpose, a careful and correct list of all children between the ages of six and sixteen within his district, giving the full name, date of birth, age, sex, nationality, residence, sub-school district, name and address of parent or person in parental relation, and the name and location of the school where the child is enrolled, or the cause of non- enrollment and the name and address of the employer of any child under sixteen years of age that is engaged in any regular employment or service ; which enumeration, after approval by the secretary of the said school district, shall be returned by the said assessor to the county commissioners of the county in which the enumeration is made, whose duty it shall be to forward the same, or a certified copy thereof, to the secretary of the proper school district, prior to July fifteenth of each year, who shall immediately furnish the principal or teacher of each school with a correct list of all children in his or her district who are subject to the provisions of this act; and the said county commissioners shall furnish a summary of such statistics to the Superintendent of Public In- struction upon blanks provided by the State. And the said as- sessors shall be paid, out of the county funds, a per diem com- pensation for their services, a sum equal to the compensation paid under existing laws for assessors of election ; said services not to exceed ten days : Provided, That prior to February first of any year, any board of directors or controllers of any school district Philadelphia 63 may authorize such enumeration to be made by the attendance officers or other persons, at the expense of the school district, under the same conditions as herein provided for assessors : Pro- vided further, That the attendance officers, if there be any, or the superintendent of schools, or the secretary of the school board, shall have the power to add to this register the names of children within the prescribed ages whose names do not appear thereon." It will be seen that the law allows the enumeration to be made by attendance officers at the expense of the school district for which they make it. The original reason for making a census, apportionment of funds, appears only between the lines. In Philadelphia, the assessors formerly took the census, but so in- adequately that the method was changed.^ The more recent notion of the relation of the census to com- pulsory education appears in the lines : " Who shall immediately furnish the principal or teacher of each school with a correct list of all children in his or her district who are subject to the provi- sions of the act." This means, so far as Philadelphia is concerned, that to the principal was to get a Hst of the children that were said by the parents to be in that principal's school, or who ought, by law, to be in that school. But how this was working in 1908 may be seen from the fol- lowing letter from a principal in one of the Philadelphia schools, who is deeply interested in the problem of compulsory education and the head of a large school in the most crowded quarter of that city: " In reply to your note of October 24th, I need not express an opinion on your first question, since the compulsory education bureau did not send lists of names to the schools this fall. Ac- cording to our attendance officer, the department did not believe the results from these lists to be very satisfactory. Owing to the varied spelling of names, and possibly to the superficial examina- tion of the lists by schools, the returns from these lists were not considered of great value. In some cases the lists were not re- turned for three months after the opening of the fall term, and in other cases they were never examined by principal or teachers. This year, after the census was taken, the cards were sorted in 'The Superintendent of Altoona in his report for 1907 says that the assessors returned 8,071 children; that the Board of Education's house- to-house canvass gave a total of 9,352; and that on the school rolls appeared 8,693 different pupils enrolled, plus 550 obtaining working certificates, and 1886 in parochial schools, total 11,129. 64 Registration of City School Children the office of the Compulsory Bureau, the lists were made of those that were not enrolled in any school in order that the attendance officers might visit the homes and see that these children were placed in schools. Principals are expected to give to the attend- ance officer, for investigation, all cases of pupils on roll in their school who have not returned to the fall session. Whether or not this is being done, I cannot tell you. In our school we have done this except in cases where pupils of proper age had left to go to work and in which we were satisfied of the issuance, in proper form, of a working certificate." It will be seen from this that the lists of those looked up by officers after the census returns were in, were only those that were reported by parents as not employed legally and not attending. Census Districts The districts assigned to the census enumerators are political divisions known as wards. They are not school districts under one district superintendent ; they are not school districts supplying pupils for any one school or number of schools. There are no " district lines " determining the area over which a school shall exert power to draw pupils. The census enumerator that works in the ward is he whose usual school work carries him over the whole ward or most of it so that he is more familiar with it than is any other attendance offi- cer. This is essential, since the best enumerating can be done only by one that is familiar with conditions, who knows the new houses and the character of the old ones. The desirability of grouping by wards is questionable. It is convenient and, to the cursory reader of school reports, means something. But really a ward grouping means little since ward lines are, or have been, gerrymandered. Ward 29 in the census statistics shows a decrease in school population for 1908 because it was divided into wards 29 and 47. This fact would be lost sight of in a year or two and the reason for the falling off of the school population would appear inexplicable to the reader.'' Then again, no conception of the crowded condition of a ward can be obtained unless the Area of the ward is printed alongside the figures for the school population. To make the tables con- cerning Philadelphia more intelligible there should be a map and ' Cf. Detroit, post Ch. VII. — what is said about enumeration by wards. Philadelphia 65 a table of areas accompanying the figures for school population. If the figures in school reports are to come to mean anything to the ordinary reader, as suggested by Snedden and Allen in Map of Philadelphia showing Wards. " School Reports and School Efficiency," such explanatory matter should accompany the tables. (Cf. map of Philadelphia and table of area of wards and school population over a number of years.) 66 Registration of City School Children School Population 6-i6, Philadelphia School Area 1904 1905 1906 1907 popula- Ward in sq. mUes 1902 1903 tion per Total Negro Total Negro Total Negro Total Negro sq. mile I. . . . .700 7.133 7,503 7.790 84 8,108 61 8,258 50 8,940 16 12,771 2. . . . .442 6,228 6,483 6,262 100 7.196 153 7,180 146 7.852 106 17,764 3 .191 4.245 4,609 4,075 189 4.725 243 4.963 175 5.014 148 26,251 4 .229 3.635 3,813 4,071 247 4,187 246 4.282 ^3! 4.253 207 l8,S72 S .321 2.891 2,938 2,973 64 2.633 92 2,810 68 3.034 64 9,451 6 .321 1.255 1,256 1,210 4 1,032 n 1.198 3 1,103 7 3.436 1 .439 2,640 2,623 3,054 1,144 2,951 1,038 3.086 1,115 3.235 1,149 7.569 8 .435 543 862 687 128 883 176 909 165 920 176 2,115 9 .400 667 553 568 43 SIS 67 524 164 427 108 1,068 xo. . . . .359 1 ,224 1 ,402 '■5f' 91 2,474 24 1,871 9f 1,560 37 4.345 II.. . . .210 1.739 1,791 1,882 2,176 7 2,290 8 2,014 6 9.S90 12. , . . .193 1.639 1,866 2,248 41 2,194 42 2,262 43 2,247 32 11.642 13 .259 1,619 1,944 1,914 73 2,175 65 2 ,269 70 2,267 89 8.753 14 .237 1.772 1,964 2, oil 2SI 2,16s 269 2,056 246 2,626 555 11.080 IS 1.049 S'?i* 5,265 5.413 218 5,678 219 6,014 292 5,750 251 5. 481 l6.... .281 2,682 2,511 3.005 12 2,569 II 2,972 9 2,992 2 10 , 647 17.... .251 3,109 3. 191 3.125 15 3,07s 17 3,055 10 3,083 27 12,283 ^8.... .650 4.864 4.900 4.918 3 4,89s 2 4.831 4,721 7,263 19. ... .698 9.539 9.645 9.954 20 9,725 22 9, 202 24 9,038 28 12,948 20, . . . .734 5,880 5''R' 5,917 431 6,065 445 6,050 494 6,415 S8i 8.735 21. . . . 7.129 5,489 5,883 5,970 75 6,184 79 6,084 94 6,183 83 867 22. . . . 10.741 8,559 8,851 9. 159 507 8,744 420 8,880 334 9.199 46s 856 23 3.20s 4.552 4,716 4.621 113 4,924 146 5,153 149 5,365 146 1.674 24 4.150 7.252 7,987 8,301 297 7,930 281 8,285 382 8,334 408 2,008 25. . . . 1, 100 9.340 10. 141 10,317 28 10,648 44 10,952 37 7.601 7 6,910 26. . . . 1.400 7,370 7,606 7.679 488 8,029 351 8, 060 463 8.525 628 6,089 27 I. 510 3,919 4,341 4,266 364 5,210 384 5,282 337 2,219 268 1,469 28 1.024 7,449 7.380 7.388 146 7,433 146 7,438 158 7,360 141 7,187 29 ,822 9,109 9.294 9,020 482 9,067 458 8,376 444 8,416 578 10,238 30 .519 4,057 4.125 4,226 890 4,103 908 3,945 926 4,132 1,085 7,961 31 .713 5,873 6. 140 6,268 6,293 6,259 6,016 8,437 32.... .809 5,667 5. 480 S.610 69 4,434 107 4,447 116 4.495 124 5,556 33 2.983 14,017 14,110 14.936 174 15,094 161 8,988 28 9.S77 31 3.210 34 4.407 8,548 8,774 9,416 217 10,551 246 11,703 295 6,000 IIS 1,366 3S-.. 33.261 1,112 1.346 1.40s 45 1,473 31 1,630 46 1,711 44 SI 36.... 6.081 9,052 9,899 10. 22s 316 11.339 514 11,817 469 10,989 684 1,807 37 .520 3,487 3,226 3.487 32 3.324 37 3,350 40 3,286 45 6,319 38.... 3.990 5,726 6,020 6.173 38 6,200 S2 5.875 63 6,462 69 1,619 39 5-*2' 6,940 7.225 7.499 41 7,739 . l6s 9.034 156 9,669 145 2,0x0 40. . . . 8.089 4,032 4.499 4.956 147 5,020 181 S.lpS 157 S.5S5 169 686 41 6.250 1,649 2,050 2.054 15 2,032 13 2,026 9 2,165 6 346 42 9.163 2,204 2,099 2,288 SO 2,399 36 2,680 43 2,916 52 318 43 ... . 1 .461 5. 919 139 6,o6g 6,231 45 162 4. 153 5.335 44 1. 168 45 3. 100 2.800 3,870 3,249 29 83 1,248 1,160 4S. . . . 47 .578 129.583 204,423 212,308 217,936 7 . 697 223,591 7,989 '. 227,370 i 'siigS 233,084 9,201 Philadelphia 67 Value of Statistics Some light in regard to the problem of the colored child in Philadelphia can be secured through the census grouping. (Cf. ante, school population 6-16, Philadelphia.) Dr. Brumbaugh in his report for 1907 shows the necessity for considering the situation studiously, and the census figures ought to mean much to the Board that plans new school houses. Dr. Brumbaugh says : " The City of Philadelphia has a larger population of colored people than any other city in the North. It sends a larger group of colored children to the public schools than any other city in the country. These children attend for the most part the schools nearest to their places of residence. In a few cases separate buildings have been provided, in which colored children have been placed under colored teachers, and wherever this has been done, it has been found to accomplish two important results : First, it has given to the colored child better opportunity to move at its own rate of progress through the materials of the curriculum, which rate of progress is in some respects different from the rate of progress of other children. Second, it has enabled the Board of Education to give employment to a group of deserving members of the colored race, who by industry and capacity have won their certificates to teach in the public schools of tiie city. Both of these are matters of moment and wherever the colored parents will join in petition to the Board for a school organized on this basis, I earnestly recommend that such school be estab- lished. It is possible, however, that in some sections of the city the parents of these children will not so petition the Board, but, on the contrary, will insist that their children remain in the divi- sions where they now attend school. Here a really difficult situation presents itself. The fact is, that when the percentage of colored children reaches thirty or more the other children begin gradually to withdraw from the school. This fact, coupled with the additional fact that there are a number of qualified colored teachers in the city who are not at the present time in the employment of the Board of Education, leads me to suggest that wherever possible, separate schools should be in- augurated for the colored children." The relation of the statistics to the deductions therefrom is thus illustrated. They could doubtless be made to show many more valuable facts in regard to nationality, etc., that ought to be of the utmost importance in establishing a school or outlining a cur- riculum. 68 Registration of City School Children As has been suggested before, the figures of the report are not always to be relied on. As an example of probable inaccuracy, take these figures from the reports of 1903, 1904, and 1905 : Total No. Children 6-16 Year No. Illegally Employed Per Cent. 212,308 1903 234 ii-ioo of I 217,935 1904 144 6-100 of I 223,391 190S 295 13-100 of I and couple with them this statement from the 1905 report : Number of children 13-14 employed previous to the new law's going into effect (that raised the age of compulsory attendance to 14 years), 2148. These two sets of figures for 1905 do not agree. In the first case we have only 295 children illegally employed, whereas in the second case we have 2,148 as the number of children 13-14 em- ployed. This is either an error, or else 2,148 minus 295 is the number of children 13-14 that stopped work or reported them- selves legally employed. Those that have any dealings with the problem of the child approaching the age permitting him to leave school legally, know that the latter alternative is the one that would be followed. But as in the case of the other figures nothing can be proved because there is no background against which to check the discrepancy. Enumerators The enumerators in Philadelphia are the attendance officers who are employed two extra months after regular school duties are over in order to secure the figures. The work was at one time done by the police, as in New York, but the returns were unsatisfactory. In the earlier days it was done by the assessors of voters, but with equally unsatisfactory results. Thus the chief of the Bureau of Compulsory Education writes under date of December 31st, 1905, in his report for 1905^ p. 6. " The law of compulsory attendance requires a census of chil- dren between 6 and 16 years, to be taken each year either by the attendance officers of the Board of Public Education or by the assessors. The last four years the census has been taken by the attendance officers under the supervision of the Bureau of Compulsory Education, but in comparing the returns made by the assessors when they have taken a census for the biennial appropriation from the State for the public schools, with the census taken by the attendance officers under the law of com- Philadelphia 69 pulsory attendance, there has always been a considerable de- crease in the number of children in the census taken by the as- sessors.^ Not only does the city suffer a great loss for schools from the State appropriation's being less than should be appro- priated, but the city also suffers a loss to pay the assessors to perform the work that has usually been done by the attendance officers. The census of 1905, taken by the attendance officers shows that there are 223,591 children between 6 and 16 years of age, and the one just taken by the assessors shows but 199,- 099, a difference of 23,692,* The difference is even more fla- grant when a comparison is made by the different wards. If the law could be changed to have the attendance officers of the Board of Public Education take the census for the State appro- priation for the public schools, as well as to take the census between the same ages as required by the law of compulsory attendance, an annual appropriation of about $75,000 would be added to the school fund during the next two years." The enumeration really begins about the middle of June and lasts about 7 weeks. This time of the year is chosen because the enumerators have practically concluded their regular attend- ance work by June 15, and their services can be retained through- out the year by giving them employment during July and August. Philadelphia has an area of 129.583 square miles, with a popu- lation in 1900 of 1,293,697. Forty-three enumerators are em- ployed to do the counting. The table, ante, shows the distribu- tion of school population. When an enumerator finishes his own district, he reports to headquarters and is assigned to help some other enumerator not finished. Section 16, paragraph 5, of the By-Laws of the Board re- quires the City Superintendent to limit himself, in nominating to fill vacancies or to supply additional positions among attendance officers, to the names that stand highest on an eligible list made after an examination or examinations of the educational qualifi- cations of the persons that attend the examination, coupled with an inquiry into their fitness in other respects. This ought to ensure the employment of competent men, but there is some doubt as to whether the word examinations has not allowed a temporary lowering of the usual standard in order to allow a favored candidate to pass. ^ i. c. The assessors' figures show fewer children than do those of the attendance officers. * The arithmetic is the chief's own. 70 Registration of City School Children Of his own knowledge, on the other hand, the writer may say, of those officers with whom it was his good fortune to help take the census, that they were thoroughly competent men, know- ing their districts well, alert, conscientious, hard-working, per- sistent, tactful and resourceful. He may add, too, that he saw enough to convince him that not all the staff are as good. An effort is made to assure at once in June returns from those districts in which the families are, most likely to leave town for the summer or for part of the summer. The enumerators do not work in the street on Saturday. Enumerator C, whose showing for one day is given post, re- ported as follows for his first four weeks of 1908, 937 (court prosecutions taking up part of his time); 1,100; 1,060; 1,000. He has about 9,200 children to enumerate in 7 weeks of 5 days each. As his district is large, he is helped, toward the close, by those that have already finished their own districts. He be- lieves that these 35 days could be distributed over the year, one day a week, and the enumeration kept fairly up to date. Method of Enumeration The enumeration is made during the summer months, as has been said, in order to hold the services of attendance officers that otherwise would be paid only for actual work as attendance officers during the school year, and whose co-operation during the summer months would, accordingly, be lost. These men are paid $750 for the regular 10 months' work and $150 more for the two extra summer months' work. There are 43 of them and they work 5 days a week for 7 weeks securing from 160 to 200 names of children of school age per day. On rainy days or days of excessive heat they may secure fewer. Many of them work from 8 a. m. to 3 p. m. without lunch, and with such alleviations of thirst as can be secured from considerate householders. The hour is not pri- marily regarded as the end of the working day, but the attain- ment of the quota of names that has to be sent in, with the area covered, on the weekly report. The enumerators know, from the figures of the preceding year, about how many names they have to secure, and they estimate how many names they must take per day in order to cover the territory in the 7 weeks. There is no premium for rapid or Philadelphia 7 r effective work, no vacation to be earned by getting through the district ahead of anyone else, as those that finish first are re- assigned to the larger wards to assist. There is practically no check on the thoroughness of the work. The monthly salary is superior as a method of remuneration to any per capita allowance, such as is made in Massachusetts of 5 cents a name, a system that is bound to lead to padding, but the rate of payment in Philadelphia for the kind of work de- manded is too small. The salary ought to be larger and paid by the year. There could be a corresponding increase in the efficiency of the force. At present, the Committee of Attendance Officers are trying to secure such concessions from the City Council and have named their figure at $1,000. In the opinion of the writer the salary should be $1,200 with such other admin- istration as will appear later. At present the salary must pur- chase all the stamps for the sending of the " preliminary notices " which the law of compulsory attendance demands, and pay car fare to the homes of those persons served with a summons (as the service must be personal), to courts where prosecutions are held, and tips to those that may " for a consideration " give just the necessary information as to the whereabouts of a rascally parent that may lead to his apprehension by the law. The enumeration is made in lead pencil in a street book 8^ inches x 12 inches with oak tag covers, containing 60 pages of 22 lines (in 1908) each and bound by 2 slender wire binders. The enumerators seem to have got used to this style of book and not to think it awkward. Some carry a stiff insert to act as a writing back, but most of them double the book over. The ffimsy binding is then very apt to give way. The general arrangement of details may be seen from Ap- pendix 22. Not all enumerators follow the same plan in enumerating. Some prefer to make all entries in the street; others use their book of the preceding year and make entries in a book of their own of the additions and changes. One enumerator whom I accom- panied, said that he had taken the census in one ward for " eleven years " and that the method of using the last year's book was the only proper method. On the day I went with him we got new the names of 160 children, and verified the names in 238 families, in 3 hours and 12 minutes. The preceding day, another 72 Registration of City School Children equally conscientious man, in a district less rural and demanding less walking got the names of 216 children from 354 families, but took 7 hours and 10 minutes. He did all his writing in the street. Unquestionably the former method has its advantages. The enumerator keeps a yearly check on all residing continuously in the district so that he is able to suppress the tendency on the part of parents to make the boy's age leap a year as it approaches the limit of compulsory school attendance; it impresses the parents to have the enumerator come with an air of certitude and say : " You have two children here, John, and Rose, any others ?" It saves time that otherwise would be spent in the hot street, as it is very much more rapid than the other method. On the other hand it practically presupposes a fairly stable population. The correct street lists have to be written out, in order, when the enumerator reaches home. There he makes the insertions and changes that his supplementary book shows. Thus the enumer- ator that used this method often worked until 6 p. m., and later, writing up the 200 or more names with the accompanying description. When the users of the other method had finished a street, it was finished, and the clerical work of it was over. In the one case the writing was done in ease at home ; and in the other case, awkwardly in the street. Most enumerators wrote the complete list in the street, feeling a desire to be through for the day when the last door-bell had been rung or the last door pounded. Instructions The Bureau issues " Instructions " to the enumerators. They are general in tone and to the individual wit of each is left the particular devices tha^t facilitate the work. BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION Bureau of Compulsory Education 699 City Hall INSTRUCTIONS— CENSUS, 1909 In taking the Census as required by the Compulsory Attendance Law, take the name, etc., of every child who is or will be six years of age on or before October i, 1909. Philadelphia 73 The names of children who will be sixteen years of age on or before September i, 1909, DO NOT take. The names of children in orphan asylums, educational homes and similar institutions DO NOT TAKE UNLESS they attend school (public, private, or parochial) outside of such institution and within the limits of the city. Take the names of all children between six and sixteen years of age living in hotels and apartment houses. Take the name of the father only but if not living the name of the mother or person in parental relation. Take the address if it differs from that of the child. Take the name and address of the employer of every child, and desig- nate the kind of employment under the following headings : Office, Factory, Store, Domestic Service and Miscellaneous. Note carefully the cause of non-attendance of every child. Classify children between fourteen and sixteen years of age who are neither employed nor enrolled in school at the time of your call at their homes, and children between thirteen and fourteen years of age not enrolled, as non-attendants. Girls under fourteen years of age who have been performing domestic service classify also as non-attendants. Take the street work for each Ward in separate street books. Make a report each week of the street work done and send it to reach the office in the first mail Monday. The work for more than one Ward must not be entered on the same report. Devote at least eight hours a day to street work, except Saturdays, on which day make out the report for the week. Note any loss of time and the cause on the report. Be as careful as possible to obtain and note the correct information relating to each child. Keep a list of all houses in which you are unable to obtain the required information, and send the list with the last report of the street work. M. G. Brumbaugh, William Thornton, Superintendent of Schools. Chief of Bureau. Note. In addition to making a list of all houses at which you are unable to obtain the required information, you will also make a separate list of all houses you find vacant. — W. T. Weekly Reports and Co-operation of Parochial Schools Each week the enumerator makes a record of his accompUsh- ment'' giving the area covered and the result of grouping the children by ages. It will be seen from this and from the Instruc- tions that no account is made of children in institutions such as orphan asylums. The census, therefore, is not a record of all the children of school age in the city ; it is still primarily a record for securing appropriations. ' Cf. Appendix 23. 74 Registration of City School Children The blank seems to assume that no child under 14 is employed. The enrollment of parochial schools is particularly noted, and the statistics are found in the Chief's report for 1905. But I am credibly informed that few attendance officers make it their busi- ness to see that those reported as attending the parochial schools actually do so. This is a most important consideration for those looking toward the adequate enforcement of the Compulsory Attendance law. The complete harmony of the authorities in regard to these schools and private schools is essential for the fulfillment of the law. It is still too easy for a parent to transfer a pupil to a parochial school and then to send him to that work at which a negligent factory inspector may allow him to stay long without detection, or for- which an " easy " judge may allow the parent to escape unpunished. The Catholic authorities of Philadelphia have sought to secure the activities of their own officers in regard to the law and have issued the following circular: Superintendent of Parish Schools, Broad and Vine Sts., Phila., Pa. To the Principal : His Grace, the Most Reverend Archbishop requests that you co-operate with the officials of the Bureau of Compulsory- Education in regard to the suggestions that may be brought to your attention for the carrying out of the law of compulsory attendance. He likewise requests that those children that are in school, and over whom the Society to Protect Children from Cruelty has a legal care, be allowed to leave school at such times as the physician of the Society may desire their attendance at his office for medical examination. It should be understood that the Solicitor of the Society has expressed the opinion that it has a legal right to remove the children, if the parents refuse to have them examined by the physician. Sincerely, Philip R. McDevitt, But I have ground for believing that the attendance officers are not very punctilious about the parochial cases. When the force of attendance officers includes one that can report a pupil as " not found " or " removed " when he is spending half his day lolling over the balustrade of the fire-escape in the rear of the school, making faces at his teacher (an actual case), the reason can be perceived. But so far as the transfer of a pupil from one public school to another is concerned, the matter is kept well under the con- trol of the authorities. Philadelphia 7 5 Authenticity of the Information One object of the census is to get control of the child that has never appeared on the school record, though of school age. Hence in addition to his weekly report, the enumerator used to make up a school list of all those shown, by the census returns, to be- long to one school. Of the value of these lists there was ques- tion, though theoretically they ought to be just the right thing. (Cf. ante, the letter of a Philadelphia principal.) Everybody on it ought to have been going to school or to have been directed to some schoolj and the list ought to be the principal's first re- source in controlling truancy at the beginning of the year. But while the street sheet calls for the age and date of birth, the blank called only for the age. Experience demonstrates that parents frequently falsify the age through craft, ignorance, or even good nature and a love for " round numbers " or " even numbers." The writer noticed that many times the mother would give the age as of the birthday next approaching when that was many months away and not the " nearest birthday." Then, too, fathers of children are in most cases totally untrustworthy in regard to the age of their children. "About 15 " from a father means anything, in my experience, from 13 to 16. Russian Jews are frequently at sea in regard to the dates of birth of their chil- dren. " Before Peso,"" or "After Peso '' was accepted in scores of cases for a date when an accurate date seemed, from the smile of bewilderment that accompanied the answer, to be utterly out of the question. The making of the weekly reports can be much facilitated if the page contains lines that number some multiple of ten, and if during the tabulation, on the street, marginal annotations are made as the enumerator proceeds. One enumerator was able to give me his day's age grouping in 15 minutes after the last name had been secured. Another showed me a book from which he had been laboriously selecting ages for an hour. This age group- ing seems to be based on the conception that all are going to school that ought to be going. In the aggregate the percentages called for, of 6-8, 8-14, 14-16, will probably remain the same year after year, and the painful extraction of these percentages each year is a waste of time. It would seem as if the weekly report might be made more illuminating. 'Pesakh, Passover, Easter. 76 Registration of City School Children A special report on " mental defectives " is now made. Parents are apt to disregard these unfortunates in the enumeration and not to mention them at all. To the parents the story is so old and the tragedy so hopeless that the educational possibilities of the defective have, in their minds, been reduced to zero. Such a child is for school purposes, they think, a nonentity. In the experience of the writer nothing but repeated questioning was ever able to elicit the real state of affairs. Taking the Census — Field Work In order to secure personal experience in the matter of taking the census, the writer obtained from the Bureau of Compulsory Education permission to accompany several of the enumerators on their official rounds. The Bureau furnished the names of those that it would suggest for the trial, and it is therefore fair to assume that the men chosen were those that the Bureau be- lieved were the best expositors of the system. Owing to the fact that the writer was unavoidably delayed in getting to Phila- delphia, some of the districts had been covered before his arrival, but the enumerators to which he was assigned gave him an op- portunity of seeing conditions in widely different parts of the city so that his conclusions may be taken as representative. It will be seen from the figures that the number of people or children to a house shows conclusively the typical fact of the method of housing in Philadelphia. The commonest type of dwelling house in Philadelphia is the one-family house. Thou- sands of these houses are built in long rows and many of them have but four rooms, two downstairs and two upstairs. This is the customary style in the newer parts of the town; in the older and more congested parts, it is true, there are some houses with a number of families in them. But they are the exception, and the kind of tenement that prevails in New York City, with its scores of families, is a distinct rarity. Some of the newer apart- ment houses in Philadelphia contain many families, but that kind of house is not popular with the citizens who cling with pride to their small but absolute domain. Such features as these influence the taking of the census very much. There is much more neighborliness among the people. It seems to be the fact that one is apt to know more about his " next door neighbor " than about his upper or lower neighbor. And Philadelphia 77 the next-door-neighbor information as tested by the enumerators has been found generally accurate. " Back calls " are rarely made when there is reason for believing the statement that the neighbor has " no children of any kind," is true. The tiring process of climbing stairs is almost eliminated. Even the small stoop steps are often avoided by hopping over the low fence that separates two dwellings. In securing the following figures, the writer did not record in his own book many of the things that the official record had to take notice of. The object of accompanying the enumerator was to get a first-hand idea of the efficiency of the census and its method, and to try to estimate its cost. That is, the writer en- deavored to determine the territory that an enumerator could adequately cover in a day, and the number of names that he could secure. The " Back Calls " are indicated as such, but there was a good deal of latitude in determining when a back call was necessary. A report of " no children " by a neighbor, was prac- tically never indicative of a back call when there was no other response. The item of parochial school attendance was kept separate by the writer, as it seemed to have a very important bearing on the efficiency of the Compulsory Education Law. The temperature and humidity records are given wherever possible as having some effect upon the daily amounts. The distance travelled in the different trials was very difficult to gauge. Some attempt to measure it was made with a pedometer, but readers must remember in considering the readings of a pedometer, even if it is regulated to the stride of the wearer, that it records steps and not distance although the result may be given on the dial in miles. The result is really " miles " only when the steps are regular and uniform in length. Thus going up low steps would count just as much as going up high ones although the effort in the latter case would be greater. Case I. Enumerator C. Ward 33. July 14. Temperature 76-90. Humidity 76. Sunny after 9 a. m. Hours 8 ■.20 to 3 130. No time taken for luncheon or refreshment. A mill district, the houses being occupied largely by operatives. Practically all 2- story, i-family houses. People white, speaking English readily. Ten items for every name taken. Houses obviously new not re- corded in any way. There were very many of these. Houses that 78 Registration of City School Children were vacant but that seemed to have been occupied appear under " Cases." Type of question : " Taking an enumeration of chil- dren, lady. How many children in your home?" Results Cases — Dwellings & Families Children Back Calls Time in Minutes 37 20 4 46 37 16 37 40 26 2 62 31 17 I 4S 112 S3 7 120 19 24 I 3° 9 10 12 18 14 I 18 9 8 I j8 18 6 14 24 22 4 38 354 216 2 1 430=7 hours and 10 minutes As we went home in the street car, C was able to give me very speedily, owing to his system of making marginal marks as he wrote the names, a summary of his results. This he gave for the first 200 names and I give it below, but we did not entirely agree upon all points, notably upon the back calls. I recorded 21 wher§ he gave only 17. Males Females 6- 8 18 23 14-16 17 14 (working legally) 14 8 (working legally)=2« 8-14 76 52 III 89 Foreign born parents, 62 out of 224 fathers. This enumerator keeps a separate list of vacant old houses, but not vacant new (i. e., not yet occupied) houses. He estimates the number of names of those reported to him annually as " never in school " at 60. Philadelphia 79 Report por Enumerator C as noted by the writer in the enumeration for 1908 Attending schools other than elementary public schools, Parochial. . . 40 Special i Reports of " no children " made by neighbor and accepted 46 Number of children reported by neighbor and accepted 4 Number so reported but not regarded as involving back calls g Number of cases involving back calls because of no response 21 Number between 8-14 not attending, illegally 7 Number of this 7 " just arrived in city " 6 Number of this 7 reported as physically disqualified (eyesight — ordered to report to the school doctor for his report) i Number 14-16 not attending and not working , 4 Number reported as working legally, no certificate shown 22 Number working illegally i Number of vacant houses, some never occupied 44 Number insane, not at home i Number idiotic, not congenitally i Number ignorant of birthday i Number of children giving information accepted i Case 2. Enumerator R. Ward 23. July 16. Temperature 70-78. Humidity 46. Hours 8:10 to 12:55. No time taken for luncheon or refreshment. Semi-rural district, the occupants of the houses being fairly stable in their abode. Mostly one- family houses, often detached with an alley as the usual method of approach instead of the front stoop or piazza. In some sec- tions, inhabitants white, and their responses quick. In others, inhabitants colored or low white, and responses difficult to elicit. Few new houses. Type of question: " You have i, 2, 3 children here, have you not? Any others?" Results Cases — Dwellings & Families Children Back Calls Time in Minutes 41 22 o 18 26 18 o 24 26 14 o 23 98 78 o 75 16 15 o 20 31 13 ° 32 238 160 o 192=3 hours and 12 minutes 8o Registration of City School Children R. stated that he desired to quit early because he would have to spend the rest of the afternoon in writing out his book in proper form, since his method in the street was not to take all the names but to take only those that were new, and to keep note of the absence of change, save in age, of all children that had not altered their address. This compelled him to do the clerical work at home, and to sandwich into their proper street places the addi- tions and changes. This was his eleventh year, he said, in this district and he thought he could' do it more quickly and accurately by checking the statements of the present year against the state- ments of the previous year. Thus he controlled the tendency to cheat in regard to the age of boys approaching 14. Report for Enumerator R as noted by the writer in the enumeration for 1908 Attending schools other than elementary public schools, Parochial. . 12 Reports of "no children " made by neighbor and accepted 18 (Part of this item is included in the 86 given below.) Number of children reported by neighbor and accepted 13 Number so reported and involving back calls o (Verified by the report for the preceding year.) Number of cases of "no response " but not involving back calls .... 21 (No back call was recorded as the record was verified by neighbor.) Number of cases in which neighbor's word was accepted 86 (R. in getting data from one family in regard to itself would ask concerning the neighbor, thus doing 2 families in the one call. The large number given for neighbor's reports was justified by the previous year's record.) Number 8-14 not attending, illegally i Number of this i " just arrived in city " i Number physically disqualified o Number 14-16 not attending and not working 2 Number reported as working legally, no certificate shown i Number working illegally o Number of vacant houses 7 Number of families reporting for the first time in this district 61 Number of children on the book for the first time 52 Number of negroes 7 Number of houses, dangerous and unverified i (Good reason for concluding that no children made their home there.) Philadelphia 8 1 Case 3. Enumerator W. Ward 2. July 20. Temperature 75-78. Humidity 58-63. Hours 9:30 to 2:55. No time taken for luncheon or refreshment. A number of houses of more than one family. Tenements and rear tenements. Inhabitants mainly Russian Jews with some Poles, Germans, and Irish. Pedometer 3>4 miles. The linear distance around the block included the 4 sides of one and 2 out of the 4 of another, or 6 linear " blocks " in all. But there were alleys to walk through and many more stairs to climb than on previous days. Type of question : " Have you any children here between 6 and 16? " Results Cases — Back Dwellings Families Children Calls Minutes Distance 79 139 161 6 195 similes 17 21 36 o 45 i 32 35 39 I 45 f 20 25 39 4 40 I 148 220 275 II 325 3J W. has been taking the enumeration in this district for 4 years. He says he finds the people much more willing to give the infor- mation than formerly. He does not understand Yiddish, but has picked up a few words of it. He frequently used children as interpreters. The birthdays were very vague even to the mothers, often being " before or after New Year's, Christmas, Fourth of July, Easter, Passover." " Europe " was accepted as the birth- place of a parent when nothing more definite could be got. Most of those " born in Europe " went down as " Russian.'' Some- times " old country " was taken. W. works around the block con- tinuously, taking in the alleys as he goes. Some enumerators do both sides of the street as they go if the houses are far apart. If they are near together, they may go up one side and down the other. On this day he noticed in the afternoon an alley of the adjacent block that he had forgotten to take the day before when he had done that block. It is questionable whether, if he had left this alley out completely, the office would have known anything about it. The word of those at the bottom of the house to the effect that there were no children of any age in the house was generally accepted and no further investigation was m^ade. 82 Registration of City School Children Report for Enumerator W as noted by the writer in the enumeration for 1908 Attending school other than elementary public schools, Parochial .... 75 Lutheran 4 Deaf and Dumb. i Reports of "no children " made by neighbor and accepted 26 Number of children reported by neighbor and accepted 3 Number so reported and involving back calls 2 Number of cases involving back calls because of no response 5 Number 8-14 not attending, illegally i Number 14-16 not attending and not working u Number reported as working legally, certificate asserted 10 Number working illegally o Number of vacant dwellings 13 Number idiotic i Number ignorant of birthday i Number ignorant of name r Niunber of children giving information accepted 13 Number of cases of no inquiry, no reason given 6 (Of these, one house bore a " to let " sign; one was a Chinese laundry; one, a factory closed; two were rag shops; and one, passed unac- countably. In all cases the enumerator doubtless had good grounds for assuming the absence of children.) Diagram to show the enumerator's progress about an intersected block. Philadelphia 83 Case 4. Enumerator W. Ward 2. July 21. Temperature 78. Humidity 62. Hours 9:38 to 3:40. No time taken for luncheon or refreshment. Houses mainly one family. Inhabi- tants as in case 3. Pedometer reading at start 5 miles, at close 8j^ miles. The linear direction is indicated in the sketch of the block, the arrows showing the direction taken by the enumerator. Results Ca SES Back ELLING s Families Children Calls Minutes Distance 109 no 114 7 142 I } miles 42 42 47 I 70 J « 57 60 72 I 90 J " 32 32 38 4 35 } " 16 17 19 I 25 i " 256 261 290 14 362 3J " There were fewer stairs to climb than on the previous day as there were more one-family houses. Report for Enumerator W as noted by the writer in the enumeration for 1908 Attending schools other than elementary public schools, Parochial. . 63 Lutheran. . 2 Truant. ... i Business. . . i Report of "no children ' made by neighbor and accepted 17 Number of children reported by neighbor and accepted o Number of cases involving back calls because of no response 13 Number 8-14 not attending o Number 14-16 not attending and not working i Number working legally with certificate not shown 16 Number working illegally i Number vacant houses 13 Number not knowing age 3 Number of children giving information accepted 9 Number of cases of no inquiry, no reason given 3 (Of these, one was a junk shop; one, a Chinese laundry; and one, a cellar, was said by a girl on the first floor to have only men in it.) Cautions The writer, from his Philadelphia experience, gained a knowl- edge of some of the things a new census taker ought to be warned against, but rarely is. 84 Registration of City School Children The questions must be asked in a reasonable way. The ma- jority of the people give the information readily. The enumerator may sometimes be taken for an insurance agent, where the insur- ance companies have covered the ground pretty thoroughly, and the person may at first be correspondingly reticent. For in- stance, one woman insisted on showing her book of the Company and saying that her premiums were paid. But convinced at last, she gave the name of her one child. One man said he had no children, " Just a little boy, going on eleven." One woman said she would be hanged if she would give the names of her children, that this was a free country, that her children were her own, and that she would cut their throats if she wanted to. More than one parent was drunk. One Irish father, when asked the month of his son's birth, re- plied: " Oh, say any month." " February?" hazarded the enu- merator. " Yes, go ahead, say February," said the father. One woman, seeing the enumerator coming, ran in, and sent her daughter to the bell. The latter said her mother was out, but when she heard the type of question she said that her mother had been washing and maybe had come back. The mother then appeared. In another place the conversation ran, " Any children here ? " " What? " " Any children here? " " No, only two little boys." " How old? " " One going on 14, one 12." One woman persistently denied that she had any children until she became convinced of the innocence of the inquiry, when she confessed to five. One door bore this sign : " Please don't knock. Come Sat- urday. Sure will settle up insurance." Some parents denied the question in good faith, not taking in, on the instant, exactly what was intended. Thus the question, " Have you any children between 6 and 16? " was very confusing to many. " No," said one man, " the youngest one is 9." The successful enumerator must be patient, tactful, but insistent. He has to be quick to put odd facts together as gleaned from the neighbors, and if he has a sense of humor and good-fellowship he will get along better. He must be resourceful but polite. Philadelphia 85 Time of Year for Enumeration The census is taken in June primarily because of the way in which the attendance officers are paid, but May was tried and given up because so many Italians of the 4th ward went across the river into New Jersey to pick berries during that month and June. Any one that has had experience with the Italian population knows how mobile it is. Often possessed of few household goods it can pick up its few belongings in a morning and depart for another camping ground. The neig'hbors generally profess ignorance of whereabouts or destination. In the 7th ward many residents leave for the summer vacation before July. The enumerators seem to think that there is less tendency to lie about the age of a child when the census is taken in the summer, apparently because parents are oflf their guard. On the other hand, those becoming fourteen during the summer often go 10 work without a certificate. The frequent removals in May, as well as the reasons given above, seemed to make that month a poor one for the taking of the census. Efficiency of the System The Philadelphia system works unsatisfactorily. Notwithstand- ing the number of years that the city has been engaged in the effort to tabulate its pupils and those that ought to be pupils, the results have been inaccurate and untrustworthy. There has been no attempt made to keep the tabulation up to date. What this might mean can be seen from the figures of one Philadelphia prin- cipal in a district where the mobility of population was normal for that district: Number belonging, " mode " for the year i.o57 Admissions 641 Number transferred for removal and certified to work 540 Number graduated 81 The Bureau, which keeps a record of transfers, gives the ap- proximate number per day as 990 or 40,000 a year. The Superintendent of Schools in 1908 became dissatisfied with the method of handling the census and with its efficiency, and appointed a committee of principals and district superintendents to make a report embodying their recommendations in regard to the census, and these men submitted such a report after earnest con- sultation and investigation. A digest of it follows : 86 Registration of City School Children Report of the Principals and District Superintendents Concerning the Philadelphia School Census 1. The census is inaccurate, especially the age record. 2. The census is inaccurate and incomplete in regard to names. 3. The census should be taken by one empowered to administer an oath and thus enable prosecutions for per jury.'' 4. An interpreter ought to accompany the enumerator in foreign sections. 5. The law must be enforced in parochial and other schools. 6. The area to be covered by each attendance officer should be within the jurisdiction of a specific superintendent. 7. Local conditions in addition to population and area, to be cov- ered, should determine the number of attendance officers. 8. Inefficient officers should be removable. 9. No discretion in regard to serving notice or bringing prose- cutions should lie with the attendance officer. 10. Schools should be so looked after that all cases of absence are promptly reported. 11. A special magistrate, appointed " at large," should be as- signed for attendance cases. 12. Prosecutions should be made by a special attorney of the Board. 13. Room for all children subject for school duty should be provided. 14. Special schools located geographically according to the needs of the locality should be provided. 15. A work-certificate grounded on false returns should be re- vocable or nugatory and the burden of proving age should rest on the parents or guardians. ' Cf. the law for school census in Nevada, Digest of State Census Laws, ante. CHAPTER VI BOSTON AND CHICAGO Boston Estimated population 1906, 602,278. Area in acres, 24,613. The revised laws of Massachusetts, Ch. 43, read as follows: " The school committee of each city and town shall annually ascertain and record the names, ages, and such other information as may be required by the Board of Education, of all children between 5 and 15 years of age, and of all minors under 14 years of age that can not read at sight and write legibly sentences in the English language, residing in its city or town, on the first day of September, and such record shall be completed on or before the isth day of November." In Boston the school census has been in charge of the same man for a number of years. He does the work by contract for the committee. The Superintendent of Schools of Boston writes that this census is " very carefully taken and supplemented when neces- sary by inquiries by the truant officers." The Secretary of the Statistics Department of the city of Boston writes, " It is fairly well taken so far as determining the age and address of the children enumerated is concerned. * * * j 3^11 informed by the Secretary of the State Board of Education that compulsory education is fairly well controlled by the school census in many of the municipalities of the State. Its results undoubt- edly afford a means of control if the school committee are minded to put it to such use. In Boston the school census furnishes in- formation as regards the ages of children that is availed of in granting or withholding employment certificates, but inasmuch as, under the law, the completion of the census is not required before the 15th of November, and the Boston school census is seldom completed until some time in October, the data with respect to age are not absolutely satisfactory." The Chief Clerk in the office of the Superintendent writes that the contractor that takes the census is paid a lump sum and that the school authorities do not know whether the enumerators are paid by the week or per capita enumerated. He continues : " I 87 88 Registration of City School Children think the method pursued by this city in the taking of the census is generally satisfactory, but it is not a means of controlling com- pulsory education. * * * If the census could be taken sim- ultaneously in all parts of the city, it would be of much more ser- vice in following up the attendance of children in the schools; but as the work is necessarily spread over 2>^ months a great deal of moving takes place and the names of many children are un- doubtedly skipped." From other sources the information is given that : " The school census in Boston is not carefully taken. The enumerators that are sent out get much of their information at second hand. I am told that the little shopkeeper on the ground floor of a tenement will be asked to give the number of children in each tenement of the building. It is a good part guesswork in so far as this method is followed." The Monthly Bulletin of the Statistics Department for October, November, December, 1908, Vol. 10, Nos. 10, 11, and 12, gives the detail, so far as published, of the census for 1908. The ar- ticle on the Boston School Census 1908, page 159, opens as fol- lows: " The total number of persons from 5 to 15 years of age (i. e., not including those of 15) constitutes the 'school population' — which does not include those that attend evening schools — since that number as determined by the school census is used by the State authorities as the basis of apportioning the Massachusetts school fund." Then follow tables to show that the school population has in- creased from year to year, but nothing to show that it has in- creased proportionately to the size of the population. Of course, this is admittedly hard to get, and the accuracy of a census taken by other enumerators might be called in question by those that took the school census. But it would seem as if the report might be made more enlightening considering the number of years the census has been taken in Boston. The Bureau of Statistics and Labor takes a census every ten years, in years ending in 5, and the United States takes a census every ten years in years ending in o. The United States publishes estimates of the population for the intercensal period, and these figures might show, in conjunc- tion with the figures for the sdiool census, something of value. They will not do so, however, if given over too small an area. Boston and Chicago 89 There are given below, the U. S. intercensal estimates for 1904, 1905, and 1906 and the school census returns for the same years: 1904 1905 1906 1. School population 100,367 101,865 104,018 2. Population (U. S. Est.) 588,482 595 1380 602,278 Per cent, of i on 2 16.9 171 17. is Even these figures do not show that more children are attend- ing school. Granting that the intercensal figures are correct (which of course they are not), the percentages show merely larger numbers of children in the city between the ages of 5 to 15. Judging from the Chicago experience, q.v., to be sure, the intercensal figures may be far even from an approximation, but unless some such treatment of the figures is given they can mean but very little. If the census is worth the taking it ought to be put to a more extended use than merely the base of the State appropriation. The following is one treatment, for instance, in which the figures used are all determined by the same agency : Number of Per cent of pupils pupils registered, in public Number of on number of day schools persons persons ; to 15 years 5 to 1 5 years 5 to IS years 75.263 98,487 76.42 77.125 100,367 76.84 79,708 loi ,865 78-25 81,508 104,018 78.85 82,681 104, 150 79.48 1903 i9°4 i9°5 1906 i9°7 These figures really do show that the number of children be- tween the ages of 5 and 15 attending school is increasing com- pared to the whole number of children 5 to 15 in the city. Only such proportionate statistics are of real value. Whether the increase of the per cents is due to the increased efficiency of the law of compulsory education ; or to the better organization of the force of truant officers, of whom in 1907 there were 23 ; or to other reasons, is quite another matter, and not within the province of the present discussion. But the figures very clearly demonstrate the necessity of re- ducing the returns to per cents if the results are to mean anything to the outsider or even to the tax-payer of the city of Boston itself. 90 Registration of City School Children Chicago Estimated population 1906, 2,049,185. Area in acres, 114, 932.3 acres. The situation in Chicago is somewhat unusual. The State law in regard to the school census is rather indefinite. There is a provision indicating that the Township Board is to take the census throughout Illinois, or failing that, the County Superintendent is to take it. But these regulations are obviously for the purpose of making appropriation of State moneys. So far as any specific requirement concerning the taking of a census for the purpose of controlling attendance goes, there is none. The Annual Report of the Superintendent of Compulsory Education for the City of Chicago for 1906 speaks of a house to house canvass in May, 1906, and on page 22 gives a recapitulation of the data gathered by that enumeration with an age distribution and an account of the results of the investigations of truant officers into cases found by the enumerators as of school age and not attending school. But it is in regard to the census of 1908 that we have the most explicit information. Chicago in that year endeavored to find how many people were living within the city limits on the 4th of May, and seized the opportunity to determine at the same time the number of her school children as reported to the enumerators by the parents. Chicago, according to the United States census of 1900, had an area of 114,932.3 acres and an estimated population in 1906, ac- cording to the U. S. Report, of 2,049,185. It is divided into 35 wards. There were appointed a Superintendent of the School Census, one Assistant Superintendent, a Supervisor for each ward, and enumerators for one or more of the election precincts of the ward. There were, of course, various clerks. The truant officers were not the enumerators. As the school census seems to have been incidental to a general census, it is impossible to get a real idea of the cost of the school census. The Superintendent got $10.00 a day ; the Assistant, $7.50 a day ; clerks and ward supervisors, $3.00 a day ; and enumerators, $2.50 a day. The enumerators were not civil service appointees nor candi- dates from an eligible list. They were certified to the Superin- tendent by the ward committeemen. Each enumerator signed a Boston and Chicago 91 contract in which he agreed not to demand any salary until his work was checked and accepted by the Superintendent, and agreed, furthermore, to do all the work in person and to visit every apartment with " all the necessary call-backs." The enu- merators received maps of the precincts in which they had to work, the maps being issued by the Board of Election Commissioners. Scale 9 inches to a mile. The enumerators also received a copy of General Instruc- tions giving various suggestions as to mode of procedure, but not giving some of those invaluable suggestions as to the mode of asking the questions, etc., that go so far toward facilitating the work and enabling the enumerator to get accurate information rapidly and easily. The instructions concerned themselves largely with determining the residence of adults (servants, ledgers, tran- sient guests, etc.). Two of the most important regulations were: " Begin the canvass at the southeast corner of the block and pro- ceed entirely around and through the block before leaving it for another. Repeat this process as many times as there are separate blocks in the precinct " ; and " The enumerators must devote at least ten (10) hours each day (except Saturday) to the diligent canvassing of their districts." The enumerators reported to the Ward Supervisor for orders or suggestions concerning their field work, but the map with all the enumerating sheets was sent back, when his work was com- pleted, to the general office, where it was checked. The field sheet was of inconvenient size, being 12x19 inches, but it was arranged to allow 40 names to the page in groups of 5 and this facilitated counting. The top of the page called for the Ward Number, Precinct No., Block No., Sheet No., Date, Enumerator, and it gave a list of Causes of Illiteracy that were to be reported below by number: Indigence, 111 Health, Mental Weakness, Negligence of Parents, Mutes, Idiotic and Insane, Other Causes. The column headings reading from left to right across the page were as follows: Describe Building (House, flat, factory, store), House or Flat No., Surname, Given Name, Na- tivity (Where Born, Father where born, Mother where born). Deaf, Blind, 21 and over (M. F.), Under 21 and 16 and Over (Public School M. F., Private School M. F., Not in School for 30 days M. F.), Under 16 and 14 and Over (Public School, etc.. 92 Registration of City School Children z ■ ll 1 'si \ g" 3 £ » s 1 Boston and Chicago g 3 as before, .Working, Store or Office M. F., Factory M. F., Mis- cellaneous M. F.), Under 14, and 7 and Over (Public School M. F. as before), Under 7, and 6 and Over (Public School M. F. as before). Under 6, and 4 and Over (Public School M. F. as before), Under 4 M. F., Illiterate Minors under 21, and 12 and Over (Neither read nor write any language M. F.), Cause by Number. There v^ras another sheet of the same size for Ward and Pre- cinct, entitled Recapitulation Nativity Statistics by Precincts, giving for 34 countries the number of American Born (Father, or Both Parents Foreign) and Foreign Born. There was a separate column for Americans, Negroes, and other Nationalities not enu- merated. This last sheet was white ; the field sheet was yellow. The report of the Superintendent of the School Census was issued in the fall of 1908. It consisted of figures only, without explanation or deduction or comparison with the results of pre- vious years. The items were what might have been inferred from the field sheet. The total population was shown to be 1,924,060, which is interesting in comparison with the government estimate for 2 years earlier, namely 2,049,185. Of the children under 14 and over 7 (the compulsory age for Illinois) there were 5,183 that had not been in school for 30 days, but as the majority of these were stated to be out for " illness, physical defects, or illness in the family, it was necessary to refer only 887 of these cases to the truant officers." There was a total of 176,806 children under 1.4 and over 7. There were 602 under 21 and over 12 who could neither read nor write any language, and 269 of these were said to be so be- cause of ill-health ; 46 were illiterate because of poverty, and 59 because of the neglect of parents. Of the others, 72 were men- tally weak, 31 were mute, and 24 were idiotic or insane. There is no record of the disposition of any of these cases, nor any statement in regard to the procedure against parents or the relief of the indigent. There were 276 blind and 437 deaf. There is no statement whether or not the report for the blind and deaf is for the whole city, or for those under 21 and 12 and over. It will be seen from this brief survey of the School Census for Chicago that the situation there is inchoate and different from that obtaining anywhere else. The school census was incidental 94 Registration of City School Children BOARD OF BJDUCATION CITY OF OHIOAGO SCBOOC OBNSCS DBPARTMKNI The object of the Census is to obtain a complete list of the inbabitante of the City of Chicago on the FOURTH OF MAY, 1808. All changes after that date, whether in the nature of a gain or a loss, are to be disregarded. Enumerators must not delegate their authority to any other person or be accompanied by or assisted in their work by any unauthorized person. Entries in the Schedule must be made legibly and distinctly under the proper heading. Enter the SURNAME, then the GIVEN NAME IN FULL and the INITIAL of the MIDDLE NAME if any. Enter the members of each family in the following order, namely: HUSBAND first, WIFE second, CHILDREN in the order of their ages, and all other persons LIVING with the family, whether relatives, boarders, lodgers, or servants. A person who BOARDS in one place and LODGES in another should be returned from ths place where he or she LODGES. A DOMESTIC SERVANT, unless he or she sleeps elsewhere, is to be returned as a member of the family in which he or she WORKS. All OCCUPANTS and EMPLOYEES of hotels, if they regularly SLEEP In the hotels should be returned as^JRESIDENTS of the hotels. The same is true q{ OFFICIALS and IN>IATES of Institutions who LIVE in the Institution Buildings. TRANSIENT GUESTS of hotels MUST NOT BE ENUMERATED. Persons TEMPORARILY residing outside of the City should be enumerated. It is difficult in some instances to determine the "PLACE OF ABODE." However, thalt must be left to the judgment of the enumerators and they should take the utmost precau- tiofi to prevent repetition. Begin to canvass at the southeast corner of block and proceed entirely AROUND and Tli ROUGH the block before leaving it foV another. Repeat this process as many times as thire are SEPARATE blocks in the precinct. Take care (o distinguish BLOCK, PRECINCT and WARD clearly. Begin the entry of each block at head ot page and enter no more names on that page wlien block is finished. The enumeration is intended to include every MAN, WOMAN and CHILD, who had hj3 or her residence in CHICAGO on MAY 4, 1908. Entry is to be made of every person who was a resident of the district upon that date- If a person has died between May 4, 1903, and the day of your visit, the name should be entered precisely as if the person were living. Enumerators are not permitted to show their schedules, when filled, or to retain copies of the same or to furnish information regarding the population of their districts or any portion thereof to newspapers, local officials, or any other person not connected with the School Census Department. Any infringement of this rule will result in the loss o{ a part or all of their salary and IMMEDIATE DISCHARGE. It, after proper and courteous effort, the enumerators fail to secure the desired informa- tion, they should, as soon as convenient, report the fact to the Ward Supervisor. The enumerators must devote at least TEN (10) hours each day (except Sundays) to the diligeiit Canvassing of their districts. The Ward Supervisor has absolute charge of the enumerators during their field work and all reports should be made to him. ^aQ 4. 1903 dutifrintraknt of dctpiol (Htneaa Boston and Chicago 95 to a larger census taken for other purposes really, and therefore not an adequate criterion of a really good school census. There seems to be little doubt, however, that the machinery having once been set in motion will continue to operate more and more effect- ively. Any such idea, however, of a continuous census, or a cur- rent census, does not seem to have entered the contemplation of the Chicago authorities. CHAPTER VII PROVIDENCE AND DETROIT Providence Estimated population 1906, 203,243. Area in acres, 11,355. The law of Rhode Island, covering the enumeration of school children, was passed, as amended, April 24, 1900, althodgh the taking of a school census was customary in the State before that date. Sec. 13 of Chap. 54, of the General Laws, reads, amended, as follows: (Cf. Ch. 739, Public Laws Pertaining to Education.) "The school committee of each town or city, or some person or persons whom they shall appoint for the purpose, shall annually in the month of January, take a census of all persons between the ages of 5 and 15 years inclusive, residing within the limits of their respective towns on the first day of said January ; and said school committee shall fix the compensation for the above service which shall be payable from the appropriation for public schools." In Providence this census is taken by Gilbert E. Whittemore, who is " Supervisor of School Census, Truant Officer, and Agent of the School Committee under the Factory Inspection Law." Mr. Whittemore has devoted years of conscientious labor for a meager remuneration to these three phases of the momentous question of efficient education. Writing in 1905 an Open Letter, he says: " In Rhode Island, perhaps because it is small, we can round up our children and account for all of them. But certainly. Provi- dence is not a small city, and what we can do here can be done in any city. I note that reformers are beginning to demand an annual census of children of school age. Every city and town of this State has taken such a census in January for over 30 years. In Providence this house-to-house census is preceded by a census in December in every year, taken in the schools, of all children in our public and private schools, and of all children of school age who are working, taken in the places of employment, and these two censuses are arranged alphabetically as a directory and com- pared. We do not guess what our children are doing, we know. This exact knowledge from two entirely different sources enables 96 Providence and Detroit 97 us to locate nearly all of our children accurately by name, parent, street, and number, at least once a year, and with tracers we fol- low the course of all pupils once registered in a school. We can therefore correct violations of the law, by formal notices sent by mail to parents, in a large majority of cases, especially when it is generally understood that prosecution will speedily follow obsti- nacy. Under this system one or two clerks and the post-office can do much more efficient work than several officers blindly chasing boys through the streets, and at much less expense." In 1900 Providence ranked as the 20th in size among the cities of the United States, having a population of 175,597, with 15,511 children from 5 to 9 years of age, and 13,819 from 10 to 14, according to the national census. Of the entire population over 33 per cent was foreign born. The city is divided into 10 wards and these are the enumera- tion units, there being 10 house-to-house enumerators. As there is only one truant officer, the enumerators are not employed as attendance officers, but are employed during the rest of the year largely in clerical work or in enumerating for poll tax, militia, and birth statistics. The semi-annual census of birth is taken in January and a joint engagement is made by the truant officer and Registrar whereby the same enumerators make both records. The enumerators receive 15 cents for each birth, and 13^ cents for each school child enumerated, the total being paid for by the school department. The last available figures for January, 1909, show a total of 20,566 boys, 20,377 girls, a grand total of 40,943, and a cost for enumerating approximately as follows : Supervision $200.00 Tabulation 150 .00 Enumeration 580 . 98 Clerical work 472 . 65 Supplies 20.33 Postage 1500 Printing 95-57 Carriage hire 8 . 00 Carfare 10.00 $1,552.53 The State furnishes the slip upon which the enumeration is made. These slips. Appendix 24, are made in pads of 100 sheets. 98 Registration of City School Children 6 inches by 4, one slip for each child, and each pad has a cover giving the following directions : 1. The census is to be taken from the homes, and not from schoolhouses or school registers. 2. It should include the name of every child who has passed his afth birthday, but who has not yet reached his sixteenth. 3. The age is to be reckoned only in years at last birthday. 4. In filling out the blank for attendance at school, put down, as near as can be ascertained, the number of weeks the child was a member of any school, public or private, in the year 1909. It makes no difference whether the attendance was in this State or town, or in some other. 5. Where a child has attended during the year more than one kind of school, enter the whole attendance under that class where he attended the longest period. 6. Each family should be visited, except in those cases where the enumerator has certain knowledge that there are no children residing there. 7. In arranging the names alphabetically, the surname or last name should be followed and not the given name. The enumerators work around one square and then take up another, reporting their progress every three days. Families mov- ing during the month are reported to the enumerator into whose district they have moved wherever it is possible to ascertain this, and care is taken to avoid duplicate enumeration. The clerical force is not permanent. The chief clerk is a trades- wpman who gives her time to school work from November to February, and the other clerks, about 25 days of whose time is given up to tabulation, etc., are at other times variously employed. About half of them have been at their school task 3 years or more. In 1905, the State made a census showing a population of 198,635. The school census on January 1907, was 39,771 which was short by a number estimated to be 100 because of lack of experience on the part of an enumerator. In 1909, the report showed 40,943. The State appropriates $1 for every school child attending the public schools. " In the last 25 years," states Mr. Whitte- more, in the letter quoted before, " our population has increased 86.9 per cent; our school census, 96.3 per cent; and our school attendance, 130.6 per cent." Providence and Detroit 99 Newsboys and boot-blacks of school age are licensed by the police department on age statements attested by the school au- thorities who do not accept unsupported affidavits, and these names are listed and the attendance of the boys checked in the schools they belong to. It will be seen from the foregoing that Providence has been regarding the school census for a number of years, not merely as an index of state appropriation, but as a means towards effi- cient education. The very titles of the chief officer show how the authorities have come to make various lines of work co-operate. The Bureau of Vital Statistics and the Board of Police are work- ing more harmoniously with the school authorities than in any other city of the United States. The child labor difficulty is con- trolled by inspection under the school officer, and the newsboy law is enforced by police and the school representatives. ( Special Summer Work Certificates are given, revocable in September, for those under age.) In the main, the plan works fairly well. It has, of course, the shortcomings of that of any municipal organization that habitually works with too few people and those of insecure tenure; wastefulness of annual recapitulation, a recounting of those counted, for the purpose of getting into school or of keep- ing in school a small proportion of children some of whom may be found to be in school or for one reason or another, not sub- ject to the law of compulsory education. Providence, owing to inadequate child labor laws and a large foreign population, does not stand high in literacy, but is better than some other Rhode Island cities, notably Woonsocket. By degrees, however, the laws will be better adjusted, and the census system will show greater efficiency. Detroit Estimated population 1906, 353,535- Area in acres, 22,976. In Michigan the census is instituted by Act 36, Laws 1905, but it has much support given to it by Act 200, Laws 1905, amended by Act 74, 1907, which specifically concerns compulsory education. Act 36 compels incorporated cities with a population of 3,000 or more to make a school census every year within 20 days next previous to the first Monday of June. It is taken by wards, ap- loo Registration of City School Children parently by specially hired enumerators, headed by the Secretary of the Board of Education or other reputable and capable person. The enumerators are ordered to make a list of the names and ages of all children over 5 and under 20 years, with the names of parents or guardians. The list must be sworn to by the enumerator. In cities of 3,000 or over, the Secretary and the enumerators, immediately after the first Monday in June, " compare, correct, and compile the entire census." It is then re-attested and: sent to the Superintendent of Schools. According to Rule 3 of the Board, the President of the Board of; Education has the power to appoint suitable persons to take the school census at a compensation to be fixed by the Board. He passes on the bills rendered for doing the work. The report for the year 1907 shows that in that year the census recorded a school population, between the ages of 5 and; 20, of 97,981. The amount of money paid out for the enumeration was $4,000. Act 200, section 3, a and b, states that the teacher in small dis- tricts, or the superintendent of schools in. village or city, shall be furnished with a " copy of the last school census," (meaning, thereby, the census of the district over which, teacher or super- intendent, has control) " and it thereupon becomes the duty of the recipient, to compare the census list with the enrollment in the schools and to report to the proper truant officer, the names of children not in regular attendance." Section 2, permits cities having a duly organized police force, to detail one or more mem- bers of such force, at the request of the Board of Education, to act as truant officer in such city. These clauses would seem to make it appear, that the school census is taken in Michigan for purposes other than the appro- priation of school funds, though the latter reason is still a pre- dominant one. The age limits for the census, far beyond the compulsory age, show that statistics for the state appropriation are being aimed at. The same conclusions are to be derived from the following statements from the office of a superintendent of schools in Michigan : " The census is taken under the direction of the school Board and paid for by them. In this city (35,000) the census costs Providence and Detroit loi $250 including tabulation, the census takers being paid 3 cents a name." " The enumerators are appointed each year, one for each ward, although it happens that in most of the wards, the same people have acted for a number of years." " There is no way of keeping the census up to date, but the annual counting is not the only check of the evasion of the com- pulsory education law. We have a card catalog of pupils at- tending school. By comparing the list with the census as taken, we secure a list of delinquents to look up." " We could, of course, keep a more accurate check, if the school census were in card form and subject to regular correc- tion through the year." " The returns are not copied so as ' to group in enrollment for given schools.' " (The Superintendent does not, therefore, make clear how the comparison, mentioned just before, is actually carried out.) " My (the Superintendent's) opinion is that the primary ob- ject of the Michigan school census is for the determination of the distribution of school funds. Certainly it has not been worked out thoroughly on any other basis as yet." Detroit, however, is on the way toward an adequate enforce- ment of the compulsory law of the State, inasmuch as the schools and police co-operate. " Reports of absent pupils," writes Mr. George E. Parker, Superintendent of Ungraded Schools, Detroit, " are mailed to the ungraded school of the district in which the reporting school is located and thence taken by the ofiScer for investigation. A copy is also sent to the Lieutenant of Police, who is chief officer in charge of the truant officers. Copies of transfers issued to pupils, who have removed to an- other school district, are sent to the ungraded school and" the cases are investigated. At the end of each month a list of pupils that have left school during the month for any cause, is sent to the Supervisor of Ungraded Schools, and all doubtful cases in- vestigated. Lieut. Charles Breault, head of the Juvenile DeHnquent De- partment, has under him eight truant officers. He throws some light on that clause of the bill requiring comparison of census lists and school lists: " The provision in regard to the comparing of the census list of children who ought to be in school, with a list of those actu- ally enrolled in the public schools, has never been carried out in the city of Detroit, for the reason that the census is taken by wards, and districts of wards, and not by school districts, which, in many cases, are located in parts of several different wards." CHAPTER VIII NEW YORK Estimated population, 1906, 4,113,043. Area in acres, 209,218.1. The history of the growth of the principle of the registration of school children in the city of New York is especially interest- ing. Though a number of efforts have been made to find an adequate solution to this very complex problem, more intricate in New York than in any other city of the world, up to the present time nothing very effective has been accomplished. From 1850 to 1895 there were various efforts made to secure more thorough attendance, but until the compulsory census law of 1895, Chap. 550, Laws 1895, was passed, nothing definite toward enumeration and location was established. In 1895 a census was accordingly taken by the police, and 2,640 children of compulsory school age confessed to non-attendance. 1 wo thousand of these were working illegally. In 1897, the census was inadequately taken and the results neglected, and thereafter until 1906 the compulsory census law was a dead letter. Meanwhile, charitable associations, thrown daily with under- age workers, were urging legislation, and finally, after argument before the Board of Estimate and Apportionment to meet the charges that a census would cost too much and would not be serviceable, the Board of Education in December approved the taking of a census provided that the funds at the service of the Board were not diverted for that aim. Accordingly, in 1906 preparations were made for having the census taken by the police in October. A card system was to be used and the city was to be divided into districts including a certain convenient number of police precincts, and the precinct commanders were ordered by the Police Commissioner in G. O. No. 81, Oct. 15, 1906, to make a complete and accurate census of all children between 4 and 18 years. Full returns from all private houses, institutions, boarding schools, etc., were to be made, the manager or superintendent of an institution to furnish New York 103 a certificate that the enumeration of those under his charge had been properly completed. Hundreds of thousands of individual slips, of the type illus- trated, Appendix 27, were printed, a form based essentially on the recommendation of the Committee on the Physical Welfare of School Children (an independent body, not of the Board of Education) and the New York Child Labor Committee. (Ap- pendix 26.) Spring-back binders, capable of holding 100 or more of these slips, were provided; directions of the location of all schools in the city were furnished to each enumerator; slips containing that part of Chap. 550, Laws 1895, relating to the withholding of information or falsifying age, and a page of instructions were given to each enumerator. (Appendix 25.) The name slips, which were not of bristol board but of a stout paper, were .of different colors for the different boroughs of the city, Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Richmond. The enumerators were supplemented by a force of clerks hired for tabulating and codifying the results. On October 18, in Brooklyn and Queens, the police began their rounds ; and on October 25, in Manhattan, The Bronx, and Rich- mond. The enumeration was completed in all but 3 precincts after almost 4 months, and a report was issued on March 12, 1907, declaring the results of the " Third Biennial Census " since 1895. The delay was probably caused mainly by a feeling on the part of the police authorities that school census taking was no proper part of the function of the policeman, especially when the Commissioner believed the force too small to perform properly their regular patrol duty. The enumeration included all under 18 and over 4 although the state authorities required only those between 5 and 18. The figures of the report have some interest but in the main were figures only and not percentages, and as they were not any- where compared with total population (an unknown number, of course) their relative significance did not appear. But the most noteworthy numbers are the following. 104 Registration of City School Children Total 4-17 953.485 Foreign bom 113. 740 (Russia 48,437 Italy 26,174 Germany 4.737 England 4.35° Poland 1 , 680 Ireland i , 489 Scotland 568 Other nations) 26,305 Kept at home illegally 6,411 Working illegally 9 . 799 Truant 411 Physically unable to attend 3 .°5° Crippled : 217 Deaf 848 Dumb 600 Blind 84 Mentally defective 224 Attending parochial schools 89 , 762 Attending private schools 23,619 Attending private institutions 15,223 Attending public institutions 8 , 639 The Superintendent in charge stated in conclusion : " Much good has been done for the cause of education in the city of New York, by the taking of this census. Every officer was in- formed regarding the provisions of the compulsory education law, and in this way parents have learned much of the duty which the State compels them to perform in sending their children to school. The provisions of the Compulsory Education Law re- lating to attendance upon evening school by boys who have em- ployment certificates but who are not graduates of an elementary school, seem to be ' more honored in the breach than in the observance.' " As soon as these figures appeared, they were attacked. In fact, the Superintendent states in the Report that " the number reported as truants is comparatively small. This may be ac- counted for by the fact that many parents are unwilling to acknowledge to an officer that their children are truants." The Committee on the Physical Welfare of Children said they could account for 325 cripples as against the number reported. The same committee attacked the report on the ground that in places it was inconsistent with itself, showing: New York 105 Number of children over 5 and under 18, attending public school, by census, 557,368. Reported in Kindergarten, Elemen- tary School (not Evening) and High School (not Evening) on register, 615,329. This would seem to show that since more children were going to the public schools than the police could find attending them, the idea that police enumeration would drive the children into school by enabling the authorities to secure the attendance of those of school age but not registered in school, was based on false hopes. The schools by their own call, seemed already 'to have secured the children. The fact that the number 953,485 was not shown as the total of any other figures in the report was disappointing. Where the total comes from or what it really is, is not clear. Then the number of foreign born is reported as 18 per cent of the number on register. This it undoubtedly is, but since the " foreign born " is a total, it should have been compared with the total children and not with the " total in school " as not all the foreign born were going to school. It is only 11.9 per cent of the total number of children reported. The Report itself shows that out of the 411 cases of truancy reported and 207 investigated at the date of the report, only -jy could be verified. The other 130, or 62.8 per cent being incor- rectly reported by the police. The Report indicates also that out of 9,799 cases reported as working illegally, 3,505 cases had been investigated. Of these: 1,411 were legally employed as determined by attendance officers 231 were attending school 596 were over 16 and therefore working legally 53 were physically unable to attend 2,291 Some cases, "not closed" and "not found," etc., bring the total to the 3,505 mentioned. But these 2,291 were not, accord- ing to the report of the attendance officers, working illegally. This makes the error of the police in this case, using the returns of the attendance officers as true, 65.3 per cent. The Report shows that the police returned 6,411 kept at home illegally. Of these 3,634 cases were investigated : io6 Registration of City School Children 178 were legally employed at home as determined by attendance of5ficers 253 were legally employed elsewhere 160 were physically unable to attend 1,379 were regularly attending school 137 were under or over age 2,107 Some cases " not closed " and " not found " bring the total to the 3,634 investigated. But the 2,107 were not at home illegally. This makes the error of the police, in this case, using the returns of the attendance of5ficers as true, 57.9 per cent. The police errors range from 57.9 per cent to 65.3 per cent on the basis of the attendance officers figures. It is, of course, an assumption that the figures of the attendance officers are correct, but they certainly ought to be more nearly correct and probably are. In shortj although the authorities, having taken the census, were disposed to stand up for it, the data were allowed to languish because their integrity was impeached. On December 8, 1907, an article appeared in a newspaper that makes a specialty of securing " school news," headed " Detec- tives After School Children. Four men will patrol the streets and capture all little folk who are out of school. One hundred and twenty boys caught already." The gravity of this account is almost pathetic. Coming only nine months after the census report and solemnly stating that four men were going to divide up Greater New York and return all delinquents to school, it seems to demonstrate the complete col- lapse of respect for the census as a means of getting the children into school. But already in April 1907, the Public Education Association, anticipating the census of 1908, wrote to the Director of the Department of the Charity Organization Society for the Im- provement of Social Conditions, that: " It seems to be generally conceded that the results of the last school census were almost nil. Unless some better plan for the enumerating and accounting for the children of New York is evolved before the fall of 1908, another $14,000 will be wasted in the taking of another useless census required by law." It New York 107 urged the consideration of a plan for the maintenance of a cen- tral city bureau of registration. The agitation for a substantial census law went vigorously for- ward, urged by persistent appeals of societies engaged in looking after the welfare of children and forming views according to ideas that seemed to work well abroad. A law was finally passed to secure a census for New York city in October 1909. A brief consideration of this bill is in- teresting. Chapter 249 An Act in Relation to a School Census. Became a law May 11, 1908, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, three-fifths being present. The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows : I. A permanent census board is hereby established in each city of the first class. Such board shall consist of the mayor, the superintendent of schools, the police commissioner or officer per- forming duties similar to those of a police commissioner. Such board shall have power to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this act. Such board shall have power to appoint a secretary and such clerks and other employees as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this act and to fix the salaries of the same. Such board shall as- certain through the police force, the residences and employments of all persons between the ages of 4 and 18 years residing within such cities and shall report thereon from time to time to the school authorities of such cities. Under the regulations of such board during the month of October, 1909, it shall be the duty of the police commissioners in the cities of the first class to cause a census of the children of their respective cities to be taken. Thereafter such census shall be amended from day to day by the police, precinct by precinct, as changes of residence occur among the children of such cities within the ages prescribed in this act and as other persons come within the ages prescribed herein and as other persons within such ages shall become resi- dents of such cities, so that said board shall always have on file a complete census of the names and residences of the children between such ages and of the persons in parental relation thereto. If in the taking of the first census in any city of the first class during the month of October, 1909, additional policemen shall be required, such additional policemen shall be appointed by the police commissioner of said city from the civil service lists of persons eligible for appointment as such policemen, and said addi- 10 8 Registration of City School Children tional policemen shall be allowed in addition to the number now allowed by law. It shall be the duty of persons in parental rela- tion to any child residing within the limits of said cities of the first class to report at the police station house of the precinct within which they severally reside, the following information: 1. Two weeks before any child becomes of the compulsory school age, the name of such child, its residence, the name of the person or persons in parental relation thereto, and the name and location of the school to which such child is sent as a pupil. 2. In case a child of the compulsory school age is for any cause removed from one school and sent to another school, or sent to work in accordance with the child labor law, all the facts in relation thereto. 3. In case the residence of a child is removed from one police precinct to another police precinct, the new residence and the other facts required in the two preceding paragraphs. 4. In case a child between the ages of 4 and 18 becomes a resi- dent of one of said cities of the first class for the first time, the residence and such other facts as the census board shall require. Such census shall include all persons between the ages of 4 and 18 years, the day of the month and the year of the birth of each of such persons, their respective residences by street and num- ber, the names of their parents or guardians, such information relating to illiteracy and to the enforcement of the child labor and the compulsory education law as the school authorities of the state and of such cities shall require and also such further information as such authorities shall require. 2. A permanent census board may be established in any city not of the first class, in accordance with the provisions of this act. If a census board shall not be established in such cities, then, during the month of October, 1909, and in the month of October every fourth year thereafter, the school authorities of every city, not a city of the first class, shall take, a census of the children of their respective cities. Such census shall include the information required from the cities of the first class as pro- vided in section one of this act. 3. The board of trustees of every school district shall annually on the 30th day of August cause a census of all children between the ages of 5 and 18 years to be taken in their respective school districts. Such census shall include the information required from cities as provided in this act. 4. A parent, guardian, or other person having under his con- trol or charge a child between the ages of 4 and 18 years, who withholds or refuses to give information in his possession relat- ing to such child and required under this act, or any such parent, guardian or other person who gives false information in rela- tion thereto, shall be liable to, and punished by, a fine not ex- ceeding $20 or by imprisonment not exceeding 30 days. New York 109 5. The money required for the purpose of carrying this act into effect shall be paid by the cities and school districts respec- tively, included in the provisions of this act, but in cities in which a permanent census board as provided under section one of this act is not established and maintained, and in school districts, such moneys shall be paid for the services rendered in the taking of the school census on the certificate of the State Commissioner of Education that such census has been satisfactorily taken. 6. It shall be the duty of the State Commissioner of Educa- tion to enforce the provisions of this act. 7. Chapter 550 of the Laws of 1895 is hereby repealed. 8. This act shall take effect immediately. The act was to take effect immediately. Did it? If by taking effect was meant that parents were at once to repair to the precinct commanders with the pedigree of their offspring, it did not take effect. The people most concerned showed no inten- tions of complying with its provisions. The palladium of the people's liberty, the Press, did not agitate the matter. Most citizens did not know that such a bill existed. The bill provided no punishment for neglect to declare chil- dren, though it contained provisions against falsification or with- holding information requested. There was no time limit placed on those moving from one address to another in the city for de- claring themselves and no way of proving to those that seemed delinquent that they were not just about to do as the bill bid when they were questioned. There were no provisions for de- termining the proper school in section i, paragraph i. The par- ent had to report what school the child had to go to but he could not find out save by going to the school where the school district Hnes would be known. And if he went to the school the child would be entered there without the necessity of such a census. Section i, paragraph 4, seemed drawn to cover such questions as appeared on the enumeration card of 1906, but the last sentence certainly permitted of what might prove a clog to wheels otherwise effective. The bill opened the way for the applications of al Ikinds of societies looking for information, sociological and otherwise. As the time grew nearer for the carrying out of the provisions of the bill, it became more and more doubtful whether, however well it sounded or looked on paper, it would work. It seemed unlikely that the mayor could serve adequately on such a board and uncertain whether the Police Commissioner would be willing to. 1 10 Registration of City School Children The prospect of having parents suddenly take the initiative and report their children to precinct commanders began to grow dubious. It looked as if there were possible a more lively con- tempt on the part of parents for the compulsory education law than ever. Efforts to have the bill repealed were met by opposition on the part of the State authorities, who insisted on the census, while the city authorities could not brook the spending of thousands of dollars of school money, when children were clamoring for seats for full sessions at school, in order to recount thousands of pupils that were already on the schbol rolls. Meanwhile a compulsory education bill, lowering the compul- sory age to 7 instead of 8, and making the compulsory education period stretch from September to June, instead of October to May, was passed. The latter provision had been a crying neces- sity for years, as the boys most difficult to hold, those approaching 14 at the close of school, had been theretofore allowed a month's liberty before the law became effective in the fall. But it also enlarged by many thousands the number of children the attend- ance officers had to look after. If there were too few officers before, there certainly would be too few under the new law. Any increase in their number would have to be allowed for in the budget a year in advance unless a fund or part of it could be shifted. The Public Education Association wanted to see the provisions of the census bill carried out in a small " experimental " section of the city, as there had been $10,000 voted for the taking of the census. But this plan, though thoroughly rational and economic, was deemed unfeasible. The same Association, reaffirming conclusions arrived at ear- lier, namelyj that the real trouble witii the existing law for com- pulsory education lay in lax enforcement, especially on the part of the magistrates, sought to control the disposition of cases by the magistrates by systematic surveillance of the cases disposed of by magistrates. This movement looked toward the establishment of the office of a special attorney, either of the Corporation Counsel's office or of the Board of Education, whose business it would be to prose- cute cases arising under the compulsory education law. (Cf. amte, Philadelphia: Report of Principals concerning the Philadelphia School Census.) It must not be supposed that the Superintendents in charge of the Compulsory Law were ignorant of the difficulties of the en- New York iii forcement of the law or belittled them. On the contrary, the report of the Division Superintendent to the City Superintendent in 1908 pointed them out and expressed his regret at the condi- tion. Nor was the City Superintendent opposed to an enumera- tion as such. He guarded jealously the all too little fund that was intended for the school system without a census, and did not see the propriety or desirability of re-enumerating some 600,000 chil- dren for the purpose of catching the small percentage that were or might be evading the law. Also the Bureau of Child Hygiene, under the Department of Health, was broadening out and tabulating on its own account and after its own fashion, the children of the city. A physician vis- ited the family of every new born child and took account of the other children under 2 years of age. These data, with the data of the immigration authorities in regard to children of parents indicating an intention to reside in New York City, would give the names of many children and would enable the Bureau to fur- nish them successively as the children became of school age. It was suggested, informally, that lists be made monthly by the Board of Health of the children arriving at school age. This scheme, however, faikd to take cognizance of children arriving from other States and not having a brother or sister born amongst them whilst the family resided in New York City; and still more, it failed to give due importance to the mobility of the population of the city. At this juncture it may be interesting to give a few figures showing the flux of school population in the city. The writer is the principal of a school in the Bronx, a growing section, and the following figures are compiled from the register of the school : September 14, 1908, pupils on register i > 19S June 30, 1909, pupils on register i ,318 Net gain in registration 123 Yet this net gain was secured by the admission of 716 pupils, or nearly 6 times as many pupils as the school managed to retain. There were, accordingly, 593 discharges during the year for vari- ous causes and 179 children, or 30.2%, were discharged in the same year that they entered. Viewing the discharges from the basis of admissions, we see that of the 716 pupils admitted, 25% 112 Registration of City School Children were discharged before they had been under the influence of the school one year. Taking the changes of condition that called for the admission and discharge of these children together, we find that there are 1,309 entries, or about as many changes of the record as the school had pupils, in June, 1909. If this ratio were to hold for the entire city there would be 600,000 changes for the police to take cognizance of during; the school year. The distribution of admission and discharge is given below: Admitted Dis CHARGI SD Boys Girls Total Boys Girls ' Total 120 122 242 48 81 129 23 36 59 48 36 84 25 14 39 32 24 56 IS 7 22 15 13 28 27 10 37 15 12 27 64 S9 123 26 23 49 32 38 70 35 28 63 35 19 54 22 21 43 23 17 40 23 22 45 22 8 30 33 36 69 September, '08. October, November, December, January, '09. February, March, April, May, June, 386 330 716 297 296 593 The reasons for the discharges are given in the following distribution : September, '08 October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May, June, 09 1-0 as H 90 37 23 13 12 8 37 18 22 31 •a 2 9 7 o 2 I 2 O ee.-a II 12 4 3 2 5 5 12 II Eh 8 10 5 2 I 5 9 3 «3'e o I 4 8 5 I 5 7 6 S3 &■« 3 IS 12 o 5 o S 2 2 Q I o I 2 o I o I o O e o o 3! •« g a • o ol 5oM p a . (u.S o 0) »} baS =8 ti n o ft 0} o d o jH ol S.a^ is B o a o a .8 -s . -t> m O O w to o O Q -3 " § ■< <5 a ft 3 z a ij s n G o Appendix 133 3. Form A. Cf. The School Commission, ante, Berlin form given by the School Commission for entering a child in school. This is the Com- mission's record. School Commission. Relative to the admission to school of the boy (girl) bam 19 Journal No (First and last name of the child, last name underscored.) 1. First and last name of the applicant (If both parents are living, the name of the father is to be taken. In the case of deserted wives, widows, divorced couples, and un- married women, the name of the female applicant may be accepted. So in the case of step-children and foster children.) 2. Rank or calling 3. Residence 4. Religion 5. a. How many children already confirmed has the applicant? b. How old are they? c. Of these the following attend as indicated : — First name Age School I 3 4 5 6 (In case of the fatherless.) d. Are they under guardianship and who is the guardian?. The applicant is given to understand that he does not have to pay any indemnity or fee by whatsoever name it may be known, but must, on the other hand, see to it that the child appears in school with clean clothes and provided with the necessary text-books and writing mater- ials. A copy of the instructions is to be given to him with the admonition to observe them in his own interest and that of his children. Berlin, 19 Registrar Directed to the School on the 19 Berlin, , 19 Entered in the record of the chairman of the School Commission Private School. Seal Signature Seal Signature 134 Registration of City School Children 4. Form B. Cf. The School Commission, ante, Berlin fonn issued by the School Commission to the pupil on his entry into school. Certificate of Application for Admission to School (last name underscored.) Born , 19 is herewith directed to the Gemeinde School or school of Principal Street, No Berlin , 19 The School Commission Chairman. Seal Rank and Address of Parents To be filled out in case of presenta- For admission, elsewhere, the par- tion to a private school. ents must report to the chair- a. Entered in the record of the man of the private school. School Commission, Mr Berlin 19 St., No Seal Member of the Office hours School Commission charged with Berlin 19 the inspection of the record. Head teacher b. Cancelled on account of removal Principal to the district of the School Commission. Berlin Seal 6. Form C. Cf. The School Commission, ante, Berlin form issued by the Commission to the school, on the entry of a pupil therein. NOTICE for the head teacher of the gemeinde school, for the prill' cipal Mr son (daughter) of born 19 , has been directed to proceed to yout school on , 19 Berlin, 19 School Commission. Appendix 135 6. Solingen, Form III. Cf. Solingen, ante, is used in case of the transfer of apupil,and provides means of filling out bythe various officials to whom it is transmitted. It passes from the head-master to the mayor of the same place, thence to the burgermeister of the new place of resi- dence. From him it goes to the head-master of the new school, then back to the burgermeister and then to the mayor's office from which it came. From there it is returned for filing to the school that issued it. On the back are the data of the child's residence and schooling. The blank is of foolscap size, 8 x 13 inches. Solingen, , 19 . . I herewith inform the office of the Mayor of Solingen, that the here- inafter named child that should attend school, has removed from to Rector: Headmaster: Solingen, , 19 . . This original, to be returned, sent to the Burgermeister's office at , with the request to send it to the proper school there for further attention. Mayor. I9-- This original, to be returned, sent to the Rector (Head- master) at for entry in the list of school children. Burgermeister of le-- Original sent back to the Burgermeister's office at The child has been entered in the list of school children. Rector Headmaster. iQ- Original sent back to the Mayor's office at Solingen after entry. Burgermeister. Solingen, , 19 . . 1. To amend the census rolls. 2. Original sent to the local Rector (Headmaster) for the elision of the name of the child from the list of school children. Mayor. (See next page for back of this blank.) 136 Registration of City School Children & o en t! S S o ^^3 o w m c lU 0) S .0 ^ ° b to IS Pi 3 m 13 g .'sp "53 Pi ^ o vi^ en »-; Appendix 137 V. Form D. Cf. The School Commission, ante. Berlin form issued by one school commission to another commission when a pupil changes address. NOTICE for the School Commission Mr , whose son (daughter) has attended hitherto the gemeinde school (private school of prin- cipal, ) will move on the , to Str., No and has therefore received from us the certificate of application with instructions to present himself from his new address to secure the new admission of his son to school. Berlin, , 19. . The School Commission. Signatvire of the Chairman of the Signature of the head teacher or Commission. school principal. 8. Solingen report on absences and Mayor's order for citation. Warn- ing. If the child fails to appear, his name is entered on Form IV Year, 19. . Official Business of the Mayor of Solingen Gemeinde, Solingen. List of Absentees of the Class of school at from to , 19 . . Executed from column i to 7 by the undersigned and sent by him to the local school inspector at to-day. , 19 . • Teacher. Received 19 . . , and delivered here to-day to the Mayor , 19 . . School Inspector: Rector. Those persons indicated by the following numbers: are directed to appear at on 19 . . , at .... o'clock . . M. Solingen, , 19 . • Mayor. Official Record of Warning Given at Solingen on , 19 . . . According to the annexed record, the parents or guardians indicated in the foregoing list are cited to appear to-day at the Bureau of Police. . . . The persons cited under Nos , appeared in accordance with the simimons. They were rigorously cautioned against detaining their children or wards from school, with the notice that every subse- quent unlawful absence in the course of the following weeks will entail certain punishment. Pursuant to which the annexed record was accepted, confirmed, and subscribed. 138 Registration of City School Children CO 1 12 Date of official warn- ing S a 11 The party summoned to the Burger- meister did not ap- pear &^ 10 Cited to appear on K g Q 1 9 Date of cita- tion S Q 8 Com- ment by school board 7 Remark of the teacher as required by the order of Feb. 13 1874 6 No. of absen- ces 5 School absences have occurred a. on those days marked X for a whole day; b. on those marked / for half-day from., to.. 4 Parents Address §••2 ll 1 iz; "3 - 6 Appendix 139 9- Form V. Solingen, order of Mayor for punishment of delinquent parents. Police certificate of execution. 1. No of the Penalty List, Year ig . . 2. The misdemeanor was proved by the testimony of 3. The , at , in the week from to , 19 . . , on days, did not keep h . . child attending school. It is therefore herewith decreed against according to sec. I. of the law of April 23, 1883, the Cabinet Order of May 14, 1825, and June 20, 1835, that a fine of marks be paid into the city treasury of Solingen in default of which an imprisioment of hours shall enter. If the believes that he has been too harshly treated by this punishment, an appeal within a week of the entry of this order may be made in writing to the undersigned body, or to the proper court in writing, or through the record .... If no such applica- tion is made within this period, the fine becomes irrevocable. If the accused is prevented by circumstances beyond his power from taking advantage of this period of grace, he may be reinstated in his original position. The application must be made within one week after the removal of the obstacles by attestation of the causes of neglect before the Board of Police or the Court. Board of Police. Solingen, 19 . ■ Mayor. 4. The foregoing order has been submitted to-day for execution to or, in his absence, to The acceptance of the presentation can be refused on no legal grounds, and it was accordingly deposited at the place. As there could be found at the residence of the accused no relative, servants, janitor, or landlord, the order was deposited in the Office of the Chairman of the Gemeinde, of the Police, of the Post-Office, and that fact was indicated by a written notice firmly fixed to the door of the residence, as well as communicated orally to other residents of the house. Police Sergeant 5. Executed, and the aforementioned treasury informed of the immediate collection of the fine and costs. Board of Police. Solingen 19 • • Mayor. 140 Registration of City School Children 10. Form VI. Solingen, order of Mayor for punisliment of delin- quent parents where personal service fails. No Penalty List. You have, in the week from to 19 ■ ■ , not maintained your child for days in school. This misdemeanor has been proved by the testimony of Therefore, against you, pursuant to sec. i. of the law of April 23, 1883, the Cabinet Order of May 14, 1825, and June 20, 1835, there enters a fine to the city treasury of marks, in default of which imprison- ment for hours. Should you deem yourself too severely punished by this decree, you may, within one week of the presentation of this decision, appeal to the subscribed board orally or in writing, or to the proper court orally or through its clerk, for a judicial decision. If such application is not made within the time, the penalty is irrevocable. The accused is, in case of neglect to avail himself of the period of grace, to be considered as in the original situation if, by the phenomena of nature or other unavoidable accidents, he is prevented from action within that space of time. The application must be made to the court or the board of police within one week after the obstacles have been removed, by deposition and attestation of the causes of neglect. Solingen 19 . . Board of Police, Mayor. Executed : Treasury To No Solingen 19 . . .' marks, paid. . Police Sergeant. Solingen, , 19. . . Treasurer. H. Berlin warning to delinquent parents. Form 146 The Mayor's Office Berlin 19 . . Folio No The school attendance of your son daughter has been irregular for some time and all admonition from class teacher and rector has been in vain. The school commission has sought to communicate this to you and to inform you that you will suffer the penalty of the law if the neglect continues. As you have not yet been interviewed, I inform you herewith that if any further unexcused neglect on the part of your child occurs, your punishment therefor will ensue. I call your attention to the fact that for unexcused absences, parents foster-parents, and guardians are liable to arrest, and, according to the Royal Decree of December 22, 1899, ^^e punishable by a fine of from I to IS marks, and, in case of inability to pay, with imprisonment up to IS days. To Attest. City. Appendix 141 12. Berlin warning to parents that report children " ill." Form 175 The Mayor's Office Berlin , 19 . . No , School The repeated neglect not sufficiently well founded, of your to attend school, compels me to inform you that in case of further absence I can recognize sickness as a. sufficient ground of excuse, only if it is certified to by a. physician's attestation. You can secure such an attest with the aid of the Chairman of the School Com- mission, Mr , from School or Poor doctor. If further absence of the child is not attested by such physician, I shall be compelled to impose punishment. To By order: 13. Berlin notice by head master to the School Commission on absences with voucher of the Commission to the head master or the school police. Form 8, City Hall, Room 84 School week from ig . . No. o_f notice No. of School Location: St No Class No. of School Commission Received by Commission on No. . . RESPONSIBLE FOR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE Rank, first and last names (Women married, maiden name) Birthday and birthplace of respondent Nationality (if foreign) Residence: St ; No (Exact location) First and last name of child born on , has in the current school week been absent from instruction on (always to be filled out). The child has missed instruction continuously since We have not received certain evidence that the absences are properly excused. The previous instances known to us are given. 142 Registration of City School Children In accordance with the Regulation of Mar. 8, igo2, No. 33, gen. there has been held with under an interview concerning the absences of the child. Remarks of Rector or Teacher. Berlin, Saturday 19 . . Rector Address ; Teacher Address. To Deputy for proof and answer to the accompanying questions (next page). Berlin, Monday 19 . . . Chairman School Commission ^ Address : St. No REPORT OF THE DEPUTY Mr I have been unable to find. To the written sum- mons. Form 113, to come to me, he has made no reply. Berlin, 19 . . Deptdy. Question i. What are the grounds of absences and by whom given?. . . Question 2. Were the absences excusable or not and why? I deem the absences Question 3. Is the person answering warned orally of this search and admonished, yes or no ? (See below.) Berlin 19 . . Deputy. Address: St., No (Date and signature of deputy must never be omitted. He must return the form at the latest on Friday of the current week to the chairman of the commission. All 3 questions are to be answered. The warning is, as far as possible, to be given anew in each case and noted whether followed or neglected.) Sent with the foregoing report and disposition to the (strike out the one not intended to be read) City Police, Division III, School Police Rector of the Gemeinde School No Berlin 19 . . Chairman School Commission No (To be sent to the Bureau of School Police if the respondent cannot be found, or if the unfounded absences have occurred after earlier warning. To be sent to the Rector if the absences are excused, or if the warning is given for the -first time. The sending to the School Police has to be noted in the portfolio of the School Deputation.) Appendix 143 14. Berlin official document of entry of fine of delinquent parent. Form 10 goes to the culprit by mail. It duplicates the information in Form 9. Form 9 Municipal Police Administration Berlin C. 2 19 . . City Hall, Rooms 80, 84, 85. Part III. School Police Concerning Notice of Neglect .... Mayor's Office No. Regulation of punishment No True copy made. Sent by . On I. Form 16 2. After 4 weeks Berlin 19 By order: Record No. DECISION I. To with record Your PupU of the Gemeinde School No St , No Class has remained from school without sufficient excuse on Proof: With regard to school absence: Notice of Rector to Mr With regard to failure to produce adequate excuse: Notice of Member of School Commission to Mr There is imposed, on the basis of the Royal Decree of the Province of Brandenberg of Sept. 23, 1904, against you a fine of marks, or, if that is not paid, an imprisonment of days. This fine is to be paid within one week during the hours 9-2 at the office for school fines, City Hall, 2 floor, R. 85. If sent by mail it must be prepaid, and beside your name and address the number given above, under Regulation of Punishment must be put after the Record No. below. Stamps are not accepted in payment. If you feel this punishment is too severe, you may. Within One Week, by placing the order before the Municipal Police Admin- istration, Part III, (School Police) or the court pertaining thereto, secure a judicial decision. If a decree is not had, nor payment follow, within this period, the order for punishment becomes completely operative. At the same time you are informed that every subsequent unfounded absence on the part of one of your children, will cause further penalty to be exacted of you. 2. Forms 49 and 50 to Rector, and School Commission. 3. Again sent with record after 2 weeks. .Municipal Police III Deputy. 144 Registration of City School Children 16. Berlin order to parent to appear and pay fine in arrears. Form 88 Municipal School Administration Part III. School Police Mayor's Office Punishment Control No File No Munic. Pol. III. The Punishment Control Number and the File Number are to be looked Berlin C. 2 19 . . up and given. City Hall. You are hereby notified, as the order of the day of against you for marks fine has not been executed, to appear personally within one week to avoid the entry of the decree of day's imprisonment. For this purpose present yourself at the Jail at the Police Court, Alexander St., second entry, Room 19, ground floor, to the left, any day between 8 A. M. and 6 P. M., except Stmdays and holidays and Bring This Order With You. SEAL OF By Order:— MUNICIPAL Signed POLICE Attested by: To Magistrat. Here. Appendix MS ensue in the execution 16. Berlin order to levy on property of delinquent parent for non- payment. Sheriff's return. This form permits of making out a report regarding the various alternatives that may of the order of punishment. Form 1 6 Municipal Police Administration Part III. School PoHce Mayor's Office Sheriff's Order 1. Amount seized and herewith discharged. 2. Defendant cannot be found at given address ; on he moved without notice. 3. Attachable property at in presence of i Berlin , 19 . . To The Magistrate, Commission for Execution Of living at St., No I demand the outstanding penalty for neglect of school duty amounting to marks by executive process and delivery of the same to the school treasury. City Hall, No. 85. By Order: marks, pienn. are under No received. Berlin, , ig. . School Treasury. Disposition of the Case Information sent to the Rector was sought but not found. Berlin, , 19 . . Sheriff. Business Address Vol. A.I. Berlin > 1 9 ■ ■ Returned with above report of Sheriff. Magistrate. Commission for Execution. By Order; Record No Municipal Police III. and 149. School Commission by Form 2. Added to file. Berlin, , 19 . . 1. Form 68 sent to Registry of Inhabitants. 2. Review after 4 weeks Berlin, 19. . 1 . Summons Form 88. 2. Notice to (a, b). to defendant by jail by Form 87 Review after i month . . . Berlin ic 1 46 Registration of City School Children 17. Berlin decree of imprisonment for non-payment of school fine. Form 87b Municipal Police Administration Part III. School Police City Hall. Mayor's Office Berlin C. 2, , 19 . . Regulation of Punishment No Record No Municipal Police III. It is requested that in answering this communication, the above numbers be given. By an order duly issued by against on account of the violation of the Regulations governing School Police, there is decreed a fine of marks, or, failing pay- ment thereof, of days imprisonment. As the above named has not, in the course of one week defrayed pajrment, I order him to be taken to the police jail in fulfillment of the sentence. To the President of Police : By Order : Part VI Here Attested by magistrat Disposition of Case : To Precinct of Police Concerning discharge. The payment of the fine discharges. For discharge, note whether the fine has been paid elsewhere or in the interval, or whether an appeal has been taken or the order recalled. In case of payment to the city school treasury, the accused is to have noted on the coupon of the postal order, the above number of the Regula- tion of Punishment. Berlin, 19. . PART VI. Appendix 147 18. Berlin police record of imprisonment in lieu of fine. Form 87a Municipal Police Administration Berlin C. 2, Part III. School Police Mayor's Office Regulation of Punishment No True Copy 19. City Hall Disposition of Case To Police Jail Here with the most respectful request to to execute a sentence of imprisonment for days by order of for violation of the regulations governing school police. By Order: SEAL Attested by Record No Magistrat of Regulation of Punishment No True Copy Municipal Police Part III. School Police. Respectfully submitted : The has (not) under- gone the punishment of days imprisonment. Berlin, , 19. . Police Jail To Municipal Pohce III. 19. Form E. Cf. The School Commission, ante. Berlin quarterly report by the school to the School Commission on registration. Report of the Registration of the School for 19 ■• The class contains:. Room No. Class Capacity of class At parents' expense At public expense Total Total Head teacher Berlin r , 19 . . School principal (Note by author — This report is sent to the school commission with a duplicate to the school deputation.) 148 Registration of City School Children 20. Form F. Cf. The School Commission, ante. Berlin quarterly report to the School Commission of those excused from attending school. Notice of Exemption of those pupils of School , who, because they possess " work-books " aie exempted from afternoon instruction from until , 19. . First and last name of child Rank and address of parents Birthday of child Name of factory or sewing school Remarks 21. Card for indexing all pupils of Philadelphia schools. This card is white. Formerly the city used also a yellow card having the same entries, which card was sent to the schools and used to check the names on the school register. The yellow card is still used but only now in the case of children absent. Both bear on the back these entries : Date of preliminary notice served. Date of prosecution and results. Remarks. Date. Name ^jchbol Birth late place Parent • s name Guardian* a naite Ward Residence i|£££_ Transferred to School Hoved to Admitted to Scheol Ward AttendancQ officer Moved to Gt Absent ReB Bate of Visit of attendance officer and re. port of absence [)amJ>TUeiin|Phy Certificate 9eEin! Exp. of pny oer Date of re- turn Appendix 149 22. Heading of page of enumerator's street book, Philadelphia. Cf. Philadelphia: Method of Enumerators. ^ct 23. Weekly Report of the Philadelphia Ji'chool Census Enumerator. Board op Public Education BUREAU OF COMPULSORY EDUCATION 699 City Hall, Philadelphia REPORT OF ENUMERATION For week ending 10 . . Ward Time lost, and cause Territory covered and streets named ENHOII.E PUBLIC EKROLLE ° ENROU.BD .„ ,.ov. •-■iHH""" ™„. N„ .^.■.. >,=.,. N„ 1>.,. r.ax.!, ^= .Ulc F..», r.. >,.!, ...,.„ .. lUI. N. ...» '..,«.. a Mill* « « - T - fcan ud Mtrta 11. t.|.i " ■< < 8 , ^ , t* mile la f.». i.d 11 MMtIn C«l(retf * '^ '^ 1-a •^ IS Tun T*ltl "= a mitt II a© Ciofrt Tear< Ttid LJ _ __^ CHILDREN CMPLOYED OFKICK PACTORV STORK DOMKftTlC i.iaCELI.AHSOU3 TOTAL No iralc C ID Ale No. UllE 'cm»li KO. Mil. i.-a^ «-. M.,c Pcinal NO «.,= ^.,..,. N*. MU* -r-1 tVeari WUtt Colmtii Totil ATTENDftNCE OFFlOtK- i so Registrationlof City School Children 24. School census blank for Newport, R. I., similar to the Providence, R. I., form. Cf. Providence, ante. STATE OF RHODE ISLAND, Department of EduQwtion. SCHOOL CENSUS, 1907 City of Newport Ward NA^E OF CHILD AGE SEX ATTENDANCE DURING YEAR. 1906 At Public Schools "Weeks At Parochial Schools.- We^ks At other Private Schools Weeks PARENT'S OB GUARDIAN'S NASIE RESIDENCE Appendix tS* 25. Instructions to enumerators, school census, New York City, 1906. TO REMOVE BLANIC5 PROM COVER SIMPLY RAISE HINQES IN FRONT. BT INSTRUCTIONS TO ENUMERATORS 1. Entimeiatorft are expected to do their work accurately- and ^oroughly. The residence of every child between four and eigbteen years of age must be visited and the necessary information obtained. One blank must be filled out properly for each child. All names, ages and addresses will be compared by the Department of Education with the names, ages and addresses of children now attending school. 2. The name and address of child, the name of parent, and the name and number of the school or institution shall be written on Ihe blank. Other infor- mation may be indicated by check marks or numbers. 'The enumerator must write his last name with shield, precinct, section and block numbers on each blank. J. All children between eight and fourteen years t>f age are legally compelled to attend some school Continuously during the school year, if they tare physically able to attend. Boys between the ages of fourteen and sixteen years are compelled to attend School unless they are regularly employed at some flseful employment. Children between fourteen and sixteen who are regularly employed during the day and who have npt completed the course in an ele- mentary school are compelled to attend evening school for sixteen weeks each year. All children must have completed their fifth year studies in school or have become sixteen years of age before they are allowed to leave school. 4. "Physically unable to attend school" means that the child has some chronic illness or that a physician has certitied that such child is not in fit physical condition to attend school. 5. "Mentally ill'- means that the child has a weak or defective mind and can not comprehend instruc- tion in school. Information on this point should be given by parents, if possible, voluntarily and enu- merators piust not question them too closely concern- ing, the mental condition of their children. 6. "A public elementary school" means any public school of lower grade than a high school, "A parochial school" means a school conducted in con- nection witli a church or parish. "A private school" is one conducted by "some person or private corpora- tion, and is here distinguished from a public -oi parochial school. 7. It will be sufficient to record the number of a public school when it is accurately given. Many parents or children will not know the name or num- ber of a school, but they will know its location, from which the enumerator may* determine the nande. In all such cases the location must be recorded correctly, 8. Any child between the ages of eight, and four- teen who is physically able to attend school and is kept from school or at work by parents or others, is "illegally detained at home or at work," ^nd ^ust be so recorded. 9. The question, "Has child a work certificate?" refers to a certificate issued by the Board of Health,. stating that the, child is fourteen years of afee and has attended school the required time^ 10. "A truant" is a child who is sent to school but refuses to attend. Truants must not T)e confused with absentees (those temporarily absent for cause) or non-attendants (those wtlling to attend school but prevented by some condition or circumstance). 11. The number of children to be enumerated iq any one day by each enumerator will b'e determined by the captain of the precinct. All children at any one address should be enumerated in the same day, and on the following day the next consecutive resi- dence should be visited. 12. All check marks should be made thus: V, and immediately following or under the item to be checked. 13. In cases where parents or those who might give correct information are, "not at home," the enumerator must return as often as necessary, until tlie .infor- mation is received. IS2 Registration of City School Children 26. School census blank proposed for New York City by the Com- mittee on Physical Welfare of School Children and the New York Child Labor Committee for the school census of 1906. Cf. New York, ante. MWIMllTTAH tafltU. NUMdER School DtsrnioT ^ THE CITV OF NEW VORK fimuiniiiiT c« CouuiiM TH.ito Biennial CENSUS ooToa£n, iBoa J Child Cmpw-ki Poa Cmlsmii 1 10 ) MUm Of >TII6gT PWLIO KrHPIBIWlTEl* Public ELtyewTAHv Bcwooi Public Hioh School PUBLtc Thu«wt School Public Evcwma School Name of 8TB1ET PRIVATE INETITOTION Public Iwititution la ChILO WOW>.l>y f Oft WA(1E5 OUT Of SCHOOL HOOHE t VEJ TT M t.OO I. BO 2.00 3.M I- I- I- I"- G.u too e.w T. REASON OIWEN Where I V"'^ f "" '*»"i'- | e«*. Wao Child w«ti -— ^,.. - BORNI I H«mo I ToBuuii^^pMnr^^ni Caw Child Reap or White Enqlibh i qA„ CHILD REAP OR WR.TE AN, LANaUAQE. DATE-OoTOOEIt— • tHIELO NO _ ■NAME or ENUMERATOR— Appendix IS3 27. School census blank for the Borough of Manhattan, City of New York, 1906. Cf. New York, ante. Kabhattjui Tbe Cltysf Njw York Sept of EdacaUon rhiid Bipanial Ceoens Octobsr, igoti 8l-«tKuml»r NMtE OF STDE^r FlggrOtOflM BlMMKt 1 4 IW.I He™ > Z \ 6 ■M) FrOTt 1 Hm/ 3 1 ; WhalsHont rBfomaiioB e>r • (Or OsD In PicinM Relill^) Yur, in U. 8. of ChlH No. te GmoKunt Bsy fflri Nsgni? ytan Old 4 5 6 7 3 9 10 11 12 13 14 IS 1C 1? HonUor Birth lid F. HeA Apl M.y 1. I-Jy «.g|s*p Od Ntn 0« Bldtildj 1 VV^HroWa) U.S. Q,m»ny l..'y RduIo PtIUMi Irglud 8